Quantum out of China

[Stephanie]

So ... question about the cruise from Shanghai to Japan on Quantum ...  My husband read reviews online that said the destination is amazing, but the fellow "local" passengers are rude (won't let you on the elevators, steal your food, pushy in lines, etc), the quality of the food is not your normal RCCL experience, nor are the shows up to RCCL par.  Have any of you been on this cruise?  Your experience?

[twangster]

In general I think that any cruise is going to be a cultural experience that reflects where the majority of the guest population comes from. 

Sometimes Europeans dislike cruising in North America on American cruise lines for this exact reason.  That was a major reason why MSC first brought ships here so that their customer base could have the same experience they get on MSC cruises in Europe.  In that case they marketed the ship to Europeans who would fly over and cruise the Caribbean.  The guest population had few Americans on board, only those that found the ship somehow and booked it.

With 4,500 Chinese guests and a handful of other nationalities on Quantum out of Shanghai I would expect it to be anything but an American experience.

One cultural difference is the personal sense of space.  I think it is more of a cultural norm in China, at least in the large cities, to find crowded elevators and transit systems.  I don't think it is a matter of them not letting you on the elevator so much as it is normal for them to jam pack an elevator to the point where Americans wouldn't feel comfortable getting on but it just how they live their lives at home everyday.  They are more aggressive in crowds because they have to be at home. 

Royal isn't trying to provide an American experience rather they are trying to provide a cultural experience that Chinese guests will feel comfortable with in their own country.  That is how they will create return guests who want to cruise more.  Spectrum for example was built for the Chinese market.  It was designed to suit this culture and reflect Chinese consumers with the goal of creating a loyal, local customer base. 

With this awareness I booked Spectrum and Quantum out of Singapore.  I'm not expecting a normal American experience but looking forward to more of an Asian experience without the full Chinese experience if I sailed out of Shanghai.

[Stephanie]

@twangster You bring up a good point.  I fully expect it to be a cultural experience.  Some of the reviews my husband read just really seemed to dampen the experience, but I think it's all in one's expectations.  We heard fellow passengers on our last cruise complaining about things that just baffled us that they would complain about.  I think some people are unhappy in life and cannot be pleased, no matter what.

 

[twangster]

Always be careful reading reviews from regular guests.  You never know what their expectation was or what their travel resume looks like. 

Some people don't travel well.  Even long time friends have sometimes turned into not so good travel mates at times.

Traveling around the world and expecting it be American everywhere is going to lead to disappointment yet some people do exactly that.  Other people embrace the cultural differences.

For me those differences are why I want to travel abroad.  If it will be very close to a home experience why bother sitting on airplane for a day to get there?

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

One cultural difference is the personal sense of space.  I think it is more of a cultural norm in China, at least in the large cities, to find crowded elevators and transit systems.  I don't think it is a matter of them not letting you on the elevator so much as it is normal for them to jam pack an elevator to the point where Americans wouldn't feel comfortable getting on but it just how they live their lives at home everyday.  They are more aggressive in crowds because they have to be at home. 

I can vouch for this !  ...and it's not a "Chinese" thing.  Asians, in general, do not have the same understanding of "personal space" that we Americans have.  Having lived in Asia for a number of years, I can tell you that it's just a cultural thing.  Nothing rude or malevolent intended, it's just " a thing" you lean to deal with in Asia.  This is 1 reason why I have never been in a huge hurry to do a cruise in the far east.   I absolutely LOVE Hong Kong and I would love to cruise out of there but I don't know if I could deal with all of that mania.  It's one of the things I LEAST enjoyed about Asia.