Menace of the Seas

[grand isle joe]

.....lost at the craps table huh?......better luck next time (with the stabilizers).....;)

[Yo Eleven]

I never leave home without them! I learned a long time ago that crossbeam swells and I don't get along, so now I just pop a pill before we go and it's all good.

 

Also noticed that you were up high and forward, which always makes it worse. And yes, those OS are fab. like everything about Monarch, they're smaller than their counterparts on the newer ships, but still a great way to sail.

Yes, we were high and forward, you are correct. But we sailed with a group and some were towards the middle and it was very rough there as well to the point they got sick as well. And at night, I was roaming the halls in the wee hours of the morning like the roach i am and I am telling you that ship simply doesn't handle right in my opinion.

[Yo Eleven]

.....lost at the craps table huh?......better luck next time (with the stabilizers).....;)

HAHAHAHA! that was funny.

 

I am sailing on the Oasis next month. Hopefully, it will be smooth enough to play. :p

[sweet angel]

He should be fine on the majesty. Bring sea bands and/or bonine just for protection. You will love that ship. Have fun.

 

Liberty was his first cruise. He swore "I'll be fine" :rolleyes:-- a green, formal-night trip to the infirmary for shot and a night-long nap taught him to listen to his wife when she says "take Bonine to be safe". He was much better on Serenade when he listened. ;)

[grand isle joe]

HAHAHAHA! that was funny.

 

I am sailing on the Oasis next month. Hopefully, it will be smooth enough to play. :p

 

.....I wish you luck....."Daddy needs a new pair of shoes"....:)

[SECdawg]

We have sailed on Monarch many times and always enjoy her. On our last cruise we encountered a tropical storm(third time) and I have to say she was rocking more than ever before. My DS was on the pool deck for a teen dance party and he said the water in the pool looked like people were cannonballing in it there was so much water splashing. Also the dancing was a little challanging. We were sailing with another family who have an extensive cruising history. They agreed it was rockier than they had encountered. It did not interfere with our having a great time though, and I look forward to cruising her again in the near future. We always sail in the summer due to school and we have never missed cococay. I know I have heard that that happens alot more in the winter/early spring months. I know she will be retired soon, but I hate to see her go. Great staff!!!

[mairem17]

NOTE: NOT A ONE POST WONDER HERE-telling it like it is

 

Wow!!!!! Recently got of the Menace of the Seas, errrr Monarch.

Man that ship needs to be retired. I think there is seriously something wrong with that ship. That ship cannot handle waves at all. Rocking all over the place. I do not have any facts to support this, but someone told me on the cruise before it had some listing issues that had to be corrected before our sailing. It did feel at times the ship was not perfectly stable at times. Either the ship has NO stabiizers or they simply don't work right.

 

Yes, there was a weather front coming in but the ship handles horribly. I have been on other ships, RCI included in seas much worse and didn't have the experience we had. We were unable to stop at Coco Cay because of the seas, but that is not RCI fault nor does it make me angry and resulting in my negative post about the ship. I am just telling it like it is from a real CC poster.

 

On a HIGH note, the food was excellent, the staff was excellent. The activities were plentiful. I would still highly recommend RCI. I think it is a great cruise line. But, they need to make the Monarch into a coral reef already.

 

Let the bashing begin. Hopefully, not as I am just telling it like it is.

 

If it helps, back in the 90's Monarch hit a coral reef off of St. Maarten and starting taking on water and sinking. They purposely sunk it a little and did repairs on it in Mobile, Alabama. Maybe it was just meant to stay there.

[Yo Eleven]

We have sailed on Monarch many times and always enjoy her. On our last cruise we encountered a tropical storm(third time) and I have to say she was rocking more than ever before. My DS was on the pool deck for a teen dance party and he said the water in the pool looked like people were cannonballing in it there was so much water splashing. Also the dancing was a little challanging. We were sailing with another family who have an extensive cruising history. They agreed it was rockier than they had encountered. It did not interfere with our having a great time though, and I look forward to cruising her again in the near future. We always sail in the summer due to school and we have never missed cococay. I know I have heard that that happens alot more in the winter/early spring months. I know she will be retired soon, but I hate to see her go. Great staff!!!

