Carnival Cruiser Considering Royal Caribbean - Monarch of the Seas - Help Please

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KellyCCZ

Guest
Hi everyone. I'm a Carnival cruiser who is considering a 3 night Monarch of the Seas cruise. I have been on the Carnival Fascination, Fantasy, Victory, Miracle and Destiny. I am interested in going with my SO on a 3-nighter from the West Coast. He is not sure he will like cruising, hence the 3-nighter. And, I wanted to try a cruise to someplace I haven't been yet. I love Carnival and have always had good experiences on my cruises with them. Royal Caribbean just comes in with a much better deal for the cruise length, location that I am looking for.

If anyone has sailed both lines before, can you tell me your opinions of any pros/cons for this ship/line and how the 2 lines might compare? Any opinions of this ship in particular would be helpful too.

Thanks everyone in advance for your help.
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C

Cruizer

Guest
I was just on the Monarch in mid December 2007. Here is my review ...

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/reviews/readreview.php?id=301

The two lines are very similar. The standard cabins on the Monarch are a little smaller (about 2/3 the size of a standard cabin on Carnival). The Monarch has a rock climbing wall while Carnival has a water slide. And basically those are the differences between the two lines.

I have been on three Royal Caribbean cruises (2 one week cruises and one 3 night cruise) and three Carnival cruises (2 one week cruises and one 3 night cruise). I have two future Royal Caribbean cruises booked and one future Carnival cruise booked (though I am strongly considering adding a second one). Based on my experience, both are very similar.
 
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BruinSteve

Guest
Well, the cabins on the Monarch are pretty danged small...and it's a bit more crowded than most of the RCCL ships...

But, overall, I think RCCL is a much finer cruise experience than Carnival...

Of course, on these three-nighters, both lines tend to attract a bit of the "Party crowd"...

Still, we've cruised the Monarch several times and always have a great time...They do pack the schedule with lots of activities and entertainment.

But, it's clearly not the sort of experience you'll find on RCCL's longer cruises and newer ships...

Also, in Ensenada, I hightly recommend the Winery Excursion...

Have fun...
 
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KellyCCZ

Guest
Thank you very much for the input - I'm glad to know I will enjoy myself on RCCL as much as I do on Carnival. Cabin size isn't too big of a deal given the shortness of the particular cruise. I'm still poking around and may decide on a longer cruise, so we'll see. Thanks again for the responses.
 
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JayinAZ

Guest
I was in the same situation you were- we were on 3 Carnival cruises and in 12/07 we went for the RCCL Monarch 3 night cruise out of LA. I thought there was going to be something very different, but there wasn't. Pretty much the same activities on board, similar food etc... The only thing of noticeable difference was the size of the room. At 120sf, RCCL wins the smallest room award. I know everyone has brought up the room things and how you don't spend too much time there and I thought the same thing until it came time to relax for a little bit and just watch TV or read in the room. We had a room for 3 with the pullman bed and the TV was under the countertop and in a really bad spot making it hard to see. Plus the TV was about 13" and looks like it was original equipment when the ship was built in 1991. The plus of the cruise was that it was cheap. $240 pp for 3 nights was a bargain, I would not hesitate to go again. Oh, and the fitness center was small on the Monarch, but maybe the fitness center is small on the Paradise too. I really wanted a sauna but the Monarch didn't have one.
Here's a link to my review and pics on photobucket.
http: //www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=35251
Whatever you decide, have a great trip!
Jay


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S

spoheating

Guest
Wow! I have only sailed on the RCCL Voyager class ships the last several years and had forgotten the standard on the older vessels. Everything, however, does seem less posh on the 3 dayers compared to 7+ day outings as well. Staff doesn't have to "live" with you after all. Having started out cruising on RCCL (currently) oldest ship the Empress I have really seen things come around for the better in terms of accommodations. While there is an obession with cruisers to go on the newest vessel out there (with some validity--things age fast at sea and with thousands of visitors weekly) great memories can be made on any ship--the ship is only part of the cruise experience.

keep in mind how many miles the Monarch has on her, and that your experience there may not be representative of the line as well.
 
A

amylynn24

Guest
I have cruised on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, both are awesome and to be honest, i like both equally. Here are some differences:

Royal Caribbean:: rock climbing wall, ice skating rink (very nice), has DOUGNUTS!!, larger ship = more people (could either be a plus or minus) , daily activites are much different from Carnival but are still good.

Carnival: better pastry and dessert selection, more food variety, more parties, better entertainment.



Keep in mind, these are my personal opionions. I have been on 4 Carnivals and 1 Royal, so im basing my royal comments on 1 cruise.
If I were you, I would go on Royal. Especially if the price is better, try something new.


Hope that helps :)
 
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