The 168,666gt Quantum of the Seas, perhaps the most anticipated new cruise ship in a long time, was handed over to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) by Meyer Werft at Bremerhaven on 28th October prior to departing for Southampton.Sadly the arrival was moved forward from the morning of 30th October to 1730 on 29th October so a dreadfully gloomy day and fading light somewhat spoiled the U.K. debut.

Alas RCCL also managed to not invite various leading representatives of the U.K.’s maritime press aboard their new ship so the planned feature within these pages will not now appear. The ship welcomed guests 29th-31st October prior to departing on the latter date for a two night media cruise that saw the ship sail as far west as Plymouth before returning to Southampton on 2nd November. That evening she departed an hour late bound for New York, her homeport until transfer to the Chinese market in 2015. The North Star observation pod atop the ship on deck 17 was put to good use and, when raised above a fully illuminated ship, gave the appearance of a rather grand maritime themed Blackpool tram.

Just prior to the Quantum’s departure, the 137,276gt/2001 built Adventure of the Seas also bid farewell to Southampton after two summer seasons here. The first ship of the Quantum class sisters sets new standards in terms of eco-friendliness and features highly energy-efficient systems, optimised hydrodynamics, heat recovery, an effective underwater paint coating, a state-of-the-art exhaust gas treatment plant (hybrid scrubber) as well as energysaving LED lighting systems. Sophisticated alarm, safety and communication systems combined with the latest technology in propulsion and navigation are typical for Royal Caribbean cruise ships. The same high standard applies to entertainment and interiors. The theatre is state of the art and on deck 17 aft is the Rip Cord parachuting simulator not to mention the FlowRider surfing simulator on deck 16.

A total of 4,180 guests can be accommodated in 2,090 cabins, and are taken care of by a crew of approx. 1,550. On board of the Quantum-class ships the traditional main restaurant has been replaced by near-NCL style dynamic dining, where the guests rotate in five different restaurants which are included in the cruise rate, and which offer a wide culinary variety. Guests can choose from 18 restaurants on board overall, among them Jamie’s Italian, the first restaurant at sea of the British chef Jamie Oliver. Plenty of shops, bars, lounges and spacious spa and wellness areas in addition to spectacular open-deck areas and facilities offer endless pastime opportunities. The Seaplex features the largest indoor activity area at sea that offers entertainment like bumper cars, roller skating, a competition-size basketball court and a circus school.

Other features include the Two70 that stretches from deck 4 to 6, a spacious area offering a 270 degree panoramic view of the sea. This combines entertainment and technology which allows the guests to travel smoothly from day to night with the aid of this enormous wall of windows that doubles as a video wall. Outside on deck 15 can be seen a giant red polar bear sculpture named ‘From Afar’, which consists of 1,430 metal triangles. Whilst en-route from Southampton to New York the ship had to divert to the Azores to disembark an injured passenger onto a waiting pilot boat. The second ship of this series, the Anthem of the Seas, is expected at Southampton for the 2015 season next spring.

She will replace the 154,407gt Independence of the Seas that had operated from Southampton since 2008, including some winter seasons. The ‘Indy’ as she is affectionately known made her last departure from the Hampshire port on 1st November bound for the Caribbean.