Monarch of the Seas – RCL – Review

I just came off a short 3 night Bahamas cruise aboard the Monarch of the Seas departing from Port Canaveral Florida. 

It’s a very cheerful entry we were greeted with, the staff was friendly and the atrium lively.  The decor is a little dated though, some carpeting stains and worn spots.  The  staff was generally friendly and our cabin steward kept the room neat. 

The cabins are VERY small.  It’s an old ship, a lot of noise at night.  We had an oceanview on the 6th deck and found it to be still noisy as far as hearing the ship operations especially when docking.  Must be really loud down on the lower decks. 

The entertainment was good, the comedy show, definatley adult material, but entertaining along with a few entertaining games up in the night club.  Large nightclub with nightly DJ for the younger cruisers.  The casino did a booming business though and was adequately sized.

The dining room was okay, no great views though and the food was okay.  The casual dining area, the Windjammer cafe, was very crowded and often had to search for seating for a while before finding something.

We did the Segwey tour in Nassau and that was fun, and there are other excursions like the dolphin cove and stingray or other water tours, but Nassau itself has Atlantis as the best place to visit.

We also stopped at CoCo Cay, RCL’s private island, which is nice if you want some beach activities.

The pool areas on the ship are big enough with Jamaican music playing.  At night they offer a couple of options of a Latin band and a Jazz band.  They also had a street party playing 70’s music that was really fun, even if you didn’t dance, it was fun to watch as the RCL dancers put on an amusing show.  On the last night, the bartender crew performed a bar flar show (tossing the bottles around and juggling) that was really entertaining. 

Overall, the accomodations are not great, and no shampoo or lotions provided, only a bar of soap.  Cabins are small and bathrooms are small and very little storage space although enough for hanging up some clothes. Cabins would be really small for more than 2 people.  They were clean enough but you can tell it’s definately older equipment.  The toilets in some cabins were not working in some cabins and we saw maitenance personnel all over the deck working on the problem.  The food was adequate but not really good.  Just okay.  The dining rooms are crowded, we had to wait in line for the dining rooms to open and there is no alternative dining except for a Sushi restaurant or the casual dining cafe which is also crowded.  Drinks are expensive so plan accordingly.

It’s okay for a short 3 day cruise, especially for a quick getaway, but not for experienced cruisers who had traveled on other lines or even on RCL’s bigger ships.  It’s old and lacking in some amenitites and service that those cruisers would come to expect from a cruise.  I personally who have travelled on other lines, found those lines, exceptional in service, decor and amenties and this ship doesn’t compare.  But for first timers and if the price is right, it might be okay for short weekend, but not one that I’ll go on again.