Monarch of the Seas 6/12/06 Review

[Sailfish]

We've done both RCI So Cal shipes, the Monarch and the Vision, and for me, I like the towels by the pool versus being in the stateroom! Less for me to carry and I can take an extra one or two fully cover the chair! I hate it when my feet hit that hot bar at the end of the chair! You can exchange wet for dry whenever, without having to find an attendant.

 

The only caveat is that on the last full day, if you want to swim past about 2:00 pm, you'll need to grab some extra, dry towels as they seem to shut off the fresh supply at about that time. On our first Monarch trip, on the last sea day, there were no clean towels from about 3:00 pm on. We were pretty wet back to the room as it was too cold to drip dry on deck.

 

There are beach sized towels out by the pool, and I didn't have any issues with that. But if you go snorkeling or to the beach while in port, the staff will not allow you to take the pool towels off the ship if they see you with them. The towels they used to leave you in your cabin were meant to be take off the ship while on shore excursions. They have always had towels by the pool readily available on the Monarch, but as we were going kayaking and snorkeling while in Catalina, I wish I had known to take some twels from home. I wonder if this is the case on all Royal Caribbean ships now? I hope not!

 

I took 2 towels from the pool the day before and hid them. I felt a little awkward taking them off the ship, but was not caught, as I hid them deep in my backpack. But people behind us had their's taken away. And another couple said they too took towels from the pool the day before and their cabin steward took them as well. When confronted, the cabin stweard said they can purchase towels from the gift shop or in port!!

 

I ran into a travel agent who was hosting a group aboard the Monarch; she purchased one towel for each cabin in her group - a group perk I suppose, so some people are aware of this. I had no idea!

 

Suzi

[critterchick]

Thanks for posting that review. I'm just shaking my head about the towel thing, though. They honestly expect passengers to pack their own????

 

We're just on the 3-day this weekend, and will only have Ensenada, where we'll just wander into town to look at the art galleries that were featured in the LA Times a couple of weeks ago, so towels won't be an issue, but still...

[ladylawyer]

In my posting, I didn't say the lounge wasn't there, just the check-in process :) .Suzi

 

Ah, my mistake, Suzi! :o You're correct. There was no special check-in in the lounge; you just went to the special line in the area with everyone else. However, we were there so early, last month, that we walked right up to the counter and we on our way to the lounge in short time. I thought it was the same way, last December, but I remembered that we were so late that we also just walked up to the counter and the lounge was empty, by then.

 

Thanks for the clarification! ~ LL

[Sailfish]

Thanks for posting that review. I'm just shaking my head about the towel thing, though. They honestly expect passengers to pack their own????

 

We're just on the 3-day this weekend, and will only have Ensenada, where we'll just wander into town to look at the art galleries that were featured in the LA Times a couple of weeks ago, so towels won't be an issue, but still...

 

It could be the cruise line figures that the Baja California itinerary the Monarch sails doesn't require towels for going ashore. Like you, 99% of people will not be heading to the beach while in Ensenada. Even on the four night itinerary, I'm sure it's a much smaller percentage of people who get wet while ashore in Catalina or San Diego than it is in the Caribbean. Eliminating the need to wash hundreds of large towels saves a lot of money, I am sure.

 

My gripe is it would have been good to know. Not even my TA was aware of this! A better move would have been to offer cabin beach towels when they are in demand the most - in the summer! And get rid of them the rest of the year!

 

I'll be going on another cruise this fall aboard the Brilliance - but no chance of us going for a dip in the ocean this time around. I wonder if they will have stateroom beach towels - my guess is no! But I for one have no intention of going for a swim in the cold Pacific!

 

Suzi