A Monarch review from 1992!!!!

[A&L_Ont]

Thanks Carol. I had a lot of fun posting them and reading all the responses

 

I just figured out what your profile pic is.... And I would be making the same facial expression as you.:D

 

I only wish my body looked the same as 2004, forget 1992 as that would be asking for too much.

 

Loved your classic review of a classic ship.

[Buffettphan1]

Hard to beleive that there are so many great response's to this review i did over the winter. I never thought it would be so popular!

The Monarch is very speciel to me, only sailing on her once over 20 years ago, none of the cruises since have been the same.

I am sad she is leaving the fleet, but, as fate will have it, we booked the final sailing, or as the agent said, "the funeral cruise" for March 29th, 2012. Only this time we will be in a Junior Suite and not the inside, inside stateroom.

And, btw, we were just on the Adventure fot he east bound crossing, and Fanny Packs seem to be back in style, only i didnot have mine!!!!! :D

[Eng23]

Hard to beleive that there are so many great response's to this review i did over the winter. I never thought it would be so popular!

The Monarch is very speciel to me, only sailing on her once over 20 years ago, none of the cruises since have been the same.

I am sad she is leaving the fleet, but, as fate will have it, we booked the final sailing, or as the agent said, "the funeral cruise" for March 29th, 2012. Only this time we will be in a Junior Suite and not the inside, inside stateroom.

And, btw, we were just on the Adventure fot he east bound crossing, and Fanny Packs seem to be back in style, only i didnot have mine!!!!! :D

Glad to hear that you will be on the final sailing next year. I'm just going to speculate but I would bet that since you were on Monarch's first sailing and you will be on her last with Royal Caribbean they might have something special for you.

[BillOh]

I have Majesty too.

 

This is so fun and a great winter distraction!!!!!

 

Still married? I waited till my 25th anniversary to cruise, so I enjoy looking back and something I didn't think I wanted to do back then.

[BillOh]

Someone commented earlier about how Monarch was criticized as being too large when she was originally launched in 1992. In doing some research, I found this picture of a postcard from the Port Of Miami. She is the easiest one to spot because of her size in relation to the other ships in port.

 

 

 

Love that photo, Monarch is where Voyager was when I took my first cruise. I wondered how she was going to turn around or if she would have to back up all the way down the channel. :o

[jkwpete]

I can't remember if they do this on the larger ships, but on Monarch one of the Engineers mentioned they do it to keep the centre of gravity lower so the ship can maneuver better.

My wife and I started cruising in 1989. Back then the pools were filled with sea water and I do not believe there was any filtration. I remember seeing a sheen of suntan lotion on the surface of the pool water in the afternoons. They were drained at night and refilled in the morning.

[Buffettphan1]

Glad to hear that you will be on the final sailing next year. I'm just going to speculate but I would bet that since you were on Monarch's first sailing and you will be on her last with Royal Caribbean they might have something special for you.

 

 

Eng23,

 

Just to be clear on the Monarch when we sailed, it was the inaugural cruise year, not the very first cruise. Its first sailing was Nov 1991. We sailed for a 7 day on April 5th of 1992. So we were within the inaugural year sailing. We were thinking the same thing regarding RCCL having something for us, who knows!

I see your a fellow Jake too!!

[QTMichele]

SOOO glad I found this! We booked the Monarch for this July for a few reasons, but mostly to try something different and to sail on Monarch before she leaves the Royal Caribbean fleet. The feedback from your review is well deserved, and also proves that Monarch is well loved. Thank you for taking the time to post.

[Eng23]

Eng23,

 

Just to be clear on the Monarch when we sailed, it was the inaugural cruise year, not the very first cruise. Its first sailing was Nov 1991. We sailed for a 7 day on April 5th of 1992. So we were within the inaugural year sailing. We were thinking the same thing regarding RCCL having something for us, who knows!

I see your a fellow Jake too!!

