My first DIAMOND cruise! 7/1/11 Monarch pictorial with Coco Cay Cabana Club report!

[DarthGrady]

Disney Dream leaves port

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

I agree! Can't wait to sail the Jewel in December!

 

M

 

Same here, we are booked on Jewel for 12/15.

[DarthGrady]

Night time on deck

 

 

 

 

Deck party in Nassau

 

[DarthGrady]

Leaving Nassau

 

 

 

Our only towel animal

[DarthGrady]

Okay, that's about all I have time for this evening. I will be back tomorrow with the conclusion! :D

[Clarea]

...Was Danney the LA?

I have some bad news. Danney is not coming back to Monarch. I heard from him a few days ago. He's on vacation in the Philippines now and will go to Enchantment in August. Monarch will not be the same. He said he had been on Monarch for 7 years.

 

Bob

 

P.S. Enjoying the review very much Grady. Really nice photos.

[giswam]

Okay, that's about all I have time for this evening. I will be back tomorrow with the conclusion! :D

 

DarthGrady,

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. I recently got back from the Majesty of the Seas and often wondered how similar the two ships were. I absolutely love your photos and I'm in the market for a new camera, if you don't mind my asking what type of camera your photos were taken with. Thanks again and looking forward to your conclusion.

[Promise]

You'll be happy to know that shes been well taken care of. ;)

 

WE LOOOOVE the Monarch, is it like part of our FAMILY!!!

Being so close to home (we live in Orlando) and with a great convenient itinerary, IT IS VERY CONVENIENT for Weekend Getaways.

 

But the best is the crew ~ they are so friendly and so nice!!!

 

My compliments to the Loyalty Ambassador Elena Rasmussen (from Romania). She really cares about the passengers and their well being.

 

Hope to be on the Monarch again pretty soon!!!

 

Wanda

[DarthGrady]

DarthGrady,

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. I recently got back from the Majesty of the Seas and often wondered how similar the two ships were. I absolutely love your photos and I'm in the market for a new camera, if you don't mind my asking what type of camera your photos were taken with. Thanks again and looking forward to your conclusion.

 

 

Don't mind at all, its a Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS-10.

 

This was my first cruise with it, so I'm still in the learning curve. I used to have a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-28 and loved it, but it was too big. I like one that can fit in a pocket. So I've been very happy with the ZS-10 so far, it has a lot of features in a fairly small package. Its low light performance is a little less than the FZ-28, but I'm happy with the trade off in size. Plus, the ZS-10's zoom is only slightly less than the FZ-28's.

 

 

Sorry, these are huge pictures, hope you can view them okay.

[Promise]

No, it was a lady named Dina according to the Compass insert. I never actually saw her, we missed the Welcome Back Party.

 

 

We have not been on the Monarch since January 2011, but then our Loyalty Ambassador was Ms Elena Rasmussen.

Please check this info that I found on the Crown & Anchor pages of the Royal Caribbean website >>

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/behindSmileProfileLoggedout.do?INTERVIEWID=32

 

Please, let me know!

 

Thanks, Wanda

[Promise]

I also found this >> Danny League

at the Monarch of the Seas

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/behindSmileProfileLoggedout.do?INTERVIEWID=30

[Merion_Mom]

I have some bad news. Danney is not coming back to Monarch. I heard from him a few days ago. He's on vacation in the Philippines now and will go to Enchantment in August. Monarch will not be the same. He said he had been on Monarch for 7 years.

 

Bob

 

P.S. Enjoying the review very much Grady. Really nice photos.

 

Oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :( :( :(

[DarthGrady]

We have not been on the Monarch since January 2011, but then our Loyalty Ambassador was Ms Elena Rasmussen.

Please check this info that I found on the Crown & Anchor pages of the Royal Caribbean website >>

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/behindSmileProfileLoggedout.do?INTERVIEWID=32

 

Please, let me know!

 

Thanks, Wanda

 

Sorry, I won't be much help here. If she was on there I never saw her. I never saw any of them since I missed the Welcome Back Party (they had it at like 1030 am, I was sound asleep ;)).

 

That name I posted earlier was the only Loyalty/Bookings staff member listed on the Compass insert that my wife saved.

