Quantum / Anthem / Ovation of the Seas
Design and Planning
Is this ship right for you?
Is it worth your money?
Who can answer this question?
Only you.
Like hundreds of other reviews, this review can tell you what I like and what I don't.
Is it enough?
Not at all.
"My grandma, my mother, and I" ship reviews may be fun to read but not very informative.
The purpose of this review is to give as much information as possible so that you can get the best of your cruise vacation: choose the right ship and the right cabin on the right ship.
First of all we need to see what this ship really is.
This is my task as a reviewer: focus on the ship design, planning, ship facts, objective information.
Another thing that is vital for a proper review: comparisons.
How to distinguish marketing hype from real things?
Put two ships together and see what is what.
You see the a Royal Caribbean Freedom Class ship (Left) in comparison with the design that represents the Quantum/Anthem/Ovation and their predecessor the Celebrity Solstice (Right).
We can notice three major things that are new for Royal Caribbean ships and seriously affect our cabin choice:
1. Bump-outs ("Humps") and recessed in (narrow) areas of the superstructure on the Celebrity/Quantum/Anthem
2. Lifeboats that spoil the views from the lower balconies in recessed in areas
3. A top deck extention (overhang) that affects two upper balcony decks in recessed in areas.
1. "Humps" ("Bump-outs") and Recessed In Areas on The Quantum / Anthem / Ovation
Cruise lines are trying to increase revenue.
That's not a big news.
The more cabins the more revenue.
The more balcony cabins the more revenue as balconies can be sold for a higher price.
That's why we often see tall floating apartment buildings called cruise ships.
But tall ships become top heavy that reduces ships' stability.
How to reduce weight of the tall superstructure?
The answer is: to make it narrower.
The wider areas of the superstructure increase capacity and also enforce the strength of the hull in general.
Click to enlarge:
The Forward Hump on the Quantum / Anthem
The Middle Recessed In Area
The Middle Hump (Bump-out)
This is a premium location on the ship: no lifeboats below, no overhang above, minimum motion
A fragment of the Quantum / Anthem deck plans - Deck 13 on the Hump (Bump-out):
2. Lifeboats
The Quantum / Anthem has a marketing nickname "smart ship".
This is a bold advertising slogan that is hard to forget or avoid.
So we'll be returning to "smart" things from time to time.
Let's go back in the history and look at one of the smart ships of the past - SS Ile de France
This is how lifeboats were placed on the Titanic (the Olympic is shown). Lifeboats were standing on the boat deck taking up valuable space of the promenade:
Below: a legendary French ocean liner SS Ile de France.
Not only a revolution in public rooms decor she was, but also in lifeboats placement.
Lifeboats on the Ile de France were suspended on so-called gravity davits leaving open space for a beautiful promenade deck.
This smart principle has been a standard for luxury liners and cruise ships since then.
Promenade deck on RMS Queen Mary:
The Solstice / Quantum / Anthem design brings us back to 1911.
You see lifeboats standing on Deck 5.
Result: no proper promenade deck; views from Deck 6 balconies are ruined, views from Deck 7 balconies are somewhat affected.
That is not a smart thing.
Quantum of the Seas:
What will happen if lifeboats become suspended?
Some balcony cabins will be "obstructed window" cabins in this case.
That means less revenue...
Confidentially for you.
1. There are no cruise industry regulations that do not allow cruise lines to build cruise ships with proper promenade deck.
2. A common practice is to rate a balcony "obstructed view" only on condition that there is a large part of equipment directly between your eyes and the horizon. So, if a lifeboat is placed right in front of your balcony but the horizon is still "one inch" above it - your balcony "officially" is not obstructed.
I don't welcome this practice.
So in my reviews I pay special attention to all the design flaws that in fact spoil our cruising experience even if they are not "officially" considered as such.
In the Diagram below Deck 5 (Promenade or Boat Deck) plan has been combined with Deck 6 plan so that you can see what areas are the most affected by the lifeboats:
Click to enlarge:
3. Overhang
The superstructure has to be narrow to save weight.
At the same time the upper deck has to be as wide as possible to accommodate all the facilities (pools, sun deck, etc.).
Shipbuilders solve this collision by creating overhangs.
A small overhang could be a nice feature for those who want to keep their balconies in shadow.
However, in case of the Quantum / Anthem / Ovation the overhang is huge and (in my opinion that is shared by many who have cruised on Celebrity) rather depressing. It's surpasses any "comfortable" limits.
What makes the problem worse: numerous struts that support overhang.
Struts save weight. A structure without struts would require more metal.
The most affected is Deck 13.
Deck 12 is where struts are placed.
I don't think that many potential cruisers would like to have balconies like this:
Quantum of the Seas
The Aft Semi Hump is free of struts.
The overhang is narrowing towards the stern:
Note that the Overhang is wider in the Aft Recessed In Area:
Before we go to Your Ultimate Cabin Guide, a few notes about ship motion.
The general principle:
The bow is more prone to movement than the stern; and the most comfortable area is near the ship's center of buoyancy - slightly aft mid-ship. This is where the Middle Hump is located.
Lower decks are less prone to movement than upper decks
Ships roll from side to side, so inside cabins near the center of the ship are less affected (less than window and balcony cabins).
The Quantum was rocking and rolling a lot during transatlantic crossing.
Next part will be my Ultimate Quantum/Anthem Ovation Cabin Guide on a separate page.
We'll study a typical standard balcony cabin and then take a tour of various cabins and locations around the Royal caribbean Quantum-class.
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