1st cruise on RC Monarch w 3 kids tons of questions

[sahara910]

Hey all.

Normally I am not a nervous traveler but this is our 1st cruise and suddenly I have all these questions....

We are driving to PC to embark on a 4 night cruise to Cocoa Cay & Nassau.

Kids are 11, 9 and 2 (not potty training) We have 2 adjoining oceanview rooms. Ours is a queen w crib the kids 2 twins

Is there any type of pool or splash area that swim diapers ARE allowed on the Monarch?

 

Can I get a fridge in my room? If not what do you recommend for me considering 2 y.o. drinks Almond milk not dairy. I can buy the ones that don't start out refrigerated but Once opened they will need to be. Soft cooler?

 

Are drinks (non alcoholic) included? I am reading about a soda card purchase. If this is the case can we bring any onboard?

 

Should I bring a stroller? Seems like a lot of walking for him right? If so does it need to be tiny?

 

Will I have any trouble bringing on board baby food? 2 Y.O. still eats only purees and other than chips and fries I doubt they will have anything he will actually eat. He has sensory issues....

 

When you go from ship to excursion do you walk in the water at all? Will I be limited in what I can bring/ carry going from ship to Atlantis etc?

 

Is the dinner that we have booked at 5:45 seating at some sort of community table with servers? Like we sit with people we dont know? if we decide to do the buffet instead do we cancel for the evening?

 

I saw a recommended tip amount per guest does that basically mean they charge us that per person ( 2 year old too?) looks like $10/ day per person? and if so do we not tip in addition except room service and bar?Does this include the day we leave (depart at 4:30 pm and the day we come back? Dock at 7 am)

 

The food served at Cocoa Cay is it included like the ships food is?

 

Can someone explain formal night? Other than what you wear? Is it during the regular dinner you usually have or is it in a separate place. I am thinking that with 3 kids we would skip this right? On the 4 night cruise which night would it be? I am guessing not night one and not night 3 as night 3 we are in Nassau until midnight.

 

Adventure Ocean is included in the price right? And if I needed care for the 2 year old I would need to get a babysitter with 24 hours notice and pay like $8 or something an hour correct?

 

THANK YOU a million times over :)

[cb at sea]

I don't think there is a pool for diapered ones.....many folks will bring a blow up 'duck tub'....useful for bathing, too, since there is only a shower in the bathrooms. You can take it to the pool deck, add some water and let your little one splash. Empty into a floor drain....not into the pool!

 

Yes...bring a stroller! Doesn't have to be tiny, but the ones that are the size of a small car, leave at home!!!

 

Dinner may be with others....not to worry...it's fun! Everyone is there for a good time! Yes, there are servers and they really enjoy kids...no worries about that, either!

 

Tea, lemonade, ice water, milk, juice at breakfast are included.....sodas can be purchased by the can, if you don't want to buy the fountain soda package. Yes, you can bring some on, even tho' they say you can't. 99% of the time, they let it on.

 

I don't know if there are fridges....you can request one for medical issues....it wouldn't hurt to ask. If not, you can get ice from the cabin attendant....

 

You may bring all the baby food you want. There are also plenty of "smushable " foods on the ship, if your child will eat that!

 

Depends on the excursion, whether you will get wet! That's up to you and what you choose. I don't know of many that require you to walk thru the water to get there! Going to Atlantis is via cab or water taxi...you do NOT get wet getting there! If you aren't going to the waterpark, you don't need an "excursion" at all...a cab will take you there...it's a hotel/casino....just wander about. You won't have access to the pool/beach, tho.

 

Yes, tips are per person, per day...even for the 2 year old. Tips are "per night"...departure day doesn't count! Tips will be added to every drink purchase (15%). You can either pay the tips in cash on the last night, or have them added to your account.

 

Coco Cay's lunch is included.

 

On Formal night, kids are welcome. Many folks will be dolled up in evening wear....suits or tux for men, gown or cocktail dress for women. Children in "Sunday Best"....you don't HAVE to go that far, but many will. Night 2 is your formal night. Formal night is in the normal dining room.

 

Yes, AO is included, except for private babysitting. I'm not sure if the price is still $8 ph...it may have gone up! If you need a babysitter, book it when you board....they can be limited!

