To cruise or not to cruise.

[Jimnbigd]

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.

[Arzeena]

Originally Posted by gottahaveacruise

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!

[zacc]

Originally Posted by Jana60

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.......

[gottahaveacruise]

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.

[Jana60]

Originally Posted by gottahaveacruise

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.

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

[meggie711]

Originally Posted by gottahaveacruise

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.

Not that anybody cares, but this is our theory on cruising:
We live within 4 hours of Port Canaveral, so it's not very difficult to pick up and go cruise on a short trip, older ship, unfancy stateroom cruise. My first cruise was like that, and we have done the same itinerary 3 times (Sovereign, Sovereign, and Monarch). My first cruise was on Sovereign of the Seas in 2001. The ship was far from new, far from fancy, but I fell in love. All I wanted to do after that was cruise. We had an oceanview on that trip.
After that cruise, we cruised again for our honeymoon. Again, old ship, oceanview room, short trip. Again, I was in love. After that, we did another old ship, short trip with an interior room. After that, we did the big 7-day to a new itinerary and on a balcony. I was more in love than ever. I say THAT to say this.. we sprinkle in a few "bigger" trips here and there on newer ships, nicer rooms, but we would still take a quick trip, old ship, interior room in a heartbeat and have a great time doing it.

OK.. not that you asked for any of that, just to say that some people can be very satisfied with a "no bells and whistles" cruise while others will find it unacceptable. A cruise is absolutely what you make of it, and I think you're going to have a great time! Enjoy doing more research.. check out pics at Flickr dot com, watch some cruise videos on youtube (ignoring the storm ones, of course), and just enjoy the time leading up to your trip. That's half of the fun.

[we're sailing away....]

Your first cruise, you'll love it ..

[gottahaveacruise]

Thanks for all the positive reinforcement. I am sure we will enjoy ourselves.
We live in Orlando, so we have a short drive and don't need to worry about all the airport horrors. Just got a little concerned when we read so much negative, but have figured out that some people are never happy. I can't wait!
It's going to be paid in full next week and that puts it in concrete, so full speed
ahead. Now my biggest challenge is convincing my husband that the formal night won't be that bad. I actually like to dress up. He wears a suit 6 days a week. Thanks again.

[Jana60]

Originally Posted by gottahaveacruise

Thanks for all the positive reinforcement. I am sure we will enjoy ourselves.
We live in Orlando, so we have a short drive and don't need to worry about all the airport horrors. Just got a little concerned when we read so much negative, but have figured out that some people are never happy. I can't wait!
It's going to be paid in full next week and that puts it in concrete, so full speed ahead. Now my biggest challenge is convincing my husband that the formal night won't be that bad. I actually like to dress up. He wears a suit 6 days a week. Thanks again.

I'm glad you are approaching your cruise with a positive outlook. Oddly looking at the past reviews of people, I usually find an even mix of feelings indicating that while they may not like the same things as someone else, they definitely DO have the ability to be happy rather than "never happy" as you indicated above. I, for instance, have been on 18 cruises, one of which my luggage was lost and I traveled with only the contents of a backpack, another ship blew up 1 week after we returned to port, yet I've been on ONLY one cruise that I would not be willing to pay the same money to repeat. (Well OK, the one that blew up I don't think I want to go on again but hey I enjoyed my cruise!) I certainly am not saying that my opinion bears any more weight than any other nor am I saying everything was negative BUT I believe it is an injustice to discount the opinions of others (which YOU asked for I might add!) as being arbitrary or without value because you have decided you disagree.

[fleckle]

For a first cruise, it really is easiest to start with an older ship in a lower level stateroom, save a lot of money and have a wonderful time because you have no basis for comparison.

From there, you can always move up to a nicer ship and a higher level stateroom on following cruises, enjoying each step along the way.

But if you start out at the top with the best suite, it makes it difficult to go in the opposite direction on subsequent cruises.

[cruise seekers]

Originally Posted by gottahaveacruise

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?

If the cruise was a little later in the year i would say book another cruise that leaves before the Monarch I agree that a 3 day is geared toward a different crowd. RC does a nice job, great staff, get to know your dining room servers...they have awesome personalities! We were on a sister ship of Monarch and enjoyed the smaller crowd. Most of our favorite boats are the smaller ones. They all have good and bad. Its a personal preference that makes a good or bad happen. Honestly, its an adventure in "finding" the perfect boat and we are still on a hunt!! RC Independence of the seas is right up there. Enjoy the cruise and enjoy the hunt!

[meggie711]

Originally Posted by fleckle

For a first cruise, it really is easiest to start with an older ship in a lower level stateroom, save a lot of money and have a wonderful time because you have no basis for comparison.

From there, you can always move up to a nicer ship and a higher level stateroom on following cruises, enjoying each step along the way.

But if you start out at the top with the best suite, it makes it difficult to go in the opposite direction on subsequent cruises.

So true! We took two other couples with us on our 2008 cruise. We were on a 7-day to Coco Cay, St. Thomas & St. Maarten, and had a balcony. It was actually our first 7-day, first on that itinerary, and first balcony. We had already been on a couple of short cruises and had even done the interior, so we had a great deal of appreciation for the entire trip. We could still go back and do a short interior because we would know what to expect. However, one our friends was on his first ever cruise, and now he only wants a balcony, 7-day, etc. Hard to convince them to do a quick trip with us. lol

[patch27]

I've never travelled on the Monarch of the Seas, but many other lines and cruise ships. What I've learned is that most people start out with modest accomodations which are moderately priced. After that first cruise, when you learn how enjoyable a cruise can be, you're hooked! Then you start to branch out to larger ships and book more expensive cabins. A cruise is what you make of the time on board. Be positive, relax and enjoy the moment. You will then start thinking about your next cruise.

Have a great time!!!!