littlenige

Our party of 13 booked a cruise on Sovereign with Vacations to Go - no complaints. Frank Alegria was most helpful.

Littlenige -

Thanks for coming back to post this! I just got approval for the time off from work to book this cruise for next May. 😁 l really love to be able to walk or jog the whole way around the ship, so that is a definite plus. Everything else we can deal with. I like wine more than mixed drinks, and I’m not too much of a wine snob either :')

Did you find the ship to be crowded? Any other places you would recommend if we were seeking out an area outside for conversation with our glass of wine?

Hi Kathleen, there were a few times when it felt crowded - the breakfast buffet if you arrive late can be packed. The restaurants are also good for breakfast but are again buffet style. Disembarkation times can be very busy too, but i guess that's normal of any cruise. Overall there is always somewhere for a quiet glass. Piano bar most likely the quietest indoors. Outdoors not so much, although the stern of the ship can be surprisingly quiet at times.

I just got back from my third cruise on the Sovereign > Barcelona - Naples - Rome - Livorno - Villafranche - Sete. The itinerary was great - I'd only been to Rome before. NAPLES is the stop for Pompeii and Mount Versuvius. CIVITAVECCHIA the stop for Rome. LIVORNO is the stop for Pisa/Florence (we were advised that in Pisa there is little to see apart from the leaning tower so we opted out of that stop - but Florence - a MUST!). VILLAFRANCHE SUR MER is the stop for Monaco and Nice but the seaside town itself is truly beautiful in it's own right - we stayed in town! The motor yachts in the harbour hint of wealth and class. (Here you are put ashore by tender - make sure you read the going ashore instructions as there is a protocol to follow - info will be in the next day pamphlet put into your cabin the afternoon before). Sete is the stop for Carcasonne. The town itself is low key but quite interesting - we did the canal boat trip which was fun - some of the road bridges you have to go under are about 3 inches from your head!).

The only difference I note now from trips before is that they have made a few key decisions in order to keep costs down - so I guess I cannot complain about the price! That said, the drinks (which are now included for all passengers in the cruise price) are quite weak - indeed my first drink on board which should have been a gin and tonic was tonic and ice - nothing else - I had to order a gin afterwards! This lack of strength to the drinks was a continuing theme. The other thing they have done which is a step backwards for my money is fire a lot of south american staff for eastern european - nothing wrong with that, except their grasp of both Spanish or English was lacking and on many occasions the drinks orders were wrong. That never used to happen.

The Sovereign is an old school cruise ship which you will either love or hate - it's very dated - but it does have a certain charm. I like the fact that there are many outside decks, three of which enable you to walk around the entire ship - not like the modern accommodation blocks on the new boats.

The piano bar (around the funnel) was absolutely freezing on the first two nights, but warm thereafter - this was always the quiet bar which we loved. A bit hairy if it gets rough as you are quite high relative to the sea, but if the weather is good - perfect!

The cabins are comfortable as are the beds. Restaurant staff were wonderful. Food was not plentiful if you're a big eater but delicious. The Carrileras (cheeks) in red wine gravy were divine.

The facial recognition system for the on board photographs worked reasonably well - meaning thousands of photographs that were almost always not wanted (in years previously) are no longer printed - you chose what you want and it gets printed - not cheap mind at €13.99 a shot!

With regard to the Spanish you must accept that yes they are loud - that's the Spanish way! They also don't believe in queuing so be prepared for pushing and queue jumping! That's just the way it is. Accept it, adapt yourself and get stuck in!

We were blessed with the weather so had a great vacation.

Pullmantur's all inclusive policy is a winning formula. We went on our first ever cruise this past Autumn on the Sovereign of the Seas for the Legends of the Mediterranean cruise. Our co-cruisers were on their 32nd cruise! Veterans! Whilst they were quick to admit that it lacked a lot of class in comparison with the other cruise lines, they also admitted that it was the best value cruise ever. To go onboard and essentially not to have to have any money with you is a joy. Anything you want to eat, anything you want to drink is included. There are a few exceptions - if you have a nose for Moet & Chandon perhaps (!) you will be expected to pay! But in general it's all included. It's put me off going on any type of cruise where you have to pay for the drinks - usually at rip off prices. We have relations who cruise regularly who tell us that their bar bill is normally almost as much as the cost of the cruise itself! The nice thing about this cruise line is that it is primarily all spanish customers - and we saw little over-indulgence. In fact we didn't see one drunk person - something I suspect we would have seen had the majority of passengers been British. We are planning on doing the same cruise again this autumn with a bigger group of people - most of our family and friends are now tempted to give it a try!

Tagging myself on this thread as I would like to know also - may be booking a Legends of the Med cruise on this boat next September and want to know what to expect in comparison with the Sovereign of the Seas.