Just off MONARCH OF THE SEAS - ask away!

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

Just came back to Ireland after a week long trip to Florida taking in a 4 night Bahamas cruise - i was suprisingly impressed with the Monarch, the crew were fantastic and our cabin was perfect. There were 3 of us and i was dreading the thought of us being cramped in there but it all worked out perfectly well!!

 

Anyone have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

Leanne :)

[KCMiller]

Can you recommend a good cabin location for us? We'd like oceanview, not a suite, but from what I gather, this is sketchy on the Monarch?

 

Thanks much,

 

KC

[jlocole]

I can't wait for my cruise at the end of March on the Monarch!

 

What did you think of Cococay and how was the beach water? We aren't sure what to do in Nassau - find another beach or go to Atlantis. Any suggestions?

 

We are booked on the 5th deck - is that a pretty central location?

 

Please tell me there was some fairly casual attire on formal night.....I want my husband to be comfortable with a jacket and his great jeans on.

 

Thank you!

[hawaiibound24]

First off, did you make it to Cocoa Cay? Give us a short review of it if you did.

[JustUs275]

What kind of cabin did you have? What about entertainment on the ship - shows etc.? Oh - just tell us everything! :D

[wwiihistory]

would love to hear your comments, heading out on same ship March 8th:)

[wrk2cruisesoon]

My hubby and I just got off Monarch this morning also. This was our 5th royal caribbean cruise and our 9 cruise overall. I have to say this was our worst cruise ever. Some things not Royal's fault such as the weather but I have to say the trip did not meet my expectations of Royal. If I had not cruised before I am not sure I would cruise again.

For one I forgot how much a smaller ship moves with less than perfect weather so I had to take sea sickness pills the whole time as did our table. Then the first day they must have been having problems with the plumbing so the toilets in the cabin and common areas would not flush! The food was fair to poor. The windjammer only had hamburgers, hot dogs, chinese food, indian food, and a tiny selection of other items. I actually chose salad alot of the time and I never do that on a cruise! The dining room food was also poor. My hubby ordered steak two nights and it looked like something you would get at a diner as well as tasted like it. It is true that they no longer serve lobster on the short cruises which is fine but the formal night menu was not good.

The service at dinner was also not what I usually get on Royal as well. My hubby and I waited at least 30 minutes into any meal before we got ice tea or water to drink. Rolls came 30 to 45 minutes into the meal. The assistant waiter was nice but he either had too many tables or had a poor memory.

Our cabin was fine. We stayed in 8520 which has an obstructed view but really didnt as we were between two life boats. For three days it was fine and the price was right. Our room steward kept our room clean but I did not see him very often.

The weather was in the low to mid 60's almost the whole time. It did reach 70 in Nassau but it was still windy. We did the Atlantis tour and it was interesting and a nice way to pass the day. Table mates did snorkeling and said the water was freezing. You can definitely tell crime is up in Nassau as we were offered drugs right by the ship and a local was murdered right by the shopping streets mid afternoon.

We did not make it to Cococay as the wind and seas were too rough. So we were disappointed with that. Royal tried their best to fill the day but it is hard to keep busy when it is too cold to lay on the top deck for any amount of time.

As for the questions. Deck 5 has the shops so it is definitely a central location. As for dress it is a three day cruise so clothing ran the gammut. For instance at a table diagonal to our dinner table, 3 college guys came to dinner in a shirt and their boxer briefs! Took a while for the waitstaff to realize this although I assume someone would have had to see them walk in as we were pretty far into the dining room. More denim on this trip at dinner than I have ever seen but I figured that had to do with it just being a three day trip.

All in all a bad cruise is better than no cruise but I hope Royal is not making cutbacks in their food and that this cruise just happened to have a poor cook or something. We sail on Oasis in less than four months and I hope to see Royal at its best!

[LBumb]

i love the monarch. would like to go back.

[Scotty G]

My hubby and I just got off Monarch this morning also. This was our 5th royal caribbean cruise and our 9 cruise overall. I have to say this was our worst cruise ever. Some things not Royal's fault such as the weather but I have to say the trip did not meet my expectations of Royal. If I had not cruised before I am not sure I would cruise again.

