Grad Students Sail the Monarch, May 11-15, 2009 (Review)

Two grad students and former Carnival passengers review the May 11th sailing of the Monarch of the Seas to the Bahamas!

Passenger Background

Erin (25) and I (28) have been friends for 6 years and we try to visit each other or go on a cruise every year or so since we live so far away (I live in North Carolina and she lives in Alabama). We first sailed on the Carnival Victory in May of 2006, so it has been 3 years since we last cruised. We both just finished our first year of graduate school and we desperately needed a vacation! This is our second cruise and our first on Royal Caribbean.

Travel to Port

We both flew Delta from our home airports to Atlanta and then flew together from Atlanta to Orlando. Since this was a short cruise and we were on a budget we flew in on the day of embarkation. All flights left and arrived on time and we were were at baggage claim by 10:30 Monday morning.

We reserved Coco Beach Shuttle (total $58 each way) to take us to and from the port. I highly recommend using them and would book with them again without reservations. Every time I called they were professional, courteous and answered all of my questions. I called them once we landed and they told us where to meet them after we got our bags. We waited about 15 minutes for the driver to pick us up, we made a quick stop to pick up some other Monarch passengers and we were off!

From the airport to the toll booth were in EXTREMELY slow traffic due to the shuttle launch scheduled for 2:01 that afternoon. I was starting to get a little worried about getting on the ship before the shuttle launch, but after we cleared the toll booth we picked up speed. Traffic remained heavy, but it was moving at or slightly above the speed limit. Total travel time from airport to port was 55 minutes, we arrived around 12:15 pm.

Embarkation

We entered the terminal on the right side entrance (facing the Monarch) and they only had one working metal detector on that side so it took about 10 minutes to get through the security checkpoint. We went upstairs and got in line to get our Set Sail passes. We were required to fill out a form about our health and if we had been in contact with someone who was confirmed to have swine flu or exhibited flue like symptoms (we hadn't) or if we were sick ourselves. Once we got in line it was about 20 minutes until we set foot on the Monarch. As we boarded there were two crew members standing by hand sanitizers asking everyone to sanitize their hands.

Stateroom

We booked stateroom 8048, a partially obstructed category I stateroom on deck 8. RCI says this cabin has a 4% obstruction and that sounds about right. We were aware that the staterooms on the Monarch were small, and they are. We did okay since it was a short cruise and there were only two of us, but if it was a 7 night cruise or we tried to fit another person in there I would have had to kill someone. :) There was a hair dryer in the cabin and there was only one electrical outlet. The bathroom was SMALL and shaving my legs was an adventure. Erin and I are both 5' 3" and it was tough for us to shower without soaking the entire bathroom. I don't know how taller people manage. Camelot was our room steward and took good care of us all week. His supply room was directly across the hall, so we saw him frequently. We were pleased that he left us towel animals every night!

Ship Review

There were two main areas where we felt the Monarch showed her age. The first is the size of the staterooms and the second is the lack of amenities. The ship was beautiful, but we missed some of the activities that we found on the Carnival Victory (not to mention the 24 hour soft serve ice cream). Erin missed the activities more so than I did, but the lack was felt on our sea day more so than any other day. We noticed a musty smell a few times throughout the cruise, especially on the first day on deck eight and sometimes in the Windjammer. The elevators were almost always crowded, we always took the stairs if we were going down and if we were walking up three decks or less.

The ship had a good range of passengers, there were 165 children on board (according to our cruise director Drew Devine) a lot of honeymooners and someone said there was a woman who was celebrating her 97th birthday!

Dining/Food

We were pretty disappointed in the food choices/quality on the Monarch. We never went hungry, but we weren't super impressed by anything we ate. The pizza was less than average (Carnival's pizza was MUCH better) and the best thing we ate all week was the french fries in Windjammer, followed by the sourdough rolls in the dining room. The salad bar was always good and there was a ton of fresh fruit available which was very nice.

We had the 8:30 (second) seating in Claude's dining room. We ate in the dining room on two of the four nights, formal night and the last night. The food choices on formal night were more exotic than I'm used too, but I was satisfied with my choices on both nights.

We requested a window table (which we received) but we had nothing in common with our table mates. They were very nice, don't get me wrong, but we were seated with a couple in their 70's, a man in his 40s/50s and a young girl (younger than 20) and then we had 2 empty seats. This was a big disappointment for us, on our Carnival sailing we were seated with girls our own age and we hung out with them the whole week. Maybe if we hadn't requested a window table we would have been seated with people closer to our own age.

