Any RECENT Monarch passengers....

[jwave]

Is there a formal night on a 4 day cruise.

 

Also, what else do I need to know? (First time with RCCL)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

J

[CruiseLover15]

Is there a formal night on a 4 day cruise.

 

Also, what else do I need to know? (First time with RCCL)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

J

 

There was a formal night on my 3 day so I am pretty sure there will be one on a 4 day.

 

What do you need to know?????? You can usually board the ship by 11:30 am even though the documents say much later than that.

[reney313]

I was on the 4 night on 11/29. There was a formal night (no lobster though). There was a very diverse range of "formal" attire. I love to dress up, but my boyfriend does not. It was perfect for us that he didn't have to be "formal" and I could. I believe it was Coco Cay night. Monarch was a great ship, enjoy!

[wiskt]

I just came ooff the MONARCH on Monday. It was a 3 day cruise Fr, Sa, SU, return Mon morning. We had a Formal night, but they were pretty relaxed I think with the overall FORMAL wear since it was a shorter cruise.

 

The Formal night for us was DAY 2 while we were in Nassau. Check with the cruiseline and see if they can let you know. Usually it is earlier than later before people's clothes get to wrinkled and their new hair do's start to fall. LOL

 

I just submitted my review, a FULL DETAILED LONG one and overall I rated it a 3 out of a 5+. My review should be up and posted in a day or two. I was a little dissapointed in the up-keep of the ship itself personally. This was also my FIRST RCI cruise. I guess I just had higher expectations of a RCI experience from all the bragging I have always heard.

 

If there is anything specific you want to know contact me.

[Scotty G]

Yes. night 2 is the formal night.

[jwave]

I appreciate it...esp. knowing which night it is.

[ssb]

I just came ooff the MONARCH on Monday. It was a 3 day cruise Fr, Sa, SU, return Mon morning. We had a Formal night, but they were pretty relaxed I think with the overall FORMAL wear since it was a shorter cruise.

 

The Formal night for us was DAY 2 while we were in Nassau. Check with the cruiseline and see if they can let you know. Usually it is earlier than later before people's clothes get to wrinkled and their new hair do's start to fall. LOL

 

I just submitted my review, a FULL DETAILED LONG one and overall I rated it a 3 out of a 5+. My review should be up and posted in a day or two. I was a little dissapointed in the up-keep of the ship itself personally. This was also my FIRST RCI cruise. I guess I just had higher expectations of a RCI experience from all the bragging I have always heard.

 

If there is anything specific you want to know contact me.

 

 

What were your expectations on a 20 year old ship?

 

This is off the Cruse Critic site

 

We are on it Monday!

 

==================================================

 

How the mighty have fallen! When it launched in 1991, Monarch of the Seas and her sister ships were the largest cruise ships in the world, generating significant media attention and a new buzz in cruising. The second of a three-ship class that started with Sovereign of the Seas (which is no longer in Royal Caribbean's fleet), Monarch's multi-story atrium, two large swimming pools and sheer number of passengers made it innovative and daring. Ultimately, this class spawned the growth of the mega-ships that followed over the next two decades.

 

Today, though, this once-trendy ship has definitely slipped off the hip cruiser's map. It now doesn't even break the top 100 on the list of the largest ships in the world; the ship's newest fleetmate, Oasis of the Seas, is three times as large. You have to look at Monarch of the Seas now with almost a fond sense of nostalgia.

 

So why sail on Monarch of the Seas? In many ways, it offers a pleasant compromise, mixing some of Royal Caribbean's perpetual fun with more toned-down, quieter escapes. Well-maintained, the ship provides a good introduction to cruising for first-timers on its three- and four-night Bahamas itineraries out of Port Canaveral, Florida. For more experienced cruisers, Monarch provides an inexpensive, dependable and satisfying vacation.

