Monarch Review with Pictures

[shonandsuzie]

Back at work today so it must be time to do my review of our 5/10-5/14 cruise on Monarch of the Seas to the Nassau and Coco Cay. Although I have been home a few days, I always find it much more rewarding to “get paid” to write these up…lol -- And writing the review helps me remember a happier time which in turn makes me work better for my employer. The way I see it, it works for everyone!

This is my 16th cruise and my husband, Shon’s 15th cruise. We have previously cruised on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess and Norwegian. We really don’t have a preference of cruise line…however, starting to see the benefits of reaching whatever “LEVEL” and the perks that come with that.

Our trip started off positive when we got the opportunity to upgrade our flight to first class for just $69. We encountered some psycho family while on the flight. Apparently, they had booked 5 First class spots. 2 adults, 3 kids. They were jumping from seat to seat, trading spots with friends in coach off and on, going into the flight attendants cabinets to get their own rinks/snacks. Turning up their DVD player LOUD. Just plain pain in the butts. Good thing we got “free” drinks so were only partly present for all of that if you know what I mean! LOL. Regardless, we felt horrible for the flight attendants for having to deal with them. For us, it was just a funny memory that we joked about all week. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed the “perks” and arrived in Orlando with a smile. We rented a car from Thrifty and headed off to our hotel. One tip I wish we would have had was to be sure and have plenty of change for the many toll booths! We got to the first one and realized that all we had was $100 bills. We held the traffic up while we searched the bottom of my purse for lost change and eventually came up with the right amount (with loud honking in the background!) Duh. Can’t believe we didn’t get change before leaving home. We got off at the first exit and got change at McDonalds. Whew!

The arrival at our hotel Omni Championsgate was extremely welcomed. Check in was a breeze and we requested a room overlooking the pool. We chose the resort for the pool areas. They have an adult pool with Cabanas that you can rent for the day an adult hot tub with a fountain in the middle, there is a family pool with beach-like entries on both end. There is a slide, in water basketball court and my favorite the lazy river which snakes in between the other pools. We got a great rate of $90/night. J

While in Orlando we hung by the pool for the most part but also made a trip to an outlet mall (where I found shirts for 67cent), Downtown Disney and to visit family.

[shonandsuzie]

MONDAY:

Monday Morning we weren’t sure if we’d relax at the pool for a while or just get up and hit the road for Port Canaveral. In the end we couldn’t contain ourselves and headed to port! The drive from Orlando to the Port was pleasant actually. (Especially since we had change for the tolls! Lol) We stopped at a grocery store a block from the car rental place and picked up some last minute things. Then Thrifty took us to port! Yay! The lines weren’t bad but because we were Platinum we were able to bypass those. There was no line at all for Platinum and Diamond members. Sweet! I think we got on the ship at 12:30. Rooms are not ready until 1:00. (and they mean it!!!) We opted to sit in the near the "cafe" and have coffee and wait. Unfortunately, the common spaces are not as impressive as the larger ships and you have to pay for regular coffee at the café. We missed the café on Adventure and Navigator where you can grab little sandwiches, coffee, desserts and such. We dropped off our luggage, met our stateroom attendant and requested to have our beds put back together.

 

 

 

We were in cabin 6572 which was under the “walking track” I guess. I had read before leaving that people sometimes run and boy did they. Think; Boom, boom, boom, boom……. Not too bad at night though and that was really the only time we were in the room. Speaking of which, I must say that Shon hated the oceanview room. I obviously prefer the balcony rooms but can cope with the oceanview if needed. We both missed mornings out on the balcony having coffee and watching the waves. Also in the afternoons after being in port, we both enjoy sitting out on the balcony and watching people come and go. So we decided that since it’s vacation (and it should be perfect J )we won’t ever book anything lower than a balcony again no matter what. It was just hard in this instance since there is such an extreme difference in price due to the few balconies available.

