Monarch back-to-back cruise review

[lephysteria]

Hi Jen, I've been trying to read your review also but it doesn't work on my computer. Could you email it to me also? Thanks. Later. Robin :cool:

 

Hi Robin,

I can't seem to find your email address.

Can you send me a note to lephysteria at yahoo dot com?

I'll forward it to you right away :D

[lephysteria]

Yes please and send some of your favorite pics and we will put in a few.

 

GNO-probably in 2 weeks.:) Waiting to hear from Jody. Will let you know.

 

Ok dear! Will do ;)

 

Um, give me a sec, as I can't decide what pics I like and don't ... :D

[lephysteria]

Jen, I'm glad you had a great time! We loved our Monarch cruises this year. Hopefully we will be back on her soon!

 

When are you planning to cruise on her again??? I cannot think of one bad cruise I've had on that ship.

The crew is the best I've ever had. :)

[cctn]

Hi Jen:

 

What a nice review on the Monarch - one of my favorite ships -

 

Why can't I write a review like that? and all those pics are nice too -

 

since we have been going on the MOnarch - Danney has been the C & A guy - I know you mentioned he will be on vacation - hope he will be back by Oct when we board.

 

I am east bay SF - CA gal too -

 

Carol

[critterchick]

since we have been going on the MOnarch - Danney has been the C & A guy - I know you mentioned he will be on vacation - hope he will be back by Oct when we board.

 

Danney comes back from vacation in August, so you'll be in luck!:D

[cctn]

Danney comes back from vacation in August, so you'll be in luck!:D

 

 

thank you - we really enjoy him a great deal ! Carol

[lephysteria]

He does have quite the fan club. He is so wonderful at his job and has many friends as a result. I hope he has a great time on his vacation. I know he'll be happy to see his family. :)

[lephysteria]

Hi Jen:

 

What a nice review on the Monarch - one of my favorite ships -

 

Why can't I write a review like that? and all those pics are nice too -

 

since we have been going on the MOnarch - Danney has been the C & A guy - I know you mentioned he will be on vacation - hope he will be back by Oct when we board.

 

I am east bay SF - CA gal too -

 

Carol

 

 

Hi Carol, good to meet another wonderful Carol :)

The secret to a review like that is to 1 - take your laptop onboard with you so you can do most of the typing when you have downtime. The second secret is to always carry a pad of paper and pen with you. This will help you write down your notes, thoughts, and "don't forgets". It also helps you interview people when they get left behind in Mexico :)

And I have to say that the reviews have come a long way. This review, compared to my Paradise cruise (first cruise wayyy back when) review is like night and day. I didn't get in nearly the detail that I do now. :)

[cctn]

Hi Jen : Thanx for the pointers on writing reviews. I need to go back to 1988 and start with our first cruise and write down my feelings and experiences from then - Sovereign was our first and 2nd ship ... loved her and intend to go on her one of these days ..

 

Also, Your pictures are great - what kind of camera do you use? I am shopping to upgrade and am so confused with all that they have out there.

 

We are Filipinos as is Danney, so we love being with him! Thank Goodness he will be on board when we sail on the MOnarch this Oct.

 

Also -- thanks to your review - I have decided to do a B2B on the Monarch to get me more points towards our Diamond Plus -

 

I need to make arrangements today to extend our 4 day to another 3 days and stay on the ship as you did.

 

Carol

[lephysteria]

I use a Kodak Easy Share 5mp (the $200 camera from walmart). It has a few quirks, but for the most part, takes beautiful pics. The hard to get pics are the motion in the dark pics. So like dancing in the disco is always a hard shot to get. The camera even has night and action features on it, and while I do use those, sometimes it still doesn't come out. But the great feature is that I can zoom in to the picture I just snapped, and see if it looks crisp or blurry. So then I can take it again if needed.

 

The camera also has a built in video recorder, which takes amazing video. But 1 minute is 10 mb of video, so sharing videos is quite difficult.

 

Good luck with your camera shopping.

