Review from a first-timer - ROYAL CARIBBEAN - MONARCH

[cruisingllama]

Hi Everyone!

 

::whew:: Finally back from the first time cruise... no more wondering "what do i do when i get on the ship?" "what excursions should i do?" "how much $ am I going to waste?" "what about taking off my own luggage?" "what should i wear to dinner?" AHHHH the insanity of the last couple of months...

 

Ok so here's the deal...

 

first of all, breathe. it is not nearly as scary as it seems.

 

We (A & M - 30y.o. F and 29y.o. F) went on the Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas for a 4 night trip from Port Canaveral to Cococay to Nassau.

 

We're not huge drinkers, but will have a couple of cocktails now and again. We enjoy a good meal but are not crazy foodies. For the most part we are pretty regular people (whatever that means). Our biggest concern was that we were going to be impoverished when we got home.

 

I apologize if I jump around but I am trying to remember everything...

 

DISNEY TO PORT CANAVERAL

 

We spent the first few days in Disney before heading over. After searching for coupon codes everywhere I ("A") saw a thread on here from Shirley (thank you, Shirley!!!!) with a coupon code for Avis. I believe the code we used was C031529 . It put our rental car from Disney to Cape Canaveral down to $38 and Cape Canaveral to the Orlando Airport to $35. Fantastic. This was by far the cheapest option we found. When we went to pick it up at the Disney Hilton (across from Downtown Disney) they only had a 2 seater convertible or an Xterra so they upgraded us to the X-Terra (at this point it was raining and we had M's little brother with us in Disney so we needed the space). Awesome. No questions asked on the rate code - super easy. Avis has a free shuttle to and from the ship so that was also fairly mindless.

 

We took M's brother to the airport and drove out to Cocoa Beach for a little while since we had some time to kill. We went to RonJon and walked around the beach.. nothing to see really. RonJon was way more interesting than the beach.

 

ALL ABOARD!

 

We got over to the ship around 12:00pm or so. We left our bags with the porter (no tip necessary) outside (2 carry-on rolling suitcases) and brought our backpacks with us. We had the option to bring all of our bags with us but didn't feel like hauling them around since we heard the rooms might not be ready.

 

We got in line and waited in the first line to have our IDs checked (we just brought our passports which seemed way easier) for about 10 minutes tops. We then made our way toward registration and were in that line for maybe 15 or so... after being at Disney this line seemed like nothing!

 

They checked our seapass printout (don't forget to bring this with you - you'll get an email about it as it gets closer to your trip --- check in online!) and linked a credit card to our account and that was pretty much it. We had to fill out a brief health survey and turn that it as well. Once we were checked in and had our seapass cards we went through another security section to check that we had a seapass card and over to the gangway. When we were getting on the ship we stopped for a security photo that was to be linked to our cards as well and then boarded...

 

still with me? ;-)

 

So.. get on the ship and holy cow let the party begin! The excursions desk was in full force, the guest services desk was going strong, there were cocktails EVERYWHERE for purchase and you could buy your soda mug immediately as well. I think the soda mug was like $25 or so. We don't really drink it so we didn't bother. Lemonade, Iced Tea, Water, hot coffee and hot tea are all free. Juice is free at breakfast. This was perfect for us.

 

We meandered around the ship because we had no clue where to go and it turned out the rooms were just about ready so we hung out in the hall. When the rooms were ready we went in and checked everything out. Our stateroom attendant came in shortly after and wanted to make sure everything was ok and asked if we needed anything. She was very nice and super helpful but we also didn't really have any questions. We went up to the pool next. This is your best first stop. If you want to swim you can, if you want to lounge, there are plenty of spots open to do that too. We went for the upper deck so we could see everything and get a breeze. Good call. We spent a ton of time up there.... also a great view for the sail away party - can see people dancing, join in if you want --- oh and we saw some sea turtles in the ocean on the way out --- SO cool (the 7 year old in my was super excited about this part!)

