Saturday, January 01, 2022

Day Two of My Four-Night Ocean Getaway Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas #royalcaribbeancruise


Detailed Postings for the Day

The best place to be at, right after waking up, was to walk out of your room and have the soothing waves and the relaxing blue skies mesmerizing your soul. I never knew a cruise vacation could appeal to me so much. 

Just in case you couldn't remember the day, just keep a lookout for the elevators' floor! Having this moveable installation is a lot more hygienic, and safer than the carpet version. 

Breakfast at Windjammer, the buffet restaurant on board Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas. It might be nice to see with the rising sun next to you but trust me; after a while, it became warm and the glare from the sun can be irritating! 

Checking out the Vitality Fitness Centre; essentially the gym, you need to book a slot and last minute requests can be hard to meet as the slots do get picked up pretty well in advance. I would suggest pre-booking at least one day in advance. 

As it was only my second day, I didn't know where to start and what to do. With plenty of time in my hands, I decided to do make do with an activity in my daily routine.

Jogging via the track on deck 15. Click here for the details. Just a reminder that I would hyperlink the sub postings as I go along. This is easier than the main summary page which is updated only after I am done with the detailed "day" posts.

I scheduled myself for a rock-wall demonstration! Remember, schedule doesn't equate to booking and you would still have to be there early to snatch a slot. 

Not so much a demonstration actually; I reached my turn, put on the harness, latched up and up I went! Despite my fear for height, it was incredibly fun! Maybe I should attempt the taller ones at Funan Mall / Sports Hub.  

The color of the 'rocks' signifies the difficulties with yellow being the easiest and green, being the most difficult. I should attempt the 'green' in my upcoming trip! 

A scaled model of Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, which included information like the number of decks (16), number of cabins (2,094), year of delivery (2014), service speed (22 knots) etc. 

Mini wave pool for the kids. Even though I don't mind swimming under the hot sun, I didn't manage to do it throughout the cruise. I think the ocean / beach is still a whole lot more fun, without all the eyes on you. 

North Star® – "winner of the Guinness World Record for tallest viewing deck on a cruise ship"! My travel mate did contemplate if we should take a ride on this, which came at a charge, in US dollars! 

We didn't manage to and to be frank, I am still a bit half hearted if I should in my next trip. I might consider if someone else is paying for it, to bring us over 100 meters above sea level.

View from below the resting North Star®. Did you notice the deck with those sun loungers? Access only for those residing in the suite-class staterooms but don't be grouchy about it ;that deck sat right below the exhaust.

The indoor pools which would not be closed due to rainy weather! I did access the area a few times, mainly because of the bubbly hot tubs. Keep a lookout for the diver sculptures that impressive back muscles! 

Empty cargo ship cruising towards the horizon.

Cruise ships are said to be heavy polluters in the environment and I am now a guilty contributor. With environmental issues being discussed so heavily last year (that is, in 2021), I am wondering what Royal Caribbean is doing about it. You can read about their sustainability practices here

Outdoor hot tub! You know what's the best time to soak in those tubs? Not when the sun is high up in the sky. Wait till it's night time or there's a light drizzle. 

That's a huge ass motorized crank. 

Sunbeds at the stern of the cruise ship; honestly, I didn't see any land in the daytime as my understanding is that we were sailing towards the South China Sea and it's mainly just water surrounding us! 

Flowrider - a 12-meter long surf simulator! I love the seas but surfing seems so dangerous! Guess I will be the right candidate for the simulator. My procrastination led me to signing up for a trial session on my last day; which was cancelled due to the rain. :(

The pink bear. Like the Merlion in Singapore, it's sad to have only one onboard the cruise. Don't you think it's longing to have a family, as evidenced in the second photo?

Indoor again.

Checking out the see-through glass-like flooring that looked 10 floors down! That's some scary shit for a person with acrophobia. Thank god mine wasn't that bad.

Various artwork spotted. Second one doesn't sound auspicious, especially if one has recently caught the disaster-survivor-thriller movie, Poseidon

Seaplex - indoor activity venue where one can dance to Kpop, crash into each other using the bumper car. I wanted to go in to explore a bit but was rejected as I didn't register for the sessions, and they were at full capacity.

Suite Sun Deck - entrance to the area opposite the North Star® that I wrote earlier. The one that's catered for those residing in the suite-class staterooms.

