4-Night Monarch of the Seas - Suite Life - Picture Review

[joand452]

Another great review! Your photos are great -- especially your pictures at WDW. We're big cruise and Disney fans, too. Whenever we want to go somewhere, if not cruising, it's to WDW!

 

Funny, after reading your Adventure review, I thought both of you were at Clemson. Didn't realize Rachel was still in high school. Well, congratulations! Is she going to Clemson, too, or is that a silly question??

 

Looking forward to finding out what really happened in Nassau...

[LBumb]

ready for more

[LittleMissMagic]

Okay, the next part of my trip report needs a disclaimer.

 

Our Nassau excursion was..... the Booze Cruise through Island Marketing. It looked like a lot of fun and had really good reviews. Note that the drinking age on the island is 18, and that it said on the website that everyone had to be at least 18 to book the excursion (though they never ID'd). We were with both of our parents, and Danielle's mother knew the excursion and wanted her to go with us (her exact words - "Just don't drink too much").

 

The catamaran docked right outside of Senor Frog's and arrived promptly after picking up guests at a hotel.

 

DSC_6111 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Don't think there is any denying what kind of boat we were on -

 

DSC_6114 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6115 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

They only had us pay 20% of our deposit in advance, and we were to pay the remainder in cash on the boat. We then had to sign up for snorkeling and were given a wristband. If snorkeling, you weren't allowed to drink until afterwards. Those who decided not to snorkel could drink right away.

 

We went to the top deck to sit.

 

DSC_6120 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6132 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6137 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6138 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We made one more stop for people before heading to snorkel.

 

For snorkeling.... I think they just dropped anchor and told us to get out and snorkel. We were given vests, masks, and snorkels, but no fins. It wasn't a guided tour, but rather a free-for-all. We were also fighting five foot waves and a strong current.

 

DSCN0251 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We deflated our vests to dive so that we could get a better view, but the current was carrying us away, and they kept yelling at us that we had to come back - as soon as we'd fight the current back to the boat, we had to rest before diving, and then we were back to fighting the current. This happened three times before we gave up.

 

DSCN0252 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0253 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0255 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

There also weren't many fish, despite them throwing out fish food.

 

DSCN0257 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSCN0259 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0263 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0269 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0274 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0278 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0280 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSCN0284 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0292 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6144 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

After snorkeling, they served us a BBQ lunch and headed to the "private beach." The BBQ chicken was actually very good. I wasn't a big fan of the rice, though.

 

The beach, however, was an absolute joke. They made us all get off the boat unless we were still eating. Then you had to get on and off the boat to get drinks. There were vendors there offering jet skis and banana boating. There was a fallen down building and a man selling weed (stayed AWAY from that! Some people smoked a joint, though... I guess they didn't have to get back on a cruise ship). They filled a banana boat full of people, and they pull out with the banana boat and start the boat - and the rope breaks! They fix the rope and start again, this time for real, and then, "Get back on the boat!"

 

They had already warned us that they weren't liable for other vendors and that they wouldn't wait for us if we decided to do another tour. I thought for sure that those banana boaters were stranded.... but they made it back just in time (I wonder how much they paid because they couldn't have been out there more than 10 minutes).

 

Here's a picture of the glorious beach -

 

DSC_6147 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6149 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Yeahhh.... don't book this tour for the snorkeling or the beach.

[BeeeJay]

 

Here's a picture of the glorious beach -

 

DSC_6147 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

That beach looks pretty FINE to me! ;)

[LittleMissMagic]

The most fun part of the Booze Cruise was when we got back onboard. They had a dance floor set up on the top deck, and they had a limbo competition and other sorts of dance-offs.

 

A warning to those who are planning to book - the drinks start off really weak, but then they get really strong. It makes sense that they wouldn't want people completely drunk at the beginning of the cruise.

 

Rachel won the limbo competition.

 

DSC_6188 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Which got her a bottle of Vodka (which my parents took from her) -

 

DSC_6191 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We made some friends. In case you're wondering about the demographics of the Booze Cruise, there was a wide variety. At first, I was worried that we'd be the only young ones, but there were many girls under 25. There were also plenty of adults who were in their 30s-40s and up.

 

DSC_6233 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

These girls were sisters, and they had a younger sister who Rachel became quick friends with. They had come from the Sheraton, but they decided to get off with us and go to Senor Frogs.

 

Having eaten dinner at Senor Frogs and not feeling like getting dressed up for dinner, Mom, Dad, and I skipped out on the dining room. Rachel and Danielle went to the dining room, anyway, since they were eating with all of their friends.

[LittleMissMagic]

I took another photo walk around the ship. Since it was a little rainy, it allowed me to get photos of a near-empty top deck.

