A Graduation Cruise in Review: Monarch (with pics!)

[ChampionCruiser]

After eating breakfast we decided to go ahead and get the obligatory shopping finished with. The captain warned that the downtown area would be very busy because of parliamentary events being held that day. Downtown Nassau is crowded enough for me on a regular day, so I wanted to make sure to get out of there asap!

 

The first stop we made was at the new (and improved!) straw market. What a difference a year makes! The market is much more pleasant now, even though it still isn’t my favorite shopping experience. We did find a few trinkets and souvenirs and escaped the craziness in about half an hour.

 

 

We then walked through the streets, stopping here and there to look at shops. I bought a Del Sol t-shirt like I always do, but this one was definitely everyone’s favorite. I’m not sure how or why this happened, but we’re from North Carolina and it made us chuckle!

 

 

We decided to head back to the ship for lunch but were sidetracked by some of the festivities. It was a really neat experience. The locals were truly excited and the mood was very lighthearted. I’m still not sure exactly what was going on but maybe I’ll be able to search a bit and find out.

 

 

Here comes somebody important! Does anybody know who by chance?

 

 

We watched the festivities until about noon and then went back to the ship to dry off and eat lunch in the Windjammer. We were glad we did because it was taco salad day! We were excited and pretty much acted like I did in high school for taco salad Tuesdays. It may not have been the classiest lunch, but it was yummy!

[ChampionCruiser]

The weather seemed to be clearing up a bit in the afternoon, so we decided to take our chances and venture back out. It was of course too late to book an excursion, so we did what everyone around us seemed to be doing: took a cab to Atlantis. None of us had any desire to pay for a tour or anything, so we just walked around and headed toward the free beach (which is actually the same beach as the guest/ pass holder one).

 

 

I’m not sure if it was because of the weather or because I was comparing it to Coco Cay (or even the Sheraton), but I wasn’t that impressed with the beach. I can’t complain, because it had sand and clear water, but I was expecting more. Still, we decided to enjoy it while the rain had stopped! We swam a bit and walked down to the Atlantis portion of the beach (shhh!) but it really was all the same. I would NEVER pay the ticket price to use the Atlantis beach for the day, especially when $25 gets you access to a much nicer beach at the Sheraton. That's only my opinion, of course.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t hold off for long and a cloud of doom swept over the beach:

 

 

 

We all sprinted for the taxi area but didn’t make it in time. We were soaked! By the time we finally made it to a taxi, we told him to take us straight to the ship. Our optimism had officially vanished and we knew the rain wouldn’t let off again. And it didn’t, at least not until that evening.

 

We did bear the weather to take pictures with the ship when we got back. After all, this would be our last chance before we were back in Port Canaveral.

 

 

 

The ship looked more inviting than ever after being drenched!

[iloverags2]

Wonderful update. Your pictures are awesome...especially the ones of CocoCay...and especially the one at CocoCay with the circular rainbow as the sun begins to shine! Just beautiful!

 

I agree...Nassau is always a fun port for us. We love to wander the streets and always find something to do there. The locals are quite pleasant, and it does have some lovely beaches.

[ChampionCruiser]

The evening was spent just like those before and centered on dinner and the main show. It wasn’t a production show, but rather a variety show featuring “el Gaucho”. There’s really no way for me to describe it, but I will say that is was extremely entertaining! We also sat around for the Love and Marriage game show, which never gets old. Finally, we stayed up for the late night (11:30) buffet, which had been moved from the pool deck to the Windjammer due to rain (shocking, I know). The food was good, but I missed the extravagant presentations of some of the other midnight buffets I’ve seen. I understand that this change is industry wide, however.

 

It may not have been an ideal day in Nassau, but any day spent in the Bahamas on a cruise ship is alright with me!

 

 

Up next: Day 4, at sea

[ChampionCruiser]

Thanks for the review. Contracts on the degree. What kind of camera did you use? It takes great pictures!

 

A simple Canon PowerShot point and clicker :). I'm glad they turned out okay!

