I'd do it again...
Quantum of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 124
7 Night Alaska Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 31, 2023
Ship: Quantum of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6162
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
It was a good cruise...not perfect, but still quite good for us.Embarkation
Overall, it was fine. The most confusing part was the very beginning when we were dropped in the mess right outside the port by our shuttle from the hotel (that's another story). There isn't great signage telling you where to drop your bags or where to enter -though, that part is easy enough to figure out. We found a guy who was taking bags that took ours as we walked closer to the port, though. I don't know if he was really the right person, as our bags came later than all of the staterooms around us, but we did get them. Once we got in the terminal, it was easy enough to follow our way through and very quick. (This was an 11:30 AM check-in.)
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We are typical MDR people, and the food - even with the new, slightly more limited menus - was just fine. That's all I'd probably ever say about Royal food on any ship (we've been on 2 other ships/3 sailings). It's just fine. It's good enough for what we paid for it, but certainly not the highlight of the trip. We did really enjoy the Solarium Bistro's free buffet for breakfast multiple days - a great option if you don't love the chaos of the Windjammer. We tried a "Chops+1 Lunch" deal that we found on a sale in Cruise Planner months before, to sort of "dip our toes" in the water of specialty dining, and it's just not for us. The steak at Chops (petit fillet) was probably the best I've ever had, BUT the scheduling was a cluster! Cruise Planner automatically booked us for lunch on embarkation day - which seemed like the perfect way to kick off our 20th anniversary cruise - so we went at our assigned time, and were turned away saying Chops is closed on embarkation day. The guy wouldn't rebook us, told us we had to go to Jamie's (the location we chose for our 2nd lunch which was scheduled on day 6). We ended up going to the dining desk set up just outside of Guest services and the guy got us squared away with lunch for the next day. Fine...but not where we'll choose to spend our money in the future.
Onboard Activities
This was our first cruise without our children, so we really kind of enjoyed NOT going to the busy sports venues, flow rider, arcade...though we did sneak into SeaPlex one evening during dinner when we finished eating early for bumper cars, and it was pretty fun. The key disappointment was the broken North Star, for which we did have an extended experience prebooked. That was refunded right away and given that we were using OBC to pay for our alcohol this trip, we booked to the Sunshine Bar in the Solarium to drown those sorrows. We could have spent literally every moment in the Solarium. Beautiful, relaxing area, and we always found 2 chairs together with a view. We enjoyed several of the game shows...I even won "Broadway Name that Tune!" 2 Highlighters for my "Life Changing Prize!" So fun. On our final sea day, we really enjoyed the "All Access Ship Tour." So interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes and to get to personally say 'thank you' to people who rarely get to see passengers. We also go to see the bridge - very cool!
Entertainment
We really enjoyed the pianist/vocalist in Schooner Bar, but found the sound bleed from the Harp & Horn's guitarist/vocalist really distracting. We ended up skipping the Starwater show, and the Cosmic Oddessey was cancelled for a technical issue forcing it into the port time for Victoria on the last evening. We made it to the acapella headliner group MO5AIC...and the mics were turned up SOOOOO unnecessarily loud. I had a doctor appointment 2 days after we got home and she asked if I had been in a very loud place or concert recently as there was damage to my eardrums! Coincidence? We may never know. We'll just leave it as the volume was uncomfortably loud. (It genuinely did hurt me, but my husband...who I think is already losing his hearing...was enjoying it, so I just cupped my hands over my ears and toughed it out. Next time, I wont.)
Children's Programs
First trip without our kids! Woo hoo!
Service and Staff
Always wonderful. We never have complaints about Royal staff. We didn't get to see our room steward much, but from conversations I overheard between him and nearby cabin passengers, he was being treated more as waitstaff than a room steward. People really need to educate themselves on the roles of various ship staff before they cruise. Don't ask your room steward to bring you Coca-colas...like legit drink orders, not "in my mini-fridge"...during embarkation!
