rccl-monarchps071698

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Paulo Soares de Pinho
Email: pjpinho@feunix.fe.unl.pt
Age: 35
Occupation: University Professor / Economist
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: 8/16/98
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 85
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: 70
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 75
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 14 Sep 1998
Time: 11:51:55
Remote Name: 193.136.112.5
Remote User:

Comments

My wife and I were a bit concerned about taking a Caribbean in August, right in the middle of the hurricane season. We have checked several
cruise reviews for this and other ships and found nothing from previous summer cruisers. Thus my review is an attempt to fill this gap. We made all
our flight arrangements from Europe and didnt use RCCL air/sea programme. At San Juan airport we immediately found RCCL staff who took care
of our luggage. We opted for their transfer despite its expensive price ($12 per person while a taxi costs $18)just to get rid of the bags.
Embarkation was not as slow as I had expected from what I read in internet reviews. We arrived at 16h00 and found a long line, but the 16
counters (some with more than a staff member) seemed enough and it took 35 minutes for check in. We immediately boarded the ship and found it
clean and confortable.Our room (outside - cat F) was ready although our luggage wasnt delivered until we found it in a lobby three hours later.
Cabin size may be a problem for some people but was just OK for us. That night we met our dinner companions and were happy to find that they
were fellow Portuguese (the guy was even an academic like myself!). Thus someone from RCCL had the trouble to try to match people at the tables
and find suitable partners for everybody. For instance in a nearby table they put three American young couples and in another one their first try
didnt work too well and in the following day they redistributed people and things look much better. service at the dining room was excellent. Our
waiter was Keith, from India, and was commietted to get very good reviews. He was fantastic! The food was not five-star but neither is RCCL target
market-segment(if I wanted better food I would have sailed with Celebrity). Food at the Windjammer cafe is far from excellent. Probably not even
good. I liked their ice cream though. Our cabin steward (from Philippines) was not too clever. First we had some trouble to convince her that we
were not Spanish-speakers. we also took four days to make her understand that we wanted a queen bed at night and two separated sofas during
day time. She preferred to keep the sofas together during daytime which although saves her some work it also signifficantly reduces available
space in the cabin. I needed some help from the Pursers desk and Im happy to say that in both occasions they were excellent. After checking our
Frommers Caribbean Guide we decided not to take RCCL excursions in most of the islands. Even for two people only taxis are most of the time
cheaper and more flexible. In St Thomas we walked to downtown, took the ferry to St John and there we agreed an island tour with a taxi driver for
$30, which included a two hour stop at Trunk Bay. This was cheaper than RCCL beach tour and unlike that excursion included a tour of the island
with stops at our pleasure. In Martinique, where my wife and I spent a full week last year, we decided against taxis (really expensive there) and
took RCCL St Pierre and Island tour.

That took us to the North (volcanic) part of the island which we didnt visit last year. It was fair price. In
Barbados, we opted for the taxi again. That took us to a Plantation house, then to Gun Hill Signal Station, to St John Parish on the West Cost and
the we came down the Gold (East) Coast. The driver left us at a beach not far away from Bridgetown and from there we took another taxi to the
harbour. That costed $80 for the first trip (for two) and $7 for the second. In Antigua we had the first flavour of the Hurricane season.

The day
was dark, the sky was grey so instead of going for any of the 365 beaches we did some shopping at the terminal shops. St John looked dirty and
we decided not to explore it. In the afternoon we took the English Harbour excursion although had been advised that due to a tropical storm some
rain should be expected. And that was true. We left Antigua under rain and that night the tropical storm was officially promoted to Hurricane
(Bonnie)status. St Maarten: We went there twice and never stopped! In Friday the anchor couldnt hold the ship because of the strong winds. So,
suddenly, the ship leaves the bay and they announce that we shall hava a day at sea. A new programme for the day was printed which included a
visit to the bridge (which we took). Not much sun so we spent a lot of time in the cabin and the excellent gymnasium. Next day we wnt back to St
Maarten. The anchor seemed to be working and although the tenders left harbour to approach us, the captain decided to leave and we had again
a day at sea.

What didnt I like? Well the photography shop. The lady there was good but the laboratory always made stupid mistakes with my
pictures. All of them had to be repeated (at RCCL expense) and the new set although no longer with the previous irritating white spot came with
too much light. My recommendation: develop your pictures back home. The shows were probably OK for americans but most jokes were
meaningless for Europeans (especially in the first two days). I dont gamble so I can not rate the casino. Overall I believe that RCCL sells good value
for money. Its a mass market cruise and they seem to have some thing for everybody. The Monarch is still in very good shape and you cant get
better for the price their charge. There is better, of course, Cunard, Seabourn, etc, but that comes at a price. I will probably sail with RCCL again
but will avoid the hurricane season next time.

Name: Darlene Davidson
Email: dar@postmark.net
Age: 44
Occupation: Clerical
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: 11/1/98
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 92
CruiseDirector: 97
CabinComfort: 92
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 96
FoodMidnightBuffets: 92
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 89
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 92
ShoreExcValue: 91
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 93
OverallPortsofCall: 94
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 94
Casino: 96
AirSeaProgram: 89
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 94
EmbarkDisembark: 89
DiscoNightclubs: 93
DeckSpace: 97
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 89
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 15 Nov 1998
Time: 16:13:11
Remote Name: 207.51.248.66
Remote User:

Comments

This was our first cruise, and we thought it was excellent. We received excellent service. The plane accommodations, however, were not put together
very well, because my husband and I did not have our seating arrangements together. We thought when they booked us on a flight, they would put us
together, but I was in one row and my husband was in another row. Also, you pay enough for the flight, you would think the movie was included in the
price. However, they charged a $5.00 fee for rental of the earphones for the movie. We thought the movie should have been included. We flew on
American Airlines. Our plane was late getting in to San Juan, so we didn't have to wait long to embark on the ship. This was good, as I had read that it
could be as much as a 2 hour wait to get aboard the ship.

Once on the ship we were directed to our cabin and then we were allowed to go to the dining room for our dinner. We were glad of this, as our
airplane rides were a total of 8 hours, and the food on the plane was not very good or filling. So needless to say, we were starving. The food in the
dining room was very good, and our service from Abraham(our waiter) and Francisco(our assistant waiter) was excellent. Every evening upon
entering the dining room, Abraham greeted each and everyone of us by name. How he could keep all of our names straight, was beyond our belief.
We were not his only table to keep track of. His suggestions about what was good each evening for dinner were very good. After each dinner he told
us about the port we were going to next, and what there might be to do there. We were pleased with such excellent service we received, and they
always had a positive attitude, which meant a lot to us.

Our cabin steward, Hyginto Pinto, also had such a positive attitude, and never ceased to entertain us with his pillow arrangements that he did each
evening in our cabin. He was always there with his help, especially when we forgot our key a time or two.

The shops on board were a little bit expensive, except for T-Shirts. I had not purchased enough film back home so I had to purchase a few roles in
one of the ships stores. The film cost about double what I purchased it for at home, but it was still a lot cheaper than in Barbados. But remember to
take enough film so you don't have to purchase any.

The cruise director and the entertainment were a riot. We never laughed so much. However, some people that have cruised before said it was the
same as on other ships. We, however, did not notice the difference since this was our first cruise.

Overall, the ports of call were very good. We were concerened when we first were going that we might be involved in Hurricane Mitch. But the
hurricane did not effect us at all. We had 7 days of beautiful weather. The cruise staff said that was unusual, because normally that time of year you
get 3 'good' days if you are lucky. We did not care much for Martinique. It didn't seem as 'tourist-friendly' as the other islands did. On Martinique not
many people spoke English, and the streets were narrow. They park right on the sidewalks, so there is really not much space to walk and hope you will
not get run over by cars. Barbados was expensive. St. Martin was by far the best island. The water was even more crystal blue on St. Martin than it
was on Antigua.

We were also disappointed in the Captain's dinner. This was a dinner where you get all dressed up, and supposedly the captain was in the dining
room. We never did see the captain in the dining room, although he might have been there. He was supposed to be at each dinner for aprox. 15
minutes. We felt they should have at least announced him coming into the dining room.

The midnight buffets were excellent. We were amazed at how beautifully they did the ice carvings and those figures out of butter and other
confections.

The disembarkation was a little disorganized. American airlines and Delta Airlines both had pre-check in on the ship on our last day. However, we
waited in one line for about 15 minutes before we found out that we were in the wong line and American Airlines was in the other line. We heard that
complaint from a lot of people. We felt they should have had a sign put up for American Airlines and one for Delta to show which line you should be in.
Once in the right line, it took us about an hour and a half to get through it.

Overall, the cruise was a pleasant experience, and we would definitely cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

Name: Greg Geurtz
Email: ggeurtz@compuserve.com
Age: 44
Occupation: Contract Manager
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Monarch
SailingDate: December 13, 1998
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 91
CabinComfort: 82
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 92
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 94
FoodMidnightBuffets: 86
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 93
FoodVariety: 88
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 89
TenderService: 75
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 88
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall:
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 88
Stabilization: 84
ShopsOnBoard: 93
SpaceRatio: 78
OverallCruiseValue: 30
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Jan 1999
Time: 21:45:25
Remote Name: 206.175.109.174
Remote User:

Comments

Our cruise on the Monarch of the Seas was cut short after 28 hours by an unfortunate incident where the ship
sustained heavy damage but, fortunately, nobody was injured.

The trip started normally enough. My wife Renata, who is 5 months pregnant, and I left Phoenix early Saturday
morning, December 12th, and flew to Atlanta, changed planes, and then it was on to San Juan. This was our
third cruise together, having honeymooned on the Norwegian Sea (then Seaward) as well as going on a 3-day
cruise on Carnival’s Holiday. I don’t count my 2 ½ years at sea as a junior officer on a U.S. Navy Guided Missile
Destroyer because, among other things, the entertainment, dining & ship’s lounges left a LOT to be desired. We
arrived in San Juan just after sunset. After a 30-minute delay in baggage claim while one of our bags was
located, we endured the ubiquitous hair-raising taxi ride to the Wyndam Old San Juan. This is a very nice hotel
located across the street from the cruise terminal and within walking distance of all of Old San Juan. After
checking in, we walked a few blocks along the narrow streets into the 400-year-old city. We looked around for a
place to eat and settled on the Hard Rock Café where our dinner and the service were pretty mediocre. After
dinner, we strolled back to the hotel. It was Saturday night and the streets were crowded with cars and people
who were intent on partying well into the wee hours.

We got back to our room at about 10pm. We had noticed four large cruise ships in port as we made our final
approach to the airport. One of them was RCCL’s Rhapsody of the Seas. There was a large Carnival ship,
Celebrity’s Galaxy and the Dawn Princess. At around 10:30, I watched from our hotel window as the Carnival ship
sailed followed by the Rhapsody. A few minutes later, a howling wind and rainstorm hit the city, driving the
revelers from the streets and me into bed.

We slept in the next morning and awoke at 9 to find the Carnival Inspiration and the Monarch of the Seas moored
outside our window. We ate breakfast at the hotel (by the way the Wyndam’s $129/night rate for a great room in
this location just can’t be beat!) and packed up, checking out at 11:30 and heading over to the cruise terminal to
check in aboard the Monarch. Check in was supposed to start at 12:30 but some confusion in the terminal
delayed things until 1:00. After getting our cruise account open and having our documents verified, Renata and I
were literally the first passengers to board the ship. After locating our stateroom (yes, RCCL’s cabins are as
small as everyone says they are) we went up to the Windjammer Café for a superb buffet lunch. I’ve read other
reviews that stated that the food in the Windjammer was ‘college dorm’ level fare. Well, I don’t know where these
people went to college, but we thought this food was excellent – well beyond hamburgers and hot dogs. Lemon
chicken, homemade humus, puffed couscous salad, and freshly carved roast beef were just a few of the
succulent choices.

We then left the ship and caught a taxi at the pier, journeying through Old San Juan up to the El Morro fortress.
The U.S. National Park Service operates the fort and it is the oldest site that they administer. We spent over an
hour touring the fortifications and marveling at the massive 20-foot thick walls that were built starting in the
1500’s while enjoying the views of the city and the coastline. We then took a leisurely walk downhill through the
Old City, passing many historic buildings and boutique shops. It was about a 90 minute walk back to the cruise
terminal where we bought two 6-packs of Diet Coke (the prices for soda in your cabin are really outrageous) and
reboarded the ship.

Renata was tired from our walking so she took a nap while I explored the ship before our main seating dinner.
Although the ship is 8 years old, the public rooms are impressive and she shows very little wear and tear. After
an excellent dinner where we met some of our tablemates, we explored the ship some more and attended the
welcome aboard talk from the Cruise Director.

Monarch sailed for St. Thomas promptly at 10:30 following completion of the lifeboat drill. At the drill, Renata
asked me if there was any chance of actually going through this for real. I replied that it was “virtually impossible”.
“Virtually” turned out to be a good qualifier. As we rounded the point where the lighted El Morro fortress overlooks
the harbor entrance, it was a beautiful scene…tropical breeze blowing & palm trees outlined against the lights of
the city. As we passed the final channel buoy, Monarch pitched noticeably into the six-foot swell. A rain squall
dispersed the crowds on deck and, since it had been a long day, we decided to turn in.

We awoke the next morning to find ourselves pier-side in St. Thomas. Having signed up for the Buck Island sail
and snorkel, we ate a quick breakfast in the dining room and gathered our skin diving gear for the excursion. We
were taken out to the sailboats from the pier in zodiac boats with outboards. The sailboats were about 35-footers
and they only carry six passengers. On our boat, we had only three companions: a medical student and his wife
and an elderly gentleman, traveling alone. All of them were charming & very talkative. There wasn’t a breath of
wind to warrant raising sail, so we motored out to the island (about an hour each way). Anchoring in a shallow
bay, we put on our snorkel gear and jumped in. We saw some sea turtles and many tropical reef fish. Water
clarity was excellent.

We returned to the ship in time for lunch and decided to abandon plans for an afternoon of shopping to hang out
on the ship and relax. Sitting down for a formal dinner at 6pm as the ship sailed for Martinique, we met all of our
fellow diners: A Canadian couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and two Puerto Rican couples that
did not speak English. While this greatly limited conversation (why do we even fill out a passenger profile when
you end up with this combination at a dinner table?) we still enjoyed an outstanding French theme meal. We
skipped the show for that night (a comedian) and Renata went to bed early while I played the slots in the casino
and looked through the merchandise in the Centrum shops.

Before heading down to our cabin, I stepped out onto the Promenade Deck and noticed that the ship was really
moving rapidly through the water. None of us passengers were then aware that, after departing St. Thomas, a
passenger had a heart attack and we were heading to the nearest island, St. Maartin, at our best speed, to
offload this passenger to a hospital. This was the beginning of our adventure. Blissfully unaware of what lay
ahead, I wandered down to our stateroom. I found Renata watching the beginning of the “Mask of Zorro”. We
watched it together; I thought it was a decent action flick, she thought Antonio Banderas was a studmuffin. When
the movie ended we turned off the lights to go to sleep. I was still awake at 1:30am when IT happened.

We were lying in bed when I felt the ship start to vibrate significantly. One passenger accurately described it as a
“mini-earthquake”. After 15 or 20 seconds of this there was a cacophony of mechanical sliding and banging
noises. Renata, thinking that, as a former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, I have experienced all things
nautical, asked “What was that?” I took my best shot: “I haven’t the slightest idea.” After a couple of minutes I
decided to get dressed and find out what happened. As I climbed out of bed, the ship’s PA system blared “Bravo,
Bravo, Bravo”. I had no idea what that meant but figured it wasn’t good. As I was finishing tying my tennis shoes
the PA system emits seven short gongs followed by one long one. We had heard this signal the night before – it
was the emergency signal to go to lifeboat stations. Renata, despite being 5 months pregnant, vaulted across
the cabin and was dressed in less that a minute. I grabbed our life jackets and we headed up the now-crowded
forward stairway for the Promenade Deck and our muster station. I passed a couple of women on the stairs that
were quietly sobbing but most people just looked grim and kinda scared. We knew this wasn’t any drill.

The Captain came on the PA and said “We have touched ground and are taking on water, but everything is under
control.” Yeah, right. I later thought that “touched” was an interesting and understated way of saying that we’d
ripped a bloody great gash (3x120 feet) in the hull. I now understood what I had heard and felt earlier. The
vibration was the ship hitting the rocks and tearing the hull open and the mechanical noises were the watertight
doors slamming shut in the compartments three or four decks below us. Assembling at our Lifeboat Station
(#11, starboard side, all the way aft on the Promenade Deck) we crowded into a small area on the deck. Unlike
the drill the night before, crewmembers were also present in life jackets adding to the crush of bodies. Our boat
captain, a ship’s officer, who had obviously been sleeping because he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, went
through the role call by cabin number (we only came up one cabin short; they were either at the wrong muster
station or vying for the millennial stupid award). While people were pretty tense, we were greatly comforted to see
the lights of St. Maartin clearly visible nearby. While estimating distances over water at night is tricky, I'd guess it
was no more than two miles away. At about 2am, the ship started moving slowly toward St. Maartin. The Captain
announced on the PA system that there was flooding in the forward spaces and that, as a precaution, he was
going to run the ship aground. This announcement, coupled with the scene of the lifeboats being lowered and
swung out, covers off, ready for us to board, really concerned me. No Captain will deliberately ground his ship
unless there is some danger of sinking.

We waited tensely at our lifeboat stations watching the lights of St. Maartin draw closer until, at 2:45, we felt the
ship shudder and I remarked to Renata that “I think we’re aground.” This observation was confirmed moments
later by the Captain over the PA system when he said that we were “high and dry”. He sounded relieved. I know I
was.

During the course of the emergency from the impact on the shoal to running the ship aground on St. Maartin, the
Monarch’s crew performed professionally and with dispatch. There was never any sign of the old Navy aphorism:
When in danger, When in doubt, Run in circles, Scream and shout.

The Captain announced that everyone would be taken off the ship by Harbor tender and that “we have secured
rooms in the finest hotels on the island” for all passengers. While I don’t blame the Captain for this erroneous
announcement, it turned out that there were only rooms available for the first 200-300 passengers to be taken off
the ship and that the accommodations available for subsequent passengers declined steadily in quality as more
passengers were brought ashore. As soon as we could spread out a little on the Promenade Deck while waiting
for our turn to disembark, crewmembers arrived with ice cold bottles of Evian water. Since people had been
jammed together in the muggy tropical night air, the cold water was very much appreciated. Renata remarked
that, considering all of the activity, this was a very thoughtful act by the ship’s officers & crew.

Since we were assigned to lifeboat station #11, we, together with station #12 on the port side, were the last
passengers tendered off the ship. As the tender pulled away from the Monarch’s port side, we could see the
effects caused by the hull damage. There was a small (1-foot wide) structural hull blister that ran most of the
length of the hull at the waterline (this blister was not caused by the grounding and I noticed it pier-side in St.
Thomas). This was a couple feet out of the water near the stern and under water at the bow. In addition, I looked
for the sounding numbers that are painted on the prow of the ship & I couldn’t see any, indicating that they were
all under water. As we drew further away, the rows of portholes near the waterline angled downward toward the
bow. A guess would be that the Monarch’s bow was about 10-feet lower than normal &, while that’s just a guess,
the bow was unquestionably lower in the water than it should have been.

The short tender ride ended when we were deposited on the pier at Philipsburg, St. Maartin. We stepped into a
throng of over 1,000 people on the pier who were confined in that space because the RCCL crew were trying to
keep people from wandering off while the line for people to get on the buses slowly inched forward. By this time,
Renata was feeling nauseous due to her pregnancy and the heat so an RCCL crewmember moved us toward
the head of the bus line. Just as first light broke over the streets of Philipsburg, we boarded the delightfully
over-air conditioned bus for what we thought would be a short ride to the nearest Hyatt or Marriott. I started to
have my doubts about our final destination as we motored further into the rural interior of St. Maartin & then
became quite concerned as we turned on to some narrow dirt roads in what was clearly not the affluent nexus of
the island.

The bus stopped in a dirt clearing in front of a small building that looked like a church annex. It turned out to be a
brand new community center that had been dedicated only 9 days earlier, according to a plaque on the door. The
somewhat surreal scene was complemented by the presence of numerous free-range chickens and emaciated
feral dogs. Eventually, additional buses arrived depositing a total of about 300 of us at this place. Some early
arrivals put a few chairs together and went to sleep, but there weren’t enough chairs for most of us to do that.
People were tired and, mostly due to the less-than-elegant accommodations, pretty surly. After about an hour, the
first of a series of vans arrived from the ship carrying food. It started with cold cereal and fruit and eventually
sandwiches, cookies, brownies and water arrived throughout the day. Give RCCL credit, by providing eats all day
long they avoided having to deal with a mob of raging, sleep-deprived psychopaths. As it was, most people were
just sleepy, bored and grumpy. Around noon, one 60-something passenger from Philadelphia did get into a
yelling & shoving match with a couple of crewmembers. He was quickly subdued by his mortified wife but the
rest of us were grateful for the entertainment diversion, however brief. For the next 3 hours we referred to this guy
as “psycho man” and everyone made exaggerated efforts to avoid passing near his chair.

At around 3pm the buses returned to take us to the airport. The ride lasted almost an hour and, on the way
through Philipsburg, we had our last view of the Monarch, aground about ¼ mile offshore in the harbor. We were
informed that no passengers would be allowed back on the ship, that the crew would pack our bags for us and
that all luggage would be delivered to the St. Maartin airport. As the bus arrived at the small terminal, we could
see several hundred bags laid out in the parking lot. We were told to contact the Royal Caribbean personnel in
the terminal for instructions on when we would be flown off the island. Unfortunately, there were no RCCL
personnel in the terminal and the Monarch crew members guarding the luggage in the parking lot didn’t know
anything about the flights. Rather than blow an aneurysm (which a few people were doing), we went back into the
terminal and, upstairs, discovered a small, delightful, air-conditioned (most of the terminal was not a/c’d)
restaurant run by a couple of French guys. We sat there (this place, for some reason, was not discovered by the
Monarch passengers in the terminal) and enjoyed a great meal as the sun started to set.

Afterwards, we returned to the parking lot where we found five of our six bags. Most people hadn’t seen any of
their luggage at that point, so we felt really lucky. Unfortunately, we were missing about $4,000 worth of personal
property, including an expensive camera and all of Renata’s jewelry. I got us two tickets on an 8:45pm RCCL
charter flight to Miami and checked our bags.

We continued to search in the parking lot for our missing bag & valuables. As it got dark, the lighting in the
parking lot was not adequate & the thousands of bags became indistinguishable from one another. In many
ways, this was the worst part of the whole incident. As trucks would arrive carrying bags from the ship, hundreds
of passengers would swarm around the area like hungry jackals, looking for their belongings & creating chaos.
We finally gave up on finding the last of our stuff, went into the terminal and proceeded to the gate. Our flight was
called and at 8:45 about 130 of us boarded a chartered 727 for the flight to Miami. Unfortunately, several people
had been told that the flight would leave at 9:45, so we sat on the tarmac for an hour, waiting for these people to
show up.

At a few minutes after ten, the door was closed and the pilot announced that because we were fully loaded and
the runway at St. Maartin was short, they could only load enough fuel for the 36-minute flight to San Juan where
we would refuel and proceed to Miami. After landing in a howling rainstorm, we sat in San Juan for an hour and
then took off for the 2 ½ hour flight to Miami. I hope that RCCL does a “lessons learned” evaluation of what
happened at the St. Maartin airport, so they can avoid a repeat performance of that debacle. We arrived at the
Miami airport at around 1am (EST). In contrast to the dearth of RCCL help on St. Maartin, they had mobilized an
army in Miami. We were waved through Customs and Immigration (many people hadn’t recovered their
documents) and loaded right on buses that took our ragged band of zombies to the Miami Airport Wyndam Hotel.
After a quick check-in we were given a toilet kit & clean underwear and retired to our room. We both took a
much-needed shower & then collapsed into bed.

We awoke at 9 the next morning & had a nice breakfast on RCCL at the hotel. We returned to our room where, at
noon, we received a call from the RCCL help desk downstairs informing us that our air tickets to Phoenix and our
baggage from last night's flight were waiting downstairs. We took the hotel bus to the airport, boarded our flight to
Atlanta, connected with the flight to Phoenix and arrived back home at 8:30pm, about 46 hours after we hit the
shoal.

What happened? When we were at the Community Center on St. Maartin, a Monarch crewmember told us that
the St. Maartin harbor pilot had directed the ship onto the shoal (Proselyte Shoal). This was apparently incorrect,
since we later heard that, due to the lateness of our arrival at St. Maartin, the ship never picked up a harbor pilot.
The shoal, which lies ¾ of a mile OUTSIDE the harbor is charted & marked by both a lighted buoy and a radar
reflector, both of which were confirmed to have been working that night. Whatever the case, someone on the
bridge of the Monarch made a big mistake that night & I suspect that, at a minimum, the Captain’s career is
kaput.

RCCL Press Release Spin: RCCL issued at least two press releases on 15 December that I believe contain
misleading or untrue statements. RCCL stated: “The logistics of arranging both housing and transportation and
communicating with guests were complicated by the limited infrastructure of the small island (St. Maartin).
Nonetheless, a dozen chartered jets were secured and more than 1,400 hotel rooms were booked the week
before Christmas.” This statement leads you to believe that these 1,400 rooms were on the island when, in fact,
they were not. Also, “Rooms were found at 17 different locations (not hotels?) in St. Maartin alone, with a Royal
Caribbean representative on hand at each hotel.” I talked with a number of Monarch passengers at the St.
Maartin airport who were “dumped” in hotel ballrooms that morning without seeing anyone from Royal Caribbean
until hours later that afternoon. I suppose that any business would want to put the best face on a public relations
fiasco like the Monarch incident, but those of us that endured the Community Center & Airport experiences resent
this kind of blatant spinning.

Conclusions & Postscript: About a week after we got home, we received a box from RCCL containing all of our
valuables with the exception of my sunglasses and some of my wife’s cosmetics.

While nobody can enjoy having a long-anticipated vacation ruined, I give Royal Caribbean a lot of credit for
responding to this accident quickly and, within the obvious limits of the logistics involved, with the interests of
their passengers paramount in mind. While the problems cited above represent room for improvement, they are
not a condemnation of Royal Caribbean. In particular, the performance of the Monarch’s crew (including the
Captain keeping us informed via the ship’s Public Address system) in the two tense hours after striking the
shoal was nothing short of exemplary. I have experienced a few hair-raising incidents at sea myself and the
calm, deliberate and professional performance of the Monarch’s crew was in keeping with the finest traditions
professional sailors (men & women) throughout history.

For this reason alone, I would not hesitate to sail with Royal Caribbean again as a paying passenger (RCCL is
sending a certificate for a free cruise to us) and, in fact, I very much look forward to doing just that.

Greg Geurtz E-Mail questions to: ggeurtz@compuserve.com

Back to RCCL Majesty