Tom On day 2 of our cruise to nowhere aboard the Quantum of the Seas, we woke up at 5:30am so as to arrive at La Patisserie just as it opens at 6am. We would make it our routine to grab a double shot latte as well as a cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice to kick start the day. Remember to check out our first post in the Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean Cruise to Nowhere series to find out more about cruise preparations, refreshment package, unlimited dining package and more!
After making our orders, we headed up to Deck 15 to enjoy our beverages while awaiting for the sun rise on Day 2. Also, to clear any doubts, we walked by this “Chinese Restaurant” but it is quite clear that it is not a restaurant nor does it serve food. Probably a concept that couldn’t continue post-Covid…
Soon, the sun began to peek out of the clouds…
The sunrise was indeed very beautiful and there were surprisingly many morning joggers and early risers, waiting in anticipation of the sunrise. Thank the Lord! Soon, it was time to head on to Windjammer for our breakfast buffet onboard the Quantum of the Seas!
Quantum of the Seas Cruise to Nowhere Windjammer Buffet Breakfast Review
The buffet breakfast spread at Windjammer was quite extensive. You’ll be able to get western selection of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, breads and cereals as well as asian selection of noodles and porridge. As we had a rather filling dinner last night and expected to be full again this day, we decided to fuel with fruits instead…
Unlike our previous cruise aboard the Mariner of the Seas, we felt that it was not crowded at all at the Windjammer. This was probably due to the 50% capacity imposed on cruises to nowhere out of Singapore. We also found out that you are able to get premium coffee and freshly-squeezed juices at Windjammer. There’s more than one option other than La Patisserie.
At 8am, we headed over to the gym to check out its offerings…
First of all, the gym is very well-equipped! You’ll be able to find your usual offerings of spinning bikes, step machines, treadmills, weight machines, free weights, gym balls, mats and more. Of course, the best part is the view that it affords. Hitting the gym while enjoying views of the vast ocean is indeed an experience of its own. We left the gym at about 830am and met a couple who did not manage to book time slots before they embarked. Hence, we transferred our remaining 30 minutes. We also informed the staff that we would also like to transfer the slot that we booked for the next 2 days to them. They were elated. Glad to have helped out as well 🙂
On the way back to our room for a quick break before our next programme (napkin folding!), we headed back to La Patisserie to grab a tea and a raspberry creamice…
We also picked up the day’s programme (Cruise Compass) at the stands next to Guest Services at Deck 4…
Soon it was time for napkin folding at Music Hall (deck 3) at 9:30am…
To be honest, we were not able to remember of the steps as we just followed the instructor, Sheena, step by step on how to fold the various napkin designs. However, we did learn how to do step 1 really really well! Find out what step 1 is by joining the napkin folding class…
As we were still a little early for lunch, we decided to chill out at the Solarium…
The towel station is on the starboard side next to the outdoor swimming pool on deck 14. You’ll have to tap your seapass before the towels can be issued to you. Remember to tap your seapass again after you return the towel!
There are 2 general rules about using the pool and hot tubs aboard Quantum of the Seas during this pandemic period. Firstly, there cannot be more than 5 people within the pool or hot tub at any point in time. That is even if there are 2 hot tubs such as those in the Solarium. As long as the hot tubs are connected, they are considered as the same pool, with the same 5 pax restriction. Secondly, if it is the peak period and there is a queue to get into the pool, the maximum time you can stay is 10 minutes. Hence, we prefer to head over in the mornings, before 9am. This is the time when the pools are not crowded and everyone’s having breakfast. That’s when we did nice long soaks in the hot tubs. 😊
Also, we found out that the Sunshine Bar doesn’t serve the healthy smoothies and juices as advertised. Nonetheless, you’d still be able to get mocktails such as the virgin Pina Colada and Strawberry Smoothie, albeit via cocktail mixers.
