Q:

Are the quests/storyline optional?

I do not really like quests.
In SWTOR how much of the storylines/quests do I need to do? 
I understand from the beta I had to do a long quest line to unlock the space ship and first companion.
EDIT: I feel I should comment here to explain the reason for the question, because it seems apparent to me that if you ask three people why they play the game, you will get 3 different answers, and I can't understand why people are fighting over which one is correct - THEY ALL ARE.
I play to socialise and to raid. I find it difficult to relate to the storylines of the quests and I do not like the railroading associated with storylines.
Thank you all for information and answers. I have accepted the one I felt was best because that is the way the site works, but I think all the answers are valid and each one taught me something.

A:

if you don't like questing, you're playing the wrong game. I suggest you look for the revival of Star Wars Galaxies (google for it).
But if you're dead set on playing TOR, you can do just the class quests (ignore all the quest givers), and get your exp from PvP or space combat. With the money you get from space combat you should be able to buy your equipment in the AH and keep yourself updated.
You don't even need to do the class quests after you get your companion and ship (about level 10), just do space combat or pvp, but then, you'd be missing out on the best part of this game and what sets it apart from other MMOs.

A:

You'll need to do your class quests at a minimum if you want to unlock the full compliment of companions, which is important if you want to keep your crew skills up to date. You'll need to do them through at least level 15 or so to get your ship to be able to get to planets other than the starter areas as well.
Questing is also one of the few reliable ways to bring in credits, and at high levels, skill training becomes extremely pricey. 
You can play with a minimum of questing, but the hoops you'll end up jumping through may make it not worth doing. 

A:

Technically, yes, but for a game like SWTOR, I would say that the Storylines are THE most important part of the game.  Period.
If you do plan on skipping all of the good stuff in the game, please do not go whining on the SWTOR forums about the game being too short and boring.  Or that there is no "end game" content.  The content is all the stuff you skipped on the way to lv 50.
I'm sure you won't like my opinion on this, but I've seen too many MMO's ruined by similar type thinking.
WoW and Warhammer being the largest two that I can think of.