[shonandsuzie]

We had a small Meet and Greet at Schooners which actually had a good turnout. It was fun to put faces with all of the people we had been planning with. We met up right before the Muster call and then went to our muster stations. Our muster station was in a lounge instead of outside! Again, YAY! It was very comfortable. I do not like standing outside in countless rows, arm to arm trying to listen to directions. This was much better. After, we explored the ship and took pictures, gave $40 to the Casino and then headed to dinner. We had MYTIME dining. Have mixed feelings about it. We did ANYTIME on Princess and much preferred their set up. On Princess, they did the anytime similar to how lunch or breakfast is done in the main dining rooms. You can chose to join a table or sit alone but you are sat when you arrive. On this ship, we went to the desk at the door to the dining room and then they used a computer to find a seat for you. They said they assume that if you have mytime, you want to sit alone. ?? Oh well. We had great servers who we requested each night. Pinky and John F. Pinky was the assistant and was our favorite server of all time. After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. Not impressed. We went to the room to check out the schedule for the evening and OOPS…fell asleep! We knew better than to go in that room!!! We missed the rest of the evening’s options but slept like big babies! J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

TUESDAY:

We were scheduled to go to Coco Cay on this morning. But we couldn’t stop due to winds, I guess. It didn’t really matter to us personally. We love sea days and we didn’t have any preplanned excursions anywhere. We are kind of “go with the flow” travelers. The captain said that he’d go straight to Nassau and that we should arrive at 1 or 2 p.m.. Shon and I went to the pool deck, found a great spot and chilled! The wind felt nice because it kept us cool while the sun beat down on us. Speaking of which,

the weather was fantastic for us! Yay! Michigan had been cold dark and rainy. Florida and the Bahamas were at about 85 degrees and sunny for our whole trip!!!!!! And we have the tan to prove it! J They had poolside games which were entertaining to watch and the greatest calypso band (Temperature was the name).

We arrived in Nassau while we were having lunch in the main dining room. This was a good spot to watch us maneuver, etc. Lunch was also great. They have a salad bar set up where Chefs put together your salad. You go along and pick what you would like. Great things like fresh shrimp, avocado, grilled eggplant…on and on and on. Everyone at our lunch table had one. YUM. We went out and shopped bit in the straw market. Funny that they call it that, btw. I did see some straw items but they should call it the Knock- Off market, lol. We bought some fun stuff and then stopped in Senor Frogs. FUNNY!!! Our sons (21 & 19) did this particular cruise a month or so ago and they went on and on about Senor Frogs. I see why. :SMH: It looked like big fun .

We had formal night tonight but we weren’t very formal. Shon wore a shirt and tie and I wore a cocktail dress. We actually enjoy dressing up for formal night but we only brought carry-on luggage this trip so we simply didn’t have space for more. We were sad that there was no lobster. Oh well. After dinner we went to the casino and missed Battle of the Sexes (which we had been looking forward to). We didn’t get rich! Imagine that!

(senor frogs and the straw market)

(our formal ;) )

[shonandsuzie]

WEDNESDAY:

We purchased the Atlantis Beach Day Pass on the ship. It was about $60, I think. Anyway, we took the water taxi to Atlantis as a group walked to the resort as a group and then the guide pointed out where everything was and what was included in our pass. After that we explored everything, sat by the beach, jumped in the pools, and looked at some aquariums, walked through a cool under water glass tube where we had fish swimming all around us and….. did I mention, sunburned like heck. We had a ball. Last time that I was in Nassau, I took the water taxi to Atlantis on my own and couldn’t use any of the facilities. This way was much better. After our day, we took the water taxi back to the much needed air conditioning! We didn’t eat while we were at Atlantis at all so when we got back to the ship we jetted up to Windjammer----they were closed. L We grabbed some mediocre pizza and went back to the cabin to tend to our burns. Ouch! After dinner, we went to the cabin and crashed.

