Monarch of the Seas Questions

[RedFam]

My hubby and I just decided that we will be bringing our kids along with us. It was just going to be just the 2 of us but then we feel bad for the kids and we don't want to leave them behind since cruising is their favorite vacation. We are going to celebrate our 13th Wedding Anniversary but what is more fun than having your kids celebrate it with you. They will be off track from school so we don't even have to worry about them missing any school. We will be going on to the 4nights Baja Mexico Cruise.

 

Never sailed with MOS before so I have a couple of questions.

 

1. How does 10 and 12 years boys find a fun things to do on the ships? We been on a Disney Cruise so the expectation is high for them. I already told them that its not going to be like Disney Cruise. My main concerns are my kids I want them to have fun. I know it won't be like Disney but hopefully somebody can tell me what kind of activities are there for this age group.

 

2. What's the weather like @ Catalina Island on the late month February. We missed some water sports activities at Castaway Cay and hopefully we will be able to do some in Catalina Island or maybe even sightseeing or whatever is fun for a family of 4.

 

I also like suggestions for San Diego. We only been to Seaworld but that's about it. Ensenada? we might skip this port since we been there and didn't like it at all. Since no sea day we will just stay on the ship and enjoy it for ourselves.:p

 

3. For those of you who brought kids, how do you find time for you and your other half? What's a must do as a couple on board?... that didn't come out right... LOL... I mean on board ship activities. We want our kids to enjoy themselves but we also want to do ship activities just the 2 of us that we will both enjoy.

 

I have more questions but I can't seems to remember them now. Any suggestions at all will be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Rachel

[wrp96]

In San Diego, if your kids have never been to the San Diego Zoo, I highly recommend it. Heck, even if you don't have kids, I recommend going to the San Diego Zoo. One of the best zoos in the world with tons to see.

 

Another fun option might be to go out to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

[fabby50]

I agree with the zoo suggestion - it's a great zoo, lots to see.

 

The weather in Catalina could vary greatly - I'd say it will be too cool for water sports. A fun thing for the family to do would be rent a golf cart and go driving around Avalon and the surrounding hills. Take cash for this as they are a cash only business. There's also a small, fun miniature golf course we usually play around at followed by ice cream at the Coldstone.

 

There's a kid's club on board and a game room. This is a much smaller ship than the Disney ships and it definitely will be different for the children.

 

As far as night time activities, my husband and I like Bolero's - they have a Latin band and we sit and listen to them, watch the dancers and have mojitos.

 

In Ensenada, they've added a couple of shore excursions. One is renting ATVs or bicycles and going over by the wine growing valley. Not sure about kids for this one, but you could ask. We thought going to the blow hole was fun - you do have to run the gauntlet of hawkers on the way back, but it was fun to watch people get soaked by the blow hole and we had a excellent lunch at one of the cafes (fish tacos for the husband).

[RedFam]

I agree with the zoo suggestion - it's a great zoo, lots to see.

 

The weather in Catalina could vary greatly - I'd say it will be too cool for water sports. A fun thing for the family to do would be rent a golf cart and go driving around Avalon and the surrounding hills. Take cash for this as they are a cash only business. There's also a small, fun miniature golf course we usually play around at followed by ice cream at the Coldstone.

 

There's a kid's club on board and a game room. This is a much smaller ship than the Disney ships and it definitely will be different for the children.

 

As far as night time activities, my husband and I like Bolero's - they have a Latin band and we sit and listen to them, watch the dancers and have mojitos.

 

In Ensenada, they've added a couple of shore excursions. One is renting ATVs or bicycles and going over by the wine growing valley. Not sure about kids for this one, but you could ask. We thought going to the blow hole was fun - you do have to run the gauntlet of hawkers on the way back, but it was fun to watch people get soaked by the blow hole and we had a excellent lunch at one of the cafes (fish tacos for the husband).

 

Where do you rent this golf cart? I see this suggestion everytime. This sounds like fun especially if we can't do any water sports.

 

Is it cheaper to do the excursion outside RCL or buy the Zoo tickets yourself? How far is the Port of San Diego to the Zoo? What about getting there? We would love to go to the Zoo since we enjoyed Seaworld alot.

 

Ohhhhh I remember those fish tacos... My hubby and I love, love, love, them... We went to the Blowhole, that was okay but we did enjoy those fish tacos... I would go to the Blowhole just for those...

[wrp96]

I would go to the zoo on my own. That way you can really control your time their. You can easily take a taxi. I'm not certain but there might even be a city bus that is less. You can usually find discounts for the zoo online. Check out www.sandiego.org and they may have some links.

