Wayne Bednersh

Age: 59
Occupation: retired
Number of Cruises: over 15
Cruise Line: RCI
Ship: Monarch of the Seas
Sailing Date: August 30th, 2004
Itinerary: Mexico

The four day Mexico cruise was taken as a respite from the hot desert temperatures where we live. We also used it as a family get together.

As a frequent cruiser I look for value and try to find a good combination between cost and benefits received. The cost for this cruise was reasonable, but I was rather disappointed in the benefits.

I had not been on an RCI cruise for many years, because I was disappointed in the last one. My last few cruises have been on Princess, Carnival and NCL. After this cruise I plan to cancel a 14 day cruise which I have already booked on RCI for later in the year.

The embarkation at the LA World Cruise Terminal was very good and we were pleasantly surprised at how well it was handled. The only disappointment is that we were assigned to late seating when we had requested main seating. We decided to accept this because we were part of an 8 person party and it would probably have been impossible to change.

The main public areas around the centrum are reasonably maintained, but they simply do not compare to the nicer ships which are available. I did not notice any significant lack of maintenance anywhere on the ship, but the ship does show its age.

After visiting our cabin, which was rather small, but adequate for a few days, we visited the Windjammer buffet. This was the beginning of our disappointing food on this cruise. The selections were rather limited and of dubious quality. I have had better food at some of the fast food places I have eaten and the food was usually at the level of a middle scale coffee shop.

The room was smaller than I had expected and was not designed very well. Storage space was severely lacking and they didn't even bother with most of the consumables which ships put into the bathroom. The bathrooms were also smelly and complaints in this area were ignored. My mattress was ok, but others in our party complained about poor mattresses. The shower heads need work as the water pressure only produces an unsatisfying trickle.

The staff of RCI which I met were all very nice, pleasant and helpful. Our waiter and assistant and the head waiter were all very pleasant and eager to serve. Our cabin attendent was courteous and efficient.

The first thing I noticed about the dinner menu was the very feeble choices. There was much less choice than I have found on any other ship and far below what the average restaurant offers. Frankly I was quite disappointed. Most of the time I felt that I had to make a choice between the "lesser of two evils". Not once in the 4 days did I see something that really intrigued me. Of course forget about any really nice stuff like lobster, crab, filet etc. The beef was middle of the road quality and tougher than it should have been. There was a lack of shell fish (which I particularly like) and the quality was barely acceptable. Skip the salads -- you will do better at Wendy. I am not a big fish eater, but the quality was just at the acceptable range.

At the very first meal the soup was COLD. It was not supposed to be cold soup. The waiter apologized and brought me another. Other people at our table also received cold soup at various times . When the soup was hot, it tasted pretty good.

The only food items which were consistently good were the baked goods. In that area they did a very good job.

The Windjammer restaurant was either barely adequate or less than acceptable on every use. The hours were poor and they closed lines at times when people were returning to the ship from morning outings, the food choices were poor, long lines and totally inadequate seating. The personnel were nice and pleasant, considering that they probably heard complaints all day.

The Captains Party was a total WASTE OF TIME. There were no hor d'ouvres and only three choices of drink -- champagne, fruit punch with rum, fruit punch without rum and there were no servers except for two standing at each door. Totally inadequate.

The seating in the main theater is terrible. There are columns everywhere and they block about 20% of the seats. You have to get there early to get an acceptable seat. The entertainers gave their best, but the performances were very ordinary. There was obviously a lack of money to spend on anything related to the performance such as costumes or scenery. I would have to rate all of the performances as just average, but far below what I have come to expect on other cruise lines. The cruise director did a good job.

Recommendation: if you absolutely desperately need to get away for a few days and don't want to spend money, this is the cruise for you. But if you have a choice try the Carnival Ecstacy which is doing basically the same route.
 

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