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Just off Monarch 12/23-12/26---Detailed Review with pics!

av8tr21

By av8tr21,
in Royal Caribbean International

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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Hey everyone! Just off Monarch this morning and arrived home about 30 minutes ago (living an hour from the port=awesome). I took a ton of pictures and have two of the Cruise Compasses (sorry, lost day 2) that I will scan in. Reason I want to do such a detailed review of Monarch? There weren't many with a lot of pics for me to look at before I went, although DarthGrady had a great review with lots of pics. I'm going to start working on it shortly....just waiting for my big old heat exchanger espresso machine to warm up after being off all weekend, as I need a latte to get going. Woke up at 6:45 and was off by 9! Stay tuned :cool:

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ChampionCruiser

ChampionCruiser

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Well, you'll have at least one person following along!! I just booked the Monarch for a college graduation cruise (number one) in May and agree that it's been difficult to find many picture reviews.

 

This will be my ninth cruise and my parent's first :D, but it will also be my first short cruise, so i've been searching for as much info as possible.

 

I'm excited to follow along and THANKS!

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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Ok....I'm back. Just needed a few hours to relax and catch up on some things. I just moved back home a few weeks ago after graduating from the University of South Carolina, and thus have become a full-time, professional job-hunter! Great fun....not. I was a bit sad to leave SC as I have made some awesome friends. However, I was glad that things between the gf and I had not worked out and we were just friends. Long distance relationships don't tend to work so well... Back to the job thing, I've had a phone interview for a job at Embry-Riddle, and am going to follow-up on one tomorrow. Please say a prayer that something comes through this week!

 

Background...My Dad, Mom, myself (21), brother 1 (17), and brother 2 (14) traveled on this Christmas cruise. It was our first cruise together as a family and we had a fantastic time! I travel quite a bit whether on my own, with friends, or other family, but we have not been able to take a vacation like this up until now. My dad has been managing golf courses for 25+ years, and as you all know golf is a very poor industry to be in at the present. So, after losing his job in July, he bought a business. It was already established and doing very well. He as well as my mom are a lot happier now with the income :D, and we were all thankful to be able to cruise for Christmas. Remember, it is a privilege not a right! We (I) booked back in November right before Thanksgiving, and Got a great deal on 2 interior cabins on Deck 2 for $380 pp including all taxes, port charges, AND gratuities! A few weeks later, the price of this cruise almost doubled and then sold out mid-December. I typically take care of all the travel arrangements and such in our family; I guess you could consider it a hobby of mine :rolleyes:. This was my 4th cruise, and first on RCI. Anyhow, the wait for the cruise was short and before I knew it, I was packing and waking up the morning of December 23, 2011.

 

Drive to PC and Parking....We live in near Daytona Beach, which translates into a drive of about an hour to Port Canaveral. Some friends and I cruised in May, and used Park n Cruise. You really can't beat $6-$7 a day, not to mention the staff is great and the lot itself is clean and kind of by itself off the road. We loaded up my dad's truck and set off for the port about 9:30AM, made a stop, and then proceeded to jump on I-95S. Exit at mile marker 205 and then you will eventually see the signs for Park n Cruise. When we arrived, there were quite a few people waiting to park and we had a small wait. Then there was some confusion with the shuttle leaving, and we ended up waiting for about 20 minutes. There was a couple on the shuttle, and the wife was one of those people that makes you wonder why on earth people like that cruise :rolleyes: There were a two other families with kids and several couple and everyone was talking, laughing, and having a great time. Not disruptive or anything, no language, etc. This lady complained the whole time from Park n Cruise all the way to the port about how loud it was and how this was hell for her, and why can't people just shut up and stop talking! I was really wondering why she was cruising then...I mean after all, isn't a cruise ship a place where people talk, converse, and have fun? Thankfully I never saw her again, but I kinda felt sorry for the husband because he seemed like a nice guy.

 

Check-in and Boarding.... The shuttle dropped us at Terminal 5, as Freedom was also in port at Terminal 10 after doing a 5-night Western itinerary and turing around to do a 7-day Eastern. We dropped our bags with the porters, and proceeded to have our documents checked at the bag-drop before even crossing the street to enter the terminal. Those of you who have cruised from PC before will know what I'm talking about. You know that covered area where people pull in to unload, well RCI had an agent checking docs there in addition to at the entrance of the terminal. Both times I have cruised out of PC on Carnival, we only had a doc check at the entrance. Small detail, and no problem at all. The line wasn't too long, and before we knew it we were through security heading up the escalator to check-in. For the most part, everyone I encountered was courteous. There was one family I kept seeing the whole cruise that was pushing past people on the escalator and cut in front of us in line for check-in. Nothing major, but sometimes certain behaviors never cease to amaze me :rolleyes: We had to wait maybe 5 minutes before we were called to an open position and checked in. Fortunately, we all have Passports. Trust me when I say it simplifies EVERYTHING! Get one...period! I observed that most people boarded between 1 and 3:30PM, and there were a couple buses that showed up quite late.

