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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.

Royal Caribbean plan to overhaul Cape Liberty approved

In:
24 Jul 2013

Officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have approved a proposal by Royal Caribbean to redevelop the Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The Board of Commissioners approved the plan earlier tonight at a meeting.  The purpose of the proposal is to allow the port to handle Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, which will arrive in November 2014.

Port Authority Director Bill Baroni commented on the decision, "This new lease extension will bring to Bayonne one of the most modern cruise terminals in the country. Royal Caribbean is going to invest $50 million in the new terminal and two parking facilities for people going out of Bayonne."

Baroni believes Quantum of the Seas will also give Bayonne's economy a boost.

"This new terminal will help create jobs in construction and will have a long term economic benefits on our region.  When a ship like this calls a port that ship brings about $1 million a trip to the city in local economic activity. Once completed, the terminal is expected to bring in 600,000 people every year." 

Baroni did say that Royal Caribbean's proposal still needs to have its finances approved by the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority and once that happens, construction will begin in a few months.  The project should be completed by 2014 right before the new cruise ship arrives.

Royal Caribbean will fund the project in conjunction with the city of Bayonne, which would issue $70 million in bonds. 

Once completed, the new terminal will see passenger volume rise by 25 percent to 600,000 per year, according to Baroni.

Royal Caribbean proposes port overhaul to make way for Quantum of the Seas

In:
24 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean has proposed a plan to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to allow the cruise line to make significant changes to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey that would be needed for the arrival of Quantum of the Seas.

Quantum of the Seas, which is Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship and about to start construction, will be home ported in Bayonne.  The changes Royal Caribbean is proposing are aimed at accommodating the brand new ship, which arrives in late 2014.

The Port Authority's board of commissioners will vote on the plan later today.

Port Commerce director Richard Larrabee says the agency would lose about $1 million a year in rent at the cruise port. But he says that will be more than offset by increased passenger and parking revenue tied to the new ship.

Royal Caribbean preparing its cruise ships for new air pollution laws

In:
22 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean has been working hard, along with the rest of the cruise industry, to prepare its cruise ships for new air pollution rules set to go into effect in 2015.  The fear is these new laws will make North American cruises more expensive and so Royal Caribbean has been slowly rolling out a solution to its cruise ships that will aim to be compliant without being too expensive.

The new rules are part of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), which surrounds the United States and Canada and extends up to 200 miles offshore.

Royal Caribbean's plan is to add "scrubbers" to their ships.  Scrubbers remove pollutants from engine exhaust as a kind of filter.  The downside to scrubbers is the technology is still a work in progress and requires a variance permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Royal Caribbean is planning on installing scrubbers on Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas when they are built.  They've already been testing scrubbers on Liberty of the Seas and Independence of the Seas and the EPA has granted trial exemptions for six Royal Caribbean ships.   In addition, it has authorized an “emissions averaging” solution in certain subregions of the ECA in which Royal can use fuels with differing sulfur levels, as long as the average equivalent sulfur emissions meet the ECA limits.

Special Needs Group adds Royal Caribbean ships to its ship accessibility index

In:
15 Jul 2013

Special Needs Group has announced it is adding all accessible ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet to its Web portal/accessibility content resource.  Included in the index is Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, which launches in November 2014.

The Special Needs Group portal offers detailed cruise ship accessibility features and provides helpful information including:

  • Number of accessible staterooms
  • Accessible stateroom features
  • Food & Beverage venues accessibility
  • Recreational facilities accessibility
  • And more

The Royal Caribbean accessibility information launches today with sister brands Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises later this month.

For Quantum of the Seas, the portal lists 34 accessible staterooms, which have have wider doors, roll-in showers, grab bars and turning spaces.  The ship also features braille/tactile public room signage, amplified phones, lowered counters at select locations and more.

SNG President and CEO Andrew Garnett said, "By continuing to add ships/cruise lines to our accessibility content resource, we're reinforcing our corporate responsibility to help educate travel professionals, as well as the traveling public, that individuals with special needs have the ability to travel now more than ever before. The content that we create and provide is mainly informational as opposed to commercially-driven, allowing individuals with special needs to choose the most appropriate ship/cruise for them."

