Our second cruise to Alaska
Quantum of the Seas Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 27
7 Night Alaskas Glorious Glaciers (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 16, 2022
Ship: Quantum of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 7542
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
Our family of four (my wife and I, and two teenage kids) just got back from our Alaskan Cruise aboard The Quantum of the Seas (May 2022). This was our third RCCL cruise and our second Alaskan cruise (we sailed with Princess in 2016). It’s a bit unfair to compare the two Alaskan experiences as our previous Princess cruise was a 7-day inside passage cruise with a four day land package taking the train to Denali National Park. This RCCL cruise was a 7-day round trip from Seattle. If you’ve never been to Alaska, the inside passage one-way trip is the far better itinerary, but includes more expensive travel (flights). Aside from the different itineraries, it’s hard not to compare and contrast our Alaskan cruise experiences a bit. The cruise lines have slightly different vibes. The RCCL cruise was a fun family cruise that happened to be in Alaska. RCCL ships are more decked out with activities and amenities to keep families entertained. Our previous Princess cruise had more of an Alaska destination-focus with on-board programs about the fauna and flora you could expect to see, cultural history of Alaska, they brought Park rangers aboard the ship in Glacier Bay, etc. It just depends on what you want out of your vacation. The Quantum is a great ship! The north star observation pod gave us nice views on the glacier day (more on that later), lots to do: bumper cars, solarium, good entertainment, etc. The staff on the Quantum was great- we had great waiters, cabin stewards, cruise director, entertainers (across the board). The food was mediocre if I’m being generous, and I’m not a critic. The windjammer is great for breakfast, but that’s about it. We ate premium dining twice- Jamie’s Italian was the best meal on the ship, Chops: my steak was great, my wife’s fish was over cooked and dry. On the third night of the cruise, when we ate at Chops, 2 of the 3 Cabernets by the glass on the menu weren’t available (hard to believe). Just not what I’d expect, based on previous experiences. Everything having to do with pre-cruise planning/customer service is a nightmare with Royal. I spent at least 3 times on the phone on hold over an hour (sometimes 2 hours)for simple matters, which brings me to my primary frustration. When you book with RCCL, it is clear they expect you to work for them. As soon as the excursion portal opened up, everything was immediately sold out. There were ports (Icy Straight Point) where there was literally nothing available. I spent hours on the phone trying to book something, only to be told to contact the shore excursion e-mail, which despite promises of 24-36 hour response, contacted me only after our cruise was over. That’s a customer-service deal killer for me. BTW- We eventually got our desired excursion…but.. as the vacation planner in the family, I like spending my vacation enjoying my vacation, not standing in long lines while I’m supposed to be enjoying myself. Princess was far, far better in this regard. Everything with RCCL pre-cruise planning was a hassle and we weren’t trying to do anything special (changing a dining preference, booking an excursion, getting clarity on covid testing that wasn’t on the web site). Again the ship and crew were great, but pre-cruise support was non-existent. The other annoyance with RCCL is the constant, unrelenting upcharging of absolutely everything. Example: one of the cooler features of the Quantum is the North Star observation pod. They don’t share this with you until you sail, but it is only available by reservation. Reservations aren’t available until you board. Once you board, you see that it’s completely sold out, but they have plenty of the non-complimentary tickets available. The limited “complimentary-reservation-offerings” are typically when you’re in port (when you’re likely sightseeing), but for desirable times it’s either $39/person or $69/person. We paid the $69x4 to ride the North Star during our morning in the glacier, but we never saw the glacier because we were told there was too much ice in the water for the ship to traverse so they turned around. Again, we went right up to the glaciers on previous cruise with Princess so it’s hard not to compare our vacation experiences. I’m not questioning their judgement when it comes to safety matters, but they didn’t offer any refunds either. Maybe if I hadn’t paid $280 for my premium 20 minute glacier view on the North Star, it wouldn’t have been quite as annoying. Passengers were understandably irritated as we had beautiful sunny weather and many consider the glacier day as the highlight of an Alaskan cruise. We’ve also paid for premium dining with RCCL before and I don’t have an issue paying premium prices for premium product, but the food on RCCL has taken a nose dive. Our last night was in Victoria- there was barely enough time to get off the ship to have dinner, but most places in the inner harbor were fully booked and full. 5-9pm on the last night isn’t enough port time and is frankly the wrong time when you have to leave your luggage out the night before disembarking-really not an ideal itinerary. We had much better times in port on our previous Alaskan cruise. Disembarkation was pleasantly and surprisingly easy, embarkation was chaotic, frantic, unorganized, and behind schedule. The ship was clean and in great shape, the crew friendly, great gym, the food mediocre, the pre-cruise phone and e-mail support terrible, RCCL shore excursion help inexcusable, entertainment was great (Las Vegas Tenors were outstanding), cabins were nice, cabin steward excellent, ship amenities are amazing and fun for people of all ages. That’s about it. Wildly inconsistent review of a wildly inconsistent experience. We were bound and determined to have a great time and we did, but RCCL has some work to do.Embarkation
Completely frantic and chaotic. They ran behind schedule and staff were giving passengers conflicting information about where to be, what to do with luggage, etc.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was mediocre if I’m being generous, and I’m not a critic. The windjammer is great for breakfast, but that’s about it. We ate premium dining twice- Jamie’s Italian was the best meal on the ship, Chops: my steak was great, my wife’s fish was over cooked and dry. On the third night of the cruise, when we ate at Chops, 2 of the 3 Cabernets by the glass on the menu weren’t available (hard to believe). Just not what I’d expect, based on previous experiences. We’ve also paid for premium dining with RCCL before and I don’t have an issue paying premium prices for premium product, but the food on RCCL has taken a nose dive.
