rccl-monarch10

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: constance phelps
Email: ccphelps@erols.com
Age: 27
Occupation: electrical engineer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: feb 27, 2000
Itinerary: southern caribbean
Cabin: 3097/M
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff:
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 99
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 87
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 80
EmbarkDisembark: 70
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Mar 2000
Time: 12:21:36
Remote Name: engr49.myriadlogic.com
Remote User:

Comments

I’ve been back from the cruise for less than a week and am anxious to tell the world what a great time I
had. The cruise was in no way perfect, but the good far out weighted the bad. We absolutely loved the
itinerary, and the islands were so beautiful and fun that they more than made up for any shortcomings on
the ship.

I’ve read a lot of reviews and was surprised by some of the things on the ship that I found to be different
that what I’d read. Our waiter told us that after the Monarch was accidentally run aground in Dec 98, the
ship was dry-docked for 3 months and wholly re-done (this was the reason for the differences, the
reviews were pre-1998). The things that had changed are as follows: the décor, entirely updated and
very clean and shiny-new; the showers, fixed shower heads were replaced with 3 way adjustable and
removable shower heads; the hangers, fixed hangers were replaced with removable ones; the
computers, a fully operational set of about 10 computers was available with internet access for 50 cents
per minute.

Now I guess it is time to start at the beginning, with the flight. We purchased the air-sea package from
RCCL and since we did not book at least 6 weeks in advance, were told we were not able to make any
changes to the flight times. RCCL decides 30 days in advance who takes which flight, and we were pretty
disappointed to have to have to get up for 6:50 am flight with a layover in Miami. We arrived in San Juan
at 2:45, to find an RCCL representative waiting for us. We were shown to a van (we did not have to claim
our luggage at the airport because with the air-sea package, RCCL handles this and takes your luggage
straight to the ship), and driven about 15 minutes to the ship. We checked in almost immediately, and by
3:45 we had our keys and had found our room. I was pretty impressed by how quickly and smoothly it
went.

Next I’d like to talk about the food. I’d read in other reviews that people found that at certain times of the
day they could not find anything to eat. I personally never found this to be the case, so maybe RCCL has
extended the hours of the buffet. I found all the food to be on the bland side. I think RCCL has a tough
job trying to appeal to the least common denominator, so bland food may be inevitable. I never disliked
anything I ate, and never had trouble finding something that I actually wanted to eat. The thing we missed
most about the cruise when we got home was the variety of food. I never realized how nice it is to be able
to eat a variety of foods at every meal.

Now, my favorite part, the islands. We talked to more than a few people on our cruise who had done this
exact same itinerary before and they said that it was the best itinerary offered. We are very active people
who aren’t much for sitting on beaches (unless it is for a nap when we are burning the candle at both
ends), and we didn’t have any problems finding non-beach things to do. The other couples at our dinner
table spent almost their whole vacation on various beaches and loved it. Comparing our pictures on the
last night (there is a very good photo developing shop on board the ship, about $12 for a roll of 24), we
said it looked as though we had taken different vacations. I think that is the beauty of the cruise, that
there is something for everyone.

Our fist port was St. Thomas. I was surprised how steep and green and lush the hills were around
Charlotte Amalie. We took the SCUBA tour that met at 8:30 and lasted until 12:30. We did two dives, one
tank each, at a maximum depth of 60 feet. We are inexperienced divers and were glad that the dive
master led the group around the reef and the wreck. Our only previous dives had been in the Florida
Keys. We found the corral in St. Thomas to be much more interesting than the reef in the Keys, but the
fish were not nearly as abundant. When we got back to port we went back on the ship for lunch, then
took a taxi (14-person van, $4/ea) to Magen’s Bay. It was very beautiful, not too terribly crowded, had a
bar, and had bath facilities, and there were a half dozen taxis waiting to take people back to the cruise
ship. Our dive master had recommended that we try a potent frozen drink called a bushwhacker. Yum!

Our second port was Martinique. I think the best piece of advice we got off of the Internet was to not go
into town in Martinique, but to see the rainforest instead. We wanted to do the ‘land and sea’ tour (in
which we’d take a catamaran to St. Pierre and then take a bus or taxi through the rainforest back to the
ship), but RCCL no longer offered this tour. Instead the tour drives by bus or taxi through the rainforest
and then drives back along the coastal highway. To get to the rainforest, the bus must first drive through
the town of Fort de France. We noticed that all the windows on the buildings in town had iron bars on
them and took this to be a sign of a serious crime problem. The drive through the rainforest was
breathtaking, and the bus made short stops at scenic points for taking photos. The drive back along the
coast was not interesting enough to overcome our now overwhelming urge to take a mid-afternoon nap. If
RCCL re-instates the ‘land and sea’ tour I would recommend it, as I think the catamaran ride would be
more interesting than the coast line drive. Failing that, the boring coastal drive is worth suffering through
if just to see the rainforest. People at our dinner table had taken the RCCL beach break tour. They said
the beach wasn’t very nice, and they said that thugs heckled all the beach goers.