Quantum of the Seas Cruise to Nowhere Jamie’s Italian Lunch Review
For lunch, we arranged for Jamie’s Italian Restaurant by Jamie Oliver again. We pretty much arranged for daily lunch at Jamie’s so as to try out all of its offerings. For you our readers, of course…
To start things off, we ordered 2 of the non-alcoholic drinks Berry Blast and Homemade Lemonade from Jamie’s Italian…
After scanning through the menu, we went ahead with these orders:
Starters: Baked Mushroom, Crispy Squid
Mains: Truffle Tagliatelle, Baked Lasagne, Pan-roasted Salmon,
Salad: Classic Caesar Salad, Rocket and Parmesan Salad
Desserts: Epic Brownie
This was one of the best meals that we had at Jamie’s Italian onboard Quantum of the Seas! We loved the Baked Mushroom which had both the brown and grey oyster mushrooms, covered with mozzarella cheese! As it was baked in carta di musica, you’ll be able to accompany each bite of the baked mushroom with the crisp baked bread! The Crispy Squid was succulent (not squishy) and had a crunch on the outer layer, giving a great blend of textures as you chew and enjoy the freshness of the squid. As for the mains, we loved all of them, especially the Truffle Tagliatelle. The tagliatelle lived up to expectations as Jamie’s make their pasta fresh, in-house, each day. Coated with the umbrian truffle and truffle cream, the Truffle Tagliatelle was simply amazing! Lasagne was another dish that many passengers raved about. It was good. Really good. The pork and beef ragu covered with fresh tomato sauce, bechamel and cheeses (parmesan and mozzarella) came together beautifully. It’s hot. So be careful with each bite.
As for desserts, we were never disappointed at Jamie’s and the Epic Brownie was indeed EPIC! The brownie itself was not too sweet (adjusted to cater to Singaporean’s discerning taste buds) and the texture was both firm on the outside and chewy with slight moisture on the inside. Perfect. Even without the ice cream, caramel pop corn and chocolate sauce, the brownie stood out on its own.
After the satisfying meal, we were brought the “check” for $0 as we were on the Unlimited Dining Package (UDP). Just sign off to acknowledge and you’re good to go!
Quantum of the Seas Cruise to Nowhere North Star Review
After lunch, we headed to deck 15 to board North Star – Quantum of the Sea’s observation capsule. This activity used to be free (complimentary) for passengers. However, post-COVID, there is now a charge of $27.20 per person. The entire ride on North Star takes about 10 minutes and it affords you views of the surroundings as well as a bird’s eye view of the Quantum of the Seas itself…
Thankfully, we were in the Singapore Straits during our flight. Hence, as we ascended, we were able to get views of Singapore’s skyline as well as the islands to the south. If we were out in the open seas, it could have been rather boring to see miles and miles of open seas, which we can see from our balcony.
Given that North Star is now a paid activity, we would advise for you to take the ride only if you had not taken the Singapore Flyer for instance or you do not wish to participate in the other activities happening all around the ship. Nonetheless, the ascent and descent was fun. You’ll be able to see more in our video coverage coming up shortly!
As mentioned, we were still in the Singapore Straits. Hence, we grabbed a couple of drinks (Mocha, water and tea) from La Patisserie to enjoy the views from our room at Deck 13…
Although we were on the Unlimited Dining Package (UDP), we also checked out the dining options at Main Dining Room…
During these cruises to nowhere onboard Quantum of the Seas, all the Main Dining Rooms on deck 3 and deck 4 (such as American Icon Grill and Silk Restaurant) will be serving the same MDR menu. You will be able to access the menu via the Royal App. Although there is a “My Time” dining and “Traditional” dining, we found that due to the 50% capacity of the cruise, we had no issues heading over at times that deviated from our indicated timings. One of the plus points of dining at the MDR (as compared to Specialty Dining) is the window seatings that are available. All Specialty Dining Restaurant either have no views outside of the ship or have blocked views (such as being blocked by life saving boats).