[BobbyK]

San Diego has Wild Animal Park also. Catalina has many fun activities. There is a new Del Sol shop there (love their products that take on color in the sun). Coyote Pete's is a good restaurant in Catalina (Mexican and American food). Ensenada has Fox Studio tour that might appeal to your kids. Ensenada day might be boring for them if they didn't do anything. It's about a 10 to 15 minute walk to town and that might be kind of fun to do. A fish taco lunch might be a lot of fun. Monarch is a great ship with a great crew. However, cabins are tiny, the ship is not one of the large ones. It won't be Disney but I always see lots of kids having a good time. There was a new family game in Boleros much like Family Feud. I saw listed family karaoke. I think you'll enjoy yourselves (just know it's not Disney). Later. Robin :cool:

[RedFam]

San Diego has Wild Animal Park also. Catalina has many fun activities. There is a new Del Sol shop there (love their products that take on color in the sun). Coyote Pete's is a good restaurant in Catalina (Mexican and American food). Ensenada has Fox Studio tour that might appeal to your kids. Ensenada day might be boring for them if they didn't do anything. It's about a 10 to 15 minute walk to town and that might be kind of fun to do. A fish taco lunch might be a lot of fun. Monarch is a great ship with a great crew. However, cabins are tiny, the ship is not one of the large ones. It won't be Disney but I always see lots of kids having a good time. There was a new family game in Boleros much like Family Feud. I saw listed family karaoke. I think you'll enjoy yourselves (just know it's not Disney). Later. Robin :cool:

 

What's the difference between the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo? Aren't they the same? I need to check the website. I like alot of your suggestions and I am writing them down. You are right about the Ensenada... the kids never been there so we might just do the studio... we were thinking about doing this but we didn't have time since we did the blowhole instead. Good thing we have 2 cabins. Southwest was giving $100 on board credit per cabin to book with them so I already saved $200 on a $179 per person on a 4 nights cruise. You can't beat that.

[wrp96]

The zoo and the Wild Animal Park a run by the same people but they are in much different areas of San Diego and have a different experience.The link I gave you above should have links to more info about both.

 

The zoo is just a zoo (though an amazing one - and well worth it). There is an option to take a tour bus through the zoo, plus there is a skytram that gives you a great view of the zoo. It's close to the ship as it's in Balboa Park.

 

The Wild Animal Park has the animals roaming together in large enclosures - similiar to their native environments. It has a lot more large animals. If I remember correctly, it is about an hour away from the ship.

[fabby50]

The golf cart stand is on the main drag of town, about 1/2 way down. Just ask somebody, it's quick to get to.

 

I would not recommend the Fox tour for kids, or much of anybody else actually. We took the tour when they were still filming and it's BORING (pretty drive there though). Fox recently sold the studio, so I don't think they're filming anything there at present. Basically, you follow a guy around and there's memobillia (sp?) from Titanic, Planet of the Apes, and several other Fox films. You watch a movie that I almost fell asleep in about the making of the Titanic.

[RedFam]

The golf cart stand is on the main drag of town, about 1/2 way down. Just ask somebody, it's quick to get to.

 

I would not recommend the Fox tour for kids, or much of anybody else actually. We took the tour when they were still filming and it's BORING (pretty drive there though). Fox recently sold the studio, so I don't think they're filming anything there at present. Basically, you follow a guy around and there's memobillia (sp?) from Titanic, Planet of the Apes, and several other Fox films. You watch a movie that I almost fell asleep in about the making of the Titanic.

 

Really? I seen the making of Titanic many times... i don't think my kids even know about the movie Titanic... I thought its something like a big movie set or little Hollywood Studio or something. Maybe will just do a little shopping and get back to the ship, unless there is something else to do for the kids outside the ship...

[Happy ks]

We've been on both the Disney Magic and Monarch, there is a world of difference between the two. The Disney ship has a whole deck devoted to kids clubs, Monarch has a small room. Monarch does have a climbing wall, open at only certain hours.

 

San Diego Zoo is awesome, I never tire of it. The Wild Animal Park is great, too, but it's pretty far away, you really wouldn't get as much time there as you would at the Zoo. Seaworld is always worth repeating, but my kids always liked the Zoo better.

 

Catalina is a gem, their weather is usually pretty mild in the winter, low to mid 60's with higher rainfall than other times of the year. Water sports would not be a great choice then.

 

Weather is similar to San Diego in Ensenada, pretty much the same as Catalina, low to mid 60's, you just never know when it rains, there are no guarantees.

 

Although I don't care for Ensenada at all, I think it would be the most interesting port for your children, even if you just walk around town and shop.

 

One suggestion I would have for you is, if you are in anything less than a Junior Suite, you book 2 cabins, don't attempt to fit 4 people in a standard cabin on Monarch. The cabins are 122 square feet outside, 119 square feet inside, there is barely enough space for 2 people to stand up in the cabin at the same time. Some may argue that you're never in your cabin long enough to make a difference, but it will make the difference between a stress filled time vs. comfort for all. It would be like trying to stay in a walk in closet together for several days. The bathroom is not split like Disneys are, the shower is the size of a phone booth, there is not enough space for a person sitting on the john and one standing up.

 

We sometimes put our kids right across the hall in an inside cabin, depending on price. We've also booked them in an OV right next to us, that 3 square feet is all storage, a shelf and extra drawer space. It's nice for them to not have to share drawers (we have a boy and a girl). Our kids are now teens, but they have been on Monarch several times over the past few years.