A popular adults-only activity may be about to return fleetwide aboard Royal Caribbean International cruises.
According to guest reports, The Quest is slowly starting to appear once more on some vessels and sailings, and while there has been no official announcement, the occasionally risque scavenger hunt is once again appearing on activity schedules.
Royal Caribbean’s The Quest Is Back!
The Quest, an adults-only scavenger hunt with a variety of quirky and often riddle-like “quests” for participants to complete, is beginning to reappear on Royal Caribbean ships.
Guests on recent sailings have reported the game aboard various ships, including Brilliance of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, and Grandeur of the Seas.
The cruise line’s largest ship and the largest cruise ship in the world, Wonder of the Seas, has also reintroduced The Quest, with the first event reported during the ship’s recent transatlantic sailing that has brought the vessel from Europe to her new homeport, Port Canaveral.
Why The Quest Was Paused
The popular activity has not been seen onboard Royal Caribbean ships since the industry-wide shutdown, and it did not return once cruising resumed.
Because The Quest requires guests to be close together – depending on the challenges, possibly sharing clothing, joining hands, or having other physical contact – it was deemed an unnecessary risk to pandemic health precautions, when social distancing was essential and group gatherings were discouraged.
The activity is also a popular spectator event, and the reserved venues generally fill up with interested guests who aren’t quite willing to join in the sometimes crazy and energetic tasks.
Because most health and safety protocols have now been eased and cruise ships are once again sailing at full capacity, the time is right to bring The Quest back.
What Is The Quest?
The game, which is sometimes listed as Crazy Quest, is restricted to adults 18 years of age and older, and has a reputation of getting more than a bit wild and even raunchy, depending on crowd reactions and participation levels.
It is typically held in one of the ship’s larger lounge or activity spaces, such as Studio B, depending on which spaces are available on different class vessels. Often held later in the evening, the game usually lasts about an hour.
The game’s host will divide up the lounge audience into several teams, and each team is given a number. A pair of team captains, usually one man and one woman, will be in charge of coordinating the quests in their section.
Each task sets a specific goal for teams to complete, from something as simple as producing basic items – a driver’s license, specific tattoos, or false teeth, for example – to more complicated goals, such as getting a group of people to all do a silly dance together.
While some loyal Royal Caribbean guests familiar with the event may try to come prepared with extra items in their pockets, the tasks do change and the game can be very unpredictable.
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The final tasks are often the most risque, and culminate in… well, what happens at The Quest stays at The Quest. As teams complete the task, the host will call out which team finished first, and a basic score is kept. The leaders of the winning team generally receive a token prize.
To Play or Not to Play
Just like adults-only or R-rated comedy shows, The Quest is not for everyone. Guests who are more reserved or may be easily offended might want to consider choosing other entertainment, but adventurous-minded guests will love the interactive challenges and high energy of the event.
Guests who would rather observe without being pressured to join in should sit further from the open space, such as the dance floor or stage, where the majority of the action will take place.
Those who want to lead a team should position themselves near the front row, and be as loud and energetic as possible to catch the host’s attention. Even if they aren’t chosen to lead a team, assistants to help rouse the crowd for each task are always welcome participants.
As with any onboard activity, whether or not The Quest will be part of any individual sailing is at the cruise director’s discretion.
