Exclusive: Government puts out bait but will Quantum leap?

Speculation is growing that Royal Caribbean’s brand new mega-ship could visit Bermuda in 2015.

The Quantum of the Seas, which is set to launch in the autumn of 2014, holds more than 4,100 passengers.

And the Bermuda Sun understands that Government and Royal Caribbean have been in discussions to bring the mega-liner to the island.

Although the cruise line has not included a Bermuda itinerary on its website, the new brochure for the Quantum of the Seas has a photo of King’s Wharf in Dockyard on the back cover.

And the well respected website, Cruise Critic, is predicting that the ship will ‘most likely’ stop in Bermuda ‘at some point’.

The Quantum of the Seas could replace the Explorer of the Seas, which is a regular caller to Bermuda.

The Quantum of the Seas is the first of two 167,800-ton, 4,180-passenger next-generation Royal Caribbean cruise ships to debut.

She will launch November 2014 and will sail between Cape Liberty in Bayonne, to the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean and the Southern Caribbean.

The ship is fitted with 2,090 cabins including 373 virtual balconies inside cabins that feature real-time views of the ocean and destinations.

Its sister ship in the Quantum class, Anthem of the Seas, will sail in the spring of 2015.

Tourism and Transport Minister, Shawn Crockwell, told the Bermuda Sun: “We in the Ministry are always working with our partners in the cruise industry to develop new itineraries for their ships.

“Bermuda is a very popular cruise destination and many cruise lines wish to bring their newest and largest cruise ships to our shores.

“We typically review proposals as to their impact on our tourism and transportation resources, and whether or not channel and other infrastructure modifications need to occur.

“Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is a long-standing partner, and we frequently have a dialogue with them and other cruise lines relative to deployment of their ships to our island”.

Royal Caribbean Cruises remained tight-lipped about its 2015 schedule but the firm did not rule out the possibility of coming to Bermuda.

A spokeswoman said: “At this time we have not finalized the itineraries for Quantum of the Seas.

“We are only able to confirm that she will offer seven to 12-night itineraries from the New York area to the Caribbean and Bahamas.”

Asked about the photo of Bermuda on the firm’s brochure, the spokeswoman told us: “The Quantum brochure does show a variety of ports as an example of some of the destinations we will visit.” n