 Expert Review |  | | | | |
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Monarch of the Seas can best be described as a floating Las Vegas, complete with shows, gambling, drinking and fun. Think party, spring break and happy hour. Cocktails have names like "Sex on the Beach" and "Love Connection." Michael, a winner of the International Mr. Sexy Legs contest, summed up the atmosphere in his acceptance speech: "I'd like to thank my mom and everyone on the boat who came to paaaarty!!!" While party animals make up the majority of passengers, there are tamer activities for the more sedate -- from bingo and trivia challenges to a wine seminar and cooking demonstration. Monarch of the Seas is a refurbished member of Royal Caribbean's trio of Sovereign Class ships. To appreciate its spectacular size, picture a vessel three football-fields in length and the height of the Statue of Liberty. In June, the ship arrived in her new homeport of Los Angeles to begin year-round Baja cruises. Affordably priced, the three-night weekend cruise includes a call in Ensenada, Mexico and the four-night weekday cruise stops at Ensenada, San Diego and Catalina Island. The weekend cruise targets a young crowd; the weekday cruise attracts slightly older passengers. The twelve-year-old ship in 2003 underwent extensive renovations. In addition to facelifts to the lobbies, elevators, corridors and restrooms, cabins have been redone with new bathrooms, carpet, linens and artwork. The main dining rooms have also been enhanced with new carpeting, chairs and tables. Additions include a rock-climbing wall, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Seattle's Best Coffee, a Latin Bar, disco, Asian-fusion restaurant and business center. Both the fitness center and spa and children's area have been enlarged. As a result of all these improvements, Monarch of the Seas delivers a wide array of activities, entertainment and dining options in a clean and appealing environment. Because there is so much to do onboard and time is of the essence, guests on the 3-night cruise should approach shore excursions with care. An Ensenada city tour billed as "fully narrated" left this participant wondering fully about the history of this seaside port and pining to get back to the ship. Fellow guests bound for the Fox Studios near Rosarito had their bus break down and missed the tour highlight, the Titanic set. Wine lovers should consider the wine tasting excursion and golfers a round at Bajamar, a championship course with stunning ocean views. For most other guests, a better use of your vacation time is to take a shuttle from the pier to town and enjoy a self-guided tour. | | |  top | | | | Dining
The galley turns out a staggering 10,000 meals daily. With quantity like this, you'd think the quality and service would suffer. Remarkably, the dining experience is consistently good. While it's not gourmet fare, passengers can expect decent portions and a wide variety of freshly prepared food. The two main dining rooms on Decks 3 and 4 have been refurbished and renamed Vincent's and Claude's, after artists Van Gogh and Monet. Accommodating some 700 guests each, the attractive banquet facilities offer open seating breakfast and lunch and an assigned seating dinner served twice nightly at 6:00 and 8:30 pm. The professional staff hails from over 30 countries. Good naturedly, the waiters march through the enormous dining rooms serenading guests with "O Solo Mio" or balancing baked Alaska on their heads. Sure it's hokey, but the crowd ate it up (literally), waving their napkins in the air and dancing. Other dining options include the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 11 for breakfast, lunch and snack buffet. The breakfast buffet stays open until 11 am, convenient for those who like brunch or sleeping late. Upstairs, there's a gourmet pizza station and hot dogs at Sorrento's and terrific wraps and sandwiches at the Deli, including a wonderful sun-dried tomato, brie and avocado sandwich. For dinner, there's now Pan Asian cuisine at Jade, and for an additional charge, a selection of sushi at the Jade Sushi bar. Royal Caribbean's room service options are available around the clock via 24-hour menus that offer a range of snacks and sandwiches. At breakfast, continental dishes, along with a handful of egg entrees, are available both in cabins and suites. Items off the main dining room menu can be ordered at dinner. There is no charge for room service (though a buck or two gratuity is recommended). Tidbits: Guests with enormous willpower will enjoy a guilt-free alternative - a low cholesterol, salt and fat "ShipShape" menu available in the main dining rooms. A formal night occurs on the 2nd night of both weekend and weekday sailings. The room service menu has been expanded and is available 24 hours a day. | | | | top | | | | Public Rooms
Designated non-smoking areas aboard Monarch of the Seas are the dining areas, theatre, ShipShape Fitness Center and Spa, Shops on Board and Adventure Youth area. With the blue skies and seas around Southern California, the Channel Islands and Baja, poolside on Deck 12 can be glorious. In fact it's so nice that like spring break in Palm Springs, it can be difficult to locate a vacant lounge chair. It can also be tough to find a spot in one of the two shallow pools and Jacuzzis. With an island band and taped music playing throughout the day, as well as two pool bars and cocktail waiters toting specialty drinks and a beer cart, the atmosphere is festive. By late afternoon, the pool turns into a dance floor. In fact, dance classes are held poolside, as well as the Mr. Sexy Legs Competition, where contestants strut their stuff before a panel of discerning women judges. Shops on Board, located on Deck 5, is a mini-mall featuring such items as perfume, liquor and cruise wear along with the ubiquitous gold and silver chains that are sold by the inch. At a new sit-down coffee and ice-cream parlor, Cafe Latte-tudes, guests can enjoy Seattle's Best Coffee specialty drinks and some 16 flavors of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream at prices similar to land-based costs. An attractive new business center on Deck 7 features three individual meeting rooms, Voyager, Explorer and Adventure, which accommodate 240 people in total. Conferees can enjoy sun and ocean views from large windows lining the outer rooms. There are several computer terminals and a fax machine here. Ten more terminals are located at the Internet Cafe on Deck 4. The rate for both is 50 cents per minute. Upstairs on Deck 10 at Fuel, teens can surf the web for 25 cents per minute. | | | | top | | | | Cabins
