Review Monarch of the Sea (7/13 to 7/17)

[southerngirlpls]

This was our first cruise. We were traveling with our two adult children (19 and 21). FIRST MISTAKE - one cabin for all four - we had 4541 which had two pullman beds. It wasn't bad for the sleeping, but it was bad for when we tried to get ready for dinner etc. Would have much prefered two cabins and WILL NOT make that mistake again!

Here's some pics of the cabin:

We arrived at Orlando International Airport two days before our cruise. We rented our car from Dollar Rental (the week ended up being $400 for a full size car - Lincoln Continental). Glad we got the full size, all of our luggage would not have fit into a smaller car. We parked our car at Port Canaveral for $60. It was a prepay parking. We arrived at Port Canaveral early. Our ship did not board until 11:30, but we arrived at 10:00 am. We got a prime parking space for our rental car so we would not have far to walk with our luggage when we got off the ship. (We wanted to participate in Express Departure where we took our own luggage off - this was hand especially since our cabin was on deck 4 - the main deck).

The ship was everything we expected. It was beautiful. I was glad we chose this ship for our first cruise. It only held around 2500 people. We participated in the formal dining every night. This was an experience we all enjoyed. We all ordered different foods so that we could try them all. Our waiters were Catherine and Wontondo.

They provided us with absolutely perfect service! Each night, we felt like we were dining in a five star resteraunt.

[Texas Teen]

4 people in an Interior Cabin on Monarch of the Seas? :eek: That cabin is tiny! Can't wait for the rest of the review! :)

[southerngirlpls]

We ate our breakfasts and lunches at the Windjammer Cafe.

The only advice I can give you about eating here was to come early. The group of people on our boat were night owls. I practically had the whole ship to myself in the early morning hours. I would go up about 7:00 and enjoy a cup of coffee and the view.

 

One thing to be WATCHFUL OF - we attended a "information session" on shopping in Nassau. Everyone who attended was supposed to get a free Charm Bracelet from Diamond International. The peson hosting this session (Andy) talked very fast and made it all sound so good. He convinced me to WASTE my money on a "Shopping Pass Book" for $25. He kept stating all the free things I could receive. He said, "Make Coco Cay your beach day and spend the day shopping in Nassau for some REALLY GOOD DEALS." So we did.

 

Our first stop was Coco Cay. My husband and son went snorkeling while my daughter and I enjoyed the sun floating on mats we rented. It was nice, but was a little disappointed in the water. We didn't tour the whole island. We probably should have. If we return again, we will definately explore more.

When we docked in Nassau, we were so excited to go shopping and get some good deals. Imagine my disappointment when the first shop I stopped at to get my free charm bracelet, Diamond International, turned out to be way over priced. I don't profess to be a big jewelry buyer, but this stuff was ridiculous. The bracelet they gave me also turned out to be a piece of junk. Here is a picture of what it looks like (got from website - retails for $19.95)

 

This is what I got:

This looked like something you would get from a gumball machine. It said it has a diamond in the I...if it does, I'm a monkey's aunt. Ok, so as if we weren't disappointed enough, we visited Tanzanite International to retrieve a pair of free tanzanite earrings. This is what I got:

More junk. You could not even tell that the earrings were blue. I was definately very disappointed by this time. Then we entered another jewelry store. Not sure of the name. We found a pair of beautiful earrings we were going to get my sons girlfriend. We were told they would be $64 and when we went to check out they were $604...BIG DIFFERENCE....We gracefully declined and walked out of the store. We then went to what we thought was the straw market to shop. Turned out it wasn't the real one. But my daughter got her a knock off bag and that made her happy. And my husband got him some cigars, so he was happy. We visited many other places in Nassau after the shopping fiasco. If I do this trip again, I will definately choose to do an activity. Everyone on the boat kept talking about how much fun they had on their excursions. Lesson learned.

 

We did catch two comedy shows on the ship that were EXCELLENT. We also participated in two of the shows, The Battle of the Sexes and The Quest. This is a must for anyone who enjoys life and a little "adult" humor. Here is a pic from the Quest:

The only advice I can give anyone is to enjoy what you can. If you do purchase alcholic drinks, ask for them in a regular glass, they tack on an extra $2.95 for a souvenier glass that you can keep. Remember, any drinks you purchase they automatically add a 15% gratuity. We didn't realize this and ended up double tipping.

