Monarch back-to-back cruise review

[lephysteria]

ok - and you didn't want to dance!! heehee!! sounds like you guys had a fun time - just got on this thread and already I am having fun ! will get to know you more - just told Jen I am doing the MOnarch Oct 8 for 4 days then staying on for 3 more like she did.

You are going to have a great time!!! :D

You have to let us know all about your trip! And if you see Noel (bartender) at the pool bar, make sure he makes you a napkin rose :)

 

And Jen, you are correct - I enjoy being on a cruise, no matter what ship - I find all kinds of characteristics on all the ships I have been own that make them their own person! can't help but have my favorites tho' but in general, they are all great!

I agree that I have my favorite ships, but I really find that very rarely does that have anything to do with the ship itself. Except for the Voyager Class Promenade cafe and the Studio B. But other than that, I don't find that I prefer one class over the other.

I really enjoy meeting the crew members, and think that the Monarch has the friendliest crew. I also think that your company on the ship has a lot to do with whether or not you'll have a good time. Like on the Mariner we had the maniacs. That was a great cruise. And this last time we had the Monarch fan club, and that was a great time.

This one cruise, on the CCL Holiday, I went with a (now ex) boyfriend, and we had the worst time ever! So I really think it depends on your shipmates ;)

 

I think we had the potato balls last week when we went out to one of our favorites Indian restaurants in our area - the mother of the owner gave us some (she cooks) and put a sauce on it and my husband Narce said it was good, esp with the sauce - I knew it was a potato ball - I was too busy finishing all the naan they gave us- it was so fresh and warm and yummy -

Carol

Each restaurant makes it a bit differently. So I judge the quality of the restaurant by their Malai Kofta. If you ever see it on the menu, I wouldn't hesitate to get it! It's super yum!

[lephysteria]

Au contraire, I did want to dance, just not with her! She was a bit of a Super Freak (not that anybody would say that I am, of course!) The B2B was awesome. Not just because of having newfound friends like Jen & Celia stay on with me, but also because it was so nice to know that I had 3 more days ahead of me after the 4-nighter ended. I would, however, suggest that you consider doing the 3-nighter first and staying on for the 4 if you can - the 4 night cruise is (believe it or not) more relaxing than the 3. We were positively amateur partiers compared to the weekend cruisers who came onboard!

 

I have to agree with Jean. :)

She is a super freak, after all ..... lol, just kidding ;)

 

It really was an odd feeling .... knowing that everyone was going home, and yet I didn't have to pack! I had all that day to look forward to.

 

I also would suggest doing the 3 day, then the 4 day. Besides the reasons that Jean stated above, in my opinion, it is the itinerary. .... On the 4 day, you disembark on Friday. So basically you have the whole weekend to relax and do laundry and catch up and unpack. Where as if you finish with the 3 day, you're disembarking on Monday, where you have to go back to work quicker.

That's a buzzkill :)

[lephysteria]

 

I would rather do the MOnarch b2b rather than the 7 day Mexi. Riviera. Just me, I guess.... Carol

 

You must REALLY love Ensenada :D

[cctn]

Well, I like Ensenada but it's more like being on the monarch - I like san diego and catalina the best - and not getting off after 4 days is even better.

 

I can just visualize all the fun you guys had - being chased around -- hee hee!

 

Yes, I do agree- the company is what makes for a good memorable trip -

we have met super people and have made lifelong friends -

 

this trip on the Explorer in Nov we are going with best friends - first time cruisers!! I am sooooooooo excited for them - They are 100% Portuguese born and raised in Portugal but have been in CA for 35 yrs - they go to Portugal every yr - so this cruise to the Caribbean will be there first experience in that part of the world.

 

Our Meet and Mingle Group sounds like fun too = I know two couples for this Nov trip from a previous cruise- we met both in Nov 2004 on the Brilliance - one couple were tablemates and the other couple we would meet at the Concierge every night. They don't know each other but they will cuz of our M & M Group and of course I will introduce them.

