Sovereign very dissapointing

[Cruising89143]

Gordon I was on another thread this morning and someone mentioned finding their old promo video of the Celbrity Meridian. I have that one, and it would be an eye opener for some today. They would call it the 'Dark Ages', but the Meridian at one time was the Flag Ship for Celberity.

 

I remember that ship well. She was an oldie. She was part of Chandris Fantasy cruises before the start of Celebrity.

[patrice1]

DH & I were on the Empress in it's maiden year. We booked late, it was our first cruise, and we were upgraded from the lowest inside to the highest outside w/o a balcony. LOL, we were hooked on cruising! Now, she's seen as being so small and she seemed huge to us. Had one of the first Centrums & everyone was awed. Gloria Estofan was the ship's "Godmother" and there was a huge portrait of her as you boarded. *sigh* It was glorious! We did her again 5 years later - she had the same itinerary then - 4 days Bahamas & Coco Cay and have done Norwegien and Celebrity since. We are now contemplating Princess and/or Carnival, but I think you always remember the first cruise the fondest.

[Michuck]

See my post entitled "Sovereign 4/29 - 5/2" for my comments on this ship.....

 

Michuck (Michele)

[colette5479]

I remember that ship well. She was an oldie. She was part of Chandris Fantasy cruises before the start of Celebrity.

 

I hope you have a great cruise Gordon!:)

 

I am sorry that the OP did not have a great cruise. More information about what specifically was wrong and perhaps the things they enjoyed would have been more helpful:) Please try to post again soon.

 

We were on the SOS in October and I did not notice any of the dirtiness that have been described in the last few reviews. I would take all the reviews with a grain of salt and not let someone elses opinions ruin your trip:)

[kelleigh229]

We took a group of 12 on Sovereign in February 2004 and had a wonderful time! Yes, it is a smaller ship and an older ship, but we all enjoyed every minute of the cruise. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy your cruise.

[PH8]

Headed out on the Sovereign this Friday as well..............this will be our 8th or 9th time on her...........so guess you can say I like the ship.....

 

I,for one,am glad for all the negative reviews...........Now maybe with less demand the prices will come back down like they used to be and we can go even more!!:)

[Gabbiegirl]

We are also experienced cruisers, several on both Celebrity and RCCL and we LOVED our SOS cruise this past January. Service was very good, entertainment was good to very good(dueling pianos-very good). The renovation of the ship took 10 years off of her. We really had no complaints, were very pleasantly surprised at how much we both enjoyed ourselves since all but one other cruise had been on bigger and newer ships. We all experience different things and while some reviews may not be positive on Sovereign I believe if you check the last 4 months the vast majority will be good. JMHO :)

[Guest OBAYbee]

Headed out on the Sovereign this Friday as well..............this will be our 8th or 9th time on her...........so guess you can say I like the ship.....

 

I,for one,am glad for all the negative reviews...........Now maybe with less demand the prices will come back down like they used to be and we can go even more!!:)

 

 

Have a safe and fun trip!

[PH8]

Thanks!! I hope to!!:)

[wallie5446]

DH & I were on the Empress in it's maiden year.

 

Same here too! We were on Voyage # 30, and She looked HUGE compaired to the older ships docked with us in Nassau and Miami.

[RM]

I'm curious to see your comments on the Sovereign. We have sailed her 6 times and have loved them all. Last trip was in March and we fell in love with her over again. I'll be on her next weekend and I'm looking forward to it. We are also sailing on her for Christmas.

 

She's a great older ship with a great crew in our opinion. The redo was wonderful and we appreciated all the improvements. Yes, she's got some wear and tear (most short cruise ships do ) but she's still a classy lady and I'll sail aboard her anytime.

[laurasue]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but thanks for posting your review.

 

DH and I are pretty flexible travelers, so I'm not too worried. After the bug infested, broken A/C, rundown POS timeshare we stayed in for part of our honeymoon, I think we can handle most anything with a laugh. :) Hey, a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at the office, right? ;)

[topdownblondandme]

let's start from the beginning. the embarking and disembarking was excellent as i said before.

we get on the ship, tour around and wait for our luggage, appearance of the ship is pretty good. we went up to the windjammer for lunch, the food selection was 4 out of 6 as far as quality, variaty was pretty good. the service was at best a 2. we found out late the second day that there were 2 sections to the windjammer. until that point we were sitting up in the jonny rockets\second level area because there was no seating downstairs and noone told us there was a front section. the wait staff often passed us by without asking if we needed anything and on at least 5 occasions we ask for drinks and the person said to wait a minute and that was the last we saw of them. when we found the front part, there were alot less diners and alot more staff . i did find the seating around the edges to be cramped. on the Empress as small a ship as it is, we were never in a cramped situation while dining. on the Empress the manager (Daniel) walked around continually making sure the needs of the people were met. not many of the staff in this dining room just came up to us, we had to ask.

our room attendent was someone we didn't know until the 3rd day. all the girls and ladies on the floor did, and that was where he spent most of his time. i don't have a problem with socializing with the cruisers, but make sure all is well first. our room was kept basically clean, that's it. on the Empress, our room steward was Robert, and by the end of the cruise my wife wanted to take him home with us, he was a sweet man and did an excellent job, over and above.

