Tom The day has finally arrived for our Royal Caribbean Cruise to Nowhere onboard the Quantum of the Seas! Having done so much pre-cruise preparations (you must read this before you go!), we were all amped up for the day to board Quantum of the Seas at Marina Bay Cruise Centre!
Boarding Quantum of the Seas at Marina Bay Cruise Centre for Cruise to Nowhere
90 days before the cruise, the slots for boarding would be open via the Royal App. Then, we were able to book the earliest timeslot of 2pm to board Quantum of the Seas. Do note that you’d only be allowed into the cruise centre at 2pm sharp. Hence, there’s no point arriving much earlier.
This time, we arrived at 1:30pm and were the first 10 in the queue. While waiting, we were actually able to log into the ship’s wifi (Wifi_Quantum_Guest). However, bookings of activities, meals and show times were still not allowed until you have completed the check-in process and officially boarded the ship. In essence, the blue colour “Reserve Now” will only be lighted up once you’re onboard.
At 2pm sharp, we were guided by the Royal Caribbean Cruise staff to the various checks before boarding. However, not before the Star Class suite passengers were whisked off ahead of the entire queue. Do note that Crown & Anchor society members will not be able to enjoy priority boarding during this period and will have to adhere to the timeslot booked. Only Star Class Suite passengers (not even Sky Class) will be able to board anytime from 2pm onwards. During this entire process, make sure that you have your boarding pass (available via the Royal App), your TraceTogether Token or App and your passport ready. At the first station, our temperatures were checked and our health questionnaire (filled up 24 hours prior to the cruise via the Royal App) were verified to see if there were any changes from what was declared.
Once you’re cleared, you’ll be led to a second station where you’ll pick up the Royal Caribbean Cruise Tracelet…
The blue colour tracelet is to be worn all around the ship. Also, it is NOT waterproof. So remember to remove them when you enter the pools or hot tubs aboard Quantum of the Seas.
There is a third station for the checking-in process. We actually completed the check-in process via the Royal App and skipped this station altogether. In this way, we overtook a couple of passengers who were before us and became the first few (after the Star Class Suites passengers) to board the ship!
Then, it was the customs where the automated lanes were used, complete with facial recognition technology. After you’ve scanned your passport, remove your mask for the facial scan to take place. Once cleared, the gates will open, just like the automated lanes at the airport! We’re finally “leaving” Singapore again after more than a year!
Booking Specialty Dining Restaurant and Headliner Shows Time Slots via Royal App Onboard Quantum of the Seas
Once onboard, we wasted no time at all and immediately put our Refreshment Package to work at the Pool Bar…
As we were pretty much the first passengers onboard, Arnold, the bartender, thought that we were undercover health inspectors and answered our questions very carefully. However, upon learning that we were guests (after we showed our seapass card), he regained his jovial mood and served us our drinks promptly. He was actually wondering how we were able to board so quickly, thinking that perhaps we were on back-to-back sailings. Which means, people have done 8D/7N of back to back cruise to nowhere already? 🤔
We didn’t even bother to unpack first as the booking of activities timeslots was of utmost importance – that is unless you’re in Sky/Star Class Suites with access to the Concierge or Royal Genie, where bookings would have been done in advance. Otherwise, like everyone else, booking of activities, shows and meals can only be done once you’re logged into the ship’s wifi (Wifi_Quantum_Guest) via the Royal App. We also did not get the wifi package onboard, which resulted in disconnections from the wifi while we were booking all the activities. This is because our phone thought that the particular wifi does not have internet connection. Hence, it would automatically disconnect and connect to our mobile data. When this happens, just connect to the ship’s wifi again to continue with your bookings. This has happened to many onboard, so stay calm and keep booking 😉
To facilitate the booking of meals and shows once onboard, we had planned and written down (old school) our plans. This way, we can just look at the plan and key into Royal App (instead of toggling between apps if the plan was written down electronically). Once you’re logged in to the ship’s wifi, the options for booking would look something like this…
You’ll notice that the “Reserve Now” or “Reserve Again” will only light up in blue once you are (1) logged into the ship’s wifi and (2) completed the check-in process. Before that, the buttons would be greyed out. Also, do note that there are 4 headliner shows. Once you have made a booking for that particular show, you would not be able to book a second time. Everyone can only book each of the 4 headliner shows, once, to be fair for all passengers to have a chance to watch all the shows…
We first settled the bookings for Specialty Dining Restaurants (as we were on the Ultimate Dining Package). Once you click on the particular restaurant, you can choose which day you’d like to book, the number of pax as well as the timeslot. You’ll also see the price of the meal during booking. If you’re on the unlimited dining package, don’t worry about the prices and continue to book. Eventually, after each meal, you will be given a bill of $0, for your acknowledgement…
Once all dining timeslots were booked, we moved on to the headliner shows as well as some activities. Once you’re done, you’ll be able to see the activities appear under the “My Calendar” tab of the Royal App…
From the photo above, you’ll see that the app inserts a “Unlimited Dining Package 4 Nights” in the calendar. This is indicated only for the first night. But in reality, it does nothing except to inform staff that you’re on the Unlimited Dining Package. You will still have to make your own booking via the Royal App.
