Just off Monarch of Seas today Awesome Ship

[cruisers4ever]

Hi all,

We are loyal RCL cruisers...wanted to take something from Port Canaveral to change things up a bit..we live near one of the most beautiful ports ever...Miami! We had not sailed Monarch..we knew she was the oldest...so we took a chance...we were NOT disappointed.

Service was wonderful..come to find out this ship is #1 in customer service...food was great..who cares about the ports! LOL!...we just love to get on and just sail and try different ships...She was clean..sure there were things that could be updated..but in time I am sure they will...always saw someone cleaning..love that! and the spa gals were the absolute best massage therapists I have ever had on any ship..technique and 10 years on ships will do it!

All in all a wonderful cruise...looking forward to the next one in Oct..any questions I will be delighted to answer for you.

We stayed at the Radisson at the Port...great hotel..would highly recommend for those needing a place to stay prior to a cruise..they even have FREE parking at the hotel for the entire cruise and they shuttle you FREE to and from the port...can't beat that..

Happy Cruising everyone!

[copnlpn2]

Just a quick question...how dressed up were folks on formal night? I've always worn evening wear on formal nights, but this time I'm bringing my elderly father and I'm just not sure I want to bother packing "formal clothes" for the two of us.

 

We can always eat in the Windjammer or on our balcony that night....

[stephic15]

During the second seating of the formal night there were ladies with just basic dressy, church type, dresses and some guys with shirt, tie, and slacks, no jacket.

 

I do have a question for any of you guys there this past week. During the first dinning room dinner they had some type of banana with nuts parfait, does any one remember what it was called. That was absolutely my favorite dessert and would like the recipe for it.

[alexmay]

Thanks for the post - I am looking at the Majesty or the Monarch for a December cruise. How is the port is Miami for traveling with 2 teens and 2 80+ parents? Also, is the age range on the Monarch typical of other ships- ie will both my teens and parents have peopel their own age? Any info is very much appreciated. I intended to go on the Monarch, but the flights to Orlando are outrageous. MIA or FLL is a little less. We've been on The Legend, Serenade, and just off The Freedom so that's what I have to compare to - thanks

[stazerd]

Thank you for the positive review. I am taking my adult daughter on her first cruise, so I wanted it to be somewhat low key. My boyfriend spoils me with the big ships and the large balconies. For just me and the daughter, it will be a porthole!

[jhmoore143]

We, too, just got off the Monarch yesterday. It was our first cruise and I am hooked - even with a rough Monday night.

 

I know the banana desert you are talking about, but I didn't have it so I don't remember what it was called.

 

I'll write a more indepth review when I have more time in the next couple of days. . .

 

In short, there was nothing I didnt like. The room was great, the food was wonderful, the ship was clean (and always being cleaned), the ports of call seemed very organized and even though we did our own thing (didnt pay for any organized excursions) we were very happy.

 

The only thing I have to ask - why would anyone want to do the express checkout? I saw the line wrap around from the door on the fourth deck, around Claude's to in front of the service desk and then back through the elevator area and up the stairs. This was at approximately 7:15 AM and the end of the line was somewhere up on the 6th deck.

 

We were Grey 1 and had an 8:20 departure from Bolero's and we were escorted off the ship in about 15 minutes (if that). . . Dont understand why anyone would stand in such a long line for express departure when we were comfortably sitting with refreshments and off the ship in a very short period of time. . . .

[NEgal]

Thanks for the information! We (10 family members) are cruising the first week of August celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary. We went back and forth between ports/itineraries/length and ended up on the Monarch out of Port Can. It is nice to hear a good review! Looking forward to it. Any suggestions? Hints? Tips? We are actually looking for a fun snorkeling/sailing ex from Nassau.

[jhmoore143]

We are actually looking for a fun snorkeling/sailing ex from Nassau.