 

DSC_6264 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6263 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6255 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6253 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6250 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6249 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6246 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6245 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6241 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6266 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

I woke up early the next day to get a good pool chair for our day at sea. However, that wasn't really necessary because the cloudy weather was keeping people from coming out on deck. I watched some people save pool chairs, but there weren't many chair hogs.

 

No one wants to sit out on a cloudy day?

 

DSC_6355 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I sat out there until around 11:00, then gave up on the weather and decided to go eat lunch in the dining room with Dad. I got the fish enchilada. It was good, but small. We were seated at a table with a man who is in charge of all of the luggage guys at Port Canaveral and his grandson. They got a last-minute steal, but he said that the ship was at absolute capacity. He told us a lot of interesting things about Port Canaveral and cruise ships.

[LittleMissMagic]

We received our pins for turning Emerald. Funny, because we never received our Platinum pins. I was very surprised to get the Emerald pins, though.

 

DSC_6270 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

It's always bittersweet when you get letters about leaving the ship -

 

DSC_6272 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Meredith, Rachel, Danielle, and Liz woke up at the 12:00 "Good Afternoon!" announcement. It's really funny to hear Rachel tell the story. Meredith sits straight up in bed, then leaps out of bed and runs to the bathroom - "GOOD AFTERNOON??? I MISSED MY TOWEL FOLDING SEMINAR!" This was just the start of her bad-luck day.

 

Meredith also made the perfect ice cream cone -

 

DSCN0364 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Then dropped it.

 

DSCN0365 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0366 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

People showed up on the pool deck for the sexiest man competition, though -

 

DSCN0367 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSCN0375 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The girls were really sad that they didn't get down there quick enough to judge.

 

DSCN0376 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Sexiest Man Competition Video

 

We saw the sexiest man later on the elevator... with his boyfriend.

[LittleMissMagic]

Meredith's luck continued when we went to play Bingo. She really wanted the bingo shirt, but they wouldn't sell it to her - she had to buy four instant whatever tickets, then she could get it. The peel and play tickets cost $20. Meredith debated and debated whether or not she should buy the cards to get the shirt. We convinced her that she wasn't really gambling because she wanted the shirt, so it's not like she could lose - she was essentially buying the shirt.

 

Well Meredith bought the four cards and got the shirt... they only had it in a Medium. :D

 

We also came SO CLOSE to winning!

 

DSC_6274 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

After bingo, we did some shopping.

 

DSC_6278 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6285 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Rachel collects shot glasses for everywhere she goes, so she got that and a new drawstring bag. If we spent $25, we got a discount (in the C&A coupon book), so I got a Monarch of the Seas keychain for my boyfriend just because it's difficult to find his name on things, and since the ship is leaving the line, it's practically a collectible! :D

[LittleMissMagic]

We then met up with Ellen and Emily and went to the Schooner Bar to play Where in the World? trivia. Meredith, Ellen, and I were killing it.

 

DSC_6286 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6287 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6288 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We didn't win, but we did pretty good - better than I expected. They gave everyone a little magnet souvenir for participation.

[LittleMissMagic]

I photo walked again because since this ship is retiring, these are photos I'll never be able to get again, and that's cool to me (yeah, I'm a nerd).

 

DSC_6295 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6296 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6302 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6304 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

You can see me taking this picture in the reflection -

 

DSC_6305 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6309 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6312 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6314 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6317 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6318 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6319 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6322 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6332 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6333 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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DSC_6339 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6342 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6344 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6346 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I'm glad Royal Caribbean now puts a helicopter pad at bow of the ship because this isn't very attractive -

 

DSC_6348 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Setting up the dinner buffet -

 

DSC_6352 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6353 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6354 by vshingl, on Flickr

[cruisegirl1]

Where is the Owl?

M

[LittleMissMagic]

We decided to go to the show that night to take advantage of our reserved seating for suite guests. It was nice to have that little reserved area, however, I'm pretty sure that the people that came in after the show started didn't know that it was reserved and just saw the empty seats. Which is fine because I'm guessing everyone who the area was saved for was already there or not coming.

 

I don't understand why every Royal Caribbean ship has a show about the evolution of music (I've been seeing these shows for over 10 years). I mean, think of something new!

 

DSC_6358 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6359 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Heinous orange jumpsuits -

 

DSC_6365 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6369 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The dancing was actually pretty good for cruise ship dancers. As someone who grew up going to dance competition after dance competition, I'm a little more critical of dancing... I see those kid dance groups come on "America's Got Talent," and the judges are always blown away - go to Myrtle Beach during the summer, and you will see plenty of talented kid dancers. It's really not that special. And so, while I do think that this was a dance routine a group of talented 12-year-olds could easily perform, they were at least good at it (I've seen plenty of dancers on some cruise ships *coughcarnivalcough* who couldn't even perform the easy routines).