If you’re on the Ultimate Dining Package or simply want to try one of the Specialty Dining Restaurants, you can also head to Deck 4 where there is a booth set up for booking of dining slots at Specialty Dining Restaurants…
We initially thought that we might have to visit the booth but booking via the Royal App turned out to be seamless. Hence, before 3pm, we already had our meals, shows and activities booked using the Royal App. Do take note that for activities such as line dancing, trivias and towel folding are on a limited capacity basis. So head over to the venue during the indicated timeslot and if you’re early enough, you should be able to join the activity. We had no issues joining the activities when we arrived 5 minutes ahead of time. For FlowRider, depending on the crowds, you’ll probably have to wait about an hour or so. But we found that there’s no crowds immediately after boarding, perhaps a good time to visit FlowRider then.
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Quantum of the Seas Balcony Class State Room Review
After completing all our bookings at the Pool Bar, we headed back to check out our balcony class state room onboard the Quantum of the Seas.
There are actually many pictures and videos of the balcony rooms online so we’ll just cover the important bits.
Firstly, if you’re travelling with friends (or other relatives) whom you think would prefer sleeping in separate beds, you can actually ask your stateroom attendant to convert between double beds and twin beds (vice versa).
Given that we’re living in unprecendented times, many have asked about the availability of shower foam and shampoo in the state rooms. We’re happy to report that there is an all-in-one shower/shampoo dispenser in the standing shower. Towels (hand, body) are available as well. The only thing is that you’d have to bring your own tooth paste and tooth brush.
Next, in terms of the power points, there are US standard power points (i.e. 2 flat parallel pins) but there are also 2 additional USB charging points which was sufficient for us. If you’re using the power points, remember to bring your own power converter as well. Try not to bring power extensions as we heard that these may be confiscated due to the electrical hazards that comes with overloaded power outlets.
If you’re not on the Refreshment Package, do note that there are 2 bottles of water in the state room only on the first day. For subsequent days, you’ll need to top up your own bottles using cups at the various restaurants. For those on the Refreshment Package, bottled water (and San Pellegrino sparkling water) is available throughout the ship.
For those who are bringing alcohol onboard, you’ll be happy to know that you are able to bring up 2 x 750ml of wine or champagne. The fridge is cold.
The other thing we like about our Balcony State Room in Quantum of the Seas is the huge closet space. You can literally dump the entire luggage into the closet and still have space to hang your clothes. There’s also a digital security safe for you to store your valuables.
Our favourite part of the room has got to be the balcony. We were able to choose our room, high up on deck 13, unblocked views with no neighbours next door due to the 50% sailing capacity. It was great! During the day, we’d laze and listen to the sound of the waves while we’d gaze at the stars in the evenings, out in the open seas. Love it!
As we were returning cruisers, we saw this flyer in our state room, that spelt out our Gold member privileges during this sailing. These were some of the privileges that caught our eye…
– 50% off any wine beer or soda by the glass
– $2 Free Play
– 10% off RCCL Logo products
Definitely a good complement to our Refreshment Package to be able to get drinks at half off.
Checking out the Facilities, Restaurants and Venues onboard Quantum of the Seas
After freshening up, it was time to check out the ship! If you’re wondering how it looks like inside Quantum of the Seas, check out these videos as we take a walk through Deck 4, Deck 5 and Deck 15 (where the bulk of the activities are) of the Quantum of the Seas
We headed first to deck 4 to grab some drinks and food before the exploration really began, then we stumbled upon this…
Many people had grumbled about the buttons in lifts onboard the Quantum of the Seas. We took it with a pinch of salt, until we really had to contend with it. A quick tip: Press right in the centre of the button. But still, it doesn’t work sometimes, so just be patient and keep pressing. The buttons will eventually light up. 😅
At every lift lobby, there would be a ship directory located so that you would know where’s the forward and where’s the aft of the ship; and more importantly, how to get to your various venues. Quantum of the Seas is afterall an Oasis-class ship, the 2nd largest class in Royal Caribbean’s fleet of ships, coming in at almost 170,000 GT.
