What RCCL ship is to replace Monarch in LA?

[carmelninetysix]

way from CLE to LAX is because we love the beautiful Monarch and she has a great staff and crew! We always rent a car for the day while in San Diego for apx $30.00 this is a Triple A rate! Hubby enjoys driving and we have seen so much of San Diego! I would love to relocate there but we never will! We have done this sailing in May/June 2004, 05 and 06! We love visiting beautiful Catalina Island and Ensenada is great stop for cheap beer we really enjoy Dos Equis! I do hope that they bring another ship to replace the Monarch! I can wait patiently until they decide which ship will replace the Monarch! I would absolutely love it if San Diego would be the new Port of Departure rather than San Pedro! We would sail all the time just to do days prior before and after our cruise! Hubby and I would be happy to set sail on any Royal Caribbean class of ship that would replace Monarch! If this ship does sail from San Diego I wonder what Ports of Call this ship would stop at? San Francisco would be a great stop and of course we would need to stop outside of a U.S. port due to legalities! This could prove to be very interesting! We will just have to wait and see what RCCL has planned! Happy Sailings and Bon Voyage!!! Melissa

[buchie614]

Just off Monarch's New Years cruise. This issue was constantly on my mind and I talked to many staff members to find out if there are any rumors. The overwhelming response (and obviously the company canned reply) was that Mariner was coming to LA. I replied that it is replacing Vision, not Monarch. That was all most people would say.

 

I booked a future cruise while on board and the future cruise consultant said that he worked for RCI for over 18 years and could not believe that RCI would not eventually have a 3 and 4 day ship for the LA market. He mentioned what we all know.....that it is a great way for RCI to introduce new customers to the RCI product in particular and cruising in general.

 

I thought Monarch was great except for the tiny cabins. The ship was in great shape and this ship has been mentioned many times on this board as having one of the best crews in the fleet. They were all very friendly.

 

Can you tell I liked this cruise?

 

You know someone from Royal Caribbean's corporate office pays close attention to this board. Hey RCI, how about a replacement for Monarch soon, okay????

Was Danny the Loyal Ambassador? He is a really nice person. I have known him for years.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Was Danny the Loyal Ambassador? He is a really nice person. I have known him for years.

 

Danney was still onboard last month :D

 

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[Ella2]

According to an email from our RCCL Business Development Manager (and yes, I am a TA) today, they will NOT BE REPLACING THE MONARCH ON THE WEST COAST AT THIS TIME. :(

 

They want to focus the business on the VISION, and of course on Mariner when it comes out here as well.

 

I'm sorry to hear this, I love the Monarch and hate for the only 3- and 4-night cruise options out of Los Angeles to be Carnival.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Was Danny the Loyal Ambassador? He is a really nice person. I have known him for years.

 

Danney was there last week.

[maitaiguy]

Was Danny the Loyal Ambassador? He is a really nice person. I have known him for years.

Danny was the loyalty ambassador on Monarch during the New Years Cruise. He was great! We talked a bit about the "old days" and it turns out he worked on Sun Viking when we cruised the Mexican Riviera in 1992.

 

He is the type of employee that is a real credit to RCI IMO!

[maitaiguy]

Was Danny the Loyal Ambassador? He is a really nice person. I have known him for years.

Danny was the loyalty ambassador on Monarch last week.

 

He is exactly the type of employee that RCI can be proud of!

He's terrific!

 

Oops! Double post. Sorry!

[ianmerc]

It has been confirmed that there are no plans to replace the Monarch in LA. Wow no football team and no Monarch!!! LOL!

Even worse, of course, is the fact that Carnival will then be the only 3/4 night cruis line from the LA area. That hurts even more. I have cruised on them twice and it was terrible and the biggest fear will be it gets even worse because there would be no competition. Here is hoping that RCI does something.

[maitaiguy]

It has been confirmed that there are no plans to replace the Monarch in LA. Wow no football team and no Monarch!!! LOL!

Even worse, of course, is the fact that Carnival will then be the only 3/4 night cruis line from the LA area. That hurts even more. I have cruised on them twice and it was terrible and the biggest fear will be it gets even worse because there would be no competition. Here is hoping that RCI does something.

 

With no competition, Carnival will likely raise prices due to overwhelming demand from the LA market. It is my understanding that Monarch usually sails full and so does the Carnival ship from nearby Long Beach.:(

[Cuizer2]

Oh how I love rumors so. :rolleyes:

 

I cannot see two Voyager class ships in Los Angeles. Ensenada is not that interesting.

