All things Monarch of the Seas

[traveljen1027]

Jean, I'm with you on the WJ in the evenings, especially formal night! :)

 

Lorna, we have a new, favorite place for lunch in Ensenada! We love El Pueblo! Nice place and good food. :) Very close to Hussong's too!

 

How does the WJ work in the evenings? Are there waiters or is it a buffet?

[critterchick]

How does the WJ work in the evenings? Are there waiters or is it a buffet?

 

It's a buffet. You can order some cooked to order items and they will bring those to your table. On formal night they dress it up - they put tablecloths on the tables and it's a little more subdued.

 

Re: Deck 6. There are many signs posted right in the middle of the Promenade asking people not to run or powerwalk between 10pm & 10am. They are generally disregarded, so I should think the pounding could get pretty intense.

[Mach1]

Here is a picture of an inside quad cabin on Monarch. I would put two in each cabin, unless there is a really cheap third/fourth person rate. Usually it's not that much cheaper though.

 

At least our quad room will have a port hole :o it will be a tight squeeze.

Thanks for the photo!

[john91498]

If you have an 'outside' OV on deck six, you will hear runners/joggers above you on Deck 7. We have not stayed there, but visited a friend and the noise was pretty constant. If you have an inside - 3rd cabin in is ok, 1st and 2nd inside cabin is below the hallway on deck 7.

 

Dave

 

 

Our room number is cabin 6047. Is that cabin directly under a major hallway or something that could produce a lot of noise?

 

Thanks in advance.

[ASeaPrincess1]

We're going on the Monarch at the end of this month for a 3 day cruise. We got a room on deck six and we're wondering if there is anything we should know about deck six?

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. :)

 

I was in cabin 6596, which is at the end by the elevators. I didn't notice any problems with noise, either from the promenade above, or the elevators just on the other side of the door.

Your cabin doesn't appear to have any public access on the deck above, so I don't know what kind of noise, if any, you will hear.

It is only for a few days, anyway, so have a great time.

[Irishnana]

Although we've sailed on the MOTS before, it has been well over a year since our last voiyage and it appears that some changes have occurred. Our port departure is scheduled at 5:30 pm on 9-15-2008; which is also when first seating dinner is served. I do not recall any conflict with port departure and early dinner on my previous cruises.

 

I've also heard that breakfast and lunch are no longer served in the main dining room each day and that only one lunch will be served in the main dining room for this cruise; is this true?

 

Thank you in advance for all responses and sorry if this has been discussed on a previous page.

[critterchick]

I've also heard that breakfast and lunch are no longer served in the main dining room each day and that only one lunch will be served in the main dining room for this cruise; is this true?

 

Sort of. The dining room is open for breakfast every day. On the 4-nighter the dining room is open for lunch on San Diego day only. On the 3-nighter it's only open for lunch on Sunday, the sea day.

[shipmatesforlife]

We are sailing on her from her new location, Port Canaveral. We will be sailing in January, 2009. How does the transition work for the ship? Will she go into dry dock before starting out from Florida? Do they do any revamping? Will they keep their same crew?

 

I enjoyed the pictures and information you all have shared. There are 10 of us women on Deck 8, obstructed view and 3 women in a suite on Deck 10.

 

We will be going to their private island, Bahamas and 1 day at sea.

Do you know if the casino stays open when they are on their private island?

 

My husband and I usally take 7day or longer cruises. This will be a change for me.

 

Come on to FL and visit the ole girl some time!! the Monarch, that is!

[traveljen1027]

Sort of. The dining room is open for breakfast every day. On the 4-nighter the dining room is open for lunch on San Diego day only. On the 3-nighter it's only open for lunch on Sunday, the sea day.

 

How does breakfast work on the day of disembarkation? Is it assigned in the dining room? How late do they serve?

[traveljen1027]

Okay, I have another question: Is the on-board childcare open while in port? Would anyone recommend the jeep safari tour in Ensenada? We have a four year old and are trying to find something fun to do with her, but we're also debating just staying on the ship while in port if we can't figure out something everyone will enjoy in port. Thanks so much!!

[critterchick]

[QUOTE]
How does the transition work for the ship? Will she go into dry dock before starting out from Florida? Do they do any revamping? Will they keep their same crew?