 

DRINKS

 

Back to the drinks. Drinks everywhere. We went to the bar and decided to check out our options. M ordered a mango mai tai and i opted for a frozen mojito. The drinks came and the bartender told us each to take a sip and see if we liked it. He then had us take another sip at which point he poured about a shot and a half of alcohol on the top again until it was full. Needless to say, we gave a small tip over the included 15%. Every time you order something on board you present your seapass card and it is charged to your creditcard. Super easy. BTW both of those drinks were excellent. We ended up drinking a bit more than we planned for the trip, but still didn't break the bank. The drinks ranged from like $4.50 to $14 (beer - glass of wine at dinner). Most drinks were around $7 for mixed drinks which we thought was awesome being from Connecticut where everything is super expensive. We figured we'd get whacked like $12 a piece. Drinks were large and strong so you were not paying for a dixie cup sized margarita. The default liquor was always good so if you want something else, ask. M ordered a margarita and it was automatically made with Patron and was $9 in a cup just shy of a pint glass. While I am talking about the alcohol (long section for people that don't really drink - haha) I recommend a Strawberry Lava Flow (it is basically a daiquiri and a pina colada mixed - SO good even if you're not a huge pina colada fan). The CocoLoco on Cococay was also decent and comes in an insulated souvenir mug. Also, if you want to save some $$, go to the bar before dinner and order your drinks. You can bring them with you into the dining room and it is a few dollars cheaper and has a better selection in the bar. The dining room tries to get you to order a bottle of wine which will run you around $60 or a glass for $14. The glass in the bar was closer to $9 I think and was a large glass - it lasted me through most of dinner.

 

FOOD

 

We opted for My Time Dining since we can't commit to anything in advance let alone what time we want dinner in 2 months. We had lunch in the windjammer most days which was a lot like a college dining hall - always an option for everyone and plenty of food.

 

For dinner we made the reservation usually the same day. We would wait until lunch was over, check the dinner menu posted outside the restaurant and then decide where we were eating. We ended up having dinner in the restaurant every night at 7:30pm. Caino was our waiter - he was awesome. We had a table for 2 every night. That time worked well for us and until the last night the restaurant was pretty quick. The last night it was packed. Dinner was excellent. You're not eating at the most glamorous restaurant in the world, but it is not a mcdinner either. One night we had the scallop risotto appetizer which was incredible. I was happy to see the recipe on CC! The waiters just keep bringing more and more food and often brought an extra entree or appetizer or dessert to a table just because. Some of the food included a mushroom truffle fettucine alfredo that was delicious and filling enough that i couldn't finish it or eat dessert. there was a NY strip that M really liked while I had shrimp and mahi mahi tempura that was fantastic. There was a shrimp, scallop and monkfish kebab, a tiger shrimp dish (yum but challenging to eat!), etc etc. One dessert was a double chocolate brownie with chocolate mousse in between... o...m...g... unreal. Basically, we never had anything we didn't like. The lobster bisque was good but different from New England style. Just a heads up.

 

COCOCAY

 