 

We waited until the final evening of our cruise to handle the tipping. We did as follows:

Stateroom attendant - recommended $56 for all 4 of us - actual $60

Waiter - recommended $56 for all 4 of us - actual $80

Asst Waiter - recommended $32 for all 4 of us - actual $40

Head waiter - left up to customer - we never met our head waiter, so we only tipped him $10

 

We left our stateroom attendants on the bed when we went to dinner and handed the others to the waiter when we left. We did do the sit down breakfast on the last day. Big disappointment. Would not recommend that. The service was not that good, as these were not our regular waiters.

 

We chose to take our own luggage off the ship. There was a big line for that. But we were off the ship relatively quickly. We made it thru customs without any issues. I did have two suitcases and they pointed me to the elevator so I didn't have to carry them down the escalator. We were on the road by 8:15 am. Not bad.

 

Overall, I would definately recommend the Monarch of the Seas. It was well worth it!

[Socref124]

Our first stop was Coco Cay. My husband and son went snorkeling while my daughter and I enjoyed the sun floating on mats we rented. It was nice, but was a little disappointed in the water.

 

What made the water disappointing? We are thinking of doing MOS for our anny in Oct and we love the water. We prefer scuba but will snorkle if scuba is not available. Any info on Coco Cay will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.:D

[jhmoore143]

We did do the sit down breakfast on the last day. Big disappointment. Would not recommend that. The service was not that good, as these were not our regular waiters.

 

I wonder if that disappointment was because it was the last day. We ate breakfast there every day (except the last) and lunch there on our day at sea and loved it all the times. No, we didn't have our normal servers, but that didn't diminish our experience there.

 

What made the water disappointing? We are thinking of doing MOS for our anny in Oct and we love the water. We prefer scuba but will snorkle if scuba is not available. Any info on Coco Cay will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I had the opposite reaction to the water at Cococay. My review is part of this thread (post #8 - with underwater pictures on page 2 of the same thread) Just off Monarch of Seas today Awesome Ship

 

I, too, am interested in why the OP was "a little disappointed in the water."

[stazerd]

I was on the exact same cruise, MOS, July 13 to 17. I took my 27 yr old daughter, her first cruise. We both loved Coco Cay. We tendered over around noon, had lunch during the brief rain, then stayed the rest of the afternoon. The water near the floating mat vendor was pristine, and my daughter and I agreed we could have stayed there all day.

 

Breakfast or lunch in the dining room is a very enjoyable experience, especially compared to prime times in the windjammer. I urge everyone to try it at least once.

 

I have been on much larger and much newer ships, and I believe MOS is a great starter cruise and a great repeat cruise. I will jump at the chance to visit MOS again.

[jhmoore143]

I will jump at the chance to visit MOS again.

 

So will we. . .

 

The Monarch was our first cruise and we want to do a 7 Day cruise next. The only one that is in our price range is the Emerald Princess (for the dates we want to go). The Freedom is $2,000 more than the Emerald Princess, and the Princess makes one extra stop - Princess Cay (versus Cococay), St. Thomas, St. Maartin and Grand Turk. The Freedom does Cococay, St. Thomas and St. Maartin.

 

We loved the Monarch and are actually considering a back to back on the Monarch instead of the longer 7 day cruise. While I would love to get down to the Virgin Islands, I wouldn't mind a "Groundhog Day" experience of Cococay & Nassau two more times. It would give us more time to do what we wanted and didn't do the first time. The Back to back on the Monarch is $302 less than the Emerald Princess. . .

[stazerd]

you will be stunned if you jump from MOS to the Freedom! Maybe consider something in the middle? I assume you have looked at other ports in florida? I would recommend the Mariner, but I believe it is in LA for the forseeable future.

 

I have been on Princess, but only once. It wasn't to my liking, but that is only one person's opinion.

[biguntx]

Thanks to all for the great info.

 

This should make our 8/24 sailing on MOS something special.

 

Thanks again,

[eyecantwait]

Thanks for the review. We're going on 7/31 ( close....yay!!!) and can't wait.

We've enjoyed several trips on the Sovereign so are anxious to try the Monarch. I'm amazed you fit 4 adults in the room.

[Lgarth]

I wonder if that disappointment was because it was the last day. We ate breakfast there every day (except the last) and lunch there on our day at sea and loved it all the times. No, we didn't have our normal servers, but that didn't diminish our experience there.

 

 

 

I had the opposite reaction to the water at Cococay. My review is part of this thread (post #8 - with underwater pictures on page 2 of the same thread) Just off Monarch of Seas today Awesome Ship

 

I, too, am interested in why the OP was "a little disappointed in the water."

 

Yes, I don't quite understand this statement either, it's the Bahamas,the water is BEAUTIFUL !! unless of course they were invaded by jellyfish, but even then, that normally doesn't happen till Aug/Sept or so.Been there, done that..:)

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for sharing your great review! I always love reviews w/pics, it was nice. Year's ago on our first cruise we fell for the "shopping deal" in Nassau and were really disappointed we did. Sure, there are some deals to be had, but the free things they mentioned were not worth the time. I'm glad you put pics out there for others to see, in case they don't want to waste the time. We've been to Nassau 4 or 5 times since and instead of going shopping, we enjoyed other excursions or just exploring the Atlantis on our own. We also make sure we make a pit stop at Senor Frogs and watch some of the craziness. Thanks again for your review!

[mamaza]

Bravo, more, more, .... more pictures.

As you can see below, booked her for Jan 2010. We loved CocoCay last time we were on her. Of RCCL's two islands, that one is the better of the two, IMHO.

[critterchick]

I wonder if that disappointment was because it was the last day. We ate breakfast there every day (except the last) and lunch there on our day at sea and loved it all the times. No, we didn't have our normal servers, but that didn't diminish our experience there.

 

The last day's breakfast menu is different from the other days, with limited menu selections - we call it the "Thank You, Now Get Out" menu. The omelet fillings are limited to ham & cheese and there are no Eggs Benedict, for example. And I have found the service to be less accomodating, not to the point of bad, but nothing like it is on the first day of the cruise.

 

To the OP, I'm glad you had a good experience on Monarch. She will always hold a special place in my heart for the wonderful times that we've had onboard her.

 

And you can have Mariner back in Florida if RCI would send Monarch back to us.:)

[Socref124]

The last day's breakfast menu is different from the other days, with limited menu selections - we call it the "Thank You, Now Get Out" menu. The omelet fillings are limited to ham & cheese and there are no Eggs Benedict, for example. And I have found the service to be less accomodating, not to the point of bad, but nothing like it is on the first day of the cruise.

 

That's a shame:(. Having Eggs Benedict before disembarkation has been a tradition with us. It is the only day we go to the dinning room for breakfast and I always have Eggs Benedict and DW has a bacon egg and extra cheese omelet:(. Oh well, we want to try the Monarch of the Seas anyway.:)

[kkdleon]

We are departing on the Monarch on Aug. 7 for our Anniversary. Some questions-

1- Is there a formal night on the 3-night sailing?

2- Can you have pictures taken on the last night? If so, are they processed in time to purchase by the end if the night?

3- Are the shows primarily comedians?

4- Where is the best late night entertainment? Is there karaoke? (not that we participate, but can be fun to listen to)

5- Is there a late-night dessert/food buffet one night?

6- We don't care what time we exit the ship on final day, so we will not be doing the self-disembark. What are the options for breakfast on the final morning?

7- How crowded was the pool area? I noticed on the deck plans, the pools looked smaller in size.

 

We are coming from the FOS and Carnival Liberty from our last two cruises. I realize there is quite a size difference in the three ships, but we are looking forward to a nice weekend getaway.

 

Someone else was curious about snorkeling/scuba on Cococay. I posted regarding the snorkeling in a couple of places on the ports of call. I have to go over to those forums and see if there has been responses, but someone posted some killer advice on snorkeling and I couldn't track it down. I am hoping the OP reposted. We'll see.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

[loeytalldog]

We were on FOS the week of 7/12 and CocoCay had jellyfish. Both of my kids were stung multiple times while in the Water Park. Even after this, my son and husband tried snorkelling because we thought maybe they were just near the water park but my son got bit snorkelling too. They had a spray bottle with vinegar in it at the First Aid station to treat the stings. We did not want to go back in the water after that.

[PrincesScuba]

We are departing on the Monarch on Aug. 7 for our Anniversary. Some questions-

1- Is there a formal night on the 3-night sailing?

Of course there is. And of course it's Saturday night. You can't have it the first night or the last night, and there are only three nights. :D

2- Can you have pictures taken on the last night? If so, are they processed in time to purchase by the end if the night?

Yes, they want your money, no matter how hard they have to work for it. :)

3- Are the shows primarily comedians?

You will often get a magician, a juggler or an acrobat. Personally, I'll take the comedians. And there is a production show with the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers.

4- Where is the best late night entertainment? Is there karaoke? (not that we participate, but can be fun to listen to)

There is karaoke. There is dance music in the lounge and various kinds of music in Boleros. There are audience-participation game shows.