 

I don't see a fast ship, like the Radiance class, doing a cruise that does not require more than twelve hours of cruising from one destination to the next.

 

I don't see a Freedom or Genesis class ship in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. Though I would not be against starting a rumor that Genesis II will replace the Monarch. :p

 

The Sovereign class is leaving the Royal Caribbean fleet (including the Monarch), that just leaves the Vision class.

 

It appears that Royal Caribbean is using the Vision class to test new waters (literally) and to separate itself from Carnival. Just for the record, I have been on three cruises each on Royal Caribbean and on Carnival. I have been in a ocean view for three nights on both. I have been in a balcony for one week on both. I have been in a suite for one week on both. I have two future cruises booked on both. It has been my experience that the two lines are similar (not the same - similar). To me the biggest difference is Carnival has a water slide and Royal Caribbean has a rock climbing wall.

 

Disney has its niche. Norwegian has separated itself from the rest (for better or worse) with Freestyle. Carnival and Royal Caribbean are the two industry heavy weights. If you are a first timer and looking for a short cruise, Carnival offers a ton of them.

 

So I believe that Royal Caribbean is now trying to distance itself from Carnival. How? By using its Vision class ships to offer something different. What do we have now? Anyone here ever been to Ensenada, PV, Mazatlan, Cabo, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin or Nassau? Royal Caribbean and Carnival go to all of these ports, over and over and over again.

 

So now Royal Caribbean is doing Asia and home porting ships in Panama, Santo Domingo, Sao Paulo and Sydney. Royal Caribbean is obviously looking to attract the people who have been to the above ports too many times, and are looking for something new. Royal Caribbean is trying to expand where there is no Carnival (well, there is a Carnival in Brazil but only for a limited time in February or March).

 

If it works out, great - it will mean more options. Remember, just because a company can make money doing one thing, does not mean it should do that one thing, if it can make more money doing something else.

 

And even a big corporation like Royal Caribbean has limited assets. I am sure Royal Caribbean has heard from people living in Texas about the lack of ships in Galveston, the moving of the Mariner out of PC without a replacement as well as the people in Southern California unhappy about losing the 3/4 night option. Did Royal Caribbean ever return to New Orleans?

 

I am also sure Royal Caribbean is hearing from people who are saying, offer something else (besides Ensenada, PV, Mazatlan, Cabo, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Labadee, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Martin or Nassau). So instead of everyone complaining because Royal Caribbean does not have two ships home ported in their backyard, look at the different options Royal Caribbean is now offering. And if you still feel bad about not having two ships docked in your backyard every weekend, then you can always purchase a house somewhere between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. :)

[Shipyard Cruiser]

Danny was the loyalty ambassador on Monarch during the New Years Cruise. He was great! We talked a bit about the "old days" and it turns out he worked on Sun Viking when we cruised the Mexican Riviera in 1992.

 

He is the type of employee that is a real credit to RCI IMO!

 

I could not agree more.

 

Best loyalty ambassador we have seen yet.

[thecyberguy]

Head waiter Sheldon (dial 1-800-Sheldon) was great. He remembered us from our last trip in June 07.

 

Isn't he the greatest? My wife and I have sailed twice with the Monarch, and can't wait to see Sheldon again. He remembered us as well from our last trip in Dec 06. My wife was pregnant on our 2nd cruise on the Monarch, and Sheldon took pictures with her and asked us to please come back again to meet the little one. I can't wait to introduce my son (6 Mo) to him on our 9/29 cruise. :D

[Cuizer2]

Isn't he the greatest? My wife and I have sailed twice with the Monarch, and can't wait to see Sheldon again. He remembered us as well from our last trip in Dec 06. My wife was pregnant on our 2nd cruise on the Monarch, and Sheldon took pictures with her and asked us to please come back again to meet the little one. I can't wait to introduce my son (6 Mo) to him on our 9/29 cruise. :D

 

Wow, seven months from the prior post to yours. How did you even find this thread?

[Fairsailing]

Wow, seven months from the prior post to yours. How did you even find this thread?

 

Talk about bringing a thread up from the depths! It is kind of interesting to see that in 7 months, nothing has changed re: the 3/4 day out of LA. And it is not likely to any time soon. RCCL doesn't have enough ships to go around. Makes me wonder why they are getting rid of the Sovereign-class ones.