Ok so anyway.. we woke up the 2nd morning early - we had an outside view room and kept the curtains open so we could wake up to the sun in the room which was awesome. We heard the anchor start dropping shortly afterwards and made our way to breakfast in the windjammer. There was a great array of options including an omelet station. We got on one of the first tenders over to Cococay and wore our swimsuits but brought tshirts and a change of shorts with us. I brought sneakers too but there was really no need to have them. We got our towels on the main deck as well before heading out. When we got to the island we walked around for a bit and claimed a spot on a couple of lounge chairs. We waded through the water to some of the sandbars and saw some cool types of fish and conch and whatnot. We laid out for a bit and got pretty sandy as there were really high winds on the island. We decided to check out some other areas and went over to the main section of beach where everyone was swimming and you could see the water park and whatnot. We hung out there for a bit and went for a swim. The water was unreal. Perfect. Lunch was ready and we were getting a little hungry so we climbed out and went for the bbq. Typical bbq food - burgers, dogs, salads, ribs, bbq chicken and i think mac & cheese. All was decent for what it was. We went back and lounged for a few and decided to check out the nature trail. We were going to rent mats to float on but the winds were high and we didn't want to end up too far away ;) We stopped at a bar and grabbed our frozen drinks and decided to hike the trail. We went around 1pm which was insanely hot and clearly not our smartest choice. We were saturated but it was gorgeous out and a nice hike so it was definitely worth it. We saw some great trees and plants, chickens and a peacock. When we go to the end, we turned left to take a break under this lone umbrella/cabana thing. It was the most beautiful part of the island. If we knew how nice it would be out there we would have gone there right away and spent the day there. We were the only ones out there - completely private area and gorgeous. Very relaxing (especially after the hike!). We came back, hung out for a few and decided to head back to the ship around 2:30 and take a nap. We were exhausted and couldn't take any more sun right away.

 

NIGHTTIME

 

There were all kinds of events every day and night. In no particular order: we went to a show that I enjoyed more than M but she wasn't miserable by any means and it was something to do, there was a 70s party, 80s party and 90s party. We made it to the 90s one but M has light issues with strobe lights so we didn't stay long. It was a good time though for sure.

 

We saw the men's belly flop competition (hilarious!), the love and marriage game (sooo funny), went to an art auction (interesting but nobody was in the market for the $12k opening bids on some stuff and it took a long time to get started) and did movie quote trivia which was a lot of fun. We missed the scavenger hunt and the battle of the sexes but they looked funny too. Oh and the comic was decent. The last night the show was awesome and they got a standing ovation that was well deserved. It was excellent.

NASSAU & ATLANTIS

 

Ok the straw market nearly put me over the edge. It is a flea market on steroids. There are vendors everywhere all selling the same stuff. Every price is negotiable. Walk away from everything and you will get a better deal. We walked through once, left and came back. When we came back we were about 3/4 of the way through and rapidly losing our patience. Finally I made the executive decision to go to senor frogs for a drink and regroup. We went back in, bought the little trinkets we wanted and got out there asap.

 

We walked around several blocks of Nassau (we like just doing our own exploring) and saw a lot of the government buildings which were all really different than anything in the states. We checked out some shops and decided we'd go to Atlantis for a bit.

 

We took the water taxi ($3 each way plus a tip if you want to the "tour guide") over to Atlantis. From there it was about a 10 minute walk to the resort. The resort was amazing. We walked around the shops and whatnot and decided to see what passes were still available. We ended up buying the passes for the aquarium which were just under $40 each. It ended up being well worth the price. We spent a few hours walking around all the tanks and lagoons. The fish were awesome, great sharks, rays, sawfish, etc. There is a tube to walk through with the aquarium all around you - neat experience. There are also other lagoons including shark lagoon, ray lagoon and sea turtle lagoon (again - amazing). From here you can see all of the beaches and swimming lagoons but you do not have access to them. We hopped in with a tour group for the aquarium tour and then took ourselves to the other lagoons. We talked about doing the water park before we left but didn't think we could justify spending so much money (would have cost us around $300 for the two of us). Next time we would budget to do that too because it looked like a lot of fun.

NIGHT 3 & DAY AT SEA

 

The 3rd night was a lot of fun - the sail away party from Nassau was a good time and there was a buffet around the pool. Advice: Eat early because while they claim the party is going to go until whenever, the hottub still closes at 1am and the food was all broken down around 12:30am. Tons of food was wasted - sad to see as I'm sure people would have snacked a bit more between dancing.

 

The day at sea was not nearly as boring as it seems. There was still plenty to do on board and we were so tired we just laid around and relaxed a lot.

 

OVERALL

 

We had a great time. We both agreed that when we go on another cruise we would want to go with more people and/or on a bigger ship where there is even more going on. We like some different things so it would be nice to have as many options as possible, but also the things we tended to be interested in had overlapping times as well.

