Quantum Transpacific Northbound April 2025 Review

twangster · May 10

Twenty three nights on Quantum of the Seas including Brisbane, Sydney, Picton, Wellington, Auckland, Papeete, Moorea, Raiatea and Hawaii.

I am writing this review in May having arrived back home in Florida. Twenty three nights is a long time to take off from work and with so many sea days on this journey I decided to make this a working cruise. That ended up working out really well but it left little time to post this thread live so I am posting it all from the future, of the cruise, in the past, tense that is, which will become a recurring theme managing the date and time difference with the US as I worked remotely during the voyage.

The transpacific cruise by itself was 21 nights. I added a 2 night repositioning cruise before it to make it a total of 23 nights.

I don't see a lot of transpacific reviews or trip reports so I thought this could help fill in that void.

I've been waiting to post this here as @mashley1021 has been posting live from Quantum's voyage from Hawaii to Vancouver occurring after my cruise. I didn't want to steal her thunder or cause confusion posting this now historical account of Quantum's Transpacific from Australia to Hawaii. You can check out her most excellent thread here:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/52355-hawaii-is-calling-quantum-of-the-seas-42825/

twangster · May 10

Background

I was originally booked on Ovation of the Seas for several in a row all the way through to the US mainland. When Ovation was redeployed to Singapore they moved displaced Ovation guests over to Quantum. We went from nineteen nights to twenty one nights frozen at our lower Ovation cruise fare. They changed Quantum's departure port from Brisbane to Sydney in the process since that is where Ovation sailed from. I had booked this before cruise fares went crazy and now with twenty one nights for the price of nineteen? That was a major win.

I have some friends in Brisbane so I decided to add the two night Brisbane to Sydney repositioning cruise before the Sydney transpacific making this twenty three nights. I have visited Australia before and cruised from Sydney to New Zealand on Ovation. Spending a few days in Brisbane before the cruise would allow me to explore a different part of Australia. Now it became a win-win.

I like Quantum class so it doesn't take very much to convince me to book one. On my previous trip to Australia I learned how costly it is to fly round trip between the US and Australia especially if you desire to upgrade out of economy on the plane ride. A benefit of sailing a transpacific is that you don't need round trip airfare all the way to and from Australia. Instead some of that round trip airfare money can be put towards the transpacific cruise fare. All you need is a one way international plane ticket and more time.

That being said the new Quantum Hawaii to Vancouver cruise with Maui unavailable wasn't that attractive to keep compared to the original Ovation Hawaii cruise I had booked. They would price protect us but there were fewer nights and fewer ports of call. They also transferred that Hawaii cruise from Ovation to Quantum so I cancelled it for a refund of my deposit and decided to fly home from Honolulu which is a domestic flight at a reasonable cost.

twangster · May 10

A transpacific has long been on my bucket list so this was my first. The ports in New Zealand had just one duplicate port with my last New Zealand cruise and with three new stops in French Polynesia a lot of this cruise would be new to me. I liked that. As it turns some of the port stops were over weekends so that meant I didn't need to take as much time off work since I can work remotely on sea days.

Cruise #1

Sun 06 April 2025 Brisbane, Australia - 04:30 PM Boarding
Mon 07 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Tue 08 April 2025 Sydney, Australia 06:30 AM - Departure

Cruise #2

Tue 08 April 2025 Sydney, Australia - 05:00 PM Boarding
Wed 09 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Thu 10 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 11 April 2025 Picton, New Zealand 11:00 AM 08:00 PM Docked
Sat 12 April 2025 Wellington, New Zealand 07:00 AM 06:30 PM Docked
Sun 13 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Mon 14 April 2025 Auckland, New Zealand 07:30 AM 06:30 PM Docked
Tue 15 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 16 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 16 April 2025 International Dateline - - Cruising
Thu 17 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 18 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sat 19 April 2025 Papeete, Tahiti 08:00 AM 11:59 PM Docked
Sun 20 April 2025 Moorea, French Polynesia 08:00 AM 08:00 PM Tendered
Mon 21 April 2025 Raiatea, French Polynesia 07:00 AM 05:00 PM Tendered
Tue 22 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Wed 23 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Thu 24 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Fri 25 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sat 26 April 2025 Cruising - - Cruising
Sun 27 April 2025 Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 07:00 AM - Docked
Mon 28 April 2025 Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii - - Departure

Australia has laws regarding smoking inside and these are enforced on cruise ships sailing from Australian ports. On this cruise the interior smoking ban remained in effect for the full voyage all the way to Hawaii.