One of our favourite hang out spots at Deck 4 is the La Patisserie where we could get our premium coffees and freshly-squeezed juices each day…
With prices of premium coffees going at 5USD per cup (excluding gratuities), the Refreshment Package was starting to look really worth it. Moreover, we were able to try different coffees (complete with simple latte art), caramel macchiato, mocha, double/triple shot espressos, chai latte, soy latte and more. You could choose from premium teas as well…
After getting our drinks, we hopped over to Sorrento’s for its famed pizzas. Cafe Promenade and Sorrento’s share the same entrance. Do note that premium coffees are not served at Cafe Promenade, you’d also not be able to get bottled water here if you’re on the refreshment package. At Cafe Promenade, you’ll be able to get complimentary coffee, tea as well as glasses of water. But what you’ve really got to try is this…
The pizzas at Sorrento’s have been said to be delicious and highly recommended. It’s true. If you’re a pizza fan, you could literally sit here all day and eat your money’s worth. The pizza has a really thin crust and the tomato base complemented the cheesy toppings really well. It’s not over-exaggerated at all. Enjoy the awesome pizzas at Sorrento’s!
Harp and Horn is the other dining option at the Royal Promenade of Deck 4 onboard Quantum of the Seas. Again, if you’re on the refreshment package, you’ll be able to enjoy mocktails such as No-jito and grab bottled waters from here. Do note that there’s no draft beers served onboard, even though there’s a dispenser at Harp and Horn.
Our exploration takes us next to deck 14 where you’ll be able to experience a little “Fear Factor” by standing on this see-through glass floors that peers all the way down to deck 5. Cool stuff. We then headed outdoors at Deck 15, to take in the views from Marina Bay Cruise Centre before the ship departed…
As we had made bookings for bumper cars at 4:30pm (via the Royal App), we headed to SeaPlex, located at the aft of Deck 15. Within the 15 minutes time slots, you can try to queue up for 2nd or 3rd tries within one booking.
We continued our stroll on Deck 15, where we came across the rock climbing wall
The FlowRider is also open once you’re onboard. Head to the office to register before joining the queue. Just like Rock Climbing, FlowRider is a complimentary activity as well.
Also at Deck 15, SeaPlex Dog House is another complimentary dining venue that operates around the clock…
To be absolutely honest, the Smoke House hot dog that we tried, was absolutely delicious! :O Unfortunately, we were saving some space for our food frenzy that evening. Hence, we only tried out this one hot dog throughout the trip. Have you tried out the rest of the hot dogs? Let us know in the comments section below!
Before long, it was finally time to try out our first Specialty Dining Restaurant at Jamie’s Italian Restaurant!
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Quantum of the Seas Specialty Dining Restaurant Jamie’s Italian Review
If you had seen our video walk through above, you’d know that all the Specialty Dining Restaurants are located at Deck 5. As we came from our room in the forward part of the ship, we walked past the Bionic Bar to reach Jamie’s…
As with all venues, you’d be required to tap your seapass card before entry. After a quick verification, we were shown to our seats in Jamie’s and shown the menu (which we’d come to be familiar with in the next couple of days)…
If you’re on the Unlimited Dining Package, you’d be able to choose everything on the menu. There’s no limitation unlike some of the other Specialty Dining Restaurants onboard Quantum of the Seas. After browsing through the menu, we chose these
Starters: Famous Meat Plank and Ultimate Garlic Bread
Mains: Calabrian Chicken and Lamb Chops Scottaditto
Salad: Classic Caesar Salad
Sides: Posh Chips
Desserts: Lemon Meringue Cheesecake and Classic Tiramisu
The Meat Plank was the first dish to arrive and it was indeed an Instagrammable starter. There were selections of prosciutto, ham, cheeses, olives, capers and breads. It was a refreshing dish with fresh ingredients but for the rest of the cruise, we didn’t order this dish again. Nonetheless, the next dish, Ultimate Garlic Bread, definitely won us over. Every visit there, we’ll definitely order it. This is because, the top of the bread was slightly crisp with loads of garlicky goodness within. Also, the bread within, had a nice fluff to it. Definitely a gourmet bread – a great starter.