Ship Quality
Our previous experiences were on Freedom and Voyager class ships, which we LOVE. This is a beautiful ship. 270 is an amazing venue, and a great place to find a quiet spot in the mornings. However, as I mentioned above, I just don't understand what they were thinking with the Royal Esplanade design...all of the busy venues (Promenade Cafe, LaPatisserie/Starbucks, Sorentos, Harp & Horn, Schooner Bar and shops) are all on ONE end...it puts all of the crowd on deck four in the same end. Then there's the issue of the noise bleed during the evening performers in Schooner and Harp & Horn. It just kind of baffling for a Royal ship. It wouldn't keep me from sailing a Quantum class ship again, but Voyager and Freedom class seem much better laid out to me.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is an obstructed view, but extended balcony cabin at the forward end of the first "indentation" for lifeboats on the Deck 6 port side of the ship (where the superstructure angles in - giving you a long, triangular shaped balcony). The obstruction was significant as you are looking at the first davit (white, steel pulley) and the front of the first lifeboat. That said, my husband and I are both tall, so we could still see water even when seated, and especially when standing at the rail - though your neighbors can see you, so if privacy is a concern, don't pick this room. You can also see them. We got this as a guarantee, and for 2 kids from Kansas who've never seen mountains by ocean, it worked. Would I do it again knowing what I know, maybe not...but it was a lovely cabin inside, very clean and very comfortable for 2 people. It definitely has more modern feeling decor than the previous ships we've been on. Also, we did not have any issues with sound from Deck 5, as this cabin is located over the photo studio. (Bed is by the balcony door, if that is a concern for you. Also, yes, there is a light on the lifeboat. We dealt with this with our towel clips to hold the curtan closed, and it was fine.)
Ship tip
Just be aware that there are a significant number of Deck 6 balconies with varying levels of obstruction due to lifeboats, if you are booking a GTY Balcony and that concerns you. We were told in the Next Cruise office on Adventure when we booked that "there are no bad balconies on Quantum." As I said before, It didn't ruin our personal cruise, but an unobstructed view would have been preferable, and it would ruin many people's experiences.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Spent 3 days here pre-cruise and love it! Mt. Ranier was out all 3 days, we loved Seattle Center, the South Lake Union area, and the waterfront. The Public Market Area was not our favorite, glad we can say we've been there, but probably would skip that on future trips.
We did a fantastic Eagle Island Kayak excursion through SEG. We also found Creek Street with the salmon jumping (and more...IYKYK), though I would say Ketchican feels the most kitschy and touristy of the 3 stops we made. It was fun, though.
Sitka was the one we really couldn't find an excursion that thrilled us...so we mad arrangements to renew our wedding vows with Mother Julie at St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church (we are Episcopalian, so it's not as random as it sounds)! Such a beautiful seaside church, and the whole town is just as beautiful. WAAAAY more beautiful than the Massachusetts substitute they used in the The Proposal movie.
CRUISE ENDICOTT ARM & DAWES GLACIER
Dawes was obsured by sun glare on our visit day, but at the entrance to Endicott Arm is the Sumdum Glacier which is very beautiful! I just happened to be waking up around 4:45 AM as we entered the arm and stepped out on the balcony to be greeted by this beautiful sight. We saw it again on the Starboard side around 10:30 as we exited the fjord. Hot Cocoa was served free at the bars, along with donuts and blankets were available at the towel station. We secured one of the round lounge beds on the indoor pool deck and just lounged around for the morning. It was fun.
We really enjoyed our visit to Juneau. Lots of affordable spots to pick up your Alaska gear, and the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls were beautiful. Because we were there on a Sunday, we opted for the Juneau City Tour w/Mendenhall Glacier excursion through SEG.
I understand why it has to be short, but we definitely want to sail next time either in or out of Vancouver so that we can have a few extra days and make one day a visit to Victoria. Beautiful community!
Disembarkation
Why is disembarkation so seamless and smooth when all you want to do is stay???? We used Port Valet for luggage which worked well, and didn't have plans for how to leave so we just walked the short distance to the uber lot and got one to take us back into town. Now that we know it's not terribly far, I honestly think if we sail from here again, we'll just uber over instead of trying a shuttle contracted by the hotel. (It was 45 minutes late picking us up - Faris Shuttle from the Maxwell Hotel.)
Traveler Photos
