Okay folks, give it to me straight: Monarch?

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

So here's the deal. We don't have a cruise booked until October, which is starting to make us both feel a bit panicky -- besides which, we're taking the kids on that one, so we currently have NOTHING booked as "us time." We don't dare use any more vacation time, but DH has a 4-day weekend in July, so we want to do a quick getaway then.

 

There's a 3-day Monarch cruise that would fit into that time window. However, everything I've read would indicate that we're talking about the ultimate "booze cruise." We tend to be hermits when we cruise, but we do like to take an evening swim, maybe see a show, and in general not be overwhelmed by the "spring break" type of crowd. So . . . just how rowdy is the atmosphere, and just how worn is the ship? We would book a JS, which tend to be maintained a little better, if that makes a difference.

 

Another issue to consider: for us, cruising is the ultimate getaway, but I planned out a couple of other options, and for roughly the same price ($2k) we could spend that time at Disneyland with some moderate splurging, or in Vegas with some serious splurging (fountain view rooms at the Bellagio and great seats to see Phantom).

 

BUT . . . on the other hand, the Monarch cruise would make us Diamond. Oh, and did I mention that there's only one JS left, so I have to decide pretty quickly?? Sigh. :o

 

In other words: HELP !!!

 

Thanks. :)

 

 

[gdisney]

I'm doing the 4 day cruise on the Monarch at the end of May. I've been reading the member reviews a lot for this ship and itinerary; you might find some helpful stuff there.

 

People have said that the 3 day over the weekend tends to attract a slightly younger crowd than the 4 day during the week, and as such it can be a little more rowdy. Especially during the spring break time mid-March into early April.

[ginasj55]

This probably won't be of much help but I'm going on the 3 day next weekend, leaving 4/20 and coming back 4/23. This is going to be a wedding group, age range 30ish to 60ish (I'm in the middle-ish ;) ). I think the Spring Break crowd is back in school so I'm hoping for a tamer cruise than the Carnival I just got back from :eek: ...lol it actually wasn't that bad, just a young energy which can be fun.I'll post a review when I'm back, but again I think that may be too late...

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

This probably won't be of much help but I'm going on the 3 day next weekend, leaving 4/20 and coming back 4/23. I'll post a review when I'm back, but again I think that may be too late...

 

Actually, that might be very helpful! :) We might just put a deposit on the last JS, since we can still cancel for a couple more weeks.

[zuscruiserz]

I'd say - grab the JS and keep looking for 3 day reviews or info posted on CC up until the cancellation date :D .

 

I have only done 4-dayers aboard Monarch (3 of them), and these don't seem boozy at all. I have had such a great time, I'm looking to do an "all-girl" cruise hopefully later this year. If I can convince them to get a JS, I'll be diamond too :D :p :cool: !

[fabby50]

I too have done the four day one three times and we'll probably go about once a year. I have no interest in the three day - for one thing, I like the stops in San Diego and Catalina and would just as soon skip Ensenada (usually just stay on the boat). Plus, the four day is usually less expensive than the three day, so we get a better cabin. I actually like the deluxe oceanviews on the 9th deck better than the junior suites. The junior suite we had on deck 10 was right under the buffet area - lots of knocking around when the cleaning happens. We got it because it counts as two cruises and bumped us up to the next level (diamond? -whatever it is!), but next time we'll go back to the 9th deck.

 

For a three day holiday weekend, I wouldn't go to Disneyland and driving to Vegas can be a nightmare on the weekend.

 

I like all three options, (cruise, Disney, Vegas) I just wouldn't do them over a three day holiday.

[katstoy]

I have done the three day twice, with the third time coming up in June. Each time was with my DD, who is now 11. It is not a total "booze crooze" and there are lots of families on board. The main difference is that there are more young adults (20's to 30's crowd) on this sailing than on a week long trip.

 

This young adult crowd can mostly be found pool side from about 2ish on the port day, and noonish and the sea day, to about 4ish on both days. After about 4:00 you'll pretty much have the pool to yourself. On one occasion we amused ourselves watching two drunk middle aged men trying to pick up two drunk 30 something women. HYSTERICAL!!! Sometimes this crowd is worth the price of admission!

 

 

Disney will be miserable over the holiday weekend, and you will spend more there guaranteed. Vegas at that time is just too freaking hot. Go for the cruise!:D

[MszKitty]

This probably won't be of much help but I'm going on the 3 day next weekend, leaving 4/20 and coming back 4/23. This is going to be a wedding group, age range 30ish to 60ish (I'm in the middle-ish ;) ). I think the Spring Break crowd is back in school so I'm hoping for a tamer cruise than the Carnival I just got back from :eek: ...lol it actually wasn't that bad, just a young energy which can be fun.I'll post a review when I'm back, but again I think that may be too late...

 

Ginasj55....I'll be on that cruise too with 60 family & friends, and friends of friends, and friend of friends of friends!:)

 

To the OP...I've been on the Monarch 3 night cruise several times and I've never seen a problem with partiers. Its a nice little getaway and I would recommend booking it. It will be fine. BTW...I've stayed in a junior suite before...and will staying in one next weekend also....and those are my favorite cabins. I've also stayed in categories F1, SO, and Grand Suite. I prefer Junior Suite because of the balcony and a bit more room than the SO or F1, but its not as much as a Grand Suite. Grand Suite is always nice, but not worth it for such a short cruise.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Thanks everybody for your feedback thus far! :)

 

Zuscruizers and fabby50: I would definitely prefer the 4-day, but unfortunately it doesn't fit in the time window we have, besides which there are neither JS nor GS available -- and this is definitely NOT a cruise where I'd want to splurge on the OS! :p Also, it's actually a 4-day holiday rather than 3 days. That extra day makes me feel a little better about spending the money, wherever we go. :)

 

Katstoy and Mszkitty: I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your 3-days! It's especially good to hear that the pool area calms down later in the day. Regarding the weekend at Disney, it's only a "holiday weekend" for Utah residents (July 24th is a state holiday here, the day the first settlers arrived), so I don't think it would be as crazy as a "real" holiday weekend -- still, Saturday and Sunday would be super busy regardless.

 

Everybody: nobody mentioned the condition of the ship, so I take it you found it okay? Can anybody compare it to the Sovereign or the Majesty? I know that the constant quick turnaround can take its toll on a ship, but I don't expect everything to look brand new, either.

 

Thanks again! :)

[MszKitty]

 

Everybody: nobody mentioned the condition of the ship' date=' so I take it you found it okay? Can anybody compare it to the Sovereign or the Majesty? I know that the constant quick turnaround can take its toll on a ship, but I don't expect everything to look brand new, either.[/font']

 

Thanks again! :)

 

I've never been on the Sovereign or the Majesty so I can't compare, but I think the Monarch looks pretty good considering the turn arounds she has.

[Steve&Karen]

Well I hate to be the only "no" vote, But I LOVE a fun getaway to Vegas!!

We go a lot and stay at the Wynn. We enjoys the Shows,Spa, Great Rooms and Great meals. We love being pool side and having frozen lemonades. Floating in the pool. Our crusie to Mexico was kinda dull.And I felt like there was not room to enjoy the pool. Did not like Ensenada..

Just my opinion. I do love crusing but Vegas is a lot of fun too !!

Let us know what you decide

[Fairsailing]

I think, for what you want to do with your husband, that Vegas would be the best bet. Staying at the Bellagio, a couple of dinners at good restaurants there, combined with a show or two, blows anything that the Monarch could offer out of the water.

 

We were on the Monarch a couple of months ago (albeit on the 4-nighter). The ship looks fine, although nobody will confuse it for a modern RCI ship. We go because it is cheap and we are about 45 minutes away from the port. But travelling from Utah? That might put it out of the "worth it" range for me. Especially if all you would be going to is Ensenada.

 

As far as the crowd is concerned, it is more of a "booze cruise" atmosphere but it isn't everywhere. And part of the fun is watching them stumble back to the pier as the ship is sailing...

 

Disneyland would be a non-starter for me. It's pretty much a no-go zone for us in the summertime, weekend or no.

[critterchick]

We have been on Monarch 8 times, all the 3-night itinerary. We've sailed on many long holiday weekends and have never had a really rowdy ship. We've had groups of everything from high school bands to scrapbookers to family reunions and none of them has taken over the ship.

 

On any cruise you will find a contingent of people who drink and are rowdy (we've been known to fall into that category, entirely by accident:rolleyes: ), but for the most part, you find people who would rather take a 3-day cruise than subject themselves to a 4+hour drive to Las Vegas or being overrun by crowds at Disneyland. There is plenty of alcohol flowing, but little, if any, disruption of the normal cruise atmosphere.

 

Onboard the ship, the party crowd is usually found in the casino, the Circuit night club, Bolero's and on the pool deck until the direct sun goes away (or early seating, whichever comes first:) ). The Viking Crown Lounge is a great place to hang out & hibernate. It's a cigar bar at night, but only on one side, and the ventilation is pretty good. The Schooner Bar attracts drinkers, of course, but in pairs or small groups.

 

The pool chairs will fill up by 11:00 on sea day if it's nice weather, but Monarch has a very aggressive chair hog policy - there's a person walking around the deck taking off towels on a constant basis. They cram a lot of the activities - sexy legs, bellyflop, tossing, ice carving, dancing bartenders - into a single day, so it's a little frenetic, but still fun. The hot tubs tend to be full (there are only 2) all day long, but will be nearly empty by 5:00 or so.