Thanks for the input dawg!!!!!

[Yo Eleven]

If it helps, back in the 90's Monarch hit a coral reef off of St. Maarten and starting taking on water and sinking. They purposely sunk it a little and did repairs on it in Mobile, Alabama. Maybe it was just meant to stay there.

No wonder that ship is messed up!!!!! Now making sense.

[Yo Eleven]

I knew something was up with this ship!!!!!!

The article confirms there was severe damage to the ship.

No wonder this ship has a weird feel to it. No way it would

ever be perfect. Explains why the ride is different than majesty.

Reef her already.

 

Grounding off St. Maarten

After evacuating a sick passenger at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles on 15 December 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef while departing opening a 40 by 2 metres (130 by 6.6 ft) gash along the starboard hull.[5] The ship started taking water and began to sink by the head. Three of its watertight compartments were completely flooded and several others partially flooded.

It was intentionally grounded on a sandbar to prevent further sinking. All passengers were evacuated by crew members and local tender operators. No lives were lost. The grounding breached 2 diesel fuel tanks and an overflow tank causing a small fuel spill of approximately 100 US gallons (380 l; 83 imp gal) resulted. There was also severe damage to the ship.[5][6] A joint investigation by the Norwegian Maritime Investigator and the United States Coast Guard found that the accident was due to “…a myriad of human performance deficiencies.” Reports also indicate that navigation out of the port was done by eye rather than use of electronic navigation and that the relocation of a vital buoy was not reflected on charts.[7][8]

The ship was drydocked for repairs for three months at Atlantic Marine’s Mobile, Alabama facilities. One-hundred and fourteen of the ship’s compartments had to be cleaned. The work also included the replacement of machinery, 460 tons of shell plating, and 18 miles (29 km) of electrical wiring.

[Capt_BJ]

http://marinecasualty.com/documents/monarch.pdf

 

a stout lil' ship that's been thu a lot . . .

 

at one time a queen of the fleet

 

today an also ran

 

but I'm thinking of booking another ....

 

what keeps MONARCH going?

 

- a location that supports short cruises. There are only a few ports that do. Ships can depart Canaveral, visit Nassau, and return in a cost effective manner . . .

 

- the RCL{/I/CCL what ever it is this week} brand

 

- a location that WANTS short cruises: close to the Orlando vacation meca and the Space Coast retirement community.

[Yo Eleven]

http://marinecasualty.com/documents/monarch.pdf

 

a stout lil' ship that's been thu a lot . . .

 

at one time a queen of the fleet

 

today an also ran

 

but I'm thinking of booking another ....

 

what keeps MONARCH going?

 

- a location that supports short cruises. There are only a few ports that do. Ships can depart Canaveral, visit Nassau, and return in a cost effective manner . . .

 

- the RCL{/I/CCL what ever it is this week} brand

 

- a location that WANTS short cruises: close to the Orlando vacation meca and the Space Coast retirement community.

I do like to know if there is any confirmation that

this ship had listing issues last week?

 

IF this can be confirmed, i would have safety concerns with this ship.

 

Hey I am not having fun bashing this ship. It is not my intention to do so. I just feel something is wrong with her. Everything else is WONDERFUL.

[Capt_BJ]

you have stability concerns? What do you know about ship stability?

 

this ship was righted ... do you think a cuise ship has experienced this?

 

 

over the past two months the Canaveral area has experienced weather that has made surfers HAPPY HAPPY

 

BIG WAVES

 

guess what that means to a ship?????

 

Leaving Canaveral heading SE crossing the Gulf Stream while the weather patterns have been pushing on shore winds and heavy surf . . . . take your drugs people

 

yes bigger ships mean less movement up to a point; but a ship needing to make time versus a wave and swell pattern opposing that means...