 

Cruising is an excellent mindless vacation. It can be as busy as you want it to be or as low key as you want. I liked having the outside view room, but if you're not in the room much anyway and want to save a little $, i'm sure the inside room is fine too.

 

Overall we spent about $200 on our seapass and another $100 or so in Nassau/Atlantis. That included the aquarium, lunch in Atlantis, drinks on board, $5 gambling pull-tab (we lost - ugh), a $12 purchase in the general store (ladies - remember to pack EVERYTHING - it is expensive on board), and coffee from the coffee shop since the coffee at breakfast wasn't so good (and any additional tips we gave the bartenders). We thought we did pretty well given we drank way more than we planned. If you're heavy drinkers, that bill will be a bit more. A lot of alcohol for us is like 3-4 drinks each per day - we were not scratching the surface for what others seemed to be tossing back.

 

Anyway, if you're still reading, i'm impressed. If you've fallen asleep, well.. I don't blame you.

 

Enjoy your cruise. We had a great time! Feel free to message me if you have any questions along the way!

 

Cheers,

 

A

[darth frosty]

Cool write up I was on the magisty last dec and had a similar experience.

[hfweather]

Thanks for the review!! I"m glad you had a great time. We're going on the Monarch in Oct for the 1st time and didn't know what to expect.

[PattyG12]

Great review ... love hearing about it from the eyes of a first timer. Next time do a longer trip and see the differences.

[cruisingllama]

oh AND...

 

we took our own luggage off the ship -- SO easy... we were at the car shuttle by like 8:30am or so... tons of time to hang out for the rest of the day

[jujucrew]

thank you for writng that great review

its always nice to read someones review

especially if its there first time,

we are sailing next sept on independence of the seas (not much write up on this one?)

been worrying over certain things,

think im getting there though:o

glad you had a great time full marks for your review:D

[cruiseman40]

cruisingllama: In cococay, u didn't mention anything about having lunch at the island? Does RCCL have bbq's or lunches there on the island? I was just wondering because some islands like Great Stirrup cay, castaway cay and other cruiselines offers bbq lunches on their private islands.

 

 

Hi Everyone!

 

::whew:: Finally back from the first time cruise... no more wondering "what do i do when i get on the ship?" "what excursions should i do?" "how much $ am I going to waste?" "what about taking off my own luggage?" "what should i wear to dinner?" AHHHH the insanity of the last couple of months...

 

Ok so here's the deal...

 

first of all, breathe. it is not nearly as scary as it seems.

 

We (A & M - 30y.o. F and 29y.o. F) went on the Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas for a 4 night trip from Port Canaveral to Cococay to Nassau.

 

We're not huge drinkers, but will have a couple of cocktails now and again. We enjoy a good meal but are not crazy foodies. For the most part we are pretty regular people (whatever that means). Our biggest concern was that we were going to be impoverished when we got home.

 

I apologize if I jump around but I am trying to remember everything...

 

DISNEY TO PORT CANAVERAL

 

We spent the first few days in Disney before heading over. After searching for coupon codes everywhere I ("A") saw a thread on here from Shirley (thank you, Shirley!!!!) with a coupon code for Avis. I believe the code we used was C031529 . It put our rental car from Disney to Cape Canaveral down to $38 and Cape Canaveral to the Orlando Airport to $35. Fantastic. This was by far the cheapest option we found. When we went to pick it up at the Disney Hilton (across from Downtown Disney) they only had a 2 seater convertible or an Xterra so they upgraded us to the X-Terra (at this point it was raining and we had M's little brother with us in Disney so we needed the space). Awesome. No questions asked on the rate code - super easy. Avis has a free shuttle to and from the ship so that was also fairly mindless.

 

We took M's brother to the airport and drove out to Cocoa Beach for a little while since we had some time to kill. We went to RonJon and walked around the beach.. nothing to see really. RonJon was way more interesting than the beach.