the dining room was also very cramped, we had ten at our table, my wife and were on the end near the window and could barely get in our seats, on the Empress we had room to spare. it was also very hot in the dining room each night. our wait staff were constantly perspiring. I think the low ceiling and no opening to the next level contribute to that. on the Empress the dining room is open up to the second level and keeps the place cool. also the dining room on the Empress was much more beautiful as far as appearance. the dining room on the SOS looks like an average dining room you would eat at in a small town diner

the first 2 nights our staff was pressed to get to everyone, on the Empress our chairs were pulled out each night for us, our napkins were put in our laps, our crumbs were brushed off our table after each course.

our waiters were very kind on the SOS and did their best. the 2nd two nights at dinner, the two tables beside us were basically empty, so the staff had much more to devote to the people they had. the food was ok (3 1\2 -4 1\2)in the dining room the first 2 nights it was not as good as the 2nd two, don't ask me why, that's just the way we saw it.

the staff overall on this ship compared to our previuos cruise was not as friendly. as i said before, we often had to ask for things, as on the Empress that wasn't the case. I don't expect total perfection, and I wasn't sure what RCCL standards are from ship to ship. My expectations for this cruise were no different than the first cruise, we bragged all year to the 7 other first time cruisers, and they didn't get the cruise we got the first time.that is why we went to have a talk with guest relations mgr. of the ship Maria ( i think from portugal)she said the standards should be the same and that these things were unacceptable. we spoke to her for almost 45 minutes on thursday night. she told us she would talk to the various departments and give me some feed back in the morning (departure day). i went to the phone outside her office called her like she said. she told me it would be around 10-15 min. or so before she could get out. I waited the 15 plus another 10 and tried to call her. no answer(she gave me her direct line) waited about 5 more called again, no answer. while this is going on , our color had already been called, so the other 9 people are sitting there with their luggage waiting to get off the ship. i waited about another 10 called, no answer, so we left. i left her a note letting her know we had to go. still no answer(5/5/05) many have wrote they had a great time on the ship, we did too, but when a company promotes one thing and it doesn't add up, they should fix it.

the entertainment was fair, not bad, not great. granted we didn't go to everything(can anyone). but on the Empress there were guest entertainers each night and the RCCL singers and dancers,(they are good).

it wasn't a lousy cruise, I just think for the money and time that goes into a cruise(on our part) RCCL should be sure that the same effort is made on thier part. I rode back to the raddison afterward on the shuttle to get our cars and sat bside a man who had been on a previous cruise with another line, he echoed my sentiments as far as quality and service.

oh yea dualing pianos is great

for me and mine we would more than likely not sail this ship again, i would not take the chance of spending that much money and getting a mediocre cruise twice.

My wife isn't here so i'm sure i'm forgetting something, if she reminds me i will send it along.

oh yea, my wife went topside to the pool and could never find a lounge chair, there were MANY with towels and things on chairs with nobody in them, i told her on the last day, if she went up there and couldn't find one to let me know and would get the guest relations people to get us one. granted it's inconsiderate ignorant people who do this, but they (RCCL)can make it clearer that there is no saving chairs on the deck, move your feet lose your seat. if someone is up there and has to go to the bathroom or some thing that's one thing, but some chairs were empty for hours.

[mbisson]

Just wondering how many days you cruise was on the Empress? I find a different atmosphere on the shorter cruises than on the longer ones. Ditto for the entertainment.

 

Also, I guess my expectations are different than yours in the buffet areas on a cruise. I expect them to be basically self service, so I guess I just don't normally ask them to bring me things.

 

-Monte

[Emmabelle]

I'm glad you liked the Empress so much since we are sailing on her in July. :)

[topdownblondandme]

several in our party ordered room service and never got it, the beds were very uncomfortable, my daughter wanter her bed switched and the guy told her that he couldn't do it (no is not suppose to be a cruise word from what i have come to understand) other beds on our floor were how she wanted hers, i guess he just didn't want to. also the room service menu was pretty measly. on the Empress we got just about anything we wanted delivered to the room. on the SOS only continental breakfast(we sure enjoyed the omlettes on the Empress) and steak in the afternoon. also room service shut down rather early. we ordered stuff in the wee hours on the Empress.

 

gee sounds like we might need to back on the Empress, only problem with that is we would still be supporting a company who has done nothing to boost our support for them. oh well maybe we will have try carnival. (any suggestions on a ship?)

