Monarch with a bunch of 1st timers

[Fezzek]

My owner has decided to reward a bunch of the staff for outstanding performance and since I have been on a few cruises: Fantasy, Sovereign twice, and Mariner (and again in this December arriving home one day before the work cruise- LUCKY!) I have been put in charge of organizing everything for the group, reservations have been made rooming lists are done, cruise info put out. To keep the cost lower ($174.00) we booked into Monarch of the Seas for a December 8th sailing out of Port Canaveral. I know little about the ship and everything I have found has focused around the small rooms and average service. There are not too many CURRENT postings about her in the forums and I was wondering if there is any general info / likes or dislikes you all could share. Is she getting vamped up a little before coming to us from LA?

I know she’s a smaller ship and yes, you get what you pay for, but I don’t want all the first timer’s (6 out of the 11) to be disappointed by not knowing something in advance.

[Berick1234]

I was on the Monarch for my very first cruise..it was a brand new ship then....at the time it was the largest on the seas...but in today's market..it is a small ship and an OLD ship....but as you said..you get what you pay for....but to me,and after 20 cruises,there is no such thing as a BAD cruise...some are just better than others. Happy sailing...

Bob E

[Dave]

Welcome to cruise-chat, Fezzek.

If you've been on the Sovereign twice then you mostly know what the Monarch offers since they are sister ships. The Monarch does have a small sushi bar (extra fee) and Bolero's Bar which offers mojitos, caipirinhas (my favorite), latino atmosphere and music. The Windjammer has the Jade area with Asian dishes, and they also have Sorrento's pizza (not that great in my opinion). Monarch has not been upgraded with the Johnny Rockets diner.

They may do a short shipyard period when the Monarch moves to the east coast but it will be short and for a freshening up only.

As you know, the standard inside and outside cabins are 119 square feet. Good enough for a short cruise.

[TheHathaways]

I was on board for the Aug 4th and the Sep 1st sailings. They are my only cruises so I have nothing to compare but I really enjoyed!
The food was good and the staff was friendly and comical.

I didn't care for Sorrento's either. The cabins are small but considering how much time we did not spend in there, we were happy as clams on a warm day.

The only dislike I can think of is that it's over.

Enjoy her as much as we did.

Karrie