 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Mon Mar 26th, 2007 10:03 pm | 1st Post |
|
We booked this cruise a year ago. We wanted to do something for my birthday weekend and realized we could book a three-day cruise for less than what a trip out of town, hotel, food, and entertainment would cost for a long weekend. This would be our first RCI cruise and we looked forward to the experience.
Friday
Friday morning, it took us about four hours to get to San Pedro. We arrived at 12:30 and unloaded the car. DW waited with the luggage while I parked the car. I walked back, gave the luggage to the porter and went to check in. I could not believe that when we walked in the terminal, we were second in line! We got our SeaPasses and were on the ship by 1:00. From the time we first arrived at the port, we were on the ship within thirty minutes! That is the fastest we have ever embarked.
We headed to the Windjammer, since the room would not be ready until 1:30. We were quite impressed with the selection and quality of the food. Jefferson came by and sold us some great shooters. I forget what they were called. We finished lunch and started exploring the ship. We then went to the room to see if it was ready and our luggage was already there! We unpacked and then toured some more. We met Nandi in Schooner’s Bar. He ended up being our favorite bartender. We then went back to the room and as we were walking down the corridor to our room, our steward called us by name. We were impressed he knew who we were and we had not reached our room yet and had not even met him yet. His name is Urban and his assistant is Casper. They are both from St. Vincent. We got our life vests and went to muster, which took about 20 minutes.
At dinner, we met our waiter Alvin form the Philippines and his assistant Juan from Chile. Our tablemates were our travel agent and his wife. He was leading a small group on the ship (he put us in the group to get the discount, even though we were not a part). I had strawberry bisque, tiger prawns, and crème brulee. After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard Party. Later, we went to Sorrento’s for pizza and cookies. We then went to the Circuit for karaoke and then to Boleros for Dueling Pianos. This ended a long, but awesome day!
Saturday - Ensenada
We got up and went to Windjammer for breakfast before our Winery Tour. It was a beautiful drive out to the wineries. We toured two wineries and sampled various wines. We went back to town and had fish tacos and beer. Then, back to the ship for a nap before formal night. For dinner, I had escargot, lobster bisque, roasted duck, and strawberry cheesecake.
After dinner, we went to the Captain’s Party, met the captain and had our picture taken with her. Karin Stahre Janson is the first female captain in the RCI fleet and she had just started as captain the week before we sailed. We then went to the headliner show, which was the Comedy & Magic of Jean Pierre Parent. He really put on a great show. We went back up to Sorrento’s for a snack and then off to Family Feud.
Sunday - Sea Day
Because of the time change, we lost an hour of sleep (*#@%!), but we still slept in. Up to the windjammer for breakfast and then off to the Centrum for some shopping. An employee at one of the shops told us RCI requires them to call passengers by name when handed a SeaPass card. I thought this was a nice touch. Then, we went out to the pool and had no problem finding chairs. Thirty minutes later, the chairs started getting scarcer. They had a poolside barbeque, so we had a lunch of burgers and ribs. After a few hours in the sun, we took our belongings to the room and came back for the belly flop contest, ice carving, and bartender demonstration/show. Nandi was a main part of the show. Then we went up to the Viking Crown Lounge and saw our travel agent and his wife up there. We hung out and watched the dolphins off the port side of the ship, then back to the room to shower for dinner.
At dinner, we tipped Alvin, Juan, and the head waiter. During dinner, our travel agent (who is a Diamond +) gave us a coupon out of his C & A book for a free photo, so when we finished eating, we went and had a photo taken. Up to this point, we did not have any photos taken because the lines were usually long, but what the heck, it was free. We then went to the farewell show, Fast Forward. We enjoyed the show and thought the cast did a great job. We then went to the Circuit to get our seats for Quest and karaoke was finishing up. Quest was everything we heard it would be. What a riot! It is amazing what some people will do to win. Afterwards, we went back to the room, put our luggage out, and then to Boleros for some dueling pianos before bed.
