Birthday cruise on the Monarch – Day 1

The starting of sunset 5:14pm

I love birthdays!  I love cruising!  So, imagine how I felt when Randy surprised me with a birthday cruise on one of my favorite ships, Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas.

We have traveled now five times on this lovely ship.  Last year we traveled on the Monarch in May and October and had a great time.  There is just something elegant, warm and friendly cruising down to the Bahamas on the Monarch.  I have met many people over the years that have traveled on this ship many, many, many times.

We enjoyed a small lunch, checked out our cabin then Randy and I headed up to the pool deck for the sail away party.  As we slowly sail through the channel I love watching the seagulls soaring around the ship periodically landing on the railing.

One of my favorite sites as we move along is the pristine beach of the space coast on the port side of the ship.  I still feel a little sad as we see the space shuttle assembly plants and launch pads sitting idle.  I walked over to the starboard side and watched as tourists enjoyed walking along the beach enjoying yet another of Florida’s beautiful sunsets.  The sunsets are always amazing so much so I tend to forget that there is a party going on.

I finally turned my attention to the music and watched as the pool deck, packed with vacationing revelers, had fun line dancing to fun island music.

Beautiful sunset

Randy and I decided to forego the welcome aboard party to just walk around the ship with just a twinge of sadness.  You see, the Monarch has been sold and will be leaving our shores at the end of March and will be heading to a new berth.  We stopped in the Boleros Lounge and watched as the sun set further behind the horizon.

It was time for dinner so we made our way to the late seating at Claude’s.  We shared a table with a very nice couple from Ocala.  Dick and Joyce were fun dinner companions.  We shared stories about other cruises and places we had visited at each port.  I was not particularly hungry so decided to eat light.  I started with the strawberry, kiwi and pineapple medley.  I followed that with a cup of Mexican tomato soup garnished with fried julienne tortillas.  The soup had a very hardy flavor but would have preferred that the julienne strips were served separately to keep them crisp.  I followed that with a wonderful spinach salad with plum tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and toasted sunflower seeds.  Each selection was just perfect, light and tasty.

One of the things I really enjoy about cruising is that there is so much to do on board and on shore so even if you travel on the same ship stopping at the same ports there is always something new to do.  This evening we decided to go to the 70’s Disco Inferno Dance Party in the Boleros Lounge.  What fun!!!!!  Many of the crew members were dressed in beyond funny costumes from that period and joined everyone on the dance floor.  Then we were treated to a rendition of  Y.M.C.A. by who else, the Village People (not really they were crew members, but you knew that.)

It had been a long day and a wonderful start to our cruise but we were tired so we decided to head back to the cabin.  Tomorrow we would be at Coco Cay and a wonderful day at the beach.

Enjoy,

Mary