Reassure Me Please....New to RCI and on the Monarch

[jwave]

I have cruised several times (10) mostly with Princess on Grand Class ships. My sister and I are taking advantage of a great deal on a 4 day cruise on the Monarch. This will be her first cruise. Will we be disappointed? I know she is an older ship and our room will be tiny.

 

Tell me all the reasons I will love it.

 

Thanks!

[ARCruisinNana]

Yes, the Monarch is older and smaller and the rooms are tiny, but I love the experience on the Monarch. The crew is very friendly and attentive. The shows are good and the singers and dancers very entergenic. Monarch is at or near the top in customer satisfaction. I didn't care for the 3 day cruise but really enjoyed the 4 day. I hope you do too!!

[bionicman97]

We had a great time on a three day on the Monarch back in July. You can check out my review in the link in my signature.

 

Have a great cruise!

[jwave]

Thank you.

[Tapi]

I have cruised several times (10) mostly with Princess on Grand Class ships. My sister and I are taking advantage of a great deal on a 4 day cruise on the Monarch. This will be her first cruise. Will we be disappointed? I know she is an older ship and our room will be tiny.

 

Tell me all the reasons I will love it.

 

Thanks!

 

Just like with any ship or cruise line, go with realistic expectations. I've had a much better time on my cruises when I go with lowered expectations (and then I'm pleasantly surprised if things are better than expected), than when I go with higher expectations (and then I realize that things aren't as nice as I expected).

 

Although the Monarch is a nice ship, it is, after all, an older, smaller ship, with tiny cabins, less bells and whistles, and catering to fellow cruisers looking for a quick getaway at low prices.

 

When I sailed on the Monarch of the Seas, the largest ship I had experienced until then was the 21,000 ton Carla Costa. I was truly wowed and amazed when I walked into the Monarch's Centrum for that first time. Your sister has nothing to compare this cruise with so she'll probably have similar feelings when she boards!

 

Do yourself a favor and don't ruin the experience for her by making comments that start with "On Princess....".

[Beach1]

jwave: We did the Monarch 12--6 to 12-10-2010. We did a quicky booking 3 nights before cruise. I noticed everyone talked about size of room. We had room 9050 and it may have been added on when they stretched ship, but I thought we had more room than the Oasis and know we had more storage room. We were pleasently surprised and would pick the ship over many we have cruised. I think you will satisified.

[uksimonusa]

jwave: We did the Monarch 12--6 to 12-10-2010. We did a quicky booking 3 nights before cruise. I noticed everyone talked about size of room. We had room 9050 and it may have been added on when they stretched ship, but I thought we had more room than the Oasis and know we had more storage room. We were pleasently surprised and would pick the ship over many we have cruised. I think you will satisified.

 

The Monarch has never been stretched, your cabin was a superior ocean view @ 157 sq ft, the standard ocean views are 122 sq ft and the interiors @ 119 sq ft

[ryano]

The Monarch is responsible for many many first time cruisers returning to Royal Caribbean again to sail her or their newer vessels I would think.

 

Your sister will most likely be as impressed as I was when she gets on board as she knows nothing to compare it to.........The only thing I had to compare to was an even older and smaller Carnival ship that isnt even in their fleet anymore.

 

I honestly dont think either of you will be disappointed. As far as the cabin goes, you likely will spend very little time there and its only 4 nights :)

 

Outstanding crew, great service, good food and good entertainment is why I loved Monarch.

[waterbug123]

I have cruised several times (10) mostly with Princess on Grand Class ships. My sister and I are taking advantage of a great deal on a 4 day cruise on the Monarch. This will be her first cruise. Will we be disappointed? I know she is an older ship and our room will be tiny.

 

Tell me all the reasons I will love it.

 

Thanks!

 

I've sailed on Monarch, as well as at least one ship in every other ship class in RC's line, and relatively speaking, Monarch is a nice ship. In fact, I'll be on her again next month. She does not have the extras that the newer ships have, like specialty restaurants, or zipline/flowrider/ice rink. However, the ship is well-maintained, and the service onboard is good. Monarch is good for a short getaway in the form of a basic cruise. As long as you go into it undertanding that you won't have all the extra, I think you'll enjoy yourselves. :)

[hfweather]

My husband, granddaughter and myself enjoyed ourselves so much on the Monarch, I came home and wrote a letter to the President of RCCL to let him know what a wonderful staff they have onboard.

 

The food in the dining room was excellent. The day at sea, had lots of fun activities the day flew by we were so busy. The staff, well they were wonderful. The only thing I could find to complain about is the cruise went by entirely too fast.

 

I hope you and your sister enjoy your cruise. The Monarch was my husbands first cruise and he is totally hooked now.