Hi there! Thanks for the clarification and seeing how you were still one of the first to sail her when she was new that first year you might still get a memento of some kind. Yeah, I have been on the job for 22 years as a federal firefighter in Virginia. I work for the Navy Regional Fire Dept. in the Norfolk, Va. area. It's nice to make your acquaintance. :)

[Buffettphan1]

SOOO glad I found this! We booked the Monarch for this July for a few reasons, but mostly to try something different and to sail on Monarch before she leaves the Royal Caribbean fleet. The feedback from your review is well deserved, and also proves that Monarch is well loved. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Thanks Michele. Love your reviews too. I love to see the pictures that paople post in them, it makes them so much more interesting. You should book the last sailing on the Monarch too!!!:D

 

Hi there! Thanks for the clarification and seeing how you were still one of the first to sail her when she was new that first year you might still get a memento of some kind. Yeah, I have been on the job for 22 years as a federal firefighter in Virginia. I work for the Navy Regional Fire Dept. in the Norfolk, Va. area. It's nice to make your acquaintance. :)

 

22 yrs, thats great! Im right behind you at 18. I was able to buy back some time from when i was on call so it gives me a few more years so im knocking on retirements door!!!!!!

Join us on the Farewell (funeral) cruise of the Monarch!!!

[Eng23]

Thanks Michele. Love your reviews too. I love to see the pictures that paople post in them, it makes them so much more interesting. You should book the last sailing on the Monarch too!!!:D

 

 

 

22 yrs, thats great! Im right behind you at 18. I was able to buy back some time from when i was on call so it gives me a few more years so im knocking on retirements door!!!!!!

Join us on the Farewell (funeral) cruise of the Monarch!!!

 

Yeah, I'll be knocking on retirements door in a few years too. I'll look into joining you but I cannot plan for next year's vacation time until the end of this year. Cheers!

[QTMichele]

Thanks Michele. Love your reviews too. I love to see the pictures that paople post in them, it makes them so much more interesting. You should book the last sailing on the Monarch too!!!:D

 

Thanks! :)

 

I bet that would be a fun cruise! Celebrating the life of the Monarch. Sad too. Wish I could go! Next year has a wedding in NY, my 40th birthday cruise (can't wait!), and a land vacation - really can't swing another cruise (or risk my husband's sanity). I trust you'll bring back the memories for us?! ;)

[kevinsgirl88]

this is amazing!!!! i was 4 when you sailed her!!!! cant beleave she is almost as old as me :p!!!! she looks like an awesome ship :)

[smoosh21]

I was much later to joining cruising, and didnt cruise for the first time until 2002 on the Carnival Sensation. The Voyager Class was already in Service, so I knew that the Sensation was no longer a big deal. But, I still thought that the ship was quite large while sailing on her.

 

I just booked a sailing for the Monarch for a weekend getaway and to get my Diamond Status. Having just sailed the Oasis, I guess I am kind of glad that my next voyager is actually on the Celebrity Xpedition. Maybe after being on that tiny ship the Monarch will seem large again.

 

Since the Monarch is a sister to the Sovereign, I may need to go back and watch that show about the dry dock again.

[flyingv4me]

Thank you for probably my favorite review on CC! Great text and pics!

[Buffettphan1]

Thank you for probably my favorite review on CC! Great text and pics!

 

Thank you for that wonderful compliment!!!! :)

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thank you for sharing. It's always fun to see old pictures and review stuff from many years back. Seeing those cars at the pier too, seems just like yesterday.

[gw2fll]

Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy looking at the cruises from the 80's and 90's and marveling at how things have changed (and in some instances remained the same).

 

I recently stumbled across the brochure and itinerary for my first cruise on S/S Emerald Seas back in 1981. What is interesting is when you look at the cruise price from then compared to now. I think we have to give the cruise lines credit for continuing to evolve the product and bringing it more upscale while managing to keep prices down.

 

I feel we often lose sight of the fact that prices are down (way down) compared to back then. Example, an inside cabin on a 3 day cruise was ~$900; in today's dollars that's about ~$2,200. Also, considering $900 back then was a lot more of our income so the cruise was very expensive compared to today. I also found the dring list and cocktails ran about $5 - $7. They are still about the same today; however, $5 of today's income is not as much as back then.

[lisiamc]

Thank you for posting yout review! I took my first cruise in 1992 as well, and seeing your photos brings back happy memories of the 90s.

[BecciBoo]

Glad to hear that you will be on the final sailing next year. I'm just going to speculate but I would bet that since you were on Monarch's first sailing and you will be on her last with Royal Caribbean they might have something special for you.

 

To help make that happen, I have emailed C&A with this link and put my vote in for at least a bottle of Champagne in your cabin Jake. Thanks for the ride. Sent me to our first cruise pics on Rhapsody. Hard to believe it will have been 20 years since our first cruise on that "HUGE" ship in just 2 short years.:eek: