All things Monarch of the Seas

[critterchick]

Well, the Long Beach part was great - I arrived at 7:50 for my 8:35 flight and still had time to make a pit stop & buy some water prior to boarding. Try doing that at LAX, lol!

 

But I picked a bad day to fly into JFK - the weather was bad all day and we ended up landing in Buffalo for a couple of hours to refuel and then somehow sneak into the queue. Our pilot (Captain Eye Candy) got us there safely, though and "only" 2 hours late (the average delay was 4 hours).

[cruisePRN]

OMG what am I gonna do about my annual girls cruise now that there is not going to be a Monarch of the seas after OCT 13 2008 :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: And there is no replacement for the 3/4 nighters

[louanne93]

OMG what am I gonna do about my annual girls cruise now that there is not going to be a Monarch of the seas after OCT 13 2008 :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: And there is no replacement for the 3/4 nighters

 

No replacement yet...I can't believe RCI would give up all that revenue to Carnival. I just won't sail Carnival ever again for a 3 nighter:mad:

[dirtgirl]

OMG what am I gonna do about my annual girls cruise now that there is not going to be a Monarch of the seas after OCT 13 2008 :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: And there is no replacement for the 3/4 nighters

 

 

All we can do is hope that something will replace her. The Monarch almost always sails full, so I can't picture them not having another ship in LA. If they don't, then the West Coast will be down to ONE ship year-round. Somehow, I don't think they'll do that.

[cruisePRN]

I won't sail on carnival either But I will sail on Princess. Princess 7 nighters are more reasonably priced then the Mariner which is replacing the Vision so I will be jumping ship literally over to Princess when this happens if there is no replacement for the Monarch.

[gdisney]

Yeah, that's too bad the Monarch is leaving, but at least we still have a year to say goodbye! I'll probably check out either Carnival or Princess after that, just to compare, as I've never been on either of those lines.

[cruisePRN]

Yeah, that's too bad the Monarch is leaving, but at least we still have a year to say goodbye! I'll probably check out either Carnival or Princess after that, just to compare, as I've never been on either of those lines.

 

Princess is comparable to RCL or Celebrity but Carnival is a couple steps below IMHO

[EggDropErin]

Princess is comparable to RCL or Celebrity but Carnival is a couple steps below IMHO

 

I agree, I will NEVER do short Carnival cruise again. Maybe someday in the distant future we'll do a longer one.

[cruisePRN]

Revoke my membership in the Monarch fan club :D:D:D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I missed something!!! What is happening with the Monarch?:eek: No 3 & 4 nighters....OMG, that was my plan for an annual 'escape' between big cruises! Tell me it's not so - I won't do Carnival for the short cruises. either.

 

Although, I must admit, I booked Princess for the 7 night Riviera. I couldn't ignore the price difference. Even with the D1 being the Vision's lowest class balcony the price difference was phenomenal. Our TA got us a BA (it looks like the equal to the D1 on RCI from what I can tell) for almost $500 pp less than the Vision, same week.:cool:

 

What do you think the chances are of RCI bringing back the Vision or another Vision Class ship for the 3 & 4 nighters once the Mariner is here? That would be ok. Princess doesn't do the short cruises. so there'd be no competition, IMHO.

[RVfromAZ]

Hi, We just returned today from our 2nd Monarch cruise, and while onboard booked another Monarch cruise for Jan!

Great ship, fantastic crew. Yes Boleros is a nice lounge, we were on desk 7 as well. Make sure you go up to the Viking Crown lounge, very nice place to kick back and enjoy the awesome view. If you eat breakfast or lunch in windjammer go forward to Jade to sit, less people, nice and relaxing! Have a great cruise:)

[rclcruzer]

Anything would be helpful as far as your experiences go. Best lounge, what not to do, secrets etc. All are welcome.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Mike

Whatever you do, enjoy her to the fullest...I see you are from Ca, so this may be your first and last cruise locally for you, since she is moving to Pt. Canav.

10.08. It's a great ship with a great staff and a whole bunch of fun.

The pool bar makes a mean bloody mary, on what not to do, do NOT- not get off the ship in Ensenada!! (we love our Papas and Beers on the 3 nighter cruise!) It's a great weekend.

Happy Cruising!

[onthewaves]

I missed something!!! What is happening with the Monarch?:eek: No 3 & 4 nighters....OMG, that was my plan for an annual 'escape' between big cruises! Tell me it's not so - I won't do Carnival for the short cruises. either.