 

The Platinum Diamond reception is a nice brunch on the sea day.

 

Ensenada is actually a fun little town. There's some nice shopping, window and otherwise, on the main drag, plenty of little restaurants and sidewalk cafes to grab a bit and people watch, good day spas, etc. It's really gentrified even in the 5 years since we started cruising down there. Yes, there are still little children selling Chichlets on the street corners, but the visible poverty is less than we've encountered in some Caribbean ports. And there's always a weekend contingent of partiers, both cruisers and otherwise, at Papas & Beers or Hussong's Cantina. There are some fair excursions off the ship - the winery tour, cooking class & Fox Studios are the ones we've heard the best things about (I can attest to the winery tour being a fun one).

 

Monarch is in very good shape. She had a drydock last year and some further sprucing up since then (they've replaced the astroturf by the pool which was, shall we say a bit FUNKY), keep everything polished and clean, and do a remarkable job at keeping her looking good. New bedding is installed and is quite nice - Monarch had real beds anyway, not those foam mattress monstrosities on other ships, but they were due for a change. The food is good to excellent, and the crew is FANTASTIC - the best we've encountered.

 

The JS cabins are very nice. We just stayed in an SO on Deck 9 and, although I missed my balcony a bit, you can't beat the price, so we may be oceanview converts from now on (note that I said "may";) ).

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Well, we have made our decision! With a little bit of wrangling, we were able to plan a 3-day Monarch cruise and a Disney day at the end (actually 2 half-days), all with only ONE vacation day! Whoo-hooo! :) The only worry is that I'm breaking my own cardinal rule . . . we fly in the day of the cruise. :o But I think the risks are pretty low: it's a direct flight, the plane will be sitting in SLC overnight, and we arrive at 7:30 in the morning. So that should allow plenty of leeway . . . at least I hope so!

 

So, now the next decision. When DH booked the cruise, the last JS was gone, so he took the GS for $400 more. Meanwhile, two more JS have opened up, so we're trying to decide whether or not we should downgrade.

 

OH, and by the way . . . the whole Vegas scenario made me start to really miss it. DH was speaking at a conference there this week, so I pulled my youngest out of school for a couple of days and we joined him there. We rode the roller coasters and went to the M&M megastore while Daddy was working, then at night we took her to see Phantom of the Opera (excellent production). So . . . not exactly a couple's getaway, but at least it got the Vegas craving out of my system. :)

 

Anyway, we are definitely doing the Monarch, so keep the tips coming! :)

[JJ2sail]

WOW! You got your cake, and got to eat too!;)

 

Have fun, we love the Monarch! We've chosen it twice over Vegas!

Oh well, someday we'll get to the city that never sleeps.:)

[driftychick]

We will be in a JS on the Monarch for the 4 day leaving April 30th! We too, like the OP needed to get to Diamond prior to out September Cruise to Alaska. This is a great chance to do that and get in a mini-vaction as well. I will post my review upon return and see if I can get you some cabin pics. Which JS were you thinking of booking and which GS do you now have?

[critterchick]

For $400 I would downgrade to the JS - the GS cabins are larger, but for just two of you, the JS would be fine, IMHO. The GS don't have the splendid furnishings and bathrooms that you find on the newer ships, so it's really just a matter of more space, and because Monarch doesn't have a Concierge, you won't be missing out on much except for some chocolate covered strawberries. If you're already Diamond, you should get all the same goodies as a suite dweller. If not, you'll still be well taken care of!

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

We will be in a JS on the Monarch for the 4 day leaving April 30th! ... I will post my review upon return and see if I can get you some cabin pics. Which JS were you thinking of booking and which GS do you now have?

 

Awesome, thanks for the offer! We're currently booked in 1538 (GS), looking at 1568 (JS).

 

Critterchick, thanks for the input. You're right, the lack of a concierge lounge is a big factor, and if it doesn't even feel more luxurious, it does seem a bit silly. I do enjoy the wet bar, though. And DH does go through a ton of internet minutes, so whether or not we get free internet would definitely be a factor. Of course, even he isn't likely to spend $400 on internet on a three-day cruise! ;)

 

JJ2sail, I know what you mean about having my cake and eating it too. Every once in a great while, I guess the stars do align! :D

[Kevbear]

We did Monarch during spring break and found it as others have stated as far as pax go. We did a JS to get Diamond before our Sept. Alaska cruise. New linens were nice, rooms are smaller being an older ship... One thing not mentioned is we loved this crew! From Captain Karen on down everyone was fun and the service was above what we have seen on the newer ships. We will sail Monarch again just because of the crew.

Congrats on getting Disney too... our 2nd fav vacation after cruising.

Kevin

[critterchick]

I do enjoy the wet bar' date=' though. [/font']

 

No wet bar in the GS. Here's a link to some pics, pre-new bedding. The new bedding is in, and it's quite wonderful.

