Sovereign Review - 7/21/2006

[beverland]

Background Information:

This was a three day Bahamas Cruise – Friday to Monday. Ports were Nassau and RCI’s Private Island – CocoCay.

 

We actually booked this cruise while on board Sovereign in September 2005 and then transferred our booking to our local travel agent who handles all the fine details for us. We received a $50 shipboard credit for booking on board.

 

We are seasoned cruisers with 16 Royal Caribbean cruises and 28 total cruises. We had 4 other people with us whose cruise experience ranges from their 2nd sailing to five plus sailings.

 

Travel to Port:

We drove from Jacksonville to Port Canaveral on the day of the cruise. Arrived at the Port around 12:30 PM. Dropped off our luggage, checked in at the Diamond line (although there were hardly any lines at any of the counters) and made our way to Deck 8.

 

Ship Info:

Upon check-in, we were told we could not get into our cabins until 1:00 p.m. It was about 5 minutes until 1:00. When we arrived on Deck 8, the cabin corridors were all closed off with doors. This is a new rule on Sovereign. I guess they got tired of people going to their cabins early. A few minutes after 1:00, staff arrived to open the doors and we proceeded to our cabin.

 

We have sailed on Sovereign 4 times – twice before refurbishment and twice after. She is a very well maintained ship and still a beauty for her age, which is almost 20 years old. All of the public areas are very well maintained and the staff on-board was generally very friendly. No sewage smell was ever detected, as some others have posted. We never saw the Master of the Ship, Captain Brearley. I assume he was at the Welcome Aboard Reception, but we did not attend. He did not attend the Platinum & Diamond Member Reception, which was held at 4:30 PM on the last day of the cruise in the Viking Crown Lounge. Several senior staff did attend, as well as the Loyalty Ambassador.

 

At sail-a-way the cruise director staff spent a significant amount of time teaching several line dances and they encouraged people to dance. Usually after a dance or two, the staff is done and off to other places and the band continues to play. This group stayed awhile. The reggae band on the pool deck was very good and had a female singer, which we thought was unusual. She was great. The cruise staff also did a good job throughout the trip to keep everyone involved in activities. Cruise Director was Casey Pelter. He had quite a lot of energy and a great sense of humor.

 

The pool area had its share of Chair Hogs, as usual. Also, kids were in the Forward pool even though there was a sign which indicated they were not allowed. This is irritating when you just want to get in a cool off and there are kids splashing around. :( Parents, follow the rules, please!

 

Stateroom:

We were in Cabin 8544, which has an obstructed view. Actually, there was a life boat hanging above our window and even though the top half of the cabin window was obstructed, we could still see the ocean very well. The life boat acted as an awning which kept the sun from bearing down into the room. We were one floor up from the Promenade Deck (7), so at times we could hear people talking on the promenade. It wasn’t much of a problem though, and typically was quiet.

 

The beds had new mattresses and were quite comfortable. The room was clean, but the bathroom is a little worn. The shower head kept turning towards the wall or into the bathroom as you showered – never in the DOWN position. The pole which holds the shower head was coming out of the wall and the glass holder was about to come out of the wall, as well. Other than that, everything was fine. Athough the towels seemed a little worn - which is no biggie. The shower curtain does have a tendency to wrap around your body as you shower. Bring clothes pins to attach it to the wall to keep it out of the shower stall. Sure wish they had added glass shower doors during the refurbishment!

 

There was an outlet at the vanity in the cabin with two plugs. We had a chair and a small table in addition to the beds. There was sufficient closet and drawer space for a short cruise. We put our suitcases under the bed after we unpacked. There was no safe in our room and we really missed that. There was also no refrigerator, but we knew there wouldn’t be. Our travel agent had delivered a bottle of wine and Merle kept ice in the wine bucket until the bottle was finished. I had a glass or two each night, so it lasted a few days and she just kept filling the bucket with ice. Nice.

