DaiC01

I just read this and it made me laugh
https://nypost.com/2020/02/08/stranded-royal-caribbean-cruise-passengers-slam-liner-amid-coronavirus-scare/
My favorite part is Darren's quote that "RCC put their profits over customers"...which would have meant they sailed without taking any threats seriously. Clearly the media wants to make everything 10x worse than it actually is.

This, this and more of this!
Watching TV, they make it seem like it's around the corner lurking

As we get more and more news about the Corona virus and we see some effect to the cruise industry I guess many people are asking what next and what they should do.
A disclaimer - I am not a doctor/nurse/biologist maybe a mild germophobe ? , what I describe here is only some of my thoughts.
1. Don't  panic !    - You can track the numbers and see that the number of infected is not growing exponentially  anymore on the last few days , that is a good sign , also the virus is not spreading too much outside of China . you can track it on this site  from John Hopkins university - https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
2. To cancel or not to cancel - If you are before the final payment you can do it if you feel like but if you passed this time I would not do anything beside making sure my air travel can be canceled and a travel insurance. If there will be any issue most likely Royal will cancel it and give you a refund while if you cancel before they announce anything you will just loose your money.
3. Prepare for the non expected - For the slight chance there will be any issues and you are taking any prescription medicine make sure you have enough with you for extra two more weeks , also , its always good to bring some prescriptions with you , just in case.  I would pack also few packs of  hand wash laundry detergent.
4. If you suffer from  anything like Asthma , make sure to take a letter from your doctor that describes it . Before you go to the port consider to use your inhaler (per the doctor advise). you do not want to be deny of boarding because the oximeter test due to your asthma and the fact you just carry out your suitcases from the car  ...
5. IF you fly , fly the day before , this is always a good advise but also due to the dry air in the aircraft many suffers from temporary symptoms that people might mistake for catching cold. 
6. Make sure your arrangements for your pets , kids (if your left them behind) and other arrangement can be easily extend.
7. Enjoy your cruise.
Any thought/ other advise ?

There is no Diamond Lounge shown on the deck plans for Quantum of the Seas on Royal's website or a couple others I just checked.  Did you look at those before booking your cruise?  What else do you think Royal should have done to inform you about what was available on the ship?
Quantum was designed for the Chinese market.  It has much more casino space (yes at the expense of the diamond lounge).  Not sure what else to tell you but research the ship before you book.

Welcome to the Blog!
We've cruised quite a bit in the Asia region in the past 6 years. Specifically out of Singapore, there was very little difference, past the superficial, to the "regular" Royal experience.
Off the top of my head, you'll see signage in Chinese around the ship, but always also in English. A larger percentage of the staff will be Chinese, but they will all still speak English. There will be regional food offerings in the MDR and Windjammer (yum!) but also classic western dishes.
As for the passengers, there will to be lots of Asians, of course (just like cruises out of Miami have tons of Floridians! ? ). There will be a lot of extended families/large groups, as cruises are marketed for reunion-style vacationing in the region.
Likely the only thing that may feel odd (if you're American/Australian particularly) is the whole personal space thing. We're used to in now, living over here, but initially it felt uncomfortable to me to have people standing right next to me all the time. Once you realize that it is totally normal and not at all rude or personal, you don't even notice it anymore. For example, in a crowded elevator -- in America, we avoid cramming what we consider too many people in an elevator, and as soon as one person leaves, everyone else spreads out to put as much distance as possible between everyone. This is "normal" for us. In much of Asia, as people leave the elevator no one moves. This is because "normal" is to get in and stand in your spot, staying still until it is time to go. Less jostling that way. Just a different perspective.
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, but you're going to love your cruise so don't worry! 

My favorite embarkation day lunch on Oasis class is the kummelwich sandwich at park cafe! I’ll be enjoying it one week from today. 

True story.
Friend (who just ordered a drink): what's he drinking that looks good.
Bartender: labadoozie.
Me: oh, that's yummy.
Friend: I'll take one.
Bartender: sorry, you cannot have two drinks at once.
Friend: okay, chugs drink. Can I have a labadoozie.
Bartender: Okay, coming right up.
So, no, they don't seem to have a time limit.

Here's a good article on price drops and how to take advantage of them: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/25/do-cruise-prices-drop

It appears that UK customers have to use the UK call centre and the agents seem to be more policy minded, I've even emailed them but still no joy.

Agree. Try calling again.  For each room, you should be able to move it as long as same category.  We did this both times with a guarantee room. Giot assigned a forward room and moved each to more central (different cruises).
So you should be able to move each...and if there happens to be 2 next to each other, or even closer in proximity of same category room, they should be able move the rooms.  But of course, this depends on availability.

I am by far no expert but have you tried calling a couple times (two or three times)? 
It seems like if you get the right rep they are more "accommodating". 
This is only our second cruise with RC but I've called enough times to learn that real fast.
All they can say is no but one of them might say yes if there is availability.

It has to do with the differences in law. I'm sure Royal would rather have just one policy. Maybe then their customer service reps could keep it all straight! ? But they have to accommodate the various quirks in all the countries.

Being a first time cruiser you might consider a different approach.  If you are like the vast majority on here you will probably cruise again.  Choose one specialty dining restaurant and give the MDR a chance.  Your menu for the MDR covers a lot of different foods that are really good.  Formal night is lobster night.  And remember you can choose as many things as you want and as much as you want. (including lobster)  Your chance to try some different foods,  like escargot.  I eat at a specialty restaurant on occasions and enjoy it but you already paid for the meals in the MDR,  Windjammer etc.