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Good point. I didn't make it clear that we did have to walk back for the mats. The farthest rental hut is at the beginning of barefoot beach, so make sure you rent them there before you walk any further. I don't believe there was bar service further down, either, but there were crew members riding around selling beer.

 

When you get off the tender, turn left away from the market. Make your way to the water sports beach with all of the inflatables. This is actually the same beach/strand as barefoot beach. You just have to walk a ways past the sign to reach the peace and quiet!

 

Thanks so much!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your cruise. Glad you had a good time, great pictures.

[QTMichele]

Loving your review! Great pictures and commentary that increase my excitement for our Monarch trip this July! THANKS!

[Majestic-NJ]

We are doing the three day on June 15th (9 days) and this was great to read before getting on the ship. Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us!

 

One question, did you by any chance get a recent copy of the menu from Jade that you could share?

[disneyfan68]

Day 3: Nassau, Bahamas

 

Call me crazy, but I am one of the few who actually likes Nassau! It’s never the highlight of an itinerary, but I always find it to be a great port (once you get beyond the cruise docking area). I enjoyed three days in Nassau exactly a year before, when I boarded the MV Explorer for my amazing month long voyage:

 

 

I actually just got a surprise when I was looking through those pictures, because look who was docked beside us then:

 

 

The Monarch!

 

 

 

If I had only known that I would be back in the exact same place with the exact same ship exactly a year later!

 

Anyway, now that I have reminisced, back to this trip! The plan WAS to wake up, eat breakfast, and head over to the Sheraton to buy the $25 day passes that allow access to the pools, beach, and some water equipment. Like the day before, the weather started out gloomy. Sadly, unlike the day before, it remained gloomy for the rest of the day too. We thought it would be pointless to pay for a beach in the rain, so we decided to improvise.

 

As an aside, though, I do highly recommend the Sheraton and its day pass. I really enjoyed my stay there last year and $25 is WELL worth it! Both the beach area and pools were great. Here are a few pictures for those who are interested:

 

 

 

 

Great review! Just curious - are those black things in the last pic rays? If so, my kids won't be getting in the water anywhere!

 

Thanks.

 

Karyn

[ksuds]

Great review!!! You took all the pictures I wish I had taken.

 

Good luck with your future endeavors!! Maybe someday we will all be on a ship you designed.

[Danish]

Thank you very much - I really like your review - especially from Coco Cay - I should had been there in August, but the hurricane Irene changed the plans, but now I have seen your pictures and know what I missed. But at least I saw the "old" straw market in Nassau.:)

 

Congratulate with your graduation, and hope you will enjoy your stay in Trondheim - a great place to study, as most of the youth in Norway go to Trondheim to study. I am sure, that you will have a blast here.

[ChampionCruiser]

We are doing the three day on June 15th (9 days) and this was great to read before getting on the ship. Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us!

 

One question, did you by any chance get a recent copy of the menu from Jade that you could share?

 

I'm sorry but I didn't. I didn't even think to take one since we weren't interested in dining there.

[ChampionCruiser]

Great review! Just curious - are those black things in the last pic rays? If so, my kids won't be getting in the water anywhere!

 

Thanks.

 

Karyn

 

No, it was thankfully some kind of sea grass!

[ChampionCruiser]

Also, thanks to everyone for the positive comments and well wishes! That's why I love these boards so much!

[ChampionCruiser]

Alright, it's time for the last full day:

 

Day 4: at sea

 

The final day of the cruise had unsurprisingly come way too fast! I’m really glad the only sea day is on day 4 instead of any other day, though, because it provides a great unwinding day before getting back to the real world. I’m sure the 3 day cruises are much more exhausting without one!

 

Our goal was to sleep as late as possible and meet each other on the lido deck (where the sun would be shining, of course), but we failed on both counts. We were all up and ready to go by 8:00 and the sun was NOT shining! Before the cruise, I had told all of the newbies that I couldn’t remember the last time it rained when I was on a ship. That was clearly the wrong thing to say, because I apparently jinxed it!

 

It actually didn’t look that bad early that morning.