Our third port was Barbados. I’d read a lot about Barbados and there were many places on the island I
wanted to see. The ship’s tours did not seem to cover very much of the island, so we opted to take our
luck getting a taxi for ourselves. A security guard right outside of the dock called a driver over for us and
we told him where we wanted to go. The driver said he would try to get more passengers for his van to
drive the cost down. Within minutes he’d found 2 more couples. The driver recommended some
additional sites to see and showed us on a map where we would go. He said it would take about 5 hours
and he’d charge $36/person. Since all of the ship’s tours were more expensive than this and lasted less
time, we heartily agreed. The sites we saw were beautiful, the driver was great, and Barbados is now our
favorite island. We saw the Highland petting zoo, Harrison’s Cave, Hackleton’s cliff, Bathsheba’s Atlantis
Hotel, and Crane Beach, and they were all great.

Our forth port was Antigua. We’d signed up for the Jolly Roger pirate ship in the afternoon, and had the
morning free. We decided to walk into town and look for some souvenirs. Vendors, hair- ‘braiders’, and
taxi drivers constantly approached us. The streets were crowded, the prices weren’t good, and the
merchandise was shoddy. After lunch when we went to get the Jolly Roger we realized that we were 15
minutes late (totally our fault) and the Jolly Roger was gone. I read on the RCCL brochure that the Jolly
Roger goes to Deep Bay, so we took a taxi (15 minute ride, 2 couples, $5/each) over there. Sure enough
there was the Jolly Roger and we were able to rejoin our tour. They had already brought a 5-gallon
cooler of very potent rum punch onto the beach, so we helped ourselves. The beach wasn’t as pretty as
Crane beach or Magen’s Bay and again vendors constantly us, but because of the rum punch, we did not
much care. When we got on the tender that took us from the beach to the Jolly Roger, the passengers
mooned us. Mooning, shouting, and dancing were the favored activities on board. We enjoyed ourselves.

Our fifth port was St. Maarten. We took the ½ day sport fishing tour. The boat was a 41-foot Ronin that
was equipped (with outriggers and such) so they could run 7 trolling lines from Penn International Reels.
We were impressed with the set up, but we did not see a single fish in the 3 hours of trolling. The captain
said the seas were very calm that day, but the movement in the 41 foot boat was enough to make me feel
nauseous even though I did not feel nauseous on the cruise ship (I took Bonine before the sport fishing,
and never took any Bonine on the cruise ship). My husband does quite a bit of sport fishing at home, and
decided that the likelihood of NOT catching fish on a ½ day charter was too high to ever try it again.
When we got back to the dock, there was a long line for the tender, so we opted to eat lunch in town. We
ate at the Kangaroo Court and had a piece of ‘Chocolate Thunder’ cake that was by far the best desert
of the trip. The town in St. Maarten was very cute, and the shopping was great. Shortly after lunch the
line for the tender had died down considerably.

Our sixth day was at sea. On previous days we’d spent about an hour a day lying by the pool comfortably
warm from the sun and cool from the breeze. Today, there was no breeze. Just walking to find a lounge
chair made us hot enough to know that we would not stay out long that day. I decided to not use
sunscreen and just sit out for 20 minutes. I got sun burnt. I talked to several other people who also got
sun burnt that day in 30 minutes or less. Anyway, we decided to just sit in our room and enjoy the air
conditioning and read until the next movie started in the cinema. We were surprised to find that the movie
had been edited to fit on a square screen and had been edited for language and content. All told we
were pretty bored that day because we are not much for sitting and relaxing. The seventh day was time
to disembark. I was pretty disappointed to learn that we’d have to be permanently out of our room by
8am, and that they did not let any passengers leave this ship until 8am. This meant getting up at 6:30 am
to eat breakfast and finish packing our toiletries, then going to a lounge and waiting from 8am until 10:15
until they called our flight number so we could leave. The reason we had to wait so long is that everyone
leaving the ship must go through one of two customs lines, and rather than chaos and mayhem, the ship
calls people to leave by their flight number starting with the earliest flights. Once off the ship we were able
to check our luggage with American airlines and get our boarding passes right on the dock. We still had
our carry-on bags, so we walked the 15 minutes to the Crown and Anchor Club and left our bags in their
self-service bins. We ate a nice (but also bland) lunch at a hotel called El Convento that used to be a
convent. We walked around Old San Juan admiring the buildings for a little while, but we were kind of
tired of being tourists, so we just headed back to the Crown and Anchor and borrowed some books from
their library to read. With the air-sea package RCCL provides a shuttle to the airport, and they leave
every hour on the hour. RCCL recommends catching a shuttle at least 2 hours prior to your flight. We
had a 4:20 flight, so we went back to port for the 2pm shuttle. It turned out there was a parade in town
and the normally 15 minute ride took 2 hours. We just barely caught our flight and suspect that other
people on the bus with us actually missed their flights.