At 4:15pm, we headed over to the Royal Theatre to catch Royal Caribbean Cruise’s headline show, Sequins and Feathers…
Due to copyright issues, we do not have photos or videos available. Nonetheless, we think that of the 4 shows during our cruise to nowhere this time (The Beatle Maniacs, Sequins and Feathers, Gold Art Duo and Starwater), Sequins and Feathers was the best. Not only because of the well choreographed dances and beautifully-appointed costumes but because of the dedication put in by the singers and dancers. Real high quality stuff. Of course, the venue at Royal Theatre was a plus. We never really liked Two70 as wherever we were seated, there would be a view that would be blocked, simply because of how it was designed. At Royal Theatre, we had nice comfy seats and because we arrived about 20 minutes before the show (gates open 30 minutes before), we were always able to find good seats right in the middle of the theatre.
After the show, our cruise director informed us that the Accolade Duo (Violin and Guitar duo) would be performing at Boleros. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Boleros, it was full and we were only able to watch the performance from outside. As the Ukrainian violinist Viktoria Stryzhark headlined on previous cruises, we were pleasantly surprised to be able to still see her performance on top of the 4 headliner shows. This, we did not miss in the next few days…
Quantum of the Seas Cruise to Nowhere Dinner at Izumi Japanese Restaurant
As with the previous night, we had our first dinner at Izumi Japanese Restaurant. We’d usually have the first meal at 5:30pm, relax a little before our 2nd meal at 8pm. Thereafter, we’d head for the night time headliner, before we call it a night. As it was our first time at Izumi, we were introduced to the menu…
There are 3 sections on the Izumi menu, namely, small plates, large plates and desserts. As we were on the Unlimited Dining Package, we were informed that we could choose 1 item from small plates, 2 items from large plates as well as 1 dessert. This time, we went with
Small Plates: Pork Gyoza Dumpling
Large Plates: Izumi Ryu Futomaki Roll, Baked Snow Crab and Salmon Dynamite Roll, Truffled Creamy Lobster Tempura Roll
Desserts: Green Tea Ice Cream, Crispy Sesame Ball
For drinks, as we were on the refreshment package, we went with the Sencha Green Tea. There’s also the option of Genmai Cha (Brown Rice Tea) as well.
We realised that if you go with choices with the “Chef’s Recommendation” (well maybe less the tonkotsu ramen), you’d not be disappointed. The starter was the Pork Gyoza Dumpling and it was definitely not the run-off-the-mill type of dumpling that you’d get in your frozen packs. Instead, it was chock full of flavour with generous fillings. Coupled with a dash of lemon and the in-house soy sauce. It was just delightful. 😊 Our waiter also introduced the Izumi Ryu Futomaki Roll which was not only instagrammable, delicious but also HUGE in portion! All 3 signature rolls were tasty and it made us feel as though we had entered a classy Japanese restaurant that churns out these fancy sushi rolls. Our favourite was the Futomaki Roll with its piping hot and crispy, deep fried outer layer. The other two rolls were superb as well, just that it might be a little spicy for those who don’t take chili.
As for desserts, the sesame ball was a little disappointing but the green tea ice cream was rich in matcha taste, rounding up the meal nicely.
After a short stroll around the ship, we headed to Wonderland for our 2nd Specialty Dining Restaurant of the evening…
Quantum of the Seas Cruise to Nowhere Dinner at Wonderland Creative Cuisine Restaurant
Wonderland is a creative cuisine restaurant where you’ll be able to have unique sensory experiences in sight and taste. If you’re purchasing a visit to Wonderland alone, it would set you aside close to $80. As we wanted to try Wonderland, with the UDP priced at $135, we just had to top up $55 to try the other Specialty Dining restaurants and thought – why not?
