Monarch - Just Back from a 4-Night

[ladylawyer]

Hi! SakeDad (Nathan) did a great review of the 3-Night Monarch cruise. I just returned from a 4-Night, which has 2 more ports than the 3-Night, so I thought I'd offer to answer any questions. I'll do a better review later, but the quick things (before I collapse) are: Captain Hakan Lindegren left for vacation at the same time we left. We were told that the new Captain is a Croatian, but no one knew the name.

 

The best news is that Marc Walker is back as the CD. I really enjoyed him! His Quest was a bit tamer than the Quest that we saw in December, when Moe was CD, but I actually liked Marc's better. He didn't ask for the "same old things," so there was less opportunity for the ones who "come prepared" (you know what I mean).

 

Danny League, the Loyalty Ambassador continues to live up to his reputation as the best in the fleet. He threw a fabulous Platinum & Diamond Party! We had the opportunity to get to know Trudy Julius, the Guest Relations Manager. She was absolutely the most professional and personable staff member we've dealt with, in all of our cruises. Anyone who is lucky enough to get Oscar, as their Cabin Attendant, will be more than pleased. I wish that I could say he was our Cabin Attendant, but ours was not as wonderful. However, Oscar took great care of my parents, who were on their first cruise, ever.

 

I was disappointed in Dueling Pianos, in Boleros. They reminded me of that parody of lounge singers on Saturday Night Live. It was "Jeff" and a woman whose name I could never understand. I was hoping that "Steve" and his partner would still be on the ship, but ... we must have missed him.

 

The absolute highlight of our cruise was the private tour of the Bridge by the Captain! Luckily for my parents and me, DH was there to ask some very intelligent questions (I just wouldn't have had a clue what to ask), and the Captain was very gracious with his time and information.

 

Well, this was longer than I planned, but only covered the highlights. Ask away. I'll do a more in-depth review over the weekend.

[Merion_Mom]

I was disappointed in Dueling Pianos, in Boleros. They reminded me of that parody of lounge singers on Saturday Night Live. It was "Jeff" and a woman whose name I could never understand. I was hoping that "Steve" and his partner would still be on the ship, but ... we must have missed him.

 

Rhiannon?

 

How did you rate a bridge tour, Lorna?

 

I'm so happy that you had a great cruise!

 

;)

[ladylawyer]

That's probably her name. It was really hard to understand over the speakers. I thought it was odd that their names were nowhere on the Cruise Compass.

 

The bridge tour was great. Captain Hakan was very gracious with his time. DH continually surprises me with his field of knowledge, and asked good questions. It was interesting to see all the computers, but also noted that they use radar and celestial navigation, as well.

 

It was such an honor to take the tour. My parents were so impressed! Several times, every day, I gave mental thanks to my Cruise Critic friends for all the great information I have received from them. So, let me give my written thanks, now! Thank you all for your help and wisdom! ~ Lorna

[GMoney]

 

Danny League, the Loyalty Ambassador continues to live up to his reputation as the best in the fleet. He threw a fabulous Platinum & Diamond Party!

 

 

Hi - Just wondering if you spoke with Danny. Is he still married? How are his kids? :)

[St.Love]

Waterlyric :) , hey there! PM me when you get back! I want to know how yout trip went and have some info for ya :rolleyes:

[ADeputy4U]

Well, this was longer than I planned, but only covered the highlights. Ask away. I'll do a more in-depth review over the weekend.

 

Lorna, in your review, you'll have to tell me how it went with Bill's shirt too.

[DBDB9116]

Lorna,

Glad you had a good time. Did you attend an art auction? What day was it, do you know? Do you have a Compass you could post online so that I could see it. I am cruising the Monarch in July for the first time.

 

Thanks.

[aisling323]

Lorna, thank you so much for the review. Since I'm heading down to San Pedro tomorrow for a Monday boarding on the 4-nighter, I was hoping you would post something before I left.

 

How was the weather? Warm enough for pool lounging? How about the tenders in Catalina, did you have a long wait? Did you hit the maritime museum in San Diego, and if so, how was it?

 

Too bad Dueling Pianos was sub-par. I was really looking forward to that show, since we went to one at Harrah's in Vegas and it was truly the highlight of our shows on the trip-better than the ones that we paid for!

 

How awesome that you got to tour the bridge and you must have been beaming with pride over your DH. Thanks again, glad you had fun.