If I had it to buy all over again, I'd go with a camera that the lenscap doesn't fall off as easily, and I'd also go with a camera that is sleek in design. On my camera, the lens sticks out (it doesn't retract much) and this makes for difficult storage in your purse or pocket. It is sort of bulky. But it was cheap and it takes great pics :)

[critterchick]

The hard to get pics are the motion in the dark pics. So like dancing in the disco is always a hard shot to get. The camera even has night and action features on it, and while I do use those, sometimes it still doesn't come out.

 

For which I am eternally grateful.:eek: :D :eek:

[cctn]

THank You again Jen for the camera info - my friend at work brought in some pics and I admired the quality of her pics - she brought in the camera for me to see and it was also a Kodak Easy Share - 7 mgs... however, I am looking for one that I can put in my pocket or purse - I don't want to spend over $500 either and some of the recommendations friends have been giving me are in that range, like the Sony 8.1 megs etc.. also pretty big and not a compact.

 

I will continue to shop as I want one before my 40th HIgh school REunion in 1-1/2 weeks!! yes, I am that in that age group!!

 

NOtice you were on the Explorer - we are on the Nov 11 sailing from New Jersey - my favorite, amongst a lot of the RCCL, is the Brilliance - we did two TransAtlantic sailings on her last yr and the year before.

 

Also, what a handsome couple you and your hubby are - we are very much into Indian food - our waitress and had waiter last yr on the Brilliance brought us Indian food everynight in addition to the regular menu meals. So delicious! We go to a couple of Indian restuarants here in Antioch too - I love their naan.

 

Carol

[cctn]

For which I am eternally grateful.:eek: :D :eek:

 

 

Heehee!! that's cute!!! Carol

[lephysteria]

Heehee!! that's cute!!! Carol

 

;)

Get her to tell you about the guy that we ran off the dance floor ... as we chased him around the circuit!!! :D

[lephysteria]

THank You again Jen for the camera info - ... however, I am looking for one that I can put in my pocket or purse - I don't want to spend over $500 either and some of the recommendations friends have been giving me are in that range, like the Sony 8.1 megs etc.. also pretty big and not a compact.

 

I will continue to shop as I want one before my 40th HIgh school REunion in 1-1/2 weeks!! yes, I am that in that age group!!

 

NOtice you were on the Explorer - we are on the Nov 11 sailing from New Jersey - my favorite, amongst a lot of the RCCL, is the Brilliance - we did two TransAtlantic sailings on her last yr and the year before.

 

Also, what a handsome couple you and your hubby are - we are very much into Indian food - our waitress and had waiter last yr on the Brilliance brought us Indian food everynight in addition to the regular menu meals. So delicious! We go to a couple of Indian restuarants here in Antioch too - I love their naan.

 

Carol

 

 

Oh thank you so much! :)

 

Yes the camera I have is not in that price range, more like less than half of that, but it isn't sleek and compact. Its a full size camera. And it does fit in my cute Coach slingpurse, it isn't compact, and I'd hate for someone to think that it just fits easy in a little camerabag.

 

We were on the Explorer in 2001, the week before Sept 11th. The cruise was so wonderful and we had such a great time! I sailed with the Seabring singles group out of Florida. They were a hoot and a half! I thought the explorer was a great ship, but I think that the group you go with makes the trip great as well! :)

 

Thank you for the lovely compliment. If you like Indian food, then let me introduce you to Malai Kofta. It is a dish served in indian restaurants. It is fried potato balls (like meatless meat balls) covered with a yummy spiced tomato cream gravy, topped with more cream. It is soooooooo delicious and is perfect with Naan.

Also if you can get the dessert called Jillibee ... or Jillbee. That's good too! Oh yum! It must be time for lunch. I'm hungry again. :)

[cctn]

;)

Get her to tell you about the guy that we ran off the dance floor ... as we chased him around the circuit!!! :D

 

 

I am laffing already!! ok Jean!! you are ON!!! Carol

[cctn]

Jen: sounds delicoussssh !! I do like pakora - butter chicken - of course tandori chicken and chicken curry - hubby likes it all - roti - etc...