[/QUOTE]

Margie, Monarch is going into drydock as soon as she disembarks her passengers in Miami - she'll go to Nassau for the work. It's only for about a week, so I'm guessing it'll be mostly mechanical work, but they may do some polishing & repair work, too. As for the crew, there won't be a wholesale change, but several of the people I've gotten to know and love are planning on moving on to different ships because they either don't want to be in Florida or want to try a larger ship. They go on vacation and then come back to their new assignments. It's a little sad to board and find out that somebody has gone, or to talk to somebody for what I know is the last time.:(

[QUOTE]
How does breakfast work on the day of disembarkation? Is it assigned in the dining room? How late do they serve?
[/QUOTE]

The seating for breakfast & lunch in the DR is always open, and on disembarkation day you can have breakfast until 8:00 in the DR and I think 8:30 in the WJ. As for child care, I don't know.

[john91498]

[quote name='ASeaPrincess1']I was in cabin 6596, which is at the end by the elevators. I didn't notice any problems with noise, either from the promenade above, or the elevators just on the other side of the door.
Your cabin doesn't appear to have any public access on the deck above, so I don't know what kind of noise, if any, you will hear.
It is only for a few days, anyway, so have a great time.[/QUOTE]

Thanks!!!!! This is my first cruise with my new wife and she's never been a cruise before. So, it remains to be seen if she becomes a cruiser for life. :)

[tahoemc]

[quote name='john91498']We're going on the Monarch at the end of this month for a 3 day cruise. We got a room on deck six and we're wondering if there is anything we should know about deck six?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. :)[/quote]

We were in 6542 (port side forward) in June - didn't seem to hear any noises beyond what one would expect to hear e.g. hallway, adjacent rooms etc. As I noted a few pages back on this thread, the pullman bed in our cabin was not very secure and you could feel and hear the neighbor in the pullman next door (6540) anytime they moved. We noted in the comment card but never heard anything - hopefully they fixed it.

The cabin location was pretty good, although its a smaller ship so it doesn't take much effort to get from one place to the next.

[ASeaPrincess1]

[quote name='john91498']Thanks!!!!! This is my first cruise with my new wife and she's never been a cruise before. So, it remains to be seen if she becomes a cruiser for life. :)[/quote]
I did the Catalina/San Diego/Ensenada trip 5 times before finally branching out to a Mexican Riviera trip last December.
My first cruise got me over my fear of the ocean and capsizing. My second was a lot of fun because we went during Halloween and got to dress up in costume. I decided then and there that I loved cruising, although I waited a few years to go again. Had the time but not the money.
Now I look at cruises all the time, I know where I want to go next, and am just waiting for the right time and price.
I took my daughter on her first cruise last year, (I call this one the "starter cruise") and now she wants to cruise again. She was nervous at first, couldn't even look over the railing. By the second night, she was a pro.:)
I hope you and your wife have a great time, and let's hope she gets hooked the first time out.

[cruissett]

Disembarking question, areas to wait.
On the Monarch, do they have a special for the P/D/D+ to wait? and if they do, do they allow them the disembark before the other passengers? We have a noon flight on a Friday (ship is supposed to dock at 6am) and are planning to carry our own luggage off. Also, is immigration done on the boat or at the port after getting off. What is it really like getting off?

[cruissett]

Disembarking question, areas to wait.
On the Monarch, do they have a special for the P/D/D+ to wait? and if they do, do they allow them the disembark before the other passengers? We have a noon flight on a Friday (ship is supposed to dock at 6am) and are planning to carry our own luggage off. Also, is immigration done on the boat or at the port after getting off.
What is it really like getting off:confused:

[Atty]

[quote name='cruissett']Disembarking question, areas to wait.
On the Monarch, do they have a special for the P/D/D+ to wait? and if they do, do they allow them the disembark before the other passengers? We have a noon flight on a Friday (ship is supposed to dock at 6am) and are planning to carry our own luggage off. Also, is immigration done on the boat or at the port after getting off.
What is it really like getting off:confused:[/QUOTE]

Boleros serves as the P/D/D+ lounge. There is priority disembarkation and I think those who were doing the express luggage thing were getting off at like 6:30am. Immigration is done in the port. I think we were like within the last 50 off last Monday and were off by like 11

