I already published three blog posts from my first cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas—an overview of and thoughts from embarkation day, a review of the specialty restaurant Wonderland, and a review of the Chef’s Table. I have a bunch more photographs and impressions that I wanted to share beyond what was contained in those three pieces, so like I usually do, I decided to do a photo dump to wrap up everything else I haven’t posted yet.

As is typical for me now at this point, we shall start with a tangent.

I explained this more thoroughly on my embarkation day blog post, but in summary, I have been traveling full-time and living out of short-term housing solutions for a majority of the past several years. This means that I do not have a formal and official long-term lease or rental anywhere, and my “landlord” is basically Marriott. I have friends in various places with whom I stay in their homes when I’m not in hotel rooms, but otherwise, I am a nomad. (I used to ironically call myself homeless, but then I ran into too many people who got genuinely concerned because they thought I was actually literally homeless, so I’ve started avoiding saying I’m homeless lately…)

This lifestyle naturally means that I end up encountering a lot of different kinds of people. Even though I am checking into a hotel because that is literally where I will be living for the next couple weeks, most other people around me are there temporarily, be it for work or leisure. When I go for a walk outdoors within proximity of the hotel, I may be running into vacationers or businesspeople, but I might also be seeing locals.

This phenomenon has become an unremarkable part of my life at this point, but upon reflection, what I experience is probably a bit surreal for someone who just lives peacefully in a suburb where an overwhelming majority of people they encounter are fellow local neighbors.

However, this train of thought led me to a different, adjacent realization. Ever since moving out of my parents’ house in the Chicagoland suburbs, this moment—stepping foot onto a cruise ship—is probably the first time I have ever been around only one “type” of person. Unlike hotels where you don’t necessarily don’t know why someone is there, everyone on this cruise ship was on vacation. Nobody is booking a Royal Caribbean cruise to hold a business conference on the ship. Everyone is there for leisure.

I could’ve stopped there and it would’ve been an amusing thought, but if you take it to the next level, it’s interesting to consider what this actually means. Every customer on the cruise ship was there voluntarily for fun (or close enough to it).

The reason I even started pondering this concept is because, prior to analyzing it, I immediately noticed how happy everybody was. The overall mood of any other land destination that I’ve been to usually balances out to be fairly neutral—there are some people who are enjoying their time, some people who are diligently getting to their next work meeting, and some people who are having a bad day. However, this cruise ship was probably the highest density of happy people that I’ve ever seen in a single location. Everyone looked excited, and there were an unexpectedly high number of people just randomly singing and dancing in the hallways.

This might not have any productive meaning to normal people who might think “of course people will be happy when they’re on vacation,” but it was an insightful point of reflection to me. I have integrated “vacation time” so deeply into my regular lifestyle that I am just perpetually in a state of constant amusement—not too happy, not too upset. Thus, experiencing the joyful mood of thousands of vacationers packed around me on a ship was an eye-opening way for me to see the life of an average American and stay closer in touch with reality.

 
Anyway, the cruise was great.

In my embarkation day blog post, I pointed out how seasick I got, but fortunately, that passed. By the second day, I no longer felt unwell, even though I didn’t take any medication and I didn’t materially change anything about what I was doing. I would still occasionally notice the rocking of the ship, but my brain stopped registering it as threatening.

I’m a big fan of large, dense, clean, walkable cities. This is one of the reasons why Tokyo quickly became my second favorite city of all time (only ranking after my home city of Las Vegas). I want to be able to step outside my door and be able to do and see interesting things, be it either getting food or just walking around and sightseeing or people-watching.

I loved Quantum of the Seas because it felt like it was a densely packed town condensed onto a cruise ship. There was always a wide variety of things to do. If I wanted a change of scenery, I could just go up or down several flights of stairs and be in a completely new environment. If I wanted to eat, I had a ton of options within a few minutes’ walk. If I needed stimulation, I could walk into one of many entertainment venues for ongoing live music or performances. And most importantly, everything was clean.

Branching off the point about entertainment, something I really appreciated was being able to pop in to an entertainment spot on the ship, check it out for several minutes to see if I liked it, and leave to go somewhere else if I didn’t.

Being a resident of Las Vegas, I thought about how neat it would be if a major resort brand on the Las Vegas Strip, like MGM Resorts International, made some kind of “unlimited entertainment pass,” potentially just for locals, where entitlement holders would be able to show up at any MGM property’s show or performance that isn’t sold out and be able to watch for a monthly membership fee. I think that kind of structure would make going to shows much lower-stakes and low-commitment, thus encouraging locals to engage with the Strip more. I am aware that there are seat-filling programs already out there, but it would be nice to have something run officially by MGM or Caesars.

Sort of going back to the idea of “everyone is on vacation here,” another thing that was notable to me was how shocked the stateroom attendant and housekeeping was when they heard that I did not want service throughout my entire stay. Other cruisers love being taken care of so they don’t have to worry about making their bed or cleaning their bathroom while on vacation; on the contrary, I’m there literally to live my normal life, but just on a ship.