There are a few other things I’d like to note. We did not participate in much of the on-ship entertainment,
but the few shows we did see seemed aimed at a crowd much older than our 27 years. The Internet
connection was fast and reliable and we were very glad to have an in-expensive way to communicate with
friends and family at home, without spending the $16/minute for a ship to shore phone call. I felt that the
ship’s staff was pretty marginal except for the 4 people who were directly relying on us for tips (these
people were exceptionally good). There were lots of opportunities for formal pictures, sittings were at no
obligation, and no one forced us to get our picture taken (we chose to pose, and purchased 3 copies of
one shot for $20 each). I was worried about sitting at a dinner table with 6 strangers, but it was great. We
often sat with stranger during lunch and breakfast also, and found that if nothing else, we always had the
cruise in common to talk about. All of the passengers we met seemed friendly and chatty, and who can
be in a bad mood when they are on a cruise? I’m an impatient and sometimes hyperactive person, and I
had a great time.

Name: Sharon Bilohlavek
Email: sb024@prodigy.net
Age: 43
Occupation: Hair Stylist
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: 4-16-00
Itinerary: Southern Carribean
Cabin: 4510 G
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 75
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService:
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Apr 2000
Time: 07:48:17
Remote Name: laura060-0348.splitrock.net
Remote User:

Comments

We choose the week before Easter because our kids were out of school. There were a lot of families with
children on board, which was fine with us but I heard complaints from others. We had the air/sea package and
everything went smoothly. Embarkation and Debarkation was a piece of cake for us. We opted to pay extra for
an earlier flight home so we were some of the first off the ship.

Our cabins were small but there was enough storage space for everything. We had two 16 year old boys and
one 12 year old boy who had the cabin across the hall from us. The steward did a great job keeping it nice.

The ship was nice and fairly easy to get around. We had main seating for dinner and everyone in the dining
room was very nice. The food was good although I would not say it was like a four star restaurant.We were
expecting there to be a midnight buffet every night according to what other people have said. On the Monarch
they only do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This did not upset me since I was not interested in eating
that late but I did hear quite a few complaints about it. The Windjammer Cafe was very disappointing so we did
not opt to eat there much.

The iternary was good although I did not care much for Antigua. My favorite was St. Lucia and St. Maarten.
Barbados was nice too we took a tour with a taxi on our own. The excursions offered by RCL are not worth the
money. We took the St.John Beach Tour and was very disappointed, it was short and very unorganized. We
did take the 4x4 Safari Adventure in Antigua and that was enjoyable even though I was not crazy about that
Island. The St. Lucia Island Splendor was awful. The tour guide was terrible and she acted like she would
rather be some place else, but the Island is beautiful. We canceled the rest of our tours with RCL after that.
We did St. Maarten on our own and it was fun.

All an all it was a good time. Cruises are good vacations for families there seems to be something for
everyone. Our boys stayed out all night parting and making new friends. We enjoyed most of the shows
although the Wave Revue Singers and Dancers were not that great. We went on a Norwegian Cruise last year
and most people we talked too like RCL better. I did not find that I preferred this one over the other, I would go
on either again.

Name: Susan Wolfson
Email: dswolfson@yahoo.com
Age: 39
Occupation: Homemaker
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: 05/07/2000
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 4598G
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 93
CabinComfort: 89
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 89
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 98
DeckService: 99
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 99
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 99
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 May 2000
Time: 21:21:49
Remote Name: 1cust119.tnt3.allentown.pa.da.uu.net
Remote User:

Comments

Monarch of the Seas May 7th 2000

Who we are - Dave (41) and Sue (39) from Pennsylvania. We were celebrating our 15th anniversary
and my 40th birthday. We left our kids at home with Dave’s parents. There was a lot of guilt shopping in
the ports!

Pre Cruise Hotel This was our first cruise and we decided to fly to San Juan 2 days before the cruise
started plus we had free air ticket from USAir and couldn’t be greedy about the flights. We stayed at the
Marriott in Condado. Our room overlooked the pool and the ocean and had a nice balcony. Marriott
provides beach chairs at no cost, if you want an umbrella that is $5/day. The pool was very nice. They
have a water slide but it is only open from11am-4pm. Not having our kids along we didn’t view that as a
problem. Our rate ($169) included breakfast for 2. We chose the breakfast buffet. There was more than
enough food to choose from. They offered the usual (fruit, danish, eggs, bacon, cereal and even made
to order omelets and Belgian waffles). We also had dinners at the Marriott. Each night they offer a buffet
for $22.95 per person. It included 2 soups, salads 3-4 hot entrees, a full dessert buffet and the special
of the day. Friday night they offered meat, fish or chicken grilled to your liking. It was definitely worth the
price. Saturday we chose to do just the cold portion of the buffet for $9.95 per person also very good.

All in all the Marriott was a very good choice - rooms were very nice (ours overlooked the beach),
service was quite fine, food was very good, the beach and pool were perfect and the location was a
good one (close to the airport, close to Old San Juan). It was fortuitous that we booked our flight two
days in advance of the cruise since we had some problems getting to San Juan. Our original US Air flight
was canceled and we ended up landing approximately 3 hours later than scheduled. We were lucky that
we live in a metropolitan area with access to 4 major airports - we could imagine that if it was more
difficult to get alternative flights, those 3 hours could have turned much longer. We would still book our
own air fare (much cheaper and better connections than if booked through RCI) but you need to leave
plenty of time between the planned arrival in San Juan and the ship’s departure time.

