Royal Caribbean’s new Quantum of the Seas: high tech and hip, on the high …

Bayonne, New Jersey – Standing inside an elevated glass pod, perched 300 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, I looked down upon the Quantum of the Seas, and I thought to myself, “Wow, this is really cool.”

I was referring to the North Star – the all-glass capsule guided by a giant mechanical arm that maneuvers passengers high above the ship and out across the water.

But I could have been talking about the ship itself, Royal Caribbean‘s massive new 4,905-passenger cruiser that began sailing from New Jersey to the Bahamas and Caribbean last month.

“Cool,” however, doesn’t begin to cover all the innovations and neat features tucked into every corner and crevice of this ship. Consider:

— High-tech rubber bracelets have replaced room keys onboard, and can also be used to charge drinks and manage reservations at restaurants and shows. Even the check-in process has been streamlined – no more standing in line! — with roaming staffers registering passengers via computer tablets.

— The ship has no main dining room, the first floating resort of this size to offer guests so many dining choices – 18 restaurants in all – allowing guests to eat in a different venue nearly every meal of their cruise.

— Quantum’s many first-on-the-seas entertainment options include bumper cars, indoor skydiving and cocktail-mixing, dancing robots at the Bionic Bar.

It’s the hippest, most high-tech cruise ship I’ve been on.

The goal, according to Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain, is to entice younger, never-cruised-before travelers to try it out.

And while I don’t exactly meet that demographic – I’ve cruised many times before, and I’m only young at heart — I traveled to New Jersey last month for a two-night, too-short preview cruise of the industry’s latest darling.

Quantum of the Seas is the first of three sister ships to debut for Royal Caribbean, the world’s second-largest cruise company. The trio – which will eventually include Anthem of the Seas, debuting next year, and Ovation of the Seas, coming in 2016 – are among the largest in the industry, eclipsed only by fellow Royal behemoths Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

Its size, however, is not what sets Quantum apart, said Fain, onboard last month during the preview cruise. “You can’t say the word ‘quantum’ without also saying ‘leap.’ That’s what this ship is – a leap.”

Quantum of the Seas

What: Royal Caribbean’s new mega-ship, with room for 4,905 passengers.
Where: Sails from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, through early May, when the ship relocates to Asia. Itineraries from New Jersey include seven- to 12-night sailings to the Bahamas and Caribbean.
Prices: Inside rooms start at about $1,000 per person for a seven-night cruise. Sister ships: Anthem of the Seas debuts in April in Europe and begins sailing from New Jersey in November. Itineraries for Ovation of the Seas, coming in 2016, have not been announced.
More information: Contact a travel agent, or royalcaribbean.com

A cruise company’s CEO can be excused for exercising a bit of hyperbole. But in the case of Quantum, Fain largely speaks the truth — there is lots that’s new and remarkable on this ship.

Let’s start with the dining

I’ve been cruising for a couple of decades, long enough to remember the days – not so long ago – that passengers basically had one choice to make when it came to their evening meal: early or late seating (and once you made that choice, that was it for the week).

Cruise lines have been gradually moving away from such rigidity, by offering flexible dining times and adding smaller, extra-cost restaurants to boost variety.

Quantum eliminates the baby steps – by eliminating the main dining room entirely. Instead of one huge restaurant with seating for 2000, Quantum offers four main restaurants with 440 seats, each with a separate theme (Asian, upscale comfort, contemporary and European). An additional 14 specialty restaurants – some with an extra cost, others included in the price of the cruise – are available as well.

“Depending on what kind of mood you’re in, you can always find something you’ll like,” said Brian Abel, vice president of food and beverage for Royal Caribbean.

Regrettably, I didn’t have enough time on board to try all 18 restaurants, but I gave it a strong effort (a tough job, I know) – dining at four restaurants, including Silk, the Pan-Asian-themed venue; and American Icon, with a menu emphasizing iconic American dishes, including New England clam chowder, jambalaya and Key lime pie.

In between big meals, I sampled small bites at almost all of the other restaurants, including the three operated by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Michael Schwartz and Devin Alexander (see separate story on Quantum dining).

