Monarch 12/2 Review AKA How did I wind up on a Carnival Cruise?

[vplsh]

My husband and I were on the same voyage as the OP and, while this was not the best RC cruise we've ever been on, we did find the Monarch to be a lovely ship.

 

We were lucky enough to have an SOV on deck 9, which was a great location, and it had a flatscreen tv and a safe. It was clean and well-maintained.

 

I don't disagree about the food in the Windjammer- we both said we felt it was by far the worst we'd encountered. Dinner was MTD as well, and we also had Don and Bobby as our waiters. The first night I was disappointed in the food- scallops and risotto for the appy and eggplant, tomatoes and mozzeralla for the entree (I have always enjoyed these before)- neither was hot and the cheese was so hard you needed a knife to cut it. Don noticed I hadn't finished and asked if it was ok, so I told him it wasn't hot enough. Each night after that, he made sure that my food was extra hot (although you'd think everyone's food should be hot!). Great service!!

 

There was a lot of smoking, but I didn't notice it in the areas the OP did, with the exception of one time on the pool deck. I mentioned it to a facilities staff member and she went up and told them to stop. The casino was almost unusable due to the smoke, and that side of the Schooner bar smelled smoky as well.

 

We had expected to miss Coco Cay, given the winds and rough seas, so we were not too sorry.

 

The gym was great- I even signed up for the boot camp classes. Mariska, the personal trainer from South Africa, was terrific!

 

I agree that the Guest Relations staff was great- I had trouble getting on the internet and they were terrific helping me out!

 

All in all, this was a really nice cruise. We turned Diamond on this cruise, and our pins and Diamond gift were in our cabin on Saturday night. We booked a next cruise, but probably will opt for longer cruises on a bigger ship, as we have to pay airfare to get to Florida and would get some better value.

[poncho1973]

VPLSH: From your picture I can tell we were the couple that sat at the table next to you on the first night. We enjoyed our conversations with you.

 

 

I didn't mean to give the impression we HATED this trip with all of our souls or anything, we just determined this ship is not the ship for us. There were several things that we didn't enjoy about the ship.

 

I found one picture of the room. You might see the big water stain on the back left wall, you can't really see where the wallpaper stuff peeled off (about 6"x3") on the back right between the bed and the wall. You can kinda see where they painted over the graffiti. I swear I took a front shot of it, but I can't find it anywhere.

 

Could someone explain to me how this room works for more people. The folding beds don't make sense to me. One comes down from the wall, got that. There is a headboard below and a folding bed on the right. I don't see how they all work.

 

[PH8]

Just off the same cruise.it was the 2nd leg of a b2b for me.......

 

I always seem to have a super time on the MN,lots in part to the super staff and crew......did the FR last month...while the ship was bigger and better,I did not feel the love of the crew/staff.........totally opposite.

 

I was on deck 10 for both trips,so we did have the flat screen tv....even though we rarely put it on......

 

Agree about the food.......iffy,but then I found that to be the same on FR.....None of really stood out.....but then again,I didnt go hungry....

 

This cruise did have a lot more younger people on it than the Nov 28th one(which had tons of older people),but thats the way the weekend cruise seem to go.......

[poncho1973]

Talking in the thread about The Quest made me remember something funny. I'm not sure how the prizes from the contests are worth stacking the deck for.

 

On our cruise, the couple that won "Love & Marriage" also were the group leaders for the winning team on "The Quest".

 

It was amazing how they didn't miss a single question in L&M. The single funniest part of L&M was when Drew Devine called them "Snookie & The Big Situation from Jersey Shore" and then said "So where are you folks from?" and they replied "Jersey." They didn't even pretend. They obviously have seen the show many times and know the basic questions. They said exactly, word-for-word what the other person said. "We did it in the water at Meghan's Beach in St. Thomas with tons of people right in front of us." PRETEND people!

 

Then at The Quest, they had a big bag of stuff and lots of items removed and conveniently laid out in front of them. I don't want to break the rules and say more, but they had basically everything needed to win RIGHT THERE and sat directly in the front section in front of Drew. The husband even had a few of the first items in his hands edging to stand up before they were announced.

 

To me, the two people who didn't win L&M were 100x more fun because you knew their answers were unplanned and legit. The groups on TQ that were scrambling were the ones we were watching. We knew "GROUP TWO" was going to be called first on every round... it was the groups that followed who cracked us up.

[PH8]

Have to agree about knowing all the answers as "Snooki and the Situation":rolleyes: did......it does not make it fun to watch......and some CDs will not let people bring bags into the Quest...maybe they need to enforce it on the MN......I didnt go to the Quest on this cruise,but did on the first one(Nov 28th)...it was lots of fun cuz the one guy on our team(the runner) was a newbie to Quest....I never laughed so much....

[Tapi]

Thanks for the review, but I'm confused, how does the Monarch fit into the Carnival fleet? :confused:

 

You described run down, small rooms, mediocre food, and budget pricing. Besides the budget prices, what else was like Carnival??

[cruising forever]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the cruise - yiup we were there too and did the same cruise same time last year. Last year we were upgraded to a Junior Suite and this year to a SOV on 9 - both just fine with no issues. Sometimes you get what you pay for...

 

Definite dissppointed with the "Dazzling December" promo - as nary a sparkle with pins and fridge magnets only - no other goodies like last year.

 

Still think Carnival has the food down pat but we always found something to eat.

Cabin steward was sorta bland but efficient.

 

Our only smoking issue was about cigars which I'm quite allergic to, but a quick phone call solved that - instant enforcement!

 

Looking forward to more days on the high seas with good friends!

[siMAGICde]

I'm going on my first RC cruise in February on the Majesty. From my understanding that's the sister ship to the Monarch. This review is making me very nervous.