You would have seen many times on social media by now that Wonderland starts off with an unique experience of having a hidden menu. To reveal the menu, dip the paint brush into the dish of water provided and paint away, to reveal the menu for the evening. Remember to dip the water first, because the first time, we just went ahead with the dry brush and wondered why it was not working 😅
The menu is divided into themes according to sun, ice, fire, sea, earth. The cool thing is that Wonderland has now evolved and you’ll be able to try all the interesting appetizers! This time, our waiter, introduced us to 6 of the 10 appetizers on the menu. For mains, we could choose the beef, pork, chicken or fish option. Before long, our first dish arrived…
The Tomato Water was the interesting one. It’s clear but it tastes like tomato juice, without the sour-ish taste. Sweet in fact. Later, we learned that it was extracted from tomato pulp. Left on its own, the water separates from the reddish pulp. This is collected and becomes the Tomato Water that we see. Interesting. As for the Crab Cones, we tasted more of the avocado but not so much of the crab. Great tasting appetizer nonetheless.
The Buffalo Chicken Eggs is a dish with a visual experience to it. As you uncover the lid, smokey woody fragrance dissipates, revealing the eggs beneath. The eggs itself is also interesting in that the yolk was removed and reconstructed with hollandaise, served atop of “birds nest”, fried noodles that could be eaten as well.
The Liquid Lobster was also one of our favourites where there was a real succulent piece of lobster, covered by bone marrow reduction and caviar. It didn’t look like much, but it sure was delicious.
The Shrimp Kataifi was good. But the idea of the scrotch bonnet to give a nice crispy texture is not new. Nonetheless, it was a great dish with a generous succulent piece of shrimp within.
The Oceanic Citrus is another deconstructed dish where the yuzu is removed and replaced with spicy tuna within, topped with yuzu granite (a kind of sorbet) on the top. Wonderfully crafted and because of the vessel (yuzu) used, there was the enticing yuzu fragrance when we tucked into the spicy tuna. Yum!
For mains, we had the Berkshire Pork Belly and the Halibut cooked in clear paper. Both were delicious. We found the Berkshire Pork Belly to be a little salty but the braised effect of the meat and particularly the pork skin was achieved. Melty fatty skin with tenderised pork belly meat was amazing! However, with the fatty bits from the pork belly, we thought the crackling (fried pork belly skin) was a little overkill. As for the halibut, it was a pleasant natural taste of potato and mushroom. The waiter pointed out that its surprising that the paper didn’t char or burn with the cooking method deployed. Hm…🤔
As for the desserts at Wonderland, we had the Forbidden Apple as well as the Chocolate Ball. Shaped as an apple, the Forbidden Apple is actually filled with a raspberry mousse of sorts (known as Crémeux). Rather tasty though it was a tad bit sweet for the outer reddish layer. Of course, there was also the Chocolate Ball, which is traditionally a highlight at Wonderland where hot chocolate is poured over a chocolate case and the magic happens when the case slowly melts away revealing the ice cream, caramel and cookie dough within. Love the creativity of this dish.
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Rounding off the evening, we watched Starwater, one of the 4 headliner shows during our cruise to nowhere with Quantum of the Seas this time.
Prior to the cruise, we’ve heard raved reviews about Starwater. However, having watched it, we didn’t really understand the plot. The robotic dancing in front didn’t really gel with what was being sung, or at least not directly with us. Moreover, the seating at Two270 was wierd. Most of the dancing was obscured by the platform right in front of us, where, from time to time, the platform would elevate and a dancer would dance really close to us. Interesting but in a wierd sort of way. Nonetheless, the visual displays by the screens and the moving robotic arms were indeed a sight to be hold during the dramatic parts of the show. Still, Sequins and Feathers topped the shows for us.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing situation, you will only be able to book each of the 4 headliner shows, once. That is, even if there are empty seats, the Royal App will not allow you to book. Waiting and queuing outside the venue is also not allowed.
For our turn down, a rabbit towel art greeted us. Wondering what would be in store for day 3 of our cruise to nowhere with Royal Caribbean Cruise’s Quantum of the Seas? Stay tuned to find out!
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