[Merion_Mom]

I also found this >> Danny League

at the Monarch of the Seas

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/behindSmileProfileLoggedout.do?INTERVIEWID=30

 

It is wonderful to see Danney's smiling face...............and I was a guest at that dinner. :D

 

But it REALLY p***es me off to see Royal Caribbean's usual very poor writing and proofreading on this webpage.

 

Hey, Royal Caribbean. HIRE ME! :rolleyes:

[foxesden1]

Looks great!!! Can not wait to board her!!! Did you have a CC or menus?

 

Thx!

 

T

[deltatango]

Good review images, I have the TS10 too will be taking lots of pics on my coming cruise, its a nice pocket camera.

[temple1]

Thanks for posting. I will finish reading and enjoying your photos later (gotta run).

 

But your post was extremely timely - we leave out on Monarch on Monday for our first cruise after becoming a Diamond member.

[dfgf]

Timely for me, too! Will be leaving in 5 weeks - also my first cruise as Diamond.

[kc320]

Great Pictures & review...I will be on Monarch in 7 weeks...looking forward to more pic's & the rest of your review!

[Havana Daydreamin]

Introduction: Right back where we started.

 

In December 2008 my wife and I took our very first cruise with Royal Caribbean aboard the Monarch of the Seas. I suppose it’s only fitting that our first cruise as Diamond Members be on the same ship we started on.

 

That is a great plan! We did the same thing a few years back only on the Majesty even attempting to stay in the same cabin until we got moved. Congrats on your new CA level!

 

Nice Review! Thanks!

[I Fly]

Grady,

We were also on the July 1st cruise and also love the Monarch of the Seas. I must complement you on your photos. The Monarch looked even better in your photos than it does it real life. No, not really, but you captured the lighting that made everything sparkle to make your photos come to life.

 

I've noticed that you haven't commented on the CocoCay Cabanas yet. We also had a cabana. Please be careful what you say about them. By the end of the day I decided I would NOT even mention the CocoCay cabanas and the Cabana Club on Cruise Critic. I feel confident you feel the same way about the Cabana Club as we did and understand my concerns about shouting about it too loudly! ;) Oh No! You'll have pictures too, we've had it! :D

 

Thanks for the great review, we can't agree more with everything you said about the Monarch and the fantastic crew.

 

Steve

[PH8]

Great pics Darth!:)

 

Oh I want to hear about the cabanas too!!:D

[Pichu21]

Introduction: Right back where we started.

In December 2008 my wife and I took our very first cruise with Royal Caribbean aboard the Monarch of the Seas. I suppose it’s only fitting that our first cruise as Diamond Members be on the same ship we started on. Since it has been two and a half years since that first pictorial review I thought it would be nice to do an update, plus a few new things tossed in. Anyone wanting to check out that original Monarch trip can inquire here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=892719

Embarkation:

My wife and I arrived at the pier around 1:30 PM. The embarkation process was fairly smooth. The terminal was in full swing, so we were happy to make use of the expedited embarkation offered to Crown and Anchor members at or above Platinum level. Getting from the parking lot to the ship’s lobby took about a half hour. Not too bad considering we arrived during the busiest part of embarkation day.

Day 1:

After getting settled in, we headed to the Windjammer for some lunch. Nothing much had changed since last year, and the food was the usual buffet stuff. Later in the day I met up with the folks from our Cruise Critic roll call thread. After the muster drill, some of us met back up in the Viking Crown Lounge for sail away. They were also having the nightly Diamond Event there, so my wife got a few glasses of free wine, and I got 25% off a cocktail.

The main lobby, your first view upon entering the ship.

 

Lobby sculpture

 

Atrium and glass elevators

 

The grand atrium

 

The Royal Caribbean Online internet cafe, in the lobby.

 

The Library, also in the lobby

 

Can I ask how you made it to Diamond in less than 4 years?! What's the secret behind the curtain?!? We're limited to taking 1 cruise a year and we just barely took our first on the Oasis this May!!

[Puffinater]

Great pictures thanks for taking the time to post them.

[kc320]

Come on..tell us about the Cabana's...:D PULEEEEZ??