Monarch 2/15 Review - How many can we fit on an OS balcony?

[capnlars]

This was our fifth time on the Monarch, the first since we moved to Florida. This was a company-sponsored incentive cruise, so we were with about 70 people that we knew. Our overall impression was that everything had improved since our last trip on the Monarch. We've been on the Sovereign and Majesty since we moved to Florida, but still the Monarch is our hands-down favorite.

 

Day 1 - We had gotten in a day early and stayed at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. The hotel was pretty nice and very convenient. We got to the pier about 12:15p. Check-in was very quick. We were in an OS, 1510. After check-in, we were asked to go to the Pier Coordinator at the end of the check-in row. There, we were asked what type of wine we would like delivered to our cabin (choice of about 8), and were escorted on the ship bypassing all lines. We've always been in a full suite on this ship, but have never had this before. As it was before 1pm, the rooms were not accessible, but we were escorted right to our room. An addition to the cabin since our last Monarch trip was a French Press coffee maker. We dropped our things, and went to the Windjammer. We were almost immediately greeted with hugs by Aniko, who was our waitress a couple of years ago and is now the Windjammer supervisor. Food and service in the Windjammer was definitely better than we remembered. We walked around the ship, greeted our friends from work, and attended the muster drill. I must say this was the funnest muster we've ever experienced. As the crew called out cabin numbers of no-shows, our whole muster station would repeat the cabin numbers...THREE FOUR TWO ONE. We had the crew totally cracked up - they were laughing so hard they could hardly demonstrate the life jackets. After muster we had invited our group up to our cabin for sailaway. I can now confirm that the maximum number of people you can fit on an OS balcony is 50!! We consumed about 10 bottles of champagne and watched the crew maneuver us from the pier. The bridge extension is about 5 feet from our balcony. We were shushed by Captain Karin a couple of times, and I think we might have annoyed her some. We did send an apology note the next morning. Our group had late seating and we had several tables that we were allowed to switch around each evening. Service and food, also, were better than we remembered. Our company as a whole lost a bit of money in the casino that night. Most of us gathered at the Piano Bar in Schooner that evening (and all of the evenings).

 

Day 2 - Ensenada. Ensenada was Ensenada - if you've been there you know what I mean. It does seem like the strip there is getting "cleaned up" a bit. There were noticeably less kids with Chicklets. We walked around town and did some shopping. There was a good bar-b-que on the pool deck. We were a bit late departing, as 2 guests were unaccounted for. Turns out they were fast asleep (read "passed-out") in their cabins. This was discovered about 1/2 hour after we would normally have left. At dinner, I was amazed that our waiter remembered all our names, as we not only had switched tables, but also the people we were dining with. The evening was a repeat of the night before. We had a blast at the Piano Bar. Went to the late night adult comedy. The comic was very "on" that night, and we had a good time. Towards the end of his routine, I realized I had heard him before on XM Comedy 150. Casino, piano bar, bed.

 

Day 3 - At Sea. We just love the sea days. Spent most of the day on the balcony. Some folks in our group saw whales, we saw some dolphin. Went to the belly-flop contest. That was a lot of fun. There was one guy who was 410 lbs (that's not a typo). Suprisingly, he did not win. We had a group picture and cocktail party before dinner. The cocktail party for our group was in the Viking Crown lounge, but we were given a very small space. We were asked to stay seated during the affiar (??), so it was kind of strange as we couldn't mingle or anything. Our group again closed the Piano bar.

 

Day 4. Carryon folks were cleared about 6:45 to get off. We had White tags, and were off at 7:15, at our car by 7:35 - very efficient.

Some other suite perks we got were a bottle of champagne, sushi on the first night and snacks each additional night.

 

We are going on the repo cruise in October. While I feel bad for the West Coast people, I am very happy to have the Monarch just an hour away in Florida.