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Trev
··The ArchitectWe recently completed a short Queensland cruise from Brisbane to Airlie Beach on the Quantum of the Seas, since we found a great price and can drive straight to the port without the hassle of flights. I hadn't been on Royal Caribbean since 2003, so seeing a new(er) ship was interesting. Australia only gets hand-me-down ships from Caribbean/Alaska routes, so this is one of the newest we have access to along with Celebrity's Edge class.
I was pleasantly surprised to find what looks like an Omega Boutique on board, in addition to the usual watch-related cruise shops pushing trashy Invictas and some lonely Citizen models that have probably been sitting in the display cases for years.
The Omega shop had a sparse selection of Speedmasters in their own area (Speedy Pro, Speedmaster Reduced), but no FOIS or anything fancy. It was a similar theme for the divers with some older Planet Oceans and Aqua Terra section, which had five common 41mm ATs, but none from the latest releases like black lacquer dial. No new SMPs either. Staff were friendly and seemed a bit bored. We ended up mostly chatting about Seiko divers.
There's also a pre-owned Rolex dealer called Swiss Crown USA, with a random spread of women's models on Jubilee bracelets, but it did have two Submariners and a tidy-looking white Datejust. An Air King was keeping them company, which I'm assuming is a permanent resident of the ship. Swiss Crown USA seemed to use its own watch boxes and no original Rolex packaging anywhere. No idea about pricing, there was never any staff in here and I was wandering around by myself.
The larger "Regalia" shops area had dedicated sections for Hamilton, Longines, Tissot, Breitling, Tag Heuer, JLC, IWC, Seiko, Citizen, Movado, Casio, etc. I was disappointed that Jaeger-LeCoultre was only a sparse selection of uninteresting models, but Longines had their Legend Divers, which I'm a fan of.
The ship itself is fantastic and full of stuff to do. There's a serious wow-factor to the Quantum class ships with big open spaces, but it can get quite busy, especially compared to other cruise lines like Celebrity/Princess. There were over 700 kids on this sailing, which certainly doesn't help. I like kids, but when 8 of them pile into a spa screaming and putting on some sort of acrobatics show, it's not as relaxing. Entertainment options were solid, but also felt super packed and full of people.
The food and service was still great, especially the main dining room, no complaints there. Even the Windjammer buffet had respectable options if you cherry-pick the best items. For breakfast I'd load my plate with poached eggs and meat selection, perfect. Sorrento's Pizza is a tasty choice and the only junk food I had. It's worth the calories. Going straight for pizza after boarding (while masses of crowds pile into the buffet) is a solid strategy to be aware of too. Also, note that like most American cruise lines, they don't know how to make good coffee. Old drip coffee or Starbucks (paid) are your only options. Neither was good. Starbucks nearly went bankrupt in Australia for a reason. 😂
Our only port of Airlie Beach is a pretty standard North Queensland town. Beautiful tropical scenery, lots of junky clothing shops to lure in your wife/gf, cheap-ish beer, access to Great Barrier Reef tours. Weather wasn't great this time of year, so we didn't do any excursions or diving.
They had an "All access ship tour" that was paid, but felt worth it. We were led through a variety of interesting locations in the lower decks and then finished on the bridge. There was a surprising amount of distance and areas covered! It took around 2.5hrs total.
Like:
✅ Main dinning room food and waiters were top notch
✅ Large open spaces. Walking around the ship is awesome
✅ Amount of activities like Northstar and bumper cars. Modern feeling ship
✅ Sails from Brisbane!
✅ Excellent for kids, obviously
Dislike:
⛔️ Ship feels full compared to others. Choke points of crowds in some places, especially for events. Often impossibly long waits for activities like Flowrider. Pools super busy.
⛔️ Lots of kids
⛔️ Constant upsells, even popcorn costs extra. Towels need to be checked in and out from the pool area
⛔️ Bedding and mattress not as good as modest hotels on land
⛔️ Captain never tooted the horn
Verdict:
Wouldn't be my first choice, but still lots of fun to be had. Great option for kids or if there's sales on fares.
I was pleasantly surprised to find what looks like an Omega Boutique on board, in addition to the usual watch-related cruise shops pushing trashy Invictas and some lonely Citizen models that have probably been sitting in the display cases for years.
The Omega shop had a sparse selection of Speedmasters in their own area (Speedy Pro, Speedmaster Reduced), but no FOIS or anything fancy. It was a similar theme for the divers with some older Planet Oceans and Aqua Terra section, which had five common 41mm ATs, but none from the latest releases like black lacquer dial. No new SMPs either. Staff were friendly and seemed a bit bored. We ended up mostly chatting about Seiko divers.
There's also a pre-owned Rolex dealer called Swiss Crown USA, with a random spread of women's models on Jubilee bracelets, but it did have two Submariners and a tidy-looking white Datejust. An Air King was keeping them company, which I'm assuming is a permanent resident of the ship. Swiss Crown USA seemed to use its own watch boxes and no original Rolex packaging anywhere. No idea about pricing, there was never any staff in here and I was wandering around by myself.
The larger "Regalia" shops area had dedicated sections for Hamilton, Longines, Tissot, Breitling, Tag Heuer, JLC, IWC, Seiko, Citizen, Movado, Casio, etc. I was disappointed that Jaeger-LeCoultre was only a sparse selection of uninteresting models, but Longines had their Legend Divers, which I'm a fan of.
The ship itself is fantastic and full of stuff to do. There's a serious wow-factor to the Quantum class ships with big open spaces, but it can get quite busy, especially compared to other cruise lines like Celebrity/Princess. There were over 700 kids on this sailing, which certainly doesn't help. I like kids, but when 8 of them pile into a spa screaming and putting on some sort of acrobatics show, it's not as relaxing. Entertainment options were solid, but also felt super packed and full of people.
The food and service was still great, especially the main dining room, no complaints there. Even the Windjammer buffet had respectable options if you cherry-pick the best items. For breakfast I'd load my plate with poached eggs and meat selection, perfect. Sorrento's Pizza is a tasty choice and the only junk food I had. It's worth the calories. Going straight for pizza after boarding (while masses of crowds pile into the buffet) is a solid strategy to be aware of too. Also, note that like most American cruise lines, they don't know how to make good coffee. Old drip coffee or Starbucks (paid) are your only options. Neither was good. Starbucks nearly went bankrupt in Australia for a reason. 😂
Our only port of Airlie Beach is a pretty standard North Queensland town. Beautiful tropical scenery, lots of junky clothing shops to lure in your wife/gf, cheap-ish beer, access to Great Barrier Reef tours. Weather wasn't great this time of year, so we didn't do any excursions or diving.
They had an "All access ship tour" that was paid, but felt worth it. We were led through a variety of interesting locations in the lower decks and then finished on the bridge. There was a surprising amount of distance and areas covered! It took around 2.5hrs total.
Like:
✅ Main dinning room food and waiters were top notch
✅ Large open spaces. Walking around the ship is awesome
✅ Amount of activities like Northstar and bumper cars. Modern feeling ship
✅ Sails from Brisbane!
✅ Excellent for kids, obviously
Dislike:
⛔️ Ship feels full compared to others. Choke points of crowds in some places, especially for events. Often impossibly long waits for activities like Flowrider. Pools super busy.
⛔️ Lots of kids
⛔️ Constant upsells, even popcorn costs extra. Towels need to be checked in and out from the pool area
⛔️ Bedding and mattress not as good as modest hotels on land
⛔️ Captain never tooted the horn
Verdict:
Wouldn't be my first choice, but still lots of fun to be had. Great option for kids or if there's sales on fares.
Edited:
