To cruise or not to cruise.

We are booked on Monarch of the Seas in October. The reviews are all over the place on whether this ship is Nice or a garbage barge. Becoming concerned we might have wasted our money. Never cruised before and are celebrating our 40th anniversary. Which reviews are accurate?

We are booked on Monarch of the Seas in October. The reviews are all over the place on whether this ship is Nice or a garbage barge. Becoming concerned we might have wasted our money. Never cruised before and are celebrating our 40th anniversary. Which reviews are accurate?

Which reviews are accurate? That's kind of hard to say as all reviews can be very subjective. I cruised on the Monarch earlier this year. It is an older ship without a lot of the bells and whistles of the new mega ships. I can say it is a well maintained ship, very clean with a great crew. One thing that most people complain about are the size of the cabins. Monarch's cabins are some of the smallest in the fleet and the only cabins with balcony's are suites. If you know ahead of time that the cabins are smaller it's not as much of a shock. I felt the food was good for a short cruise, not gourmet but not bad or inedible either. I would say most of the positive reviews I have read are fairly accurate. Keep in mind that sometimes Murphy's Law comes into play and a bad experience can happen from time to time. One thing about a 3 or 4 day cruise on Monarch it will give you a good idea if you will like cruising or not. It's always good for first time cruisers to try a short cruise first for this reason. Congrats on the anniversary and have a good cruise!

My only recommendation is to go with what I call the 80/20 rule. If 80% of the people say something is great or something is poor I would accept it as fact until you experience it for yourself knowing that you will never get 100% consensus on just about anything.

Keith

Our first cruise was on a Carnival 3 day, I thought I would hate it, I tried to, but after we arrived in Nassau, and I got to get in the water, any thing I would have realisticlly not loved, just disappeared. The food was good, the entertinment entertaining, my bed was made, my cabin was kept clean, my time on deck was relaxing, so as long as you go with a good attitude, a sense of curiousity and adventure, you will have a good time. Cruise Happy!:)

Just be prepared for being on an older ship (built in 1991, but refurbed last year). That only means that it won't have all the bells & whistles of the newer ships that you may have read about. RCCL provides a very good product so you should have a wonderful time.

If you think you will have a good time, you will. If you go in with the attitude that you chose the wrong ship/cabin/vacation....well, you did. You will not enjoy yourself if you have doubts...it's a mental thing.

If you think you will have a good time, you will. If you go in with the attitude that you chose the wrong ship/cabin/vacation....well, you did. You will not enjoy yourself if you have doubts...it's a mental thing.

I agree completely, our first cruise I didn't know what to expect but if you go with a good attitude and decide you're going to enjoy yourself, you will. Even when little things go wrong, just remind yourself this is my vacation and I'm going to enjoy it and don't sweat the little things, its an adventure - relax and enjoy.

Congratulations on your anniversary! Happy cruising!

If you think you will have a good time, you will. If you go in with the attitude that you chose the wrong ship/cabin/vacation....well, you did. You will not enjoy yourself if you have doubts...it's a mental thing.

Expectations make all the difference in your reaction. Expect little and enjoy all that is offered.

~Doris~

When reading any reviews on Cruise Critic (CC) one needs to know that those posting information on CC only represent a very small percentage of the actual cruising population. The vast majority of the cruising population either don't know about CC or know and have choosen not to post.

We did Monarch back in December 2010. The only negative with that trip was the weather, which RCI has no control over. :) Enjoy! Let this trip be a great introduction to cruising, and then you can get addicted like us and start planning more trips! :D

Although I've only taken 5 cruises, they have been a variety as far as interior rooms, oceanview rooms, and balconies.. every cruise was a great time, whether we were in a tiny room or out on the balcony the whole time. It's what you make it. I hope y'all take the opportunity and have a great time celebrating together.

We took a last minute cruise on Monarch last month and it was quite nice. Although I usually book balcony cruises, I did not want a suite. We had a "Superior" oceanview on deck nine and it was just fine. I do know that the 'regular' oceanview staterooms are pretty small, as I have been there. But the food was fine, we had most interesting dining comparions. We had a very nice, relaxing time and the new changes to the ship following her refurbishing in November were very pleasant. Go for it!

