Preceded by Oasis class Building 0 | Succeeded by Icon class Planned 5 | |
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Builders Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany Operators Royal Caribbean International | ||
Quantum class is a class of cruise ships from Royal Caribbean International, previously known by the code name Project Sunshine. The Quantum-class ships surpass the earlier Freedom-class ships by over 14,000 GT, becoming the second largest class of passenger ships behind Royal Caribbean International's Oasis class ships on a gross tonnage basis. The first two ships of this class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas were delivered in November 2014 and April 2015, respectively. The third ship, Ovation of the Seas, was delivered in April 2016.
Contents
- History
- Design
- Staterooms
- Features
- The Royal Theater
- Two70
- SeaPlex
- The Music Hall
- Dining
- Complimentary
- Additional fee
- References
Quantum of the Seas spent its inaugural 2014-2015 season sailing from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, United States, before repositioning to China in May 2015. Beginning late June 2015, the ship began sailing three- to eight-night itineraries year-round from Shanghai to Japan and South-Korea. Anthem of the Seas spent its inaugural 2015 season sailing from Southampton, Hampshire, UK, before repositioning to Cape Liberty in November 2015. Ovation of the Seas will have Sydney as its home port, sailing Australian and New Zealand itineraries in the summer of 2016-17. In May 2015, Royal Caribbean signed an agreement to build a fourth Quantum class ship and agreed to build a fifth ship in November of the same year.
History
On February 11, 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that they had ordered the first of a new class of ships from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany scheduled to be delivered by Fall 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine". Later that year, two 20.5-megawatt ABB Azipod XO propulsion units were ordered for that ship. On February 29, 2012 the company announced that a second "Project Sunshine" ship had been ordered and would be delivered by Spring 2015, and ordered identical Azipod propulsion units shortly thereafter. Just under a year later, on January 31, 2013, steel cutting for the first ship began with a silhouette of the ship being cut by laser. The same day, Royal Caribbean announced the official name of the new class of ships, Quantum Class, as well as the names of the first two ships in the class, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas. These names were among a series of names that Royal Caribbean had filed for trademarks on in late 2012, including Passion of the Seas, Vantage of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, and the Pulse of the Seas (these other trademarks were abandoned as of January 2014). Details on the major features of Quantum of the Seas were announced on April 16, 2013.
On May 30, 2013, Royal Caribbean announced that they had signed a contract with Meyer Werft for a third Quantum-class ship for delivery mid-2016 and that an option existed for a fourth ship in 2017, although a decision was made in January 2014 not to exercise the option for the fourth ship. On September 18, 2014, the name of the third Quantum-class ship was announced to be Ovation of the Seas.
On May 7, 2015, Royal Caribbean entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft for a fourth Quantum-class ship for delivery in 2019, subject to financing and other conditions.
On November 3, 2015, Royal Caribbean entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft for a fifth Quantum-class ship for delivery in 2020.
Design
The Quantum-class represented a different direction for Royal Caribbean. The Voyager and Freedom-class designs evolved into the Oasis class which was considered the pinnacle in terms of scale and facilities. By contrast, the Quantum-class lineage is closer to that of the Radiance-class which was designed for cruising in cooler climates; the Quantum-class is smaller than the preceding Oasis class as the Radiance-class is smaller than the earlier Voyager-class. Although not RCI's largest ship, the Quantum-class pioneers several new innovations to the cruise line.
Staterooms
Quantum-class ships have 16 passenger-accessible decks, 8 of which feature balcony staterooms overlooking the ocean. Like the Celebrity Solstice class, those staterooms above the life boats are recessed into the superstructure and don't look down directly at the ocean. There are a total of 2,090 staterooms: 1,570 balcony staterooms, 147 ocean-view staterooms, and 373 inside staterooms. Of those staterooms, 34 are wheelchair accessible and 28 are studio staterooms for single travelers (including 12 studio staterooms with balconies). All aft-facing staterooms are 2-story "loft" suites. Expanding on the "Virtual Porthole" concept introduced by Disney Cruise Line on the Disney Dream, all the interior staterooms feature a floor-to-ceiling 80-inch high-definition TV screen showing live views from the outside of the ship, which Royal Caribbean calls a "Virtual Balcony". On average, staterooms on the Quantum class are 9 percent larger than those on the preceding Oasis class.
