Royal Caribbean - Monarch of the Seas Review

I have taken this cruise quite a few times.  The staff is great and the food is good.  You will never go hungry as there is always something to eat (24 hour pizza if you get hungry late night).

The sit down dinners are good.  The show is cheesy but fun.

For breakfast, I like to go to the restaurant and eat a sit down breakfast where you can order off of the menu instead of the buffet.  But, the buffet is good too.  It just depends on what you feel like.

For kids they have the Adventure Ocean club which has different activities for the little ones to do.  It can be anything from playing on the computer, putting on a mini show, making space mud, coloring, a scavenger hunt all over the ship, ice cream socials, etc.  The Adventure Ocean is broken down into different age groups so the activities are appropriate for the age group.

 They also have a rock climbing wall, basketball court, shuffleboard, ping pong, a gym, 2 pools and jacuzzi as well as shows and activities throughout the day and night.  The casino opens at 7pm every night.

If you take the 4 day cruise, you travel from L.A. to San Diego, Catalina, Ensenada and then back to L.A.

The 3 day cruise goes from L.A. to Ensenada, a day at sea then back to L.A.

Ensenada is ok.  The first time I took this cruise, I didn't find much to do in the city.  Ensenada is basically 4 square blocks of various shops and restaurants.  If you are into the bar scene, the hotspots are Hussong's Cantina and Papas and Beer.  Also you could take a trip to La Bufadora (blowhole).  Kinda pricey but neat to see (I did this day trip the second time I took the cruise).

Overall, it is a great "starter" cruise or a nice way to take a short vacation without having to drive anywhere.

After taking this cruise, you will want to either take this cruise again or expand your horizons and take a longer cruise.