I can't never remember the 'directions' for a ship except for the forward which means front of ship. How about bow and stern, port and starboard?! 

Adventure Ocean - for kids only. 

Attending the complimentary Origami Class! The one thing about going on a cruise is that you get to enjoy things you never try before, or in this case, rekindle my childhood interest in origami! 

Look at my 3D butterfly!

Seats on deck 14 of the ship; I didn't have an issue finding seats most of the times, although I would very much prefer the comfort of my stateroom as I can remain unmasked for an extended period of time.

Solarium, an adult-only (16 years and above), air-conditioned sector that had hot tubs, pools, a bar and plenty of sun loungers. You can even find outdoor balconies to take photos of the ship's sides! 

North Star® at its fully-extended height! 

The whirlpool rule. With so many changes to safe management measures, my work responses nowadays contained just one important point; "do adhere to all latest safe management measures". 

Lunch at Windjammer! Roast chicken was good; moist with thin, crisp skin. Burger was a letdown, more because of the hard bun! Thought Americans are amazing with burgers.

Let's have some dogs at Seaplex Dog House! No doubt it's an eye-catching design but there's no indication it housed a food & beverage outlet! I am so glad I have a travel mate who prepared in advance.

Selfie with a ring tailed lemur in the lift. Each lift has their own animal and I wouldn't be surprised that some people would purposely step in late at night just for a one-to-one selfie.

North Star® again.

The great thing about being on the cruise ship is that the sky is never the same. It could be cloudy, it could be clear, there could be a shower that looked near yet darn far in reality.

Living Room; I made it a point to explore as much as I could.

But I took a step back after seeing the notice; it's exclusively for teenagers! Damn, I believe there could be board games, video games or even comic books that I could have enjoyed.

Lifebuoy ring - Nassau, Bahamas, is the port of registry for Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas. The port of registry is like the nationality for a ship.

Awaiting my first cocktail at Quantum of the Seas; Mojito if I am not wrong. I only knew that there's a cocktail of the day, that only cost US$8, after ordering this. And how the hell did the bartender manage to pour the soda water at such an angle, without even holding the can?!

Cheers! If you are a massive alcoholic drinker, you can consider opting for the deluxe beverage package which cost about S$60-80 (depending on prepaid booking discounts) a person, a day. Problem is, if there are two persons in the same stateroom as you, both would have to purchase as well.

I would never pay so much for that! So how did I manage to get the cup of water? You can ask for tap water at the bar counter although I am never sure if they would give to me if I am not buying any drinks. 

Setting sun.

Port Merchants - one of the things that constantly worries me when I am out of Singapore is whether I forget to bring anything that I deem to be necessary, regardless of whether they are essential, or not.

Things like toothbrushes, toothpastes, masks, international adapters etc. Don't worry - aside from souvenirs, watches, liquors, you can find some 'necessary' staff at the port merchants store.

Random - running out of things to write.

Chops Grille and Izumi Japanese Restaurant - specialty restaurants that are not part of the complimentary dining. I heard the Chop Grille is the better one but why should I fork out more than S$70 per person!?

Wonderland - another specialty restaurant that had an interesting menu and appeared to have over the top decorative pieces for an out of the blue dining experience. I am resisting the dining deals as Alex is better off with free food.

Royal Esplanade.

Photographs taking of the marvelous sunset! I wanted to bring my DJI OSMO Pocket 2 to the side of the Jogging Track so that I would have better angles but the allure of air-conditioning in the stateroom was just irresistible! Furthermore, I could just leave the device out in the balcony without much supervision.

Magic of Zlwin - a 45-minute magic performance! Trained in Las Vegas, the Malaysian magician has a 15-year experience across 35 countries! 

Supper at Sorrento's Pizza and Café Promenade; in case you are wondering, the former closes at 2.00am whereas the latter is 24-hour operations! Pity I am not late-night snacker.

I was wondering why this flight of spiral staircase was blocked on deck 4. Turned out it was for the sake of contact tracing and you can only enter from designated entrances.

It was for Casino Royale! I was itching to play jackpot but I didn't know how to change for chips. Stupid me forgot there's a seapass tied to each guest and aside from paying of food and drinks, I can also use it to place bets! 


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