Updated accommodations total 471 inside and 733 outside cabins (63 with balconies). There are four wheelchair accessible cabins and 299 staterooms with a third or fourth berth. Most staterooms (except for quads with Pullman beds) convert to a queen-size bed configuration with private bath, hairdryer, phone, TV, and radio. Expect evening turndown service with pillow chocolates. At the top of the price range are superior ocean view staterooms and suites with large balconies, floor to ceiling windows, and sitting areas. Deck 9 and 10 staterooms feature refrigerators and safes (complimentary safe deposit boxes are also available on Deck 4). Guests on Deck 10 and members of Royal Caribbean's loyalty program receive terry robes. On my early September sailing, the bath and sink water was yellowish brown. According to Royal Caribbean, this was a result of cleaning the fresh water tanks and happens twice a year. "Some brown rust particles appear. They're not harmful and the system clears up in a few days." | | | | top | | | | Entertainment
Music is a big part of the atmosphere on Monarch of the Seas, with an array of talented musicians performing throughout the day in different venues. For example at Centrum on Deck 3, instrumentals include strings, a Latin guitarist, a pianist and an island band. This same band plays reggae tunes poolside. If you're trying to read anything heavier than John Grisham, forget it. The main showroom on Deck 5, the Sound of Music Theatre, has been updated with new carpet and upholstery. It's the venue for evening productions by the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers and performances by an impressionist and comedian. Also on Deck 5, the Schooner Bar offers sea views, a big screen TV for sports fans and piano music in the evenings. At Casino Royale, passengers can try their luck at $5, $10 and $25 blackjack tables as well as roulette, Caribbean stud poker, craps and slot machines. New gamblers can learn when to fold 'em and when to hold 'em during a free gaming lesson. For a $20 entry fee, there are morning blackjack and afternoon slot tournaments. Dancing feet? Head to Boleros on Deck 7, a new Latin bar. If the excellent live samba, cha cha and rumba music doesn't get you out on the dance floor, the mojitos will. Guitar serenades, karaoke and dueling piano shows are staged in Boleros as well. Nightlife is also in full swing upstairs at the new disco, The Circuit. The resident show band plays popular tunes from 9:30 pm to midnight, when a DJ takes over until the wee hours. | | | | top | | | | Fitness and Recreation
To work off that chocolate donut from the pastry cart at breakfast, nothing beats the new three-sided rock-climbing wall on Deck 12. Donning helmet, suede climbing shoes and harness, guests scamper or huff-and-puff their way 10 meters to the top where they ring a bell in triumph (the wall is open from 9:00 am to noon and 1:30 to 5:30 pm, with sign ups on the hour). Located directly below are two busy ping-pong tables and a popular basketball hoop, site of free throw shooting contests and pick up games. The appealing new ShipShape Fitness Center and Spa on Deck 9 is well worth a visit. The day spa menu includes standard massages as well as more unusual treatments like an algae detox, dry float, and hot volcanic stones therapy. In addition to a new coif, guests can indulge in an exotic hand ritual and manicure, "sole delight" foot ritual and pedicure, or energizing foot and ankle massage. To avoid disappointment, schedule spa treatments upon boarding. Though there are eleven treatment rooms, appointments fill quickly. In the gym, wraparound windows deliver panoramic views of the sparkling Pacific. There's a good selection of weight and cardio equipment, and personal training sessions are available. (30 or 60 minutes for $40 or $75). Pilates, yoga, stretch and tone, indoor cycling and relaxation classes run throughout the day (relaxation and stretch and tone are complimentary; pilates, indoor cycling, yoga and fit ball cost $10). Bring your own water bottle and tall people, heads up! If you're over 6'3", you will hit the ceiling while running on the treadmill. | | | | top | | | | Family
The number of children onboard fluctuates with the school calendar, with the most kids expected to sail on holiday weekends and vacations. The newly expanded Adventure Ocean Youth area, located on Deck 10, includes a video arcade, computer terminals and TVs. Activities are organized into five age groups: Aquanauts (3-5), Explorers (6-8), Voyagers (9-11), Navigators (12-14) and Guests (15-17). Teens have three new places to hang out: The Living Room coffee bar, Fuel Nightclub, and The Back Deck, an outdoor space with a basketball hoop on Deck 11. Parents who would enjoy a meal without their progeny can sign their kids up for dinner with the staff. Group babysitting is offered in the Adventure Ocean area at $5 per hour per child for kids 3 years and up. In-cabin sitting is also offered based on availability at $8 per hour for 1-2 children and $10 per hour for 3 children. Cash payment is required for both services. | | | | top | | | | Fellow Passengers
Monarch of the Seas hosts weddings, bachelorette parties and large corporate groups. If you're looking for quiet, sophisticated sailing, this is definitely not the ship for you. But if it's fun and sun you're after, and you can laugh at some rowdy behavior, your ship has come in. | | | | top | | | | Dress Code
Monarch of the Seas is a casual cruise, and during the day, a swimsuit, hat and comfortable shoes are key. Three types of evening attire are suggested: Formal: cocktail dresses for women and suits and ties or tuxedos for men; Casual: sundresses or slacks and blouses for women and sports shirts and trousers for men; Smart casual: dresses or pantsuits for women; jackets for men. Shorts are not permitted in the main dining rooms at dinner. | | | | top | | | | Gratuity
Royal Caribbean recommends $3.50 per person, per day to the dining room waiter; $3.50 per person, per day to the cabin steward; $2 per person, per day to the assistant waiter. Royal Caribbean also recommends $0.75 per person, per day to the headwaiter, but we don't necessarily unless the service was special. A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to bar tabs. | | | | top | | | | | Expert reviews are provided by CruiseCritic.com, an award-winning cruise community. This objective information can help you choose just the right ship for your next cruise vacation. | |  | |
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