 

rock and roll.. or damage as the ship a couple of years ago (if they'd slowed, there would have not been damage)

 

My quals'???

 

years in the captain's chair in this very environment . . . .

[Scotty G]

you have stability concerns? What do you know about ship stability?

 

this ship was righted ... do you think a cuise ship has experienced this?

 

 

over the past two months the Canaveral area has experienced weather that has made surfers HAPPY HAPPY

 

BIG WAVES

 

guess what that means to a ship?????

 

Leaving Canaveral heading SE crossing the Gulf Stream while the weather patterns have been pushing on shore winds and heavy surf . . . . take your drugs people

 

yes bigger ships mean less movement up to a point; but a ship needing to make time versus a wave and swell pattern opposing that means...

 

rock and roll.. or damage as the ship a couple of years ago (if they'd slowed, there would have not been damage)

 

My quals'???

 

years in the captain's chair in this very environment . . . .

Thanks Capt BJ, always respect your professional input. Living just a few miles South of PC we have seen very turbulent weather in the past few weeks. Neither the captains of the Monarch, Freedom or Carnival Ecstasy were responsible for what happened to their ships. The Ecstasy was late in getting into PC (Its new home port) last night due to rough weather coming up the East coast of Florida! The OP seems to have a personal vendetta against the Monarch that I truly do not understand.

[Tetra]

And I bring no qualifications whatsoever to the discussion, since this was my first cruise. :D

 

I really didn't think it was that awful. Kind of annoying after awhile, sure. Put a bit of a damper on the last night, as it was tough to walk around, and I didn't want to go out on deck with the wind howling like that. But lots of people were out and about, and apparently having a good time. There were plenty of people in Boleros and the Schooner, and the karaoke was going full blast with a decent crowd when I went up there around 10 PM.

 

And I was nervous about this cruise. I went solo, in part because I was afraid the ship motion would bother me, and I wanted to make sure I could handle it before I went with friends and messed up their vacation by spending the trip barfing in the cabin. Reading about what happened to the Freedom a few weeks ago scared the daylights out of me. That was exactly what I was afraid of.

 

It was SO calm, almost all weekend. Gorgeous weather, hardly felt any movement at all until around dinnertime on Sunday. Yeah, we were rockin and rollin after that, but I never felt sick that night (and I'd been a little queasy in the morning, for some reason), and I didn't find it the least bit scary. I've seen many a trip report talking about a rough ride going back to Port Canaveral (on other ships as well as Monarch), and I assumed it was normal, or maybe a bit worse than normal.

 

I gotta say, if this was unusually bad, I really look forward to future cruises. Cause I absolutely loved this one, from beginning to end.

 

And yeah, 2 days later and I'm still moving, too. :p

[Yo Eleven]

Thanks Capt BJ, always respect your professional input. Living just a few miles South of PC we have seen very turbulent weather in the past few weeks. Neither the captains of the Monarch, Freedom or Carnival Ecstasy were responsible for what happened to their ships. The Ecstasy was late in getting into PC (Its new home port) last night due to rough weather coming up the East coast of Florida! The OP seems to have a personal vendetta against the Monarch that I truly do not understand.

Unfortunately you will never understand.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

Time to send her to the sharks.

 

Or to refurbish her and keep her going. The Monarch is still a very nice, large cruise ship- small by RCI standards is still pretty huge.

 

If all cruise ships that develop issues are ''sent to the sharks'' then nearly no cruise ship would be afloat, for they have all had their issues during their careers. The Crown Princess for one, after the listing debacle during her maiden season would now be a diver attraction, as would the Rotterdam, and many, many others.

 

What you describe on the Monarch isn't the normal state of affairs and there might be something wrong with her. Yes, of course she has a stabilizer, she isn't pre-historic, ya know ! The first ships with stabilizers came out in 1934.

 

I agree that such motion isn't the way forward but I wrote mainly to point out the fact that ships last a lot more than 20 or so years, and if you fix cars when they are faulty then by God you do the same with far more expensive ships.