Old San Juan Saturday we took a bus(50 cents) into Old San Juan. It dropped us off at the bus terminal
and there were free trolleys to take you to various points within Old San Juan. Since it was a beautiful
day we opted to walk around and headed straight for El Morro. The streets of Old San Juan are very
narrow and reminiscent of Europe. There were many nice shops and restaurants. At El Morro we waited
for the 11 am walking tour. English tours are at 11am and 3pm. Since it is a National Park we knew the
walking tour would be worth the wait. We have always enjoyed the tours park rangers give. This proved
to be no different. Our guide was very informative and clearly loved the fort and her job. The tour lasted
an hour. We then wandered around the fort on our own for some picture taking. The fort gift shop sells
cold bottles of water for $1 each and there is a restroom in the fort. After El Morro we walked to San
Cristobal. We just walked around on our own there. At the top of the fort we got a great picture of the
Grandeur of the Seas. We then walked further into Old San Juan and had lunch at a small local fast food
restaurant called Le Messon (not exactly sure of spelling). We had cuban sandwiches that were pretty
good. It was recommended by one of the tourism officials that are located all around Old San Juan. We
then walked around a bit more and shopped in a few of the stores. Not to be missed is the butterfly
shop. They mount butterflies in Plexiglas. Very nice but very expensive. We then took at taxi back to our
hotel for a swim at the beach.

Old San Juan is a great way to spend a couple of days wondering around shopping, eating / drinking or
touring. Its clean, safe and interesting. The views of the ships docked are also a nice way to get exited
about your upcoming cruise.

The Cruise

We took a taxi from the hotel ($17.50 including charges for bags) to the port. We arrived at 12:15pm
and there was a very long line. At 12:30 they started to board and we were in our cabin by 1pm. We put
our things in our cabin (4598 deck 4), filled out our excursion forms and headed back off the ship to call
our kids. SCAM ALERT: there are pay phones in the terminal but all were being used. After about 10
minutes I noticed that all the people on the phone were young and didn’t look like they were about to go
on the cruise. Some were sitting down and not even talking. I got very annoyed when I noticed that there
was a shop next to the phones that offered calls for 40 cents a minute. I figured out they these people
were preventing us from using the phones on purpose. My husband did not believe me until I called over
a security guard and told him that I did not mean to insult him but I believed that there was a scam going
on and I needed to use the phone to call my kids. He said something in Spanish to the kid on the phone.
He then told me that he would be off the phone in a minute. My husband watched the kid go to the
entrance of the phone shop where a man gave him a few dollars. I was furious that they would allow this
to happen. It was obvious that the security at the port overlooks what’s going on. When I got off the
phone I made sure I handed it to a tourist and asked them to do the same.

After we got hold of our kids we then got back on the ship for good. We had booked 14 months in
advance but somehow things got messed up and we did not have a table assignment and we were told
we could take care of that at 2pm. Our cabin steward (Yvonne from Nicaragua) introduced herself and
asked if we needed anything. We told her we would like extra towels and ice was important to us. She
showed us where the ice was and told us to sneak some if she was not around. We went at 2pm to the
dining room to get a table. We were assigned to table #28 main seating in the Brigadoon Dining Room.
We were concerned because we were told that RCL would put us at a table with "compatible people"
based on our profile. As it turned out we had a fantastic table and our Waiter (Ismail from Turkey) and
Assistant Waiter (Taira from Japan) could not have been better. We toured the ship some more and
went to dinner at 5:45pm. You go to dinner earlier on the first night because of the 10pm lifeboat drill.
We were glad to get on the boat early - it allowed us the chance to tour the ship, get ourselves
unpacked and enjoy all the activities the first day / night.

The seas were very calm. We hardly felt any movement at all. We were a bit disappointed because at
times you couldn’t even tell you were on a ship. Our cabin was right behind the pursers desk and was
very quiet. There was no shortage of alcohol on the cruise. We were offered drinks in every lounge and
at the pool. We noticed in the lounges after you were asked if you wanted a drink the waiter put a napkin
at your table even if you did not order a drink. This was a great idea because you were not constantly
being asked if you wanted a cocktail. I had the drink of the day everyday except Monday. It was $3.39
including tip. My favorite was the rum punch. The other drinks offered were in the $5 - 6 each range -
which is comparable to the cost on shore. (although we were surprised by the prevalence of alcohol on
the ship, the fact RCI did not totally rip you off with outrageous prices was a positive as well as the fact
that you never got hassled saying "no". )

We’re still not sure what the pursers desks is supposed to do other than cash traveler’s checks and
safety deposit box access. When we heard a rumor (from a vendor) about potential the port date
changes in Antigua we asked at the pursers desk and they denied any knowledge of a change. After the
captain finally make the official announcement we asked if they could help us contact Scuba St. Lucia
and the answer was no. I even asked if they knew anything about the islands and they seemed to know
very little. I thought they were supposed to be like a concierge but I guess I am wrong.

