3-Night Cruises - Looking for advice and tips

[nerak11]

I'm giving my Mother a 3-night Bahamas cruise (with me) for her 65th birthday and I'm looking to get the most out the cruise for the least amount of money. At this point l think I've narrowed it down to Monarch of the Seas leaving on Feb 24th, 2011. I've been on 2 RCCL cruises but it has been a few years (7) so I feel like I'm a little out of touch with the ins and outs of cruising.

 

Here are some of my questions:

 

1. Should I book through the RCCL website or use a travel agent (would I have to keep my own eye out for price deals, upgrades etc if I don't go with an agent)

 

2. I've never been to Port Canaveral. I'm thinking of flying into Orlando early the day before and taking a shuttle to a hotel near the ports and have a relaxing pre-cruise night. Any advice on hotels?

 

3. Where is the best location on the ship to get an inside cabin? I understand that on the Monarch they are considerably smaller than other ships I've travelled on but I don't plan on spending much time in the room with such a short cruise. Also is there any way to get an upgrade (ask at the pier?)

 

4. What is the earliest you can board?

 

5. Is there still an early/late seating and how does the "My Time" dining work?

 

Other other advice or tips are welcome!

[ryano]

I will take a stab at this and somebody can correct me if Im wrong. I hope this helps :)

 

I'm giving my Mother a 3-night Bahamas cruise (with me) for her 65th birthday and I'm looking to get the most out the cruise for the least amount of money. At this point l think I've narrowed it down to Monarch of the Seas leaving on Feb 24th, 2011. I've been on 2 RCCL cruises but it has been a few years (7) so I feel like I'm a little out of touch with the ins and outs of cruising.

 

Here are some of my questions:

 

1. Should I book through the RCCL website or use a travel agent (would I have to keep my own eye out for price deals, upgrades etc if I don't go with an agent) Its really up to you. You will have to keep an eye out for any price deals if you book directly through RCCL. A travel agent may be able to offer you some OBC or other small perk if you use them.

 

2. I've never been to Port Canaveral. I'm thinking of flying into Orlando early the day before and taking a shuttle to a hotel near the ports and have a relaxing pre-cruise night. Any advice on hotels? A lot of people here choose the Radisson as it is close to the port with a shuttle available. I stayed on further down at LaQuinta and it was just fine for the night. They also offer shuttle to the port as well. I DO recommend flying in the day BEFORE though and most everyone else here will too.

 

3. Where is the best location on the ship to get an inside cabin? I understand that on the Monarch they are considerably smaller than other ships I've travelled on but I don't plan on spending much time in the room with such a short cruise. Also is there any way to get an upgrade (ask at the pier?) I am not sure about this as I stayed in a SOV on deck 9. Someone else will be able to help you with this.

 

4. What is the earliest you can board? I was in the Windjammer having lunch by 11:45 for my Monarch cruise.

 

5. Is there still an early/late seating and how does the "My Time" dining work? Yes there is still a main seating and a late seating...My Time Dining requires you to prepay gratuities but you can pretty much show up for dinner at anytime...........Reservation is recommended but not "required" I do not believe

 

Other other advice or tips are welcome!

[CruisinCrow]

We like to stay at Hampton Inn at Cocoa Beach. I think they do offer a shuttle to the port but most people like to stay closer. It's a short walk to the beach and they have oceanview rooms. If you go to the Florida Departures board, there's a thread with everything you want to know about Port Canaveral.

 

The earliest you can board the ship is around 11:30. We got there earlier and checked in but then had a wait about 45 minutes until they started letting people on.

 

They still have early and late seating dinner plus My Time Dining. You need to select the one you want when you book. If you pick MTD, you have to pay the gratuities in advance. We liked My Time Dining because we could get a table for two. Reservations are not required - we didn't make any and didn't have to wait at all.

[PH8]

My choice for insides are deck 5 or 6........easy access to going to the shops/Schooner Bar/Casino,etc........mid ship too..

[nivek82]

There aren't many but the inside on deck 7 are in a good location. If you get a soda card there is a bar on the same deck, the upper level of the theather is on deck 7, and the most important is that all three sets of elevators go to deck 7! The forward elevators can get rather busy at times. Also on deck 7 you can walk right outside!

[Shooraq]

I'm giving my Mother a 3-night Bahamas cruise (with me) for her 65th birthday and I'm looking to get the most out the cruise for the least amount of money. At this point l think I've narrowed it down to Monarch of the Seas leaving on Feb 24th, 2011. I've been on 2 RCCL cruises but it has been a few years (7) so I feel like I'm a little out of touch with the ins and outs of cruising.

 

Here are some of my questions:

 

1. Should I book through the RCCL website or use a travel agent (would I have to keep my own eye out for price deals, upgrades etc if I don't go with an agent)

 

2. I've never been to Port Canaveral. I'm thinking of flying into Orlando early the day before and taking a shuttle to a hotel near the ports and have a relaxing pre-cruise night. Any advice on hotels?

 

3. Where is the best location on the ship to get an inside cabin? I understand that on the Monarch they are considerably smaller than other ships I've travelled on but I don't plan on spending much time in the room with such a short cruise. Also is there any way to get an upgrade (ask at the pier?)

 

4. What is the earliest you can board?

 

5. Is there still an early/late seating and how does the "My Time" dining work?

 

Other other advice or tips are welcome!

 

1) I personally like booking directly with RCCL so I can control price drops and manage my own stuff. If you get a good OBC or pre-paided gratuity from a TA, that might worthwhile too.

 

2) The Radisson worked fine for me the 2 times I've been there.

 

3) Decks 3 and 4 are fine for insides. My mom did a deck 3 inside and actually liked it. Also consider deck 8 obstructed oceanview, there are some cabins with a smaller percentage of view blocking, but are a little roomier and quiet affordable for an oceanview.

 

4) We've gotten on the ship 1:30am-12noon.

5) Early and late seatings are available as well as MTD. I've done both late seating and my time. Be wary that with MTD, if you like a particular wait staff and want to stick with them. Make reservations for each night. If you don't care who serves you, this is no big deal then.

[siestagal1211]

Ver ols ship and not well kept. Do the Majesty. RCCL keeps it in fine condition. Staterooms are small so don't sleep in a closet. It's your mother. Do oceanview.

[PH8]

Ver ols ship and not well kept. Do the Majesty. RCCL keeps it in fine condition. Staterooms are small so don't sleep in a closet. It's your mother. Do oceanview.

OVs are only 3 ft bigger.......unless you move up to deck 9.........

 

Disagree about it being kept well.........it certainly is..........