My wife and I traveled on the Quantum of the Seas leaving Beijing and arriving at Shanghai during November, 2015. We are both experienced cruisers but first time guests on Royal Caribbean After a wonderful 3 day cultural experience in Beijing, we were driven to Tianjin to begin our adventure at sea.

Embarkation - 4500 guests made the check in challenging to say the least. The process was less than organized and language barriers only compounded the problem (90% of the guests were from China according to the Hotel Manager). The whole process seemed a bit improved since earlier reports but still not as smooth as other ports.

The Ship - The Quantum of the Seas is the most beautiful cruise ship we have sailed on. The decor is elegant, the public areas very well maintained. Some of the artwork is a bit puzzling including the huge "Hope and Pray" sign which doesn't inspire warm thoughts for vacation bound passengers. There are two banks of glass elevators one toward the front and one toward the back - each bank has 12 or so elevators which move passengers around much faster than any other ship I have seen. Pool areas on the 15th floor front to back include an adult solarium, a large covered pool area, and the uncovered main pool midship. Despite the cool weather (it was snowing in Beijing), the covered pool area and toasty solarium were never full (even the 270 lounge, the Quantum’s living room away from home and host to the Starwater show was never full). Toward the back is the Seaplex area which is basically a big two story gymnasium that is used for multiple activities. At the rear is the Flowrider surfing simulator and the iFly skydiving simulator. While the sheer size of the ship makes long walks common (our cabin was at the very back), corridors appear wider than most other ships. Read more