The first morning when I went to shower there was no hot water. Also, our TV did not get the channels
listed in the Compass. We told our cabin steward and within a few hours someone came to fix the TV
and while we were out they checked our hot water. The hot water was pure stupidity on my part. There is
a little red button you must push and turn the dial towards you to get hot water. Both problems were fixed
before the afternoon of the first day. We were pleased with their response. We also got a call from the
pursers desk the next day just to make sure that everything was fixed properly.

Food - Much had been said about the food on Royal Caribbean. Here is our opinion. We enjoyed just
about everything that passed our lips. We ate in the dining room for breakfast almost every day. Lunch
was served in the windjammer and was ready when we arrived onboard at 1pm. It was very good but you
had to pick the correct dishes. I had a pasta with a red sauce that was very nice. There were of course
cold cuts and there is not much you can say about them. Ice cream was served every day around 3pm
and there was always iced tea, lemonade, coffee and ice available at windjammer. My favorite breakfast
was eggs benedict. I also like the smoked salmon. Rolls and pastries were good but I think they fight a
loosing battle with humidity. When we did eat in the Windjammer Café it was still enjoyable. The
scrambled eggs were good and the fresh salsa was fantastic. We had lunch in the dining room a few
times. They serve lunch buffet most days in the dining room as well as the windjammer. We had
intended on the day at sea to eat a little in the dining room and then have ribs and tacos in the
Windjammer. I ordered a bacon cheese burger in the dining room and it was so good I had to finish it
and then had no room for ribs and tacos. The french fries were fantastic, they were crisp and hot. My
husband had the vegetable napoleon and he really enjoyed it. Dinners were great. I am allergic to
rosemary and only had to tell Ismail once. After that he made sure nothing I ordered contained
rosemary, not an easy task since they use it frequently. My favorite dish was an appetizer, the greek
plate that had stuffed grapes leaves and a cold calamari salad. On the second night I ordered fish
stuffed with salmon mouse. I took one bite and knew I should not have ordered it. I was trying to be good
since I knew the fish would have the least amount of calories. Ismail then brought me the most incredible
steak I had ever had. No more being good after that. I really like the portion sizes. Many times I could not
decide which appetizer I wanted to order so I ordered 2 or 3. After the first night Ismail brought extras for
everyone at the table without our even asking. My husband had the cold soups every night and really
enjoyed them. I just can’t get into cold soups but he said they were all very good. The lobster was great.
I was expecting it to be mushy and overcooked but it was perfect. I had two portions and could have had
more if I wanted. We were also impressed with the quality of the meats (Fillet mignon, NY strip steak,
flank steak) - all were excellently prepared and melted in the mouth quality.

We ordered the wine and dine program it was $125.35 with the tip included. We really enjoyed having
wine every night and our wine steward was very helpful in picking out our wines. The list is somewhat
limited but we had no trouble picking out a wine each night. Our favorite was the Robert Mondavi Merlot.
We were invited to the wine tasting at no cost because we purchased the wine and dine program. I won
a bottle of RCL Chardonay. It is engraved in gold with a picture of the Monarch of the Seas, not a bad
souvenir .

Desserts were my favorite. I ordered 2 on most nights. My favorite was the apple pie; the crust was
fantastic. I also enjoyed the soufflés on each night they were offered. I know much as been said about
the coffee - here’s my 2 cents. I like my coffee strong and really enjoyed their coffee. If it’s too strong for
you just ask for a half cup and add hot water. They had a nice selection of teas as well.

Tablemates - We could not have asked for a better table. We were 10 people at our table. There were
two couples from Texas, 2 from Ohio and we are from Pennsylvania. All but one of us were celebrating
their anniversary or honeymoon. Conversations never lagged and they were all enjoyable. We
exchanged addresses and I hope we will truly continue to stay in touch. A funny coincidence, when we
toured El Morro in San Juan on Saturday, we saw a couple who were married at the fort. I told my
husband that I would love to take her picture because she was so beautiful but I felt it would have been
rude so I did not take the picture. The first night at dinner as we were introducing ourselves my husband
kept saying that one of the couples looked very familiar. After they said they were just married in San
Juan we asked if they were married at he fort. Sure enough that was the couple we saw at the fort.
There were over 2500 passengers on the ship, we could not believe the coincidence. We looked forward
to meeting our table mates in the shows after dinner and even started arranging to meet some during
the day on shore.

Shows - We went to every major show. The main seating show was at 9pm and the late seating show
was at 7pm. There were three comedians Kelly Monteith, Blair Shannon and Russ Merlin. Kelly Monteith
and Blair Shannon both did stand up routines that had people nearly hysterical. The most entertaining
was Russ Merlin. He is billed as a physical comedian. He picked 4 guys from the audience and put
masks on them. He then had them do specific hand movements that were absolutely hysterical. The
celebrity music guest was Herb Reed and the Platters. They put on an wonderful show. They also had a
juggler named Dario Vasquez who was fantastic. Not only was he an unbelievable juggler but he was
quite funny as well. My husband who loves jazz and plays the saxophone loved the Monarch Orchestra.
We made sure we went to the lounges when they were playing. All in all the entertainment was
wonderful.