Twenty three nights of smoke free bliss.

twangster · May 10

Flights

I found a very reasonable business class ticket from Florida to Sydney flying on ANA through Japan. Later when I added the two night Brisbane cruise the airfare had doubled so it was cheaper to leave my ANA airfare alone and book a separate short domestic flight from Sydney to Brisbane. I ended up liking the ANA routing and layover in Haneda as it broke up the flight, gave me a chance to shower in the airport lounge and the impact from the time change was more gradual and therefore more manageable by the time I reached Brisbane. By breaking it down to more flight legs over time it was easier on my body. Plus lay flay seats are the only way to go when flying long haul international and the cost for business class direct to Sydney was pretty expensive.

On the plane ride from Haneda to Sydney we flew over the Great Barrier reef. While the best parts weren't on my side of the plane it was cool to look down and see it from 41,000 feet.

I promise my photos will get better as this continues.

Arriving into Sydney the customs process was easy and the transfer from the international terminal to the domestic terminal was simple following the signs to the free shuttle bus.

Australia still allows non-passengers to go through security so my friend met me at the gate in Brisbane as I deplaned. Super easy.

My cell service is with US Mobile which includes Japan, Australia and New Zealand plus many other countries. ANA included free internet with business class so I could stay connected for the entire journey.

The return from Honolulu to Florida was domestic on Delta. Being purely domestic it was much more reasonable compared to a long haul from Australia to Florida.

twangster · May 10

Brisbane

My friends live just outside of the Brisbane city limits. After taking them out for dinner it was time to head to bed.

The next day they took me to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. You can't visit Australia without seeing Koalas and Kangaroos!

So cute!

They warned me to keep an eye out for drop bears. Fortunately non presented themselves during my visit.

First time feeding a Kangaroo using the Roo food acquired at the sanctuary. These things have incredible teeth and claws. Note to self - don't ever upset a Kangaroo.

twangster · May 10

Many other species here as well.

There are some weird looking animals in Australia!

We did some other Brisbane sightseeing as well.

Later that evening it was off to a Broncos game. The Brisbane Broncos in the NRL that is.

Still not fully on Australia time it was late but a thoroughly enjoyable night. Broncos won! Time for bed.

twangster · May 10

Cruise Day!

My friends are loyal Royal cruisers who had just gotten off Quantum having completed several consecutive cruises to wrap up the Australia cruise season the day I arrived. As frequent cruisers their car pretty much drove itself to the port albeit on the wrong side of the road.

The cruise terminal in Brisbane is nice but a bit of a drive from downtown.

Boarding had already started so it was very quick through the regular boarding day steps. I will say that security was very particular, even more so than the security at the Sydney domestic airport terminal, requiring anything electronic, anything at all, to come out of my backpack. It was more thorough than the airport security in the US, Japan and Australia. At least I know we will be safe on board!

twangster · May 10

I have sailed on Quantum to Alaska and three other sister ships in this class so I was already comfortable with the ship. I had received an email letting me know as a Pinnacle I had made the list for access to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen. The top forty are given access to manage the numbers and save space for suite guests. I headed to Coastal Kitchen to make dinner reservations. Night one is still the Filet night so how could I resist?

Given that I made the booking for the two night repo cruise not long before the sail date I had a different cabin compared to my cabin for the transpacific. With only two nights I didn't unpack my suitcase for the first cruise.

Cabin 7244 - 2D balcony

twangster · May 10

The Brisbane cruise terminal as seen from the ship:

twangster · May 10

I took a quick nap and woke up just as we were sailing away. Quick shower and off to Coastal Kitchen for dinner.

I already knew I made the list for the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen access on the transpacific so I made Coastal Kitchen dinner reservation on select nights. I didn't want to book all twenty three nights in Coastal Kitchen figuring that by picking select nights there would be some time slots available for Sea class or Junior Suite guests as well. On other nights I'd have a burger in The Pub or eat in the Windjammer. There is no shortage of food on a cruise.

twangster · May 10

Later that night...

The Instant Reward Casino offers are different down under. There is no short versus long offers, there is only one list for any cruise from Australia.

Ah. Smell that smoke free casino air!

twangster · May 10

Day Two (A)

Day two is a sea day as we sail down the coast from Brisbane to Sydney. It was a beautiful day with lots of sun. At times we could make out the Australian coast on the starboard side.

Still not on Aussie time I was up early, working.

