We have booked a short cruise coming up in 2 weeks on the Monarch (Aug12dept). DH and I have cruised often, are avid RC customers, and would love to be going on a longer cruise on one of the newer ships. However, this will be our first cruise since becoming parents and will be our first trip away from daughter, now 2. We also convinced some friends to join us on this, first time cruisers, so will be getting their feet wet.
Couple of questions: With the compact itinerary, will there still be a formal night and, if so, on which night will that fall? I was assuming Saturday, but since the ship will be docked in Nassau until midnight, I don't imagine they would want to do that. We will be celebrating our 10-yr wedding anniversary on this cruise, so would like to mark the occasion by getting "fancy". DH and I have gotten away from organized shore excursions in the recent past, but the other couple wanted to at least book one. We are doing the glass bottom boat trip in Nassau. This will be directly after we get into port at noon and only 1.5 hours, leaving the rest of the afternoon to explore. Any suggestion on "can't miss" or "must do" items in Nassau? Also, how bad is the tender process in CoCo Cay? I would think that since this is RC's private island, it wouldn't be too bad. However, we have had some awful experiences with tenders and have many times decided to just stay behind on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet. Is this port worth the exit? I read somewhere that there is only one restaurant? How does this work!?! Any other info on this ship and/or the ports would be appreciated. Thanks! Cindy
Couple of questions: With the compact itinerary, will there still be a formal night and, if so, on which night will that fall? I was assuming Saturday, but since the ship will be docked in Nassau until midnight, I don't imagine they would want to do that. We will be celebrating our 10-yr wedding anniversary on this cruise, so would like to mark the occasion by getting "fancy". DH and I have gotten away from organized shore excursions in the recent past, but the other couple wanted to at least book one. We are doing the glass bottom boat trip in Nassau. This will be directly after we get into port at noon and only 1.5 hours, leaving the rest of the afternoon to explore. Any suggestion on "can't miss" or "must do" items in Nassau? Also, how bad is the tender process in CoCo Cay? I would think that since this is RC's private island, it wouldn't be too bad. However, we have had some awful experiences with tenders and have many times decided to just stay behind on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet. Is this port worth the exit? I read somewhere that there is only one restaurant? How does this work!?! Any other info on this ship and/or the ports would be appreciated. Thanks! Cindy
