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Quantum Shock
Quantum of the Seas
We were shocked and disappointed when we heard that the Quantum of the Seas would be moving to China after its first inaugural season sailing from Bayonne. The ship will move to Shanghai in May of 2015. If you want to sail on the Quantum out of Bayonne, N.J., you must book a cruise that departs between November 18th 2014 and April 24th 2015.
The Quantum will be replaced in Bayonne with the Liberty of the Seas for the 2015 summer season. As much as we love the Freedom class of ships, it’s hard to go back to an older class after experiencing the newest and most innovative ship from a local port. We question whether the Liberty will succeed in Bayonne unless it is priced aggressively which, so far, it is not.
Royal Caribbean’s turn to the East is certainly based on research which evidently showed that China’s odd combination of communism and capitalism is creating a booming middle class ready to fill their newest ship. With a population 4 times the size of the U.S., Royal Caribbean may be onto something by heading to Shanghai.
Royal Caribbean is Throwing Us a Bone
They will move the follow-on ship to the Quantum class, the Anthem of the Seas, to Bayonne for the winter 2015 season. Beyond that, there is uncertainty.
A significant proportion of our clientele hate the hassle and expense of flying and would prefer to leave from a “local” port. Philadelphia is out as an embarkation port. It was tried in the past and discontinued. We heard rumblings that the unions in Philadelphia were harder to work with than those in Bayonne and NYC and/or that the casinos could not be opened while the ships sailed in the Delaware Bay. Since Philly is out, our local ports are Baltimore, Bayonne (Cape Liberty) or NYC (Manhattan and Brooklyn).
Distance is an Issue
Bermuda is the ideal port for local departures since it is located directly east from North Carolina and therefore is much closer than islands like St Thomas and St Martin which are far south and east of Florida. Five, six and seven day Bermuda cruises are easily done from local ports. The Bahamas can also be reached on 7 day cruises since these islands are quite close to Florida. If you’re looking for an island like St Thomas, you’ll need more days from a local port. Islands further south, like Barbados and Aruba, require even more time.
If you’re highly flexible with your dates and you have a generous budget, you can do pretty much what you want. However, if you are limited to a week cruise, compromises are required. You may need to fly in order to get the islands you want or you will need to accept Bermuda or the Bahamas as your destination. By the way, we love Bermuda.