Highly chaotic cruise with hyper guests and super stressed staff. Not one to take if you are looking to relax with many days at sea, as the days at sea are more chaotic than port days.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
There is no special line for disabled guests to check in. Only Chinese passports or foreign. Staff - both of the terminal and of Royal Caribbean - are uninformed and not helpful in general - with no sense of flow or how to talk to guests. They are seem stressed or simply just didn't like being there.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The rooms were nice. Chinese food is a new concept for Royal Caribbean. The selections seem ok but the execution is poor for the most part. I understand that the clientele is mostly interested in Chinese food, however, I think it would've been better perhaps to offer also some Western technique preparation using Chinese ingredients. Main dining room servers are great, but floor management is mostly rude and highly stressed. Forget your booking as it is not honored. We had a booking for 7pm but didn't get sat until 8pm - and found out later that there isn't even a reservation system. There is no line for disabled either, and no seats for them to sit down while the table gets ready. The staff who works the door are highly stressed and rude, and as expected not helpful and should not be in the hospitality business at all. We were also told there is no management in the main dining room. Windjammer has friendly staff but the food is abysmal with repetitive selection and very chaotic. Congee is recycled and by the 5th day of the cruise started to taste fermented and alcoholic from the rice. The specialty dining selections are much better with Chops, Jamie's Italian, and Teppanyaki.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Perhaps due to the crowd it seems unpopular. This is my 4th time with Quantum class - but the first time I saw that all activities come with a fee, including the North Star - but later found out this is only to gorge prices for people who cruise out of China. I think that entertainment is limited with few featured shows. Casinos are very smokey due to a large smoking section. Shopping is great, but a pharmacy store that sells volume sized packs only of Japanese vitamins and household goods is funny. There is no one in game room or library, and there is also no computer room for guests to use or to look at future cruises. Gym is super tiny compared to other ships of the same class with limited equipment with some machine broken - strange for a new ship.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
There are very few stage shows for a cruise with mostly sea days. Royal theater is dark most nights, sadly. But magic show is good. Music selection is limited all across the ship. Silk Road is the only show that is worth it - it's terrific!
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Good for the most part. Specialty dining has the best service, as is the room steward, and servers across the ship. Management for the most part seem highly stressed and not interested in taking care of guests. And overall it does seem that they don't come from hospitality background.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It is nice, this is the 4th time on a Quantum class ship for me. Lack of computer room to book at future cruises is a little strange. Gym is poorly laid out. Not fun to use making this ship not recommended for ones with lots of sea days. It is kept clean for the most part.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It is lovely. My cabin is the best part. But be prepared to not able to relax at the balcony because the other guests are very noisy!
Ship tip
Think twice about which port you take, it could determine how chaotic your cruise will be and you won't be able to relax. With 5-days of sea and only 3 port days, this seems like one that has a stop each day because every day starts with heavy noise and commotion.
Shanghai the city is wonderful to visit, but the terminal is horrible. Quite possibly the most disorganized port I've ever been to - with the most unhelpful and unfriendly staff who run it. Also not recommended for disabled people.
Its quite possible that they have not done this before. Everyone seems confused, from Royal Caribbean staff to the custom inspectors. Highly chaotic, disorganized and also not recommended for disabled travelers - they simply have not seen them before. Kyoto is really far away, I've been there many times so did not go. Maizuru itself is lovely but a sad sad town that is mostly abandoned and is in dilapidated condition for Japan. Be prepared to spend long time at lunch - get an omakaze in town and kill 3 hours!
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