 

Our Room Attendant, Merle (a female from Trinidad) was WONDERFUL!! By far, one of the best we have ever had on a RCCL ship. She was personable and any request was handled with a smile. I have a feeling she runs a tight ship. Our remote on the TV wasn’t working and I told her maybe it was the battery. She immediately picked up the phone and says to maintenance, “I called you yesterday to tell you the remote is not working (it was not the battery) and it still is not fixed. My guest needs the remote fixed, please do it as soon as possible.” Well, it was working later on that day – situation handled!! I was celebrating my birthday on this cruise and my traveling companions decorated the cabin door. When Merle found out it was my birthday, she left a bottle of Korbel Brut as a gift – nice touch. :D

 

Dining:

Dinner was in the Mirage Dining Room on Deck 4 – Table 62 in the back of the dining room. It was extremely hot in that area. As you walked towards the entry of the dining room, the temperature seemed to drop about 15 degrees. Some areas of the Windjammer were also very hot, and it wasn’t the area next to an outside entry, as you would think. Our waiter, Alexandru, from Romania, was pleasant and efficient. The food ranged from very good to not-so-good. The filet of beef on formal night is not a filet – it is sliced from tenderloin, which is fine if that is what you’re expecting. Never, never, never order the steak from the alternative menu – it is always tough. I ordered the chicken breast from the alternative menu one night and it was quite good. There was a problem with the flow of the food, however. At one point our entire table of 6 received 2 dishes at one time (salad, soup, appetizer, whatever) and then we had to wait a least 30 minutes or more for our entrees. We were never out of the dining room before 10:00 and one night, almost 10:30. Most of the other tables had already left. We enjoy a nice leisurely dinner, but there was definitely a problem with the flow of the food coming out of the kitchen at our table. This has never occurred on another sailing. Also, one evening, I had wine leftover from a previous night and asked the assistant waiter for a glass of wine – he pointed to the wine in a bucket, said yes he had saved my wine and proceeded to do other things. I asked again a few minutes later, same thing. When I asked the 3rd time after our food started arriving and he responded the same, I said, “I see it over there, but are you going to let me have any?” He said, “Oh, yes, and proceeded to pour.” Go figure!? :rolleyes: The head waiter came by every night and the entire wait staff was always pleasant, but for some reason the dining experience on this cruise just didn’t go as smoothly as some others. Not a bad experience at all, just not a great one as some others have been.

 

For casual dining, the Windjammer has several stations set up with different types of food. I always enjoy Jade, which has the Asian cuisine. We ate breakfast & lunch in the Windjammer. There was an on-deck Bar-b-Cue on Saturday – chicken, hot dogs, ribs, etc. The ribs and chicken were good. There is also a Johnny Rockets which charges a $3.95 pp cover charge and Sorrento’s, which serves Pizza at no charge, as well as a Ben & Jerry’s and Seattle’s Best Coffee, which charges for specialty items.

 

The only room service items we ordered were coffee and juice. The coffee is STRONG!! The 2nd day, I also ordered tea (so I could get hot water), added it to the coffee and it was tolerable.

 

Shore Excursions:

We parasailed in CocoCay. Cost was $79 pp for a 5 to 6 minute tandem sail. Our boat had 16 passengers, so there were 8 sails. The staff was very efficient and pleasant and I felt like they really knew what they were doing. I had never parasailed before and wanted to do this as a ship excursion rather than in a port with a local company. I am afraid of heights, but I felt very safe and it was actually a very cool experience. Now that I’ve “been there, done that”, I probably won’t do it again. It is rather expensive, but you only live once!

 

Entertainment:

We didn’t attend any of the production shows, although the others in our party said the Farewell Show, Dancin’ Thru the Movies” was good. We watched the Welcome Aboard Show on TV and the comedian was extremely funny. Rockin’ Dueling Pianos was a lot of fun. Those guys have a lot of energy. Keep in mind, it is an adult show – no one under 18 allowed and they shouldn’t be. The guys get rather raunchy at times. Quest was a hoot, as usual, and was held the last night of the cruise at 11:15 PM. Our group participated and had a blast. We sure wished it had been Saturday night, as we forced ourselves to go Sunday evening knowing we had to get up at 6:30 AM on Monday for disembarkation.

 

Disembarkation:

Oh, the joys of being a Diamond member. :D We arrived in the Crown & Anchor lounge about 7:15. There is a continental breakfast with juice, pastries, coffee, tea & water. We had just enough time for a cup of coffee or two. At about 7:45, the Loyalty Ambassador told us to grab our stuff and head down the Level 4. Just FYI – we had to walk three flights of stairs. They scanned our Sea Pass Cards, we then zoomed through Customs. We got a porter who took our bags to our car in the parking garage. By the time we had gassed up at the BP station on Highway 1, it was only 8:15 AM and we were on our way back to Jacksonville.

 

Summary:

All in all, it was a great cruise. It was my birthday cruise and our group was in a festive mood all weekend. The weekend flew by so quickly. This is a great ship for a short weekend get-a-way or celebration. Staff is pleasant and the ship and accommodations are clean. Food is not in the excellent category, but good enough that your definitely won’t starve and you have lot’s of options.

 

Any Questions? Fire Away!

[jillybabes]

beverland: Happy belated birthday....We were on the 4nt. Sovereign in May and also had Merle as our stewardess, she was wonderful and I believe she is employee of the year on the ship or something like that. We were in 8050 right down the hall from you...Looking forward to our return next April. Later, Jill:cool:

[LivnLife]

Great review! We just came off the same sailing. We were with a group of about 40 for our friend's wedding. Glad you had a fun birthday cruise!

 

~Steph

[beverland]

Steph, You weren't the Nash Family, were you? There seemed to be lots of "groups" on this sailing.

 

Jill, Thanks for the belated birthday greetings. I completed a comment card for Merle for her excellent service and told her I had done it. She told me at that time that she was Employee of the Year last year. She also introduced me to her husband - he's very nice, too.

[LivnLife]

Steph, You weren't the Nash Family, were you? There seemed to be lots of "groups" on this sailing.

 

Yes, there were a lot of groups on this cruise, each night in the dining room someone was celebrating a birthday! But no, we were not the Nash Family. We were the group of youngin's most noticible by wearing USAF and Army uniforms on formal night :D

 

~Steph

[beverland]

Steph,

 

I didn't see your group at dinner, but thanks to all of your group in uniform for defending our great country. I wish I had seen you, I would have told you this in person. :)

[beverland]

Steph -

 

Did anyone in your group keep the Compass from the 1st day of the Cruise - 7/21?

 

That was my birthday and somehow we lost that one. Could you scan and email or fax to me or I'll pay for you to mail it to me. I really wanted to keep it and was so disappointed when I got home and found out it was MIA.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Merion_Mom]

Entertainment:[/b]

We didn’t attend any of the production shows, although the others in our party said the Farewell Show, Dancin’ Thru the Movies” was good. We watched the Welcome Aboard Show on TV and the comedian was extremely funny. Rockin’ Dueling Pianos was a lot of fun. Those guys have a lot of energy. Keep in mind, it is an adult show – no one under 18 allowed and they shouldn’t be. The guys get rather raunchy at times. Quest was a hoot, as usual, and was held the last night of the cruise at 11:15 PM. Our group participated and had a blast. We sure wished it had been Saturday night, as we forced ourselves to go Sunday evening knowing we had to get up at 6:30 AM on Monday for disembarkation.

 

First of all, beverland, this was an OUTSTANDING review, so well-written and straightforward. It's exactly the kind of information that people come to this website for!

 

Second, were the dueling piano players Mark & Steve? Mark tends to "push the envelope" quite a bit............... :)

[beverland]

Merion Mom,

 

Thanks for the compliment on the review.

 

Yes, it was Mark & Steve. My friends "paid" for a song for me for my birthday. They were actually quite kind to me. Some of the others were picked on quite brutally!