Now I`ve Heard of Pink Elephants But ……………..

A Pink Polar Bear ??? Surely not !

If you want to get up close and personal with one ( not sure if its a boy or a girl ) then Royal Caribbean`s Quantum of the Seas is the place to go. The bear is 30 feet tall, magenta in colour and is situated on  the outside of the ship. It is the most prominent part of a 2980 piece art collection on the ship called ” What Makes Life Worth Living “, sculpted by Lawrence Argent, a sculptor from Denver. The giant pink polar bear is named ‘From Afar’ and is made up of 1,340 stainless steel triangles weighing about  eight tonnes.

The sculpture is intended to “incite wonder among guests” – well it will certainly do that, and encourage them to admire the bear from afar, hopefully whilst still on board the ship, as well as “interact with it on a more intimate, yet whimsical level” – I am really not sure what that means! I love Polar Bears but I`m not sure if I really want to interact with them intimately!

Having said that I do love the Art Collections and Auctions on board cruise ships, not that I`m an expert at all, but I love listening to the people who are talking about the paintings and artists, and Royal Caribbean pride themselves on having one of the largest private art collections in the world on its fleet of cruise ships.

Quantum  will have all sorts of new and exciting innovations including a Bionic Robot Barman ! Now I`m not sure if Makr Shar invented him, or that’s his name, but I do wonder what his chat up line will be ! No flirting with the bartender on  these ships ! Ilove the Ice Bars on Celebrity`s Solstice Class ships, nothing better than a permanently cold glass of wine or martini, but this takes cocktail making to a whole new level.

At the moment the Robot is exclusive to Quantum of the Seas in the Bionic Bar Venue, but there are plans to introduce him in hotels on land soon. He can make almost any cocktail you can think of from a selection of over 3o spirits, 8 sodas, 6 juices, 3 syrups, sugar , mint , limes & lemons! The combinations could be endless but I wonder if he can shake and stir, light sparklers and has colourful parrots to put in the glasses too ! A good cocktail has to have a sparkler in it in my book!

There will be loads of new and innovative features on Quantum and Allure but the thing I am really looking forward to most is Mama Mia! Royal Caribbean will be the first cruise line to produce Tony Award winning musicals at sea, starting with Mama Mia when Quantum sails from New York in November this year . Millions people around the world have fallen in love with the story and the music  of Abba, the story tells of life on a Greek Island paradise and a daughter`s search to find her father on the eve of her wedding, ending with her mother being reunited with the love of her life.

Now I wonder if Royal can reproduce Pierce Brosnan on board – that would be amazing !