 

ALL ABOARD!

 

We got over to the ship around 12:00pm or so. We left our bags with the porter (no tip necessary) outside (2 carry-on rolling suitcases) and brought our backpacks with us. We had the option to bring all of our bags with us but didn't feel like hauling them around since we heard the rooms might not be ready.

 

We got in line and waited in the first line to have our IDs checked (we just brought our passports which seemed way easier) for about 10 minutes tops. We then made our way toward registration and were in that line for maybe 15 or so... after being at Disney this line seemed like nothing!

 

They checked our seapass printout (don't forget to bring this with you - you'll get an email about it as it gets closer to your trip --- check in online!) and linked a credit card to our account and that was pretty much it. We had to fill out a brief health survey and turn that it as well. Once we were checked in and had our seapass cards we went through another security section to check that we had a seapass card and over to the gangway. When we were getting on the ship we stopped for a security photo that was to be linked to our cards as well and then boarded...

 

still with me? ;-)

 

So.. get on the ship and holy cow let the party begin! The excursions desk was in full force, the guest services desk was going strong, there were cocktails EVERYWHERE for purchase and you could buy your soda mug immediately as well. I think the soda mug was like $25 or so. We don't really drink it so we didn't bother. Lemonade, Iced Tea, Water, hot coffee and hot tea are all free. Juice is free at breakfast. This was perfect for us.

 

We meandered around the ship because we had no clue where to go and it turned out the rooms were just about ready so we hung out in the hall. When the rooms were ready we went in and checked everything out. Our stateroom attendant came in shortly after and wanted to make sure everything was ok and asked if we needed anything. She was very nice and super helpful but we also didn't really have any questions. We went up to the pool next. This is your best first stop. If you want to swim you can, if you want to lounge, there are plenty of spots open to do that too. We went for the upper deck so we could see everything and get a breeze. Good call. We spent a ton of time up there.... also a great view for the sail away party - can see people dancing, join in if you want --- oh and we saw some sea turtles in the ocean on the way out --- SO cool (the 7 year old in my was super excited about this part!)

 

DRINKS

 

Back to the drinks. Drinks everywhere. We went to the bar and decided to check out our options. M ordered a mango mai tai and i opted for a frozen mojito. The drinks came and the bartender told us each to take a sip and see if we liked it. He then had us take another sip at which point he poured about a shot and a half of alcohol on the top again until it was full. Needless to say, we gave a small tip over the included 15%. Every time you order something on board you present your seapass card and it is charged to your creditcard. Super easy. BTW both of those drinks were excellent. We ended up drinking a bit more than we planned for the trip, but still didn't break the bank. The drinks ranged from like $4.50 to $14 (beer - glass of wine at dinner). Most drinks were around $7 for mixed drinks which we thought was awesome being from Connecticut where everything is super expensive. We figured we'd get whacked like $12 a piece. Drinks were large and strong so you were not paying for a dixie cup sized margarita. The default liquor was always good so if you want something else, ask. M ordered a margarita and it was automatically made with Patron and was $9 in a cup just shy of a pint glass. While I am talking about the alcohol (long section for people that don't really drink - haha) I recommend a Strawberry Lava Flow (it is basically a daiquiri and a pina colada mixed - SO good even if you're not a huge pina colada fan). The CocoLoco on Cococay was also decent and comes in an insulated souvenir mug. Also, if you want to save some $$, go to the bar before dinner and order your drinks. You can bring them with you into the dining room and it is a few dollars cheaper and has a better selection in the bar. The dining room tries to get you to order a bottle of wine which will run you around $60 or a glass for $14. The glass in the bar was closer to $9 I think and was a large glass - it lasted me through most of dinner.

 

FOOD

 

We opted for My Time Dining since we can't commit to anything in advance let alone what time we want dinner in 2 months. We had lunch in the windjammer most days which was a lot like a college dining hall - always an option for everyone and plenty of food.