 

While considered midsize today, Monarch of the Seas has many big-ship amenities (including a few alternative restaurants, a decent spa and a rock-climbing wall), as well as some classic touches, including a real wrap-around promenade deck. (And, to show how standards have changed, her profile -- once derided by some as "boxy" and "ugly” when the ship was first introduced -- is now considered classic and attractive.)

 

But make no mistake -- Monarch of the Seas is a fun-in-the-sun ship. No more than 10 feet from the gangway, you'll be greeted by waiters pushing tropical drinks (and see plenty of people buying them well before they even reach their cabins). The pool deck is full of sunbathers with foo foo drinks during the day; by night, the nightclub pulses well into the wee hours of the morning. A quiet, staid cruise this isn't (although the four-night cruises are somewhat calmer and have an older clientele than the three-night weekend cruises).

 

Still, the ship is big enough to offer a variety of programs and settings, so you can seek out the experience you want. There are an ample number of sedate activities that range from cooking demonstrations to lounging on sunny beaches in the Bahamas. And, with discounted prices sometimes showing up for around $60 a night, why wouldn't you go?

[wiskt]

What were your expectations on a 20 year old ship?

 

This is off the Cruse Critic site

 

We are on it Monday!

 

My review: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=77266

 

 

I think I was expecting a few more activities and attention to some of the upkeep/cleanliness detail of the ship itself. Make no mistake I did indeed have a relaxing vacation and made the best out of what I was presented. Being a solo cruiser (for me) it was the lack of activites to get involved with onboard. It could be a reason why I focused on some of the more downside aspects around the ship such as maintainance and up-keep. I did not board "Looking for reasons" to dislike RCI. I was simply expecting to be truly impressed and encouraged to return. Return I will, but more likely on a newer ship where they are focusing their investment, time and money. I talked to many different type of people on the ship to get a feel for their opinions as well. There was not really a "OH I LOVE IT" or "This trip is great" atmosphere. More of a " it's ok" or "not too bad" feeling.

 

Planning this trip after several friends talked up Royal Caribbean so much as a "levels above Carnival and NCL" and a whole different experience sort of set me up with higher expectations. I've been on older ships and some also launched in the early 90's and none were in as bad a shape as the Monarch. Especially the staterooms where the comfort is experienced more than anywhere else onboard.

 

My experience is just that, My experience. I can only compare it to what I have already experienced on other ships. Others may be looking for something totally different. This is why 2 different people on the same vessle can hate it and love it. Did I hate it? NO, just did not meet "MY" expectations. I hope that your experience is a GREAT ONE! :D and you and others can focus on enjoying your trip to the fullest. I simply put my experience out there maybe more for the RCI company to see and hopefully improve apon as welll as fellow passengers to watch out for and avoid if needed.

 

:)

[PH8]

My review: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=77266

 

 

I think I was expecting a few more activities and attention to some of the upkeep/cleanliness detail of the ship itself. Make no mistake I did indeed have a relaxing vacation and made the best out of what I was presented. Being a solo cruiser (for me) it was the lack of activites to get involved with onboard. It could be a reason why I focused on some of the more downside aspects around the ship such as maintainance and up-keep. I did not board "Looking for reasons" to dislike RCI. I was simply expecting to be truly impressed and encouraged to return. Return I will, but more likely on a newer ship where they are focusing their investment, time and money. I talked to many different type of people on the ship to get a feel for their opinions as well. There was not really a "OH I LOVE IT" or "This trip is great" atmosphere. More of a " it's ok" or "not too bad" feeling.

 

Planning this trip after several friends talked up Royal Caribbean so much as a "levels above Carnival and NCL" and a whole different experience sort of set me up with higher expectations. I've been on older ships and some also launched in the early 90's and none were in as bad a shape as the Monarch. Especially the staterooms where the comfort is experienced more than anywhere else onboard.

