Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas coming to Singapore in October 2022: All you need to know

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A new Royal Caribbean ship is coming to Singapore next year: Spectrum of the Seas. Here's what cruisegoers can expect.

Royal Caribbean has announced that Spectrum of the Seas will commence sailings from Singapore in October 2022, marking the ship’s first return since 2019. 

Unlike the incumbent Quantum of the Seas (which will wrap up its cruise to nowhere schedule in April 2022), Spectrum will offer 3/4/5/7/9-night Southeast Asia getaway cruises. This effectively means that Royal is betting on ports opening up by 3Q 2022. 

Overview: Spectrum of the Seas

Spectrum of the Seas

Spectrum of the Seas undertook her maiden voyage in 2019, having been designed specifically for the China and Asia market. Although she’s roughly the same size as Quantum (169,379 gross tonnage versus Quantum’s 168,666), Spectrum part of a more modern class known as the Quantum Ultra. 

The ship has capacity for 5,622 guests and 1,551 crew, spread across 16 decks. Here’s an infographic provided by Royal Caribbean (you can tell what market the ship was designed for, based on the comparisons they make). 

Infographic: Royal Caribbean

A total of 2,137 staterooms are available, split into 142 suites and 1,995 regular cabins. Suites are divided into the following categories:

CategoryNameNo. of SuitesCapacity
Star ClassUltimate Family Suite111
Grand Loft Suite44
Sky ClassOwner’s Suite44
Grand Suite164
Golden Junior Suite52
Golden Balcony Suite62-4
Sea ClassJunior Suite w Large Balcony284
Junior Suite782

Regular cabins are split into:

  • 1,487 Balcony staterooms
  • 142 Oceanview staterooms
  • 366 Interior staterooms

Here’s what guests can look forward to, according to the press release:

  • Asia’s first Sky Pad, a virtual reality, bungee trampoline adventure where guests strap in and don a headset to transport themselves to another time and planet.
  • Royal Caribbean’s first and exclusive Suite Enclave, which features the exquisite Royal Suite Class Star, Sky and Sea accommodations in a private area supremely positioned at the forward end of the ship. Guests booked in these luxury suites have exclusive floor access, an elevator, private restaurants, and a dedicated lounge area.
  • Cutting-edge and transformative venues such as Two70. Boasting stunning 270-degree ocean views by day and transforming into a multidimensional theater by night, this transformative space flaunts six agile Roboscreens, breathtaking live performers and mind-bending aerialists to create unimaginable visuals. Meanwhile, SeaPlex, the largest indoor activity space at sea, features bumper cars, interactive gaming, roller skating, laser tag, fencing, archery, and more.
  • Star Moment, a lively and energetic karaoke venue where family and friends can belt out and sing like stars.
  • Spacious and family friendly staterooms, ranging from exterior balcony staterooms to family friendly interconnected rooms, to the signature two-level Ultimate Family Suite, an expansive, multiroom retreat complete with its own ensuite slide and cinema, which also doubles as a karaoke stage.
  • A bold lineup of signature activities, including the FlowRider surf simulator, the North Star, an all-glass capsule that ascends 300 feet above the ocean to deliver incomparable 360-degree views; and RipCord by iFly, the first sky diving experience at sea.
  • Nineteen distinct dining options serve up flavors from around the world, including Hot Pot, an authentic Chinese dining experience; Teppanyaki, a celebration of authentic oriental flavors cooked in Japan’s traditional teppanyaki style; and Sichuan Red, a new specialty dining experience tailored just for Spectrum, where diners can savour a bold tapestry of authentic spices and Sichuan flavours. Signature classics include imaginative cuisine at Wonderland, top-notch, aged beef at Chops Grille, and authentic rustic fare and handmade pasta at Jamie’s Italian.

Quantum veterans will spot familiar attractions like FlowRider, North Star, iFly, and venues such as SeaPlex and Two70. 

Spectrum of the Seas Main Dining Room

However, there are some differences to take note of. While Quantum splits the main dining room into four different venues (American Icon Grill, Chic, Silk and The Grande), Spectrum has a single large venue simply called the Main Dining Room.

Suites guests on Quantum enjoy access to the exclusive Concierge Club, but Spectrum takes that one step further by having a Suites-only area of the ship, located at the forward end of decks 13 through 16. This has a special restaurant, lounge and outdoor space, together with a shopping outlet. 

Star Moment

In other nods to its Asian audience, Boleros has been replaced by Star Moment (a karaoke joint hopefully more Teo Heng than lup sup KTV), Harp and Horn pub has been replaced by a tea room called Leaf and Bean, and new specialty restaurants like Teppanyaki and Sichuan Red join classics like Wonderland and Chops Grille. 