Onboard Activities
The Quantum is a great ship! The north star observation pod gave us nice views on the glacier day (more on that later), lots to do: bumper cars, solarium, good entertainment, etc.
Entertainment
Great shows- we especially enjoyed the Las Vegas Tenors. They were outstanding.
Service and Staff
The staff on the Quantum was great- we had great waiters, cabin stewards, cruise director, entertainers (across the board).
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was great!!
Ship tip
They don’t tell you before you board, but the North Star reservation system involved paying for premium times. Complimentary times were usually when you’re at port (on an excursion).
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Our last night was in Victoria- there was barely enough time to get off the ship to have dinner, but most places in the inner harbor were fully booked and full. 5-9pm on the last night isn’t enough port time and is frankly the wrong time when you have to leave your luggage out the night before disembarking-really not an ideal itinerary. We had much better times in port on our previous Alaskan cruise.
Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska
Eventually had a great time zip lining…… but…. Everything having to do with pre-cruise planning/customer service is a nightmare with Royal. I spent at least 3 times on the phone on hold over an hour (sometimes 2 hours)for simple matters, which brings me to my primary frustration. When you book with RCCL, it is clear they expect you to work for them. As soon as the excursion portal opened up, everything was immediately sold out. There were ports (Icy Straight Point) where there was literally nothing available. I spent hours on the phone trying to book something, only to be told to contact the shore excursion e-mail, which despite promises of 24-36 hour response, contacted me only after our cruise was over. That’s a customer-service deal killer for me. BTW- We eventually got our desired excursion…but.. as the vacation planner in the family, I like spending my vacation enjoying my vacation, not standing in long lines while I’m supposed to be enjoying myself. Princess was far, far better in this regard.
CRUISE ENDICOTT ARM & DAWES GLACIER
We paid the $69x4 to ride the North Star during our morning in the glacier, but we never saw the glacier because we were told there was too much ice in the water for the ship to traverse so they turned around. Again, we went right up to the glaciers on previous cruise with Princess so it’s hard not to compare our vacation experiences. I’m not questioning their judgement when it comes to safety matters, but they didn’t offer any refunds either. Maybe if I hadn’t paid $280 for my premium 20 minute glacier view on the North Star, it wouldn’t have been quite as annoying. Passengers were understandably irritated as we had beautiful sunny weather and many consider the glacier day as the highlight of an Alaskan cruise.
Went on whale watching excursion. Tours are always readily available at port. I recommend not booking through cruise so you can evaluate weather conditions when you arrive. That way you can control when you want to go, rather than when cruise had availability.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was pleasantly and surprisingly easy, embarkation was chaotic, frantic, unorganized, and behind schedule.
Traveler Photos
7 Comments
karman16 2 years ago
Thanks for the review! We sailed last week and I noticed a lot of this. I'm so glad I decided to go through every day's activities when we arrived on the app -otherwise we would've missed out on roller skating, I fly, the north star, the star water show. Everything disappeared super quickly and we had the 11am arrival!
tcuhornedfrog 2 years ago
To clarify, my intent is not complain, just to provide an honest assessment of both the good and bad. I’m not insensitive to the challenges the pandemic has caused the industry. If the issues I mentioned are due to pandemic, so be it. People who read the reviews should prepare themselves and their expectations accordingly.