Features
Like the earlier Freedom and Oasis-class ships, the "Sports Court" on deck 15 aft features a Wave Loch Flowrider surf simulator and a rock-climbing wall. A new feature on the Quantum-class is "RipCord by iFLY", a skydiving simulator set in a recirculating indoor recreational vertical wind tunnel. Reservations for RipCord are able to be made online in advance of the cruise. All the features of the Sports deck are complimentary, although Royal Caribbean charges for pictures and videos taken of RipCord participants.
The "North Star" observation tower, located at the forward end of the top deck, uses a 7.1-tonne (7.8-short-ton) glass-walled capsule on the end of a 41-meter-long (135 ft) crane arm to lift groups of up to 14 guests up and over the edge of the ship, reaching heights of up to 300 feet above sea level. Rides on the North Star are complimentary, with the exception of sunrise, sunset, and private trips which have a charge, and can be reserved online in advance.
Anthem of the Seas is the first cruise ship to offer an on-board live room escape game, Puzzle Break's "Escape from the Future."
Deck 14 features an outdoor pool with a large video screen, an indoor pool with a retractable roof, an indoor "Solarium" with an adults-only pool, the "H2O Zone" kids' water park featuring the first wave pool on a cruise ship, and at least 4 whirlpools. Other included features that have become standard on recent Royal Caribbean ships include a Spa and Fitness Center on decks 15 and 16, the "Adventure Ocean" kids club on decks 11 and 12, a Broadway-style "The Royal Theater" on decks 3-5, and a Casino on deck 3. Unlike the earlier Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class, Quantum-class ships do not feature a Viking Crown Lounge or ice skating rink, and the Royal Promenade mall down the center of the ship is replaced with the two-story "Royal Esplanade".
The ships also feature a number of multi-purpose venues:
The ships is using an Air Lubrication System (ALS) to reduce the friction in the water in order to improved the performance of the vessel during cruising.
The Royal Theater
The Royal Theater is a Broadway-style theater on decks 3-5. It is home to Broadway musicals, original stage productions, headliner acts, 3D movies, and other entertainment.
Two70°
Two70° is a lounge on decks 5-6 at the stern of the ship, which features three-story-high 270-degree panoramic ocean views, a café, and the largest bar on the ship. Automatic window shades can cover the windows to limit the amount of sunlight entering, and a 18-projector projection mapping system can project visual imagery in 12k resolution onto the Vistarama screens. At night, movable furniture and retractable dividers and chandeliers allow the space to be reconfigured to be used as a performance venue for a nouveau-cirque-style show or as a disco. Both nighttime uses will take advantage of the projection system and 6 robotically controlled 100-inch LCD screens to provide digital visuals.
SeaPlex
Located at the middle of deck 15, the SeaPlex is a large indoor gym with a full-size basketball court that can be converted to a bumper cars ride. Besides basketball and soccer, the gym can also be used as a dance floor, a flying trapeze school, or a roller-skating arena. The bumper cars in the SeaPlex run on batteries, which avoids the conductive floor/ceiling of the traditional bumper cars setup, though the batteries take several hours to recharge. When configured for bumper cars, the staff deploy the retractable shock absorbers from the perimeter of the court.
The SeaPlex also features table tennis, air hockey and foosball tables on a second-level mezzanine. On Anthem of the Seas, one of these spaces is used for six Xbox One consoles.
There is also a SeaPlex Dog House food truck-styled food stall (service counter) which offers hot dogs and soft drinks.
The Music Hall
The Music Hall is a 2-story lounge on decks 3 and 4 that also serves as a nightclub and small music performance venue. The Music Hall features the self-leveling pool tables first seen on the Radiance-class ships.
Dining
Unlike previous Royal Caribbean ships, Quantum-class ships do not have a main dining room. Instead, these ships use a Dynamic Dining concept similar to the Freestyle concept used on Norwegian Cruise Line, with guests being required to make reservations for their choice of restaurant for each night in advance. Each venue maintains the same menu and staff throughout the cruise. Starting in April 2015, on Anthem of the Seas, a "classic" option was to be added to dynamic dining where guests would rotate between restaurants but keep the same tablemates, waiter, and assistant waiter from night to night (similar to Disney Cruise Line). On 27 November 2016 "Dynamic Dining Classic" will be discontinued and replaced with "My Time Dining".
Complimentary
There are five complimentary main restaurants (four of which are available to all passengers):
Other smaller complimentary dining venues include:
Additional fee
There are several smaller dining concepts debuting on the Quantum class that are available to passengers for an additional fee:
Other additional-fee restaurants available on the Quantum class that are also offered on previous Royal Caribbean ships are: