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Sovereign 2-10 review

jrm9999

By jrm9999,
in Royal Caribbean International

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jrm9999

jrm9999

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Below is a review of our 2/10/2005 sailing on Sovereign of the Seas. This was different cruise for us as it was our first with our 9 month old daughter.

 

Embarkation - Grade A+

Best we have ever had. Smooth, Easy and Fast. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and found virtually no line to check in. Port Canaveral is easy to get to and manages traffic and crowds well.

 

Ship Overall - Grade A.

This is the first time for us on Sovereign and the oldest ship we have been on. I was a little conerned before we got there as our previous experience has been one time on a Vision Class ship, one time on a Radiance class ship and a bunch of times on Voyager Class ships. We were pleasantly surprised to find Sovereign can run with the best of them. She is a nice ship.

 

Our Cabin - Grade B

We stayed in a Junior suite, cabin 1042. The room itself is in great shape and clean. Adequate room for everything, including our pack n play. Balcony seems wider than on some other ships - very nice. The only reason I gave it a B instead of an A because of its size. It is smaller than on the newer ships. I know that it is an older ship and can't be changed, but people should know that all cabin categories are smaller than the newer ships.

 

Windjammer - Grade B

The Windjammer was in great condition and all the food we had was good. One disappointment was the lunch offerings were the same each day. One area for improvement would be service. It was very rare that anyone was going around offering to refill drinks or anything like that. Other ships we have been on had this. The crew itself working in the Windjammer were pleasant. Many came over to play with our daughter.

 

Pool Deck -

We did not spend any length of time at the main pool, however it seemed to be in great shape and adequate. It looked to me like there was enough deck chairs for everyone who wanted one.

 

Main Theater -

The main theater is nicely decorated and comfortable. One nice feature is there is a lot of legroom which makes it easier when someone needs to squeeze by.

 

Viking Crown -

The Viking Crown on this ship offers awesome views. In my opinion this Viking crown offered better views than on some of the larger ships we have been on. Not sure about night life up here though as we were only here during the day. Its a great place to let little ones explore around during the day as not many people are up there.

 

Food - Grade C

Food in the Windjammer was good overall. The dining room however the food was inconsistent. One meal great, the next so-so.

 

Ports - Grade A

Nassau - Surprisingly fun. We have been a few times before and not been real excitied about it. However one person told us of a hotel to go to and use their pool and private beach with our daughter since she cannot go in the ships pool. We did and had a great time.

 

Coco Cay -- Missed due to weather. Captain told some passengers at Q & A that he tried to go to Freeport but no room was available. I have read Cruise Critic boards for awhile. I can't recall reading a review from anyone who missed Coco Cay and went to Freeport so I don't know if they really tried or not. Personally, we did not want to go to Freeport not only because it is Freeport, but who wants to go on a cold, rainy and windy day?

 

Entertainment

We saw so little it would not be fair to comment. Most of the entertainment was after our daughters bedtime.

 

Ship's Crew -Overall Grade B

Most of the crew is very freindly and outgoing. Some however had the attitude like your an inconvenience anytime you asked for something. It was almost like the attitude "your only here a couple of days why should I help you".

 

Cruise Director - Grade C

The cruise director was Chris Armas. From what we saw of him he seemed to be upbeat and ran things well in general. My overall impression though was that he was not very entertaining or funny when hosting shows.

 

Announcements - Grade F

Nothing new here, but I am going to say this again. There are way too many announcements. Not just this cruise, but on all the RCI cruises we have taken. Announcements such as the Captain's report, letting guests know when the ship cleared customs and maybe even a once a day announcement going through activities is ok with me. But that's it. All these bingo, shopping, art auction, pool activity and other announcements are totally unnecessary and a real annoyance. We have a Cruise Compass and if we want to go to an event we will.

 

Debarkation - Grade A

We got off the ship about 8:00. Line to get off the ship was very very long, but moved. Customs moved very quickly. Smmothest debarkation we have had.

 

I think many people just got in line and don't pay any attention to luggage color tags. Also tons of people go to guest relations and get earlier color tags as they leave a pile of them out. I think at the very least they should have some type of color luggage tag stub you show to get in line.

 

Summary

Sovereign of the Seas is a great ship, especially for the 3 and 4 day market. We already booked this ship again for 11/06.

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ortiz34

ortiz34

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Excellent Review and very helpful. I myself have sailed on the SOS back in 1992, it was my first Royal Carribean cruise. I think I am going to book a trip on it sometime this summer (August) My only concern is hurrican season.

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jrm9999

jrm9999

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A couple of other notes I should add.

 

The ship sailed full, but never felt crowded. We never waited for anything, nor ran into a lot of congestion. First time on any cruise for us. Very nice. Also, elevators were actually i adequate supply. Another first for us. Hardly had to wait at all most of the cruise. We usually take stairs, but this cruise we had a stroller with us many times and relied on elevators more. Not a problem on this cruise.

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bambam2972

bambam2972

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SuezyQ-

(squid4 is actually my dad's s/n, I forgot to sign in as me :rolleyes: )

 

We're booked for 6/5 too!! My first ocean view!

 

Your DS and DD will have a great time! The Sov. was my first cruise when I was 17, the 3 night, and had a blast. So I know that one extra day will really make a difference. Oh and I'll be with a group ages 18-24 (not counting mom and dad), so if they want someone to hang out with, we'll be around (I can't wait for the dueling pianos at Boleros!)

 

I'm so excited! :D

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KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

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Another advantage of Port Canaveral for those driving over is that you pay for the parking garage as you go in. At Miami, by necessity, you pay on the way out. While this would seem to be no big deal, fact is that everyone does not ARRIVE at the same time but everyone wants to LEAVE at the same time. Very short lines to pay going in at Port Canaveral compared to chaos trying to get out of the garage in Miami.

 

Bambam, hope the two piano duelers working on your sailing are better than what we had for our Sovereign cruise last October. Our set wasn't very funny and seemed to spend way too much time hustling the audience into donating money to them!

 

I do agree the Sovereign is a beautiful ship and the renovations made her brand new again.

 

BobK/Orlando

up next:

Grandeur of the Seas (03/06)

Dawn Princess (05/06)

Norwegian Sun (05/06)

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loveysbydesign

loveysbydesign

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Thanks for the review! We will be taking our 1st cruise ever and it will be on the Sovereign on May 15th! Can't wait!

However one person told us of a hotel to go to and use their pool and private beach with our daughter since she cannot go in the ships pool.

Just curious which one you went to...it'll be me dh, ds 7 y.o and dd 3 1/2 y.o!

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dave&micki

dave&micki

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OK__ we will take good care of her for you --we are on deck 4 again (6) of us 3 rooms -- we can't wait -- bye the way if you are from Florida have you ever been out on either casino cruises "sterling" or " sun cruz"-- we are going to be in cocoa beach two days early and were thinking about doing one of these--can you tell me anythihg about them--HAPPY CRUISING onthe 24th--we will get off the boat so you can enjoy her HAVE FUN 33 days and I want to do the doc dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D

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suezyq50

suezyq50

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bambam2972:We have ocean view with the kids inside. Our son will be shy 5 months of being 18. I'm concerned he might feel left out, although he is very outgoing, (on the football team, wrestles, and track). He has asked what will he be able to do.

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jrm9999

jrm9999

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Thanks for the review! We will be taking our 1st cruise ever and it will be on the Sovereign on May 15th! Can't wait!

 

Just curious which one you went to...it'll be me dh, ds 7 y.o and dd 3 1/2 y.o!

 

We went to the British Colonial Hilton. Cost was $15.00pp.

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jphc318

jphc318

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Dave and Micki,

yes i live in florida and about 20 minutes from the port.Sterling and SunCruiise are about the same,have been on both but sun crusie is a little nicer and cleaner.Good luck and have loads of fun on your vacation.:D

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