The food was uniformly good – not great – but I certainly appreciated the ability to choose where and when I ate.

High tech on the high seas

So many dining choices would be hard to manage without the ship’s technological features. Guests can make reservations months before they sail, then keep track and adjust their plans using a smartphone app onboard.

That smartphone app can also help passengers track luggage as bags makes their way to staterooms on embarkation day.

Fain claimed that Quantum is the highest-tech ship sailing today, and no doubt that’s true – it’s a title, however, that’s likely to last only until the next ship debuts.

The technology did not perform flawlessly during our sailing (what technology does?) Employees’ tablet computers weren’t always in sync with the information in my rubber bracelet; and Quantum’s self-described “fastest Internet at sea” was sometimes fast and sometimes slow (and always expensive, at $35-$70 per day).

 

My favorite piece of technology was on display at the Bionic Bar, where two robotic mixologists put on a show for an adoring (and thirsty) audience. Customers placed their orders via tablets – choosing one on the menu (Mnemonic Madness, Bionic Tonic, Clone Me), or creating one of their own, selecting from among 30 spirits and 15 mixers.

After ordering, I watched as my cocktail moved to the top of the queue, when one of two robots — B10 or N1C, I couldn’t keep them straight — set about selecting the ingredients, shaking them together and pouring them into a waiting cup. Electronic screens on the wall offer facts about that day’s consumption: Mojitos, for example, were the No. 1 choice among those 25 and under on the afternoon of my visit; Long Island Iced Teas were tops among the older crowd.

(Again, technology here was imperfect – my husband waited 30 minutes for a drink that never came, so he drank half of mine.)

Entertain me

True, I could have sat at the Bionic Bar all afternoon. But I had a skydiving appointment to keep.

Entertainment options aboard Quantum of the Seas are nearly as plentiful as the dining choices.

There are the Royal Caribbean standards – a climbing wall, a FlowRider surf machine, plus swimming pools, child and teen areas and the 1,300-seat Royal Theater (featuring a rousing, full-length Broadway-style production of “Mamma Mia” that will have you dancing in your seat).

There are also several first-at-sea activities on Quantum — so maybe it’s a good thing that the ship’s early itineraries are rather ho-hum (with stops at Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Thomas). You may not want to leave the ship.

Among the coolest offerings: skydiving inside a 23-foot-tall glass flight chamber, with winds inside in excess of 100 mph. Participants have to sign a waiver (of course), watch a short instructional video, then zip into a blue jumpsuit, helmet and goggles.

“You’ll never wonder again what it feels like to fly,” instructor Chris Roberts told my group of eight. “You don’t need to jump from 12,000 feet to skydive.”

We entered the chamber one at a time, accompanied by Roberts, who communicated with us via hand signals (chin up, bend your legs, relax).

When it was my turn, I stepped inside, made like Superman, and tried to keep my balance as I hovered – whee! — about 6 feet above the ground. No need to jump out of an airplane now.

Just below the skydiving chamber is the SeaPlex, a massive, two-story multipurpose indoor play space that can be used for basketball, bumper cars, roller skating and trapeze lessons.

Most of the cruises I’ve taken have started and ended in warm weather, where an indoor play area like this might not be necessary. But with departures this winter from New Jersey, I’m guessing this space will be filled around the clock.

More adult-oriented entertainment venues include Music Hall, a two-story space for live entertainment and dancing (I saw a convincing Journey cover band my second night on board); and the Two70 theater at the stern of the ship, named for its 270-degree panoramic views.

At night, the floor-to-ceiling windows serve as an elegant backdrop for the high-tech Starwater show, with music, dancing, acrobats and – my favorite — a solo cellist hanging from the ceiling.

My top activity onboard, though, was North Star, the slow-moving glass capsule that lifted me high above the 1,141-foot long ship. Lines for the 15-minute ride were long – 30 minutes or more, standing out in the cold North Atlantic air – but I waited twice I so enjoyed the perch.

I wasn’t flying – I had done that earlier — but I did have a terrific bird’s-eye view of the entire ship.

And yes, I very much liked what I saw.