Royal Caribbean - Monarch of the Seas

Date: December 14-17 (3-day)
Home Port: Port Canaveral
Parking: Radisson Resort at the Port $6.95/day + tax (free shuttle)
Price: $340 total incl taxes - Inside Cabin 6521
Ports of Call: Nassau, Cococay (RCCL private island)

We have cruised Carnival three times in the past and wanted to try another line. This short, last minute trip was perfect! Found a great price and booked 8 days before embarkation.

Embarkation Day
Recommend making a parking reservation at the Radisson Resort at the Port. Easy, cheap, convenient, and quick. They have shuttles running pretty much non-stop and nice staff.

Check-in and boarding was smooth and fast. I think this is pretty typical with a smaller ship, but still very nice to not have to stand in line forever.

Food
Really, really disappointing. The Windjammer was closed at odd times for set-up (example - 6:15 Sunday evening). The food in the main dining room didn't really get good until Sunday night. Friday and Saturday nights were pretty flavorless.

The BBQ lunch provided on Sunday at CocoCay was nice. Typical Caribbean BBQ fare.

I liked the granola bar in the main dining room at breakfast. They had a few types of granola base and all the toppings you could throw on. Definitely a nice option since the breakfast service seemed pretty slow.

Beverages
Apparently RCCL changed their carryon beverage policy recently, which made this girl very happy. They now allow each stateroom to carry on 2 bottles of wine. We always take our own corkscrew so we can open it in our room.

Room (6521)
Quite small but adequate for a short weekend cruise. The shower was super tiny, but we still were comfortable in our room. Our cabin steward was awesome, which totally made up for the tight quarters.

Entertainment
Great cruise director. Dancers were a little lacking. A couple great singers. We don't cruise for the shows, so whatever.

Overall
The boat is 21 years old and has been sold to another company who will take it to Europe. Last trip for the Monarch on this itinerary is April 2013. It was a relaxing weekend getaway, the staff were fantastic, and there were plenty of lounge chairs. Debarkation was a breeze, and we made it off the boat doing self-assist earlier than I had thought.

I would try Royal Caribbean again - but on a different boat.

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