[Schpoompie]

Hi there. My name is Rachel and we live in Orlando - just got off the 4 day Monarch cruise (our 1st as well) a few weeks ago so I'll try to answer a few of your questions :) Traveled with our daughter (10) so we did use some of the same facilities you will be using.

 

 

 

Not sure about getting a fridge as this is an older ship - someone who's been on her a few times before may be able to better answer this. Can you tell us where your rooms are located on the ship? You can bring a soft sided cooler and request that your cabin steward keeps fresh ice in it. They'll be in your room at least twice per day and are usually happy to do that for you.

Coffe, tea (hot and iced) and lemonade are always available and are included. In the morning you will also find apple and orange juice, and milk available, and these are also included. Fresh squeezed orange juice is extra. Soda is NOT included. The soda card for the 4 day cruise is $27.60 (that includes the automatic 15% gratuity) and you can order that prior to boarding the ship. There will be a souvenir tumbler in your cabin when you board (very good quality) and you can use that throughout your cruise. If you choose not to use the tumbler you can also get your soda served to you in a regular cup. There will be a Coca-Cola emblem embedded into your S&S card and you just show that to receive your soda. You can use this on Coco Cay as well. Royal Caribbeans official policy is that NO beverages of any kind are allowed to be brought on board. Some people do manage to sneak them in any way, but there is a chance that they will confiscate those beverages on check-in. I did see two passengers that managed to bring cases of water on board, so the confiscation is hit or miss. My understanding is they are more concerned with alcohol, and I did see many bags of confiscated liquor waiting for pick-up on the last day. However, I believe you will have no trouble bringing on the almond milk and food for the baby :)

 

Not sure about the stroller either, I don't recall seeing any onboard? Walking on this ship is not too bad, there are plenty of elevators in different locations. We found getting to most locations pretty easy. My only advice here is that if you are on a lower deck, try to be close to deck 7 prior to muster drill time, as they do close the elevators and it can be quite a hike up all those stairs (I speak from experience on this one)! :eek: I don't see a problem bringing one, but I would make it small if you do, not a lot of storage space in the cabins.

 

I'm not real clear on your water question for excursions? There is no getting in the water to get off the ship, in Nassau there will be a gangway you walk over. Any boats you take for transportation will always have a walkway directly onto land. The only time you will be in the water is if your excursion involves that or you choose that as an activity. You should be able to carry whatever you need off the ship with you as well, as long as it's not anything your port country doesn't allow to be brought in.

 

You will receive your table # on your S&S card. Once you get on board, there will be a gentleman sitting in front of the dining room that can tell you what sort of table you're at (i.e., how many will be at that table). If you want to change it you can walk over to the maitre'd desk and ask for a change. You can e-mail a request in prior to your cruise if you would like a certain type of table, but requests are not guaranteed. We requested a table for four but were sat at a table for 10. We were at a window table though so we decided to keep it and it worked out o.k. I think the only night that we were all actually at the table was the first night. A lot of family's take a night off from the main dining room and eat at the buffet for a little more casual dining. You will find at least some of the items offered in the main dining room on the buffet each night. If you need a casual night, don't feel like going to the dining room, can't make your dinner time, or whatever, it makes for a nice alternative. We thought the head waiter in the dining room (Albert) and our table waiter (Flavio at table 38) were both FANTASTIC. Both of them were wonderful with our children, and Albert personally stopped by each night to chat with us. If you do decide to skip an evening, you don't have to do anything. Flavio also treated the kids to some pretty neat magic tricks each night, which we all enjoyed. If you have tablemates that you've taken a liking to you may want to let them know in passing that you won't be there so that they will know to go ahead and start without you, but other than that you're good to go.

 

Your lunch on Coco Cay is included. When we were there it included ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, rice, some salads, fresh fruit I think and a few desserts. Not a huge amount of variety but enough to fill you up. The lines can be quite long so you may want to be there just shortly before they start serving (12:00 I think) or wait until the crowds thin out a little before going.

 

Recommended tips include all guests in your party, even the children. I believe it's $11.65 per day, for four days. You will get a paper on Wednesday that you can turn in before the end of the day on Thursday if you want your gratuities automatically added to your account. You will receive envelopes on Thursday if you choose to tip in cash. Envelopes will be received for your cabin steward, head waiter (the gentleman who runs the dining room), table waiter and assistant waiter. You will also receive a small paper that gives you an exact amount recommended for each person for the duration of the cruise (i.e., head waiter recommendation is $3.00 person for the cruise, so for us that was $9.00 altogether for the head waiter - we gave him $15.00). The tips are not automatically charged, it is your choice on how you choose to give them, but I highly recommend that you do provide at least the recommended gratuity, unless there is some extenuating circumstance where you feel you have received poor service. We gave our cabin steward an additional tip in the middle of the cruise to thank him for his service so far, and then the recommended amount in cash on the last evening. We also gave extra to our wait staff in the dining room, but gave it all at the same time, on the last evening during dinner. You can provide a tip (in cash) at time of delivery for room service, and anything you purchase from the bar will have an automatic 15% gratuity added on. We sometimes tipped extra on the few bar drinks we purchased depending on how friendly the server was.

 

Formal night is on Tuesday. Really the only difference is the dress, this is the evening they encourage tux or suit for men, and fancy cocktail dress for women. You will still eat at your same table in the same dining room. There will be a lot of photo opportunities this evening, so you may want to arrive in the centrum a little early if you'd like to have some family pictures taken.

 

Adventure ocean is included up until 10pm. They also have what's called "Late Night Party Zone", which goes until 2am - this is an additional $6.00 per hour and it is charged by the 1/2 hour. We didn't see too many kids staying over past 10 most nights. I'm not sure about your two year old, maybe someone with a little one that age can post some additional info. for you on that. :)

 

Forgot - no pool for the little one :( This ship has two pools (with a divider that provides a shallow area for children) and two whirlpools, but swim diapers are not allowed at all, in any pool.

 

 

Hope this info. helps you some, and that your family has a wonderful 1st cruise together!

 

~ Rachel :)

[sahara910]

Thank God for you ladies... You are making me feel so much more comfortable having some idea what I am doing LOL. My kids have traveled a lot but we are lucky in that my husband travels for work so we get lots of points and free stays at hotels with suites. I am aware that this will be completely different LOL!

 

What is a muster drill? We are on Deck 5 in 2 ocean view staterooms that connect.

 

Yeah on the water thing I totally misjudged getting off the boat. obviously with a boat this size you dont just hop in shallow water or something :eek:

 

We decided to book a room at Atlantis in case we wanted a bath/ larger shower and a place to escape the afternoon sun (assuming our room will be ready before 4pm) It was still a little cheaper to get the arm bands this way vs buying them from RC.

 

I am going to have more questions I am sure... I do not think we will pack gowns and Sunday Bests for this trip. It's spring break for us so we can just use that night to eat in another restaurant or the buffet right? Its not like the whole ship converts to formal is it?

[kroberts0525]

I took my 6 year old on this cruise last year. Loved it. If your kids are soda drinkers you will get your money's worth on the endless soda cards. They can also be used for Kiddie Cocktails (Shirley Temples) which my son had every night at dinner in the dining room. The kids can eat the traditional kids food or order off the adult menu in the main dining room. My son ordered three courses every night and tried and enjoyed many new foods. At Cocoa Cay they also have a Fisher Price area with battery powered cars on a track for the kids to drive (free). An excursion that we really enjoyed was the dolphin encounter at something like blue island. We got to pet, interact with and pose for pictures with a dolphin and then we assumed we would be returned to the cruise ship immediately afterwards. Instead we were told we could stay on the island and enjoy all that was there. They had a number of inflatable slides set up on the beach and in the water. The beach was quiet and clean and everything was well supervised. We could stay all day if we wanted. The had food and beverages available at an additional fee. We also walked from the cruise ship to the Pirates Museum in Nassau which was a fun, fairly cheap, air conditioned couple of hours. Your older kids would probably enjoy either activity. During the at sea day I relaxed by the pool and my son spent a few hours in the kids club. My son said the ship highlights were the "tricks" the waiters did after dinner every night and the never ending soft serve ice cream machine. Above all, relax and have fun!