Make sure you get to the not so newlywed game it was a real hoot. One older man (Stan) was asked
what was the most unusual place he ever made love. He answered on a ironing board. Believe it or not
his wife got it correct. The next night the cruise director said the pursers desk got many calls inquiring
about ironing boards. If you are going to be on the Monarch any time soon ask Rizz (cruise director) if
the Monarch has any ironing boards I bet she will not forget Stan for quite a while.

Generally, the shows were professional quality (no, not Broadway quality, but as good as any
professional dinner theater or comedy club). Shows lasted about one hour and the performers displayed
lots of enthusiasm. One note: we would NOT recommend that kids be brought to some of the shows -
there were definitely some sexual innuendo jokes that would have been inappropriate for kids.

Ports - Thanks to the news group rec.travel.cruises we were well prepared for our port of call. We only
did 2 ship excursions the rest we did on our own.

St. Thomas - Took a taxi ($20 round trip for 2 ) to Coral World/Coki Beach. We toured Coral World first,
rented a locker for the day($3) and then went to the beach and snorkeled for the rest of the day. There
were a ton of fish. It was fun to snorkel here because we could go back to Coral World and read about
the fish we just saw. (we brought our own snorkel gear - they would have charged us something like 5$
each for gear). They have beach chairs to rent for $5 each and Coral World had showers and changing
rooms free with admission. Coral World was $14 per adult with a coupon available on their site or from
the taxi driver. http://www.coralworldvi.com/p22about.htm We ate at the snack bar, nothing special just
okay. All in all a nice, relaxing day at the beach. Be sure to mail postcards from underwater, especially
since this is the first day of the cruise. No problem getting a taxi from Coral World. There is a shopping
area right by the terminal. One taxi driver told us down town had better prices, the other told us the
shops by the port were better. As we ran out of time, we chose the port’s shops. Nothing special here.
The ship offered excursions to Coral World, but we felt going on our own was better since it was cheaper
and much more flexible.

Antigua - We took Royal Caribbean’s kayaking excursion. Our bus driver gave us a wonderful tour of the
island filled with lots of information. The kayaking was easy and fun. We kayaked for about 45 minutes
and then had the option to snorkel or continue kayaking. We chose snorkeling and it was very
enjoyable. We then were taken back to the dock for the rum punch and we were back on the ship in time
for lunch. After lunch we went into town to shop. We bought a personalized map from Nick Maley the
artist who created Yoda. He told us that our ships route would change because of engine trouble and we
were going reverse ports and go to St. Lucia before Barbados. Antigua impressed us as a rather poor
country that was geared toward taking advantage of the ships’ passengers. Shopping was OK, some
stores were very expensive ( ex: a small Antigua shop charged $6 for a small flag; we were able to get
flags in other ports for $2).

St. Lucia - We had arranged for Scuba St. Lucia http://www.scubastlucia.com/ to pick us up at the dock
on Thursday. Because of the port change we were concerned that they might not be able to
accommodate us so we tried to send an email Tuesday night. After $9 in charges and not being able to
successfully send an email we asked for a refund of the $9’s from the pursers desk. They agreed
without any arguments. When we arrived in port we went immediately to the tourist information desk and
they offered to call Scuba St. Lucia for us. Every person we met in St. Lucia was very warm and friendly.
They had already figured out the change and were on their way to pick us up. The cost was $59 per
person and included lunch. We expected a sandwich for lunch but we were treated to the most
magnificent buffet. Lots of salads and a few hot dishes. Each one was incredible. They also had an
outdoor shower and changing facilities, lockers and lounge chairs included. The snorkeling was the best
we had ever seen. There were thousands of fish everything from 1 inch to 2-3 feet. At one point there
was a school of fish surrounding us that were at least 2-3 feet in length. They are a beautiful silver color.
There were many parrot fish, yellow tangs and some black ones with an orange tip. The people at Scuba
St. Lucia could not have been more wonderful. They could not do enough for us. The coral
unfortunately had been damaged by Hurricane Lenny in November. We were still amazed at the colors.
Yellow, orange and even purple coral. The sand is really black and very hot to walk on even for just a
few feet without sandals. We are a little nervous about getting back to the ship on time but Hamil (an
instructor) insured us that it would not be a problem. We left Anse Chastanet at 3pm and got back to our
ship at 4:15pm. St. Lucia was my favorite port. My only disappointment was that I could not get some of
the chocolate logs that everyone talks about. St. Lucia was a definite upgrade in terms of impressions
relative to either St. Thomas or Antigua - the port area is neat and clean, the people were relaxed and
visually the city seemed to enjoy a higher standard of living.