[Mach1]

[COLOR=#993366][FONT='Comic Sans MS']I would love to go to Hilo Hatties & the Sea Port Village in San Diego! Can you get one of the free shuttles to both areas? Are they close to each other?[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#993366][FONT='Comic Sans MS']Is there a beach near by where you could swim? Before/after shopping?[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana]

[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#993366][FONT='Comic Sans MS']Any local brewery’s in this area? [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana]

[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#993366][FONT='Comic Sans MS']Thanks so much for all the great info![/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#0033cc][FONT=Verdana] :) [/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]

[Piepkorn]

[quote name='john91498']Our room number is cabin 6047. Is that cabin directly under a major hallway or something that could produce a lot of noise?

Thanks in advance.[/quote]

We have stayed in 6557 and the cruise we were on had a lot of people running around in the hallway of deck 7, didn't last very late, and to me it wasn't really bad...people having fun.

My DW is hypersensitive to noises, thus I'm very careful where I book cabins at.

Dave

[critterchick]

[quote name='cruissett']Disembarking question, areas to wait.
On the Monarch, do they have a special for the P/D/D+ to wait? and if they do, do they allow them the disembark before the other passengers? We have a noon flight on a Friday (ship is supposed to dock at 6am) and are planning to carry our own luggage off. Also, is immigration done on the boat or at the port after getting off.
What is it really like getting off:confused:[/quote]

If you do participate in express disembarkation, you won't have time to go to the lounge in Bolero's. The last 2 weekends they've called express at 6:30 and I don't think the lounge is even set up until 7:00. But to answer your question, yes, you get white (priority) tags even at the Platinum level, so you can disembark right after the express people (and there are lots of them).

If the ship comes in on time and there is no delay, such as for a crew immigration check, then you'll have plenty of time to have breakfast and disembark at your leisure - if you carry off all of your luggage you can go whenever you want, not just during the express call. The only reason you would have to wait for your tag color is if you put your bags out the night before - they put the bags into separate rooms and don't open them up until the tags are called.

If you left the ship at 8:00, you'd be through immigration by 8:30 or 9:00 at the latest. The ride to LAX (if that's where your flying from) is about 40 minutes even in heavy traffic. No point in getting there too early!

[jmp1208]

Hi guys, thanks for answering the questions I had. I'm wondering if anyone knows the best (or cheapest) way to get to Port Canaveral from Orlando Airport. I just realized that it was 40 miles, I didn't think it was that far. Thanks in advance

[cyscopup]

On our last cruise out of P.C. we rented a car at the airport in Orlando and then dropped it off less than a mile from the pier. We used Hertz and they shuttled us over to the pier and it ended up being less than a shuttle or taxi would have been. Nice easy drive too.:cool:

[ERTHDOG]

[B]we did the same as cyscopup, except we used avis. either way it is nice to control when you come and go:) [/B]

[B]dave[/B]

[traveljen1027]

I'm feeling bummed...I booked this cruise as a little weekend getaway (we've never cruised with RCCL so this will be our first time), but now I see a 4 day on Carnival out of San Diego (and we've cruised Carnival before & loved it) and the difference is basically the cost of our hotel room the night before our 3 day on the Monarch...can anyone cheer me up?

[cruissett]

[quote name='critterchick']If you do participate in express disembarkation, you won't have time to go to the lounge in Bolero's. The last 2 weekends they've called express at 6:30 and I don't think the lounge is even set up until 7:00. But to answer your question, yes, you get white (priority) tags even at the Platinum level, so you can disembark right after the express people (and there are lots of them).

If the ship comes in on time and there is no delay, such as for a crew immigration check, then you'll have plenty of time to have breakfast and disembark at your leisure - if you carry off all of your luggage you can go whenever you want, not just during the express call. The only reason you would have to wait for your tag color is if you put your bags out the night before - they put the bags into separate rooms and don't open them up until the tags are called.
If you left the ship at 8:00, you'd be through immigration by 8:30 or 9:00 at the latest. The ride to LAX (if that's where your flying from) is about 40 minutes even in heavy traffic. No point in getting there too early![/quote]

Thanks so much, your detailed information is just what I needed to know