Quantum of the Seas is part of a
revolution in cruising. For more than a decade, the watchword in the
cruise industry has been “choice.” All of the lines have wanted
to give guests more options with regard to what to do while aboard
their ships. But, for the most part, the new options brought forward
just embroidered the traditional model of cruising. Then, about five
years ago, ships started to enter service that offered a new model of
cruising with real choice. Quantum carries that model to a new
level.
Under the traditional model of
cruising, an evening on a cruise ship revolved around the two
seatings in the dining room and the two shows in the ship's theater.
There was not much choice. Each guest was assigned to one of the
seatings for dinner and, as a practical matter, that dictated which
of the two shows in the theater you attended. The evening was pretty
well mapped out. Yes, you could sit in one of the bars and listen to
the piano player instead of going to the show but the majority of the
passengers went to the show in the theater after dinner.
Norwegian Cruise Line broke with the
traditional model when it introduced Freestyle dining. Guests were
no longer assigned a dining time or a table in the main dining room
but could dine when and where they liked. Most of the other cruise
lines followed suit with their own versions of flexible dining.
Still, because the main entertainment offering onboard was the two
shows in the ship's theater, your dining time had to be scheduled
around the show times. Thus, the choices as to when and what to do
were still somewhat limited.
Then, in late 2009, Royal Caribbean
introduced Oasis of the Seas and a few months later Norwegian Cruise
Line introduced Norwegian Epic. These two ships broke completely
with the traditional model of cruising. They offered not only choice
in dining but also choice in entertainment. The shows in the theater
were no longer the only high quality entertainment option. Thus,
under this new model of cruising, guests had real freedom to plan
their evenings aboard ship.
Royal Caribbean subsequently refined
its version of the new model with Allure of the Seas while Norwegian
refined its version with Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway.
With Quantum, Royal has taken the new
model even further. It has eliminated the main dining room
altogether. In its place are five complimentary restaurants each
with a different theme and menu. This is in addition to seven
specialty restaurants where there is a cover charge. Thus, it is no
longer a choice between dining in a general restaurant (i.e. a main
dining room) or going to a specialty restaurant. In effect, the
choice is now between an array of specialized restaurants some of
which have a cover charge and some of which are complimentary. As a
result, Quantum presents guests with a better set of choices.
Of course, there are practical
limitations on this freedom of choice. If a couple of thousand
people decide they want Asian food at 7 o'clock and descend upon a
venue that has capacity for a few hundred, someone is not going to
get what they wanted. To guard against such possibilities the lines
that have implemented the new model of cruising encourage guests to
make dining reservations just like they would on land. Some guests
feel that this is an imposition on their freedom of choice but most
appear to accept it.
It is disappointing that Quantum will
only be based in the Port of New York – New Jersey for one brief
season. Originally, Quantum was going to be Royal Caribbean's New
York ship, replacing Explorer of the Seas in that role. But then
Royal decided to commit the ship to developing the Chinese market and
so Quantum will be leaving in the Spring 2015.
The reason this is disappointing is
that another new model cruise ship is based in New York - - Norwegian
Breakaway. Thus, Quantum and Breakaway would have been competing on
a long term basis. It could only have been good for cruisers to have
these two innovative cruise lines go head-to-head with their first
tier ships. But then Quantum's sister, Anthem of the Seas, is
scheduled to take up residence in this port in the Fall 2015 so
perhaps the grand contest will take place afterall.
This week in Beyondships, we have a
new profile section on Quantum of the Seas.
http://beyondships.com/RCI-Quantum-Profile.html
This includes a nine page photo tour and commentary, which takes you
through the public rooms and open decks.
http://beyondships.com/RCI-Quantum-Tour-1.html
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