For mains, we had the Calabrian Chicken as well as the Lamb Chops Scottadito. Both were great meat selections though there was very slight hint of gamey-ness in the lamb. The chicken had amazing roasted and crispy skin. Yum! The Posh truffle fries gave the mains a nice touch of class. Notice that the fries are not shoe-string type but individually cut from whole potatoes. Fresh ingredients, not processed.
To round off the meal, we had the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake and the Classic Tiramisu. Both were excellent! In fact, most of the desserts at Jamie’s were excellent. You may even wish to have meals elsewhere and come back to Jamie’s for desserts (for those on UDP). They’re that good. Although there’s meringue on the top, this version of the meringue was not too sweet, yet retaining the fluffiness that went really well with the cheesecake below. The tiramisu on the other hand have many layers of infused cake, alternated with chocolaty layers and topped with chocolate crisps, adding different layers and textures to each bite. Amazing!
Quantum of the Seas Specialty Dining Restaurant Chops Grille Review
Before heading for our 2nd Specialty Dining Restaurant at Chops Grille this evening (yes, we had 2 Specialty Dining Restaurants each night! Yikes!), we went for a short walk around the ship first…
Solarium, located at deck 14 of the forward most part of Quantum of the Seas would become one of our favourite venues in the days to come. As there’s an age restriction (age 16 and above), adults can find sanctuary here at the Solarium. Moreover, there are pools and hot tubs as well. The huge glass windows also offers cruisers amazing views from the front of the ship while soaking in the hot tub or cold pools.
Soon, it was time for our second meal at Chops Grille!
For choice at Chops Grille, you can choose as much as you’d like from the appetizers, soups and salads. However, just one from the mains (either steak or seafood) with as much as you like from the sides again. This time, we chose
Starters: Jumbo Lump Crab Cake and Tuna Tartare
Mains: 9oz Filet and 16oz Prime Bone-In Ribeye
Sides: Grilled Jumbo Asparagus, Mac and Cheese, Creamed Spinach
We skipped the desserts due to the overload of sugar we had at Jamie’s 😅
Both starters came out to be rather good. You could taste the generous shreds of crab meat in the crab cake while the tuna tartare beat the ones in MDR (Main Dining Room) hands down. However, the highlight of the starters has got to be the Wild Mushroom Soup, complete with the scent of white truffles on each mouthful of the mushroomy goodness! It was so good that we’d order this each time we visited Chops Grille!
As for the mains, the steaks were AWESOME. The filet was tender while the 16oz ribeye (served with redwine reduction) was so flavourful. Salivating as I’m typing this! 🤤 You can see the thick and juiciness of the cut as we went for each bite of the ribeye. The custom steak knives made it so easy to cut the meats and it was easily devoured even after what we had at Jamie’s!
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To round off the evening, we caught the Beatles headliner show at Two270. The show started at 1015pm and we were able to get seats up front. The songs included hits such as Hey Jude, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Yesterday and more! Definitely a time of reminiscence for the older ones in our midst. Great entertainment for young folks like us as well!
Stay tuned as we check out the activities and more dining options at Specialty Dining Restaurants on Day 2 of our Cruise to Nowhere with Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas!
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Hey Tom, thanks for the very comprehensive guide! I got a little confused at the start where it mentioned some priority boarding etc – wondering if the boarding time for normal guests will go according to the booked time slot via RC app? Just curious what time did you manage to get onboard too? 🙂
Hey Joe,
There’s priority boarding for suite guests. Yup, go according to the time slot that you have booked via the app. We booked the earliest slot at 2pm and arrived at about 1:45pm. The doors only open at 2pm. Hence, you do not really have to arrive anytime earlier than that. After all the procedures, we got to our room at about 2:30pm (due to our slow walking speed :P). We pretty much booked what we needed to book by 3pm. Hope that helps!
Will you be going during P2HA? If so, share with us your experience as well! Have fun!
Tom & Kate,
2bearbear.com
Hi Tom and Kate, thank you for the reply to my previous enquiry. Can I ask , without the wifi package, we can still tag the online wifi for booking programmes and restaurants, but other than these, we cannot log on to WhatsApp or internet?
Or there will be certain areas with wifi?
Hi Ada,
Without the internet package, the Wi-Fi can only be used specifically for bookings and information on the app. No other common areas has complimentary Wi-Fi access that we know of.
Depending on the route taken during your Cruise to Nowhere, the ship may sail past the Singapore Straits. Sometimes, you may get SG mobile signals. But hey, you’re on cruise! Enjoy the amenities and facilities aboard! #bumpercar 😛
Tom & Kate,
2bearbear.com