At the end of 2023, I wrote an in-depth review of Royal Caribbean’s Brisbane cruise offerings during their 2023/2024 summer season aboard the Quantum of the Seas. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, leaving my family and me thoroughly satisfied with the staterooms, service, and activities. However, our original 2023 plans to sail to Cairns took an unexpected turn due to cyclones. Instead, we headed south for an overnight stay in Sydney Harbour. While the scorching 40-something-degree days made it feel as though Cairns had followed us south, and we enjoyed a couple of pleasant days in port, it wasn’t quite the surf-and-sand escape we had envisioned.
With 2024 turning out to be a challenging year for my family and me, we made a last-minute decision to sail aboard the Quantum of the Seas once again. This time, we hoped to finally reach our original destinations and savor one final voyage on this exceptional ship before it departs Australia indefinitely. From next year, the smaller Voyager of the Seas will replace it in Brisbane — potentially a bittersweet change for some local cruisers – although new opportunities and adventures for others.
If you want a full overview and review of the Quantum of the Seas and all its general offerings, I encourage you to read my earlier article – {Quantum of the Seas: Musings and Review of Sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas [2023-2024]} which covers everything in greater detail. This review article instead highlights some differences – the better or perhaps worse – that I noted in my most recent sailing, as well as a few words on the destinations we reached.
This review ultimately covers the Queensland Cruise taking place between 4-10 January 2025, which while not taking us to Cairns, did see us spend an overnight stay in Airlie Beach (aka. The Gateway to the Coral Reef), and a drive-by Willis Island. Starting next season, trips to Yorkeys Knob in Cairns will once again be offered from Brisbane on Voyager of the Seas.
Resting One’s Head: The Stateroom
Due to pricing and a later-than-usual booking, we opted this time for a Guaranteed Non-Obstructed Balcony Stateroom instead of the deluxe balcony stateroom we’d chosen previously. We were assigned Room 8116, located toward the forward section of the ship. Although that meant a slightly longer walk than we were used to, it proved to be both pleasant and convenient. Most importantly, it allowed me to properly feel the gentle rocking of the ship—perfect for falling asleep (wave permitting). In fact, it worked almost too well, as I often dozed off within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
While many say a stateroom is just a place to sleep, I believe having a balcony is essential. There’s nothing like sitting outside with a cocktail or mocktail, watching the waves sway below or saying goodbye to land along with all your worries.
During our six-night journey, we were looked after by our friendly and professional room attendant, Kevin. He went above and beyond, creating delightful towel animals, keeping our room spotless, and responding promptly to any requests. Across all my Royal Caribbean travels in Australia, the crew has consistently been a highlight, and this trip was no exception.
The only issue occurred on the fifth night when all the toilets on the 8th floor (and possibly the 10th and other floors) stopped flushing. While these things happen, it was resolved by early the next morning. However, the interim advice to use the public toilets on the 4th or 5th floors wasn’t ideal—especially given the limited number of restrooms available, particularly on the forward side of the ship. Many guests may not have noticed, but for us, it was a late night, and in our tired state, we were briefly worried we’d somehow caused the problem ourselves.
Stuffing One’s Mouth: The Food and Beverage Offerings
Regardless of how you choose to dine on a cruise ship, the buffet is an institution that few travellers manage to avoid—especially The Windjammer, which always seems to be the go-to spot for arrival-day norms, breakfasts, and lunches. Although their main options appeared consistent with previous cruises, I did notice a few new additions. Specifically, for several lunch and dinner sessions, they offered freshly cooked stir-fried vegetables, chicken, and/or beef, which turned out to be the most delicious thing I’ve ever had at The Windjammer. Lunch on the final day of sailing was also a treat, featuring some creative menu items plus a build-your-own sundae bar and chocolate-covered fruits. Breakfast was consistently good (particularly the freshly made omelettes, and their always-amazing pineapple), and the themed dinner menus had a few tasty highlights, such as the crepes with cinnamon sugar on French night. For those who prefer a little less variety in return for a quieter breakfast experience, The Solarium Bistro provides a nice breakfast dining atmosphere, with eggs made your way on demand.
