Recent Monarch Review

[lephysteria]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am just off of the Monarch this past weekend. We had a great time and met some wonderful new friends. I've written a review, and it you can read it here !

 

Enjoy!

[lephysteria]

Icruise and other agencies that offer wine are now being forced to comply with RCCL's corkage fee rules.

 

The agencies aren't warning their customers.

I've discussed it in detail, and hope that all those booked with the agencies like we were can learn about the rules before they sail, and then decide for themselves if they still want the wine.

[mohavemommy]

Just read your review... very nice. I am waiting patiently for my cruise on her in April!

 

One thing that blew me out of the water was the mention you made about the Loyalty Ambassador, Danney, going to the Radiance in September. Upon reading this I immediately let out a "Say it isn't true!" :( since I believe that Danney is a wonderful driving force on that ship. I guess all good things must come to an end and he must move on to better things. :o

[lephysteria]

I agree with you completely! Thanks for reading the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

He is an asset on the ship, and I look forward to saying Hi to him each time I'm on the Monarch. The radiance is such a lucky ship :)

[rosinryanz]

They really have a great crew these days. It's always a great feeling to be remebered by name. I will never forget that a bellboy actually remembered our names after a four year absence from the route - what an incredible surprise that we will never forget!

[lephysteria]

YES!!!!

There is even a head waiter, Sheldon, that I swear he remembered us, and alll of our family names, and how we were related to each other, after 6 months!! He meets so many people each week, its a wonder he's able to do this. Amazing!

Yes, the crew was so friendly this time. Even if you didn't have 1 on 1 interaction with them, they still would say Hi to you after you passed by them. They were all very cordial.

[emmy]

Loved the review..and those pink boas hanging in your cabin:p... see you got to meet my Original Pink Boa friends Janice & patrick...

 

Thanks for sharing

[critterchick]

Just read your review... very nice. I am waiting patiently for my cruise on her in April!

 

One thing that blew me out of the water was the mention you made about the Loyalty Ambassador, Danney, going to the Radiance in September. Upon reading this I immediately let out a "Say it isn't true!" :( since I believe that Danney is a wonderful driving force on that ship. I guess all good things must come to an end and he must move on to better things. :o

 

What a terrific review! Funny, though - Danney told us on the 12th that he's going on Legend. I guess things change in the blink of an eye. We'll see, but either way, we'll miss him (unless he's on Radiance when we sail her in September, of course)!

 

We had the same HW you did - somebody must have given him a talking-to - he was the first HW I would ever have described as useless. I'm glad he came through for you!

 

And the Rosa Fan Club keeps growing...

[lephysteria]

Loved the review..and those pink boas hanging in your cabin:p... see you got to meet my Original Pink Boa friends Janice & patrick...

 

Thanks for sharing

 

 

Thanks for reading the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, we met Janice and Patrick and heard about Barni. LOL, what a great story!

 

It sure was nice to meet them, and finally put a face on the name :)

[TerriDHair]

Great review, Jen! Almost makes me feel like I was there! Oh yeah, I was there. ;) :D

[ladylawyer]

What a wonderful review, Jen! Your format is excellent. Great photos, as well. Thanks for sharing! ~ LL

[lephysteria]

What a terrific review! Funny, though - Danney told us on the 12th that he's going on Legend. I guess things change in the blink of an eye. We'll see, but either way, we'll miss him (unless he's on Radiance when we sail her in September, of course)!

 

We had the same HW you did - somebody must have given him a talking-to - he was the first HW I would ever have described as useless. I'm glad he came through for you!

 

And the Rosa Fan Club keeps growing...

 

 

Actually I was corrected that he'll be going to the Rhapsody instead. Perhaps the Legend is what I meant???? Hmmmm. I hope he gets a chance to come on the boards and tell us himself. I wrote him instructions on how to get here, so maybe he'll treat us to a visit!

 

LOL @ Yilmaz .... awwww he's not that bad. He kept his word and tried to make toothpicks suspend.

 

What did Rosa do for you? I agree, she is awesome! :D

[lephysteria]

:rolleyes:

[lephysteria]

Great review, Jen! Almost makes me feel like I was there! Oh yeah, I was there. ;) :D

 

 

So Terri, how much DID you have to drink???? :eek:

That was some quick weekend, eh?

[PH8]

Very entertaining review,as always.................Im just REALLY disappointed in no chocolate creme brulee:( ..............that is the BEST dessert ever!!

 

Question.why didnt you move to the other cabin you were offered????

[zuscruiserz]

Leph - great review, as always! I enjoy reading your reviews as they include a taste of each cruise with your pictures and funny anecdotes. Please keep them coming!

 

Oh yeah - I can't wait to sail Monarch for the 3rd time March 5 :D !!!

[lephysteria]

Very entertaining review,as always.................Im just REALLY disappointed in no chocolate creme brulee:( ..............that is the BEST dessert ever!!

 

Question.why didnt you move to the other cabin you were offered????

 

Because we weren't in the cabin that much during the day, and the below noise (from the crew) never occured again. I was able to block out the centrium noise with earplugs, and we didn't want to chance our luck with a different attendant.

 

If the centrium noise had woken me up from a nap, then yes, I'd have changed right away!!!!

 

Even though we didn't take advantage of the other room, it meant a lot to us that Rosa kept it available for us. :)

[lephysteria]

Yes the chocolate creme brule was amazing!!! Like heaven in a bowl. But it isn't available anymore. Very sad :(

[critterchick]

Actually I was corrected that he'll be going to the Rhapsody instead. Perhaps the Legend is what I meant???? Hmmmm. I hope he gets a chance to come on the boards and tell us himself. I wrote him instructions on how to get here, so maybe he'll treat us to a visit!

 

LOL @ Yilmaz .... awwww he's not that bad. He kept his word and tried to make toothpicks suspend.

 

What did Rosa do for you? I agree, she is awesome! :D

 

LOL, maybe he said Rhapsody - now I can't remember!

 

Yilmaz truly sucked, and I've never thought that about a headwaiter before. We saw him all over the dining room, but he never came to our table until the very end of the meal, and never bothered to ask how everything was, just recited the next days' meal schedule and ran off. I'm sure I didn't scare him! Our waitress & asst waiter, Geraldine & Simon, were terrific, but I don't give him any particular credit for that. There. I feel better now....

 

We asked Rosa if she could arrange for dinner with Captain Hakan. DH is retired Navy & looooooves to talk ship, plus we'd met him on a bridge tour and quite liked him. She asked him, but he had just come on board & was still jet-lagged & begged off. She said, "so I just stared at him for awhile and he finally said, 'OK! they can come for a bridge visit!'" I think she probably gave him the same look my dogs give me when I'm eating something really tasty - beyond begging, more into that Obi Wan Kenobi mind-altering stare, LOL (the very first Star Wars movie that you're probably too young to have seen in a theater the first time around). Rosa came by & escorted us up there, hung around with us and then took us back when we had talked him to death. Then a bottle of champagne mysteriously appeared in our room, with a note that said, "it's a secret." It may have been from Julie on the CD's staff, who was pouting in Bolero's because she didn't have a dance partner for a song she loved - I loaned her DH, but we'll never know for sure!

 

I was also really impressed that Rosa was out on the front line at the Purser's Desk, dealing with passengers. You don't see that very often. She's quite a gem!

[lephysteria]

LOL, I forgot to put in the thoughts about the Banana Chocolate crunch - a new dessert on the lunch menu. It looks amazing, but it sucks!!!

 

Woops.

 

I have to update the PDF now :o

[lephysteria]

Leph - great review, as always! I enjoy reading your reviews as they include a taste of each cruise with your pictures and funny anecdotes. Please keep them coming!

 

Oh yeah - I can't wait to sail Monarch for the 3rd time March 5 :D !!!

 

Hi, thank you so much for reading the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please say Hi to my mom and dad when you're on the Monarch on March 5th. Her, and 10 other couples are going with her, and they're going to be running amok on the ship.

 

:)

Have a great time!!!!

[mohavemommy]

OK... so will the next person who is cruising on the Monarch clarify this for us and ask Danney again where they are moving him to? :D

[lephysteria]

LOL, maybe he said Rhapsody - now I can't remember!

 

Yilmaz truly sucked, and I've never thought that about a headwaiter before. We saw him all over the dining room, but he never came to our table until the very end of the meal, and never bothered to ask how everything was, just recited the next days' meal schedule and ran off. I'm sure I didn't scare him! Our waitress & asst waiter, Geraldine & Simon, were terrific, but I don't give him any particular credit for that. There. I feel better now....

 

We asked Rosa if she could arrange for dinner with Captain Hakan. DH is retired Navy & looooooves to talk ship, plus we'd met him on a bridge tour and quite liked him. She asked him, but he had just come on board & was still jet-lagged & begged off. She said, "so I just stared at him for awhile and he finally said, 'OK! they can come for a bridge visit!'" I think she probably gave him the same look my dogs give me when I'm eating something really tasty - beyond begging, more into that Obi Wan Kenobi mind-altering stare, LOL (the very first Star Wars movie that you're probably too young to have seen in a theater the first time around). Rosa came by & escorted us up there, hung around with us and then took us back when we had talked him to death. Then a bottle of champagne mysteriously appeared in our room, with a note that said, "it's a secret." It may have been from Julie on the CD's staff, who was pouting in Bolero's because she didn't have a dance partner for a song she loved - I loaned her DH, but we'll never know for sure!

 

I was also really impressed that Rosa was out on the front line at the Purser's Desk, dealing with passengers. You don't see that very often. She's quite a gem!

 

 

Wow, I wonder who the champagne was from. Hmmmmm :D

I'm gunna guess Rosa, only because when we least expected it, we got a plate of petite-fours and chocolate covered strawberries. It was wonderful and so unexpected. She really does go out of her way to make things better for her guests. She was awesome!!!

 

LOL, for us, Yilmaz came over each night, and chatted with us and even answered questions about how they do the seating charts for the dining room. Back in the day, I remember Henry, the MaitreD on the Explorer, when we wanted a table change he had a pencil and eraser and moved us.

I asked Yilmaz how long it takes to do the seating charts for 2500 people, because for my wedding it took 1 week to seat 120 people!!! :eek: So imagine how long it takes to do the seating for 2500!!! LOL, he said that a computer does it now, and that no longer do you have the "personalized detailed demographic" like you used to.

I guess that would explain how 2 mid 30-somethings got suck at a table with 4 retired teachers. :rolleyes:

 

I also asked him about if a ship is stuck out at sea due to a hurricane or something, and you have to feed the passengers, do you make up new menus? Or what? He said that the chef inventories the fridge and prepares a menu. Then about 100 are printed up and circulated around the dining rooms. So you may have to share your menu with a neighbor. :)

[lephysteria]

OK... so will the next person who is cruising on the Monarch clarify this for us and ask Danney again where they are moving him to? :D

 

 

 

LOL, I know!!!!!

Next someone will say that he's going on the Liberty!!! :D

[critterchick]

OK... so will the next person who is cruising on the Monarch clarify this for us and ask Danney again where they are moving him to? :D

 

That's probably me, so consider the source!:D