Monarch of the Seas Review

[rosinryanz]

Monarch of the Seas Review

November 25, 2005 – November 28, 2005

3 Nights

Itinerary: Los Angeles – Ensenada – Los Angeles

RCCL’s party cruise to Mexico just keeps getting better. I’ve done this itinerary many, many times – on Viking Serenade, Vision of the Seas, and Monarch of the Seas. This time, we again sailed on the Monarch, and she yet another wonderful experience. The vacation was almost everything we could have wanted, considering the short length, typical clientele, and mass-market-ness of the line. Our chief complaint was that three nights was not nearly enough!

Embarkation was smooth at the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro. As Diamond Crown and Anchor Society members, to our surprise, we were escorted to a private check-in facility with refreshments. It was a pleasant surprise we have not enjoyed in the past.

Our stateroom was on the Tween Deck (6) – cabin 6042. Despite the excellent location of the Tween Deck, remember that there is a promenade deck right above you, so beware of joggers. We had a standard ocean view cabin, with your typical settee/ bed combination. As with other old ships, there was a definite lack of storage spaces and small nooks and crannies to store those odds and ends. The bathroom was typical RCCL size – about twice the size of an ashtray. While there were clear signs of wear and tear, overall the room was in good shape, with everything functioning and clean. Our cabin steward was excellent, and even provided us with a nice champagne bucket on his own initiative.

We were pleased by the food. First night at Claude’s was good, second night was great, and third night was good. If anything has improved, it’s the presentation. No longer is food piled on the plate, but now smaller, more refined portions prevail. Our waiter and assistant waiter, Lucas and Julius, were both friendly, but I’m their service was sloppy, and small details, like escargot forks and steak knives were forgotten, and timing wasn’t always great. The Windjammer Café food was alright, but really not so impressive. I never ate there often, as I prefer the dining room. There was one midnight buffet in the Windjammer, and it was Mexican themed, which was not what I was anticipating. Also, they were oftentimes serving the free drinks out of paper cups instead of the usual plastic.

The first night was casual, the second was formal, and the third was casual. I’d say about 95% of people were dressed as per the dress code on formal night, and out maitre’d definitely was at the door telling those inappropriately dressed to try the Windjammer. However, practically everyone was dress to the nines – something absent in the past and frankly surprising to see on a short party cruise. Many people changed after dinner, but that’s fine since the dress code only applies to the dining room.

I saw all three shows presented in the Sound of Music Lounge. The first was a comedian who was pretty goof. The second show was the perennial Fast Forward, which is pretty corny, and needs to be replaced. The last night was a comedian/ magician, and he was amazing! We all were thrilled by his tricks and his humor was great. I saw the Dueling Pianos twice, and that’s always a treat at Boleros. Again, unlike my last sailing on the Monarch, there were definitely more organized activities, and more interesting programming. Some of them included a behind-the-scenes tour of the showroom, swing dancing class, flag trivia (which my team won!!!!), and the belly flop competition. I was never dormant for one second.

Our only port was Ensenada. There’s not much there, but it was fun to stop for drinks at Papas and Beer and Hussong’s.

One common complaint about the Monarch is the amount of smoking. I’m a nonsmoker, and I really found the ship not so bad. The dining rooms, showroom, and centrum were all nonsmoking. The bars and lounges all had smoking areas. Really, out of all the places on the ship, the only place where the smoke got thick was the Schooner Bar and the Casino. But, even the Circuit and Boleros, with smoking areas, never were smoky unless you were in the smoking section. From my nonsmoking seas, I could see but never smell the smoke. For me, the system worked really well, and I never saw anyone in violation of the policy.

My complaint is of the public bathrooms. Not only are they falling apart at the seams, but they always stunk and were filthy. I don’t know where maintenance was, but it sure wasn’t there.

I really want to exemplify what a great time I had. I wholeheartedly recommend the Monarch of the Seas.

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for the recommendation and taking time to write your review

[Happy ks]

I was on the same cruise and agree with much of what you write. However, I didn't go to the same bathrooms as you did, all I visited were fine. Your comment regarding the dress code was amusing, although many were dressed appropriately, I would say hardly anyone was dressed to the nines. I saw perhaps 2 tuxedos, many dark suits, more shirt sleeves and even some T shirts in the dining room. The ladies, well, so many missed the mark it was unbelievable. With us was a couple who had never cruised before, I made no mention of formal night to them, other than it was a dressy evening. They were appalled at how poorly people were dressed and what many consider "formal". I have been reading how this cruise was so much more casual than a 7 day and now I know how true that is. I actually felt some people were more dressed up for daytime activities than they were for the formal night.

 

The food was surprisingly good. We have cruised on Monarch 3 times now, the food this time was remarkably better than the first 2 cruises onboard her.

 

We also had a wonderful cruise, great service, food and the company we were with.