Report: Quantum of the Seas will visit Bermuda in 2015

In:
10 Jul 2013

The Bermuda Sun is reporting that Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship that is under construction, Quantum of the Seas, will make regular stops to Bermuda in 2015.

Last night a spokesperson from Bermuda said: “We have received an application from Royal Caribbean to deploy the Quantum of the Seas on a Bermuda itinerary for 2015 but no decision has been made."

“The Ministry is continuously working with our partners in the cruise industry to secure new itineraries for their ships.” 

As of now, Royal Caribbean is only allowing bookings on Quantum of the Seas through April 2015, but itineraries after April 2015 have yet to be announced.

Bringing Quantum of the Seas to Bermuda is a boon for the local economy, with up to 4,180 passengers descending onto the island to put money into the local economy.  It's especially good news after Royal Caribbean cut back the number of cruises going to Bermuda in 2013 by 11.

Quantum of the Seas will sail out of Port Liberty in New Jersey and replace Explorer of the Seas.

Keel being laid for Quantum of the Seas

In:
09 Jul 2013

Keen eyes have spotted what appears to be the beginning stages of laying the keel for Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas cruise ship at the Meyer Werft shipyard.  Meyer Werft provides a web cam to track the progress of their ship construction and a web cam that was pointed at a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship under construction appears to have caught sight Quantum of the Seas' keel.

The timing sounds about right for Meyer Werft to begin construction on Quantum of the Seas. We had heard her keel was expected to be laid on August 5.

The process of keel laying is basically the joining of the first modular blocks of the cruise ship and is the ceremonial beginning of the ship's life.

Do you think this is the first building block for Quantum of the Seas?

Royal Caribbean CEO hints at more Quantum of the Seas details

In:
02 Jul 2013

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein posted a new question and answer post on his blog and not surprisingly, many questions were about Quantum of the Seas.  We haven't heard much in the way of new details about this brand new class of cruise ships, but today we got a few more tidbits.

One guest asked Goldstein what was the the biggest motivating factor behind Quantum of the Seas.  

Goldstein responded, "With every new ship class our focus is on providing an enriched guest experience. In addition to that, the Quantum class of ships gave us an opportunity to introduce major advancements in ship design. Our internal teams have worked hard to integrate many diverse experiences into a comfortable and exciting cruise vacation. The newbuild design process has been a fundamental building block of our culture as I discussed in a blog article earlier this year."

Another question was posed about if the Schooner Bar will exist on Quantum of the Seas.  Fans of this fun bar will be happy to know Goldstein confirmed that the Schooner Bar will indeed be onboard Quantum of the Seas.

Top Five Coolest Things about Quantum of the Seas

In:
01 Jul 2013

We're still over a year away from Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, sailing on her inaugural journey but already there's a lot to talk about.  And when it comes to new cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's mission is to "wow" its customers and we've found the top five ways Royal Caribbean is going to do just that once Quantum of the Seas starts sailing.

Virtual Balconies

Until now, inside staterooms were always regarded as the least-desirable accommodations for a cruise because, among other reasons, there was no view to enjoy.  On Quantum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean is adding 80-inch LCD screens to some inside staterooms that will display images from outside the ship and give passengers the feel of having a view.

The screens will be broadcasting real time images of the ocean or port so passengers can feel like they are experiencing what their fellow passengers in balcony staterooms do as well.  In addition, the room will feel a little bigger with the optical illusion of the virtual balcony.  All that's missing is the ocean breeze!

North Star

Just looking at Quantum of the Seas, one of the first things everyone notices is the large pod attached to a giant arm on top of the cruise ship.  This observation pod, known as North Star, will allow passengers to go up in the sky above the cruise ship 300 feet above the sea.

First, North Star is something we've never seen on any other cruise ship, Royal Caribbean or otherwise.  Second, being able to survey the area around your ship, especially in port, will really add another dimension of fun to your vacation.  From now on, no set of vacation photos will be complete without the obligatory photos from high atop North Star.