 

 

 

**see, we dont look burned do we?...you should have seen us an hour or so later!***

[shonandsuzie]

THURSDAY:

The day started with Shon’s assertion that he was going to start the day off well and go to the morning stretch class in the gym. LMAO… b/c he ended up in the Abs Class instead and he was SORE!!! I sat in the cabin with my coffee and fruit plate and basked in my LAZINESS.( I don’t front! J)

(the gym; he-he, snicker snicker)

We arrived in Coco Cay this morning but we were in no rush to see the sun. It was cool to see the tenders taking people to and fro and also we could see the Majesty and the Norwegian Sky and their respective tenders. It was a beautiful day for a beach day though. We did head over sometime after noon and found a spot in the shade. It was Okay. There were 2 ships today because of the schedule change so the island was PACKED. No really; PACKED. The Majesty was there with us. We got a touch of BBQ lunch. Nothing to talk about. We took the tender boat back to the ship and chilled out on the Lido deck. I got in the icy cold pools and had the greatest MOJITO. (Or 2….) The pool area was basically empty during this time and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

(looks like lots of empty seats but actually....they were all saved!!!! :SMH: )

[shonandsuzie]

Later that evening we donated more money to the casino, went to the adult comedy show and then picked up some Absolut (4 for $40) from the shop. We also checked in for our flight home and ---upgraded to first class again! YAY! We packed our stuff and put our suitcases out. So sad when that time comes…..

FRIDAY:

We woke up before we had actually docked in Port Canaveral and watched out of the window as we arrived. We were in no rush because our flight was not until 2:30 so we lounged around and took our time getting ready to go. We made our way up to Windjammer for our final Monarch breakfast. We got a great seat near a window and watched the people scurry around to get off of the ship. I guess a lot of people expected to dock much earlier as they were lined up for what looked like miles before they ever called for the first self debarkers (is that a word?? lol) to start leaving. I just don’t see the benefit of that that type of departure. You lug your bags and stand in line anyway… Oh well, to each his own. When the Windjammer got boring, we headed to the theatre to wait for the crowds to die down. At some point, they called for any remaining people to leave and out we went. Barely a wait at all…well, in line that is. Of course, in reality the whole morning was a wait but it just didn’t feel as bad. ;)

We bought the ships transfers to the airport simply because it was easy to do. I think when I was looking up our transportation options I saw a couple which were slightly cheaper but I didn’t feel like bothering with it. Our ride was smooth and easy. As we departed the port and headed down the highway we all noticed the LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG line of traffic heading towards the port. There was a space shuttle launch scheduled for 2:20 and apparently everyone in the world was coming to see it and they all were on this road. Did not affect us one bit but we felt for those heading to the port. Our bus driver was radioing back and trying to warn the others and warning those drivers heading in with loads from MCO to the port. The traffic literally went from port to MCO. I tried to get pictures but they didn’t turn out. We saw people camped out on the side of the highway on our side though.

 

 

 

(that is where the launch was going to be)

 

(Shon fell fast asleep and I kept trying to wake him to see the traffic...)

 

(I was happy and rested from a wonderful cruise vacation..but you can see the burn and blisters on my chest)

[shonandsuzie]

We arrived at the airport at around noon, I guess. Our flight was at 2:20. We grabbed a spot and played on the internet and got caught up on everything that happened while we were away. As we got onto the plane, the pilot came over the speaker and said that we should see the space shuttle launch in 30 seconds. So we watched from the runway. Supercool! J The flight was uneventful (i.e.; no funny psycho family behind us this time). Our son picked us up from the airport…got home to a sink full of dishes…in other words…back to the real world.

Can’t wait until September when it’s time to go again!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

The End.

 

 

 

Feel free to ask any questions. I actually took notes throughout the week due to my aging memory......:rolleyes:

[Gottacruise3]

Great review, looks like you had a wonderful time.

[iwannacruznow]

Nice reveiw.Sounds like you had a great time.Cece understands about the balcony thing.

[kellbellscruise]

Fantastic and I love your pics. We actually go fishing alot where that camper was parked waiting for the shuttle. I guess living in Florida does have some perks. Thanks for the info on Atlantis... that didnt seem to be a bad price at all..... oh yeah, and you have a beautiful smile.... kell

[shonandsuzie]

Great review, looks like you had a wonderful time.

 

Nice reveiw.Sounds like you had a great time.Cece understands about the balcony thing.

