Quantum-class v. Oasis-class

[squirk]

Well, with the latest DCL pricing and the fact that I have two kids who have aged out or are on the cusp of aging out of DCL, it's time for me to look at other options.

Flying is a big stressor for my wife. She's not William Shatner in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" or anything; she'll do it if she must, but she white-knuckles the entire flight.

We can drive to PC in a day and sail on the Oasis, or we can fly to NJ and get on the Anthem. I am just wondering if the Quantum-class ships are a substantial-enough cut above the Oasis-class ships to justify the flight. Not that the Oasis wouldn't knock our socks off, but is there tons more unique and cool stuff on the Anthem?

NorthStar and RipCord seem to be the two biggest differences, which my older kids will love. But other than that, is the Anthem just a larger plussed-up version of the Oasis? I'm clueless here.

 

[karmacats]

quantum and oasis class ships are actually quite different from each other. i'd broadly classify oasis class ships as more "fun" while quantum class is more "elegant," though others may disagree. my cruise on quantum was probably my favorite royal cruise ever, so i'm not saying it's not fun, but oasis class is more...whimsical, if that makes sense.

as far as unique/cool stuff, both anthem and oasis/allure have the rock climbing wall and flowrider (surf simulator). both also have kids/preteen/teen clubs.

oasis class also has a zip line, a carousel (though that may be too tame if your kids like more thrilling activities), an ice skating rink, an aqua theater with diving stunt shows, and mini golf, which anthem does not (i cannot for the life of me remember if anthem has mini golf, but i don't think so). harmony, the new oasis class which will be sailing out of ft lauderdale, will also have water slides, a 10-story tube slide (not water), and an escape room.

as for items anthem has that oasis class doesn't, as you mentioned, there's north star and ripcord. north star is neat, but not worth scheduling a whole cruise around. there's an ifly by ripcord in orlando, as well as many other places, so you could take the plane fare you save by driving to orlando and do an ifly session on land that's longer and costs something like $40 or $60 (and you can often get groupons, or discounts at costco). anthem also has an escape room (which will be on harmony, but is not on oasis), and a theater/hang-out space called 270 which has some pretty awesome robotic-video shows (hard to explain, but you can find videos of them online).

tbh, if i was traveling with kids, i'd probably do oasis before anthem. oasis seemed to have a lot more going on for kids, and to be a little more kid-oriented.

maybe i just sympathize with your wife - i also hate to fly.

just for reference, i sailed on oasis in 2010, allure in 2013 (and going again next month), quantum in 2015 and anthem in 2016, and i've also been on independence and liberty (4 times for liberty).

if you have other questions, just ask!

 

[squirk]

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of breakdown I was looking for.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

The only thing I would add to karmacats' reply is that Anthem is quite a bit smaller than Oasis - and is actually a bit smaller than Freedom class ships.

 

[msjprincess]

Quantum class is actually slightly bigger than Freedom class.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Quantum class is actually slightly bigger than Freedom class.

Not after the latest changes that added a new deck to Freedom.

 

[msjprincess]

Not after the latest changes that added a new deck to Freedom.

In what way is it bigger? Every thing I find still shows it weighing less and the length didn't change with renovations. They didn't add a new deck, the added cabins to an existing deck in an area that used to be open space.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

In what way is it bigger? Every thing I find still shows it weighing less and the length didn't change with renovations. They didn't add a new deck, the added cabins to an existing deck in an area that used to be open space.

Ships are measured in gross tonnage, which does not relate to weight, but rather to usable space. When you add a new deck with 100+ new cabins, you add a significant amount of gross tonnage. Freedom was 160,000 GT before the re-fit, and Quantum is 168,000GT. The new cabins added ~18,000 GT to Freedom, which makes her larger by about 10,000 GT. Even if you take the inaccurately published number of 154,000 GT, FOS is still slightly larger than Quantum.

 

[David Hewitt-McDonald]

I made a video of the Quantum Class ship Ovation of the Seas, not sure if I am allowed to post on here?

 

[Frozen2014]

Good question. We just returned from Allure with our kids and had an amazing time. The Quantum class looks great too. The Seaplex looks neat with how it can be bumper cars, rollerblading , etc.
My DS10 really enjoyed the zipline and flowrider on Allure and both kids loved the rock wall.