 

 

By the time we had finished breakfast, however, the rain had set in. And it poured. I’m not sure if these pictures do it justice, but you couldn’t even walk outside at times.

 

 

Here you can see the outer deck carpet flooding. Huge puddles formed all over decks 11 and 12. That afternoon, water actually started flooding inside from the deck 7 promenade and the crew was forced to rope off and close it. My grandmother was a hoot, jokingly telling me that the ship was taking on water and to remember which lifeboat to go to :).

 

 

The rain was constant throughout the day, but it didn’t stop some people from swimming when it let up even a little.

 

[ChampionCruiser]

It clearly wasn’t the perfect sea day (or last day of the cruise) by any stretch of the imagination, but we didn’t let the rain stop us from enjoying ourselves. The crew made sure that there was plenty to do indoors and we were never bored! I actually felt sorry for the crew, because many passengers seemed to take out their frustration on them. I head a senior crewmember explaining that rainy days were the hardest, because it’s easy to make people smile in beautiful weather but much harder in the rain. By the end of the day I had a greater appreciation for the crew of the Monarch to be sure.

 

Throughout the day, we partook in a ton of the planned activities, including the t-shirt sale, movie trivia, digital scavenger hunt, tv tune trivia, and Captain and senior officer Q&A. The day flew by because we were always waiting for the next scheduled event.

 

My two favorites were the scavenger hunt and Q&A session with the senior officers. The scavenger hunt is intense but a ton of fun! In teams, you are given a checklist of around 20 things to take a picture of around the ship. You only have 20 minutes and the first team back gets bonus points. It’s a workout! My cousins and I are very competitive and I’m sure we looked like fools as we ran around the ship, at times doing silly things. The rain was an additional challenge since some of the pictures had to be taken outside. It was all worth it, though, because we won! We were the proud recipients of official RCCL highlighters :D.

 

I won’t give too much away, but we found ourselves doing things like this:

 

 

...and this...nothing could get in the way of those highlighters!

 

 

The Q&A session was held in the Centrum and it was really interesting. It gives you the opportunity to ask the Captain, Chief Engineer, and Hotel Director nearly anything about life on the ship. I definitely learned some new things. If you’re planning on going I would get there early, because there were only around ten chairs. Everyone else sat on the stairs or had to stand. They really should host the event in one of the lounges.

 

The tv tunes trivia was also fun, even if we didn't win...

 

 

My sister and I also used our gold member free spin in the casino. It was our first and last time there, so we documented it accordingly.

 

 

As a side note, the gold member coupon book was great. We used it for the spins, discounted pictures, spa, and boutique items, and a few other things. It was a nice touch and something I didn’t get as a gold member on Carnival.

[ChampionCruiser]

In the late afternoon we headed to our cabins to get reader for our last dinner. The seas were pretty rough by this time and I saw a lot of people in line at the reception desk asking for motion sickness medicine. Again, this picture doesn’t really capture it, but my aunt and cousins had sea water splashing against their porthole on deck 2. I was impressed with my family, because nobody got sick at all.

 

 

At around 5:00 I got a call from my aunt. She asked me to look out the window and tell her what I saw. Of course, it was a lifeboat, but that’s not what she was talking about....it was sunshine! After optimistically keeping our bathing suits on all day, the sun decided to come out once we changed. Still, we all ran up to deck 12 to enjoy it before dinner. This is what we were greeted with:

 

 

It was still super windy and the seas were a little rough, but we didn’t care at all. We only left to reluctantly head down to dinner at 5:45. We would have eaten in the Windjammer in order to enjoy the weather if it hadn’t been the last night. We had to say goodbye to our wait staff!

 

 

FINALLY, clear skies ahead!

 

 

Dinner was exceptional on the last night. It was Italian night (which in my opinion can’t be beat) and the chicken marsala was my favorite dish of the cruise. It was also sad because we had to say goodbye to Vergel, but the service staff cheered us up with a parade and dancing.

 

 

Thank you Vergel for helping to make our cruise a great one!

