Cruising Virgin; 1st voyage 5/20/11 on Monarch OTS

[MrMilkChoc79]

I'm new to the C.C. boards, and new to cruising in general. But, I love food, travel, and big boats, so I have no idea what took me so long. :D

 

I am 31 and my wife is 28. We are from an island of the coast of Cape Cod, MA.

 

My first cruise is going to be an 80th birthday celebration for my DW's grandfather. While we were trying to figure our how to throw him a surprise party, he was busy planning to take 50+ of us on a cruise!

 

I am really just looking for a few tips, for a cruising newbie like me.

 

I know that Monarch is an 'old girl' of a ship, so I am prepared for her to not look anything remotely like Oasis OTS.

 

We are going on a 3 night Bahamas cruise out of Port Canaveral, with stops in Nassau, and Coco Cay. We will have my 8 year-old daughter with us, but she has already told me that she wants to spend time with her cousins, Me-Me(grandmother), and do all of the kids activities on the boat. I am both hurt, and excited about the free 'adult time'. She may 'let' us to take her to swim with dolphins. Lol

 

Any info, tips, recommendations etc. anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hope this is my first cruise of many, and I will be sure to post a TR after my maiden voyage.

 

Regards,

 

MrMilkChoc79

(Jeremy)

 

P.S. - How do i make a countdown timer?

[griffy116]

We are going on the Monarch in April. This will be our first time on Monarch, but our 9th cruise on a RCCL ship. Monarch is a smaller, much older ship (the oldest, in fact). It doesn't have the WOW factor with the rock-climbing or zip-line activities, but I've heard it gets great reviews for service and she's still in good condition. We did the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon. No only is it cheaper than doing it at Atlantis, but it's a great place to visit and enjoy the amenities. You can book it directly with them online. If you decide to go to Atlantis, it's a pricey spot to visit, but on a 3-day cruise, you aren't really dividing your money among the different ports. We haven't been to Cococay in several years, so we are excited to see the changes. We LOVED it last time we were there. They have a BBQ set up for lunch and they have water "toys" you can enjoy. We plan to enjoy the beach and our teens will do some snorkeling there. Our first cruise was a 3-night on Empress of the Seas to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. You'll have a great time and I predict you'll be hooked on cruising. Enjoy.

[cr8z4cruzn]

MrMilkChoc79, Welcome to CC and congrats on your upcoming cruise. If you look at the top of the page you'll see UserCP, FAQ, Guidelines, Photo Gallery, Countdown Clocks, etc...... click Countdown Clocks to begin building your timer. Hope this helps.

[will773]

Have a great trip! If you want a countdown, just click on mine and follow the instructions!

[jackretired]

Post to your "Roll call" thread. Sign everyone up for the Meet & Mingle.

Does everyone have the same seating (early or late) dinner?

Is everyone happy with their seating time? Now is the time to call and ask for a change.

Do you all want to be seated with each other or with strangers, a good way to meet new people? If you want to sit with someone, link their reservantion to your reservation.

 

Figure out if you want the soda card.

[ryano]

It doesn't have the WOW factor with the rock-climbing or zip-line activities,.

 

The Monarch has a rock climbing wall :)

[nyonefivetwo]

We went on Majesty OTS (Monarch's sister) in May, and though it may be older, it was still great. The WOW factor is still there - great rock wall, sports court, fun pool area, etc. Activities are great, and the service is WONDERFUL on the small ship. The ships in the sovereign class were all completely re-done a couple of years ago, so it still feels like a new ship. There aren't any stabilizers, so if you get prone to motion sickness, be sure to take some Bonine or something (learned THAT the hard way).

 

Other than that, just have a BLAST on the ship! She's a beautiful classic!

[ryano]

The WOW factor is still there -

 

I agree........For those that have never been on a cruise ship there is definitely a WOW factor on the Monarch. If you dont know what to expect, IMO you will be blown away once you step on board OP.

 

I had only been on even a much smaller and even older Carnival ship and the Centrum alone on Monarch, wow'd me.

 

No its no Oasis and comparing the two would be like comparing apples to footballs but its a great ship.

 

Its a fun cruise on a great ship with a great crew......I would love to do it again.

 

That class were the grandest things on the ocean less than 20 years ago and I imagine they "wow'd" many.:)

[cruiseguy1016]

OP - We cruise with a group of family/friends a lot. One rule we always stick to is this. Do not try to do everything together. Each person should do what THEY want to do, not necessarily what everyone else is doing. Enjoy YOUR vacation, not somebody else's. We all do whatever shore excursion we want. If it happens to be the same as what others want, great, we do it together.

 

We pick out a place on the pool deck (or the deck above it) and that's "our spot" for the week. Whenever someone wants to hang out by the pool, that's where we go. We'll all know we can find each other in that same general area every day. Again, if you need some time away from the crowd, go to another spot and hang out there.

 

We always eat dinner together. It's the only time we are committed to interact with each other. We'll say "how was your day, what did you do?" Everybody gets a chance to catch up on the others. After dinner we usually all go the show (because we WANT TO) together. After that, some will go to the Schooner bar or another bar, some will go to the casino some will go to bed.

 

The most important thing is to realize that this is your vacation too. Make sure that YOU have fun.

[alexkrn46]

I had the pleasure of being on the Oasis and Monarch in December. The Monarch does have a rock climbing wall and stabilizers. It was in great shape and the service was wonderful. It was a our first RCCL cruise in 2002 and was impressed with all the upgrades.

 

That being said the cabins are very small. You will have a great time and enjoy your cruise.

[MrMilkChoc79]

Thank you all for the prompt and helpful responses.

 

I will def. be using your info to make sure to follow your tips to make sure my first cruise is a great time, and hopefully the first of many. I am already checking out another voyage out of New Orleans in October. Lol

 

I will be sure to be post to the to RCC Roll Call. I'd love to link up with other cruisers.

 

Anything else people can think of please let me know.

 

 

Many thanks

[LBumb]

great ship for first cruise