The ''Quantum'' class is a class of

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s from

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the l ...

, previously known by the code name ''Project Sunshine''.

History

''Quantum'' class

On 11 February 2011, Royal Caribbean announced that they had ordered the first of a new class of ships from

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft (; ) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. It was founded in 1795, as a builder of small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since ...

, scheduled to be delivered by Fall 2014. At the time, the project was code-named "Project Sunshine". Later that year, two 20.5-megawatt

ABB ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...

Azipod Azipod is a trademarked azimuth thruster pod design, a marine propulsion unit consisting of a fixed pitch propeller mounted on a steerable gondola ("pod") containing the electric motor driving the propeller, allowing ships to be more maneuverab ...

XO propulsion units were ordered for that ship. On 29 February 2012, the company announced that a second "Project Sunshine" ship had been ordered and would be delivered by Spring 2015, and ordered identical Azipod propulsion units shortly thereafter. Just under a year later, on 31 January 2013, steel cutting was performed for the first ship. The same day, Royal Caribbean announced the official name of the new class of ships, ''Quantum'' class, as well as the names of the first two ships in the class, ''Quantum of the Seas'' and ''Anthem of the Seas''. ''Quantum of the Seas'' was delivered on 28 October 2014. ''Quantum of the Seas'' spent its inaugural 2014–2015 season sailing from Cape Liberty in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

. Beginning late June 2015, the ship began sailing three- to eight-night itineraries year-round from

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. ''Anthem of the Seas'' was delivered to Royal Caribbean on 10 April 2015. The ship spent its inaugural 2015 season sailing from

Southampton, Hampshire Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, UK. On 30 May 2013, Royal Caribbean announced that they had signed a contract with Meyer Werft for a third ''Quantum''-class ship for delivery in mid-2016. On 18 September 2014, the name of the third ''Quantum''-class ship was announced to be ''Ovation of the Seas''. ''Ovation of the Seas'' was delivered to Royal Caribbean on 8 April 2016. The ship was originally planned to homeport in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

to sail in Asia, but moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in June 2016 to begin cruising in

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

seasonally. She debuted in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in the summer of 2019.

''Quantum'' Ultra class

On 7 May 2015, Royal Caribbean entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft for a fourth ''Quantum''-class ship for delivery in 2019, subject to financing and other conditions. Royal Caribbean announced on 26 April 2017, that the fourth ''Quantum''-class ship would not only be designed and based in the Asia-Pacific region; but will also be based on a new ''Quantum'' Ultra-class design. In June 2018, it was revealed that the fourth ship would be ''Spectrum of the Seas''. It can accommodate 4,246 guests at double occupancy and 1,551 international crew members. On 3 November 2015, Royal Caribbean entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft for a fifth ''Quantum''-class ship, also a ''Quantum'' Ultra-class ship and the sister ship to the first ''Quantum'' Ultra-class ship. Scheduled to be delivered in April 2021, it was given the name, ''Odyssey of the Seas'', on 1 February 2019. She is the first ''Quantum''-class ship to be homeported in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, at

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2022, Port Eve ...

Design

The ''Quantum'' class represented a different direction for Royal Caribbean. The - and designs evolved into the , which was considered the pinnacle in terms of scale and facilities. By contrast, the ''Quantum''-class lineage is closer to that of the , which was designed for cruising in cooler climates. The ''Quantum'' class is smaller than the preceding ''Oasis'' class, just as the ''Radiance'' class is smaller than the preceding ''Voyager'' class. Nonetheless, despite not being Royal Caribbean's largest class of ship, the ''Quantum'' class has pioneered several new innovations to the cruise line.

Staterooms

''Quantum''-class ships have 16 passenger-accessible decks, 8 of which feature balcony staterooms overlooking the ocean. All balcony staterooms above the

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

are recessed into the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

and do not look down directly at the ocean. There are a total of 2,090 staterooms: 1,570 balcony staterooms, 147 ocean-view staterooms, and 373 inside staterooms. Of those staterooms, 34 are wheelchair accessible and 28 are studio staterooms for single travelers (including 12 studio staterooms with balconies). All aft-facing staterooms are 2-story "loft" suites. All interior staterooms feature a floor-to-ceiling, 80-inch high-definition TV screen showing live views from the outside of the ship, which Royal Caribbean calls a "Virtual Balcony". On average, staterooms on the ''Quantum'' class are 9 percent larger than those on the preceding ''Oasis'' class.

Features

A new feature on the ''Quantum'' class is "RipCord by iFLY", a skydiving simulator set in a recirculating indoor recreational vertical wind tunnel. Another innovation on the ''Quantum'' class is the "North Star"

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

, located at the forward end of the top deck. It uses a glass-walled capsule on the end of a crane arm to lift groups of up to 14 guests up and over the edge of the ship, reaching heights of up to above sea level. Royal Caribbean introduced the first escape room experience on a cruise ship on the ''Anthem of the Seas'' in partnership with Puzzle Break, billed the "Escape from the Future." ''Spectrum of the Seas'' was the first ''Quantum''-class ship to install Sky Pad, a virtual reality experience with a trampoline and bungee ropes for guests to undergo different simulations and play interactive games. Like the earlier - and ''Oasis''-class ships, the "Sports Court" on the aft of deck 15 features a complimentary Wave Loch Flowrider surf simulator and a rock-climbing wall. Other complimentary outdoor features are located on deck 14, including an outdoor pool with a large video screen, an indoor pool with a retractable roof, an indoor "Solarium" with an adults-only pool, and the "H2O Zone" kids' water park, featuring the first

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History Th ...

on a cruise ship, and at least four

whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

s. Throughout the ship, staples included on recent Royal Caribbean ships that are also in ''Quantum''-class ships include a Spa and Fitness Center on decks 15 and 16, the "Adventure Ocean" kids club on decks 11 and 12, a Broadway-style "The Royal Theater" on decks 3–5, and a casino on deck 3. Unlike the earlier ''Voyager'', ''Freedom'', and ''Oasis'' classes, ''Quantum''-class ships do not feature a Viking Crown Lounge or ice skating rink, and the Royal Promenade mall down the center of the ship is replaced with the two-story "Royal Esplanade".

Engineering

''Quantum''-class ships are powered by two

XO thrusters that have a capacity of and four bow thrusters with a power output of each. The diesel-electric propulsion system powers the ships for a cruising speed of .

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

provides the two scrubbers on each ship that enable a reduced sulfur emission output and a cleaner exhaust. ''Quantum''-class ships use an air lubrication system (ALS) to reduce the friction in the water in order to improve the performance of the vessel during cruising.

Ships

Quantum-Class

Quantum of the Seas ''Quantum of the Seas'' is a currently operated by Royal Caribbean International and is the lead ship of her class. At her time of delivery in 2014, ''Quantum of the Seas'' was the List of largest cruise ships, third largest cruise ship in the ...

* Anthem of the Seas * Ovation of the Seas

Quantum-Ultra Class

Spectrum of the Seas ''Spectrum of the Seas'' is a currently operated by Royal Caribbean International and the first ship of the ''Quantum Ultra'' class, a modification from the company's ''Quantum'' class of ships. The ship was constructed at Meyer Werft in Papen ...

* Odyssey of the Seas

References

External links

Meyer Werft Ship Yard
official website.
Royal Caribbean
official website.
Video of the Construction
{{Royal Caribbean Cruise International Ships Ships built in Papenburg Cruise ship classes Royal Caribbean International