[alicia68]

I was also on this cruise April 25 with a small group. this is my second time on this ship the other being last May. I saw some greaet improvements over last year. Sorrento's Pizza place is a nice place to grab a quick lunch or late evening bite, far better than last year when after the windjammer closed it was room service or nothing. Johnny rockets is also a nice additon if you happen to like that chain's food however I personally can't stand it. The key word is personally! What some people may like others will not. I found the food very good in the dining room but after taking several RCCL cruises I am rather bored with the menu on this line. Service in most areas was great but I didn't really care for this years cabin steward, not because he didn't do a good job but because he didn't have any personality at all! As for the sewage smell we only had that problem in our hallway the last day at sea unlike last year when it was constant. The main problem this year was the amount of very small children who were so far from behaved it was crazy. And don't jump down my throat about kids, what i'm talking about is kids in the muster drill crying, carrying on, slapping the parents, spitting at their mom etc etc. Unfortunately part of it is the parents. I was in line at the windjammer behind a kid about 10 years ols or so who was picking up the food with his hands smelling it then putting it back. I said something to him about using the tongs and his mother tore a strip off me! Last time I ate there this trip. Bottom line is you will always find people who like this ship and those who don't it all depends what your expectations are.

[Michuck]

Re previous post about room service - on the Sovereign this past weekend we ordered room service as late as 3:45 in the a.m., (and ordered late every nite, or was it early every morning??) and it was delivered within 20 - 30 minutes. Only night it shut down earlier was the last nite at sea.

 

M.

[Happy ks]

If service is your top priority, I would not necessarily recommend Carnival. Perhaps you should try Celebrity, Princess or HAL (I haven't sailed with the last two, yet).

 

Setting your expectations so high can lead to a let down. Reading carefully through your post, many of your problems are related to personality of the staff. I've never been one to need a personal relationship with the staff, it's fun and they can be interesting, but if they aren't my best friend, OK, no problem. I want to be served my meals and my room cleaned, anything extra is a bonus. You may have gotten lucky on your first cruise and had less pax the first time around, so more staff to serve you. It also sounds like you got staff with a little bit more personality the first time around. I cannot answer the problem with the customer service agent, it is an ongoing problem with every cruise line out there. Especially after the cruise is over, customer service is non-existant. It's a shame and I wish the cruiselines would wake up and deal with it in a more friendly way.

 

I also don't like crowded tables. If you cruise with this group again, perhaps you could request 2 tables rather than one large one. We did this with our last cruise and it worked out great.

 

I avoid the buffets whenever I can, so can you and not have to worry about service, a place to sit and drink refills. It's a myth that the dining room takes longer for breakfast, so don't tell anyone else. I cannot blame the staff for you not knowing the layout of the ship, they publish it in their brochures.

 

Lastly, try a 7 night or longer cruise next time (I don't know what length your Empress cruise was), it's a whole different experience.

[dms_cruisers04]

TDB&Me, sorry you didn't enjoy all of your cruise. I've found it has been very hard to compare any of my subsequent cruises with my first. And it seems, especially at the time, when things are sub-par that we (as paying customers) tend to put more emphasis on the negative. You'll find this as you continue to cruise, regardless of which line you cruise. A lot depends on the staff you come into contact with, the time of year of your cruise, who you're cruising with and your attitude as a cruiser.

I can agree with a lot of what you mentioned that you found not to your liking (food, cabin steward problems), but I think for some of the others you need to bear some of the responsibility (Windjammer issues, dining room crowdedness). And then there are just some things that are out of anyones control, particularly the 'chair hogs' issue. I've cruised 3 lines now and it happens on every line, every cruise. I've found the degree to which it effects you will depend on how crowded the cruise happens to be at that time.

 

Hope your next cruise is better.

[oldgram1]

I had a great time on my April cruise on the Sovereign of the Seas but things weren't perfect.

I thought the ship was clean and looked nice. I didn't find the wait staff or room stewards to be

especially friendly but I guess they did their jobs.

I was okay with the food in the Windjammer but it

was crowded, especially when they first opened up.

I wouldn't eat at Johnny Rockets again -it didn't impress me at all. I really thought the entertainment was top notch and we didn't miss many shows. It was better than what I had seen on previous cruises.

 

I probably would go on this ship again.

 

Gail

[topdownblondandme]

Our first cruise on the Empress was a 7 night, and i have heard from many that there are night and day differences in the length VS what you get. (shouldn't be that way). As far as expectations, they were made to me by RCCL, they promote it in their commercials, brochures etc. And they promoted it on our first cruise. granted not all ships, cruises, crews are going to be the same, but there shouldn't have been that great of a variation from ship to ship like we saw. I have worked in the service industry in the past and can look at things pretty objectively and realistically. but as i explained our problems with the Guest relations person, she agreed with that conclusion and assured me we would have some type of feedback on the matter. still have not heard from her or RCCL. i guess at this point what is really starting to bother me, is that it has been over 2 weeks since our return and we have heard nothing from RCCL about our situation. either they view it as un important, or just don't care. I mean we took 8 people, 7 first timers with us on this cruise based on what recieved from this same company before. i guess to them, our measley 4 or 5 thousand dollars doesn't amount to much. so maybe we should try another cruise line. but i really was hoping to stick with the same one, (there supposed to benefits in that). we'll see. we haven't booked next years 7 night yet , but we will before to long.

[PH8]

Just got off the SOS this morning............had a wonderful time and the weather was fantastic............Service was superb and not once did I smell "the smell":) ..........I dont know,maybe I dont let things bother me as much as others,,,,,,

[Cruising89143]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=175632

 

Wrote my thoughts about the SOS in the above thread. Overall a great cruise and I would do it again and more than likely will.