Cruise line: Royal Caribbean, Quantum of the Seas

Destination: 7 night South Pacific Cruise, Departing Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Stateroom: Room number 12184, Category 1D – Ocean View Balcony

Perfect for: Couples & Small Family (1 child)

Category: Cruising

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Seeking the perfect blend of relaxation, adventure, and holiday cheer, we couldn’t resist the allure of a 7-night South Pacific Cruise for a no-fuss, unforgettable Christmas getaway!

This is our 4th cruise, but it was our first cruise with our son. We weren’t sure what to expect having a child on the cruise (6 at the time of cruising)… Would we enjoy it? What if it will be a stressful holiday? Would we miss out on anything?

Our welcome experience…

We arrived at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal a few hours before our designated check-in time. We didn’t want to risk getting stuck in any traffic, and we wanted to make sure we felt relaxed when we got there.

There were people everywhere, but it was organised chaos. There was no line to drop the large suitcases—a tip is to make sure you have the bag tags on your bag prior to arrival to ensure a smooth bag drop process. We then lined up with our carry-on bags (see below tips on what to pack!), passports, and boarding passes to get through check-in and security. Despite the number of people in the queue, it seemed to be flowing.

The staff were friendly and happy to welcome guests ensuring a festive spirit – it was a Christmas cruise after all! Then, we walked onto the ship and the holiday began!

The Stateroom…

We booked an Ocean View balcony cabin for the three of us. I found the size of the cabin good, and there was plenty of storage, which meant we were able to unpack our bags for the week. At the time of cruising, our son was 6 years old. The lounge in the cabin was designed to be his bed, but it didn’t seem to fold out, so it was just the couch. It was big enough for him, but he preferred to sleep in the bed with us!

What we love about balcony rooms is you can sleep with the sliding door open for a fresh breeze and the sound of the ocean – it is completely relaxing!

There is a bar fridge, safe and a functional bathroom in the cabin.

The video below takes you through our cabin.

Meals & Drinks…

Complimentary Dining

There are plenty of complimentary restaurants to choose from.

We had dinner at the Main Dining Room each night (except for our last evening). The menu changed each day, ensuring there was something different to eat each night. You don’t need to make a reservation to eat at the main dining hall. However, I would recommend you do. See the tips below for more.

The Windjammer Cafe is a buffet restaurant where breakfast is available each morning. The buffet is also open for lunch and dinner for those who prefer to skip the restaurants. It is in close proximity to the pool, so it is easy enough to duck in to grab some lunch and take it back to the pool to eat. I would have preferred a lunch option on the pool deck, similar to what we’ve had on Norwegian Cruise Line in the past. However, the variety in the buffet was good.

Sorrento’s Pizzeria is a hit with the kids and is open throughout the day and night. You can’t go wrong with the pizza for something quick and easy.

Room Service: We ordered room service late one evening purely because we felt like some chicken wings, and the only place they were on offer was room service! There is a fee for room service, but the meals are complimentary.

Speciality Dining Options

You can pre-book your speciality dining prior to your cruise, or you can see how you feel on the cruise and check availability at the time. It is important to remember that these often get booked up in advance.

We dined at Chops Grille on our last night to see what all the fuss was about. The service was fantastic, and the food was even better. Our son had refused to eat steak prior to this night and decided he wanted to give it a try. It passed the test as he ate all of his steak and was left wanting more! One thing to note is there isn’t a traditional kids menu (e.g. nuggets and chips or spag bol). The kid’s steak, however, was spot on!

Drinks Packages

We purchased 1 x full drinks package and 1 x soft drink package. To do a split package, you need to phone Royal Caribbean to request this. When you book your packages online, you usually have to buy two of the same package. For us – this is not an option as one of us drinks and the other doesn’t!

We also purchased 2 x cartons of water to ensure our son always had bottled water. Previous cruises never provided bottled water free of charge. However, on our Royal Caribbean cruise, bottled water was available as part of the drinks packages. Knowing this, I am not sure I would purchase the water package again!

Cruise Facilities

This ship has a lot to offer. We’ve sailed many times before, and this is our first time with Royal Caribbean. I was impressed with the number of activities available on the ship, especially to keep the kids entertained.

Paid activities

RipCord by iFLY skydiving simulator: This activity is usually charged, but you can book it for FREE—see my tips below. We were booked in on day 1, but we did not have our closed-in shoes in our hand luggage, so we had to cancel our booking.

North Star: Another one that can be booked free at certain times! The day we booked it, the weather was too windy to be operational. Unfortunately, our experience was cancelled and then fully booked for the remainder of the cruise.

Complimentary activities

FlowRider Surf Simulator: You may need to be prepared to wait in a decent lineup, but where else do you have to be?

Rock Climbing Wall: Remember to have closed-in shoes for this one! Located on the outside of the ship, you can enjoy some beautiful views whilst getting your climb on!

Laser Tag: This was fun! A giant inflatable laser tag course was set up for two groups at a time. I highly recommend you book for this one to ensure you get a spot.

Bumper Cars: We enjoyed this on our last night! There was a bit of a lineup, but it was worth it in the end.

Roller Skating: We didn’t get to experience Roller Skating due to the swell and it being deemed unsafe to go roller skating!

Basketball/ Soccer: We loved that there were designated times for various age groups. We participated in a family soccer game, which was heaps of fun!

