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Six Set Sail on a Cruise
A Big Family Takes a Short Cruise
By Maria T. Olia
Royal Caribbean ships are famous for their rock climbing wall, and the Monarch has one too, but none of us could summon up the courage! For alone time, my husband and I would walk the fitness track in the morning before our kids woke up. One night, we even had a quiet after-dinner drink and caught the dueling piano act at the Boleros Bar.
But for us, vacation is mostly about family togetherness. Bingo in the afternoon was a family favorite. One evening we took the kids to see the musical review, and another night we all caught the early magic show. And on the night of the chocolate buffet, we all did manage to stay up until midnight to indulge!
When you have four kids – three of them almost always ravenously hungry teenage boys – a cruise really is a great vacation value.
For breakfast and lunch we usually chose to eat in the Windjammer Caf窠the Monarch's self-service buffet. And even when we were in port, we made sure to return to the ship for lunch to keep our costs down.
Dinner was truly the best part of the cruise experience. We booked the early seating and we were assigned to a table for just the six of us. Each night my kids relished choosing among all the options of the four-course menu. The kids sampled cold cucumber soup, smoked salmon and mushroom puff pastry as a first course. They dined on duck a l'orange, chicken marsala, poached salmon and rib eye. The cruise was a great opportunity for the kids to try new food and if they didn't like a dish, they would ask for another. The formality of the dining room actually inspired my kids to practice good table manners and even learn a little patience!