Just back from Monarch 3 day...July 16th Sailing

[birdie16]

Quick cruise so I will give you a quick review. I leave in two days for my Alaska cruise and need to wash clothes and pack!

 

I went with a girl friend who has never cruised before; she is hooked on cruising...so I guess a 3 day is a good cruise to "find out if you like it". One comment from her is 3 days is too short, she was just sort of getting the hang of it and it was time to go home.

 

Embarkation...we were on the ship by 1100. We were in the very first group thanks to my "Platinum" status. Our cabin was not ready yet, and the hallways were closed off so we went up to the Windjammer for our first meal, by the time we were finished eating we were able to drop our carry-on bags in the cabin.

 

Ship...very good shape! This is a small but beautiful ship with much to offer. The only bad area was the pools...one was not filled on boarding day and all during the cruise one was so green it should have been closed. I don't know if this is because they are converting them to fresh water or what, but having a pool of my own I decided not to chance it. Our cabin was the expected small cabin on the 6th "Tween" deck...I did love our cabin location. The track was above us but we did not find it a problem at all. The only cabin related problem we had was our connecting door. Our cabin steward forgot to lock our connecting door and the neighbors thought it would be fun to open it and caught us getting ready for bed! He didn't even apologize...or close the door until we asked him! We waited about a half hour for security to come up and lock the door with a key. Also, in the connecting cabins you miss some storage and vanity area...area you need...so if you are not traveling with a family and need the connecting door...make sure you don't have one.

 

Cabin Steward...didn't really see him...he did his job, but we didn't know who he was...in fact, we couldn't even find him to give him his tip! We left the envelope in the cabin...a first for me. We did not have turn down service the first night...did after that, complete with towel animals and mints.

 

Crowd...I was expecting a wild drinking crowd and many children, we had neither. There was a very large tour group from Taiwan...that was the only noticeable crowded feeling. when they were grouped in the Centrum or other areas waiting for their translators.

 

RCCI did a fabulous job pairing us at a table with four other gals on a "girl trip" and we had a wonderful time...even though our waiters were pathetic! In fact, our waiters were so bad the Head Waiter waited on us himself...which turned out to be fun. We had a ball, maybe BECAUSE of all the foul ups...it really made it interesting. I believe it is true that this is a "training" ship.

 

Food...very, very good in the dining room, in fact, improved from last July...and I don't feel it was bad then. The food in the Windjammer and Windjammer Jade were also good, we did not have sushi in Jade so I can't comment on that.

 

The cruise director was Matt Sole, he was ok...not great, but on a three day cruise you really don't get a chance to get to see much of him anyway, however, since he is responsible for all the entertainment and activities I should say he was very good!

 

Entertainment...the show was "Fast Forward", I have seen it 3 times...this time I would rate it in the middle of the other two times I saw it. There was also a juggler that was very funny, a Motown type singer that was ok...except when he had several men from the audience pretend to be "Temptations" and that was a hoot! There was a comedian that we only found funny at the adult show...in "adult" form he was hilarious!

 

There was an excellent guitar player, steel band by the pool, jazz quartet in the Centrum, Latin Band, DJ and other bands we did not see. We passed though the Schooner Bar and heard enough of Angelo to know he has trouble remembering the words to his songs, but he seemed to have a following anyway.

 

About entertainment on this ship...just like the last time I cruised the Monarch, the Dueling Pianos were worth the price of the cruise! Don't miss them...these two were different than last summer and will be leaving the Monarch in a couple of weeks...but I have a feeling they will be replaced by another pair just as good...because last summer we thought they couldn't top the two we saw...this cruise Mike and Amy did!

 

Ports. This cruise only has one port...Ensenada...last Monarch cruise I found out I actually liked this port! This cruise we did the Fox Studio Tour which took all day so we did not have time to check out Pappa's...boo hoo. We really enjoyed Fox Studio, the drive was a little over an hour each way...and it was beautiful! The drive reminded us both of Big Sur...if you don't mind using up your whole day, this is a great tour.

 

Sea Day...we cruised a little in the morning then dropped anchor...we saw many dolphins and whales! Yes, whales!!!! There was a huge pod of whales; I even have some footage of the tail of a couple of whales. I was very surprised to see whales in the summertime, but they put on a very nice show while we were anchored near Catalina.

 

Debarkation...we were having breakfast in the dining room and had to cut it short because they called our tags at 0830! We had white tags...I had a passport and was off the ship with my luggage picked up by 0845. My friend forgot to bring her birth certificate and if it had not been for her Costco Card she would still be in Mexico! That's right...her Costco Card! She had her drivers' license but they insisted on another form of photo I.D. and you would not believe how the treated her like a terrorist. It took her until around 0945 to be cleared.

 

I guess this wasn't as short a review as I thought! If you have any questions, I will try to answer them for you.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thank you for your review!! Have fun in Alaska, can't wait to read all about it :D