Monarch was disappointing

[frayedknot]

I'm leaving friday for my 4th MOS cruise in 6 months.
I've brought friends and family members, as well.
just love the ship- her classic lines,
especially outdoors on deck 7.
I've had some delicious meals in Jade.
48 hours til we sail.....

#14 Monarch of the Seas 5-21-04

[Catnip]

KShea,
Thank goodness somebody finally agrees with me! I thought I was the lone ranger here, because I beleive that it doesn't matter how many posts somebody has. Like you said, we all were beginners at some point. And not all cruisers have happy, positive experiences. I think some loyal RCCL fans here dislike it when people have negative comments about RCCL and tend to bash them. I have been on RCCL over 15 times and I will cruise them again, but I know that they are not perfect and sometimes people do have valid complaints.
That said, I do not think it is fair to compare Monarch to the newer ships like Voyager or Brilliance. It just won't compare. It is an older ship and certainly can be expected to show it's age. Now, the crew, entertainment & food should certainly be up to the normal RCCL standard.
I like the older ships--Splendour is my very favorite. I dislike the big, mega-ships so I choose not to cruise on the big ones like Voayager. I guess that's why they have brochures and a good travel agent is good to have to be able to choose what kind of ship you will be happy on!

(26 prior cruises & 2 flights on Concorde)

It has been said that angels, while on Earth,
aren't allowed to show their wings,
but nothing was ever said
about not showing their whiskers. <^..^>

[dougp26364]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by KShea:
Being on this board almost 4 years I'm starting to see a disturbing pattern. Almost every...no everytime I see a negitive review on a ship the person who posted it gets nailed. Kevin
Go NY Jets !<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Then check out the thread about the Emperess OTS. Bad review, new poster, didn't get nailed. I suspect because there isn't much info on EOS after her dry dock. MOS on the other hand had bad reviews imediately after dry dock. Reviews have been much better of late. The OP's cruise was in October of last year. I believe this was still in the range of time that MOS wasn't getting good reviews post dry dock.

So we're looking at an 8 month old review from a person that has posted very little that runs counter to more recent reports. It doesn't surprise me that those who love RCI would question it.

Future cruises
Explorer OTS - Easter Caribbean 11/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2004;11;14;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2005;01;14;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
Brilliance OTS - Mediteranian 10/05
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2005;10;15;20;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]


Past cruises
Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03
Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

[apfra.]

I like Legend of the Seas. I was only on her for a couple of hours, but I will sail on her again I am sure. I think the Vision and Radiance-class are excellent.

Thank you, KShea, I could not agree with you more. I used to think RCI was the best and that they were perfect. If you look at my cruise resume you see that I did not try a non RCI/Celebrity Cruises until I think my 12th cruise. That is how addicted I was to the company in general. They provided everything I needed and more. When I sailed on lines like NCL (in many aspects worse however than RCI), RSSC, Cunard, and Crystal, I figured out that RCI was not perfect. During this time I had also accumulated finer tastes for food that I had simply not cared about prevoiusly, and RCI and Celebrity were cutting budgets at the same time.

I used to be outraged when someone posted a bad review about Celebrity. I could not understand. Now I do. They are not perfect, and I am sure that sometimes cruisers do not get the "5-star" experience they had expected. I even hesitate calling Crystal's experience "5-stars". My Serenade of the Seas cruise was far better than the Serenity. It was not because of the food, it was not because of the service, it was not because of the accommodation, but it was because of the ship, the passengers, the entertainment and the overall untenable atmosphere of RCI that NO other line has in my opinion. I guess I am still too young at heart.

There is not such thing as a perfect hotel or cruise. It can always be improved, and the only way things get better is by criticism. If we all simply sit back and never complain about things that DESERVE complaining, they will never change. I am not a complainer at all, and if something meets my standards, I will not say a word. EVERY single cruise has meet my previously set expectations except Monarch of the Seas. That is why I have decided to offer my criticism.

The trend is obvious…. People who post even just OK-poor reviews (like mine) of a old-mass market ship get blasted! That is it! I once posted an not-so-good review of the NCL Star on the NCL board (this was probably a year ago). I got blasted. I mean totally offended, mocked, and made fun of. Just cruel behavior that reminds me of what kids do. I do not take offense to it, but some people would be in tears!