 

My experience is just that, My experience. I can only compare it to what I have already experienced on other ships. Others may be looking for something totally different. This is why 2 different people on the same vessle can hate it and love it. Did I hate it? NO, just did not meet "MY" expectations. I hope that your experience is a GREAT ONE! :D and you and others can focus on enjoying your trip to the fullest. I simply put my experience out there maybe more for the RCI company to see and hopefully improve apon as welll as fellow passengers to watch out for and avoid if needed.

 

:)

I read your review..........have to say,if you researched it,you would had known there probably wouldnt be a safe(but they are adding them),bathrobes in your inside cabin(but you probably could have asked your Cabin attendant and maybe she would had gotten you one) and no toiletry basket.......

 

I have to agree about the carpeting......it does look wet ,but I seem to see that on EVERY ship.............I can never figure it out...........:confused::confused:

[wiskt]

I read your review..........have to say,if you researched it,you would had known there probably wouldnt be a safe(but they are adding them),bathrobes in your inside cabin(but you probably could have asked your Cabin attendant and maybe she would had gotten you one) and no toiletry basket.......

 

I have to agree about the carpeting......it does look wet ,but I seem to see that on EVERY ship.............I can never figure it out...........:confused::confused:

 

Yeah , I take blame for that.. I sort of booked this one very last minute. Usually, I do try to do as much upfront research as I can, but unfortunately It was my first time traveling through Orlando and this port so I spent most of it researching options getting there and the trip prior and after. I left the ship stuff to what my friends were telling me. WOW, am I glad I did with the delays and complications I stumbled upon with the unexpected weather. If I could have got off work the day prior it may have been avoided, but thankfully that was where I invested my research. Glad to hear they are adding the safes, still think some upgrades to the bathrooms (at least mine) are needed.

The carpet thing is bizarre. Especially in the areas I saw it?? Maybe they should lay down those complex darker design patterns so it is at least less noticable rather than a solid beige or light color.

[ssb]

Yeah , I take blame for that.. I sort of booked this one very last minute. Usually, I do try to do as much upfront research as I can, but unfortunately It was my first time traveling through Orlando and this port so I spent most of it researching options getting there and the trip prior and after. I left the ship stuff to what my friends were telling me. WOW, am I glad I did with the delays and complications I stumbled upon with the unexpected weather. If I could have got off work the day prior it may have been avoided, but thankfully that was where I invested my research. Glad to hear they are adding the safes, still think some upgrades to the bathrooms (at least mine) are needed.

The carpet thing is bizarre. Especially in the areas I saw it?? Maybe they should lay down those complex darker design patterns so it is at least less noticable rather than a solid beige or light color.

 

Glad you had a a relaxing vacation,

and made the best out of what you were presented.

 

You certainly have a good attitude about it!

 

As someone said:

 

"I'd Rather Be On A Ship With A Drink On The Rocks, Than In The Drink With A Ship On The Rocks."

 

[PH8]

Yeah , I take blame for that.. I sort of booked this one very last minute. Usually, I do try to do as much upfront research as I can, but unfortunately It was my first time traveling through Orlando and this port so I spent most of it researching options getting there and the trip prior and after. I left the ship stuff to what my friends were telling me. WOW, am I glad I did with the delays and complications I stumbled upon with the unexpected weather. If I could have got off work the day prior it may have been avoided, but thankfully that was where I invested my research. Glad to hear they are adding the safes, still think some upgrades to the bathrooms (at least mine) are needed.

The carpet thing is bizarre. Especially in the areas I saw it?? Maybe they should lay down those complex darker design patterns so it is at least less noticable rather than a solid beige or light color.

I have actually noticed in on brand new carpeting they put down:eek:

[wiskt]

Glad you had a a relaxing vacation,

and made the best out of what you were presented.

 

You certainly have a good attitude about it!

 

As someone said:

"I'd Rather Be On A Ship With A Drink On The Rocks, Than In The Drink With A Ship On The Rocks."