 

For dinner we made the reservation usually the same day. We would wait until lunch was over, check the dinner menu posted outside the restaurant and then decide where we were eating. We ended up having dinner in the restaurant every night at 7:30pm. Caino was our waiter - he was awesome. We had a table for 2 every night. That time worked well for us and until the last night the restaurant was pretty quick. The last night it was packed. Dinner was excellent. You're not eating at the most glamorous restaurant in the world, but it is not a mcdinner either. One night we had the scallop risotto appetizer which was incredible. I was happy to see the recipe on CC! The waiters just keep bringing more and more food and often brought an extra entree or appetizer or dessert to a table just because. Some of the food included a mushroom truffle fettucine alfredo that was delicious and filling enough that i couldn't finish it or eat dessert. there was a NY strip that M really liked while I had shrimp and mahi mahi tempura that was fantastic. There was a shrimp, scallop and monkfish kebab, a tiger shrimp dish (yum but challenging to eat!), etc etc. One dessert was a double chocolate brownie with chocolate mousse in between... o...m...g... unreal. Basically, we never had anything we didn't like. The lobster bisque was good but different from New England style. Just a heads up.

 

COCOCAY

 

Ok so anyway.. we woke up the 2nd morning early - we had an outside view room and kept the curtains open so we could wake up to the sun in the room which was awesome. We heard the anchor start dropping shortly afterwards and made our way to breakfast in the windjammer. There was a great array of options including an omelet station. We got on one of the first tenders over to Cococay and wore our swimsuits but brought tshirts and a change of shorts with us. I brought sneakers too but there was really no need to have them. We got our towels on the main deck as well before heading out. When we got to the island we walked around for a bit and claimed a spot on a couple of lounge chairs. We waded through the water to some of the sandbars and saw some cool types of fish and conch and whatnot. We laid out for a bit and got pretty sandy as there were really high winds on the island. We decided to check out some other areas and went over to the main section of beach where everyone was swimming and you could see the water park and whatnot. We hung out there for a bit and went for a swim. The water was unreal. Perfect. Lunch was ready and we were getting a little hungry so we climbed out and went for the bbq. Typical bbq food - burgers, dogs, salads, ribs, bbq chicken and i think mac & cheese. All was decent for what it was. We went back and lounged for a few and decided to check out the nature trail. We were going to rent mats to float on but the winds were high and we didn't want to end up too far away ;) We stopped at a bar and grabbed our frozen drinks and decided to hike the trail. We went around 1pm which was insanely hot and clearly not our smartest choice. We were saturated but it was gorgeous out and a nice hike so it was definitely worth it. We saw some great trees and plants, chickens and a peacock. When we go to the end, we turned left to take a break under this lone umbrella/cabana thing. It was the most beautiful part of the island. If we knew how nice it would be out there we would have gone there right away and spent the day there. We were the only ones out there - completely private area and gorgeous. Very relaxing (especially after the hike!). We came back, hung out for a few and decided to head back to the ship around 2:30 and take a nap. We were exhausted and couldn't take any more sun right away.

 

NIGHTTIME

 

There were all kinds of events every day and night. In no particular order: we went to a show that I enjoyed more than M but she wasn't miserable by any means and it was something to do, there was a 70s party, 80s party and 90s party. We made it to the 90s one but M has light issues with strobe lights so we didn't stay long. It was a good time though for sure.

 

We saw the men's belly flop competition (hilarious!), the love and marriage game (sooo funny), went to an art auction (interesting but nobody was in the market for the $12k opening bids on some stuff and it took a long time to get started) and did movie quote trivia which was a lot of fun. We missed the scavenger hunt and the battle of the sexes but they looked funny too. Oh and the comic was decent. The last night the show was awesome and they got a standing ovation that was well deserved. It was excellent.

