Back from Sovereign...here is my review

[Clemson Cruiser]

Pre cruise-drove down from South Carolina on Sunday. Arrived at the Radisson around 3:30pm. We checked out the rooms, and the pool area.

 

Ate dinner next door at the Italian Restaurant Kelsey’s. Huge portions and wonderful food.

Embarkation Day: got to the port around 12:00 noon

 

and on the ship by 12:30pm. Headed straight to the Windjammer for lunch. There was a very nice selection of salads, deli fixings, fruit, meats, veggies and of course dessert. The Asian bar also was one of my favorites.

Next stop was to check out our rooms. We have a family of four and had two inside rooms on deck 4, 4589 and 4591. Our cabin steward was Darciano, and she did a wonderful job, and was always accessible to let us in our cabin when our kids locked us out! Both rooms were well equipped for two. The new bedding was wonderful. We did not have shelves in the closet, so it was easiest to live out of our suitcases which fit under the table between the two beds. No complaints with the rooms other than our TV remote stopped working on day 3. I left a note for Darciano, and she had it taken care of before we returned. During the cruise, we had no toilet problems or any funky smells that some have experienced.

[Clemson Cruiser]

After this Adventure Ocean had an open house and pre-registration so we headed up to deck 9 to register our four year old and eleven year old sons. They both loved Adventure Ocean and their counselors, and this really helped to make our vacation special (especially since it gave their dad and I a break!).

Around 2pm, we headed to the pool deck, and grabbed a couple of chairs. The aft pool was closed, and actually didn’t open until late the next day.

We got a couple of foo foo drinks and a bucket of beers for us, and non alcoholic drinks for the kids.

It was a nice breezy day, much milder than usual for Florida. We left the pool around 4pm to get our life jackets and head to the muster drill.

 

After the muster drill, back to the cabin to get ready for dinner, and head back to the pool deck for the sail away party.

We had main seating in the Mirage Dining room, table 450. We had a table for ten. We were traveling with our family of four, My parents and My husband’s parents. In addition to our party of eight, they sat a mother and daughter at our table. Our server was Anneline from South Africa,

 

and assistant Daniel from the Phillipines. They were two of the best servers that we have ever had. Tonight I had the infamous onion tart,

 

and the Prime Rib. Both were very good.

At 8pm, Adventure Ocean had a Welcome aboard presentation in Boleros. This is a wonderful way to “break the ice” if your child is shy or unsure whether they want to participate in the kid’s program. Immediately after the show, you head to Adventure Ocean to sign your kids in for their first chance to attend the kid’s club ( and the parent’s first break!). My husband and I then headed to the Casino to make our nightly donations. I had never experienced tighter slots than on this trip. I could lose $20 in less than five

minutes, even on the quarter slots. We always bring money to blow, just in the Casino, so no big problem…but it’s always nice to win! My husband and I took turns watching our 4 year old, and tonight was my night. At 10pm we picked him up from Adventure Ocean (no late night party zone for him) and went to Sorrento’s for pizza. After this, my husband heads back to the casino to kill time (and lose money) until he can pick up our oldest son who was attending the late night party zone (until 1 AM!). On the way back to our cabin, my youngest son fills me in on the alien they learned about in Adventure Ocean, who climbs on your bed and leaves the chocolates on your pillow!

[Clemson Cruiser]

Day 2 Coco Cay…or not?

I wake up at 7 am and start packing the beach bag and snorkel sets for our big day at Coco Cay (keep in mind that we have an inside room). If I had been able to see outside, and remembered the fact that the ship “Rocked and Rolled” all night I would have realized that Coco Cay was not going to happen today. At 8 am, the Captain and cruise director made an announcement. No worries though…we are going to go on Thursday, and have today at sea. The revised Compass with new activities was ready by 9am.

[Clemson Cruiser]

This morning, my husband and I took turns eating in the Windjammer (my youngest slept until 9am!), and then off to Adventure Ocean to drop off the boys until noon. My husband and I went to the Loyalty Ambassador to check on why he wasn’t gold status, and did not receive his coupon book. I also checked on our two boys crown and anchor membership (which was supposed to start on May 19th). She helped us with all our issues and we received all of the coupon books, including the new youth C &A membership booklets.

[Clemson Cruiser]

At 11:00 am we went to Voltages to play bingo. Bingo was $35 for five games, and $10 additional for the “Bingo Dog”, which of course I had to buy! They had me sold when I heard that you can get “buy one get one free” drinks of the day.

