Transatlantic - Day 1 - All Aboard!

 3 November, 2024

We awakened to the clink of utensils on plates and realized that it was already 9:00. Remember those blackout shades? Our room was as dark as night, despite the blazing sun outside. Loris wasn't exaggerating!

We dressed and joined several other guests for breakfast, enjoying an assortment of pastries and cereals along with coffee, tea, and juice. Some guests were departing on the cruise with us, some had just flown in from California and were staying for a couple of days before departing on a Mediterranean cruise, and others were spending a few days before moving on to another city in Italy. Loris arranged a shuttle to take us to the cruise port with an 11:00 pick-up time. After finishing breakfast we got our luggage in order one last time before heading to the port.

The ride to the port only took a few minutes, and is quite walkable for those so inclined. We unloaded, handed off our luggage to the porters, and were checked in and through security in less than fifteen minutes. The security and check-in process was so efficient that guests were being assigned boarding numbers and diverted briefly to a waiting area to manage the flow down the gangway. We were in the waiting area for about five minutes before our number was called, barely making it worth the effort to take off my backpack. We've never gone from curb to ship faster and I'd be hard pressed to recall any shoreside staff more polite.

This was our first time aboard any Quantum-class ship, so we were eager to take a look around and figure out the lay of the land and identify all the new features available.  As is now our routine the first thing we do when we board the ship is report to our muster station to get the one mandatory task off the list. After the muster "drill" is complete our next order of business is to confirm any specialty dining reservations for the trip, which can usually be handled in any specialty restaurant. On Odyssey most people go to Wonderland, adjacent to the gangway, to make their specialty dining arrangements. If you go forward, past Izumi and the Schooner Bar, you'll find Chops tucked away in a corner. I walked in the door of Chops and found a manager at the host stand without a line. In less than five minutes, thanks largely to the new reservations system on the Quantum Ultra class ships, all of our dining plans were finalized – a personal record. All of our housekeeping duties handled, we went to the Windjammer on deck 14 for lunch while we waited for our cabin to open. After lunch we walked forward to check out the Solarium, then took the forward elevators down to our cabin and unburdened ourselves before continuing our exploration. We were in 7194, decks 6-13 are almost fully occupied by cabins, and we had already covered Deck 14, so we decided to check out Deck 15 and go from there. (This is not a comprehensive survey of every nook and cranny on the ship, you can find plenty of those on YouTube, consider this a short highlight reel.)

You must have shoes!

On Deck 15 the spa is forward and the Seaplex is aft, and everything just aft of the forward elevators (i.e. aft of the spa - and that's a lot of afts all at once...) is encircled by the running track. In the middle of Deck 15 you'll find the upper level of the Lime & Coconut bar and on the starboard (right) side, aft, you'll find the rock climbing wall. In the middle of all of this is an indoor space that houses the Seaplex. The Seaplex is the ultimate in multi-use at sea. There are bumper cars one moment, a pickleball tournament the next, and the next thing you know there's dodgeball or basketball, or most any other group activity you can imagine. On Deck 16, overlooking the Seaplex, you'll find the sports bar, Playmakers. Tucked over on the port side of Deck15 is Social 180, a space for teens to gather. The Social 180 Patio is above, overlooking the pool down on Deck 14.

Decks 4 and 5 are the heart of activity on the ship, while you'll find the Casino and the lower levels of the Dining Room and the Music Hall on Deck 3. Deck 4 has shopping, guest services, the upper level of the Dining Room, bars, Starbucks, and Sorrentos/Cafe Promenade. Deck 5 is where you'll find specialty dining and Two70 - a huge lounge space/auditorium by day and theater by night, featuring a café of it's own (a more sophisticated Café Promenade, if you will) and a coffee bar, as well as a full-service bar. This is where they present The Book - an excellent production show. When the weather doesn't allow movies to be shown on deck they'll put them on the big screen in Two70. This is also the space for Bingo, Trivia, and any enrichment lectures that may be offered (more likely on longer repositioning cruises than other itineraries.) On deck 6 in Two70 you'll find the Library as well as a meeting space called The Boardroom.

All in all our first impression is highly favorable. The initial impression of the crew matches that of the ship. Sincerely friendly and happy – after 30-ish cruises we can spot the "I'm doing my job" smiles from the sincere smiles, and they were scarce. I would have expected a higher percentage of weary crew at the end of the season.

 

First cocktail at Lime & Coconut