Monday
We woke up, packed our carry on and went to Windjammer for breakfast. By the time we finished eating, our color had already been called. We got in line at 8:30 and were in the car driving off by 9:00 for the four-hour drive home. I was pleasantly surprised we did not have more morning traffic than we did leaving L.A., but it was a smooth ride home.
Random Final Observations and Thoughts
For a ship almost 16 years old, I thought the Monarch was in good shape. She certainly shows some wear and tear, but nothing major. She is a beautiful ship with a lot of class; much more than the alternative for the same itinerary, the Carnival Paradise (I sailed the Paradise and thought the décor was tacky). I read that the staterooms on the Monarch were small, so I was prepared. It actually was not as bad as I expected. We were in room 8030 and felt it was well laid out and loved the location. It was so convenient to get to different places. The service on the ship was, in a word, OUTSTANDING! We were blown away by the service. It was by far the best we have experienced in five cruises. IMHO, the only service that lacked was in the dining room at dinner. The crew is so friendly and helpful. I really appreciated being called by name. According to the signs we saw while embarking, the ship was full. Even with over 2,700 passengers on board, never once did it feel crowded, and the Monarch is not a big ship. I loved the layout. We also enjoyed the band by the pool on the sea day. We enjoyed Johnny O as the Cruise Director. He was not the best we have had, but also not the worst. We met Danney League on Sunday and he is as great as many here have said. For you Danney fans, here is an update. He will only be on the Monarch until June and then taking a three-month vacation before moving to the Rhapsody of the Seas. This will allow him to be closer to his family. He also shared that he is going through a divorce, but is happy to be moving on. He is a great guy and I am glad we were able to meet him! Embarkation and disembarkation were the smoothest we have experienced on five cruises. I have all of the compasses, so if you have any questions, ask.
We are now RCI fans, as well as the newest members of the Monarch Fan Club! We loved this ship and look forward to returning soon! For now, our next cruise is on the Vision during Thanksgiving week. We can’t wait!
Last edited on Tue Mar 27th, 2007 12:23 am by Family Man
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
hstrybuf
Founders
| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
| Posts: | 21180 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 12:11 am | 2nd Post |
|
| Thanks Tim! I'm glad you enjoyed this ship and your cruise. Was there a port stop or did I miss that?
____________________
Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 12:22 am | 3rd Post |
|
Saturday was in Ensenada (where we took the tour of the wineries) and Sunday was a day at sea. I guess I forgot to mention that. 
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
Adios
Charter Member
| Joined: | Fri Jun 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2699 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 03:16 pm | 4th Post |
|
Tim, thanks for the review. Glad that you enjoyed your first cruise on RCI.
Gordon
|
goodml
Charter Member
| Joined: | Mon Jun 19th, 2006 |
| Location: | Canada |
| Posts: | 2186 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 07:54 pm | 5th Post |
|
| Great review Tim. I'll be sailing on her in May so I'm soaking up all the info now. Did you like the winery tour?
____________________
ML
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 07:59 pm | 6th Post |
|
RCIcruizer wrote: Tim, thanks for the review. Glad that you enjoyed your first cruise on RCI.
Gordon
Thanks Gordon. I definitely have a better understanding of your comments regarding the service. It was truly OUTSTANDING! No wonder you like RCI so much. RCI has a combination of the best things we liked about Princess and Carnival.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
Adios
Charter Member
| Joined: | Fri Jun 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2699 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 10:40 pm | 7th Post |
|
Family Man wrote: RCIcruizer wrote: Tim, thanks for the review. Glad that you enjoyed your first cruise on RCI.
Gordon
Thanks Gordon. I definitely have a better understanding of your comments regarding the service. It was truly OUTSTANDING! No wonder you like RCI so much. RCI has a combination of the best things we liked about Princess and Carnival.
