Thread: Very Important Topic - Ice Cream!!!

On the Monarch, they have the Ben & Jerry's® ice cream "stations". How exactly does that work? Is there a Ben & Jerry's store front on board, or do they have Ice Cream "carts" (for lack of a better word) through out the ship? If it is a store, where is it located?

Now the important question. Are they limited in their flavor selection or are they "Full Service"? If they are full service (cones, cups, sundaes, shakes, etc) where does the price range fall? Are they open limited times through out the day - or 24 hour operation?

On a side note, I read somewhere that on the last night of the cruise they have a "party" at the pool side. I read one review (somewhere - cant find it now) that stated they had a pig roast at this Pool side BBQ. Is that dependent on the ship or time of year? Or could that be a pipe dream for me and they don't do it anymore for cost cutting purposes?

Ok, I digress, back to the ice cream. Unless the Main Dining Hall has a good dessert menu, I think I am going to be hitting B & J a lot. I don't drink so the money most people would put towards drinks, I will be putting towards desserts.

I think it may depend on the class of ship as to where it is located but on the Liberty of the Seas Ben& Jerry's was on the Promenade and was an actual small restaurant/store with tables and everything. Though I am not a big ice cream fan(not enough to pay the extra $ for it) I looked inside and there were several options not full service but a nice variety. It was not open at all times but I think mid morning to 10ish each night.

There was no pig roast style bbq when were on it last may....

It would help us a little if you told us which ship you are thinking about sailing with.
Like Mandy said, the ben and jerry is located at various places on each ship.
The Voyager and Freedom class the Ben & Jerry is located at the Royal Promenade. On the Vision class ships the ice cream store is in the same location as the Seattle Coffee shop on deck 6. On the Radiance class its located on deck 4 together with the coffee shop.
I never used Ben & Jerry onboard the Royal Caribbean ships I have sailed on so cant say what the price is for the ice creams.

Sorry, while I was composing this post in my mind, I thought about the ship. I guess no one here is a mind reader, huh? LOL

I will be on the Monarch in June.

The Monarch! - I have never been on the Monarch but many of our members have so I am sure they will come along and answer your question more in depth then I can.

When you cruise, let me know if they have the banana split. On the Freedom it was on the sign and I was so excited. When I ordered it they said they didn't have it, I was very disappointed

Originally Posted by lets cruise

I think it may depend on the class of ship as to where it is located but on the Liberty of the Seas Ben& Jerry's was on the Promenade and was an actual small restaurant/store with tables and everything. Though I am not a big ice cream fan(not enough to pay the extra $ for it) I looked inside and there were several options not full service but a nice variety. It was not open at all times but I think mid morning to 10ish each night.

There was no pig roast style bbq when were on it last may....

It's also located in the Royal Promenade on the Navigator Of The Seas, a Voyager Class ship, just as Mandy described. There was a poolside party on Navigator the last night of the cruise at the Solarium, but no BBQ. I have not been on the Monarch.

The only Ben and Jerrys store fronts are on the Freedom Class ships. It is on the Promenade across from the Cafe Promanade. They have a good variety of things and we did get a Banana Split and it was yummy. There is also a Ben and Jerry's "Sweet" on the 3 ships. It is cabin 6305 and sits above the store. You do however have an obstructed view of the Promenade because of the two cows on the roof of the store. They do compensate you with Suite immenities, like CL access and 1 free ice cream every day of the week.

The Voyager Class ships have carts next to the Cafe Promenade with limited items, like you would get in the grocery store.

The only BBQ is the BBQ on Labadee and the other private stop, but they do have a poolside buffet mid-week which take that place of the Midnight Buffets of old.There was a station with Roast Pig there, as well as Sushi Rolls, Chcken Ribs and Fruits and Breads.

I hope that helps!

Some of the ships do have a late night BBQ up on deck one night. I am not sure if the Monarch does that.

My daughter and I went on the Monarch in Dec. 2008.

Deck 5: B & J in Lattitudes, the coffee bar; Many flavors but I wouldn't say full-service. Can't remember the priceas we only ate the free ice cream - which is Ben and Jerry's, too.

We could get B&J in the MDR every evening - choc., vanilla, and typically one other flavor. If it isn't on the menu, just ask for it - they have it for all the kids - trust me. You can have it added to a pie, cobbler, or other dessert - again, first-hand knowledge. I highly recommend the souffle though if it is on the menu. None of the other desserts thrilled me but the souffle was mouth-watering! The Grand Marnier sauce I asked for on the side as I don't like alcohol in my desserts and they put it on the side. I intend to order 2 or 3 of these on my next RC cruise if it is on the menu. Skip right to the souffle!

Several times during the week, in JADE - at the far end of the Windjammer, past the pizza bar - they have great food, more of an asian flair - and several times they had ice cream sundae parties. These were not advertised or announced yet the teens always knew about them - probably from the activities director for the kids. ;-)

So, you don't have to purchase B & Jerrys unless you have a craving post-excursion or post-nap, but I would always check in JADE first as they usually had ice cream during the day when we went in there and a few times in the evening.

The midnight poolside buffet was Mexican and the food was delicious! There was a roasted pig there, but I would not call it a pig roast - being from the south, we roast our pigs in a pit or on in a barrel all night long!

easy on/off the ship but we weren't allowed to bring any carry-on luggage that wasn't very, very small - like purse size! Made me check our small airplane-size carry-on but our luggage was in our cabin by noon...

Hope this helps. Have fun and happy cruising!