NASSAU & ATLANTIS

 

Ok the straw market nearly put me over the edge. It is a flea market on steroids. There are vendors everywhere all selling the same stuff. Every price is negotiable. Walk away from everything and you will get a better deal. We walked through once, left and came back. When we came back we were about 3/4 of the way through and rapidly losing our patience. Finally I made the executive decision to go to senor frogs for a drink and regroup. We went back in, bought the little trinkets we wanted and got out there asap.

 

We walked around several blocks of Nassau (we like just doing our own exploring) and saw a lot of the government buildings which were all really different than anything in the states. We checked out some shops and decided we'd go to Atlantis for a bit.

 

We took the water taxi ($3 each way plus a tip if you want to the "tour guide") over to Atlantis. From there it was about a 10 minute walk to the resort. The resort was amazing. We walked around the shops and whatnot and decided to see what passes were still available. We ended up buying the passes for the aquarium which were just under $40 each. It ended up being well worth the price. We spent a few hours walking around all the tanks and lagoons. The fish were awesome, great sharks, rays, sawfish, etc. There is a tube to walk through with the aquarium all around you - neat experience. There are also other lagoons including shark lagoon, ray lagoon and sea turtle lagoon (again - amazing). From here you can see all of the beaches and swimming lagoons but you do not have access to them. We hopped in with a tour group for the aquarium tour and then took ourselves to the other lagoons. We talked about doing the water park before we left but didn't think we could justify spending so much money (would have cost us around $300 for the two of us). Next time we would budget to do that too because it looked like a lot of fun.

NIGHT 3 & DAY AT SEA

 

The 3rd night was a lot of fun - the sail away party from Nassau was a good time and there was a buffet around the pool. Advice: Eat early because while they claim the party is going to go until whenever, the hottub still closes at 1am and the food was all broken down around 12:30am. Tons of food was wasted - sad to see as I'm sure people would have snacked a bit more between dancing.

 

The day at sea was not nearly as boring as it seems. There was still plenty to do on board and we were so tired we just laid around and relaxed a lot.

 

OVERALL

 

We had a great time. We both agreed that when we go on another cruise we would want to go with more people and/or on a bigger ship where there is even more going on. We like some different things so it would be nice to have as many options as possible, but also the things we tended to be interested in had overlapping times as well.

 

Cruising is an excellent mindless vacation. It can be as busy as you want it to be or as low key as you want. I liked having the outside view room, but if you're not in the room much anyway and want to save a little $, i'm sure the inside room is fine too.

 

Overall we spent about $200 on our seapass and another $100 or so in Nassau/Atlantis. That included the aquarium, lunch in Atlantis, drinks on board, $5 gambling pull-tab (we lost - ugh), a $12 purchase in the general store (ladies - remember to pack EVERYTHING - it is expensive on board), and coffee from the coffee shop since the coffee at breakfast wasn't so good (and any additional tips we gave the bartenders). We thought we did pretty well given we drank way more than we planned. If you're heavy drinkers, that bill will be a bit more. A lot of alcohol for us is like 3-4 drinks each per day - we were not scratching the surface for what others seemed to be tossing back.

 

Anyway, if you're still reading, i'm impressed. If you've fallen asleep, well.. I don't blame you.

 

Enjoy your cruise. We had a great time! Feel free to message me if you have any questions along the way!

 

Cheers,

 

A

[cruisingllama]

Hey Cruiseman...

 

There was a BBQ... all typical bbq food at Cococay - burgers, dogs, etc. but also ribs, bbq chicken and i think mac and cheese... everything was good for bbq food.. easy to eat, low key, aggressive seagulls... all as expected. Lots of salads and pasta salads, fruit and desserts.. water and lemonade and maybe iced tea.. not bad..

[livmoore]

Thanks so much for posting.We leave on August 2nd for our 1st cruise . We will also be on monarch. This has really helped me to know a little more of what to expect.

[cruiseman40]

Okay, I figured and was just wondering! Thanks.......

 

Hey Cruiseman...