 

Thanks. SSB

I know there are some people that would have taken some of what I experienced and went the whole other "I'll never travel RCI again" route. Or spent the entire trip complaining to the crew and cabin steward about every little thing. IMO, That's just obsured, it's not the crew's fault, I blame the company for not enforcing better standards upon the crew to tend to some of the issues I mention. I even hand scrubbed my own shower curtain. Do I expect all passengers to do that, NO. It should not be needed period!

 

I recently watched an episode of "undercover boss" about NCL, and there was a clip where the worker was cleaning chipped paint. He was explicit to not just sand it and repaint it, but to strip it down to the bare raw metal, prepare and do it right. Was this all show for the cameras? perhaps, or was it the company's policy that short cuts -vs- being thorough make a difference longterm.

 

At least I understand it is an older ship so there will be age reflected. How that is handled is another thing. I can only compare to other "older ships" that personally felt are far more taken care of.

[ssb]

Thanks. SSB

I know there are some people that would have taken some of what I experienced and went the whole other "I'll never travel RCI again" route. Or spent the entire trip complaining to the crew and cabin steward about every little thing. IMO, That's just obsured, it's not the crew's fault, I blame the company for not enforcing better standards upon the crew to tend to some of the issues I mention. I even hand scrubbed my own shower curtain. Do I expect all passengers to do that, NO. It should not be needed period!

 

I recently watched an episode of "undercover boss" about NCL, and there was a clip where the worker was cleaning chipped paint. He was explicit to not just sand it and repaint it, but to strip it down to the bare raw metal, prepare and do it right. Was this all show for the cameras? perhaps, or was it the company's policy that short cuts -vs- being thorough make a difference longterm.

 

At least I understand it is an older ship so there will be age reflected. How that is handled is another thing. I can only compare to other "older ships" that personally felt are far more taken care of.

 

Hope to see you on a newer Rccl ship sometime!

And I will let know how our trip on Monarch goes next week!

[wiskt]

Hope to see you on a newer Rccl ship sometime!

And I will let know how our trip on Monarch goes next week!

 

Yeah, I think I will have to try the Allure or the Enchantment next. Im sure it will be a whole different experience and appears where they are investing the time and money into right now.

 

Have fun on your cruise. I hope you get great weather like I had! :)

[alexkrn46]

We took two cruises in December, the Oasis and Monarch. The Monarch was our first cruise with RCCL in 2002 so I my expectations were low. The New Years Eve cruise on the Monarch was too good to give up.

 

Going from one the newest to the oldest ships, I thought would be difficult.

We had a GS on the Oasis and Superior Ocean View ( Ninth Floor) on the Monarch. We found the Monarch surprisingly well maintained. I did not find any carpet stains but the carpets we saw new and well maintained.

 

We did My time dining and found the service exceptional. The dishes were all RCCL standard fare.

 

Our room was small ( I forget how small) and I missed a balcony. The linens and towels were all the same quality. We are D+ so we had bathroom amenities and robes. Our attendant was great and very attentive.

 

I found the entertainment good, the singer and dancers were one of the best in the fleet but limited by the size of stage.

 

Being off the largest cruise ship, we found it refreshing it so easy it get around the ship. It was also nice to have a midnight buffet and dancing every night in the dining room. The TV was a LCD and not interactive, but did show many movies that just left the movies screens.

 

The ship was decorated very nicely for the holidays.

 

It was a great get away, customer service was outstanding, I felt a connect to the ocean ( which I didn't on the Oasis). It was a great short cruise and met all my expectations.

 

Remember you get what you pay for. We paid a fortune to go on the Oasis and had a great time, we paid much less on Holiday cruise and enjoyed even without the bells and whistles.

[tright]

We just got off the Monarch yesterday and yes they have a formal night during the 4 day cruise. We have be on a few of Royal Caribbeans other ships and we enjoyed the Monarch. Yes she is smaller the the Oasis and the other ships but we really enjoyed and appreciated her crew just about everyone was very friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a nice time. Hope you enjoy her!!