 

[ChampionCruiser]

Our original plan was to go to a game show after dinner but we couldn’t resist enjoying the pool deck for the last couple of hours of daylight. The seas had calmed while we were indoors and it was beautiful outside!

 

 

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the change in weather, as there were a lot of passengers on deck. It was great to enjoy the pool area one last time.

 

 

 

Sunset was at 8:03 that evening, and we walked up to deck 12 forward to enjoy it. We weren’t the only ones, either.

 

 

It was a great way to end a surprisingly great day, well almost, anyway. The cruise wasn’t over yet!

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We stayed on deck even after the sun went down and were finally able to relax. It didn’t last long, though, because we didn’t want to miss the farewell production show.

 

 

The show was called “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, and it was good. I didn’t think it was great like the first production show, but we all enjoyed it. My favorite part was actually the end, where Marc said some final words and brought out some of the crew.

 

 

 

I’ve read it on these boards and now I really understand. It’s not the ship but the crew that makes a cruise on the Monarch so amazing. They were terrific and I wish them all the best for the future once the Monarch leaves the fleet.

 

We were forced to do the unthinkable after the show: pack :(. I’m pretty sure that’s the true low point of every cruise because it’s the first time it really sinks in that it’s about to end. We did finish in enough time to enjoy one more activity on the Monarch: Quest. Thankfully, the "grown ups" were too tired to join us. It would have been horribly awkward watching with the parents! As for the game show itself, I’ll just say that it is very amusing, but only for those who don’t mind immaturity and indecency (in a good way, of course).

 

That wrapped up my final day on the Monarch. It could have been dreadful because of the weather, but we made the most of it and I had a great time. I’ll be back again with day 5 (debarkation) and closing thoughts. Thanks for reading the review so far!

 

Up next: Day 5 - debarkation

[Hackpba]

I was surprised so few ventured that far down barefoot beach because it was beautiful! We'll be looking for the same palm and spot next time as well :)

 

Too funny! Our group was one of the "few" that ventured to barefoot beach. We were lounging under the second to the last unbrella huts, I think your group is at the last one. We stayed for quite a while waiting out the light rain but still enjoyed our time there. I would love to go back during good weather to experience more of the island. Awesome picture of you parasailing. I will have to give that a try next time.

[Hackpba]

After eating breakfast we decided to go ahead and get the obligatory shopping finished with. The captain warned that the downtown area would be very busy because of parliamentary events being held that day. Downtown Nassau is crowded enough for me on a regular day, so I wanted to make sure to get out of there asap!

 

The first stop we made was at the new (and improved!) straw market. What a difference a year makes! The market is much more pleasant now, even though it still isn’t my favorite shopping experience. We did find a few trinkets and souvenirs and escaped the craziness in about half an hour.

 

 

We then walked through the streets, stopping here and there to look at shops. I bought a Del Sol t-shirt like I always do, but this one was definitely everyone’s favorite. I’m not sure how or why this happened, but we’re from North Carolina and it made us chuckle!

 

 

We decided to head back to the ship for lunch but were sidetracked by some of the festivities. It was a really neat experience. The locals were truly excited and the mood was very lighthearted. I’m still not sure exactly what was going on but maybe I’ll be able to search a bit and find out.

 

 

Here comes somebody important! Does anybody know who by chance?

 

 

We watched the festivities until about noon and then went back to the ship to dry off and eat lunch in the Windjammer. We were glad we did because it was taco salad day! We were excited and pretty much acted like I did in high school for taco salad Tuesdays. It may not have been the classiest lunch, but it was yummy!

 

We heard from some locals in the straw market that they were welcoming the new Prime Minister and having a parade in his honor.

[vavasmom]

I believe the gentleman in the photo is Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes.

[ChampionCruiser]

I believe the gentleman in the photo is Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes.

 

A quick google search makes me think you're right! Thanks so much!

[ChampionCruiser]

We heard from some locals in the straw market that they were welcoming the new Prime Minister and having a parade in his honor.

 

Wow, I didn't realize it was that important. Some of the locals spoke to us about how excited they were and I guess it makes sense now!