just off the monarch 3/21-3/25

[waxing witch]

this was dh and my first cruise with royal caribbean. we have only sailed on the carnival sensation prior to this. we were very happy with the public areas of the ship, everything was bright and open - and very clean. some of the carpets looked wet when they weren't, which i have heard about before and didn't really care too much about. we did not smell any sewage-like smells anywhere on board like others have mentioned.

 

we had cabin 9072, a superior ocean view. based on the measurements i found online, this cabin should be about 30 more square feet than the inside/outside cabins on the MOS. i would not book a smaller room than the superior ocean view. it was just us, but i couldn't imagine having less room than that. the inside and outside cabins i've had on the sensation seemed almost a big as the SOV. our 'obstructed view' was barely obstructed and was definitely a great deal (i was able to upgrade from an OV guarantee for $10pp after a price drop).

 

 

our room was very clean and had a small fridge, safe, and a flat panel television that had numerous inputs accessible. if i had realized that, i would have brought cables to connect my notebook computer so we could have watched movies while resting in the room. the shower curtain was the most annoying thing in our cabin because it kept clinging to me. the bathroom was as expected - a bit dated, a bit tired, very small, but very clean. the only odd thing was that our room was very creaky - when the ship was moving, you could hear things creaking and making odd noises. a bit annoying, but nothing too bad. it woke me up a few times - it seemed VERY rough on night one.

 

 

 

i thought the food was good. it was comparable to carnival, i think i may have enjoyed the food on carnival a bit more. i thought there were some great selections in the main dining room (we ate there every night). we only ate in the windjammer for breakfast and lunch a few times, and the menu seemed the same for these meals each day. royal caribbean bartenders are not shy with the liquor - i felt that i got my money's worth on all drinks. buds were $4.25 a bottle, which is not bad at all. most of my fruity drinks ranged from $6 to $8 and change, and each packed a punch.

 

they announced some numbers on who was sailing - we were told 700 spring breakers and 400 kids. barely saw any of the kids, but COULD NOT escape the spring breakers. most of them were okay, but obviously could not handle their alcohol. we saw someone being carried by friends more than once. many of them did not understand how to dress for the main dining room either. i mean, i get that not every night was formal night. but sequined hot pants and a tank top? and there was one table of kids that wore their shorts/pants under their butts every night, including formal night. it kind of ruined it for me, since i looked AWESOME every night! lol

 

 

coco cay was AMAZING. the water was beautiful, the beaches were great, i got sunburned of course, and we drank coco locos. YUM. omg YUM. the barbecue was as expected, but i was disappointed in the macaroni and cheese - i have read great things about it and it was 'eh'. we didn't do anything special on coco cay, just enjoyed the sun, the water, and the drinks.

 

 

now i was so enamored with coco locos that i asked for one on the boat. and no one batted an eye. so i drank coco locos THE ENTIRE trip! finally on our last day in the schooner bar, the bartender was like 'have the bartenders been making that for you? it's supposed to be an island specialty' and i told him i'd been drinking them everywhere, and he made me one. i ordered them at the pool bar, the schooner bar, the casino bar, and in the dining room. i also had the STRONGEST margarita ever made in the casino bar. holy cats, it was like tequila with a bit of tequila, a splash of lime, and a bit more tequila. we also went to the captain's party thing, had some champagne, and had our picture taken with captain trond.

 

 

nassau was as expected, but the fire looked devastating. we booked the see and sea tour, a van tour of the island and then the seaworld explorer underwater tour. definitely a great idea! we went to fort fincastle, drove around the island a bit, saw the fish fry area, and then took a boat ride along paradise island to meet up with the seaworld explorer. we saw sea turtles, lots of fish, and some beautiful reefs. next time, we may try booking the seaworld explorer separately and hiring a taxi driver to take us to the forts and queen's staircase, since i didn't get to walk up them yet. we bypassed the straw market and senor frogs, even though we were hoping to get a drink there. we bypassed it because we kept seeing drunk college kids stumble out of it. we actually spent all but about 5 hours on the boat while in port at nassau. we did some drinking, some gambling, and some napping.

 

our day at sea was more of the same - gambling, drinking, hanging out. we did tv tune trivia and saw the comedy show. i ingested more coco locos and then we went to the piano sing along in the schooner bar before bed. we were group 2 off the ship, so we did not do self-assist. the ship was cleared by customs about 7:35am, our group was led off the ship at 8:15am, and we were in our car by 8:40am on our way home.

