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A Carnival guy's first RCCL cruise: A pictorial review.

DarthGrady

By DarthGrady,
in Royal Caribbean International

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Carnival's self-assist is a zoo - people clogging up the hallways - the stairs - the lobby. Was the Monarch's as bad?

 

Can't say, I wan't down there for it. We went into the dining room and had breakfast and let the crowds die down. I agree about Carnival's self assist, I never do it. We usually try to be the last ones off, just to see how long we can walk around the ship before they tell us to leave.:D

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OHCruisinDad

OHCruisinDad

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Darth -

 

Great review and great pix. Your review of CocoCay peaked my interest as we will be there on the Majesty (Monarch's twin sister) next month. I just hope the water is calm and the temperatures high for our 3 day cruise.

 

The othere posters are right in that you really need to try the Voyager and Freedom class ships. You will not believe the difference. :eek:

 

Again, thanks and Happy Holidays!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Darth -

 

Great review and great pix. Your review of CocoCay peaked my interest as we will be there on the Majesty (Monarch's twin sister) next month. I just hope the water is calm and the temperatures high for our 3 day cruise.

 

The othere posters are right in that you really need to try the Voyager and Freedom class ships. You will not believe the difference. :eek:

 

Again, thanks and Happy Holidays!

 

We did go swimming, but the water was a tad chilly. Probably in the mid to high 70's. I'm fairly used to it after swimming in spring water here in FL. that stays in the mid 70s all year long. But with sunny 80 degree days who can complain?

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dfishner

dfishner

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This had to be one of the best reviews I have ever read, I could almost picture being on the ship myself thank you for taking the time to write it. I love the pictures that went along with the review. I am glad you had a good time on your cruise and also to got to try another cruise line.

 

We will taking our family on Carnival when they come down in June it will be either the imagination or Destiny not sure which. Think the kids will love the water park.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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...........

We will taking our family on Carnival when they come down in June it will be either the imagination or Destiny not sure which. Think the kids will love the water park.

 

We went on Inspiration in September, I'm not a kid and even I liked the water slides! :D

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want2seaitall

want2seaitall

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Thanks for posting the beautiful pics. Even after the bling of the Nav this past week...my favorite ship is still the Monarch. Maybe because she was our first cruise...or maybe not. I just like her layout and she is just beautiful. I'm so glad she is in FL again. I hope to do a quick 3 or 4 night this year!

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wrp96

wrp96

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Is it different on other ships? Don't they all have the same problem? I guess I never noticed it. (We always have inside rooms.)

 

I don't know about other cruiselines, but of RCCL's ships, the Sovereign class is the only one with a public area right outside the windows of some oceanview staterooms. On the other classes, the promenade deck is a completely public deck, so no staterooms to walk past.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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I don't know about other cruiselines, but of RCCL's ships, the Sovereign class is the only one with a public area right outside the windows of some oceanview staterooms. On the other classes, the promenade deck is a completely public deck, so no staterooms to walk past.

 

Now I have a question for you, you're response set me off on a whole other line of thought. I know that the bigger ships have the promenade in the middle, and that some of the rooms look onto it. Do those rooms cost extra? If so, are they priced like ocean view?

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wrp96

wrp96

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Now I have a question for you, you're response set me off on a whole other line of thought. I know that the bigger ships have the promenade in the middle, and that some of the rooms look onto it. Do those rooms cost extra? If so, are they priced like ocean view?

 

 

The promenade rooms (PR) are priced between regular inside cabins and oceanview cabins. Usually they are only a little bit more expensive than inside cabins but it depends on the sailing.

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bookher

bookher

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Going on my first cruise ever on the Monarch in February. As one who likes to plan and know things in advance, this has helped a great deal!! I am booked on a deck 6 outside cabin but will be seeing if I can switch. I am traveling with my parents and the noise will not be appreciated by my father ;) .

 

Have you seen the outside rooms with an extra bed in them? how bad is it?

Thanks again for the great pictures and review, it has helped a great deal!!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Have you seen the outside rooms with an extra bed in them? how bad is it?

Thanks again for the great pictures and review, it has helped a great deal!!

 

I didn't on that ship, but I have seen rooms with extra bunks before. Usually its a pullman type bunk that folds down out of the wall and then folds back up out of the way when not needed. Since you'll only have it down when its time for bed, I don't think it will be a big issue. Just make sure everybody watched their heads when getting out of bed at night.

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want2seaitall

want2seaitall

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Going on my first cruise ever on the Monarch in February. As one who likes to plan and know things in advance, this has helped a great deal!! I am booked on a deck 6 outside cabin but will be seeing if I can switch. I am traveling with my parents and the noise will not be appreciated by my father ;) .

 

Have you seen the outside rooms with an extra bed in them? how bad is it?

Thanks again for the great pictures and review, it has helped a great deal!!

 

As Darth said...the basic outsides that sleep more than 2 have 3rd and 4th passengers in pullman beds. They fold into the wall and are completely out of the way during the day. You do have to be careful not to bump your head on them or stub your toes on the ladders when they are down at night. On our first cruise in 2002 on the Monarch we had an outside on deck 6 with 2 pullman beds. We had our 6 year old and 12 year old children in the cabin with us. It was tight, but we were on our first cruise and didn't care one bit.

 

Keep checking prices...sometimes they come down so low, you may be able to do 2 cabins for not much more than the one. Compare your 3rd and 4th passenger rates to what it would cost for an additional cabin.

 

Here is a pic of the pullmans:

 

227179331OPLtkx_th.jpg

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Inshape

Inshape

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Been on only Voyager class and Freedom class and never had to pay for sushi.

PR cabins are priced just slightly higher than inside and lower than outside. Here is the scoop though as we found it. Last year we did b2b Navigator cruises, 4 and 5 nighers. On the first we had the PR cabin and the second we tried an inside. We used to get only balcony but to save money we tried these. The placement of the bed was closer to the door, hence the hallway...kind of made me feel they heard me more and made me a bit more inhibited.(LOL). I liked the inside better with the bed against the far wall. Also in the PR cabins even though the sitting area was by the window to move around the bed was difficult with a matter of a few inches away from the wall.I felt it chopped the room up too much. Also, if i look at you, you are looking at me....did not like that!

We like you are trying something new this time. In a month we are trying X and MSC.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Great review--loved the format-- vey helpful

that ship is looking good for its age

 

How were the bands & any other entertainment that you saw..?

 

I can't say enough good things about the singers in the "You can't stop the beat" show. There was one young woman that did a spot on Whitney Houston singing "I will always love you" and that is a hard one to do!

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