5- Is there a late-night dessert/food buffet one night?

Yes, up on the pool deck.

6- We don't care what time we exit the ship on final day, so we will not be doing the self-disembark. What are the options for breakfast on the final morning?

Windjammer buffet or main dining room.

7- How crowded was the pool area? I noticed on the deck plans, the pools looked smaller in size.

Pretty crowded, but there is a level above the pool deck that overlooks the pool area, and there are lots more loungers up there. And there's sun up there, too. ;)

[critterchick]

That's a shame:(. Having Eggs Benedict before disembarkation has been a tradition with us. It is the only day we go to the dinning room for breakfast and I always have Eggs Benedict and DW has a bacon egg and extra cheese omelet:(. Oh well, we want to try the Monarch of the Seas anyway.:)

 

The menu is the same fleewide, so you won't get Eggs Benedict on any RCI ship on disembarkation day. But don't let that deter you from trying Monarch - she is one great ship.

[jhmoore143]

I have been on Princess, but only once. It wasn't to my liking, but that is only one person's opinion.

 

 

I dont mean to hi-jack the thread - but can you please explain / describe what you didnt like about Princess. Maybe a comparison between them and the Monarch (if that is fair)

[kkdleon]

I think it is weird that they do the formal night on the evening we are in port until 11:30 pm. Seems like you would have a very low turnout!

[southerngirlpls]

Sorry for the lateness in replying:

 

1- Is there a formal night on the 3-night sailing? Yes it was paired with the Captains reception where we got to meet her.

 

2- Can you have pictures taken on the last night? If so, are they processed in time to purchase by the end if the night? Yes - pictures are amazingly done fast. They photo shop is open late the last night for purchases and also open the next morning.

 

3- Are the shows primarily comedians? No - they had two musical shows, but somehow we missed them.

 

4- Where is the best late night entertainment? Is there karaoke? (not that we participate, but can be fun to listen to) Just stay out of the Circuit lounge unless you are into LOUD music and dancing. "Late Night" - does not really exist on the cruise - one of the "contests" we participated in was at 10:00 at night and the other at 11:00. I didn't see any karaoke - but that doesn't meant there was none - LOL

 

5- Is there a late-night dessert/food buffet one night? Yes, they had a midnight buffet and party one night

 

6- We don't care what time we exit the ship on final day, so we will not be doing the self-disembark. What are the options for breakfast on the final morning? You can do sit down or at the Windjammer - we only did sit down because my daughter had been wanting to do this at some point during the week

 

7- How crowded was the pool area? I noticed on the deck plans, the pools looked smaller in size. Pool was a disappointment to me - it was reconstituted sea water - my son swam in it the first day and never returned. Here is a picture of the deck during the day - the last day at sea, it was jam packed, but overall, i did not find it to be too crowded...remember there is smoking allowed on one side of the ship at the pool deck.

PS...my 22nd anniversay will be August 8th....Have a GREAT TRIP! You will enjoy whatever you do!

[PrincesScuba]

Pool was a disappointment to me - it was reconstituted sea water - my son swam in it the first day and never returned.

 

There is nothing "reconstituted" about it.

 

It's sea water, period.

 

Most of Royal Caribbean's ships' pools are filled with seawater.

[PrincesScuba]

I think it is weird that they do the formal night on the evening we are in port until 11:30 pm. Seems like you would have a very low turnout!

 

You can't have formal night the first night: People are tired, luggage comes at different times......it just wouldn't work.

 

You can't have formal night the last night: People have to pack and put out their bags by 11 P.M.

 

It's only a three night cruise.

 

Once you eliminate nights 1 & 3, you are left with night #2.

[EBFURR]

That pic of the room brings back memories. We had not cruised in several years and got back into cruising in 2003 on Majesty (essentially the same ship) and booked all four of us into a quad cabin. Cozy does not begin to describe it! Next time we book adjoining rooms and it was perfect.

 

Not to put words into OP's mouth (or keyboard), but we have been to Coco Cay when the water was quite murky, especially in certain areas. This can be casued by rough seas before you arrive, storms, or just too many people stirring about in a small area & stirring up sand. Other times the water is crystal clear.

 

It is fun to read the impressions of a first time cruiser. Usually they are amazed by the same things that we were as first timers. We are still amazed by those same things after all these years! The usual "disappointments" also seem to be the same. Anyone that follows the cruise lines shopping advice usually has a disappointment in store (so to speak). We also fell for some of the "free" stuff way back when and it was the same story.