 

The Monarch will be repositioned to Florida in October of next year. The last sailing out of San Pedro will be Oct. 13, 2008. No word yet on whether RCI will replace the Monarch with another ship for the 3 and 4 day cruises out of San Pedro.

 

We're going to miss the Monarch. :( We were planning to sail on her during Thanksgiving week in '08. Hopefully we'll be able to go on her once more before she leaves.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

After checking on this thread (many times I just check in on my subscribed threads & never go to the main boards) I went directly to the RCI forum and got the scoop! Very upsetting - of course, because of her age I knew it would come eventually. My hope is that RCI would replace her with a Vision Class ship - the next generation. I certainly hope they do not plan to abandon the 3 & 4 nighters on the left coast. I know they are very popular.:(

[BobbyK]

They did abandon the left coast between the Viking Sernade and Monarch for a good period of time years ago. I've very glad to have the Mariner in 09 but it looks again like the left coast might be the left out coast.

[WehoAtlantis]

A friend of mine going will love the Bloody Mary's poolside. Thanks for stopping by. I will try to get a few of these cruises in before she leaves San Pedro forever. I am sure there will be others considering this sells out all the time for the 3 and 4 nighters.

 

Mike:)

[iTinKso]

Try a Lava Flow! We ordered them from most of the bars and they were delicious! Underage daughter ordered virgin Lava Flows and they were her favorite drink! If you drink a lot of soda, get a soda pass card.

[cruzr4vr]

I cannot believe that RCL hasn't announced a replacement for the Monarch. I can wish for a Radiance class ship once the Independence is brought out. I hope we don't have to wait for a project Genesis Ship in 2009 before the left coast gets 3/4 night cruises again on RCL.

 

I won't do Carnival (short or long cruises) the quality of the food was awful, the staff not as helpful, the entertainment was below par - dancers out of step and actually falling on stage, not as clean and I actually tried Carnival again last week with a group from my local area. As for Princess, they do Alaska and the Med but I sailed on 2 different Princess ships last year - the Island Princess and the Crown Princess, the staff was unfriendly and actually at times rude, the food was hit or miss and the "decks rolled up at 10:00" You need to look at the parent company of Princess to figure out how come the rates are lower and where the cuts are being made to save that money.

[realent]

I am here at our TA conference in Miami and will speak with the RCI rep who is here. I spoke with Danney onboard a couple of weeks ago and he said a Radiance class ship is a maybe but I can't envision a radiance class doing a 3-4 day stint. Maybe 4 -5 -or 6 nighter. But why would RCI not have a popular and easy weekender. I will see what I can find out.

[WehoAtlantis]

Are drinks served 24 hours a day with room service? I dont think I ever did that on my other cruises. I friend of mine like to have Bloody Mary's early in the morning. I know theres a charge of course.

 

M

[cruisePRN]

Maybe 4 -5 -or 6 nighter. out.

 

I'll go for that :D

[critterchick]

M, you can get drinks 24/7 (which is why I can't believe RCI will abandon the short hauls in LA), although I'd see which bars might be open early. The drinks from room service might spill or be diluted by the time you get them. Just a thought.

 

I booked the October 10 3-nighter for our farewell to Monarch cruise. I'll probably be sobbing by disembarkation!:(

[cruiserbryce]

I really wish I could go on that last cruise...we'll be on MOS in April and it looks like that will be the last time for us...we are on Rhapsody next september and just cant get more time off that quick

[CruiseBumm]

Havent been on Monarch yet, but we are looking forward to our Thanksgiving trip aboard this November. Hey thats just a month away. Soon We can do the document dance.:p

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Try a Lava Flow! We ordered them from most of the bars and they were delicious! Underage daughter ordered virgin Lava Flows and they were her favorite drink!

I had my first Lava Flow on the Monarch in December - now they are my favorite drink! Since I'm not a big drinker & don't want to be asleep before dinner:rolleyes:, I discovered the Lava Smoothie. That is my idea of pure heaven on the Monarch - a Lava Flow (Smoothie) in the Viking Crown Lounge - watching the world go by!:D

 

 

I cannot believe that RCL hasn't announced a replacement for the Monarch. I can wish for a Radiance class ship once the Independence is brought out. I hope we don't have to wait for a project Genesis Ship in 2009 before the left coast gets 3/4 night cruises again on RCL.

I was just with a friend who is a TA & she said that the unofficial word is that the Vision will be replacing the Monarch on the 3/4 day itineraries. I hope it's true!:D