[lampskies]

We are sailing Jan 3rd it is our 1st RCCL sailing after 8 Disney cruises.....we couldn't pass up the price difference! Anything we should know about?

[Karter]

We have been on the Oasis, all three Freedom class ships, 4 of the Voyager class ships and just returned from 10 days on the Monarch (B2B2B) and had a great time. In some ways our 10 days on Monarch was more enjoyable than 7 days on the bigger ships.

 

Since your sister is a first time cruiser the ship should "wow" her and she can always work here way up to the bigger ships being "wowed" each time with a new ship experience. If she started on the Oasis she might be dissapointed in the smaller ships after that first experience on the Oasis or Alure.

 

I think what you are doing is perfect.

[cb at sea]

Any "1st cruise" is special....no worries! You'll both have a grand time!

[critterchick]

Monarch was our second home when she was in LA. We loved her for the warmth of the crew and the good times they provided for us. We've sailed on Princess & the Grand class, and we just didn't get the same vibe - we always have a good time, but we could see a real difference in attitude.

 

You don't say what it is that you like to do, so it's hard to know if you'll be disappointed. But I predict that your sister will love it because she has nothing to compare it to. Unless she gets seasick, in which case it will be the longest 4 days of her life....:eek:

[jwave]

You have reassured me!

 

I had forgotten the wow you get on your first cruise. I think you are right she will be pleased. I hope that she does not get seasick because we booked a guarantee and have been assigned a cabin WAY forward. I think I will pack some bonine.

[ColeandAbby]

You have reassured me!

 

I had forgotten the wow you get on your first cruise. I think you are right she will be pleased. I hope that she does not get seasick because we booked a guarantee and have been assigned a cabin WAY forward. I think I will pack some bonine.

 

 

She was our first ship and I LOVED it! We are cruising out next month and can't wait. It's charming and "home-like" for us! You guys will have fun! Enjoy!!

[dulcimergirl]

You will love it, I've been on the Mariner and the Independence and still very much enjoy the Monarch. Was B2B last sept, and will be heading to her next month as well.

I enjoyed the Windjammer and we ate all meals there.

 

Just relax and enjoy, you will love it.

[north29]

Make no mistake the Monarch is not the Freedom or the Allure, by any comparison, but I will tell you when the rumors started on maybe moving her out of Port Canaveral, many of us who live close to the Port and who have been on her many times, were talking to a local travel agency about booking a going away party to send her off.

Great Ship for 3-4 day cruises.

[island lady]

Also a Monarch fan here, as I enjoyed our 4 nighter in October, and the 3 nighter a few weeks ago. Going again in 2 weeks. Convenient for us, as we are 5 miles from the port. :)

 

I did enjoy the 4 night over the 3 night...seemed more "extras" and much more relaxing.

 

Small cabins..yes...but the SOV cabins (deck 9) are very nice, and we were lucky with a good deal on a JS this last time, as we are again in January. Lots of storage and room in the JS and we do enjoy our balcony. But ANY cabin on the ship is better than no cabin on land. ;)

 

As many others have posted, your sister will be in awe, as this is a great ship to be going on as a first timer. You will both have a wonderful time! :D

[Lunur]

I'm sailing the Monarch Jan 17th, 2010. I am a single mom. I have a son turning 18 next month and this is his birthday gift from me. I am also taking along his 16 year old brother.

I got a fantastic price. I have cruised over 25 times in my life. Everything from small to large ships. I am so looking forward to this cruise.

And any day at sea is better than a day on land ~ regardless of the size of ship!

 

Like a previous poster stated; don't compare ships - just enjoy the one you are on!

 

Happy cruising!

[Lunur]

We had a great time on a three day on the Monarch back in July. You can check out my review in the link in my signature.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

I read your review. Thank you very much for posting. I love the format!

Glad you made the trip and that your wife is doing well!

[JsBs81]

Thought I would comment even though so many have. I was on the Monrach on 12/13 had a great time. I also have been on 9 or so other cruises on other lines and bigger boats. When I booked I got nervous that I would be bored on a smaller ship. I was wrong great staff, great food. Of course room was small but didn't think drastically smaller than other lines and 4 days don't really need much.

 

I was disappointed with the audio level and singers and dances in the main production shows but maybe it was just me.

 

Wonderful ship, great staff you will have a great time I'm sure.

[erbunny]

Monarch is the ship that got DH and I to love cruising. As others have said, she doesn't have big cabins, or bells and whistles, but has the friendliest, nicest staff ever. Monarch constantly wins out over RC's other ships for customer service. One hint: if the Windjammer seems crowded, go forward to the Jade area where there is usually plenty of seating. Have a great time, hope you will return here and let us know how it went.

[stacis64]

The Monarch was our first cruise and we loved it! The staff was really friendly. Try the Jade restaurant if they still have it.