 

Ok, where to begin. The snorkeling was, quite honestly, the biggest thing I was looking forward too. I did not snorkel in Nassau due to the time limits and wanted to see other things with my wife. I have heard great things from Seahorse Adventures.

 

In Cococay we did snorkel. We brought our own gear and only rented the vests. Sadly I forgot to trim my mustache and didnt bring any Vaseline to seal the mask so I was constantly clearing it - but that was my problem and I didnt let it stop me.

 

We started on the right side of the beach area - near the rocks. The water was very shallow there - 2 feet or so. That whole roped off area is - they say from 3 - 15 feet, but I would be shocked it if was any deeper than 10 feet. You have to go out a decent ways to get a good depth to where you are not tripping over the rocks.

 

We went from the right side - out to the first life guard stand to the sunken canon. There we saw some good fish and one Angel Fish swimming around the cannon. From there we went left along the rope line (separating the snorkel area from the jet ski area) to the sunken "wreck". I almost stepped on a beautiful starfish that was about 10 - 12" across. This was about 6 feet of water. My wife warned me and I got some good pictures of it (and the angel fish as well).

 

From there we went left a little ways more to a "floating dock" and rested for about 5 minutes due to always fighting with the clearing of my mask. About 15 yards behind the dock (towards the second lifeguard stand) is the sunken plane. Lots of yellow tail snapper there.

 

Now - here is something I wish I did first - we moved to the last lifeguard stand (with a red umbrella on it - furthest most life guard stand on the left when standing on the beach). There they must feed the fish because once we were there, they all came up to us. We must have been surrounded by 30 - 40 fish all within inches of my mask. . . But the reason I wish we did this first is because we went to the left of the rocks (another set of "Jetties" on the left side of the beach) There the water drops off to about 40 feet. It got much bluer than the normal swimming area and about 5 degrees colder too. But I went out as far as I could (to the rope line) and was in about 40 or so feet of water, just floating face down in the water looking at all the marine life. About 15 - 20 feet below me was a southern stingray just swimming around.

 

Getting out there was a very pretty experience too. Once you felt the water get cooler, you could see the first "shelf" drop about 10 feet. Lots of colorful coral and fish (one very small very bright blue with iridescence blue and yellow spots) just swimming around. The further you go out (towards the rope) the deeper and more marine life you see. If I knew this, I would have foregone the cannon and airplane and spent all my time in the deep area.

 

Next time, I will be scuba certified, so I seriously consider diving in that area instead of snorkeling. . .

[rummenroman]

Thanks for the snorkling information. I will be on the Monarch in December, and this is always a highlight of the trip.

[cruisers4ever]

Just a quick question...how dressed up were folks on formal night? I've always worn evening wear on formal nights, but this time I'm bringing my elderly father and I'm just not sure I want to bother packing "formal clothes" for the two of us.

 

We can always eat in the Windjammer or on our balcony that night....

 

We saw people dressed with tuxedos to just a nice pair of pants....the ladies varied from long gowns to nice pants....whatever u chose to do is fine...sometimes we don,t feel up to the whole dress up..my hubby now just wears shirt and tie...and yes the Windjammer is the place to go for a casual night...I personally like sitting on the balcony..thats what I like too! have fun!

[cruisers4ever]

Thanks for the post - I am looking at the Majesty or the Monarch for a December cruise. How is the port is Miami for traveling with 2 teens and 2 80+ parents? Also, is the age range on the Monarch typical of other ships- ie will both my teens and parents have peopel their own age? Any info is very much appreciated. I intended to go on the Monarch, but the flights to Orlando are outrageous. MIA or FLL is a little less. We've been on The Legend, Serenade, and just off The Freedom so that's what I have to compare to - thanks

 

Miami port is easy to navigate through...we never have any issues...as far as the age range...this cruise of course had more kids/teens of all ages due to it being summer time.

