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Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas will be the next new cruise ship that is currently under construction. Quantum of the Seas will start sailing in Fall 2014 and her sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, will sail in 2015.

Video: Virtual Balconies on Quantum of the Seas

In:
05 Nov 2014

When Royal Caribbean announced the concept of a virtual balcony on Quantum of the Seas, it was a big deal because it offered passengers in an inside cabin a view without the cost of a balcony or even oceanview stateroom.

Today we have a new video by Royal Caribbean that has a behind the scenes view on this unique feature found on the world's smartest ship.

Speaking of virtual balconies, don't miss our exclusive interview with the team that built the virtual balcony!

Tech issues pop up on Quantum of the Seas' first day

In:
04 Nov 2014

It's only a pre-inaugural cruise and the ship still has that "new ship smell", but a few technology hiccups troubled the first day Royal Caribbean opened up the ship to the public according to a report by The Telegraph.

The main issues were the super fast internet provided by O3b wasn't working yet because the satellite network does not cover the UK but should be online once the ship reaches the New York area.

Without the fast internet, the Royal iQ smartphone app did not work either.

In addition, the luggage RFID tracking system that is supposed to let you track where you luggage is was also "patchy".  The Telegraph claims the few bags that were selected to be part of the RFID trial seemed to take longer to get to their proper staterooms.

Probably the biggest snafu occured at the Bionic Bar with the robotic bartenders.  Here's the exact report by the Telegraph:

"The robotic arms failed to stand glasses upright on a number of occasions. Cocktails are meant to be mixed in one minute but as waiting times rose to 20 minutes the IT team pulled the plug – literally – and went back to the drawing board."

For those looking forward to Anthem of the Seas, Royal Caribbean vice president Dominic Paul promises that by the time she arrives, Britain will have an O3b satellite so the IQ app should work and smartphone check-in and bag-tagging issues will be resolved.

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas ready to begin trans-Atlantic voyage home

In:
02 Nov 2014

After years of construction, preperations and touch-ups, Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is ready to welcome its first guests onboard for a trans-Atlantic cruise to its homeport of Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

Quantum of the Seas is docked in Southampton, UK where the first paying passengers are boarding and ready to experience her first-hand on an eight-night cruise west. 

Officially, Royal Caribbean has designated her inaugural voyage to be on November 18 but this is one of many pre-inaugural cruises scheduled over the next two weeks.

Quantum of the Seas photo galleries

As many of our readers know, Quantum of the Seas is filled to the brim with new innovations, activities and onboard offerings.  High-speed internet, robot bartenders, a Broadway show and observational pod are just a few of the new additions to Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas is the first Quantum-class cruise ship by Royal Caribbean and will be followed by sister ships Anthem of the Seas in spring 2015 and Ovation of the Seas in mid-2016.

Quantum of the Seas photo galleries from all over the ship

In:
01 Nov 2014

With Quantum of the Seas almost ready for her first cruise, Royal Caribbean is pumping out new photos from all over the new ship and we've created easy to navigate photo galleries.

The Solarium, Royal Loft Suite, Windjammer and more photo galleries are available for you to browse and see what this brand new cruise ship looks like.

We will be posting more photos throughout the next few days, so keep checking back for more galleries. Enjoy!