Royal Caribbean's
Monarch of the Seas
April 18 - 22, 2005
Cruise Review
by
Dave Wendell
Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 21:33:36 -0400
From: "Dave Wendell" <d_wendell@yahoo.com>
Subject: Review
This was my third RCCL cruise. My first was on the Explorer in January
2004 (see the report I posted to this site). I mentioned in that post-cruise
report that I had such a wonderful time that I'd booked another cruise before
debarking the ship. About a month after I got home from that first cruise I
decided that the only thing that would have made that cruise any better was
if we'd had friends along to share it with. So I asked several friends if they
wanted to go along on next year's cruise.
That second cruise in January of 2005 included 4 couples plus my 20
year old son and a friend of his on the Serenade of the Seas to the Southern
Caribbean. (You NEED to take this cruise if you haven't!!) RCCL was super in
making arrangements for all of us to sit at the same table for dinner, despite
our group not being big enough to qualify as a "group" by RCCL's definition.
We also had a group picture taken on formal night, that I purchased copies of
for everyone in the group. A few weeks after the cruise I was staring at the
photo when my wife looked at me and asked, "You really enjoyed yourself
on that cruise didn't you?" I responded, "Yes I did. Didn't you?"
There was a long pause before she hesitantly answered that she'd had a good
time. My response to that was, "Okay, I got the hint. You wanted more "alone
time". Book another cruise. I got it." And this is how we came to
be on the Monarch of the Seas in April, only 3 months after sailing on the Serenade.
There are a few other posts to this list regarding the Monarch, so
I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but I wanted to pass along a few personal
observations.
The Monarch is the oldest ship in RCCL's fleet, and despite being refurbished
less than a year before, her age did show. For one thing there are NO balcony
cabins on this ship. (Trust me, once you sail in a cabin with a balcony, you
won't ever want one without it again, regardless of how little time you may
spend in the cabin.) Owing to this, at least according to our cabin attendant,
RCCL will simply bring ashtrays to your room on request, since there are no
balconies available for booking where you can smoke without having to leave
your cabin. Now I'm a smoker, and living on the west coast, in a major metropolitan
area, I'm used to having to go outside, or to some "designated area"
to indulge. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I would be allowed to
smoke in my cabin. However, I recognize that no level of cleaning will ever
fully rid that cabin of the odor. If you don't like putting up with that aroma,
be advised before booking a cruise on this ship.
The carpeting, not only in the room but in many of the public areas
as well, was badly stained; and many areas of the ship had a moldy odor.
These shortcomings, although noticeable, were not pervasive, and I
only mention them because this is very different from my two previous experiences
on RCCL ships.
A prevous poster to this list who sailed on the Monarch only a few
weeks before I did, commented that his cabin didn't have a safe. I don't know
what kind of cabin he had, but ours did have a safe. It was somewhat hidden
on the floor of the closet (not in a cabinet like on the Explorer or the Serenade)
and all the way to the right behind the closet door (even when opened), but
it did have one. I very vividly remember this because we had to call for service
when the battery in the safe died and we couldn't get it open one day. (The
technician sent to the room had it repaired less than 20 minutes after I called.)
The four-day cruises on this ship out of LA, tend to be mostly inhabited
by young people looking to get away and party, or older people wanting to "try"
a cruise. How do I know this? I had a long discussion one afternoon with one
of the crew while most of the passengers were ashore. I also discovered, much
to my surprise, that the wait staff onboard are only paid in tips they receive.
I had assumed that they received a minimal salary and made up the rest in tips.
This came up only because the crew member I was speaking with was expressing
the fact that he was glad he wasn't one of the wait staff on this particular
ship because of the clientele it normally gets on the 4 and 5-day cruises out
of LA. He told me that the wait staff on other RCCL ships (most primarily in
the Caribbean) received much, much more in tips.
The port visits on this four day cruise are nowhere near as glamorous
or exciting as the ports in the Caribbean. However, if you're looking for a
great deal on silver or leather goods, Ensenada is the place to get it. One
of my goals on this cruise was to pick up new travel bags and a suit carrier.
I got both (leather) for a price that was less than half of what I would have
paid at home, and the quality is every bit as good if you use one of the shops
on RCCL's list.
One issue that I rarely see addressed in any of the posts to this page
is the transport vouchers from the ship to the airport. We didn't use them on
the January '05 cruise, but having lived in San Pedro, I knew how far it was
from the cruise terminal to the airport, and decided that it would be a good
idea this time. If you book your own airline reservations, and intend to use
RCCLs transportation to the airport after the cruise, DON'T book your departure
flight for any time before noon. RCCL will simply tell you that they cannot
get you to the airport on time, and therefore won't sell you one. If you need
to go someplace other than straight back home after the cruise, RCCL can't (won't)
assist you with flight reservations either.
We needed to fly to Atlanta for a few days before returning home. The
only way to do this without having a one night layover somewhere, was to get
a flight out of LAX that departed at 11:47 am. I ended up ordering the transfers
online before the cruise, and filling in a departure time of 12:01 pm on the
order form. This got us in the "white" group (first ones off) for
debarkation. The RCCL transport got us to LAX at 9:30 am, more than 2 hours
before our flight. Is it possible that something could have gone wrong, and
we could have missed the flight? Sure, but it didn't, and based on past experience
I'd say the chances of that happening are fairly slim. RCCL builds itself a
big safety margin in this regard.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I did enjoy the cruise,
and so did my aforementioned wife. It didn't leave me with the exuberance I
had after the first two, but then that's why we're taking an 11-night Panama
Canal cruise in Miami with friends again; and to make up for not having a balcony
on the Monarch, I booked a Junior Suite on the Brilliance of the Seas this time.
Is it January yet????
|
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