I have been so fortunate to cruise and inspect many different ships and different cruiselines. All have their own unique offerings and I wanted to share my personal top 5 venues onboard in no order!
TWO70 – onboard Quantum Class ships.
This incredible space has many different purposes. Located at the back of the ship, it spans over 2 decks and offers floor to ceiling windows with 270-degrees views. It has a café attached that offers great coffee serves a light breakfast, sandwiches and snacks throughout the day.
During the day it’s a lovely quiet space to relax with comfy couches to read a book or take in the beautiful views. At night the space comes alive and transforms into another theatre that offers a 2nd production show and cast to that of the main theatre productions. The windows completely transform into full HD screens with Robo screens that can project any image transporting you to anywhere in the world and the screens move in sync or separately. They have taken over the need for stage props. It’s an exciting show with aerialists, dancers, and robots - it's truly a remarkable feat of technology and needs to be experienced.
The Queens Room - Cunard
Experience the largest ballroom at Sea. The Queens Room is on all 3 Cunard ships and I believe this venue is the key to why the romance, elegance, and tradition of Cruising will always remain.
By day this venue is a hub of the ship. Offering dance classes, fencing, and talks. Every afternoon from 3 pm it holds the grandest high tea at sea. Enjoy being serenaded by a harpist with lovely sandwiches, beautiful cakes, and all with white-glove service from your wait staff. It will quickly become your daily ritual.
By nightfall, this venue truly comes alive when the orchestra strikes up for an evening of dancing and cocktails. It’s a dancer’s delight. Ladies, even if the other half doesn’t dance, you have gentleman hosts on hand to waltz or quickstep with, and if dancing isn’t your thing that doesn’t matter, it's impossible not to enjoy the atmosphere and the romance that evenings here bring.
Silver Note - Silver Muse
Silver note is one of my favourite venues. Only open in the evening, it is a Jazz club that serves tapas-style dishes while musicians play Jazz and Blues while you eat. It’s a small, intimate setting that serves up Peruvian fusion dishes from Sea bass ceviche to roasted duck with plums to buttered lobster tail (which was delicious by the way!!). It’s by reservation only but from about 10 pm they will allow you to come in and take a seat at the bar to enjoy the music with complimentary cocktails. It’s truly a delightful experience and a definite must!
Bionic Bar – Royal Caribbean
In true Royal Caribbean fashion, they have once again reinvented the wheel and have put the 1st of its kind, a bionic bar purely operated by 2 robotic arms.
All the bottles are hung upside down and drinks are ordered on iPads. Choose a cocktail from the menu or create your own then enjoy watching robots mix and shake your cocktails. Electronic boards display the list of orders in the queue and give fun stats about the order, including a play-by-play of the drink currently being made.
For those a little technology challenged, there are human assistants that can help with your order. This is a seriously cool bar, completely futuristic and so much fun to watch.
‘Hot Rocks’ the Grill – Silversea
Located up on the pool deck by day, ‘The Grill’ is a lovely option for a casual lunch in between dips in the pool or sunbathing where you can enjoy freshly made sandwiches, burgers, salads, kebabs etc. But by night it is transformed into a beautiful alfresco dining experience.
Guests are invited to cook their own food on 400’c volcanic rock similar to that of a Korean BBQ. There are various meats and seafood options to choose from including veal, beef, salmon swordfish, shrimp, as well as vegetarian options. We completely overordered but everything was just so delicious. Coupled with good wine, fantastic service and great weather, it was a perfect evening.