 

It's fun to do the M & M cuz we all feel comfortable with each other before embarking - can't wait to meet each other and treat our first meeting as a Big Family Reunion.

 

Carol

[lephysteria]

Meet and Mingles are fun because you can finally put the face to the name, that is if you don't meetup at Sailaway, or have your tables arranged together for dinner :)

[cctn]

our past M & M's we have met right from the get-go -- like an hr before muster - then of course, the official party by RCCL -

 

one person is trying to arrange a huge group if we want to eat together - I think we are about 45 + so far - we have til Nov to drum up more business -

 

last yr we had over 100 - most of them have already gone on 2 - 3 cruises since - and some of the retirerees have gone every month or every two months. -- ah! to be like that one day!

 

We have a photo album of those who have sent in pics so that's the first step - sometimes I do ok recognizing folks from their pics and sometimes they really look differrent in person.

 

I am in charge of name tags for this trip.

 

It's just a happy family when it comes to happy cruisers!! Carol

[lephysteria]

That's a big group!!!! We were supposed to be part of that big group, but our reservations fell through. So we sat at the 4th table for our group, and I couldn't help but think that there were so many people in our group that organizing that must have been very hard!!!

 

:)

 

So good luck! ha ha

Even name tags can be a big job. We had a situation similar to this when on the Mariner. One shipmate said that they would do the nametags, and they did them, but refused help from anyone. I couldn't understand. It had to be a big job, I just wish other people could have had a hand in helping out. :)

[cctn]

I don't know about joining a big table for our cruise with our friends - they said they wanted a table for 4 with us and them only -- what I can do is, be within the same 'vicinity' of the other M & M's so that we can still be with them and also be with our friends.... I am for anything - a couple of cruises hubby and I had a table for 2 - one cruise to Europe was ok cuz mostly the other folks were with their own groups within their own families and they spoke their own languages - we are ok with anything - table for 2 - 4 - 12, etc.

 

Name tags - one lady told me to just bring the stickers and pens and give them out to the people and have them write their own names. sounds fine to me!! whatever works - RCCL has the landyards and tags too but my tags will be for our first meeting -

 

right now I am busy with our high school reunion and I am suppose to send out the final schedule - one guy from hawaii said he wasn't coming and now he is - so that's exciting -- we will travel to Reno for 4 days.

 

Carol

[shalee1377]

lephysteria...i LOVE reading your reviews. As a fellow "fluffy" passenger I wondered if you could tell me if you had any issues on the Mariner...with seating...etc. We're going on the Mariner in September and I always like to be able to plan ahead.

[shalee1377]

I forgot to add we were on the Navigator last year and since the Mariner is a sister ship I except it would be mostly the same but you never know. The only issue I remember last year was the seating in the main theater was a little snug.

[lephysteria]

lephysteria...i LOVE reading your reviews. As a fellow "fluffy" passenger I wondered if you could tell me if you had any issues on the Mariner...with seating...etc. We're going on the Mariner in September and I always like to be able to plan ahead.

 

 

Thank you for reading them. I actually never found that I had a problem with seating, even in the theatres. I remember the showroom seats were a little snug in the balconies, but that's when my tail section was bigger, (was 28 now 24, soon to be 20) and even so I could still sit in the theatre seats. The dining room chairs were also not a problem.

The only place I felt cramped was in the shower, but I mastered the art of folding the shower curtain away and tucking it into the door handle, and this removed the problem entirely! Then I just mopped the floor, and surprisingly it didn't get as wet as you'd imagine. :)

[lephysteria]

I don't know about joining a big table for our cruise with our friends - they said they wanted a table for 4 with us and them only -- what I can do is, be within the same 'vicinity' of the other M & M's so that we can still be with them and also be with our friends.... I am for anything - a couple of cruises hubby and I had a table for 2 - one cruise to Europe was ok cuz mostly the other folks were with their own groups within their own families and they spoke their own languages - we are ok with anything - table for 2 - 4 - 12, etc.