 

I'm going to go off on a little tangent now...

 

Everyone seemed to be in such great moods. I'm guessing it had something to do with Christmas and all, but it really made me think quite a bit. It's so easy to complain and always find the bad in everything. It's also ok to have an opinion, but when you let silly, insignificant things make your cruise miserable you should feel pretty stupid when you get home and look through all of your pictures. When I got off this morning, my thought was how glad I was to be on that cruise and to have all of the wonderful travel experiences I have had. Next time you go, go with the attitude of how happy you are to even be on a ship. Also, I have never seen such a hard-working, wonderful staff. The staff on the Monarch is truly wonderful, and I thought everyone was just sayin'....I've got such an appreciation for the staff on cruise ships now and all of you should have the same appreciation. I will explain later, but Nikki who is the Asst. Maitre D, deserves a raise. I plan to write a letter to RCI for the exemplary service she showed us in Claude's the first night.

 

End tangent

 

We ended up getting right on after check-in, and because we were using Terminal 5, we had to go down the stairs, walk out onto the pier, and board at Deck 1. I'm not sure if the moveable gangways weren't working, or if they don't work on Monarch at 5, but it was kind of cool to board that way. Downside was hiking all the way up to WJ for lunch. We always try to avoid the elevators for fun and exercise. Call me what you will, but I like to get some exercise when I can't bike 20 miles a day. Monarch of the Seas, despite being 20 years old is still a beautiful ship. Does she show her age? Yes, but they keep her nearly spotless. She has a sort of charm to her that I can't really describe with words. The ship was beautifully decorated and the Christmas tree looked magnificent in the Centrum. We headed up to WJ for lunch, which of course was a zoo. I went hunting for the "Honey Stung Chicken" everyone raves about on here, but honestly I wasn't super impressed. Here's where Carnival has the one-up on RCI...Carnival's buffet has a much better layout and the lines are more definitive. On Monarch, it was kind of like a free-for-all and you just get in where you can. As Rodney Johnson (comedian) put it last-night at the adult comedy show, "You all look like a bunch of bumper cars that don't know where to go". He had the place roaring after that joke and many others before ;) I also didn't care for the salad bar being right in direct sunlight. Was the salad fine? Yes, it was excellent and fresh. It really isn't a big deal to me, just and observation....and btw, I didn't let it ruin my cruise. After we ate lunch, I went off exploring on my own and also to take a bunch of pics for you guys before the ship got crowded. There were 2,654 guests on board this cruise. So, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures now and stop talking. I will do the review day-by-day. The next installment will include dinner and the happenings of the evening.

 

How am I doing so far?

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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Here are the first few pics. As you all know, 6 per post. We had not yet left PC when these were taken. Really could not have asked for better weather. Temp was about 80 everyday and nothing but sunshine for the most part!

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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I am on MOS w/ my sister in June. This will be her first cruise! The last picture, is it a bar/lounge?

 

Yes, it is the Viking Crown lounge. Great place to hang out and it has wonderful 360 views! There were never many people up there each time I went.

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

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Looks like this may be the same scenario for our NYE cruise with Monarch, as "big sister"

Freedom will be dominating #10. I think #5 is the Carnival terminal. We are electing

to take a taxi from the house (5 miles away) and avoid the confusion. As I am assuming

your shuttle took you right to #5, looks like we will luck out with the taxi doing the same.

 

Thanks for the info and the great review so far! :)