There were always lots of food options available, especially during breakfast, but it seemed that some of the items were store bought. The waffles especially seemed like they came off the store shelf. The Windjammer didn't open until 6:30 the night we were in Nassau which we thought was strange since the main dinner seating was at 6:00.

Service

We enjoyed the service from all the crew members. The wait staff in both the dining room and Windjammer were wonderful. The crew that worked in the Windjammer were always quick to lend a hand if you had your hands full and circulated with trays of water, tea, and lemonade so you didn't have to get up to get a refill. Our cabin steward was great, as I mentioned before we were right across from his supply closet so we saw him frequently. He always asked if we had everything we needed.

Activities

There were many activities throughout the day, but we did not participate in any of them. We had excursions booked for both port days and I spent the majority of our sea day lounging in the sun.

Entertainment

We attended the welcome aboard show (why is the singing and dancing always so lame during this show?!?), the comedian/juggler on Wednesday night and "Can't Stop the Beat" on Thursday night. All the shows were enjoyable, but both Carnival and Royal Caribbean can improve on the singing and choreography of the Welcome Aboard show.

Day 1: Shuttle Launch, Ship Explorations and Sail Away

As soon as we got on board we rushed to drop our carry-on bags in the cabin and get on deck to watch the space shuttle launch. By this time it was 1:30 and we were excited, hungry and very tired (we were both up before 4:00 am to catch our flights). We went all the way up to deck 12 and found spots by the railing to watch the launch. Watching from the ship was an amazing experience, we had NOTHING between us and the launch pad but water! No buildings, no trees, no cars and no tents. Since both launch pads had shuttles, we couldn't tell which one was Atlantis. Right at 2:01 we saw the smoke billowing from the launch pad closest to us and a few seconds later we saw the rockets ignite. The launch was indescribable, the power, the excitement, and the noise were all beyond description.

After the launch we headed straight to the Windjammer for lunch and then explored the ship a little before heading back to our stateroom to get ready for the muster drill. We did have to take our life jackets with us (and wear them as we walked to our muster station). We had station number 9, which met on deck 7 in Boleros. It was nice to be inside where there was air conditioning! After the muster drill we dumped our life jackets in the cabin and went to find a spot to stand for sail away.

After watching the crowds on decks 11 & 12 for the shuttle launch we decided to watch sail away from deck 5. We walked to the bow and were able to watch them release the lines. There were only a few people around so it was a nice and quiet place to watch the ship leave port.

Day 2: Coco Cay

Our first port of call was Coco Cay (not available on the drop down menu on the review form). The water was smooth as glass and we had no problems tendering into port.

We were on the 9:00 tender and we had booked the Wave Runner excursion for 10:30. We walked around for about an hour before signing in at the Wave Hut at 10:00. Once we were signed in we explored a little more before we had an orientation and safety meeting at 10:30. We were on the Wave Runners (Erin drove since she has driven one before, I was the picture taking passenger) around 11:00. We were on the Wave Runners for a little over an hour, we had several opportunities to go full throttle (fun, but a little scary trying to hang on from the passenger seat) and the course we took to each stopping point included twists and turns. At one stop our guide got off the wave runner and picked up to Caribbean Stars (looks like giant star fish) that we could hold and get pictures of. This tour was the first time we had done an excursion through the ship and we had a great time! My only complaint was that it was only an hour, it was slightly overpriced for the amount of time spent out on the water.

Lunch was VERY crowded and the sea gulls were pretty aggressive. We each got a Coco Loco which was pretty good, but very sweet. We tried to get one in a regular glass, but there weren't any available so we ended up with a souvenir mug.

After lunch we both had a spa appointment at the Island Oasis. We hadn't planned on doing a spa treatment because we didn't enjoy our ship spa experience on Carnival (hard sell) but they had a spa taster package for $109 and we could get it done in an air conditioned room on Coco Cay. The package included a European spa facial, scalp, neck & shoulder massage, conditioning hair treatment, moisturizing hand massage, foot and ankle massage, and sunglow makeover. The treatment was nice and reasonably priced considering it was a ship spa and best of all there was NO HARD SELL! As a matter of fact they didn't even mention that there were products for sale which was so nice!

It was 3:00 after I finished my spa treatment so I headed back to the ship. I was covered in oil and the conditioning treatment left my hair an oily mess (it was much better after my shower, then I could tell the difference) so I desperately needed a shower. After we got cleaned up we went outside to watch us leave Coco Cay, then donated some money to the casino and bought a bracelet and anklet.

This night was formal night, so we got ready a little early so we could go take pictures outside while the sun was setting.

Day 3: Nassau

Our second port of call was Nassau. We were originally scheduled to be in port from 7:00 am to 11:59 pm so we booked the 8:30 Dolphin Swim with Dolphin Encounters (at Blue Lagoon Island). We found out the night before that they changed our arrival time to 8:00 which had us a little worried since we had to check in at the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal at 8:00 before we got on the ferry to Blue Lagoon Island at 8:30.

Luckily, we arrived early and cleared customs by 7:45. Erin and I were downstairs waiting and we were the second and third passengers of the ship! We got a taxi ($5 per person, including bridge toll) to the ferry terminal and arrived at 8:05. We checked in and settled in to wait.

The ride to Blue Lagoon was nice, we were able to get some nice pictures of the ships docked (Monarch of the Seas, Carnival Glory and NCL Sky) and Atlantis. Blue Lagoon Island is FANTASTIC!!!!! The dolphin swim was great, we got individual time with the dolphins and they did all sorts of tricks for us. The highlight of the excursion was the foot push (ladies, be sure to wear a one piece bathing suit!!!). Dolphin Encounters is a first class operation, they don't force the dolphins to participate, and the facility is beautiful. If you have a waterproof camera they allow you to take your own pictures if you want (we did).

We paid $185 each for the dolphin swim (the dolphin encounter is cheaper and they also have a sea lion program) and after the swim you can use their beach free of charge. They had a place where you can eat lunch (not free) or rent floating mats, noodles and other water gear. They also had chair massages available on the beach. Pictures were very expensive, one 5x7 was $16. We caved and ended up getting a $39 photo package that we split the cost. We got three 5x7 photos (one individual shot and a shot of the two of us) and two photo magnets (the picture of the two of us with the dolphin).

After our swim ended we sat on the beach for awhile then walked around the rest of the facility to get some pictures of the other animals. We took the 1:00 ferry back to Nassau and they made two stops, one at the ferry terminal and the second at the cruise ship docks.

We went back to the ship for a quick shower and to have lunch, then we took a taxi to Ardastra Gardens ($10 total). The entrance fee was $15 per person. We were very disappointed in Ardastra, it looked run down and it was definitely off the beaten path. The gardens were very dry and only a few flowers were in bloom. The birds were beautiful and I had fun feeding apple slices to the lorries. It was pretty hot so we ended up leaving before the flamingo show, which I now regret. The lady working the main entrance called a taxi for us and we went over to Atlantis to walk around ($20 total, plus $1 for the bridge toll).

Atlantis is an extravagant place and very overpriced. We were there for about 1-2 hours wandering through the public areas. It was pretty and had some really neat features but it seemed out of place from what we had seen of Nassau. The public viewing area of The Digs was very neat but I didn't not want to pay $35 to walk through the whole thing (mainly because I had just been to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas).

We took a taxi back to the ship around 5:00 ($4 per person). We had intended on doing some shopping, but all the stores were closed, so we just boarded the ship. We ate in the Windjammer that evening and then went to see the show.

Day 4: Sea Day

This was a lazy day for both of us. We slept in a little and then we both spent the morning laying in the sun. We were on the pool deck around 9:00 and there were chairs available both near the pool and on the uppder deck. We chose to sit upstairs where we had a view of the ocean. Around 12:30 we gathered up our stuff and went inside to have lunch. I took a nap in the cabin for awhile while Erin walked around the ship. Around 3:00 I went back out to spend another hour or so in the sun.

We met up again later to do a little shopping and donate some more money to the casino before we went back to shower and get ready for the evening. We attended the 7:00 showing of Can't Stop the Beat which I enjoyed, then we went to dinner.

Day 5: Debarkation and Travel Home

Debarkation was very easy and we overestimated how early we needed to get up. We got up at 6:30 to find out that we had already docked. We showered and packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to the Windjammer for breakfast. We both called our family to let them know we were back safely and headed to the Sound of Music lounge on deck 5 to wait for our color (light blue) to be called. We were scheduled to be called at 9:10, but we were called 15 minutes early. We walked down to deck 4 and walked off the ship. Customs was a breeze, they glanced at our customs forms and our passports and we headed off to claim our bags. We were off the ship and had our bags by 9:30.

We had to wait about 10-15 minutes for the next Coco Beach Shuttle but since our flight wasn't until 2:30 we had plenty of time. It took about an hour to get to the airport so we still had time to kill. Once we checked in and dropped our bags off with the scanners we shopped for a little while before going through security. The Orlando airport is a great place to kill time, they have shops for Disney, Sea World, Harley Davidson, Kennedy Space Center and more.

Our flight left on time, but after sitting on the runway for about 15 minutes we turned back to the gate for a maintenance issue. They never did tell us what it was, but the delay was about 1 1/2 hours which caused me to miss my connecting flight back home. Erin had a really long layover so she was fine. By the time I landed in Atlanta they had already rebooked me on the next flight which was nice. I only had to wait another hour. It was inconvenient, but I was just thankful it happened on the way home and not at the start of the trip!

Summary

Overall we had a great time! Carnival and RCI are more similar than different in our experience and each line has pros and cons. We loved the itinerary and would do this again, but probably not on the Monarch. We really had a blast on the wave runners and swimming with the dolphins, we did a much better job of selecting excursions this time (with the exception of Ardastra Gardens). Our biggest disappointment was that we did not meet people our age while on the ship, they were there, but we never seemed to run into them since we were not seated with them at dinner.

If you are interested in seeing pictures I have most of them posted on Photobucket, http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/1003/AprilHoward/Monarch%20of%20the%20Seas%20May%202009/. All pictures posted were taken with my DSLR (Minolta Maxxum 5D) and my new waterproof camera (Olympus Stylus 850 SW).

If you have questions or comments let me know!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this week.

Great review, April. Very well-written, and a real addition to the board!

I particularly like your dolphin photos! :)

Great review, April. Very well-written, and a real addition to the board!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, it took me almost 5 hours to write it! :D Of course I was also trying to upload pictures to Photobucket and Facebook at the same time, which may have been part of the problem.

Great review! We were on the Monarch too, and couldn't believe our luck at being aboard for the shuttle launch. . . incredible! The only problem we had with this cruise was that it was too short. The staff was great, the food was ok, and we are now big fans of My Time Dining. Loved your pictures, the close up of the shuttle launch is perfect, thanks!:)

This looks like heaven! Where is it? BTW, the shuttle pics are awesome!

Excellent review! Great pics you posted here....off to check out the others:D

This looks like heaven! Where is it? BTW, the shuttle pics are awesome!

The picture of the ship was taken on Coco Cay beside the Island Oasis (spa) where there is a "lighthouse". There were several of those cabanas, and I got a nice nap under one while I was waiting for my spa appointment.

I was pleased with the shuttle launch photos myself! :) It was a hazy day and I wished I had a bigger lens... I saw a few huge lenses around the ship and I had a big case of camera envy. LOL

You were so fortunate to see the shuttle launch from the ship! We've always wished we could plan things that well.

We have also found that our dining mates on the shorter cruise may not be the bes combinations. When we were on Monarch in January we were seated with a couple our age, and two young ladies about your age. I'm sure it was disappointing to them to be seated with us old 40 year olds. I remember being in my 20s and the last thing I wanted to do was spend time with married couples! Hope your next cruise finds you with more people your own age, but it sounds like you still had a good time.

You were so fortunate to see the shuttle launch from the ship! We've always wished we could plan things that well.

 

...but it sounds like you still had a good time.

We didn't plan the shuttle launch, that was a good surprise! I found out about the launch about a week before we left.

We still had a great time! The older couple was very nice and we talked about places they have visited (they have cruised 38 times and are Diamond Plus on RC) we just didn't want to hang out with them. :p

What a great review and I loved looking at your pictures. You had some incredible pictures of the birds. My husband and I did the tour of Ardastra Gardens (several years back) and we were disappointed w/how run down it looked also. I didn't know you could feed the birds though. The pictures are beautiful. It looks like you and your friend had a great time in spite of not being at a compatible table. I also loved the dolphin pictures. Swimming w/the dolphins is on my bucket list, so maybe the next cruise. Thanks again for sharing!

Very thorough review! I can't believe they did not have 24 hr ice cream. I had some problems the last day of my cruise with plumbing sloshing up and that was pretty disgusting but we had 24 hr soft serve. lol