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My first DIAMOND cruise! 7/1/11 Monarch pictorial with Coco Cay Cabana Club report!

DarthGrady

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volleyballmom87

volleyballmom87

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You know, I find it funny that the cabana area was sold out. When we went to Coco 2 years ago, that part of the beach was EMPTY with the exception of the 5-6 people that found the FREE cabanas. Now that they are charging for them.... Boooo they have CREATED a demand for them that wasn't there before they started charging. Hmmmm

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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You know, I find it funny that the cabana area was sold out. When we went to Coco 2 years ago, that part of the beach was EMPTY with the exception of the 5-6 people that found the FREE cabanas. Now that they are charging for them.... Boooo they have CREATED a demand for them that wasn't there before they started charging. Hmmmm

 

I agree with you to a certain extent. I am not a fan of adding pay-extra options at the expense of free ones. Anyone who has read my rantings on recent Radiance of the Seas thread has seen that. ;) :D

 

For us the real draw was the specialty dining and the semi private setting. The Cabanette itself was really not even that impressive. It provided only a minor amount of shade, and the loungers were the exact same ones on the rest of the island. I just wanted a quiet place, away from the incessant calypso music and crowds. It was so nice not having to fight the crowd at the buffet, and having a real table for the two of us.

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  • 2 weeks later...
pcrum

pcrum

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Great review. I have enjoyed your reviews on Carnival and was so glad to see you on the RCL boards. We are long time Carnival fans thinking of taking our first RCL cruise. I know Monarch is not the ship to judge RCL by, but we are looking for a Labor Day cruise close to home and the ship fits our dates. My question is about the dining. Is the only way to get a table for two to do Your Time Dining? We tried that on Princess and had a bad experience of the tables for two being right on top of one another, so much so that you might as well have been at a large table. I just wondered what the set up is like on Monarch. Can you get a table for 2 by doing late seating or do you have to do Your Time Dining?

 

Also, is there just the one specialty restaurant?

 

Thanks so much.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Great review. I have enjoyed your reviews on Carnival and was so glad to see you on the RCL boards. We are long time Carnival fans thinking of taking our first RCL cruise. I know Monarch is not the ship to judge RCL by, but we are looking for a Labor Day cruise close to home and the ship fits our dates. My question is about the dining. Is the only way to get a table for two to do Your Time Dining? We tried that on Princess and had a bad experience of the tables for two being right on top of one another, so much so that you might as well have been at a large table. I just wondered what the set up is like on Monarch. Can you get a table for 2 by doing late seating or do you have to do Your Time Dining?

 

Also, is there just the one specialty restaurant?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Once we got on board we first spoke to the Maitre 'D for the regular dining guests. Although we had requested a table to two (late seating), we did not get one and there were none available. He said there were only a few to be had for regular dining).

 

So we signed up for My Time Dining. They have a lot more two seat tables, but some of them are fairly close. It depends on where the host seats you. Most of them are about 3 feet apart. It wasn't quite as bad as what you've described on Princess, but nearly. You can easily carry on a conversation with the neighbors.

 

Yes, Jade Sushi and Steakhouse is the only specialty restaurant. They have several two seat tables that are better spaced. Although the service left something to be desired, the overall experience in there was still enjoyable.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on Monarch. She is a great old ship, and her crew is very friendly. I recommend the Viking Crown Lounge if you're looking for a nice place to sit and relax. The waiters up there are very friendly and its never very crowded.

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  • 3 weeks later...
DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Great reading your posts! So helpful for us - first timers! So, we really need shade from the rays on Coco Cay - cabana-ette not very helpful? Are there other shady areas? Thanks for the pics - exciting!

 

They don't give total shade, just enough to keep the sun off your face and upper body. There are other areas on the island with tress where you could be in a lot more shade.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Were all D, D+ members welcome to eat in the cabana area, or was it exclusively for those who had rented cabanas?

 

Thanks

 

Just the cabana renters from what I could tell. They did not have the signs up inviting D+ and suite guests in like they did in Labadee. I think that might be due to the program just starting up. The dining area was fairly small, so I don't know that it could accommodate many more.

 

How did I miss this thread last month???

 

Thanks for the great picture review! :D

 

You're welcome. :)

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beachnative

beachnative

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We love the Monarch. It is a beautiful, well-kept ship with a fantastic crew.

 

Our first time was in December 2010 on our way to the Allure. We liked it so much that we rebooked a B2B2B2B for February/March. We wanted to be on a smaller ship with repeat ports so that we wouldn't be tempted to do much. My wife was to be recovering from a foot operation and was be released from her doc about the time we would be boarding. I thought we would be bored but we never were.

 

On the last leg of the B2s the ship was full of college students. This was probably the most lively and upbeat RCCL cruise we've ever taken.

 

Drew Devine was the CD and he quickly became our favorite following Richard Spacey.

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  • 1 month later...
DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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The flyer listing the Cabana-nettes in September was $50, so I guess they raised the price.

 

Thats a shame. The $30 range was about all I would be willing to spend. It was nice, but not that nice.

 

 

Grady,

Just stumbled onto this post and wanted to say congrats on reaching Diamond! Love RC and can't wait for my second B2b on Allure in 2012!...Happy sailing.....K.O. from philly area

 

Thanks!

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  • 2 months later...
LMZinSC

LMZinSC

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They did indeed charge $50 last month...

 

Oh bummer! I read this whole thread and was thinking I would surprise my DH with one. We will be there on Christmas Day. $35 seemed very reasonable, but $50 seems a little high to me.

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