Things to Note for The Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas (Cruise to Nowhere)

Travelling on a ship is different from your usual overseas land travel and I gained plenty of knowledge for the cruise to nowhere I made in August on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas; hence, sharing the information I think would be useful if I were to make another trip in the future. 

For example:

• Everything onboard would be charged in US dollars. 
• There will also be an 18% gratuity (like a tip) added to "all drinks, mini bar items and spa & salon purchases".
• Sockets on the cruise ship are for US power sockets; so remember to bring along an international adapter.
• Don't expected bottled water to be replaced on a daily basis.
• You may schedule activities on your app but it's not a reservation.
• Be early for your scheduled activities as entry is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Cruise Planner would be the website for you to, as the name suggests, plan for your upcoming cruise. One of its key functions is the ability to pre-purchase packages in Singapore dollars, before your cruise, at a steep discount and that can range from 10% to an eye popping 55%! 

Voom Surf and Stream - this would be the network connectivity that we can't make do without nowadays, given our insane obsession with social media and streaming videos on youtube, facebook etc. 

Said to be "the fastest internet at sea", surf and stream are two different connections and I will suggest going with the combined surf and stream instead. You may refer to the differences as above. 

Purchase in advance and I would say a 35% off would be good enough. I thought waiting would help but I got anxious as the day for the cruise nears and I eventually settled with the 20% discount instead. Don't wait till you are onboard before you purchase; my companion did that and he had to pay full rate and it's in US dollars. 

Beverage Package - there are three types (classic soda, refreshment and deluxe beverage) as above. For stingy persons like me, I am happy with plain water, complimentary tea and coffee served in the restaurants. 

Only thing is that alcohol would be expensive and I did contemplate the deluxe beverage which allows unlimited cocktails and beer (below S$12). However, I did a calculation and would have to drink about four to five cocktails a day before I could break even. I am not a hardcore alcoholic and decided one cocktail a day, would be sufficient. 

Do also keep in mind that the package, once purchased, would be for the entire cruise and the daily rate would be pro-rated accordingly. Furthermore, "all guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom and under the same stateroom booking number are required to purchase the same alcoholic beverage package".

Dining Package - to be honest, the dining package was the one we were waiting for and sadly, we didn't manage to secure any as we kept missing out on the emails for the "Unlimited Dining Package". There's likely a quota and unless you are glued 24-hour to the emails sent to your mailbox, I think it's hard to secure the highly sought after "Unlimited Dining Package"! 

But most importantly, did we miss anything? The specialty restaurants, offering fine food / fusion / higher end dining, were tempting but there's no way I could get hungry with free dining options like Windjammer, main dining room, seaplex dog house, sorrento's pizza, cafe promenade and The Café @ Two70! 

Of course, I would still aim to secure "Unlimited Dining Package" in my next cruise but only if there is a heavy discount. Do keep in mind the fine print though; only your first night reservation is guaranteed and for the rest of the days, it would be subject to availability, and for restaurants with "a la carte pricing", you’ll receive food credits instead. 

Other Pre-cruise Purchases - you can also buy photo packages, spa treatments etc at a discounts. I am not wealthy and don't deem the aforementioned as a necessity for me to enjoy the cruise. 

NextCruise - a team that is onboard the cruise that will help you to book for your next cruise, with credits amounting up to $600. We did check it out but the max credits are given only when you book a high end suite, which cost a lot more than the balcony room we had. You can still reserve first as the credits are transferrable and if I recall correctly, retain them for a year even if you choose to postpone your reservation. 

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That's it for today! If there are more to add, I would do so via this blog. If you prefer to have more information, please refer to this blogger who did a fantastic job going into the details! 

For the summary of my 4 nights' ocean getaway cruise on board Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, please click here.