We all have different ideas of "a good cruise", and for some, a ship will do. For some (I have realized that is me), a new ship is a must. I am surprised by the extreme disrespect people continually show each other on board simply for stating their opinion.

Adam

Celebrity Galaxy- 7/98
Celebrity Zenith- 7/99
Rhapsody of the Seas- 12/99
Voyager of the Seas- 8/00
Celebrity Millennium- 6/01
Radiance of the Seas- 10/01
Explorer of the Seas- 12/01
Celebrity Millennium- 4/02
Celebrity Constellation- 6/02
Celebrity Summit- 8/02
Radiance of the Seas- 8/02
Norwegian Star- 11/02
Norwegian Dawn- 12/02
Celebrity Infinity- 4/03
Radisson Seven Seas Voyager- 6/03
Crystal Serenity- 8/03
Monarch of the Seas- 10/03
Serenade of the Seas- 10/03
Mariner of the Seas- 12/03
Queen Mary II (Queen's Grill)- 03/04
Westerdam- 06/04
Jewel of the Seas 11/04

Miscellaneous ship visits:
The World- 12/02
Legend of the Seas- 11/03
Seven Seas Voyager- 01/03
Caronia- 04/04

[richardbc]

Well we were on the Monarch in March (Should I finally post my review?) and all I can say is she ain't no Radiance [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

However, we knew she would be older and a bit worn. That WAS noticable in the cabins and those passageways. The public areas were quite nice.

All in all we enjoyed the trip. I didn't notice any more "boozers" than on our 7 day Mexican Riviera on the Sea Princess. No loud people in the cabin areas.

richard

[DocJohnB]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> So we're looking at an 8 month old review from a person that has posted very little that runs counter to more recent reports. It doesn't surprise me that those who love RCI would question it.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess my response to the last sentence is WHY? Why question a poster for stating his/her [B]OPINION[/B]. Read the post, digest it, express your personal opinions on the subject, DO NOT slam the OP's opinion, then move the hell on.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;11;5;16;30;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


Until we sail on SUMMIT for 10 nights


[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=9243096327&m=2343080557"]Roll Call Summit 11/05/2004 click here [/url]

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2005;01;9;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


Until MOAGC's on Explorer of the Seas


[img]http://goatlocker.org/cposalute.gif[/img]

Seven Cruises last Century, then:

Norwegian Sky 2000 GGC2000
Volendam 2001 GGC2001
Paradise 2001
Sensation 2002 GGC2002
Millenium 2003 (Nov 16)
Mariner OTS 2004 (Feb 29)
Summit 2004 (Nov 05)
Explorer OTS 2005 (Jan 09)

[tinkerme1]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I don't think that anyone is "slamming" anyone here. We all have different tastes and different views of experiences on cruise ships.

I'm just guessing here, but I believe that there are many people who found the Monarch to be a very nice ship "for what it is", a three and four night cruise ship.

I do know that the Monarch is a "training ship". They use her to bring in new staff and staff that needs re-training. Maybe this is why the service is never consistent, because the staff changes often.

With that said, I do respect what the original poster said, and in turn, I think they should respect what other people said too. This is a "sharing" forum, and this is what makes CruisCritic so wonderful.

[img]http://beta.hometown.aol.com/micknminy/myhomepage/animtink.gif[/img]
Celia

"Jewel OTS " 06/04 # 11 & 12
"Brilliance OTS" 04/05 # 13 & 14

[iluvcruzin]

Adam..

Wow.. this thread is still growing! Anyway.. Good for you for posting your opinion. Postive and Negative feedback is good. Not everyone will agree with what you say but there will be some who will.

I had a similar experience on the Granduer 4/03/04 sailing as far being disappointed. Had I started a post saying I was disappointed I can guarantee that it will include 100 posts slaming me on my opinion. If I had my list of sailings posted from the different cruiselines & ships I'm sure the swords would be thrown too.

As far as a new poster.. I'm going to guess you are not and maybe someone who forgot their id/password and it was easier to re-register.

Now - change of subject on your thread.. I noticed you were on the QM2. Would you mind posting your experience on the Cunnard board? I'm looking into a transatlantic cruise and would like to know what your experience was on 3/04. Thanks

Maureen

Princess Sun 2/27/2005
Mariner of the Seas 10/16/2005