Quantum of the Seas in Icy Strait Point
Like all major cruise ships, Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas has a variety of staterooms and suites to choose from. From budget saving inside cabins to spacious suites, there’s something to suit every cruiser. There’s a total of 2094 rooms which includes 125 suites, 1446 balcony cabins, 148 oceanview, 375 inside (some with virtual balconies) and 28 studios. Most are 180-200 square feet, with the majority of balconies at 55 square feet. The major categories are interior, oceanview, balcony, and suite. Other than suites that vary considerably, the major differences between sub-categories of other cabins is usually their location within the ship or whether anything may be blocking all or part of the view. Generally cabins higher on the ship and closer to the center are considered more desirable and therefore more expensive, but if you are prone to seasickness lower down and close to the center has the least movement. Checking the deck plans before booking is a good way to see if there are any cabins within a category that are bigger than normal or have an extra-large balcony. Those are often found in corners or curved areas of the ship.
inside studio
Studio cabins are the smallest at about 100-120 square feet, with the smaller size for the interior which are listed as 101 square feet and the larger for the balcony studios at 119. Although intended for just one person, they have full sized beds. Some are adjacent to a larger cabin with connecting doors so that they can be used either as a separate cabin or as an extra bedroom to the larger cabin. Solo cabins on Quantum include interior with virtual view and balcony cabins. The virtual view is a real-time video window so the occupant can see what’s outside and whether it is day or night even though they are in an interior cabin. It is separate from the TV and there is a curtain that can be drawn over the video window, or it can be turned off. The biggest advantage of booking a studio cabin for solo cruisers is avoiding the single supplement that comes with rooms intended for two that can be as high as the cost of having a second person in the room.
interior cabin with virtual balcony
Interior cabins on Quantum pretty much all have virtual balconies, which is a live-feed view of the outside same as in the interior studio staterooms. Standard size is generally 166 square feet, with accessible cabins at 256 square feet. Accessible cabins are usually the biggest in any cabin category on all the cruise ships. There are even a few connecting inside cabins available for people who want closer connections to their traveling companions than just being next door. Connecting cabins are handy if you are with the people on the other side, but best avoided when possible if you are not traveling with them because even though that door stays locked on both sides if you are not traveling with those people, you can hear the people in the next room through that door a lot more easily than through a standard wall. Interior cabins hold 2-4 people depending on the stateroom.
oceanview cabin
Oceanview cabins are mostly located on the outer edges of deck 3. These are standard-sized ocean view cabins at 182 square feet. Some of the higher decks have spacious ocean view cabins at the front, which are listed as 214 square feet on Royal’s website, but if you could snag one of the corner rooms they look considerably larger in the deck plans. Oceanview cabins hold up to 4 people depending on the designated number for each particular room.
it’s sort of a trundle bed except both sides are the same height
We stayed in one with 4 people and discovered that instead of two bunks or one bunk and a couch bed, this ship uses a pull-out in the couch that turns it into a double bed. There was plenty of storage for all 4 people because in addition to two closets and 6 drawers, there were also 4 pretty spacious wall-mounted cubbies above the beds and couch. Once again connecting cabins are something to look out for whether it is because you want to book two together or want to avoid the noise of neighbors you’re not with.
accessible oceanview cabin
Accessible cabins are usually larger than other cabins of the same category. The ones on Quantum were definitely more spacious than the standard oceanview cabins.
bathroom in accessible oceanview cabin
It’s not only the cabin area that’s more spacious in accessible cabins. The bathroom here is more than double the size of the bathrooms in the standard cabins. The shower is level with the floor for roll-in access for wheelchair users, unlike standard cabin showers with a rim you have to step over on the way in. Normally that larger shower means a longer clothesline that pulls out from the side of the shower, but Quantum did not have a clothesline in the shower. It was also lacking for toiletries, having just a combo shampoo/body wash and no conditioner. We had to ask for washclothes as well.
balcony cabin
Standard balcony cabins are 198 square feet with 55 square foot balconies. Though listed as larger, the main difference we noticed between our oceanview cabin and my nieces’ balcony cabin was the balcony instead of the window. It had the exact same furnishings, but in the oceanview the couch was up next to the framework around the window, which was wide enough to sit in the window. The balcony cabin had a bit of space between the couch and sliding door. There are a bunch on deck 6 listed as having obstructed views and among those as well as any of the other decks if you choose your cabin carefully using the deck plans there are some with bigger balconies and the same category listing as others with regular sized balconies. Cabins on Quantum came equipped with teapots, something I had only seen previously on P&O. There wasn’t any tea in the cabin, but teabags are easy to come by in the Lido buffet.
standard balcony
The standard balcony was pretty much average size as far as cruise ship balconies go. It did have a little table, which some ships don’t.
accessible balcony cabin
Like the accessible oceanview cabins, the accessible balcony cabins were quite spacious in comparison to the standard room.
royal loft suite
Suites come in quite a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from 267 square foot Junior Suites that are pretty much just extra-large balcony cabins up to the 1640 square foot two-story Royal Loft Suite. In between there’s also the two-story Owner’s Loft Suite, Grand Loft Suites and Sky Loft Suites and single story one and two-bedroom Grand Suites. Some of the larger suites have balconies that are considerably bigger than whole entire ordinary staterooms. Bathrooms in the suites are of course much bigger and fancier than those found in other staterooms as well. Other than junior suites which pretty much just get priority boarding, the larger suites also come with perks that you don’t get with regular cabins like access to the suite lounge and sundeck, free room service, in-suite dining with dining room menu items, reserved seating for shows, concierge service, backstage tour, and double loyalty points.
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