I like Keith's 80/20 rule. One's attitude embarking on a cruise will set the tone for the entire trip. I belive that a good number of negative reviews could have come from ones who's attitude was leaning toward the negative before they even boarded. Then when a little item failed to occur as they perceived it should have, the negative post writer does not let it go, instead they carry that one little hiccup with them.

Personally I have not yet had a bad cruise. Then, I don't sweat the small stuff. My vacation, the company I keep, the sea days and the MDR are what makes for a good cruise. Enjoy.

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

We cruised for the first time last year for 5 days on a small & older ship X Century after it had undergone refurb. As we had no bench mark, we had no expectations and had a wonderful time. We had worried if cruising was for us as we have travelled widely as independent travellers to many countries & various continents.

We cruised earlier this year on an 8 day X a larger ship & had a great time.

Looking now at options for next year.

We tend to look at itinerary first & ships later, because our priority is the destination. We have already booked for 2014.

I am sure you will have a wonderful time & as mentioned earlier go with a positive attitude & enjoy the experience. Bon Voyage

Relax--you'll have a great time. They keep the ships in tip-top shape.

Truth of the matter is that the only really reliable review is your own! But, then again, even that is only reliable to you since it relates the "facts" as seen by you. Will never understand why people value the opinions of others rather than forming their own through personal experience.

We are booked on Monarch of the Seas in October. The reviews are all over the place on whether this ship is Nice or a garbage barge. Becoming concerned we might have wasted our money. Never cruised before and are celebrating our 40th anniversary. Which reviews are accurate?

I went on Monarch in May and was disappointed but some say they really like that ship. I found the seating in the main show theater VERY uncomfortable as the seats are broken down and slope downwards at an odd angle that caused me back pain. I was unable to sit through an entire show due to this pain. They didn't really have much else to do in the evenings other than the Casino and disco parties. They had Karaoke (which I love) but only for 1 hour and had very poor song variety. Food was fine but overall it was not my favorite cruise. It was cheap compared to their newer ships but I would not sail on her again even if the cruise was free since the airfare from OKC cost more that the Monarch was worth to me. :( If you can change to one of the newer RCCL ships with little or no penalty, I would do it!

Truth of the matter is that the only really reliable review is your own! But, then again, even that is only reliable to you since it relates the "facts" as seen by you. Will never understand why people value the opinions of others rather than forming their own through personal experience.

Many parents wonder why their children charge ahead rather than listening to them to avoid making the same mistakes they did. You are telling the OP not to try to avoid making the "same mistakes" others have made by telling them to just find out for themselves. This would of course be the preferred way if you have the time and the money to try out all options but for those who lack either of these I don't blame them for trying to learn from the mistakes of others.

I think we can over research things, I like the 80/20 analogy.

We all have different expectations and therefore different experiences,

If you are really worried see if you can change your cruise without losing all your money.

I've sailed on two smaller ships (Celebrity Zenith and Norwegian Dream, both have since been sold off). I went in with my eyes wide open, knew what I was getting into, and tried to have realistic expectations. Both were great cruises.

Another example...I didn't like our cruise on the Norwegian Dawn, though many people love that ship. Lot of my "complaints" were things like the 24-hr restaurant was anything but (no one there in the middle of the night, wouldn't let you order off the 24hr menu between breakfast and lunch, etc.), kids' pool wasn't open on time (try explaining to a young kid why he can't go to the pool, even though you told him he could and he's standing there next to the pool in his swimmers), etc. Now, I wouldn't have had these "complaints" had it been an older ship that didn't have a 24hr restaurant, special kids' pools, etc. But my expectations were a bit higher for that ship, and I was let down. Regardless....we still had a blast. Heck, I won't sail Princess again (at least not for a long, long time) due to numerous issues on our Alaska cruise four years ago...but even then, I still loved the cruise (well, the Alaska part of the cruise at least).