For one I forgot how much a smaller ship moves with less than perfect weather so I had to take sea sickness pills the whole time as did our table. Then the first day they must have been having problems with the plumbing so the toilets in the cabin and common areas would not flush! The food was fair to poor. The windjammer only had hamburgers, hot dogs, chinese food, indian food, and a tiny selection of other items. I actually chose salad alot of the time and I never do that on a cruise! The dining room food was also poor. My hubby ordered steak two nights and it looked like something you would get at a diner as well as tasted like it. It is true that they no longer serve lobster on the short cruises which is fine but the formal night menu was not good.

The service at dinner was also not what I usually get on Royal as well. My hubby and I waited at least 30 minutes into any meal before we got ice tea or water to drink. Rolls came 30 to 45 minutes into the meal. The assistant waiter was nice but he either had too many tables or had a poor memory.

Our cabin was fine. We stayed in 8520 which has an obstructed view but really didnt as we were between two life boats. For three days it was fine and the price was right. Our room steward kept our room clean but I did not see him very often.

The weather was in the low to mid 60's almost the whole time. It did reach 70 in Nassau but it was still windy. We did the Atlantis tour and it was interesting and a nice way to pass the day. Table mates did snorkeling and said the water was freezing. You can definitely tell crime is up in Nassau as we were offered drugs right by the ship and a local was murdered right by the shopping streets mid afternoon.

We did not make it to Cococay as the wind and seas were too rough. So we were disappointed with that. Royal tried their best to fill the day but it is hard to keep busy when it is too cold to lay on the top deck for any amount of time.

As for the questions. Deck 5 has the shops so it is definitely a central location. As for dress it is a three day cruise so clothing ran the gammut. For instance at a table diagonal to our dinner table, 3 college guys came to dinner in a shirt and their boxer briefs! Took a while for the waitstaff to realize this although I assume someone would have had to see them walk in as we were pretty far into the dining room. More denim on this trip at dinner than I have ever seen but I figured that had to do with it just being a three day trip.

All in all a bad cruise is better than no cruise but I hope Royal is not making cutbacks in their food and that this cruise just happened to have a poor cook or something. We sail on Oasis in less than four months and I hope to see Royal at its best!

We did a B2B on the Monarch in November last year. I find it hard to believe that everything on the ship went to hell in a hand basket! I wonder if anyone else on this voyage had similar bad experiences? We are going on Monarch in April on a 4 day for my birthday - I'm sure it will be great as it always has been. :):D

[mamacat3]

Can you recommend a good cabin location for us? We'd like oceanview, not a suite, but from what I gather, this is sketchy on the Monarch?

 

Thanks much,

 

KC

 

Not sure what you mean by cabin location being sketchy but mid ship to aft I think you feel less motion. I would stay in any oceanview room except deck 7. That is where the walking deck is and the people on deck can look right into your room. Hope this helps.

[wayne_trisha]

Can you recommend a good cabin location for us? We'd like oceanview, not a suite, but from what I gather, this is sketchy on the Monarch?

 

Thanks much,

 

KC

 

Been three times on Sovereign class out of PC. Go with deck 8.

[mamacat3]

I can't wait for my cruise at the end of March on the Monarch!

 

What did you think of Cococay and how was the beach water? We aren't sure what to do in Nassau - find another beach or go to Atlantis. Any suggestions?

 

We are booked on the 5th deck - is that a pretty central location?

 

Please tell me there was some fairly casual attire on formal night.....I want my husband to be comfortable with a jacket and his great jeans on.

 

Thank you!

 

 

5th deck is very central.

 

Not so sure about jeans on formal night - casual slacks and jacket if you don't want to dress up.

 

You can go to the beach on a local bus or Atlantis is also very nice

[irishrose257]

I'm leaving in 2 weeks and there are 3 of us in 1 cabin so I'm glad you didn't think the room was too crowded! What things did you do in Nassau?

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

Can you recommend a good cabin location for us? We'd like oceanview, not a suite, but from what I gather, this is sketchy on the Monarch?

 

Thanks much,

 

KC

 

We stayed in cabin 8070, great location in the middle but it did have a connecting door which we were dreading. However i only ever heard the person next door coughing, so when we used to come in a night we would try and whisper and keep the noise down as we knew they could hear us, 3 irish girls on a cruise, we did alot of talking!!! Deck 8 is perfect, our room view was a little obstructed but hey who sits inside a window to look out!! It worked out fine for us!!

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

I can't wait for my cruise at the end of March on the Monarch!

 

What did you think of Cococay and how was the beach water? We aren't sure what to do in Nassau - find another beach or go to Atlantis. Any suggestions?

 

We are booked on the 5th deck - is that a pretty central location?

 

Please tell me there was some fairly casual attire on formal night.....I want my husband to be comfortable with a jacket and his great jeans on.

 

Thank you!

 

Cococay was just beautiful, we were so lucky with the weather, it was roasting hot! BBQ on the island that day was really nice, we just lounged around in the sun and went for a walk whilst on the island, it would be a shame to miss it so we were glad to see it!! The day we were in Nassau it was pouring rain so we just got off the ship and walked around a few shops, got a taxit to the Atlantis so that passed away a few hours, we then just headed back to the ship and relaxed!

 

Deck 5 is a good location, i think most places are on monarch as it is a smaller ship compared to others that i've been on - tell your husband not to worry about formal night, from what we could see anything goes! Men had suit jackets and trousers, ladies had nice trousers/dresses, nothing compared to a 7 night cruise!

 

Hope this info helps, if you need anymore just mail me - ryanlee92@yahoo.com

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

First off, did you make it to Cocoa Cay? Give us a short review of it if you did.

 

We did make it, it was today last week, the weather was roasting! It was beautiful, we just lounged by the sea and went walking, a nice place to just relax and beautiful clear blue water, amazing!

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

--fgdfg ed

[IrishGirl Cruiser]

Fellow cruisers, ill do a short review but if anyone wants to know anything else please do not hesitate to email me ryanlee92@yahoo.com

We sailed on the 22nd of february, my two friends and myself from Ireland. My 5th RC cruise my friends first! We had cabin 8070, was dreading it as there was 3 of us and from reading reviews id images of us lying on top of each other! However i was pleasently surprised at the size of the room, i had the bunk and my two friends had single beds and we managed just fine. We had a view that was a little obstructed, but we werent looking out that often!! Our stateroom attendant Jeff was great to us, always had a smile! We did have a connecting room which we didnt want from the start, however we had very quiet neighbours and apart from the odd cough we couldnt hear anything at all at night. The food in the windjammer was ok, not as much variety as there would be in the bigger fleets, but saying that the salads were beautiful and of course we used the ice cream quite alot!! Dinner at night was lovely, no lobster night - formal attire wasnt made an issue of, as far as i could see everyone to their own taste! You'll see from my reviews above of what we did on cococay - we did Atlantis thing ourselves, got a taxi from town, nice way to pass the day as it was pouring rain the day we were there. Our waiters at our dinner table 385 were just fantastic, always smiling and very helpful. However on the last night the ship was very very rocky, never experienced motion like it before, perhaps with the ship being that bit smaller it might make a difference? The main show was cancelled for safety reasons. People was falling up against the corridor walls and the dining room was kind of funny, the whole ship looked like they drank too much!!!! Shows were good, the comedian was good so i cant fault the entertainment that was provided. They have the usual shows too The Quest and Love and Marraige and your always guaranteed good fun at those!

Im going on the Oasis in October with my mom and i just cannot wait for it, i think if your used to sailing on the bigger ships it is kind of hard to get used to a smaller one, but afterall you are only on board for 4 nights and i love cruising so much that it didnt bother me.

Please feel free to ask me anyting, other people's experiences are the best lessons!!!

[PH8]

Can you recommend a good cabin location for us? We'd like oceanview, not a suite, but from what I gather, this is sketchy on the Monarch?

 

Thanks much,

 

KC

If you are not doing a larger OV(deck 9) or suite(deck 10..then deck 8 is the best OV deal there it.................cheapest and while some say obstructed,there are many that are not(the marked ones)

 

 

 

You can go to the beach on a local bus or Atlantis is also very nice

or get some very fresh conch salad and fritters(SO when are we going:confused::D)

[Shooraq]

I was also on this cruise and it was defnitely more interesting than other cruises I've taken. However, from my perspective, it wasn't too bad, you just gotta make the most of it. I agree that the day that should have been at CocoCay was cancelled due to bad weather. I think the staff made the most of the situation. Trust me, I was one of the crazy people who sat out on the pool deck, with layers of clothing and towels wrapped, with a drink in my hand. Still beats being in feet of snow from the Northeast! There just isn't much a cruise ship can do in rough waters or weather, it was rocky at times but I've dealt with worse.

 

The food was pretty good, maybe not amazing, but fine enough. I was also a couple tables away from the the guys in their boxer shorts! I was shocked, then amused. Of course it was not appropirate, and they were later requested to leave the dining hall and come back when dressed in pants. I could see some people horrified but I just chalked it up to something to tell my friends and family when I returned. They thankfully didn't flash anyone! I don't blame people for dressing down to a degree on a 3-day cruise... in this day and age with expensive baggage fees., it is too expensive to travel with a full suit for one night. I will make my husband wear a dress shirt, tie, dress slacks, but not a full suit in May. Jeans are wrong though, I did see a few on formal night with jeans and that surprised me.

 

I heard nothing about the local murdered and that is unfortunate... but again, can happen in any city. I feel bad that wrk2cruisesoon did not enjoy the cruise as much as she would have liked. I respect her view and just wanted to say that I had a a good time and would recommend the Monarch to people for a quick getaway.

 

My hubby and I just got off Monarch this morning also. This was our 5th royal caribbean cruise and our 9 cruise overall. I have to say this was our worst cruise ever. Some things not Royal's fault such as the weather but I have to say the trip did not meet my expectations of Royal. If I had not cruised before I am not sure I would cruise again.

For one I forgot how much a smaller ship moves with less than perfect weather so I had to take sea sickness pills the whole time as did our table. Then the first day they must have been having problems with the plumbing so the toilets in the cabin and common areas would not flush! The food was fair to poor. The windjammer only had hamburgers, hot dogs, chinese food, indian food, and a tiny selection of other items. I actually chose salad alot of the time and I never do that on a cruise! The dining room food was also poor. My hubby ordered steak two nights and it looked like something you would get at a diner as well as tasted like it. It is true that they no longer serve lobster on the short cruises which is fine but the formal night menu was not good.

The service at dinner was also not what I usually get on Royal as well. My hubby and I waited at least 30 minutes into any meal before we got ice tea or water to drink. Rolls came 30 to 45 minutes into the meal. The assistant waiter was nice but he either had too many tables or had a poor memory.

Our cabin was fine. We stayed in 8520 which has an obstructed view but really didnt as we were between two life boats. For three days it was fine and the price was right. Our room steward kept our room clean but I did not see him very often.

The weather was in the low to mid 60's almost the whole time. It did reach 70 in Nassau but it was still windy. We did the Atlantis tour and it was interesting and a nice way to pass the day. Table mates did snorkeling and said the water was freezing. You can definitely tell crime is up in Nassau as we were offered drugs right by the ship and a local was murdered right by the shopping streets mid afternoon.

We did not make it to Cococay as the wind and seas were too rough. So we were disappointed with that. Royal tried their best to fill the day but it is hard to keep busy when it is too cold to lay on the top deck for any amount of time.

As for the questions. Deck 5 has the shops so it is definitely a central location. As for dress it is a three day cruise so clothing ran the gammut. For instance at a table diagonal to our dinner table, 3 college guys came to dinner in a shirt and their boxer briefs! Took a while for the waitstaff to realize this although I assume someone would have had to see them walk in as we were pretty far into the dining room. More denim on this trip at dinner than I have ever seen but I figured that had to do with it just being a three day trip.

All in all a bad cruise is better than no cruise but I hope Royal is not making cutbacks in their food and that this cruise just happened to have a poor cook or something. We sail on Oasis in less than four months and I hope to see Royal at its best!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Just came back to Ireland after a week long trip to Florida taking in a 4 night Bahamas cruise - i was suprisingly impressed with the Monarch, the crew were fantastic and our cabin was perfect. There were 3 of us and i was dreading the thought of us being cramped in there but it all worked out perfectly well!!

 

Anyone have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

Leanne :)

 

I went on my first cruise on the Monarch and loved her and the crew! The only drawback of that cruise is that it was too short! Glad you had a good time!

