Cruising in the Far East with RCI & HAL Archives

Cruising in the Far East with RCI & HAL: Shanghaied Again

November 1, 2018 by Dennis Cox

ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS — Early this morning the Quantum cruised into the mouth of China’s Yangtze River and then turned left on to the Huangpu River. After docking again at Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal we had a late leisurely breakfast and waited to disembark after other passengers, as we can’t board the Westerdam until 11AM. The Westerdam just happens to be conveniently docked bumper-to-bumper in front of the Quantum. Nevertheless, clearing Chinese immigration in …

Cruising in the Far East with RCI: Home Bound for China

October 31, 2018 by Dennis Cox

ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS – We’re on our final sea day and I have a few loose ends to tie up in my coverage of the Quantum experience, such as ways to spend the final day of the cruise. Certainly there are numerous activities less strenuous than skydiving and rock climbing that I’ve failed to mention. Reading in the library, playing cards, and there is surely a game of mah-jongg going on somewhere. Jewelry and art …

Cruising in the Far East with RCI: Big Ship, Big Excitement

October 30, 2018 by Dennis Cox

ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS – Upon first seeing a megaship, I was a bit overwhelmed. Yes, they are huge, if that isn’t an understatement. In order to further describe megaships, cruise writers and bloggers have invented a few analogies that I’d like to explore aboard the Quantum of the Seas. The first analogy for the largest Oasis-class ships is that their split “open-atrium” structure is made possible by their hulls extraordinary width that is double most …

Cruising in the Far East with RCI & HAL: Doubling Our Fun

October 26, 2018 by Dennis Cox

ABOARD QUANTUM of the SEAS — I’m in Shanghai with my wife, Jialin, for a twofer, two cruises back-to-back with Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and Holland America Lines (HAL). I expect they will differ considerably. We arrived at Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, this morning at 11 AM to board the Quantum of the Seas, the fifth largest of Royal Caribbean International’s innovative megaships and sixth largest cruise ship in the world, for a four day cruise …