 

However, it is funny to see the arguments on why there won't be a replacement (itinerary not appealling, the route is a money loser, etc.) The same arguments were made about the 7 day route - and we got the Mariner. So there may still be hope for a Vision class doing the 3/4 day, perhaps in a couple of years. Anyone who has been on the 3 day cruise knows that the alcohol sales more than make up for the discounted fares :D

[thecyberguy]

Wow, seven months from the prior post to yours. How did you even find this thread?

 

I was looking to see if any one has had Sheldon as the HW. We are looking forward to seeing him again on our 9/29 sailing. :cool:

[Phamer55]

What do you mean nothing has changed? RCI announced that they'll be doing short cruises out of San Diego on the Radiance. Though they are not the same 3-4 days cruises, they are 4-5 days cruises that go to Cabo and Ensenada (on the 5-day only). I think it is great move offering something different. My only complaint is that the season is too short - it is not available in the winter over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Hopefully, these cruises will prove to be popular and they will expand the season in 2010.

[cruisePRN]

 

However, it is funny to see the arguments on why there won't be a replacement (itinerary not appealling, the route is a money loser, etc.) The same arguments were made about the 7 day route - and we got the Mariner. So there may still be hope for a Vision class doing the 3/4 day, perhaps in a couple of years. Anyone who has been on the 3 day cruise knows that the alcohol sales more than make up for the discounted fares :D

 

AH but the booze smugglers ruined it for everyone and now we don't have a 3/4 night cruise out of L.A.

[maitaiguy]

What do you mean nothing has changed? RCI announced that they'll be doing short cruises out of San Diego on the Radiance. Though they are not the same 3-4 days cruises, they are 4-5 days cruises that go to Cabo and Ensenada (on the 5-day only). I think it is great move offering something different. My only complaint is that the season is too short - it is not available in the winter over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Hopefully, these cruises will prove to be popular and they will expand the season in 2010.

 

I agree with you. Going out of San Diego wouldn't be that much of a hardship, it's about two hours away for us vs. about an hour to San Pedro. Radiance is a beautiful ship. It's the limited amount of time that it cruises out of San Diego that is unfortunate.

 

Monarch was available year round and I think many Monarch fans are disappointed that there is no RCI ship available for short cruises here on the left coast every week.

[Fairsailing]

AH but the booze smugglers ruined it for everyone and now we don't have a 3/4 night cruise out of L.A.

 

Ha! Judging by all of the blenders I used to hear in the hallways, the Monarch had about double the bars of any other ship in the fleet:D

 

As far as the Radiance in SD, I don't consider it to be much of a replacement. Its more expensive, is not year round, and doesn't have the convenience of the Friday-Monday weekend cruise. Why do the 5 night when you can pay a little more and trade Ensenada for PV and Mazatlan and two extra nights on the Mariner? However, it is certainly better than nothing. The Radiance-class is the best in the fleet and the thought of Chops and Portofino on a short cruise is VERY tempting.

[buddibear]

I have a friend who works for rcl. She told me the Radiance of the seas will be doing 4 and 5 night out of San Diego starting sometime in 9-09. She will be there to do the short cruises and the Mariner will be out of San Pedro doing the 7 night sailings :)

[Merion_Mom]

I have a friend who works for rcl. She told me the Radiance of the seas will be doing 4 and 5 night out of San Diego starting sometime in 9-09. She will be there to do the short cruises and the Mariner will be out of San Pedro doing the 7 night sailings :)

 

All of that has long since been announced.

 

But the Radiance is not a year-round thing.

[BobbyK]

The Radiance is only doing a short fall 2009 and spring 2010 stint. At that, this weekend the Radiance for 2009 seems to be booked completely (probably some computer glitch). There is no replacement for the Monarch. Furthermore, the Monarch is going to Port Canaveral for only one year before it joins RCI's new whatever the cruise line is called (begins with an A). Monarch is definitely leaving us. :( :mad: :( :mad: :(

[BobbyK]

Sheldon is great. He is so polite, great memory, and so professional in his jobs and responsibilities. He's amazing. Let's hope he wants to transfer to the Mariner also. Later. Robin :cool:

[Merion_Mom]

The Radiance is only doing a short fall 2009 and spring 2010 stint. At that, this weekend the Radiance for 2009 seems to be booked completely (probably some computer glitch). There is no replacement for the Monarch. Furthermore, the Monarch is going to Port Canaveral for only one year before it joins RCI's new whatever the cruise line is called (begins with an A). Monarch is definitely leaving us. :( :mad: :( :mad: :(

 

Pullmantur, based in Spain. :)

[BobbyK]

Thanks Carol, I was thinking of the other one. Robin:cool: