LOS ANGELES -- A year after it pulled out of the short cruise
market here, Royal Caribbean International "reinaugurated" three-
and four-day sailings with new enthusiasm and a refurbished ship.
Royal Caribbean sank $20 million to $25 million into overhauling
the 12-year-old Monarch of the Seas and getting it ready
specifically for West Coast cruisers, said Dan Hanrahan, the line's
senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Filomena Andre, with Leisure Travel Group in Marina Del Ray,
Calif., was part of the first group of agents invited onboard the
Monarch of the Seas, which was renovated and relocated here this
month. Her biggest raves: renovations to the spa and the gym.
"And they have Asian fusion," she added of the food choices. "I
think those are things the West Coast consumer will
appreciate."
Hanrahan said the line spent time researching the West Coast
market for the Monarch's renovations. Based on the feedback, Royal
Caribbean enlarged the ship's spa and the health club.
One of the ideas that didn't work: a Mexican restaurant. "People
in California told us no; they've had enough of that," Hanrahan
said.
Juli Bloxham, owner of the Cruise Co. in Modesto, Calif., said
she was impressed that Royal Caribbean took the time to upgrade the
Monarch. "It's nice to have a beautiful ship in this market," she
said.
The Monarch's predecessor, the Viking Serenade, was pulled from
the market last year and placed into service under a joint venture
between Royal Caribbean Cruises and U.K.-based First Choice
Holidays.
The Monarch will offer three-day cruises to Ensenada, Mexico,
and four-day cruises to Ensenada, San Diego and Catalina
Island.
Carnival Cruise Lines, meanwhile, offers three- and four-day
Baja cruises on the Ecstacy from nearby Long Beach, Calif.
Hanrahan said Royal Caribbean wanted the Monarch to seem
brand-new. The redesigned vessel takes several cues from the line's
popular Voyager-class series, and it is the first to have the
line's now-signature rock-climbing wall retrofitted to the
ship.
The Monarch was so "new" that agents onboard the ship here
couldn't get in to see the redone Windjammer buffet and the new
Jade eatery, both of which were still hard-hat areas. Renovations
have since been completed, a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman said.
Dora Edmonson, a vice president at the International Cruise
& Excursion Gallery in Phoenix, compared the Monarch favorably
to her only other Royal Caribbean experience: sailing on a
Voyager-class ship. The Monarch "has got enough activities to keep
you busy for three or four days," she said.
Plus, Royal Caribbean "just gave us some dynamite rates."