F1guynz

On our Anthem sailing in March next year Royal is offering a 10 night dining package which I have not seen before. It is only slightly cheaper than the unlimited dining package so the pricing does not quite make sense. In NZD unlimited is $665pp. Sticking with the unlimited dining.

I am not sure what is the maximum size of cruise ship that could visit Fiji. I know Princess and Carnival both go there as well as Celebrity. My soft spot is for Independence class as it is slightly bigger than Voyager and has a good mix of amenities on the ship. The main reason I think Quantum is overrated is because when you dig a little deeper the attractions are more flashy than substantive. Once you have North Star there is no compulsion to do it again, the bumper cars are okay, the iFly was okay but I don’t bother doing it anymore. Apart from Wonderland the other restaurants also okay but Izumi feels like you are sitting in a corridor. I miss the ice shows and mini golf. I realise this is all subjective as others may love the iFly. Having stayed in the RLS suite twice on Quantum I will say this was a highlight.

@twangster i was hoping maybe they would do one or two cruises to Fiji or Samoa as Celebrity goes there but it does make the cruise slightly longer. Also to be fair that does sail from NZ which Royal has not done for many years. Not sure if it would be viable from Brisbane. I think there was also some hope there might be Lepepa on the itinerary but that is more likely for the 27/28 season if the construction gets under way.

I thought the pricing looked pretty good on Quantum but I am interested in seeing Singapore also. Its really hard to get away from Quantum class ships which are my least favourite.

New cruises for Australia out now. Usual ports of call on Quantum and Anthem with no new ports that I can see.

One issue is they never tender Oasis ships because of their size so that would severely limit the itineraries.

Oasis of the Seas is 15 years old. I would take that one.

We have cruised lots of different Royal ship classes and sailed on Quantum 3x and Ovation 2x, and to be honest I really dislike Quantum class compared to the others. I think Freedom class offers great value for money, especially as it is unlikely we will see an Oasis class. The main reason I dislike Q class is when you break down what you can do on the ship, they just not as satisfying as other classes, no ice show, no mini golf and the North Star and and IFly are underwhelming and pricey on non port days. On our last cruise in February the iFly was out of order and it didn’t sound like it would be fixed until it returns to the U.S. The Flow Rider was also fault and only one side could be used. The main positive for Q are the dining venues and the amazing staff. I was hoping Navigator would be based out of Brisbane as it would be a refreshing change.

Most machines in the casino seem to be high volatility but I did find one Top Dollar slot which was low to medium volatility and picked up $80. People are enticed by the flashy machines and high jackpots so games like Top Dollar are usually free and you can play them for a long time without damaging the bankroll too much. I do like my DD as I did quite well on Harmony when I first played it. That is why I sought it out on Quantum. (Thanks Harmony)

I won the Grand jackpot on DD playing .88 cent bets so it can be done. i tried Rakin Bacon but that was not very friendly at all, clearly the pig does not like to be popped.

I won a bit with them on Harmony so I seeked them out on Quantum. There are only 4 on the ship and they are popular so was lucky to get a seat.

After tonight, Dancing Drums is my favourite slot in the casino. On Quantum tonight and won the grand jackpot, my first ever jackpot win in any casino. @CHRIS WONG is the casino host on this trip, so I think I will have to cruise with him more often for good luck.

I’m on Quantum now and it is full. The port staff have said it has been sailing full, maybe they are discounting to fill it. The iFly is out of service this cruise as there is a mechanical issue and one side of the flow rider is not working. It was replaced in dry dock but the new one is not functioning as expected.

I think it is Anthem and Navigator for us in 26/27

I haven’t tried because now that my two devices are switchable I don’t get the option to enter the code on the second device. Same with Anita’s because hers is switchable on her account. I need a 3rd device to test against lol.