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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First night...Cabins were ready shortly after 1PM. We typically do either interior or oceanview, and this time was no exception. We had 2035 and 2047, both interiors on Deck 2. I was a bit anxious about the size of the cabins, only because Carnival and HAL cabins are quite a bit larger. My brothers and I managed just fine, and the only time it was tight was when we were all getting ready. You can easily solve that problem by getting showering/getting ready in shifts. One of us would go early (usually me), and then leave and let the remaining two engage in a blood-battle for dibs on the shower.....ok, not really but you get the point ;) After a fun-filled afternoon, which included my parents winning one of the spa raffles, 4:30PM came and we began to sail away. I almost missed it because I headed to my cabin to change for dinner before I realized we were moving! Fortunately I made it out on deck before we had left the channel. Not many people out enjoying sail-away; I was somewhat surprised. Little tip here: if you want a lot of peace and quiet, the aft decks (8-10) on Monarch were almost always deserted. Also forgot to mention, I made an appointment to have a deep-tissue massage the next day (Saturday) at 8AM. I've got neck and shoulder problems and see a chiropractor on a regular basis. My last visit happened to be a few days before the cruise, and he mentioned how stiff my neck was. More about the massage later.....We did MyTime dining, and honestly it is quite silly to me that you have to make a reservation rather than showing up. Before anyone flames me, I have worked in F&B. We had table 403 in Claude's on Deck 4 and Roy was our server. I can't remember the name of the assistant at the moment, but it may come back to me. Roy was absolutely hands down awesome! One of the best servers I have ever had on a cruise...period. Unfortunately, food the first night was disappointing for everyone in my family except brother 2 and me. I ordered the lamb and it was nearly perfect. My dad ordered the Angus steak, Mom the Chicken Marsala, brother 1 Garlic and Herb Tiger Prawns (or large shrimp), and brother 2 the pasta. My dad, mom, and brother 1 did not even finish their meals. This is where Nikki comes in. My dad asked to speak to the Maitre D, and they sent Nikki over who is the assistant. My parents both explained that they were unhappy with their food, as well as brother 1. Please know that my parents are probably the least rude people you will meet, so it wasn't a complaining fashion by any means. I think that if you have an issue with your food, POLITELY and RESPECTFULLY let the Maitre D or assistant know COURTEOUSLY! Brother 1's shrimp was over-cooked, and while the presentation was great, it made it very difficult to eat. Nikki took the plates to show the chef, and shortly thereafter came back to offer alternatives. She really went above and beyond, and for the rest of the cruise continued to check on us every night to make sure we were satisfied and happy. Some of you may say she was just doing her job, and indeed she was. It was her attitude and willingness that really shone here. Like I said, I'm going to write a letter to corporate and tell them they should promote her or give her a raise! Not to mention, she and the Maitre D were Croatian which is funny because we have Croatian roots. My dad's grandfather hardly spoke English and came to the US from Dubrovnik. It's kind of exciting when someone recognizes your last name is Croatian....call me a nerd. Anyway, dessert was great and after finishing that and coffee, we headed to Boleros for the 70's Music Trivia. I'm not really a huge fan of 70's music, but it was entertaining to watch everyone keep blurting out the lyrics. Susan (activities director) made the offenders get up and show everyone their best 70's dance moves. One lady couldn't stop blurting out the lyrics, and Susan accused her of just wanting to show off on the dance floor....makes me laugh thinking about it.

 

After that, we headed to the Sound of Music Theatre to see the Love and Marriage show. This was hilarious. The newlywed couple.....oh boy. I hope my future wife is that much of a ditz. Honestly though, I don't think I have ever seen such a ditz! I'm guessing alcohol played a small small part in this? When Drew asked "What was the strangest place you made whoopie?", we really didn't need to know it was at your house in Daytona with a vibrator :eek: Although we (the audience) were almost rolling on the floor with laughter at this point. Those shows are probably the most entertaining to me, well right next to comedy. Who knows, maybe my wife and I will be up there someday :rolleyes: At this point it was getting late, and because of my early appointment I decided to turn in around midnight. My parents were out dancing to 70's music into the wee hours of the morning :eek: Yikes....glad they had fun though.

 

Stay tuned for more pictures...

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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Looks like this may be the same scenario for our NYE cruise with Monarch, as "big sister"

Freedom will be dominating #10. I think #5 is the Carnival terminal. We are electing

to take a taxi from the house (5 miles away) and avoid the confusion. As I am assuming

your shuttle took you right to #5, looks like we will luck out with the taxi doing the same.

 

Thanks for the info and the great review so far! :)

 

And I thought we lived close! 5 miles?!? I think the cab is the way to go....just make sure you go to Terminal 5. There were several families that got dropped off at 10 and their luggage went on the Freedom! None of us on CC would make that mistake though :cool:....I bet we could identify the ship blindfolded :D

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av8tr21

av8tr21

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Alright...here are some more pictures. More review coming tomorrow!

 

p><p><img src=[/img]

 

Bathroom

p><p><img src=[/img]

 

There was a strong odor in and near our hallway (2033 and 2035 are the only cabins in this hallway). Also, this door leads to a crew area and there was quite a bit of noise. It wasn't unbearable, but I can't recommend this cabin or say that I would stay in it again.

 

Closet....with my bro's garment bag

<a href=imgp5136x.jpg' alt='imgp5136x.jpg'>

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