Phil Reimer is on assignment in Europe. Today鈥檚 column was written by the portsandbows.com backup team of Bob and Nancy Dunn.
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NEW YORK
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Describing a ship that won鈥檛 be fit for sailing for another 18 months can be treading in dangerous waters. Yet it鈥檚 already clear that Quantum of the Seas will be unlike any other cruise ship you鈥檒l see, and not just because it has an observation 鈥減od鈥� that will take you where you鈥檝e never been, up above a ship and over the edge.
This first ship of the Quantum Class, the seventh of Royal Caribbean鈥檚 classes, is an amalgam of the previous six, according to the company president. There will be inevitable comparisons to Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, which, with a capacity of 6,000 passengers, carry 50 per cent more passengers than the newbie, with room for 4,080. But Adam Goldstein says Quantum is unique.
鈥淚t was certainly inspired by Oasis Class cruising,鈥� says Goldstein, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 taken from what we鈥檝e learned and experienced through all generations of ships, back to Radiance Class with self-levelling billiard tables.
鈥淲e鈥檝e tried to pick from everything we鈥檝e learned and added some features.鈥�
The North Star observation pod might be called the Big Dipper of the new features. It will take 13 passengers 鈥� the number is subject to change, due to superstitions 鈥� on a little ride that provides a bird鈥檚-eye view of the ship, sea and even ports. There is no cost, other than checking your fears at the door.
Royal Caribbean also boasts that Quantum will have the first bumper cars and skydiving experience at sea, plus the biggest average stateroom size this cruise line has ever had. It already has its first godmother to play an active role in promoting her ship and even participating in choosing its entertainment. And yes, singer and actor Kristin Chenoweth has been in simulators for both the North Star and the Rip Cord, the skydiving experience where the air is so powerful, she guarantees 鈥渁n instant facelift.鈥�
In the mini-movie that introduced Quantum of the Seas to media and travel agents last week in New York, Chenoweth was both actor and narrator, quipping at one point: 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of my godchild.鈥� Given that she won鈥檛 鈥済ive birth鈥� until November 2014, she may become the best-known cruise-ship godmother anywhere, as well as one who raises the bar for those who follow.
Besides the North Star and Rip Cord, included in the price of your yet-to-be-announced cruise ticket, Quantum of the Seas will have a couple of large public spaces that are at least mildly innovative. SeaPlex is where bumper cars will roll on a floor that is also home to roller skating, basketball games and a circus school during the day. At night, it becomes a dance floor, below a DJ orchestrating the music from his flying pod.
A two-storey great room that Royal Caribbean is calling Two70 (as in degrees of view) will transition from a living room in daylight to a nightspot with entertainment after dark.
Quantum鈥檚 staterooms (all of which have ocean views, real or digital) are 鈥渘ine per cent鈥� larger than the staterooms on the Oasis Class ships.
鈥淲e take the ratio of public space to stateroom space seriously,鈥� adds Goldstein. 鈥淲ith this ship, we鈥檝e re-designed a number of back-of-the-house spaces that guests don鈥檛 see. To have robust public space and greater stateroom space within a given footprint of the ship, you have to be more efficient in the back of the house.鈥�
Tickets to see this latest marvel for yourself go on sale June 4, leaving you plenty of time to prepare to be a North Star.
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