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Name: Joan Murphy
Email: joanjm@juno.com
Age: 55
Occupation: secretary
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: June 7, 1998
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 93
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 78
DiningRoomService: 83
CabinQuietness: 94
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 92
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 92
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 93
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 86
OverallPortsofCall: 89
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 79
Casino: 88
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 88
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 79
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Jun 1998
Time: 23:59:09
Remote Name: 209.81.229.150
Remote User:
Comments
This vacation found us traveling with four other couples, two of whom had never cruised
before. Using the air/sea program, we left Chicago at 7:00 a.m.
and arrived in San Juan at 12:30 p.m. We were greeted at the airport by Royal Caribbean
staff and bused to the cruise terminal where we experienced a
45 minute wait in an extremely long line for check-in. At that time, we were presented
with our Super Charge card which verified our stateroom and
dining preferences. It was pleasant to know immediately that all five couples would be
seated together for meals.
We had an outside cabin #5522, category F on the Showtime Deck. Two other couples had
outside cabins down the hall and two couples preferred
inside cabins across from ours. We found the room size to be much smaller than those of
comparable cost on other cruise lines. Our room steward did
an excellent job of cleaning each day, but the cabins themselves are in need of
refurbishing. Our carpeting was stained and the covers on the beds were
ripping at the seams. However, down the hall carpeting was being replaced in an unoccupied
room, so renovation does seem to be taking place.
The food in the Brigadoon dining room was very good and the choices varied. While our wait
staff was pleasant, the waiter on occasion placed the
incorrect meal in front of a diner. Also, we had to remind the assistant waiter quite
often for a refill on water or coffee. However, the assistant headwaiter
of the dining room was the best we have ever encountered. He greeted our table each
evening, making sure all our requests were fulfilled. Since we had
the late seating, we never finished dinner until around 10:00 p.m…. much too late to
sample the midnight buffets.
The buffet food in the Windjammer café was fair and we ate there only when we were in a
hurry. However, this restaurant (since it’s on the 11th floor)
does afford a lovely view when the ship is in port. One note: On two different occasions
we came back on board ship after touring and could not find any
food available anywhere! There seemed to be a period of from one to two hours between
lunch and tea when there was no dining room or café service.
The men in our group took advantage of renting a tuxedo on board. This was done previous
to sailing by calling an 800 number listed in the Royal
Caribbean brochure and providing the sailing date and cabin number. The tux (and two dress
shirts) was delivered to our cabin and saved the trouble of
packing a suit. By the way, forget about the smart casual night… it didn’t
exist! There were two formal nights with all the others being casual.
Entertainment in the show lounge ranged from fair to excellent; the singers and comedians
varying from cruise to cruise. We were disappointed to find
that the smaller lounges seemed to prefer Latin music for dancing in the late evening (so
practice up on your merengue). Activities during the day
seemed to be rather sparse for those who chose to remain on board. On Saturday, the bingo
jackpot reached $6,000 (one lucky winner) and the
owner’s horse race provided a fun-filled afternoon (our horse placed third!).
Since we had been to St. Thomas before, we decided to rent a cab for a tour of the island.
This worked out fine and afforded us plenty of opportunity for
shopping also. Be prepared for jewelry store after jewelry store, with an occasional tee
shirt shop in between. Perfume and Lladro’s can be purchased
here, but check prices before you leave home. Also, table linens can be acquired at fairly
reasonable prices so make sure you know what size you need.
Martinique was as unappealing as we had expected. We walked to town from the ship and
noted a lot of barbed wire at the top of fences along the way.
Turning a corner, we encountered a man ‘relieving’ himself by a wall! After
being charged $7.00 for a glass of beer in a café, we took a cab back to the
ship.
In Barbados, we took the Atlantis Submarine tour in the morning. We would definitely
recommend it… lots of beautiful fish and colorful coral beneath the
sea. However, the description of the tour didn’t say you had to descend a very steep
ladder… something to be wary of if you’re disabled in any way.
Right after our tour, it started to rain quite heavily. All remaining tours had to be
canceled and we were surprised that no new activities on board were
added to occupy passengers (as we have experienced on other cruises). There really
wasn’t much to do, so despite the rain we hopped a tram right
outside the ship that took us to some shops at the end of the pier.
Antigua was lovely. A steel band greeted us in port and many shops were within walking
distance. That afternoon we took the Jolly Roger Pirate Cruise. A
good time was had by all, but contrary to the brochure, there was no ‘hilarious
pirate wedding’, no ‘West Indian Jump Up’, and heaven knows where the
quiet lounge was! They really pack the passengers on this pirate ship, so be prepared to
hunt for a place to sit.
St. Maarten was the only port requiring the use of a tender. We found them to operate
quite efficiently and only had to wait a few minutes to board. On
the island, we headed for a place called ‘Everyting Cool’ where we rented
lockers and beach mats. The men enjoyed relaxing on the beach while the
ladies went shopping one last time. Later that day we took a cab ride for a tour of the
island and infamous Orient Beach (clothing optional).
Debarkation was very efficient and customs moved quite quickly. We didn’t note
anyone’s bags being inspected. However, once outside the cruise
terminal, we had to wait in a long, hot line to check in with our airline (United). After
doing so, we had plenty of time before our 1:40 p.m. flight to take a
cab tour of San Juan. Our driver dropped us off at the airport.
The first-timers in our group thought this cruise was fabulous and would definitely do it
again. For those of us that have cruised other lines, Royal
Caribbean would not be our first choice in the future. It simple was not up to the
standards we had experienced on comparable cruises.
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