Just returned from L.A on the Monarch

[purplehair]

Just returned to Florida from L.A. We cruised on the Monarch of the Seas. It was fabulous!!! Can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had. I traveled with my mother which is 63, we started our trip a day earlier in L.A., we did a private tour with Economy Tours (EXCELLENT) Beverly Hills, star homes, Westwood Memorial Cemetery where Marilyn Monroe is buried along with many other celebrities. We did the Hollywood tour,and even downtown L.A. Kim from Economy Tours was super. She gave us so much information I will never remember it all. Wish I had taken notes!

 

We then started the cruise portion, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT. We really loved Catalina Island. We rented a golf cart(35.00 hour) worth every penny. We covered the island in 1 1/2 hours. That truly was a lot of fun.

 

Ensenada was pretty cool too, we went to La Bufadora (blowhole) That was an experience, You pay fifty cent to go to the bathroom, they give you a handful of toilet paper when you pay HA HA!!! Thank goodness they give you enough! Then we got to haggle with the merchants for whatever you buy. They sell knockoff handbags,silver jewelry, and junk. Oh also they have several pharmacie's (if you trust that their stuff is the real deal) Overall the tour was fun. Oh they have wonderful street vendor taco's across from Hanna Bananas. Our tour guide told us the best places to shop and eat to be safe.

On board the ship was very nice too, I had read several negative reviews about the Monarch before I left so I was not sure what to expect. It was nice,very clean. Didn't look it's age at all. We had a superior ocean view room. It was exactly what I expected, not too small it was fine. I do hate the shower curtains though, they blow in and stick to you while your showering, very much a pain. The water pressure is awesome, it will knock you down, so it balances out the shower curtain hatred.

 

The food was EXCELLENT! we went to the Windjammer every day for breakfast and dinner. The selection was plentiful and it all tasted wonderful. We didn't ever have anything we didn't like. They have a good selection of sugar free desserts if anyone is diabetic. We did a Princess cruise last year and the food was not good at all, so It was nice to come back to RCCL. I won't stray again, there is a huge difference to me.

 

We did express disembarkation, which worked out great. You are responsible for your own luggage which was fine we only had one bag each. We had a 11:40 flight out of L.A., we were off the ship by 7:15 took the shuttle to the airport, no traffic that day. Got there by 8:30 am. Had plenty of time to gear myself up for the journey back to Jacksonville, Florida.

 

I loved this trip! I definitely plan to go back to Los Angeles as soon as I can.:D

[karessamom]

Glad to hear you had such a nice time. We're sailing on her in Sept. Can't wait!

[stalco]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Monarch for a surprise gift for our son who is graduating from college. Its always a relief to read some good comments.

[SingBill]

PurpleHair

Great review and glad you had a good time on the Monarch. We live in the LA area and love this ship. She may be older, but she is classy and the crew is wonderful.

[rubrrick]

Purplehair.........great review! The Monarch may be older, with less headroom than the newer ships, but she has a grace and elegance that depicts her era. My DW and I have cruised on her 3 times and we have a couple more scheduled for this year. We have less than an hour plane ride to LA, so it's great to escape.......just to be on the sea!!

 

Rick

[SakeDad]

Great review! We will be on her in less than 2 weeks (taking my mother as well) and can't wait! I'll be sure to post a review and pics when we get back.

Can you tell us what activities, shows, excursions you took part in or enjoyed (or didn't)? Did you ever eat in the dining room? Sounds like you only did the WJ?

[purplehair]

We only went to the Windjammer. We like the flexibility and the multiple selections there.

We went to the opening show, we had seen it on another cruise a few years ago but enjoyed it all the same. We saw in impressionist one night and he was fabulous. We attended the Love and Marriage game show and the Quest, it was hillarious, amazing what people will do for a keychain. HA HA!!!

In San Diego we went to the Wild Animal Park, it was ok but I think I would have enjoyed the zoo more.

 

I forgot to include my picture link:

 

Http://Community.Webshots.com/user/sarre66

[beachdude395]

I am leaving monday for this cruise, were the waters smooth?

[purplehair]

Beachdude395,

Yes the waters were calm, except for the last night returning from Ensenada. Some people were complaining but we had no problem with it. It was actually quite nice when we went to bed it felt like we were being rocked to sleep. It wasn't anything major, just a little sway.

[SueOverend]

Thanks for posting the pictures Purplehair. Looks like you stayed at the Hyatt at Long Beach - we've booked to stay there pre-cruise in January. Was it worth the extra bucks? How did you get the port, how long did it take and how much did it cost? Any feedback would be most welcome. Also where was the Cemetary that you took all the photos from - we're from the UK, so don't know much about LA and what to see. Many thanks.

[karessamom]

Thanks for the pics! I am really looking forward to our cruise.

[lauraapp]

Purplehair,

 

Were you on the March 27-31st cruise? We were on the MOnarch for that cruise and also had a wonderful time...we really lucked out with the weather. I have a question when you only eat at the Windjammer, do you let the dining room know that you will not be using the table assigned to you? I noticed a lot of empty tables in the dining room and wondered how they handle that, also how does the wait staff receive their tips? We handed our tips to them the last nite of the cruise. Thanks.:o

[Bruin Steve]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it...and that it's in good condition...

We're boarding TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

[aisling323]

So glad to hear all about your wonderful trip on the Monarch. I'll be on her in just over a month, so hearing your positive review is great!

 

I am actually looking forward to Ensenada the most, despite what others have posted in the past, so it was nice to hear from somebody who enjoyed their time there.

 

Loved your pics, we're also in an SO room, which room were you in?

 

Thank you for taking the time to post!

[purplehair]

To Aisling323,Lauraapp,SueOverend

 

Aisling323, We were in room 9036.

 

Lauraapp, When you go to the Windjammer you do not have to let anyone know, you have the choice of going to either one anytime. As far as the tipping if we don't go to the dinning room at all we give out stateroom attendent a larger tip, their normal amount plus what we would have given the waiters.

 

SueOverend, The Hyatt was very nice, and the area is very nice too lots of places to eat and some shops are near by. The bed was very comfortable.

We made a prior reservation with Super Shuttle to take us to Long Beach. The price was $34.00 for the both of us. It took about 20 - 30 minutes from the airport on a Sunday, there were no traffic problems. The prior reservation was not really needed we would have been able to get a shuttle with no problem. When you go outside the airport from baggage claim look to your left for an orange sighn that says SHARED RIDE vans. The same for our return to the airport there are vans as you come out of the cruise terminal. Another company is called Prime Time we used them to get back to the airport, same price and again we had no traffic problems on a Friday morning.

The name of the cemetery is Westwood Memorial, you can get info on the internet about it. There is a list and a map of the people buried there. I would highly recommend our tour company Economy Tours, they also have a website Economytours.com It was a private tour and the cost was $160.00 for the both of us. We were on the tour from 9am until 3:30pm. Kim our tour guide picked us up from the Hyatt and returned us to the ship that afternoon for boarding. She knows all about the cemetery. I never knew it existed until she took us there. She gave us so much information I wish I had taken notes it's hard to remember everything. Her and her husband own the company. She is from Australia. To change the subject My Grandmother was from Guernsey Channell Island and my father was born in England. I have been to Guernsey and Jersey twice Where are you located?

 

Let me know if there's any more questions.:D

[beachdude395]

Ok, thanks for the info on the sea conditions. Looks like we will have some rain on my cruise, I am pretty sure there was rain when you were on the boat. What activities do they have inside when it rains?

[purplehair]

beachdude395

Actually it only sprinkled one afternoon. They had a band on the pool deck and the sprinkles didn't stop anyone from attending. I'm not sure what would happen if it poured all day.

[SueOverend]

Purplehair - thanks for all the really useful info. Can't seem to get the Economytours website at the moment, but I'll keep trying. Will definitely try and get to Westwood though. We've got 4 days in LA, so we should be able to see a fair bit. We're from Surrey, about 12 miles from central London. The Channel Islands are beautiful - only been the once, but you must try and get over some time.

[rubrrick]

Purplehair - thanks for all the really useful info. Can't seem to get the Economytours website at the moment, but I'll keep trying. Will definitely try and get to Westwood though. We've got 4 days in LA, so we should be able to see a fair bit. We're from Surrey, about 12 miles from central London. The Channel Islands are beautiful - only been the once, but you must try and get over some time.

 

Hi Sue............are you doing another Westerdam cruise? We are headed your way at the end of the month on the Jewel of the Seas, arriving in London on the 29th of May. Hope all is well there.

 

Rick

[SueOverend]

Hi Rick, no we couldn't get a good enough price on HAL, so we're trying RCI for the first time. Would love to see you and Bobbie when you're in London. Email me if you've got the time. Sue

[1st x sailer]

I really appreciate your wonderful review of the Monarch. My family and I will be on our first cruise with this ship in June, coming from Oklahoma. We also are coming a few nights to do some extra vacationing. I have a few questions that I don't think have been asked.

 

The super shuttle that you took from the airport - what time did you catch that? I will be returning my rental car to the airport and was considering taking the provided RCCL shuttle but the price with the Super Shuttles is easier to handle! Our cruise kicks off on a Monday but I don't know the time. How far is the ship from LAX? And how much time did you allow to get there?

 

Also, the golf cart you rented on one of the islands. How did you hear about that? Did you feel safe enough on the island to travel throughout the streets?

 

Any suggestions to make our first time cruise better would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[purplehair]

1st X Sailer,

Congratulations on your first cruise. Your gonna get hooked! We are around the same age so I know you are going to love all the activities. First of all I definitely want to go back to L.A. one day was not enough so see everything, we did see a lot thanks to our tour guide with Economy Tours, but I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back! I Loved It!!!

To answer your questions, when I made my reservation with Super Shuttle I told them what time my flight was getting into LAX. Now I know the reservation was not needed, as they have a location outside baggage claim (Big orange sighn, SHARED RIDE VANS) all you have to do is go to the orange sighn and they have an employee there to get you set up on a shuttle. You could drop your family off at the orange sighn, return your rental car and meet them there. It would take you about 20 - 30 minutes to get to the pier, depending on traffic and if the van makes other stops to drop off other people. We had no traffic problems. It was a Sunday. If you are leaving on a Monday you must be doing the four day cruise, if so the ship leaves at 5pm. You need to be there no later than 3:30. It wasn't too busy then so we had no problems checking in. I would recommend the online check in and print your boarding passes, It speeds things along.

 

We were on Catalina Island when we rented the golf carts. Catalina is a part of L.A. county so yes you are very safe there, as safe as any other U.S.. port. I had heard about the carts from Cruise Critic. I noticed there wasn't many excursions for Catalina so we decided to wait till we got there to decide what to do. There are several places to rent the carts, there are a lot of carts so they won't run out. They give you a map and it's not a big place so you really can't get lost. Total driving time if you didn't stop would be a hour. It was great fun, if you have kid's they will love it. It was just me and my mom and we felt very safe there. It is so beautiful there. You see the island from a different perspective on the cart because you drive up the mountain. You basically make a circle aound the developed part of the island. They have different size carts depending on the size of your family.

We stopped o take pictures and stopped at the Botanical Gardens and we had the cart for an hour and a half. I highly recommend it!!!

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Oh, on the ship don't miss the Quest it's very funny but is is an adult thing they usually do it around 10 or 10:30pm.