[cruisefromct]

Good morning Lorna!! Can't believe you are posting already. Just got home last night around 11:30. Went to the private departure lounge and was sad that you and Bill weren't there. Wanted to say a last good bye and wish you a safe trip home.

 

Had a great time on this cruise, very relaxing. Last night I called DB and told him about it and that I won a medal. Thanks for including me on your trivia team, that was fun. The best part was beating that couple. Ha ha!

 

Hope that your parents enjoyed their first (hopefully of many) cruise. Please tell Bill that one of the boat people said hi.

 

Lisa

------------

Carnival Festival-January 1992

Empress of the Seas-August 1993

Majesty of the Seas-August 1994

RCI Song of America-April 1995

Club Med I-May 1996

Rhapsody of the Seas-October 1997

Norwegian Majesty-August 1998

Adventure of the Seas-April 2002

Serenade of the Seas-March 2004

Diamond Princess-January 2005

Zuiderdam-November 2005

Enchantment of the Seas-December 2005

Jewel of the Seas-March 2006

Monarch of the Seas-May 2006

Radiance of the Seas-May 2006

Freedom of the Seas-September 2006

[ricko1]

We couldn't agree more about Danney and Trudy. They are the best!

[ladylawyer]

Sorry I've been off all day. The little Village we live in has its semi-annual festivals today and we were in the Parade this morning. I was up at the crack of dawn, decorating the '56 Chevy and buying candy to toss at the kids.

 

Patrick: DH and I spent a lot of time with Danny. He is so wonderful! He had a picture of his little boy on his computer. What a cutie. He also told us that when people ask him if he's married, he says, "Yes, but I'm divorcing." Does that answer your question?

 

Asiling323: I hope you are able to read this before you board on Monday. The weather was overcast ... pretty typical for coastal Southern CA in May/June. In fact, it was the same, throughout the cruise, as it was at my parents' home in Newport Beach. That said, it was not too cold (although I did see a couple on the pool deck, determined to "lay out," who were freezing their butts off). The heaviest thing I wore was my sweatshirt. Most of the time, I was in capris and Lisa, my fellow Trivia Queen ( ;) ), was often seen wearing shorts. Still, considering that it had rained the week before, no one was complaining! I did see people in the pool on Ensenada day.

 

Tendering was hit or miss. If you arrived as the tender did, you had to wait until it was full. There are 2: a large and a less-large one. We waited for up to 30 minutes to leave and, honestly, the waiting on the tenders was cold. However, we were near a door, so that may have been most of the problem. Also, the tenders don't have stabilizers and another CC member's DH missed going to Catalina because sitting on the tender was too much for his stomach. If you have problems w/ motion sickness, try to be one of the last on the boat. The wait for tenders in Catalina was about 30 minutes, as well. I didn't think it was that bad. However, we were having such a great time, the very last thing I was going to do was complain.

 

DH and my Dad went to the Midway Museum. I'm not sure if that's the maritime museum you mean. DH's brother was stationed on the Midway, so it was the main reason we took The Parental Units on this cruise. He said that they had a great time. He commented that the bridge on the Monarch was much more plush than the one on the Midway.

 

Tony, incredibly, 3 of the 4 men at our dinner table are Masons (my Dad is not)! They recognized DH's ring, before he even had the chance to wear his shirt. We had a great table. I've mentioned this before, and got flamed for it, so I'll start by saying that my observation is not a complaint or criticism but just my observation. Normally, we eat at the second seating. I tend to refer to the main/first seating as for "families and geezers." But, w/ my parents along, we chose main seating. True to my observation, our table was mostly folks my parents' age and older (they're in their 70s) but really great people! In fact, one of our tablemates (Julie) easily put me to shame during Quest.

 

DH wore his shirt on Catalina and was greeted by several men, both from the ship and not. It was a big part of what made this cruise our best ever!

 

DBDB9119, as soon as we finish unpacking, I'll let you know if there was an art auction before the one we watched on Thursday. We noticed that there was an "art auction education" class on Wednesday, so Thursday may have been the only one. It was in Boleros, and we sat at the bar (drinking a Mojito - the best I've had), and watched. The auctioneer was a bit miffed, a couple of times, when people wouldn't bid on an item (usually a Thomas Kincaid). One time he demanded to know who put the painting up (we learned that you have the opportunity to request that an item be put up for bid, prior to the auction). When no one 'fessed up, he was pretty snotty about it. We kept hearing about all the art in his home. (He must live in a museum.) I didn't see anything sell for less than $110 and watched one piece sell for $19K. The Rembrandt etchings stayed in Park West's collection. It was interesting to watch. Some of the people were a hoot (especially one lady in the back who appeared to be enjoying the champagne, a lot)!

 

Any other questions?

[SakeDad]

Lorna! SO glad you had a great trip!:D And thanks for mentioning my review;)

You're right, those are the BEST mojitos ever! It helps that the bartenders in Boleros all seem to be from the Caribbean.

Sounds like you had a few people by the pool that we did....I called them "nanooks of the north out for a tan!", all bundled up but MUST be by the pool:rolleyes:

Can't wait for your LONG review! And like you, I also thank all the wonderful CC'ers here that made the cruise so much better for me and my mom.

[renata102]

That's probably her name. It was really hard to understand over the speakers. I thought it was odd that their names were nowhere on the Cruise Compass.

 

The bridge tour was great. Captain Hakan was very gracious with his time. DH continually surprises me with his field of knowledge, and asked good questions. It was interesting to see all the computers, but also noted that they use radar and celestial navigation, as well.

 

It was such an honor to take the tour. My parents were so impressed! Several times, every day, I gave mental thanks to my Cruise Critic friends for all the great information I have received from them. So, let me give my written thanks, now! Thank you all for your help and wisdom! ~ Lorna

 

 

how do you get invited to a bridge tour?

[MissKise]

Thanks for the quick review. We live in so Calif. and enjoy taking a quick run down to San Pedro for a relaxing four day trip every chance we get. The ship is nice, the staff treats us well and we can really relax.

 

Also glad to hear that Marc is back. Mo is good, but we did miss Marc.

 

The weather is starting to clear here in so Calif so next week may luck out and see some more sun than we have had recently. It has been really cloudy and little sun, with pretty cool temps.

 

Enjoy !

[ladylawyer]

Renata, generally, the bridge tour is reserved for Diamond+ C&A Members. However, DH is a Mason and one of his "brothers" arranged for us to have this special honor. I hope you'll be so fortunate, some day.

 

Nathan, I'm working on the Long Review. However, most of it is in this thread, so I may just do it in drips and drops, instead.

 

The most important thing to remember, on the Monarch, is to relax and have fun! Our cabin attendant was not the best, although he was kind enough to swap us a "mattress with springs," when he couldn't find an egg crate topper. I've spent so many nights on those awful foam mattresses, that it was great to have a thicker mattress. I did give our attendant a $20 up front tip, and mentioned that I liked towel animals and DH liked to have the ice bucket filled. He was pretty good w/ the ice, but there was no towel animal the first night. Big deal! It didn't ruin my cruise.

 

The carpet in the halls (we were on Deck 10) were water stained (I'd heard that there was some flooding on Deck 10, right after she came out of dry dock). Whatever. I just walked on them the same as if they'd been pristine.

 

There were waits for tendering and for breakfast in the diningroom. It gave me time to enjoy other parts of the ship and to shop a little while longer. Stuff happens. You make your own happiness. I say this because there was a couple on board who appeared to really be having a miserable time. We saw them at Trivia (they insisted in playing alone, even though you can have up to 6 on a team). They got all snotty when the staff member gave them a prize they had already won. They asked for something different and, when something else was produced, they complained that they already had that too, so they'd rather just have nothing! :eek: We asked them if they'd like to join our team: No, she said. They'd rather play alone. Then she added, "I know that's rude." My response, "Just so you know." When they lost that game, they left in a huff. They never looked like they were having a good time. I'm so sorry for them. I had a great time; even when we lost in Trivia.

 

My wish for all my CC friends: Have a great time! You absolutely will!!!

[ADeputy4U]

Our cabin attendant was not the best. I did give our attendant a $20 up front tip, and mentioned that I liked towel animals and DH liked to have the ice bucket filled. He was pretty good w/ the ice, but there was no towel animal the first night. Big deal! It didn't ruin my cruise.=quote]

 

Lorna, did you stay in the suites near GS 1032, where the Attendants name was Eric? If so, I have to agree with your assessment of him (not the best). :( :(

[waterlyric]

I was on this same cruise, and we had the most wonderful time!! It was great getting to meet you and Bill, Lorna, and Lisa as well. I have to say that I was utterly unimpressed with Ensenada (besides our tour guide out to La Bufadora, Hans, who was pretty informative and entertaining), it was probably the lowest point of my entire experience (up to and including Eric having an entire day of stomach issues!) However, it wouldn't prevent me from doing this exact same itinerary again!

[waterlyric]

I forgot to mention that we had the most fabulous cabin attendant on deck 3! (Sorry to hear yours wasn't so great, Lorna) Gary was extremely thorough, and we actually decided against tipping upfront. He had no problem keeping our ice bucket filled, and always had the silliest towel animals waiting for Ashton when we'd return to the cabin. We frequently saw him in the hallway and he always called us by name. He was definitely part of what made me love our experience!

[ladylawyer]

Barbie, pop over to the Roll Call Board. There's a message for you, there.

 

Tony, we were in 1064, with Craig. He wasn't bad; just unimpressive. Somewhat coincidentally (maybe), our tablemates had cabins on either side of ours. They said that they never saw Craig, not even to introduce himself at the beginning of the cruise.

 

I'm glad that your attendant was good, Barbie. My Parents' attendant, Oscar, was outstanding! They were in 9054. If anyone has Oscar, please give him my regards, too.

[Merion_Mom]

Lorna, the only time that we sailed in a GS (on the Enchantment last summer), the people in the GS next to us were also our tablemates! NOT a coincidence, methinks. :)

[Michelle!]

Wow - sounds like you had a great time! I can picture the art auction guy now, was he Canadian by chance ?

 

If it's the same guy as in December, he does have a little teenie tiny attitude issue.

 

Interesting to hear your opinions! Thanks Lorna

[realent]

Tony, we were in 1064, with Craig. He wasn't bad; just unimpressive. Somewhat coincidentally (maybe), our tablemates had cabins on either side of ours. They said that they never saw Craig, not even to introduce himself at the beginning of the cruise.

 

I'm glad that your attendant was good, Barbie. My Parents' attendant, Oscar, was outstanding! They were in 9054. If anyone has Oscar, please give him my regards, too.

 

Your reviews are GREAT Lorna. Thanks,,,We have 4 Jr suites on deck 10 and 4 oceanviews on deck 9...I love a good cabin attendant. We are in 1044, 1542,1544,1086,9560,9566,9568,9570. Hope we get lucky!:cool:

[cruisefromct]

Hi Barbie! Sorry that Ensenada was disappointing. I went on the winery tour everyone talked about. It was a good tour to do. The only problem came when I was back on the shipt, I think I got whatever stomach problems Eric had. Nothing like getting sick the night before leaving the ship. Feeling better and hope your DH is too.

 

I agree with Lorna-the thing to do on the Monarch is relax. As I mentioned to her, it is so much different than a Caribbean cruise. A slower pace, you are the only ship in port, colder weather (sorry I had to add that one) ;) Definately enjoyable and if I didn't have to fly across the country I would do it again this year.

 

Lisa

------------

Carnival Festival-January 1992

Empress of the Seas-August 1993

Majesty of the Seas-August 1994

RCI Song of America-April 1995

Club Med I-May 1996

Rhapsody of the Seas-October 1997

Norwegian Majesty-August 1998

Adventure of the Seas-April 2002

Serenade of the Seas-March 2004

Diamond Princess-January 2005

Zuiderdam-November 2005

Enchantment of the Seas-December 2005

Jewel of the Seas-March 2006

Monarch of the Seas-May 2006

Radiance of the Seas-May 2006

Freedom of the Seas-September 2006

[ladylawyer]

Michelle, yes the art auction guy was Canadian. For some reason, I was thinking Vancouver but I might be wrong about that ... but definitely Canadian. It cracked me up, when he was insisting that the person who put up the Kincaid but didn't bid raise their hand. I was wondering if he was going to make them stand in the corner or such. ;)

 

Carol, I hadn't noticed the commonality of rooms on prior sailings. It makes sense that they'd group people in similar cabin classes, but it really never occurred to me before this cruise. I guess I'm a little slow ...

 

Lisa, are you going to tell them about the "guy" ...? Without a doubt, this fits into the "oddest thing you've seen on a cruise" category. Tell 'em, Lisa. You saw him first!!! ~ L

[cruisefromct]

Lorna, I will leave the story telling to you. Was the strangest thing I saw, told Mike about it and he said it was some kind of fetish thing. All I can say is that "he" seemed to enjoy it too much.

 

Lisa