I was already supplied with plenty of towels to last me the entire one-week cruise if I use a towel for two days each. I always hang up used towels so they dry out properly, and I always have either the balcony door open or the HVAC system circulating air to control the humidity. If I have garbage, I neatly bag and tie it up and leave it outside my door in the morning. I am generally a clean person, so it’s not like I’m dribbling urine around the toilet or anything. I’m also a pretty peaceful sleeper, up to the point where the sheets and blanket don’t really get moved around much and literally stay tucked at the bottom of the mattress across multiple nights of sleep.

Just like how a lot of people don’t like others intruding in their personal homes, my stateroom was literally the equivalent of my home during my cruise, so I preferred to just have privacy. I did still have to interact with the housekeeping staff once every couple days so they could make sure I hadn’t died in my room, and I had no issue with them looking in my room so they could confirm that I wasn’t secretly cooking methamphetamine in there or something. But otherwise, I mostly just took care of myself, which hopefully also meant that my housekeeper was able to get an extra 15 minutes of rest per day in lieu of tending to my room.

 
With all those rambling thoughts out of the way, here are some more photographs I took during my cruise.

Our first stop was at Cabo San Lucas. Apparently Royal Caribbean doesn’t have a dock at Cabo, so they had to anchor the ship in the middle of the water, which I did not realize was actually a thing. Then, for people to get to shore, they would offer what is called tender service—a system where people get on small boats and are taken back and forth from ship to land.

By this point, I had just overcome a severe bout of seasickness, so I didn’t want to risk it again by getting on a small boat, which I have previously confirmed definitely gives me seasickness. This cruise had an overnight stay at Cabo, so while everyone was out exploring Mexico, I decided to stay on board and enjoy the ship while there were not too many people around.

While doing rounds on the walking track, I noticed a set of stairs leading down to the 14th floor. Out of curiosity, I made my way down there to find that this was the outdoor section of the buffet. Because the buffet was closed at that time for their midday break, this section was empty, so I was able to take in the views in great peace.

Later that evening, I headed back to my stateroom and went out onto my balcony to watch the sunset.

The next morning, I returned to the private 14th floor lookout spot I found the previous day to watch sail-away from Cabo.

The entertainment schedule is usually packed with a lot of shows on sailing days to ensure that cruisers have plenty to do and don’t get bored. One of the shows was Sonic Odyssey, a percussion and dance performance. Most people entered the Royal Theatre through its main floor, but I noticed that there was an upper floor entrance too that wasn’t as busy; for Sonic Odyssey, I found a nice spot near some of the tech equipment up there which offered an unobstructed head-on view of the stage.

Prior to sailing, I purchased the unlimited premium dining package. The benefit of this is that you can dine in specialty restaurants (which come with an upcharge) for free.

Beyond Wonderland and the Chef’s Table that I discussed previously, I also went to Chops Grille, which is a steakhouse. I thought this was very worth it because I had top-tier sit-down restaurant service in an elegant environment, and I was able to avoid the congestion of the main dining areas where everyone else was eating.

For this meal, I got tuna and avocado tartare as my first appetizer, shrimp as my second appetizer, lamb chops as my main entrée, and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. The apple pie had a strange coagulated texture that I wasn’t a fan of, but everything else in the meal was delicious.

Here is another sunset photo, this one from a sailing evening. The sunsets from the ocean looked particularly orange and vibrant.

Here is a stillframe from another show I stumbled across and watched; this one again is from the Royal Theatre, and this one was a musical performance.

Time for an interesting story.

There was a man named Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, more commonly referred to by his alias “El Mencho.” He was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an organized crime group in Mexico known for drug trafficking, among other criminal operations. He was one of the most wanted men in both the United States and Mexico, and there were bounties of US$15 million and MX$300 million by each country’s government for information leading to his arrest.

Did you notice how I am describing El Mencho in past tense? That’s because he was captured and subsequently died in Mexican Army custody. In response to his death, cartels carjacked large vehicles and set them ablaze on key roadways to serve as narcoblockades. This happened on February 22, 2026. Do you know where I was on February 22, 2026? Atop Mexican waters, headed towards Ensenada.

Yes, I was literally in Mexico when Mexico’s most important drug lord was killed.

Because the Army couldn’t graciously wait two days for me to return to the United States first, I had a bit of a predicament. The local news was reporting that even Baja California was suffering from unrest even though it was fairly far away from Jalisco, so I figured that Ensenada was also affected. If the captain of the ship decided to just skip Ensenada entirely and dock at either San Diego or Catalina Island instead, then that would solve the problem for me. However, if we were still going to dock at Ensenada, it was up to me to make the decision.

I ultimately concluded that I would not disembark the ship onto Mexican land. Having formerly worked in law enforcement, I am aware of the strength of organized crime groups and how much more dangerous they are than random people committing crimes alone on the street. I have also personally seen the fragility of life and how easily an innocent bystander can accidentally die.

Furthermore, Mexican drug trafficking organizations hold a complex role in Mexican society. The cartel employs a substantial number of Mexican people and directly contributes to the health of their economy. The cartel is known to provide infrastructure and public services to local communities where the government responsibility falls short. Although a lot of people surely would like to live a life free of the cartel’s intimidation, it is a far more intricate matter than just dismissing the cartel as a bunch of random criminals.

Because of all these factors combined, I decided to just sit this one out. I plan on going back to Mexico again, and because of how much I enjoyed this cruise, I will be going on another cruise soon on a different Royal Caribbean ship that will also go to Mexico.

The following morning, I woke up and opened my curtains to see us docked at Ensenada. According to the captain’s judgment, there was not enough of a risk to skip this port and head straight back to the Untied States. However, I stuck with my decision and took this as another day to enjoy the ship amenities in peace.

We were only docked at Ensenada for several hours before we needed to head back to San Pedro for the conclusion of our cruise. During sail-away from Ensenada, I noticed that the stairway down to the 14th floor was blocked off for some reason. Now extra curious, I stepped over the rope and headed down there anyway.

I immediately saw why that area was closed. The seagulls were extremely aggressive, and the entire deck and overlook area had a ton of seagulls flapping around. I guess they really liked the shaded and sheltered overhang from which they could smell food coming from the buffet. The floor and glass was absolutely drenched in bird droppings. After snapping a photo, I quickly made my way back upstairs to safety.

The timing of El Mencho’s death was unfortunate because the ship was actually docked at Ensenada instead of having tender service, so I actually would’ve been fine with going outside. It was fun watching what the logistics look like of docking a cruise ship as large as Quantum of the Seas. There were a lot of workers overseeing the operations, including these ones in this photograph who were responsible for managing the ropes that tied the ship to land.

One of my new favorite cruise ship activities was watching people sprinting to make it back onto the ship before sail-away. Apparently, I was not the only one who enjoyed this, because there was a very large group of people standing on the edge of the ship watching to see if anyone would miss their ride back to the United States.

We had three parties nearly miss the cut-off to re-embark the ship (i.e., they were late, and they made it back to the ship during the unofficial grace period before the ship left). In each situation, the people on the ship would yell at the stragglers to run, cheer when they started running, boo when they slowed down, and cheer again when they made it to the ship in time. It was actually quite fun and felt like we were all watching a live sports game together or something.

Here is a photo from sailing away from Ensenada.

For the last night on board, there was a farewell show at the Royal Theatre. I decided to mix things up this time and take a seat on the side to see if there was anything I was missing from this vantage point. The show consisted of a comedian, so I found out that the angle didn’t really matter, though I did get a chance to take a fresh photo from a different perspective.

After the first half of the farewell show was over, there was an intermission for the balloon drop. Everyone gathered at the Royal Esplanade, the cruise director came out to give credits to all the crew on board, there was a quick dance party, and then the balloons were released onto the crowd.

I didn’t want to be down there shoulder-to-shoulder with other cruisers, so I went up on the balcony instead. I gently pushed my way to a spot directly opposite of the makeshift stage so that I could have a clear and unobstructed view of all the action and enjoy the balloon drop.

After the balloon drop, I dined at Jamie’s Italian, another premium dining venue. I personally much preferred the other specialty restaurants; the food at Jamie’s was overwhelmingly salty.

After going back to the Royal Theatre and enjoying the second, late-night portion of the farewell show (which was the same comedian, but with a second set that was not limited to being family-friendly), I returned to my room and looked out my balcony for a nice view of the moon. The photo turned out blurry because it was so dark, but the reflection on the ocean was quite stunning in-person.

After getting a little bit of sleep overnight, I was woken up by the early-morning disembarkation announcements the next day. I opened my blinds to find us facing the World Cruise Center at the Port of Los Angeles and a seagull perched atop the ledge of my balcony.

As part of my VIP perks for purchasing an upgrade to The Key, I was allowed to be one of the final people to disembark the ship. While everyone else was standing in line and scrambling to leave, I was able to enjoy a leisurely sit-down breakfast at an on-ship restaurant.

For my final meal of the cruise, I had a “Royal VIP Signature,” which was a crab cake and poached egg atop a crispy sourdough muffin garnished with crushed avocado, shaved black truffle, and hollandaise sauce.

And that concludes my overview of my first ever cruise. As I mentioned before, this was definitely positive enough of an experience that I will go on another cruise again soon.

Royal Caribbean’s port in San Pedro has two ships that regularly have round-trip sailings from it—Quantum of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas. Although both are relatively new, I heard that each ship has its own unique vibe and identity, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for a well-timed and well-priced cruise on Navigator so I can check that out as well.