Michele Pifer

Age: 32
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Monarch of the Seas
Sailing date: January 7th, 2005
Itinerary: Baja Mexico

This was my first cruise experience, and I can say that it also was my last. It was a 3 day adventure for my husband and I, and it was probably the worst vacation I have been on.

When we arrived at the port to board the ship, it was fairly an easy process. There wasn t a whole lot of people there, so we didn't have to wait long. When we got onto the ship, we went directly to our room. We were on Deck 4 with an inside stateroom, and when we opened the door, it was so small, you could hardly turn around in it. Also the bathroom was really tiny and smelled a little funny, like you were in a portable john. The beds were okay, but the whole room was run down and not much storage space.

As for the food on board, it was just okay. It wasn't anything like I expected. We ate in the main dining room one night, and that was enough. The other nights we ate at the Windjammer, which is a buffet, and it was like any other buffet you go to. It had a salad bar, dessert bar, and then your normal, meat and potatoes. There wasn't any seafood, such as lobster, shrimp, or crab, like I had expected. It wasn t like any of the buffets you see on the travel channel. Besides that restaurant, there is a sushi bar, but I am not into that, so we did not eat there. There wasn't much for in between snacking, just cardboard pizza, and a few sandwiches. Just a word of advice, if you go, buy the soda drink package, it is worth it. Sodas are around $2.00 each if you purchase them separately, the drink package is $6.00 a day, well worth the money!

Entertainment was slim. They had a few shows, but the seating in the theatre was horrible. There were a lot of columns in the way, so you couldn't see much anyway. They had a casino, which was okay if you like to lose money. They also had a spa and fitness center that was nice. A little pricey for spa treatments but it was okay. On Deck 5 they had a lot of shops, Ben and Jerry s ice cream and coffee bar, but the shops were never open unless we were at sea, so we did a lot of window shopping.

As I was a first time cruiser, I didn't know what to expect at the end of the cruise. Make sure you have a carry on along with your luggage. The night before you get off the ship, you have to have your bags, all but your carry on, outside your stateroom by midnight. Well, my husband and I only had our big suitcase, so it was a real hassle in the morning. All of our toiletries and pajamas and whatever else we had, we had to put in there laundry bags until we were off the ship and got our suitcase. Then we had to repack again to catch our flight home. Also, you are dismissed by color tags and we were pink. We had to be out of the stateroom by 8:00 am, and we finally got off the ship at 10:00. It was a real hassle!

As you can tell, I just wasn t impressed with the whole experience. I expected more out of a cruise. The weather wasn't any help either, it rained the entire time we were on the ship, so we couldn't enjoy the pool or any of the activities outside, like rock climbing, ping pong, or sun bathing.

One last word of advice, don t get sick on board the ship, like I did. I spent 4 hours in there emergency care facility, in which I was treated for dehydration and sea sickness. The next day I got the bill. It was $703.00! And if you make a spa treatment appointment, make sure that you are serious and going to make it. When I got sick I tried to cancel my appointment , but it was too late because it fell within 24 hours and they were going to charge me anyway, if I was there or I wasn't there. They are really strict on there 24 hour cancel policy.

All I can say is save your money with this cruise ship and go on something different. You couldn't pay me enough to ever sail with Monarch of the Seas again, or any cruise. I am sticking to my all inclusive resorts in Jamaica, that is the place to go!

 

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