[bkr50]

The Monarch is indeed an old ship, and the cabin I was in earlier this year definitely could have used refurbishing. However, the public areas are well maintained. But more importantly, THE MONARCH CREW IS THE BEST. The itinerary for this ship is perfect for an inexpensive, quick get away.

[Yo Eleven]

Or to refurbish her and keep her going. The Monarch is still a very nice, large cruise ship- small by RCI standards is still pretty huge.

 

If all cruise ships that develop issues are ''sent to the sharks'' then nearly no cruise ship would be afloat, for they have all had their issues during their careers. The Crown Princess for one, after the listing debacle during her maiden season would now be a diver attraction, as would the Rotterdam, and many, many others.

 

What you describe on the Monarch isn't the normal state of affairs and there might be something wrong with her. Yes, of course she has a stabilizer, she isn't pre-historic, ya know ! The first ships with stabilizers came out in 1934.

 

I agree that such motion isn't the way forward but I wrote mainly to point out the fact that ships last a lot more than 20 or so years, and if you fix cars when they are faulty then by God you do the same with far more expensive ships.

Cant refute anything you say here makes sense. Thanks for yout thoughts.

[PH8]

Today I booked my 17th cruise on the MN........still deciding if I like her or not,;)

[Capt_BJ]

Neither the captains of the Monarch, Freedom or Carnival Ecstasy were responsible for what happened to their ships.

 

 

OH NO ... as Captain they were ALL responsible

 

as I was for my ships . . .

 

don't blame the weather cuz the Captain is responsible for reading all available input about weather and planning accordingly.

 

Just a part of being addressed as Captain at sea

[KellyJean]

I do not have any facts to support this, but someone told me on the cruise before it had some listing issues that had to be corrected before our sailing. It did feel at times the ship was not perfectly stable at times. Either the ship has NO stabiizers or they simply don't work right.

 

You don't "have any facts to support this" but you're bashing the Monarch??? This is like which lie is the truth?

 

We loved the Monarch! We did encounter some weather and yes, we encountered some light rolling but it wasn't all that bothersome! We did miss Coco Cay the first round due to weather and got stuck in Nassau for 2 days but we went back to Coco Cay instead of having a day at sea.

 

Sorry you didn't like the Monarch. We can't wait to sail on her again!

[Happy ks]

We cruised on Monarch several time when she was still on the left coast. Some of them were rocky heading north, some of them we had to go up on deck to see if the ship was really moving.

 

I would have to say it was due to ocean conditions.

 

I don't believe there is a ship large enough that would not be tossed about on the ocean if the conditions warranted it.

 

Edit to add, Monarch is dear to our hearts and we'd love to have her back. We've been on several much larger, much newer ships and we still prefer that size over most. Radiance (only one time) came in a close second.

[Yo Eleven]

You don't "have any facts to support this" but you're bashing the Monarch??? This is like which lie is the truth?

 

We loved the Monarch! We did encounter some weather and yes, we encountered some light rolling but it wasn't all that bothersome! We did miss Coco Cay the first round due to weather and got stuck in Nassau for 2 days but we went back to Coco Cay instead of having a day at sea.

 

Sorry you didn't like the Monarch. We can't wait to sail on her again!

I laugh because 99 percent of the negative write ups are from one post wonders. This proves if you have a negative opinion of something here you will get nothing but grief from other posters, eg being called a liar.

 

I didn't like how that ship handled the seas. That's all. So what if I think it should be loaded up with BANG and sent to the sharks for the purposes of making it a beautiful reef. Do people get that upset that someone doesn't like something and wishes to report it here?

[grand isle joe]

Neither the captains of the Monarch, Freedom or Carnival Ecstasy were responsible for what happened to their ships.

 

 

OH NO ... as Captain they were ALL responsible

 

as I was for my ships . . .

 

don't blame the weather cuz the Captain is responsible for reading all available input about weather and planning accordingly.

 

Just a part of being addressed as Captain at sea

 

......but going down with the ship is gone with the Edsel I presume?...