Eight cruises now with RCI and I don't think that I could ever ask for better service than received. I have never heard "it's my pleasure" so many times as I did on my last cruise. I'm afraid I will be let down in July on the Norwegian Dawn.
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 11:02 pm | 8th Post |
|
goodml wrote: Great review Tim. I'll be sailing on her in May so I'm soaking up all the info now. Did you like the winery tour?
We did enjoy the winery tour. The 3 most popular tours in Ensenada are La Bufadora, Fox Studios Foxploration, and the wine country tour. We've now done La Bufadora and the wine tour and enjoyed them both. Next time we will take DDs and do the 4 day itinerary (Ensenada, Catalina Island, and San Diego) and do the Fox Studio tour in Ensenada. DDs should like it. The ship that was the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean is currently sitting near the dock in Ensenada and will be transported soon to the Fox Studio. I know they would like to see that.
The wine country tour was interesting and the drive was nice, but I live 3 hours from Napa Valley, so the Mexican wine just isn't the same.  Still, a nice way to spend 4 hours.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
mrdawson
Funnel Deck Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 11:47 pm | 9th Post |
|
| Great review Tim...we have been thinking about doing one of the shorter cruises from LA..it really blows that neither RCI or Carnival will move any of their brand new ships for permanent Mex Riv cruises from SoCal or NorCal!
____________________
Mike
So many Pots....so few spoons!!!!
CTT Master Pot Stirring Advisor
Classy AND Stylish!!
1/09 X Solstice Eastern Carib
6/09 Mariner OTS Mex Riv
5/10 CTT Azul Sensatori AI Party, Riviera Maya
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Tue Mar 27th, 2007 11:57 pm | 10th Post |
|
mrdawson wrote: Great review Tim...we have been thinking about doing one of the shorter cruises from LA..it really blows that neither RCI or Carnival will move any of their brand new ships for permanent Mex Riv cruises from SoCal or NorCal!
Its a great long weekend getaway. I was afraid it would seem too short, but it was sufficient and served its purpose. Obviously, I would have preferred a week.
Danney League, the Loyalty Ambassador on the Monarch told us he heard they were bringing a Voyager class ship (probably the Adventure) to the West Coast in 2008. If they do, they will have to bring her around South America because she won't fit through the canal.
I've heard that rumor before. We'll see, but it sure would be nice.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
mrdawson
Funnel Deck Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 28th, 2007 12:12 am | 11th Post |
|
| That would be awesome...for a short cruise the food looked great as well..all my fav's in just 3 days!!! That might not be a bad ship to do a 3 and 4 day B to B on for a week..not really for the ports but to just relax on the ship for a week and get all the good menus twice in one week!
____________________
Mike
So many Pots....so few spoons!!!!
CTT Master Pot Stirring Advisor
Classy AND Stylish!!
1/09 X Solstice Eastern Carib
6/09 Mariner OTS Mex Riv
5/10 CTT Azul Sensatori AI Party, Riviera Maya
|
Family Man
Super Cruiser
back to top
|
Posted: Wed Mar 28th, 2007 12:34 am | 12th Post |
|
mrdawson wrote: That might not be a bad ship to do a 3 and 4 day B to B on for a week..not really for the ports but to just relax on the ship for a week and get all the good menus twice in one week! And in the off-season, the price would definitely be right on the Monarch. The Monarch usually runs $100 or more per person less than the Paradise for comparable rooms.
____________________
Tim
Cruise Planners/American Express
Future:
Celebrity Infinity to Alaska 5/22/09
RCI Mariner OTS 6/21/09
? to Canada/New England 9/09
Past:
6 RCI, 1 Princess, 2 Carnival & 1 NCL
|
Bennetts2Cruise
Cruiser
| Joined: | Sat Jul 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
back to top
|
Posted: Sun Jul 29th, 2007 02:45 pm | 13th Post |
|
Where did you get fish tacos in Ensenada? Not one of those road side stands, was it?
~dianne
|
Current time is 11:31 pm | |
|
|
|
|