 

a few things: we got to port canaveral around noon. my 100% cranberry juice made it on no problem (i bought a 6-pack of 10oz bottles). all four of our 8oz rum runners made it on too. i devised an almost foolproof way of brining them on that i'm not going to shout about because you better believe RCCL and other cruiselines read boards like this all the time. of course, i left the one rum runner filled with our fave guava rum in the ice bucket when we left the room one morning - and we never saw it again. my bad. it was nice to be able to have a drink while unpacking or while getting ready for dinner. it didn't really take away from what we spent at the bar - if i didn't have it in my room, i probably just wouldn't have had it. all in all, we didn't bring a lot of liquor on and had maybe 10 drinks in our room with our own stash. i will be using our rum runners in the future on cruises and other outings. i found them very sturdy and easy to use.

 

it didn't seem that the port officials were super cracking down on spring breakers. dh and i are 30/31 respectively, with multiple tattoos and piercings (including facial piercings) and probably look like the type that they would crack down on. in fact, on the way OFF the ship, we were made to stop and put down all our luggage for a sniffer dog. profiling?? you bet! and that's fine by me. we also bought 6 liters of alcohol and customs let us go without paying for them. it would be nice if the rules made any kind of sense. apparently now you can buy 1 liter per adult on the boat, and if you buy it in port you can get an extra one? and the limit for a married couple is 5... no idea. next time i'll probably stick to 4 or 5 but they had 2 liters of bailey's for $35 and that's RIDICULOUS so i had to buy those in addition to our originally planned 4 liters. hey, why not stock up while we can?

 

all in all, our cruise on the monarch was very relaxing and lots of fun. i did miss the freeport stop, but coco cay really made up for it. i would book this cruise again if i found a great deal on it, but for a quick 4-day out of port canaveral i think i might prefer the sensation. i was impressed enough with rccl on this trip that i will definitely look into the longer itineraries/larger ships for future trips.

 

feel free to ask any questions, i'll answer what i can.

[soccermom65]

Thanks for the great review!! My family and I are going on April 4th!! Cant wait. How was the pool? Was it always crowded, and could you get chairs? Thanks

[waxing witch]

the times we were up there it seemed busy but not horrible. there weren't always chairs near the pool available, but the pools themselves were never really crowded. the only times the pool deck seemed crowded was during the sail away parties and on-deck contests. i also noticed there were quite a few chairs in shady areas. if you can live with NOT being right up on the pool, you shouldn't have any trouble finding chairs.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for sharing your review. Not sure if it is just me but none of the pictures are showing.

[waxing witch]

Thanks for sharing your review. Not sure if it is just me but none of the pictures are showing.

 

grrr i thought it was just me because i'm in safari, i have to click on them and open in a new window.

[cruising66]

Thank you for taking time to write this review. It was very enjoyable. We sail for the first time on her next month.

[SuchAVirgo]

all in all, our cruise on the monarch was very relaxing and lots of fun. i did miss the freeport stop, but coco cay really made up for it. i would book this cruise again if i found a great deal on it, but for a quick 4-day out of port canaveral i think i might prefer the sensation.

 

Why do you think the Sensation was better? Just wondering because we have never tried Carnival but since we live to close to Port Canaveral we may try that one for a weekend.

[Eng23]

Thanks for sharing your review. Not sure if it is just me but none of the pictures are showing.

It's not just you, all I see is the square with the X in it. :D By the way nice review!

[SuchAVirgo]

I could not see the pictures either.

[Rewind]

I don't know if this helps, but here are the pictures from Waxing Witch's post:

 

 

 

 

 

[ryano]

Thats great that they let someone use your own camera to take a picture with Captain Holm! Excellent pic!

 

They would not let us! :(

 

Great review! Thanks for sharing!

[MrMilkChoc79]

great TR!

 

I am going on Monarch in May for my first cruise. I can't wait.

 

Would you care to share your rum runner secret with someone who is not a RCCL employee? Maybe you could message it to me. I am a HUGE fan of the rum runner.

[mark290]

I really enjoyed your review. I also would like to know why you would lean towards the Sensation next time. I have been looking into a quick mini cruise. I've sailed mostly on RCCL but have been tempted to try Carnival just to see what that's like. I'll admit I've been scared to try Carnival.

[temple1]

many of them did not understand how to dress for the main dining room either. i mean, i get that not every night was formal night. but sequined hot pants and a tank top? and there was one table of kids that wore their shorts/pants under their butts every night, including formal night. it kind of ruined it for me, since i looked AWESOME every night! lol

 

Great review. The regular ocean view cabins are tight - I can't imagine the inside cabins either.

 

We don't need photos for this - I can't get the mental picture out of my mind. :eek: But in your "awesomeness" I'm sure you more than made up for the folks without a clue. :D

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for helping out Rewind. I really wanted to see if the OP and hubby were scary and needed extra screening getting off the ship.;):D To the OP, I bet it was because you guys look really young plus it was spring break. They are always very strict at that time of year.:)

[d4nigirl]

What a great review! We were on the Majesty (the Monarch's sister ship) and loved our experience. They're such a great starter cruise to RCI (imho)!

 

Anyway, I wanted to PM you about one of your experiences but was unable to find any info. Could you PM me (if it's not too much trouble), if not, let me know and I'll try and figure it out.

[dianna_nc]

So glad you had a nice trip. I will be sailing on Monarch on Friday.:D

 

How warm was the water at Coco Cay? I really want to try snorkeling there. Hopefully, I make it to that island this time. We tried twice on my last cruise and it was just too rough.

[Sirknight]

We were aboard with you--nice meeting you aboard! Agree with the spring breakers--but we did have a couple tables for kids from India (or at least of Indian descent) next to us in the dining room that just had a great time :)--

The numbers of spring breakers did keep the curmudgeonly senior numbers down considerably for this cruise however :p!

[kijjy]

I'm going on this cruise 4/18 in a SOV cabin # 9530...what cabin were you in? Curious because some say "obstructed view" while others don't. And thanks for posting a current review. I've been waiting for that. Nice pics too!

[waxing witch]

Why do you think the Sensation was better? Just wondering because we have never tried Carnival but since we live to close to Port Canaveral we may try that one for a weekend.

 

dh and i really enjoy freeport. coco cay was great, don't get me wrong. and the monarch's public areas are a bit nicer than the sensation, but we really enjoy freeport and i missed it. i'd rather go to freeport than nassau any day. it would be a close call though.

[waxing witch]

Thanks for helping out Rewind. I really wanted to see if the OP and hubby were scary and needed extra screening getting off the ship.;):D To the OP, I bet it was because you guys look really young plus it was spring break. They are always very strict at that time of year.:)

 

we've been to nice restaurants with family style seating (like hibachi grills) and had our table mates get up and leave after seeing us :/

 

ALSO. ty for saying we look young :D i hope that continues for many years to come lol.

[waxing witch]

I really enjoyed your review. I also would like to know why you would lean towards the Sensation next time. I have been looking into a quick mini cruise. I've sailed mostly on RCCL but have been tempted to try Carnival just to see what that's like. I'll admit I've been scared to try Carnival.

 

i wouldn't be afraid to try carnival. i didn't find the atmosphere on carnival to be more of a 'party' atmosphere, but my only rccl cruise was during spring break. i thought the monarch seemed a bit heavier on the party than the sensation, BUT i've only sailed the monarch during spring break. my cruises on the sensation were october and november.

[waxing witch]

So glad you had a nice trip. I will be sailing on Monarch on Friday.:D

 

How warm was the water at Coco Cay? I really want to try snorkeling there. Hopefully, I make it to that island this time. We tried twice on my last cruise and it was just too rough.

 

have a great time! the water was chilly when you first got in, but after a couple of minutes it felt perfect. we had a rough night of sailing on the first night, but the water at coco cay was pretty calm.

[waxing witch]

I'm going on this cruise 4/18 in a SOV cabin # 9530...what cabin were you in? Curious because some say "obstructed view" while others don't. And thanks for posting a current review. I've been waiting for that. Nice pics too!

 

we were in 9072. technically all cabins on 9 are 'obstructed view' from what i can see, but like two of them are more obstructed than others. i really think that the most important thing with a window is the natural light, but dh really enjoyed people-watching from the window while we were in port lol.

[dianna_nc]

have a great time! the water was chilly when you first got in, but after a couple of minutes it felt perfect. we had a rough night of sailing on the first night, but the water at coco cay was pretty calm.

 

Thanks for the information! I really hope to set foot on Coco Cay this Sunday.