Royal Caribbean International
Monarch of the Seas Cruise Review
Ensenada

Anne
Age: 35
Occupation: Unknown
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: October 29th, 2007

For my birthday, we decided to take a cruise.  We both live in Los Angeles so getting to the pier was not a problem.  For weeks beforehand, I've read all the other reviews, and read many opinions, so here's mine, probably the most honest one you can find.

So it's my 35th birthday, and we drive to the pier at San Pedro.  You can park there at a daily rate, which at the end of the cruise turned out to be $48.  Anyway, they took our luggage at the curb, and we headed in with all our travel documents and passports (passports make things MUCH easier!) then we headed in to register and put our cards down for our sea pass card (your room key and credit card) and we headed in to find our room.  We had an inside cabin (note to those who LOVE sleep.  Inside cabin is highly recommended because with all the lights off, it's pitch black in there.  Much better for sleeping!).

ROOMS- Small, but clean!  I'm sure you heard it all before. There's a small closet and not much space for your luggage.  So when it comes to getting ready to go out, you're tripping over each other and any shoes laying around.  But we didn't seem to mind much.  The bed was the most important part, and it had luxurious cotton sheets, and they turned it down every evening.  Our cabin steward was a nice Asian man named Ai, who did his job quickly and efficiently.  Ok, the showers are really, really small. but I'm small, so again, I didn't mind.  Plus you can adjust the shower head at any angle and temperature and any pressure.

DINING-  Anyone who says the food is awful is seriously mistaken, because the food was amazing!!!!  Our highlight each night was looking forward to what great meals the chef had lined up in the formal dining rooms.  They paired us up with 2 lovely ladies from Oakland, CA.  The appetizers consisted of dishes like escargots (unbelievable!!!), cold berry soup (more like dessert!), garlic soup, etc.  The entrees had items such as roasted lamb (some of the best I've ever had!), roasted duck, herb-crusted Atlantic cod (to die for!), and NY strip in a béarnaise sauce.  My mouth waters just thinking about it!!Our servers was a young handsome Polish man named Lukasz, our assistant server was Val, and our headwaiter was Chris.  All 3 seemed to be at your beckon call.  Some of the best service I've ever had.  They sang for my birthday too.  The wine prices were very reasonable, approx $30. a bottle or $5-6 per glass.  But then again, I live in LA where alcohol is very pricey. 

Note to everyone- they hire people from other countries so they can pay them whatever they want, but most of the staff doesn't make very much.  So at the end of your cruise, please tip your servers.  They rely on you to come into the dining room so they can wait on you, because they rely on those tips.  And trust me, the service is well worth it.  Same goes with the cocktail servers.  They rely on your business (auto grat. on all bar tabs), to make their living, and cocktails is how the cruise makes more money.  Formal dining and stateroom tips are not automatically included, but you can have it added to your bill by the 3rd cruise day if you choose.

PORTS- San Diego, Catalina, and Ensenada.  All these places we've been to before, but any of these ports are ok to just walk around and shop if you don't feel like booking an excursion.

San Diego- we walked right to the USS Midway aircraft carrier located on the same pier.  Very nice, historical, and interesting to visit.
Catalina- Really not much to do here, but go souvenir shopping, rent a bike, or golf cart. BUT they don't port right at the dock.  They have a tender boat take you in every half our and still it takes some time to get in and back, so allow plenty of extra time for this.
Ensenada-  There's a shuttle that takes you into town (but it's only a mile walk!) for $2 per person, and $1 to get back (after you realize it's only a mile walk.)  Just so you know, this shuttle and tour is not associated with Royal Caribbean.  Then they try to get you to take their Bufadora tour for $15 each(Royal Caribbean charges $30 for their tour), but unfortunately they cancelled our tour since there wasn't enough people. OR if you can get 4 people together, any cab will take you for $10 per person, but you must have at least 4 people.  But we just walked around and shopped.  It's similar to Rosarito, if you've ever been there, just bars and restaurants, and shops.

ENTERTAINMENT-The featured show every night was something completely different.  The comedy of Carl Banks (who is funny as hell!!), a music show featuring out cruise director Johnny O playing the EWI (electric wind instrument with the orchestra behind him, and impersonator Mike Wilson (great impressions!), and the singing dancing review show our final night which I eat up like crumb cake.

Halloween-  We wondered ahead of time if they would do anything for Halloween.  Of course, it's a cruise!!   So many costumes, they decorated the place that day with balloons, and lots of decorations.  We had a Halloween parade of costumes, a big band Halloween dance in the Boleros lounge, and what better way to end Halloween than with the chocolate buffet.  They had many desserts besides chocolate, but it was ornate with chocolate sculptures, ice sculptures, and watermelon sculptures.

In between all the shore visits, and dining, I enjoyed laying by the pool, men's sexy legs competition, karaoke, wild scavenger hunts, flair bartending exhibitions, belly flop contests, and wine tasting's.  Not to mention working out!!

In closing, 4 nights seems like a month.  Never in my life have I squeezed in so much fun in such a short time.  I've sailed Royal Caribbean in 1994, and my experience wasn't nearly as fun.  But my faith in cruising has been restored, and I very much look forward to my next one. 

Kudos to Royal Caribbean!!!!!!!!!!



 

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