The sun rises from the bottom down under!

twangster · May 10

A consecutive cruiser letter let me know the exact process was still to be determined by the Australian Border Force. We were to meet in the theater the next morning where we get our new Sea Pass cards and more details how ABF would process us. The consecutive cruiser letter had a specific time to arrive at the theater and they would be enforcing this time. No need to be early.

Mandatory NZeTA check for consecutive cruisers.

twangster · May 10

Day Three / Day One (B)

Sydney and the end of cruise #1.

An early arrival into Sydney.

twangster · May 10

Overcast with rain forecast.

No Godzilla! Don't attack Sydney!

twangster · May 10

Someone is getting blocked!

Newly minted Diamonds in the making.

In the theater waiting...

New Sea Pass card, In Transit card and my passport. One of these would be a massive time saver later.

In the theater they asked if we had planned to get off to explore or planned to get back on board right away. Forecast was rain and the weather radar didn't look promising. Thirty or so of us chose to wait in the theater and re-board immediately. ABF would require the ship reach zero count much like CBP does in the US but we were informed we would be processed and return to the ship immediately.

There were several pages for two guests failing to disembark. We all waited for them to be found.

Finally it was our turn. Away we went...

ABF and the Intercruise agents in the terminal had a different plan. We were marched to an elevator and then outside to join the masses waiting to board. It was a sea of people but fortunately the light rain observed earlier had stopped.

So now we are outside in GenPop.

twangster · May 10

When ABF gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Having sailed from Sydney before and knowing the area I decided to walk over the Sydney Harbor Bridge to get some photos of Quantum in Sydney. I already knew the route, it's pretty easy with elevators in places where there are stairs if you need a lift.

A constant flow of ferries in and out.

twangster · May 10

I figured I might as well have a local beer or two and some lunch while I waited.

twangster · May 10

Enough time had passed that the boarding process had commenced.

Fortunately we had been given an In Transit card which was like a magic fast pass into and through the Overseas Passenger Terminal. It couldn't have been easier with a dedicated entrance, ABF and security queues. It was really easy.

With that I was back on board enjoying a beverage in the pub waiting for cabins to become available.

twangster · May 10

Cabin 6128 - Category 5D Balcony

Technically as a 3 person cabin I didn't qualify for this cabin being solo but since they moved me from Ovation and on Ovation this is a 4D cabin, I was allowed to keep it.

I like the location of these cabins and that they are directly over the ocean. No walkways, lifeboats or anything else between you and the view to the sea straight down. They are super convenient and down one flight of stairs to deck five and Schooner Bar. Down one more deck to the Theater and Esplanade. Very convenient.

Two bottles of water courtesy of the CAS for a 21 night cruise. I'll need to ration them carefully.

twangster · May 10

Sail away from Sydney is usually pretty great unless it's pouring rain but fortunately the forecast had turned out to be wrong much of the day and we had a pleasant departure.

An exclusive CAS event tonight.

With that our adventure had begun.

twangster · May 10

Day Two (B)

I have chosen to label the replicating days as A or B since that is how Royal is handling our crossing of the international date line. A letter in our cabin explains we will have a day nine A and a day nine B, both occurring on April 16, 2025.

We now have two sea days to cross the Tasman Sea on the way to our next port of call, Picton New Zealand.

In addition to the NZeTA travel authorization app that is required to visit New Zealand there is also a separate app or website for the purpose of making a customs declaration. Deciding I didn't need or want another app with another account, I just used the website. Fortunately I have a Voom internet plan but for those that don't they did have crew available to assist guests who are having issues with this requirement. I don't recall having to do this a few years ago so I am guessing it's new, at least to me.

twangster · May 10

Here is a time mind bender from my arrival in Australia.

When I landed in Sydney flying in from Tokyo a couple of days ago it was one hour different from Brisbane. Upon taking off from Sydney enroute to Brisbane I moved my watch by one hour so my watch would be correct when I landed.

When I boarded the ship in Brisbane on our way to Sydney I was expecting we would change time on board. We didn't. Yet when we arrived in Sydney we were on the same time.

twangster · May 10

Day Three (B)

Neglected to mention there were time changes on night 1 and night 2 of cruise #2. There will be more time changes on day 8 and 9B.

Given our two time changes so far we are now on New Zealand time.

Slight motion due to minor swell. It's a lot like standing on an airport train or subway with subtle back and forth motion once in a while.

Fortunately motion doesn't tend to bother me until it is severe which is why I don't mind being so far forward on deck 6. I actually enjoy a slight rocking to sleep.

CAS Top Tier in the Theater.

705 Gold
362 Platinum
173 Emerald
544 Diamond
542 Diamond Plus
111 Pinnacle

13 Aussie Pinnacle
16 Canadian Pinnacle
9 UK Pinnacle
1 French Pinnacle
72 US Pinnacle
7 new Pinnacle this cruise

Top cruiser is from Australia with 3,354 points.

Captain claims there are over 18 million CAS members worldwide.

Due to the high numbers of D+ and P, D members are not allowed in the Crown Lounge during the evening happy hour. There was someone on duty every night checking sea pass cards. This is becoming common on high top tier cruises such as transatlantic, transpacific, Panama Canal and so on.

In other news I came to the realization I under packed warm clothing for the New Zealand portion so I dropped by the logo store to find a full zip hoodie on sale.

twangster · May 10

Beautiful sunset tonight.

twangster · May 10

Day Four

Picton, New Zealand

With Picton positioned on the top of the South Island we enter the gap between the North and South Islands then sailed down Queen Charlotte sound to reach Picton. It's very beautiful.

I love on the older Q class ship the suite sun deck allows you to quickly move from side to side. On various trips on this class I've used this area extensively for great photos. On Odyssey this is a Teen club area.

twangster · May 10

Dolphins on the port side.

Eventually we reach Picton where we do a 180 and reverse into the cargo slip. Free shuttle busses will take us into town.

Water cannon welcome.

A time lapse of our transit into and through Queen Charlotte Sound.

The cargo port with wood exports being readied for shipment to China.

WAAAYTOOO · May 10

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a Q class ship….is that 5D balcony deeper than normal or are all of the balconies that deep on a Q class ship?

twangster · May 10

2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a Q class ship….is that 5D balcony deeper than normal or are all of the balconies that deep on a Q class ship?

I think they are all the same but I didn't bring a measuring tape

twangster · May 10

My excursion is Scenic Cruise and Queen Charlotte Track Hike booked through the ship. I'm very grateful I bought that hoodie. Out here on the cool Pacific waters of New Zealand it's quite chilly. Some guests, like me, did not come prepared for this.

A guide walked around to illustrate where were going.

A twenty five minute boat ride over to Mistletoe Bay.

We broke into three groups each with a guide and headed around a short hike. As hikes go it's what I would consider easy but for anyone with less mobility you'll want to consider if this is an appropriate excursion for you. I wore running shoes without issue so it's not like hiking boots were required.

It was a pleasant hike and an informative guide who knew a lot about the flora and fauna of the area.

After a 90 minute slow paced hike we boarded the boat to make our way back to Picton.

The excursion bus dropped us off near the small boat harbor where our scenic cruise began but this is not where the cruise ship shuttle bus operates from. I could have gotten off the scenic cruise and jumped on the waiting bus but I wanted to walk around a little. Read the instructions carefully and map out where you need to go to reach the main cruise shuttle bus, it's a fifteen minute walk from the boat harbor.

We depart from Picton and sail out of Queen Charlotte sound across to Wellington. This will take several hours much of which is in the dark. Wellington is at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand.

I upgraded my phone for this trip to enjoy a better camera and I'm still exploring it's capabilities.

Not terrible for a handheld phone from my balcony.

twangster · May 10

Day Five

Wellington, New Zealand

Today's excursion is Zealandia Sanctuary and Cable Car Experience.

First we arrive into Wellington to clear skies and no wind. That's pretty much unheard of in Wellington, it's a very windy city. This is the only port duplicated from my last New Zealand cruise when on that occasion it was windy.

First we'll do the cable car which is not really a cable car any longer but now a funicular. This has been around for a long time and been through several iterations of cable cars over the years.

Once cleared as a group we mixed into the general population boarding the uphill service to the top. As you approach the boarding area the line divides two ways boarding the same car from both ends. I chose the lower end hoping to get a view downhill as we go uphill.

Our driver will bring the bus to the top and we will board it there on our way to the next stop. Until then we have time to ride the cable car and check out the museum and grounds at the top.

I captured a video of the ride going up, while looking down towards the waterfront. I sped up the video to save time watching it.

twangster · May 10

Here are some photos from the top. There is a cable car museum and great views of the city.

twangster · May 10

The next stop is Zealandia Sanctuary.

New Zealand didn't really have any mammals before some were brought my man. Without mammals native species lived hundreds of years ago without their presence. Not knowing what these strange mammals were when they arrived many species were wiped out.

Zealandia is a project to create a sanctuary walled off from non-native species including mammals so that truly native species can flourish as their world once was before man brought new species and mammals to New Zealand. They have been able to breed up species nearly wiped out. It's a 500 year project because there are some species of trees that take that long to grow full cycle.

This wall goes the entire way around Zealandia keeping any mammals from entering.

It's a pretty fascinating project.

Our guide escorted us around various trails and paths narrating frequently.

To be honest I booked this excursion for the cable car experience but this turned out to be a pleasant and fascinating stop to compliment the cable car.

twangster · May 10

Day Six

A sea day sailing up the coast of New Zealand to reach Auckland.

I worked. Boring.

twangster · May 10

Quantum is such a beautiful ship.

twangster · May 10

Day Seven

Auckland, New Zealand.

Auckland is located deep within a broad bay of sorts so we are within New Zealand's territorial waters for many hours before arriving to and after departing the city. As such many onboard retail and casino venues are closed long before we arrive and well after we depart.

Our progress so far...

We arrived early in the morning to the bright lights of this big city on the horizon.

twangster · May 10

Today we would be berthed at a cargo pier with massive cranes hovering over us.

Now if they offered driving this shipping container mover as an excursion I'd sign up in a heartbeat.

My excursion today was the Auckland Bridge Climb. Now seeing the bridge in the distance it didn’t look that impressive. Oh well, might as well go with it.

During my 2020 visit to Australia I did the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb and thoroughly enjoyed it so this looked like a great excursion to try for this visit. I booked the 8:30am time slot hoping to have free time in the afternoon to explore Auckland on my own but that wasn’t how this day was going to play out. I received a letter moving my meeting time to 11:30am. Okay, no big deal, I’ll still have a few hours to self explore.

twangster · May 10

At 11:30am we left the ship as a group and boarded a bus to drive to the bridge. Since this is a cargo port only approved ship provided buses are allowed to move guests within the port area.

At the bridge the tour operator has a small shop. There we were fitted with a harness and a jumpsuit or coveralls plus a helmet. You can’t bring anything with you as they don’t want something falling on a car causing a crash. Photos and video taken by our guide would be provided through a website URL at the conclusion. Everything went into a locker.

The company that runs the bridge climb also has other adrenaline based activities such as bungee jumping from the bridge. Other groups that were not from the ship were being fitted for their own adventures as we waited. We would see them again later.

The following photos and a video were captured by the guide and provided to us included in the excursion price.

Much like the Sydney bridge climb you are tethered to the bridge as you walk along the steel walkways under the road deck of the bridge. Once we were closer to the center of the bridge we would climb up onto the top of bridge, spend some time at the top then return similarly to how we came.

We were fitted with an earpiece so that everyone could hear the guide who led us on this adventure.

As we walked he would provide history and data about the bridge and the city. We stopped briefly once we reached an area directly opposite the bungee jumping platform so we could watch the victims, I mean participants, do a bungee jump. Discounts were offered if we wished to add a jump after our tour. No one from our group accepted.

The bridge has lasted beyond its intended operational lifespan so new tunnels are being explored as a replacement for this aging bridge. At some point in the not so distant future it will be gone. It’s a great time to climb a piece of history.

Great views from the top!

That's Quantum in the distance.

Here is the video they provided, posted with permission:

We didn't do the bungee jump but watched the folks in this video do it.

It was an amazing excursion and I’m really glad I did it.

twangster · May 10

But wait, there’s more…. The transportation company forgot about us.

To be clear I booked this excursion through Royal Caribbean. We met in the theater as instructed. They provided the transportation to the activity.

The folks at the activity company were great but this was out of their hands, they weren’t responsible for the transportation part as the port is a cargo port and only ship provided busses can pick up and drop off guests within the port.

After 60 minutes of hearing mixed comments from the receptionist... “They’re sending taxis”, “…maybe they found a bus”, “No, taxis are coming” but nothing was happening. So I emailed the HD back on the ship. Francois replied immediately and he got working on it from his end. Around 90 minutes after we were supposed to be picked up a bus finally arrived. There goes my free time to explore Auckland.

This is why I always like having a data plan for my phone no matter where I go. I am so glad I had data coverage in New Zealand. Even for a ship provided excursion, the ship uses local operators who sometimes screw up.

Despite the break down on the part of the transportation company it was still a great excursion that I’ll remember fondly for a long time. Now I have an excuse to book another visit to Auckland - to explore the city. The ship did provide a partial refund as compensation.