Bumper Cars

When it comes to doing things on a cruise ship you never thought possible, riding on bumper cars was probably one of them.  Well, Royal Caribbean is taking care of that by offering bumper car rides in their new entertainment complex known as SeaPlex onboard Quantum of the Seas.

In addition to roller skating and sports throughout the day, bumper cars will be the highlight activity available to passengers who want to try something new on a cruise ship.  While bumper cars on land are fun, riding bumper cars at sea is bound to be even more fun just because it's something new.

RipCord

Speaking of things you never thought were going to be possible on a cruise ship, how about sky diving?  Since I would never have the guts to try the real thing (airplanes are for flying, not jumping out of), the new RipCord skydiving simulator sounds like the perfect way to experience the sensation of skydiving without the risk.

Powered by iFly, RipCord promises to let the rest of us feel like we're 10,000 feet in the air.   Following the success of the surf simulator known as FlowRider, RipCord will add another sports thrill for guests to try out and I'm really looking forward to taking the plunge.

Two70

When Royal Caribbean announced their multi-purpose venue called Two70, I imagined a meeting of ideas for what to add to Quantum of the Seas and the two best ideas were a great lounge with a beautiful view and the other was an onboard entertainment show that we've never seen before but there was only space for one. So the idea for Two70 was born; during the day, it's a hip lounge with great views of the ocean while at night, it transforms into a stage for some great acrobatic entertainment.

Transforming one space to offer two very different forms of entertainment is pretty darn cool and if you look at the concept art for Two70, this area is not going to be just another room onboard Quantum of the Seas.  It looks beautiful during the day and night and it also looks quite massive.  I'm excited already to have a drink in the afternoon here and then plan on returning at night to see the show.

Royal Loft with Balcony

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and after seeing concept art for the Royal Loft on Quantum of the Seas, I'm ready to start saving my pennies for a chance to stay here.  The loft stateroom was first introduced on Oasis and Allure of the Seas and now we're seeing just how amazing a loft idea can be.

There's something to be said about having a stateroom with multiple floors, a massive window and a really large balcony.  I'm not a one-percenter by any means, but I could really get used to cruising in a cabin like this because, well, it just looks amazing.  I guess the only problem with staying in a Royal Loft suite is you'd be tempted to never leave your room!

Experience it with us!

These cool additions to Quantum of the Seas sound pretty cool, right?  Why not experience them for yourself aboard Quantum of the Seas with the Royal Caribbean group cruise aboard Quantum of the Seas!  We're planning a special sailing on March 21, 2015 and we're inviting you to join us.  Get more information right here and see all these cool things for yourself!

Kristen Chenoweth performs at Sydney Opera House for Royal Caribbean guests

In:
20 Jun 2013

Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas godmother Kristen Chenoweth performed on Monday night at the Sydney Opera House for Royal Caribbean and guests.

''It was a dream come true to perform the special material that I created just for my Australian tour last night at Sydney's Opera House and it was a thrill to have special guests of Royal Caribbean in the audience," Chenoweth said.

Chenoweth recently co-hosted the grand reveal of Quantum of the Seas in New York and has become associated with Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship.

"I am so excited to be godmother of Quantum of the Seas and hope to see lots of my Aussie fans on board when she launches in the US next year," Chenoweth said.

Chenoweth took time to pose with Royal Caribbean commercial director for Australia, Adam Armstrong, backstage.

Royal Caribbean plans transatlantic cruise for new Quantum of the Seas

In:
07 Jun 2013

Royal Caribbean's brand new Quantum of the Seas will offer an inaugural transatlantic cruise on November 2, 2014 out of Southampton, England.

The eight-night cruise was announced today by Royal Caribbean and will go leave from Southampton on its way to Bayonne, New Jersey, where it will arrive on November 10.

The cost for the transatlantic first starts at $1049 per person and is on sale now.

Quantum of the Seas will be the first of three Quantum-class ships, none of which are built yet.  Quantum of the Seas will make her debut in November 2014, with sister cruise ships Anthem of the Seas following in spring 2015 and a third, unnamed Quantum class ship in mid-2016.