For a detailed review of the Spectrum experience (from 2019), refer to the link. Additional reviews can be found here and here. 

Sailing dates

Spectrum will be offering 3/4/5/7/9-night Southeast Asia getaway cruises, with departure dates running from 21 October 2022 to 6 April 2023. 

ItineraryDeparturesPorts
3-nights Penang2022
Oct 31
Nov 7, 14, 21, 28
Dec 5, 12

2023
Jan 9, 30
Feb 6, 13, 20
Mar 13, 20, 27
Apr 3

Penang
4-nights Penang & Phuket 2022
Nov 3, 10, 17, 24
Dec 1, 8, 15, 29

2023
Jan 12, 16
Feb 2, 9, 16
Mar 9, 16, 23, 30
Apr 6

Penang
Phuket
5-nights Spice of SE Asia2022
Oct 21, 26
Dec 19, 24

2023
Jan 20, 25
Mar 4

Kuala Lumpur
Penang
Phuket
7-nights Spice of SE Asia2023
Jan 2
Kuala Lumpur
Penang
Phuket (overnight)
9-nights Spice of SE Asia2023
Feb 23
Nha Trang
Ho Chi Minh
Bangkok (overnight)

The inaugural cruise on 21 October 2022 will be a 5-night Spice of SE Asia itinerary visiting Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket. 

It won’t be cheap

Spectrum of the Seas playground area
Spectrum of the Seas playground area

While Spectrum sounds exciting, would-be cruisers should know that it’ll cost you a fair bit more than Quantum. I’m sure some of it boils down to the fact that cruises to somewhere are more expensive to operate than cruises to nowhere, but to illustrate, a 4-night Spectrum cruise in December 2022 starts from:

  • S$1,372 for an Interior stateroom
  • S$1,364 for an Ocean View stateroom (don’t ask me why this is cheaper)
  • S$1,712 for a Balcony stateroom
  • S$2,664 for a Silver Junior suite
  • S$3,204 for a Golden Balcony suite
  • S$5,904 for a Grand suite

For comparison, I paid the following for 4-night cruises to nowhere on Quantum:

  • January 2021: S$2,257 for a Grand Suite
  • March 2021: S$1,274 for a Balcony stateroom
  • January 2022: S$1,655 for a Grand Suite

HSBC and AIA are offering discounts on cruises to nowhere with Quantum, but these discounts do not currently apply to Spectrum sailings. It’s possible they may add them later, but for now, what you see is what you pay. 

Remember that you can enjoy US$50-250 of onboard credit if you hold a minimum of 100 Royal Caribbean shares (NYSE: RCL). 

Cruise with Confidence does not apply to Spectrum sailings

Under Royal Caribbean’s Cruise with Confidence programme, guests can cancel their sailings up to 48 hours prior and receive a 100% Future Cruise Credit valid for bookings by 30 April 2022 and sailing by 31 December 2022, or one year from the original sailing date (whichever is later).

However, Cruise with Confidence covers bookings made by 31 October 2021, with sail dates up till 30 April 2022. This means it will not apply to Spectrum sailings, which will be subject to regular cancellation policies. 

These are summarised below:

3N to 5N Cruises
If Cancellation is MadeCancellation Charge
>45 days prior to sailingNo charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
31-45 days25% of total price
15-30 days50% of total price
<15 days100% of total price (No refund)
7N Cruises
If Cancellation is MadeCancellation Charge
>60 days prior to sailingNo charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
31-60 days25% of total price
15-30 days50% of total price
<15 days100% of total price (No refund)
9N Cruises
If Cancellation is MadeCancellation Charge
>90 days prior to sailingNo charge (except for Nonrefundable Deposit amounts)
46-90 days25% of total price
15-45 days50% of total price
<15 days100% of total price (No refund)

Note: I’m basing the above on what Royal Caribbean’s website shows me when I try to make a booking for Spectrum.  

However, Royal Caribbean’s FAQs describe a slightly different cancellation policy. When in doubt, refer to your agent.

Conclusion

Spectrum of the Seas

Those who have sailed on Quantum and expect a totally brand new experience on Spectrum might be disappointed, because the two ships do share many features and architectural similarities. In fact, you can argue that Spectrum would be slightly worse for non-suite guests because they lose access to the solarium, one of my favourite places onboard. 

But I do believe that actually sailing somewhere adds a whole new dimension to a cruise, and provided you’re willing to forgo suite privileges, regular staterooms are at a somewhat reasonable premium to Quantum. 

For more resources on cruising, refer to the links below:

Will you be booking a Spectrum of the Seas cruise?

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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