Royal Caribbean International
Monarch of the Seas Cruise Review
Baja, Mexico

Ray
Age: 48
Occupation: Computer Programmer
Number of Cruises: 1
Sailing Date: March 6th, 2006

My wife and I had been thinking of taking this cruise for years. We’ve heard such good comments in general about cruising that we wanted to try it. Since we live in California, this cruise seemed like a good way to get started but either time or money kept getting in the way. I finally broke down and just booked the cruise in anticipation of having a great time.

Then I started reading the reviews here. Based on the many negative reviews, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. I even considered canceling the cruise. I’m 100% glad that I did not. This cruise was everything (and more) that we expected out of cruising. The food was great. The rooms were small but comfortable and nice. The staff could not have been more friendly and helpful. In short, my wife and I had the time of our lives. We can’t wait to do it again.

The dining room was a pure delight. The food was great. The selection was fantastic. The service, excellent. Picture yourself going to a fancy restaurant every night and being pampered. Our waiters were there whenever needed. Our head waiter was always willing to spend time answering our questions (we had several first time curser at our table) and making sure we were happy. Our waiter and assistant waiter were always there and ready to take our order, get the food out to us, and keep our drinks full. I was a bit unsure about the dress, but I’d just say wear what you would wear if you were going to a nice place for dinner. A coat and tie are fine on the dress-up night. I was thinking there would be more men wearing tuxedos, but most were wearing suites. In fact, I don’t remember seeing a tux. Even some without a tie fit in nicely.

The only thing I’d change as far as dinner is concerned is that I’d switch to the late seating. I would have liked to be on deck when the ship sailed and watch the sunset as we sailed out of each port. (I also would have loved at least one day at sea.) You can always grab a quick bite from the buffet in the Windjammer if you can’t hold out until dinner.

San Diego was a nice port. We took the free shuttle into town and did some shopping. We had been to San Diego many times so we didn’t book any excursions. We got back to the ship for lunch and simply lounged around at the pool and jacuzzi. We enjoyed others trying to do line dancing by the pool. BTW - Moe, from Fiji, was the cruise director and he seemed to be everywhere. From pool side to bingo, to the shows at night. He was as entertaining as any comedian on the ship.

We had never been to Catalina before ever though we both grew up in the LA area. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was much more picturesque than I had imagined. We rented a golf cart and took the scenic route through the hills around town. The view of looking back at the ship from the highest point of the island was fantastic. It’s $35 for the first hour and $30 for the second, with the third hour free. You pay the $65 up front in cash. If you return the cart within the hour, which we did, you get the $30 back. We spent awhile shopping in town, which is just a short walk from the dock, and then went back to the ship. Again, we spent the afternoon just hanging out at the pool. No pressure to have to go and anything if you didn’t want to.

We did the shopping and fiesta shore excursion in Ensenada. If I had to do it all over again (and I hope I get to someday) I’d probably just stay on the ship in Ensenada. The town is dirty and I didn’t particularly feel safe. Each shop had basically the same things. The little shopping area on the dock will get you the what you need if you are simply shopping for souvenirs. It was much nicer and the prices were close to the same. The fiesta part of the excursion was great but not worth having to hang out in downtown for the two hours prior. If their is a way to just do the fiesta, I’d recommend that. Again after lunch we simply lounged around by the pool. We did play some of the trivia games offered in one of the lounges and that was fun.

In the evenings we went to the shows. They were entertaining, but nothing real exciting.. I enjoyed simply walking on deck as the ship traveled. There was dancing, karaoke, and all kinds of activities to keep you occupied if you needed something to do. Again, Moe seemed to be everywhere. But if you simply wanted to relax and enjoy just being away from the real world, you could do that too. Also, the ship did rock some while we were at sea and it was especially noticeable in the show room. I felt a little queasy the first night. I’d recommend that you just take Bonine or Dramamine each day and then you wont worry about getting sea sick.

Our flight home did not leave until 5pm so we did take the LA highlights excursion at the end of the cruise. That was nice. One perk is that you are among the first called to disembark the ship. And even though we both grew up in the area we learned some interesting things about LA and Hollywood that we did not know before. I particularly enjoyed the Hollywood walk of fame. That area has sure been cleaned up a lot since I was last there. The only negative was that you really needed to watch your luggage when they unloaded passengers at the air port. A few pieces of luggage were unloaded at the wrong terminal (include one of ours) but they went back and found them and had them to us within 15 minutes or so.

One other thing I’d change is the transportation from LAX to the cruise terminal. It took us two hours from the time we found the cruise representative (and it took some searching to find him) and the time we left LAX. Once we were at the cruise terminal it was smooth sailing. Next time I think we’ll just use a private shuttle company.

All in all this cruise was everything I wanted and more. I’d do it again in a heart beat

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