 

Name tags - one lady told me to just bring the stickers and pens and give them out to the people and have them write their own names. sounds fine to me!! whatever works - RCCL has the landyards and tags too but my tags will be for our first meeting -

 

right now I am busy with our high school reunion and I am suppose to send out the final schedule - one guy from hawaii said he wasn't coming and now he is - so that's exciting -- we will travel to Reno for 4 days.

 

Carol

 

If you have several tables all together, you could play musical chairs each night too. That's what we did on our cruise last month.

 

Your nametags sound like a lot less work than the tags and stuff we had.

Your reunion sounds great! Our reunion was a sort of "lets not go to that reunion, lets plan our own". The ballroom they rented was going to be $100 per person! So we decided to get together and have a potluck bbq instead. It was much more fun and much cheaper!!!

Reno is a great city to go and visit. You'll have a great time! :)

[cctn]

actually, we have BBQ's every yr for our class and we invite other classes since our high school class had 105 - small town - in fact, each class had just about 100 in each- we know everyone so it's great. we also have lunches every two months - your truly keeps track of attendance for all events, pics, and I do all the mailers - it's fun and even tho' we are 58 yrs old, we feel and act like we are 18 again when we are together --

 

Last yr one fellow made us special name tags with the pic of the Brilliance as the background and he printed out our names/handle -- it was fancy - another lovely lady gave us flashy pins that come in the different characters - mickey, minnie, winnie, etc etc... it was cute with over 100 M & M's and we were all Flashing!! esp as we came together as a group to have our photo taken!!

 

Carol

[lephysteria]

That sounds awesome!!!! Did the ship's photography staff work with you regarding your group?? I thought if you had a large group that you could rent a photographer and get your group photo taken :)

[gdisney]

OMG, Macy was your bus driver?? I'm so glad you made it back to the ship! Oh wow, what a small world.

 

Well, she was the tour guide. I don't remember the driver's name, but he was insane. He was passing other buses and trucks and those windy narrow roads. We thought we were going to die. Macy said he's the second best driver they have. Then she said the best one was at the bottom of the ravine...

[cctn]

THe ship's photographer was at the official M & M party we had on the Brilliance - he grouped us and took our pic - problem was -- we never saw the pic posted in the gallery - normally group pics are hung so you can buy them - since they LOVE to sell and want to sell as many pics as they can.

 

Towards the end of our cruise, about 3 days before disemb'g -- I asked the photo people about the group pic for the M & M and no one knew anything about it - told me to ask the manager - so I had to call her since she was never at the gallery - when I finally saw her, she had a stack of our pic in one of the drawers... so I bought one. about 3 of us that I knew of bought pics -- the others said they didn't see it, didn't bother to ask for it, or as I did, asked for it and got a "I don't know" from the clerks.

 

Good guy that I am, I actually had some copies made after I got home and sent them to about 10 of the folks I got friendly with -- 8 x 10's-- I made some with my scanner but they were fuzzy wuzzies and i labeled those with names then I happen to come across a sale at the copy machines kiosk so I got them printed and they were clear.

 

Carol

[lephysteria]

Well, she was the tour guide. I don't remember the driver's name, but he was insane. He was passing other buses and trucks and those windy narrow roads. We thought we were going to die. Macy said he's the second best driver they have. Then she said the best one was at the bottom of the ravine...

 

 

 

:eek:

Little did you know she has a tendency to leave guests at the bufadora!!! :eek:

[lephysteria]

 

Good guy that I am, I actually had some copies made after I got home and sent them to about 10 of the folks I got friendly with -- 8 x 10's-- I made some with my scanner but they were fuzzy wuzzies and i labeled those with names then I happen to come across a sale at the copy machines kiosk so I got them printed and they were clear.

 

Carol

 

 

That's awesome!!!

And I'll bet that they are a lot cheaper when you print them out at the kiosk! :)