And I'm not sure I agree that a shorter cruise is the best way to test the waters. Most of the complaints I've read relate to the 3-4 day cruises (too many kids, booze cruises, spring break, etc.). 7+ days may be a better experience, IF you can get a good price and IF you can get the time off. But I'm not talking from experience, all our cruises have been 7+ days so far.

We cruised for the first time last year for 5 days on a small & older ship X Century after it had undergone refurb. As we had no bench mark, we had no expectations and had a wonderful time. We had worried if cruising was for us as we have travelled widely as independent travellers to many countries & various continents.

We cruised earlier this year on an 8 day X a larger ship & had a great time.

Looking now at options for next year.

That's funny, my very first cruise was on the Century - 5 years ago, a 12-day Baltic cruise that got me completely hooked on cruising! (and Celebrity is still my favorite cruise line)

I'd probably switch to the Freedom of the Seas, but I prefer a 7-day cruise on a larger ship. I really love the voyager class ships. The Freedom of the Seas is like a stretched-out voyager class ship, including an ice rink and royal promenade. Also, larger ships seem to have less movement to me. The Monarch should be fine too. RCCL is moving the Monarch to a different line (Pullmantur Cruises) next spring. As for reviews, I always find good and bad reviews for all ships. Food will be good but not necessarily excellent -- after all, the MDR is cooking for thousands of people. Buffet is OK, especially for breakfast. Shows should be fine. I think all RCI ships have a 9-piece big-band orchestra (actually, Oasis and Allure have 11 pieces from what I've read), and I've never had bad musicians on any RCI ship (but I have on Carnival). Evening shows in the theater are usually good. The Freedom would have one or two of more live music choices than the Monarch -- another reason I prefer the larger ship. I want to try the Oasis or Allure sometime, but my wife does not want to fly -- we can drive to Galveston for our cruises. One more point -- Some CC'ers say there can be more party people (read that more drunks) on shorter cruises -- perhaps another reason to switch to the 7-day Freedom of the Seas. And the Freedom gives you the freedom (pardon the pun) to eat at a upcharge place like Chop's Grille or Portofino if you want.

Might be too late to switch -- Pretty close now to the final payment for your Oct. 22 cruise. I see you live in Orlando, so you might try the Freedom of the Seas next time. If you want to switch, you need to do it now, before the final payment date.

We are booked on Monarch of the Seas in October. The reviews are all over the place on whether this ship is Nice or a garbage barge. Becoming concerned we might have wasted our money. Never cruised before and are celebrating our 40th anniversary. Which reviews are accurate?

Congratulations!

Just go for it! What one person may think is bad may be good for another! Enjoy your cruise and your anniversary celebration!:)

Many parents wonder why their children charge ahead rather than listening to them to avoid making the same mistakes they did. You are telling the OP not to try to avoid making the "same mistakes" others have made by telling them to just find out for themselves. This would of course be the preferred way if you have the time and the money to try out all options but for those who lack either of these I don't blame them for trying to learn from the mistakes of others.

Actually I am telling the OP that to make a decision based on the opinions of a very few number of people is not really a sound decision at all. You might read several negative reviews for any ship currently sailing. However when you compare that number to the hundreds of thousands sailing each week it truly becomes a mute point. Plus the vast majority of complaints are on things that are highly subjective like quality of food, quality of service, price of drinks, etc. Besides there is absolutely no way to prove that just because something is a "mistake" for one person that it is a "mistake" for everyone. We just had a new and very nice restaurant open in our area. Over this past weekend I had three different people say that they had eaten there and that it sucked. My wife and I had dinner there last night and had a wonderful dinner with great service. Really glad I like to form my own opinions.......

Looking forward to the cruise. We are pretty low maintenence and don't need to be entertained. Small quarters are OK. Just for sleeping. Looks like everyone either loves it or hates it. Thanks for the positive thoughts.:rolleyes:

Looking forward to the cruise. We are pretty low maintenence and don't need to be entertained. Small quarters are OK. Just for sleeping. Looks like everyone either loves it or hates it. Thanks for the positive thoughts.:rolleyes:

Hope you have a great time! You should come back and let us know what YOU think of the Monarch after your cruise!