Quantum of the Seas on the Elbe River near Wedel in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
History
Bahamas
NameQuantum of the Seas
OwnerRoyal Caribbean Group
Operator Royal Caribbean International
Port of registryNassau,  Bahamas
Ordered11 February 2011[1]
BuilderMeyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany[1]
CostUS$935 million[2]
Yard numberS. 697[3]
Laid down2 August 2013[3]
Launched9 August 2014 (float-out)[4]
Christened30 October 2014
Completed28 October 2014
Maiden voyage2 November 2014
In service31 October 2014
Identification
StatusIn Service
General characteristics
Class and typeQuantum-class cruise ship
Tonnage168,666 GT[5]
Length347.7 m (1,141 ft)[5]
Beam
  • 49.47 m (162 ft) (max)[5]
  • 41.4 m (136 ft) (waterline)[5]
Draught8.8 m (29 ft)[5]
Decks16 (14 passenger-accessible)[6]
Installed power
  • 2 ×  Wärtsilä 12V46F (2 × 14,400 kW)[5]
  • 2 ×  Wärtsilä 16V46F (2 × 19,200 kW)[5]
  • 2 ×  Cat 3516C HD (2 × 2,500 kW)[5]
Propulsion
Speed22.0 knots (40.7 km/h; 25.3 mph)[8]
Capacity
  • 4,180 passengers (double occupancy)[6]
  • 4,905 passengers (maximum occupancy)[6]
  • 1,500 Crew[6]

Quantum of the Seas is a Quantum-class cruise ship currently operated by Royal Caribbean International and is the lead ship of her class. At her time of delivery in 2014, Quantum of the Seas was the third largest cruise ship in the world by gross tonnage. She is currently deployed to serve the Alaskan and Australian cruise markets.[9][10]

History

13 August 2014 - Launch of Quantum of the Seas at Meyer Werft in Papenburg

Planning and construction

On 11 February 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that it had ordered the first of a new class of ships from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, scheduled to be delivered by Fall 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine".[11] Later that year, two 20.5-megawatt ABB Azipod XO propulsion units were ordered for the ship.[7]

Meyer Werft performed the steel cutting for the ship on 31 January 2013, the same day it was announced that the new ship would be named Quantum of the Seas, making her the lead vessel of the Quantum class.[1][12]

Quantum of the Seas had her keel laid down on 2 August 2013.[3] She was floated out from the shipyard on 9 August 2014.[4] Her River Ems conveyance began on 21 September 2014 and her sea trials began three days later, on 24 September.[13]

There is the Bionic Bar which features robotic bartenders from Makr Shakr.[14][15]

Delivery and christening

Quantum of the Seas was delivered to Royal Caribbean on 28 October 2014, at a cost of US$935 million (equivalent to $1,155,804,048 in 2022).[2][16][17] The ship was christened by Kristin Chenoweth on 14 November 2014 at Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey.[18][19]

Service history

Quantum of the Seas spent her inaugural 2014–2015 season sailing from Cape Liberty on 7-to-12-night itineraries to the Caribbean and Bahamas before she was re-deployed to China.[20] She embarked on her 53-day eastward re-positioning cruise from Cape Liberty to Shanghai in May 2015.[21] In June 2015, the ship commenced operating cruises from Shanghai on 3-to-8-night itineraries to Japan and South Korea year-round until moving to Tianjin upon the arrival of Spectrum of the Seas in Shanghai in mid-2019.[22] Beginning in November 2019, Quantum of the Seas was scheduled to operate seasonally in Southeast Asia from Singapore for six months each year until 2024 and rotate between homeporting in Tianjin and Singapore year-round.[22][23] However, in March 2020, Royal Caribbean announced a re-deployment of Quantum of the Seas to Alaska for summer 2021, sailing week-long itineraries from Seattle, marking her debut in the Western United States.[24]

In 2020, due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, sailings were suspended, on various dates in the various regions, by all cruise lines. As of 12 January 2021, a report indicated that all Royal Caribbean sailings had been suspended until 30 April, except for Quantum of the Seas. This vessel had resumed sailing in Singapore in December 2020, "with the local government's CruiseSafe Certification ... [that meets] the comprehensive health and safety requirements developed by the Singapore government".[25]

During the 2022 Christmas cruise, the ship skipped one of its ports of call to get a passenger to medical treatment as soon as possible.

Through 2022, 2023 & 2024 the Quantum alternates between Alaska (based in Seattle) and Australia (based in Brisbane). Australian cruises include South Pacific, New Zealand and North Queensland itineraries with some shorter cruises between Brisbane and Sydney.

On April 26, 2023, an Australian man fell from the ship when it was in the Pacific Ocean, 1400km south of Hawaii. The US Coast Guard searched for hours but eventually called off the rescue mission.[26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Start of Steel-Cutting for First Project Sunshine Ship". Meyer Wert. February 5, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Chan, Kelvin (September 11, 2014). "Global cruise lines set sail on high seas for China". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Keel-laying of Quantum of the Seas". Meyer Werft. August 2, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Quantum of the Seas to leave building dock II". Meyer Werft. August 1, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Quantum of the Seas (32027)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Quantum of the Seas Fact Sheet". Royal Caribbean Press Center. Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Azipods ordered for two RCL cruise ships". The Motorship. April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ Innovation & Technology: Shipbuilding in Papenburg (PDF). Papenburg, Germany: Meyer Werft. 2013. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Quantum of the Seas to sail Alaska cruises: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  10. ↑ Marcus, Tallis Boerne (November 1, 2022). "Quantum of the Seas makes a royal return to Brisbane". Cruise Passenger. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Royal Caribbean Signs Letter of Intent to Build New Generation of Ships" (Press release). February 11, 2011.
  12. ↑ Tribou, Richard (February 5, 2013). "Royal Caribbean announces names for new cruise ships". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  13. ↑ Staff, C. I. N. (August 26, 2014). "Quantum Combines Innovative Marine Engineering and New Passenger Experiences". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  14. ↑ "Love craft beers? This new cruise ship is for you". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Robot Bartenders Shake Things Up At Sea | Royal Caribbean Blog". Royal Caribbean Connect. September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Quantum Delivered to Royal Caribbean". Cruise Industry News. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ Monk, Dave (August 28, 2014). "A guided tour of Quantum of the Seas by Royal Caribbean boss Richard Fain". ShipMonk. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Actress Kristin Chenoweth christens giant cruise ship". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
  19. ↑ Zeitlinger, Ron (November 15, 2014). "Quantum of the Seas christened by Kristen Chenoweth in Bayonne ceremony: report". nj.
  20. ↑ "Quantum of the Seas to Sail Year-Round from Shanghai". Cruise Critic. April 16, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ Stieghorst, Tom (May 19, 2014). "Quantum's repositioning itinerary sails the globe". Travel Weekly. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  22. 1 2 Kalosh, Anne (April 9, 2018). "Quantum to homeport in Singapore for 6-month season". seatrade-cruise.com.
  23. ↑ Wong, Rebecca (November 22, 2019). "Deals on the cards as Royal Caribbean targets Australia for fly cruise passengers". Cruise Passenger. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Quantum of the Seas to Move from China to Alaska in 2021". Cruise Industry News. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Royal Caribbean Extends Suspension of Cruising Through April". Cruise Industry News. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  26. ↑ "'Kind and beautiful': US coastguard calls off search for Australian man who fell from cruise ship". www.9news.com.au. April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.

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