 

speaking of Coach purses, my weakness - I am looking forward to visiting San Juan as they have a D & B Purse outlet as well as the Coach outlet there - We were on the Explorer on NOv 2000 - I love the ship but somehow, I became attached to the Radiance type ship - and of course now they have the Freedom class - etc... well, MOnarch is cute to me and one of my favorites -

 

Carol

[lephysteria]

I really think that the Monarch has one of the friendliest crews out there!!

So I really encourage anyone to go on the Monarch and they will have a great time!!! But I gather from what you're saying that no matter the ship that you will be game for another cruise??? I knew I liked you ;)

 

I've never been to the D&B outlet, but I'm all for another purse!!

You have to check back in with me and let me know how you tried Malai Kofta (pronounced Mull-Lie Cough-Tuh) :D

[critterchick]

I am laffing already!! ok Jean!! you are ON!!! Carol

 

Well, I confess that I don't remember the guy. I was too busy avoiding a very strange woman in a very short skirt and very tight top who really really wanted to dance with me. And no, it wasn't Jen or Dirtgirl!

[MissKise]

Jen,

 

 

I did get the review and enjoyed it all. It was just like being on my favorite ship.....

 

You did a great job. And I'm glad you enjoyed the b2b.

[cctn]

Well, I confess that I don't remember the guy. I was too busy avoiding a very strange woman in a very short skirt and very tight top who really really wanted to dance with me. And no, it wasn't Jen or Dirtgirl!

 

 

ok - and you didn't want to dance!! heehee!! sounds like you guys had a fun time - just got on this thread and already I am having fun ! will get to know you more - just told Jen I am doing the MOnarch Oct 8 for 4 days then staying on for 3 more like she did.

 

And Jen, you are correct - I enjoy being on a cruise, no matter what ship - I find all kinds of characteristics on all the ships I have been own that make them their own person! can't help but have my favorites tho' but in general, they are all great!

 

I think we had the potato balls last week when we went out to one of our favorites Indian restaurants in our area - the mother of the owner gave us some (she cooks) and put a sauce on it and my husband Narce said it was good, esp with the sauce - I knew it was a potato ball - I was too busy finishing all the naan they gave us- it was so fresh and warm and yummy -

Carol

[critterchick]

ok - and you didn't want to dance!! heehee!! sounds like you guys had a fun time - just got on this thread and already I am having fun ! will get to know you more - just told Jen I am doing the MOnarch Oct 8 for 4 days then staying on for 3 more like she did.

 

Au contraire, I did want to dance, just not with her! She was a bit of a Super Freak (not that anybody would say that I am, of course!) The B2B was awesome. Not just because of having newfound friends like Jen & Celia stay on with me, but also because it was so nice to know that I had 3 more days ahead of me after the 4-nighter ended. I would, however, suggest that you consider doing the 3-nighter first and staying on for the 4 if you can - the 4 night cruise is (believe it or not) more relaxing than the 3. We were positively amateur partiers compared to the weekend cruisers who came onboard!

[cctn]

should have known before I booked - we were already on the 4 day then decided to extend - cuz if we board on MOnday, we have the weekend to drive down - we are from east bay SF - visit with relatives Sat/Sun ... then when we get off on Monday, we can just drive on home - the other way, we have to drive on Fri and hope we get there ok - we did that once Jan 2000 for our 25th wedding anniver - it was cold and bits of snow on the ground so we had to be extra careful. then we did go on to extend the celebration by going on the Radiance for the Panama route.

 

I would rather do the MOnarch b2b rather than the 7 day Mexi. Riviera. Just me, I guess.... Carol

[lephysteria]

Well, I confess that I don't remember the guy. I was too busy avoiding a very strange woman in a very short skirt and very tight top who really really wanted to dance with me. And no, it wasn't Jen or Dirtgirl!

 

Oh yeahhhhh!!!!

 

But no, the guy chasing part came later :D

[lephysteria]

Jen,

 

 

I did get the review and enjoyed it all. It was just like being on my favorite ship.....

 

You did a great job. And I'm glad you enjoyed the b2b.

 

 

Oh I'm sooo glad that you were finally able to read it. I was worried a bit there, and am glad that you were able to open the file. I love the Monarch and think that anyone who cruises on that ship will have a great cruise! :)