Monarch - News Flash!!!

[RDeagazio]

To the poster that claims he knows for sure the Grandeur will not be stretched in 2008-- You're wrong! It has already been aprroved by RCI Execs. That has nothing to do with her 2007 drydock, since the 2007 drydock will be for routine maintenance and new bedding etc. Look for her to go into an extended drydock in the Spring of 2008 for the major stretching.

 

As for the Monarch-- It is possible she could be lengthened. However the French build ships are not as easy to cut in half as the Finnish build ships. It seems the French don't "stack" the blocks up directly on top of one another. Instead they stagger them horizontially like building a brick wall- this makes cutting the ship in half a little more tricky. This is the reason RCI decided not to stretch the Vision and Rhapsody. Perhaps the Monarch is easier to cut due to her different design?? Either way it is possible to cut the French build ships- it's just not as easy or as cheap. It would make good sense for them to stretch the Monarch-- she sails full all the time and the extra beds are much needed.

 

Now onto the topic of a Voyager class ship coming out West. RCI had planned to send a ship out here for some time. Originally they planned for the Navigator to make the trip but it's very possible the Adventure is now the chosen ship. At any rate, the itineraries are already worked out around S. America for the 30 plus day repo. The biggest problem with a Voyager class ship on this coast is the lack of drydock facilities on the mainland. Currently the closest drydock that can handle a Voyager class ship is in Hawaii. I have no doubt that eventually we will get a Voyager class ship out here at some point.

 

Look for RCI to repo one of the Radiance class ships to Australia and New Zealand in 2008. Originally the plan was to send Serenade.

[GMoney]

I'd love to be on that Voyager class ship repo to the west coast!

[mohavemommy]

Poor Danney! He's going to be inundated with questions about all of this for the next six months!

 

Danney knows about this for sure since he is the host of the C&A party. :p

 

For those of you who know him... and those that don't yet... here is a pic of him I took on our last cruise doing his duty that day! :D

[GMoney]

Is Danny still "married?"

[ladylawyer]

Is Danny still "married?"

 

Patrick, you asked me that question, in my review of a 4-night Monarch cruise, last May (and I responded, as Danney and I talked about that, at the time).

 

Last weekend, I mentioned to him that you'd posed that question. Not knowing your last name, I mentioned your first name and screen name. He didn't seem to recognize you and wondered why you wanted to know. :confused:

[GMoney]

Patrick, you asked me that question, in my review of a 4-night Monarch cruise, last May (and I responded, as Danney and I talked about that, at the time).

 

Last weekend, I mentioned to him that you'd posed that question. Not knowing your last name, I mentioned your first name and screen name. He didn't seem to recognize you and wondered why you wanted to know. :confused:

 

Wow - don't you have the memory! :D Just wondering, that's all. While I've sailed with Danny twice, I'm not on a first name basis with him like you are, so I'm not surprised he wouldn't recall. So anyway, is he still married? I think he adopted a child, or was having one, I can't recall...

[ladylawyer]

Wow - don't you have the memory! :D Just wondering, that's all. While I've sailed with Danny twice, I'm not on a first name basis with him like you are, so I'm not surprised he wouldn't recall. So anyway, is he still married? I think he adopted a child, or was having one, I can't recall...

 

You know, Patrick, I'm one of those evil attorneys who has to have facts at their fingertips at all times! ;) :D

 

He does have a little boy ... so cute ... who's 15 months old now. He did not volunteer any additional information on his marital status.

[GMoney]

Facts are good! I'm sure you are very good at what you do. I enjoy your posts and I like your Henry avatar!

[ladylawyer]

Ah yes, Henry! I was shocked, last weekend, to find that the wonderful Emmy, cabin steward extraordinaire, used an upright! :eek: So I went hunting for Henry. He was waiting for me, down the hall. He greeted me, like a long lost friend ... and then he stole my pink Crocs!!! :eek: I was able to capture a picture, as he fled with them, and will post it ... as soon as I figure out how to do that :o

[PhoenixCruiser]

Now that I have my morning tea..............I started thinking........maybe they will stretch it vertically by 4 inches on each deck..........so those over 6 feet, don't have to duck under doorways??:D :D

 

Rick

 

Oh my that is funny Rick :D My hubby is 6'4" and always felt the need to duck ;)

 

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[Guest LetMeGo]

As for the Monarch-- It is possible she could be lengthened. However the French build ships are not as easy to cut in half as the Finnish build ships. It seems the French don't "stack" the blocks up directly on top of one another. Instead they stagger them horizontially like building a brick wall- this makes cutting the ship in half a little more tricky. This is the reason RCI decided not to stretch the Vision and Rhapsody. Perhaps the Monarch is easier to cut due to her different design?? Either way it is possible to cut the French build ships- it's just not as easy or as cheap. It would make good sense for them to stretch the Monarch-- she sails full all the time and the extra beds are much needed.

 

Or maybe it just is in better condition than than Vision or Rhapsody, and they intend to keep her longer? Or maybe they want to see if it's scheaper to extend a different class of ships? :D

 

As far as I know, it's only a matter of aesthetics whether the ship is cut from the seam of from the middle of the block. Either way you'll have the firewalls on top of each other as natural dividers, and you're still going to have to cut through that 2,000 feet of 1/3 - 1 inch steel with blowtorches. ;)

[shipknotshore]

Poor Danney! He's going to be inundated with questions about all of this for the next six months!

 

I think a CC members' cruise on Monarch would be a hoot, don't you? How about Presidents' Day weekend?

 

No kidding.....we Monarch cruisers tend to want to know what's happening with our "little" ship. Danny will no doubt be busy answering a ton of questions.

 

I'm all for a CC members' cruise....count us in.

 

See you in November Jean.

[rubrrick]

Have you bonked your head a couple of times, Rick?:eek:

 

I also noticed that the original dissenter said that it's "difficult" to cut the Monarch and stretch her. Difficult does not mean impossible in my book - plus it was announced in front of senior officers and a whole slew of people.

 

So, we'll wait to hear from others who sail on her in the meantime.:D:D

 

Fran in Toronto

 

Better late than never on responses.

 

I'm 5'7", but my real estate partner is 6'4"...............sort of like mutt and Jeff. When we held our board meeting on the Monarch last year.........he felt like he had to constantly duck. He now thinks that all cruise ships are like the Monarch......and being vertically challenged.........and I not talking about being short............well, it will be awhile before I can get him back aboard another ship.

 

Rick

[wrp96]

Ah yes, Henry! I was shocked, last weekend, to find that the wonderful Emmy, cabin steward extraordinaire, used an upright! :eek: So I went hunting for Henry. He was waiting for me, down the hall. He greeted me, like a long lost friend ... and then he stole my pink Crocs!!! :eek: I was able to capture a picture, as he fled with them, and will post it ... as soon as I figure out how to do that :o

 

Lorna, I figured out how to post pictures to CC last night. Email it to me and I'll post it!

[ladylawyer]

Lorna, I figured out how to post pictures to CC last night. Email it to me and I'll post it!

 

Thanks Wrona ... as soon as I get it out of my camera! :o

[rubrrick]

Poor Danney! He's going to be inundated with questions about all of this for the next six months!

 

Rick, I'm so honored to have made your short list. I think a CC members' cruise on Monarch would be a hoot, don't you? How about Presidents' Day weekend?

 

Wrona, I want an email, too!

 

Not a bad idea.......Jean.......and RCCL could raise the price by $50.00 per person............and give out all kinds of goodies........as they do on other members cruises. Maybe we should suggest to corporate that they contemplate such a cruise.

 

The only problem.............the Monarch sails "to capacity" about 92% of the time.

 

Rick

[wrp96]

Thanks Wrona ... as soon as I get it out of my camera! :o

 

Sorry can't help you with that. I've had my digital camera for 3.5 years and only figured out how to get the photos out of the camera in the past year. Technically inclined I am not!

[happysinglemom]

...and I would HATE to see her moved to CA.:( I love that ship, and would most likely never see her again if she berthed on the west coast.

 

If it is true she is moving, I wonder if her replacement will be the new Genesis?? But that one is not due till 2009.

[ladylawyer]

Poor Danney! He's going to be inundated with questions about all of this for the next six months!

 

Trust me, Danney knows about the stretch ... since he's the one who made the announcement at the P-D Reception! :)

[rubrrick]

Rick, Ally and I were standing at the elevators on Deck 5, and I realized that the ceiling was so low that I could reach up and touch it. We both commented on how uncomfortable it must be for 6' and up passengers. I think your solution is the best one! :rolleyes:

 

Morning tea, huh? What's your favorite "flavor?" I'm trying to like green tea, but as a coffee addict, it's pretty weak for me. I'm looking for a tea that's more full bodied. Any suggestions? ~ L

 

Lorna............I live on Red Rose tea. Something that my mother had from the time that I was a child. It's an English tea.........composed of black tea. I take it where ever I travel.

 

The standing order for our cabin is...........one pot of coffee, one pot of hot water.......and one bucket of ice!!

 

Oh, did I mention that I like "iced tea"? That's my favorite......fresh brewed........and served over ice. When we were in England this spring.......it took a lot of work to make the inn keepers know that I needed ice first thing in the morning. They must have thought that since I ended my day with a martini.............I must be starting my next one with the same!!!:D :D

[PhoenixCruiser]

...and I would HATE to see her moved to CA.:( I love that ship, and would most likely never see her again if she berthed on the west coast.

 

If it is true she is moving, I wonder if her replacement will be the new Genesis?? But that one is not due till 2009.

 

I thought the new Liberty was going to be based in San Juan :confused:

 

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[rubrrick]

I'll take it from you, Tero. Really interesting reading all this about how the ships are built. Didn't know Aker had bought Chantiers....would you be able to get a job over there?

 

Is it still raining in Finland ???? or have you seen the sun a little? Already getting cold nights here - down to 10 degrees tonight. Frost isn't far off....I want to go camping Thanksgiving weekend (which for us is October 10), DH just said "Brrrrrrr.":eek:

 

Fran in Toronto

 

Tero............I take it that you work for Akers in Finland. We sailed past the the Helsinki Aker works.........and that is a very impressive building.

 

When I'm aboard this coming weekend.........I'll have a chance to ask where RCCl is planning to send the Monarch for her stretch!!

 

Rick

[wrp96]

I thought the new Liberty was going to be based in San Juan :confused:

 

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Not the Liberty but the 3rd, as yet unnamed, Freedom class ship.

[Guest LetMeGo]

Tero............I take it that you work for Akers in Finland. We sailed past the the Helsinki Aker works.........and that is a very impressive building.

 

When I'm aboard this coming weekend.........I'll have a chance to ask where RCCl is planning to send the Monarch for her stretch!!

 

Rick

 

I did work there earlier, but they downsized the Helsinki yard quite a lot when after the Spirit class of cruise ships they only worked on an icebreaker and and arctic container vessel... I did write my BEng work on electrical distribution aboard cruise ships at that time, but got a job in a regular engineering office instead because I didn't even consider moving to Turku.

 

I take it that you mean the world's largest covered drydock, which was supposed to be an advantage in competition when it was built? :D I think that sealed the fate of the Helsinki yard as it's practically impossible to extend the drydock from its current Panamax size.

 

As for the extending of Monarch... I think they're going to rely on the yard that originally built it, especially now that it's under the Aker corporation. It's the most practical solution to have them design the extension, and it's impossible to do the actual extension in Finland. The Keppel yard in Holland is still of course an option, but the work between the three yards on the Enchantment wasn't quite as easy as the finished product would suggest. :eek:

[Guest LetMeGo]

I'll take it from you, Tero. Really interesting reading all this about how the ships are built. Didn't know Aker had bought Chantiers....would you be able to get a job over there?

 

Is it still raining in Finland ???? or have you seen the sun a little? Already getting cold nights here - down to 10 degrees tonight. Frost isn't far off....I want to go camping Thanksgiving weekend (which for us is October 10), DH just said "Brrrrrrr.":eek:

 

Why would passengers be interested in how the ships are built? :D

No wonder you didnt know about it, as it was only a few months ago... And it doesn't really matter to the people sailing on the ships. ;)

I think I would rather choose the Fincantieri yard, because it's the Mediterranean instead of the Atlantic. :D

 

There has been about two hours of rain in Helsinki the whole summer, as far as I've seen... But at least the temperature's down to 20 degrees C when the sun isn't shining all the time. And there isn't as much smoke coming from the Russian forest fires anymore, so you can actually see in the streets. :p