 

http://family.webshots.com/album/549809052XHoqap?track_pagetag=/page/photo/family/vacations&track_action=/ViewActions/FullAlbum

 

And here are a couple of JS shots, also pre-new bedding:

 

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=monarch+junior+suite&new=1&source=chromeheader

[Boo Boo]

We did the 4 day on the Monarch May 2005 (so a couple of years ago). it was for my husband's Grandad's 90th Birthday - since he lived in LA and was not too robust, we needed to do something we could easily drive to and not have to fly. Grandma, Grandpa and uncle were in the Royal Suite. My MIL and FIL were in a JS. My SIL and her husband had a JS and we had a JS too.

 

I was very worried about the whole "booze/party cruise" thing and the Monarch being one of the smaller and older ships, but I was very pleasantly surprised! We had a great cruise!

 

Didn't nottice any bad/party behaviour (although we did tend to go to bed pretty early - we are from the UK and don't tend to bother changing our body clocks completely... we tend to go to bed at 9pm/10pm). The ship and cabins were in good shape and we had some good food and great service.

 

I enjoyed Catalina Island, but wasn't a big fan of Ensenada - complete tourist trap in my opinion... If I went to Ensenada again on a cruise, I wouldn't bother getting off and would just enjoy the ship that day.

 

If you coudl do the 4 day, I think it is a little more substantial and you would probably avoid most of the weekend partiers as well...

 

I am not a big fan of Disneyland (I like Disney World, but Disneyland just doesn't have the same wow for me. Still, Las Vegas (and the Bellagio) is lovely... Could be tempted by a few days in Las Vegas...

 

Boo

[betslil]

Hi... We do this cruise 2-3 times a year... Every February (president's weekend) 14 couples get together and cruise... we love the quick get away.... the ship is a bit worn but nothing major... the staff is the best.... even better than on some of the "other" bigger, more luxurious ships....

i totally love the cruise.... there are many things to do.... they have a nice casino, great bars excellent bartenders, especially at Bolero's (Mojitos are excellent)... there are families and couples and groups. We have traveled when the ship was chartered by a Singles group LDS (Later Day Saints) and it was fine. This past Feb was Battle of the Rock bands and it was also fine.... it's not a booze cruise unless you want to make it into one... i have never really seen the "staggering pax" boarding from Ensenada. Speaking of Ensenada, the wine tasting tour is very nice. It's changed for the better since 2 years back. And back then it was rather nice. It goes to two wineries (sp?) LA Cetto and Pedro Domeq (maker of President Brandy) I loved the PD winery. It has an underground tunnel to walk through.. a bit dark, but makes the best pictures.... Sorry this is soooo long, but i just thought I'd put my 2 cents in.... if you have any questions, please ask.

oh, yeah, the Platinum and Diamond reception is rather nice too.... a little bit of everything.... lots of chocolate covered Strawberries, yummmmm.

[mohavemommy]

Sorry I didn't respond earlier... this thread must have been buried each time I looked!

 

I have cruised both the 3 & 4 day Monarch in both oceanview cabins and a GS. I also like to find a quiet corner and have never had a problem doing so.

 

The Monarch has a wonderful crew and you will really enjoy your cruise. Be sure to post when you return and we will wish you a warm welcome to the Monarch Fan Club!

[Pradagal]

Love the Monarch have sailed the 3 and 4 day.Doing it in August 13th with 16 family members.Anyone going than watch out we will have 2 tables for 8 in the dining room. We get pretty crazy!

There are alot of families and people of all ages on board. It's a great getaway for us in Cali!:)

[MszKitty]

Awesome' date=' thanks for the offer! We're currently booked in 1538 (GS), looking at 1568 (JS).[/font']

 

Critterchick, thanks for the input. You're right, the lack of a concierge lounge is a big factor, and if it doesn't even feel more luxurious, it does seem a bit silly. I do enjoy the wet bar, though. And DH does go through a ton of internet minutes, so whether or not we get free internet would definitely be a factor. Of course, even he isn't likely to spend $400 on internet on a three-day cruise! ;)

 

JJ2sail, I know what you mean about having my cake and eating it too. Every once in a great while, I guess the stars do align! :D

 

 

You don't get free internet minutes with a GS. If you are already Diamond you will get $10 free internet service. (I didn't even use mine).

 

I've done the GS and the JS three times and for the difference in price, JS is fine. As a matter of fact, I just got off the ship yesterday and stayed in JS 1072. I was in the GS 1034 last year and there was a lot of noise coming from above....like heavy metal scraping. It was mostly during the day so it wasn't too bothersome, but the fact remains it was there.

 

I would save the money and go for a JS.

 

By the way....a shout out!...for Captain Karin Stahre Janson! She is the first ever female captain of ANY major cruise line.