Barbados - We were scheduled to rent a car in Barbados but again because of the port change we were
not sure what would happen. We had agreed on a price of $101 for the day. When we got off the ship
we could not locate the woman with whom we had arrange the car rental. Since they did not have a
deposit from us we were not concerned. We asked how much a taxi would be for the day and were told it
was $150. I immediately said to my husband forget it we’ll rent a car. The price went down to $125 and
we took the taxi. We first went to Glitter Bay resort where we spent our honeymoon 15 years ago. It
looked pretty much the same just the trees were a little taller. We then went to Animal Flower Cave ($5
for 2). It is on the northern most tip of the island. We had forgotten how steep the steps were going into
the cave. We really enjoyed the view and the cave was still beautiful. Our next stop was the wildlife
refuge ($23 for 2). There were a ton of animals all around, tortoises, peacocks, iguanas, rabbits and
much, much more. We did not see the green monkeys They say you need to be there between 3-4 in
the afternoon to see them. We then asked the driver to take us to lunch. We went to a beach bar and
had flying fish sandwiches ($22 for 2). They were as great as we remembered. After lunch we stopped
for about an hour of snorkeling at Folkestone Marine Park. They had rest rooms and changing facilities
and there was no entrance fee. The snorkeling was great we saw a ton of fish. It was very shallow, at
times we were only inches above the coral. Our driver asked us to pay 2/3rds of our taxi fee because he
said many people stiff him. Reluctantly we agreed and hoped that he would pick us up at the appointed
time. Sure enough he was there as planned. We then went to Mount Gay Rum and took a very
informative tour ($6 for 2). We would definitely recommend the Rum and the rum tour. After that we
headed back to the ship. We felt Barbados was very expensive. If we visit again we will probably just
spend the day snorkeling at Folkestone Marine Park. Since we had spend our honeymoon on Barbados
there were many places we wanted to revisit.

St. Martin - We had planned on taking a taxi to Dawn Beach to snorkel. It was about $15 each way. As
soon as we stepped of the tender we were offered a rental car for $40. I had tried book a car rental prior
to our cruise , it would have been cheaper. In hindsight I am glad we didn’t because of the port changes
we had that would have been messed up also. We drove to Dawn Beach. The car was an old Toyota
with 100,000 miles on it, but the air conditioner worked fine. The roads on the Dutch side leave a lot to
be desired, but we navigated with no problems. Dawn Beach is simply beautiful - there is a little
restaurant with rest rooms and we rented beach chairs for $3 each. The snorkeling left a lot to be
desired. Not much fish and pretty bland coral. We stayed for a about two hours and headed to Marigot.
We got lost and ended up going back the way we came and around Phillipsburg in to Marigot. We had
lunch at a little bar called the La Bar De La Mer. We had a great caesar salad, fried calamari and a
snapper sandwich. All were very good and the total with tip was $30. We then shopped in the market.
We bought tee shirts 3/$10 and a nice wooden bowl for $20. After lunch we drove to Baie Rouge. This
was another beautiful beach. We snorkeled around the rocks on the right an saw a few fish. The best
was behind the rocks to the right there is a little cave you can snorkel through. We would definitely
spend more time at Baie Rouge in the future. We then returned the rental car and shopped in
Phillipsburg for a while. There is a great belgium chocolate store on Old Street and we bought some
color changing shirts for our kids at Del Sol. We looked at jewelry but I just couldn’t get excited enough
to buy anything. We took a tender back to the ship. There was a bit of a wait but the comics made it go
much faster. Both Marigot and Phillipsburg have excellent shopping. St. Martin was also an upgrade
from Antigua - we were impressed not only by the beaches but by the amount of modern buildings in the
cities. There is still some noticeable damage from hurricane Lenny in the Phillipsburg area.

San Juan - We took the rain forest excursion since our flight didn’t leave until 4:10pm. It was fantastic.
The rain forest was so lush and beautiful. We saw tons of butterflies, flowers, salamanders and even a
hawk.. The view from the observation tower was breathtaking. We arrived back at the airport at 3pm as
promised.

Negatives - Although everything went very well we do have a few comments. We posed for just about
every portrait available. We did not like any of our pictures. Both my husband and I have glasses and
there were reflections in each of our pictures. The next time we took off our glasses, my necklace was
very crooked and my husbands shirt was twisted. These are easy fixes if the photographer notices.
There was no line when we had our picture take so there was no excuse for the poor attention to details.
When the photographer took our picture at the dining room table I had to remind them to remove the
bottle of wine from in front of my face. Fortunately, our table mates took picture of us with our camera
and they came out great.

The midnight buffet - Everything was beautiful but he food was warm and not very tasty. The best part
was the chocolate covered strawberries. I would not stay up for this again. Every night they have food in
the lounges and by the pool at midnight called the midnight delights. How you could possibly be hungry
is beyond my comprehension.

Pursers’ desk - they should have been better prepared for St. Lucia. The excuse was that they had only
been there for 4 other times. This is not a valid excuse and is more consistent with a Holiday Inn than a 4
star hotel.

Luggage - we had to pack by Saturday midnight. Even with all the preparation time, our luggage ended
up all over the terminal making it difficult to find and retrieve. Make sure you mark your luggage so that it
is easily found. There are thousand of black bags. Luckily customs took very little time.