Thank you. :)

[MzOhioLady]

Suz - Your review was on point and it totally rocked dude! LOL No seriously, the review was great and you guys got a nice tan. I love the pictures. Now you have me wanting to try Royal out so I can put that under my list of ships and itinerarys.

[shonandsuzie]

Fantastic and I love your pics. We actually go fishing alot where that camper was parked waiting for the shuttle. I guess living in Florida does have some perks. Thanks for the info on Atlantis... that didnt seem to be a bad price at all..... oh yeah, and you have a beautiful smile.... kell

Awww, Thanks:o

I thought that was a good price too. We really did a lot there.

[Hollybelle]

Thanks for the review! We cruised the Monarch in December and I absolutely loved Coco Cay... granted I can't imagine what it would look like with a whole ship's worth of extra people. :eek: I love the mojito self-portrait! That's totally something I do!!

[shonandsuzie]

Suz - Your review was on point and it totally rocked dude! LOL No seriously, the review was great and you guys got a nice tan. I love the pictures. Now you have me wanting to try Royal out so I can put that under my list of ships and itinerarys.

Thanks Mickey! Did you crack up at the part about Shon and the Ab class? I know you love to tease him. ;)

Maybe our cruise together will be on Royal. September '11 right......?

[shonandsuzie]

Thanks for the review! We cruised the Monarch in December and I absolutely loved Coco Cay... granted I can't imagine what it would look like with a whole ship's worth of extra people. :eek: I love the mojito self-portrait! That's totally something I do!!

Oh I clearly remember your review from December. You were on there New Year's Eve I think, right?

and thanks...I love a good Mojito..and they make me VERY silly. Thus the self portrait....:o

[Poorplaya]

Wow what a review, thanks for all the pics you took, looks like you guys had a great time.

[sailor05]

Thanks for the great review and pictures! Brings back memories of last years cruise, and psychs me up for the one coming up.:D

[pbinn]

great pics..we go on the monarch for the same cruise in june. You said you got a day pass for the atlantisfor $60? did you get that through the ship? did this allow you to use the pools or the water park while you were there? We had a 12 year old going with us and he really wants to do the water park, and I think is mom will prob go with him, but my husband and i really dont want to pay the $150 ish price for that excursion..just using the pool is fine with us.

[bionicman97]

Enjoyed your review!

[shonandsuzie]

great pics..we go on the monarch for the same cruise in june. You said you got a day pass for the atlantisfor $60? did you get that through the ship? did this allow you to use the pools or the water park while you were there? We had a 12 year old going with us and he really wants to do the water park, and I think is mom will prob go with him, but my husband and i really dont want to pay the $150 ish price for that excursion..just using the pool is fine with us.

Okay I just checked with the accountant (Shon ;) ) and he said they were $69.00/each. We bought them on the ship. The ship offers several excursions to Atlantis. Some more inclusive than others. Ours was called "Atlantis Beach Day Pass" It included all of their beaches, the pools, several aquariums. The only thing that we could not do were the water slides. And something tells me we could have if we tried.....;) The excursion included the water taxi ride to and from Atlantis, too.

 

**Just a thought, have you all looked into reserving a room at the Comfort Suites hotel across the street from Atlantis? Not sure the prices when you are there but it includes all inclusive passes to Atlantis. You can book one room for all of you and get the wrist bands. Our friends just did this a month ago for their family of 4 and it was much more affordable.

[funat55]

Loved your review, loved your pictures and would loved to have been on your cruise because you are the cutest couple ever.

[shonandsuzie]

Loved your review, loved your pictures and would loved to have been on your cruise because you are the cutest couple ever.

Oh! How sweet. Thanks. We love eachother a bunch.:)

[Hollybelle]

Oh I clearly remember your review from December. You were on there New Year's Eve I think, right?

and thanks...I love a good Mojito..and they make me VERY silly. Thus the self portrait....:o

 

Silly is good... especially when it comes in the form of alcohol and there's a camera nearby!! And yep, we totally did the NYE cruise on Monarch!! :D