[Working 2 Cruise]

My hubby and I just got off Monarch this morning also. This was our 5th royal caribbean cruise and our 9 cruise overall. I have to say this was our worst cruise ever. Some things not Royal's fault such as the weather but I have to say the trip did not meet my expectations of Royal. If I had not cruised before I am not sure I would cruise again.

For one I forgot how much a smaller ship moves with less than perfect weather so I had to take sea sickness pills the whole time as did our table. Then the first day they must have been having problems with the plumbing so the toilets in the cabin and common areas would not flush! The food was fair to poor. The windjammer only had hamburgers, hot dogs, chinese food, indian food, and a tiny selection of other items. I actually chose salad alot of the time and I never do that on a cruise! The dining room food was also poor. My hubby ordered steak two nights and it looked like something you would get at a diner as well as tasted like it. It is true that they no longer serve lobster on the short cruises which is fine but the formal night menu was not good.

The service at dinner was also not what I usually get on Royal as well. My hubby and I waited at least 30 minutes into any meal before we got ice tea or water to drink. Rolls came 30 to 45 minutes into the meal. The assistant waiter was nice but he either had too many tables or had a poor memory.

Our cabin was fine. We stayed in 8520 which has an obstructed view but really didnt as we were between two life boats. For three days it was fine and the price was right. Our room steward kept our room clean but I did not see him very often.

The weather was in the low to mid 60's almost the whole time. It did reach 70 in Nassau but it was still windy. We did the Atlantis tour and it was interesting and a nice way to pass the day. Table mates did snorkeling and said the water was freezing. You can definitely tell crime is up in Nassau as we were offered drugs right by the ship and a local was murdered right by the shopping streets mid afternoon.

We did not make it to Cococay as the wind and seas were too rough. So we were disappointed with that. Royal tried their best to fill the day but it is hard to keep busy when it is too cold to lay on the top deck for any amount of time.

As for the questions. Deck 5 has the shops so it is definitely a central location. As for dress it is a three day cruise so clothing ran the gammut. For instance at a table diagonal to our dinner table, 3 college guys came to dinner in a shirt and their boxer briefs! Took a while for the waitstaff to realize this although I assume someone would have had to see them walk in as we were pretty far into the dining room. More denim on this trip at dinner than I have ever seen but I figured that had to do with it just being a three day trip.

All in all a bad cruise is better than no cruise but I hope Royal is not making cutbacks in their food and that this cruise just happened to have a poor cook or something. We sail on Oasis in less than four months and I hope to see Royal at its best!

 

All you have done is complain! Was there anything at all satisfactory about this ship and the cruise? I have been on this ship before and it was lovely...

[tahqa]

As for dress it is a three day cruise so clothing ran the gammut. For instance at a table diagonal to our dinner table, 3 college guys came to dinner in a shirt and their boxer briefs! Took a while for the waitstaff to realize this although I assume someone would have had to see them walk in as we were pretty far into the dining room. More denim on this trip at dinner than I have ever seen but I figured that had to do with it just being a three day trip.

It could have been worse... I was on the Monarch right before this cruise and the group of girls behind my table in the MDR had a.... um.... inflatable "doll" as a dinner companion each night. :D

[insulationbabe]

Gosh sorry to hear all of this about your cruise - our adopted son is the cruise director - Drew Devine we think he's awesome - hope he did a great job - lol:)

[panzafit]

We did a B2B on the Monarch in November last year. I find it hard to believe that everything on the ship went to hell in a hand basket! I wonder if anyone else on this voyage had similar bad experiences? We are going on Monarch in April on a 4 day for my birthday - I'm sure it will be great as it always has been. :):D

 

 

I was on the same cruise this past weekend and can verify what that this was the worst cruise ever. It especially makes me mad that we didn't just stay in Nassau for 2 days. It was claimed that the captain anticipated good weather, but he contradicted himself throughout the day with the "apologies". Plus, my sister said that when she looked up weather Sat. night in Cococay for Sunday she could tell we would not be able to stop. All the bathrooms were clogged up and there was water on the floors. The rainy day revised scheduled left a lot to be desired. Family Outburst was just the bartender at the end of the bar leaving out the board game. My family was very disappointed. I will not even get started on Adventure Ocean. This was my husband and daughters first cruise and they have both told me they will never cruise again.