Other comments: Cabin size - lots of people complain about RCI’s cabins. Yes they are small, but we got
along fine. Even the bathroom was adequate. We really didn’t spend that much waking time in the rooms
so who cares. Our luggage fit fine under the bed, there’s plenty of hangers, drawers and cubby holes to
store things. The shower had good pressure and was sufficiently high up (we hate bending to take a
shower as in many hotels).

Cabin location - we were very pleased with our location mid ship on deck four. We could always drop
things off in our room enroute to another venue without any problem. We felt very little sway and never
heard any sounds (no engine, no anchor, no neighbors, no elevators - we heard complaints from others
about each of these noises).

Pool chairs - some passengers were discouraged because they could not find a lounge chair by the
pool. We never had any problem, even during the day at sea. Although the chairs are very close
together, we never had a problem finding a relatively isolated position.

Smoke - We don’t smoke and were concerned that the ship would be smoke filled. We had nothing to
fear. While some lounges / bars were somewhat smoky, the ventilation system worked fine. Our favorite
lounge the Viking Crown even had a no smoking section.

Overall Impression - Being our first cruise we did not know exactly what to expect. I was concerned that it
would not live up to my expectations since I had always wanted to go on a cruise. It went well beyond
both our expectations. We were very pleased with our cruise and look forward to our second cruise on
the Enchantment in December 2000. We feel that Royal Caribbean did a great job. Even though one of
the ship’s engine failed we still got to all of the ports, the entertainment was great as was the food and
service. This is definitely the way to travel. Although we heard lots of good things from the passengers
that took RCI’s excursions, we definitely recommend exploring the island’s on your own. This saves
money, adds flexibility and is fun / adventurous in itself. It seemed to us that everyone on all the islands
(from the guys hanging out at the beach parking lot to the shop attendants) took a class called "Cruise
passengers bring lots of money into the island - treat them nicely otherwise they won’t come back".

We would like to thank everyone who contributes to rec.travel.cruises The information you provided was
invaluable. We were very well informed even though it was our first cruise. If you have any questions we
would be happy to answer them. Our email address is dswolfson@msn.com

Name: Jean Rumbellow
Email: jeanshah@yahoo.com
Age: 52
Occupation: Senior Secretary
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: May 14, 2000
Itinerary: 7 day Caribbean
Cabin: 1042 Luxury
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 100
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 May 2000
Time: 05:02:35
Remote Name: 198.80.192.152
Remote User:

Comments

This cruise was the second experience with Royal Caribbean. Previously I took a 3-day Mexican cruise 6
years ago on my honeymoon. This cruise was one of the best vacations I have ever had, the service was
excellent, the food was excellent and all the entertainment and excursions were excellent. We were in a group
of 10 people and had great service for the evening meal from our waiters. We had booked a luxury cabin with
balcony and sliding glass doors, this cabin was spotless and so pretty and the attendant was wonderful.
Every time we stepped out, she would step in to make the place tidy again. Room service was quick, although
we only had coffee in the mornings, so cannot comment on meal service. We took two or three tours with the
ship and had the best time on the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship cruise in Antigua, which was a blast! I loved the
Caribbean music on the deck of the ship and had a good time learning the dances from the cruise staff. They
were excellent in all shows and in all entertainment. I loved the Bingo and the Art Auctions, where I won one
print and purchased three, the Karaoke was fun and I loved playing the slot machines in the casino. The
formal evenings were great too, and we have some wonderful photos. We also had a small private party for
two of our group for their wedding anniversary with a small buffet and music in which the service were
excellent. The ship looked beautiful, she shone and sparkled. All in all it was a fantastic trip and I cannot wait
to take another cruise with Royal Caribbean.

The only things I can think of improving on are the following: On checking in, the staff were not very helpful
and when we asked whether we could take our own luggage to our cabin ourselves, they weren’t quite sure
what to tell us. In the confusion this resulted in my husband having his photograph taken alone on embarking,
and not having any photograph together boarding ship, he did not even take a picture of me on my own. I
didn’t even see him.

Another point I would like to raise is when you book a luxury cabin; guests are not treated any differently than
from reserving a basic cabin. It would be nice if there were a special lounge for these guests, serving
complimentary drinks and snacks between certain hours, as a hotel does when staying on the executive floor.
Also there could be a first class check-in as with an airline a hotel.

Another point I thought a bit unfair was that my husband won the first round of the casino slot machine
contest with 7,400 points. There were 63 entrants and he got the most points out of all these 63 people. In
the final round, which started from scratch, with the 10 winners of the first round he did not win, the winner
who scored 5,000 points received $850. I think that a consolation prize should be given to the person with the
most overall points in any one machine run in the whole contest. He only received a T-shirt, together with all
the rest of the losers, except the second place winner who received a prize of $150 with 3,500 points.

I would also comment on the music in the adults only disco. This could be improved a little if there were more
1960's 70's and 80's music instead of all the very up to date funk music, which I think is more for teenagers.

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