 

There was a BBQ... all typical bbq food at Cococay - burgers, dogs, etc. but also ribs, bbq chicken and i think mac and cheese... everything was good for bbq food.. easy to eat, low key, aggressive seagulls... all as expected. Lots of salads and pasta salads, fruit and desserts.. water and lemonade and maybe iced tea.. not bad..

[Sullifamily]

We are also cruising for the first time Oct 3 FOS. I am the ultimate planner and am worried that I will forget something. I am stressing over not having plane tickets yet b/c rates are too high. Can't check in til you know travel arrangements.Etc.....worry, worry,

[cackalackey cat]

Thank you SO much for going to all the trouble to post your review. You've put my mind at ease on a LOT of issues. :) I'm a teetotaller, but I have two little ones who are juice drinkers. I was considering the juice package, but now am certain they'll be happy with what's free. Thanks for the tip on the secluded spot at the end of the Cococay trail. And also, I've heard that after 3 or 5pm, the aquarium at the Atlantis hotel is free. Does anybody know if that's true?

[cruisingllama]

I heard the aquarium was free after a certain time.. .i think maybe 6ish or so though. Can't completely remember. We started the days early and walked everywhere so we were exhausted by then (yes, by 6pm.. haha...)

 

Have a great time!!!!

[LuvinDisCruiser]

Great Review. It got me even more excited about our cruise in January.

Seemed like you had a great time !

Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience ! :)

[laurakdy]

What a lovely review...

 

We were in Florida last yearf or our hols when my partner surprised me with a 3 night cruise on the monarch...It was to Nassau and CoCocay also...

 

It was over labour day, so a lot of people on the cruise were well up for a party...:D

 

We absolutely loved it and are total cruise converts now:rolleyes:

 

Our only slight disappointment was, we were just enjoying lounging and swimming about on cococay, having lunch etc, when the heavens opened up and we all had to be tendered back to the ship...

Not a paticularly nice thing to have happened as we got stuck in the water for around 20 mins or so whilst they were offloading another tender...Some people were turning a bit green as the seas were getting a tad rough by this point...:(

 

Cant account for these things though and didnt stop me from booking my first full cruise this year...:D

 

I very much have a soft spot for the monarch though, with it being our first one and certainly want to do another RCCI in the very near future...

 

Anyone thinking about going on this lovely ship, do so, book it now!!:D

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thank you SO much for going to all the trouble to post your review. You've put my mind at ease on a LOT of issues. :) I'm a teetotaller, but I have two little ones who are juice drinkers. I was considering the juice package, but now am certain they'll be happy with what's free. Thanks for the tip on the secluded spot at the end of the Cococay trail. And also, I've heard that after 3 or 5pm, the aquarium at the Atlantis hotel is free. Does anybody know if that's true?

 

 

That's correct, after 6pm it's free.

 

Great first time review. Wait till you get on a bigger ship and longer cruise, you'll love it. Cruising is addicting.

[micfar]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review! I will be a first time cruiser on 9/13 on the Monarch and was wondering all of the same things you indicated. My mind is now at ease. I can't wait!

[gamestarp]

You've really described your experience in a fun, easy to read fashion. I bet you're a writer by profession, or you should be! My wife wants to take a cruise, but I think it would be boring. Your story has something for each of our viewpoints. Thanks for your time, sincerely.

[cruisingllama]

haha thanks a bunch... flattering for sure... i'm actually a counselor in "real" life :)

 

we worried about boring too --- to a certain extent you get out what you put in i suppose. as a general rule, i hate lounging on the beach or by the pool... in this setting i have never been more relaxed doing so...

 

Enjoy!

[Poogf5]

Thanks for taking the time to write that review. We're going to be first time cruisers in January 2011 on the Monarch and will be going to the same places. I have been a bit nervous and you hit many points that helped a lot.

[JsBs81]

What a great review, thank you. Heading out for first time on the Monarch in less than 2 days. Can't wait.

[cruisingllama]

What a great review, thank you. Heading out for first time on the Monarch in less than 2 days. Can't wait.

 

 

So... how was it???