Games Room

There is an additional cost for the games in the games room—you can load money onto your child’s stateroom card. They are a bit of fun, but they get expensive quickly.

Kids Club

We registered our son when we arrived on Day 1 to ensure it was a quick process for the following days. See the below, which was in December 2024.

Pools

There are many ways to cool off and relax whilst on the ship! There is an outdoor open pool and an indoor pool – both suitable for families. Each pool space has a jacuzzi as well. In addition, there is an 18+ pool area for those who wish to relax without children around!

Take a look at this video with snippets from our time on the ship!

Health and Fitness…

For those who like to stay active on holidays, a fully equipped gym is on board the ship. The gym is free to use for all guests. There are also additional fitness classes for an additional charge if you wish to join one of the many classes on offer.

Check out the daily agenda, as you will find several seminars that you can attend, also free of charge. We attended on metabolism, which was fascinating!

There is also Vitality at Sea – the day spa. We booked in for massages and would highly recommend it. It isn’t cheap, so be prepared to pay similar to at a 5-star hotel, but it was certainly worth the money to be able to unwind and relax. We booked a ‘discounted’ massage due to booking within the first 24 hours onboard. It was just over an hour and included hot stones. The cost of the massage was USD $149, plus a $29.80 auto gratuity, bringing the total massage to USD $178.80. The discount provided was USD $64.

Check out the free massage samplers to see if it might be something you like before booking in.

Shore Excursions

Unfortunately, our shore excursion to Port Villa was cancelled due to the earthquake that hit the area a week prior to our arrival.

We still enjoyed a day at Mystery Island, Vanuatu. We booked our shore excursion through Royal Caribbean to keep things simple. However, there are many tour options once you get off the boat that cost a portion of the shore excursion price.

For those just wanting to explore the island, there are markets to wander through, selling a variety of jewellery (shark teeth necklaces!), clothes, and food options. The locals accepted both AUD and USD. You can book a cabana on the beach if you want to relax out of the sun.

The island is tiny! You can easily walk around the entire island in around 30 – 40 minutes.

Good to know…

Parking

Parking at the International Cruise Terminal: Book in advance!!! We left booking parking until the month prior, and that was a mistake! All of the parking bays close to the terminal were fully booked out. There are a few other parking lots within a few km, and we happened to find the last available place. We booked through East Coast Parking. It is a dirt field with some shelter for those who pay a premium to be undercover. We paid $167.85 for the week. While we were waiting for the transfer shuttle to the terminal, a car arrived who had not pre-booked. They had a cancellation so did have a spot available and the on the spot fee was $280. I couldn’t fault East Coast Parking – our car was well looked after and was ready for us when we arrived and no delay for us to head back home.

Download the app!

Royal Caribbean App: Download the app prior to the cruise! It will be what you will use each day to see what activities are on. In addition to the itinerary, you use it to make your bookings for restaurants and activities. We didn’t pre-book our dinner time at the time of booking the cruise. However, by not pre-booking the time we prefer (5.30pm) mean that the earliest we could book was between 7pm – 8.30pm, which with a 6 year old is a bit late. Also, the thing to consider are the show times – we missed a few shows due to needing to have our dinner. I would book the early dinner slot next time, ensuring we can get to all of the shows.

Free activities

Free North Star and iFly: You can book these activities for FREE on days the boat is not sailing! So, when you arrive on day 1, prior to departing the port and days you are at a location (e.g at Mystery Island). The booking system is via the app and we were told opens up at around 6pm the evening prior for the following day. Jump on quick and get it booked! Remember, if you are wanting to do the iFly on Day 1, make sure you have closed in shoes in your carry on luggage!

To wear formal, or not to wear formal

Formal nights: The cruise has formal nights—completely optional. Guests will be in suits and ballgowns, down to shorts and a T-shirt. Be comfortable! There is no need to get dressed up unless you want to.

Checking out…

Your final billed is emailed to you and charged to your credit card, so you don’t need to worry about this. It is important to check the final bill on your account prior to departure to ensure you have time to question anything that doesn’t look right.

You are given a departure time based on your cabin and bags must be outside your stateroom before 10pm the night prior. However, if you want to take your own bags, you can do so and be one of the first off the ship. We took our bags and were off the ship and at our car by around 8.30am!

Above and beyond…

Our main dining room staff – Krishna (restaurant manager), Made, and Iputu (our wait staff) made our dinners incredibly entertaining! From the origami made for our son to the serenade on the ukelele. We also really enjoyed the dancing mid-way through dinner! Take a look at our video above to see more of this!

The not so good…

The only thing to note here was the mixup with our luggage! We received someone else’s bags and our bags were at a different cabin. Sorted eventually, but was a bit of a frustrating start to the trip!

I was also uncertain about the size of the ship – it is huge! We are used to much smaller ships, but this did grow on me and due to the vast number of activities for young children – I grew to enjoy the ship size.

The verdict…

I would certainly look to book again – perhaps a different location or an itinerary that has multiple stops would be ideal.

Do you have travel insurance?

Before travelling, ensure you get a travel insurance policy—you never know when you need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, a list of companies we recommend, and a link to get an instant quote. Remember – if you’re going on a cruise, make sure your travel insurance has cruise cover! For this particular cruise, we booked our insurance through Insure&Go.