We love the Majesty, was our favorite smaller ship..I think we found a new one with the Monarch...the smaller ships are great for the 3-4 day....longer cruises I would miss the ammenities in which the bigger ships offer...like in the spa I missed the thermal beds...not sure of the correct name...and I love the solariums...now if u just got off Freedom class u cannot compare...these are two different ships in which we enjoyed.

I think u will like the Monarch ....enjoy!

[cruisers4ever]

Thank you for the positive review. I am taking my adult daughter on her first cruise, so I wanted it to be somewhat low key. My boyfriend spoils me with the big ships and the large balconies. For just me and the daughter, it will be a porthole!

 

I feel this will be a nice ship to get your daughter hooked!...I do understand the balconies and bigger ships are great too...but these smaller ships can be just as nice in their own way...and we did a porthole this time too and were completely satisfied...happy sailing!

[cruisers4ever]

We, too, just got off the Monarch yesterday. It was our first cruise and I am hooked - even with a rough Monday night.

 

I know the banana desert you are talking about, but I didn't have it so I don't remember what it was called.

 

I'll write a more indepth review when I have more time in the next couple of days. . .

 

In short, there was nothing I didnt like. The room was great, the food was wonderful, the ship was clean (and always being cleaned), the ports of call seemed very organized and even though we did our own thing (didnt pay for any organized excursions) we were very happy.

 

The only thing I have to ask - why would anyone want to do the express checkout? I saw the line wrap around from the door on the fourth deck, around Claude's to in front of the service desk and then back through the elevator area and up the stairs. This was at approximately 7:15 AM and the end of the line was somewhere up on the 6th deck.

 

We were Grey 1 and had an 8:20 departure from Bolero's and we were escorted off the ship in about 15 minutes (if that). . . Dont understand why anyone would stand in such a long line for express departure when we were comfortably sitting with refreshments and off the ship in a very short period of time. . . .

 

I don.t think they anticipated the great response to "express checkout"....we had white tags and were off very early too...may need to tune that process up a bit...

[critterchick]

Express departure was always a mess in LA and it appears not to have changed. DH used to do it because he had to be at work by 8:00 (and he was usually early).

 

I was on Monarch the week before you, visiting my friends onboard. The ship has been renovated in the public areas - new tiling and fixtures in some of the ladies' rooms, and they've gotten rid of whatever caused a whiff of sewage in Bolero's. The crew were their usual spectacular selves. I was reminded of how much I miss being able to hop aboard for a long weekend.

 

We missed Coco Cay - they tried on Tuesday and Thursday, with no luck. There is some nice snorkelling in Nassau - if you take the boat to Paradise Island there are a couple of companies at the dock that have trips out there. With a midnight departure from port, there's plenty of time and no worry about getting back to the ship on time.

 

I was in no rush to disembark so I missed the entire event - I left when they said that all tags had been called, and was off the ship by 9:30. I was surprised to see that the "no immigration" process hasn't been put in effect in PC - in Los Angeles, US citizens on a round trip just waltz off the ship, collect their luggage and hand in their customs forms on the way out. It's a breeze. There was talk that it was going fleetwide, but I guess it hasn't reached PC yet. It was still quick since pretty much everybody was gone by the time I got there.

[Jsme]

Thanks for the mini review. I am taking my 16 yo on a mother's daughter cruise in August on the Monarch.

 

This will be her 5 cruise and my 14th. Not all with one cruiseline.

 

Are there fridges in the room? I know the ones most cruise ships have a small coolers vs a real fridge but since Monarch is older I am unsure if they have one at all. We normally have our Steward empty it so we can put our water and sodas in there.

[Panda3]

I don.t think they anticipated the great response to "express checkout"....we had white tags and were off very early too...may need to tune that process up a bit...

 

 

Yes, we just did the express check on enchantment and wish we hadn't . we were standing in line for 45 minutes. DH and I thought it would be faster since "express" was in the title. Also, for us procrastinators we weren't able to have our bags packed by 7:00 pm the night before....