 

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises and all have been great. I chose this cruise just to give a try to another line plus the weekend cruise was a great fit because of my birthday and my travel buddy who can't get a lot of time off work.

 

Hopefully the cruise is great.

 

I'm happy you asked, I was getting a little worried too (since we'll be on the same cruise :)). No matter what, I've decided that I'll have a great time.

[PH8]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the cruise - yiup we were there too and did the same cruise same time last year. Last year we were upgraded to a Junior Suite and this year to a SOV on 9 - both just fine with no issues. Sometimes you get what you pay for...

 

Definite dissppointed with the "Dazzling December" promo - as nary a sparkle with pins and fridge magnets only - no other goodies like last year.

 

Still think Carnival has the food down pat but we always found something to eat.

Cabin steward was sorta bland but efficient.

 

Our only smoking issue was about cigars which I'm quite allergic to, but a quick phone call solved that - instant enforcement!

 

Looking forward to more days on the high seas with good friends!

We got luggage straps in addition to the pins/magnets.......maybe it was just a DP thing?? There were sooooooooooooo many Diamond and above,they probably didnt have enuf for the Diamonds:confused:

[cruising forever]

We got luggage straps in addition to the pins/magnets.......maybe it was just a DP thing?? There were sooooooooooooo many Diamond and above,they probably didnt have enuf for the Diamonds:confused:

 

 

Could be; who knows; maybe some other Diamond levels will ring in here; at any rate, the promo email I got for "many extras" didn't quite work out :eek:

[PH8]

Could be; who knows; maybe some other Diamond levels will ring in here; at any rate, the promo email I got for "many extras" didn't quite work out :eek:

To me,the best perk is the extra credits.........I really don't care about the extra "stuff":rolleyes:

[cruzin76]

To me,the best perk is the extra credits.........I really don't care about the extra "stuff":rolleyes:

Have to agree. We cruise once a year in December, which happens to be our anniversary. To me the double or triple points is a great present. Almost forgot we our going twice this December. More extra credits!

[SharkCruiser24]

I have family members who just got off the Navigator and they said the food was soooo mediocre. Additionally, I am a dessert freak....I would rather skip the meal and have a great dessert, yet they said the desserts were inedible.

Now I was on Carnival Victory last March and the food was really quite good, especially the melting chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. RCCL may force me to switch cruiselines. :(

 

That is the only thing I love Carnival for. The FOOD! It is amazing! But they lost me on the beer and bathrobes party...:confused:

[cruising forever]

Crown & Anchor is telling me they "ran out" ~ yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!!! Poor response, especially when I went to the desk to inquire and was told the pins were it and now find out that was not correct.

 

Lame excuse about it's on the ship and they aren't ~ um, I do think that ship comes to port from time to time LOL I know, it's just luggage tags, but it is the principal and we were supposed to get them.

[PH8]

Im sure they did run out..................on the Nov 28th cruise and the Dec 2nd one,there were SOOOOOOOOOOOO many members....it was like a members cruise......

 

(bet we ran into each other at the Diamond Event in the VCL or one of the parties)

[cdamion]

I'm going on my first RC cruise in February on the Majesty. From my understanding that's the sister ship to the Monarch. This review is making me very nervous.

 

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises and all have been great. I chose this cruise just to give a try to another line plus the weekend cruise was a great fit because of my birthday and my travel buddy who can't get a lot of time off work.

 

Hopefully the cruise is great.

 

I've been on Majesty twice this year and like her alot. I wouldn't hesitate to book again.

[kruzerci]

Who is the cruise director?

[PH8]

Who is the cruise director?

Drew Devine.........he's SUPER!!

[kruzerci]

Drew Devine.........he's SUPER!!

 

Good thanks!

[4bythebeach]

Sorry to hear you did not enjoy your trip. I was on the same sailing and was not subjected to the items you mentioned. We had a wonderful time, maybe we were just in the right place at the right time!

[kruzerci]

Drew Devine.........he's SUPER!!

 

Also, did you go to the nightly Diamond event?

 

If so, I'm guessing it was in the Viking Crown? Was it just beer and wine? Is it like a Diamond lounge except without a designated area and can't get liquor drinks?

 

Thanks so much.

[PH8]

Also, did you go to the nightly Diamond event?

 

If so, I'm guessing it was in the Viking Crown? Was it just beer and wine? Is it like a Diamond lounge except without a designated area and can't get liquor drinks?

 

Thanks so much.

It is wine,champagne,soda..dont think it includes beer.....you can get liquor drinks for 25% off.....

 

It is in the VCL in a designated area..

[cruising forever]

Im sure they did run out..................on the Nov 28th cruise and the Dec 2nd one,there were SOOOOOOOOOOOO many members....it was like a members cruise......

 

(bet we ran into each other at the Diamond Event in the VCL or one of the parties)

 

Yeah, it's poor planning then, cuz we booked MONTHS ago! I just don't get it when C & A tells me that, "Well, those are on the ship and we're not." Yeah, but the ship DOES come into port every couple of days~ and they are loaded onto the ship from land..........geesh; poor poor response! It's the principle!

[Vitality08]

I would not sweat it too much. The Majesty is a great ship from what I hear and has had a lot more thorough refurbs over the past years than the Monarch has Im pretty sure. Majesty also has Compass Deli which Monarch doesnt have....People really seem to enjoy it and its included in the price of the cruise fare :)

 

What Carnival ships have you sailed on? I think the Sovereign class of ships are MUCH more elegant and classy than anything Carnival has in their Fantasy fleet which is about comparable in age and size........At least from pictures Ive seen

 

I've been on the Fascination, the Sensation, and the Valor.