Unique to the Quantum class ships—though now more of a relic from the cruise line’s initial lofty goals—Quantum of the Seas features four themed dining rooms, which guests are randomly assigned to for their cruise. There’s no difference in menus between them; it’s really about each room’s atmosphere. We experienced two of these venues on our trip. On the first evening, we were seated in the luxuriously designed Chic. Aside from some dangling seat chains that annoyed one of my companions, it was a pleasant spot to dine. The main issue was that the three of us were seated at a table intended for 8–10 guests. So, while we received excellent service from our waiter Hyram and assistant waiter Susan, we ultimately decided to move to the American Icon Grill. That space also had appealing decor and professional, friendly and overall exceptional waitstaff for our table —Harish (Waiter) and Madge (Assistant Waiter) — who were fantastic from start to finish.
Although they undoubtedly meet hundreds upon hundreds of guests each season, small gestures like Madge recognizing me at the Windjammer bar some mornings truly went above and beyond and felt like they went that extra step further in providing for the guests they’re responsible for. The main dining room menu typically rotates through set themes each night (e.g., Bon Voyage, Royal Night) or different nationalities (French, Italian, etc.). It offers a solid mix for both adventurous and pickier eaters, though I can see how frequent cruisers might wish for something more bespoke—maybe menus more aligned with the destinations being visited?
Regarding specialty dining, we returned to Chops Grille, a mainstay on virtually every Royal Caribbean ship. The food was once again exquisite, and I ended up ordering the same items I did last time. The service was just as exceptional, and the Pretzel bread they offered was SO. FREAKING. DELICIOUS! My only feedback is that Chops Grille’s dessert menu could use an overhaul. While I notice they now have premium cuts of meat at an additional cost, I feel an equal amount of attention should go into revamping the dessert menu — especially since there are arguably more creative desserts available in the main dining room and of all the specialty dining venues, Chops comes with the highest price tag.
Drinks are the one area I’m most conflicted about, largely because I don’t drink alcohol. I vividly remember on my last cruise having virgin strawberry daiquiris made with fresh fruit. This time, many fruit-based drinks used syrups, making them overly sweet to the point of being sickly. I found myself gravitating toward drinks with fewer syrups and more juices, like the Virgin Mai Tai, which was delicious. Kudos to the bar staff at Vintages for explaining how the Mai Tai is made and advising how to order it with less grenadine. In the latter days of the trip, I found myself drifting to Vintages for my mocktail orders regardless of my location on-ship, kudos to the staff working there! Otherwise, my previous comments on the drink offerings still hold true. My best advice – if you want common soft drinks such as Diet Coke or Sprite and have a refreshments package, go to any bar
Food for the Soul: The Entertainment
With the regular rotation of Cruise Directors between ships (and their rest periods every few months), it is unlikely you will experience the same Cruise Director on the same ship back-to-back. For Quantum of the Seas this summer, commencing in November 2024 (I believe), we had a longtime Royal Caribbean Cruise Director, Katie Knowles, taking the reins of the entertainment program. While there are many ship staples on offer, I would argue she has been the most directly engaged of any Cruise Director to date. For example, during the always engaging “Disco Inferno” event, she wasn’t just on stage — she led the crowd with just as much enthusiasm and energy at the end as she had at the start. Furthermore, she popped up at random events during the cruise, and while she has undoubtedly experienced these events many a time, her enthusiasm felt genuine.
I felt that the engagement of the event team and presenters also exceeded the expectations set by the last cruise. Quiz hosts seemed a bit more knowledgeable about their topics, the line dancing lessons had more enthusiasm (and arguably more complex moves and genres), and the game shows I attended offered higher audience engagement and a jovial atmosphere. Of course, this cruise took place during the Queensland school holidays, which may have helped create a more lively audience of younger cruisers in return. I know some people often complain that children can ruin a cruise, and while we encountered a few annoying kids in the elevators, there was generally a lively, happy atmosphere on board, with very few guests worth complaining about.
The mainstage performances for Quantum of the Seas remain unchanged from the previous season—featuring the Two70 production of Starwater, which once again demonstrates the venue’s capabilities at the rear of the ship, plus two Royal Theatre productions: Sequins & Feathers and Sonic Odyssey. All are solid shows, but if you’re looking for a standout experience, Sonic Odyssey is the one you won’t want to miss. It offers unique instruments, plenty of costumes, and—while it doesn’t include verbal dialogue—it does have a somewhat comprehensible narrative to its musical journey.
During each cruise, the Royal Theatre is typically utilized nightly, featuring various guest artists. On our voyage, we had Welcome Aboard! and Bon Voyage! comedy performances by Darren Sanders, who was funny enough to justify seeing a second time, and a magic performance by Ben Hart mid-cruise—an impressive combination of showmanship, audience engagement and magic. As offerings change between cruises, your experience may vary, but ours was quite solid overall. And hey, if you happen to be reading this for the 2025/2026 cruising season, you might even get a chance to enjoy a few opportunities to “get wiggly” with The Wiggles!
One thing that should be flagged that does not appear to be updated across all websites pertaining to Quantum of the Seas, is that following a dry dock of the ship in the latter months of 2024, the North Star elevated viewing platform has been repaired and is now operational – paid during at-sea days (with the added bonus of going over the side of the ship) and free during days in port. Bookings for the free experiences appear to go live at 6pm the day prior, so if you are interested, do book as quickly as possible. Sadly however, the Bionic Bar was out of commission for the entire trip… a disappointment considering that during my sailing in December 2023, it was out of commission for most of that sailing as well.
Another entertainment related topic is the VOOM internet, which is the only way to avoid outlandish maritime data roaming expenses that can be around $5 AUD per MB. In my last cruise on Quantum of the Seas, I noted that the internet connectivity was very patchy and given I had pre-booked for the entire cruise, was a waste of money. While I had intended to keep my mobile on airplane mode throughout the trip, I did pay for 24 hours of service and noted consistent uptime and speeds regardless of where I was on the ship. Therefore, I am stoked to see that it has been improved to the point where if you cannot resist a social media binge or reading your emails… VOOM is a viable option now.
Feasting One’s Eyes: The Destinations
Usually, Queensland cruises departing from Brisbane typically do two stops up to Cairns before dipping into Willis Island as a sail-by for the trip to be considered international for duty-free purposes — with the extra customs step that comes with it added on which may be a tad confusing for those who haven’t done one before. This season, they are forgoing Cairns and have instead favoured an overnight, two-day stop at Airlie Beach. Due to this extra day, and Airlie Beach being a gateway to both the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, this meant that a pretty solid medley of shore excursions could be offered for those willing to spend the extra few hundred dollars per person.
As someone who didn’t have plans for a shore excursion and just wanted to explore Airlie Beach, it was pretty much a very pretty, scenic, and friendly tourist destination, with one main shopping street, a good variety of eateries and souvenir shops, and some of the friendliest locals I have ever interacted with. From the team at the Night Owl by the ‘Welcome to Airlie Beach’ sign, who welcomed us warmly and joked around with us a bit, to the bus drivers who gave everyone a hearty welcome and a lowdown on what to do (warning us that it was stinger season and suggesting we use the man-made lagoon rather than the beach) — the people we met there were amazing. I was particularly stoked to see Airlie Beach had a Cold Rock Ice-Creamery — one of my favourites — and it was nice walking around with a tub of cool ice cream + mix-ins.
My main qualm is that it has taken almost a week to get the sunburn off my body. So remember to slip, slop, and slap!
Cruising Into Reflection: The Final Verdict on Quantum of the Seas
It was genuinely bittersweet leaving Quantum of the Seas as it docked back into the Port of Brisbane at its conclusion. I ate a lot, drank a lot, explored a lot, and came off feeling relaxed, but also wishing that the trip was longer and that we might not see Quantum of the Seas back in Australian waters for some time… if ever. However, no matter what conflicting struggles I deal with internally as I talk myself out of booking another cruise for this week, despite my annual leave coming to its end, I enjoyed sailing on the Quantum of the Seas for its 2024/2025 Summer Australia season. Were there a few facility issues? Yes, but they were resolved pretty quickly. Do I still maintain that they need to incorporate ice cream into some of their mocktail drinks and cut down on the syrups? Certainly! But ultimately, it was six nights of rest, relaxation, and impeccable service that, sure, left me sore from a few too many dancing classes, but re-energised me to face the year ahead.
For more information on how to book cruises with Royal Caribbean, visit their official website.
Please note that all expenses occured during this trip, including the cost of the cruise itself, was borne by myself and my guests. We have not been compensated in any way for this article.
All imagery in this article is © The Otaku’s Study