[jhmoore143]

Are there fridges in the room?

 

We had a junior suite and yes there was a fridge. I can not comment on other rooms.

 

I would not have the steward remove anything - just on the "horror" stories about being charged for everything that was removed (as if you consumed it).

 

All we did was place it on the counter above the fridge and on the last day, placed it all back in the fridge. . .

[Jsme]

We had a junior suite and yes there was a fridge. I can not comment on other rooms.

 

I would not have the steward remove anything - just on the "horror" stories about being charged for everything that was removed (as if you consumed it).

 

All we did was place it on the counter above the fridge and on the last day, placed it all back in the fridge. . .

 

 

We have always had our stuff removed and never had any issue. By removed the steward moved the stuff out of the fridge into a storage area in the room. Not literally out of the room.

[hotrod1954]

During the second seating of the formal night there were ladies with just basic dressy, church type, dresses and some guys with shirt, tie, and slacks, no jacket.

 

I do have a question for any of you guys there this past week. During the first dinning room dinner they had some type of banana with nuts parfait, does any one remember what it was called. That was absolutely my favorite dessert and would like the recipe for it.

I think it was banana crunch parfait

[karena1]

Snorkeling yesterday at CocoCay was fabulous as always. Wish we would have saw the starfish, but did see a ton of fish, especially by the plane wreck. Weather at Coco was gorgeous for a change.

 

Ship was very beautifully decorated for the 4th. They did a great job. Even had a huge Flag cake in the atrium. Kept it covered all day and then put out plates and it was self serve. Cake did not last long and it was gone. But they did a really good job of celebrating the holiday.

 

Service was good as always. Quest was better than it has been in a long time.

 

Weather in Nassau was not great. One of the worst lightening storms coming into port we have ever seen. It just cracked and thundered and poured. We ended up just staying on the ship b/c did not think it would clear up enough to be a good beach day. Got about 2 hours of sun at the pool before it started storming again.

 

At least it quit before the fireworks - they were great - both Atlantis and Cable shot them off. Then we went up to the Pool Party for a while, but did not stay to long.

 

Overall another great short weekend

 

One thing that did change from the last time we were on - Diamond Express is not separated anymore from regular express. We got a letter telling us to be in the MDR at 7 for express departure, but there were more than just Plat/Diamonds in there. We were still off the ship before 7:30 am and on the road by 7:45.

 

Customs checked NOTHING. All they took was our declaration. For the first time they did not even look at our passports. I was really surprised about that. So very quick and we we out.

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

[asylum575]

We did the Monarch 7 years ago and the Majesty twice around the same time. Both ships were getting old then, but were in great shape. We enjoyed the Majesty and the itinerary so much, we did it twice.

Recently, we've been doing NCL for the free style. Life has changed for us. We have a 5 yr old and an 18 month old. The free style works for us now, but the DW misses the formal nights. I haven't worn my tux lately.

We hope to get on RCCL in the near future. We haven't done a megaship yet.

 

GLad to hear you had a good time

[karena1]

We did the Monarch 7 years ago and the Majesty twice around the same time. Both ships were getting old then, but were in great shape. We enjoyed the Majesty and the itinerary so much, we did it twice.

Recently, we've been doing NCL for the free style. Life has changed for us. We have a 5 yr old and an 18 month old. The free style works for us now, but the DW misses the formal nights. I haven't worn my tux lately.

We hope to get on RCCL in the near future. We haven't done a megaship yet.

 

GLad to hear you had a good time

 

 

All the Royal ships have MyTime now, so if it is the flexibility you want for eating, Royal offers the same as the free style at NCL.

[stazerd]

Can anyone tell me if Jade is worth the extra $ on Monarch? I am on the July 13th sailing.

[Ships R Great]

Can anyone tell me if Jade is worth the extra $ on Monarch? I am on the July 13th sailing.

 

What is Jade?