 

Today’s drink of the day was Mango Tango by the way! “Bingo Mama” was hilarious. I won’t give away any of her lines, but DO NOT come in late or leave early…you will be humiliated!!! We were not lucky at bingo today, and it was time to head to Adventure Ocean to pick up the kids for lunch.

After picking up the boys, we headed to the pool to find chairs. We brought our food from the Windjammer, and ate by the pool.

Tonight was formal night. Before dinner, my in-laws had a wine and cheese tray delivered for my husband and I for our anniversary. For dinner, I had the filet of beef, which was a little different than I expected. Rather than a tenderloin cut, it was sliced and resembled roast beef. Not complaining, it was wonderful, just different than I was used to.

[Clemson Cruiser]

After dinner, we returned to our rooms and found our Crown and Anchor gifts were delivered. Instead of the pleather picture frames, we each had a canvas shoulder bag. Very nice.

 

In addition to the bags, my youngest son had a set of Crayola twistable crayons,

 

and my 11 year old had a very nice messenger bag.

[Clemson Cruiser]

Tonight was my night off from watching our youngest son, so I went with my mom to Karaoke. This was very entertaining. Most people were really good, except for the really drunk couple at the end. After Karaoke, we stayed for the Quest. All I can say is Wow! I have never seen one, and I cannot believe what people will do for a keychain!

Went to pick up my oldest son at Adventure Ocean, and headed back to the room at 1am.

 

Day 3 Nassau

Our family of four ate breakfast at the Windjammer. We took the kids to AO around 9:30am, and headed to Nassau and the straw market. I bought a Prada knockoff purse, and we bought a few souvenirs for the boys. There was a huge parade with a band, and most people were dressed up for some sort of celebration.

[Clemson Cruiser]

We went back to the ship to drop off our purchases, and grab a bite at the Windjammer. The kids were staying for lunch at AO, so we had a long break today. After lunch, we headed to the water taxi for the trip over to Atlantis.

 

[RCCLCARIB]

THANKS SO MUCH!!! Great Pictures

[Clemson Cruiser]

At Atlantis, we played the casino, and lost. We also checked out the grounds outside as far as the visitors were allowed to go.

[Clemson Cruiser]

On the return trip, the water taxi dropped us off directly in front of Senior Frogs, so we had to go in! We thought we would have a drink, but ended up spending the rest of the afternoon there. I can see how people can miss the ship after spending time there! It was a memorable experience. Too bad our camera battery died, so no pictures.

Our kids ate with the Adventure Ocean staff tonight, so we had a pleasant dinner. I ordered the Angus top sirloin off the alternative menu, and it was wonderful. The dining room was fairly empty tonight, I guess with being in Nassau, and us having early dining. Tonight was my night for 4 yr old duty. I checked in Adventure Ocean around 9:15pm, and he was ready to leave, because he had been there most of the day. Went to the Windjammer for cookies and milk, and they had just closed…but one of the servers saw us and opened the doors for us (yeah!). That made my night easier…try telling a 4 year old that he couldn’t have cookies before bed!

[Clemson Cruiser]

Day 4 Coco Cay? Nope, missed it again. We got the announcement around 8 am that it was too dangerous for tendering to shore. I hated to tell our boys that we were not going to have a beach day today. They understood, and thank goodness for Adventure Ocean to help keep them entertained today! We made the best of it and ordered Coco Loco’s by the pool side.

 

We did lunch at Johnny Rockets today. It was awesome.

[Clemson Cruiser]

They brought out a huge plate of fries and onion rings.

We all had huge cheeseburgers,

Cokes, and the oreo sundaes for dessert. Our waiter was terrific, and he really interacted with the kids, making their experience memorable. We had four coupons that covered the cost of the meals, but not the cokes. Even at $3.95 a person it would still have been a reasonable cost for all of the food and the experience. It looked like they were serving the Coco Cay BBQ lunch in the Windjammer at lunch today.

[alwalaska]

Thank you for the review. I am loving the pictures and information.

 

I have a few questions for you.

 

1) Do you have any pictures of your cabin?

 

2) Were you able to have time for both dinner and the sail-away party? How did this work?

 

3) We are not sailing with our kids this time, but what was the AO Welcome abord presentation like? Did they do a little mini-show or was it simply advertising for AO?

 

I may think of more questions as I continue to read, but I don't want my post to time-out.

 

Thanks again.

[Clemson Cruiser]

At 3pm, my 11 year old tried the rock climbing wall

 

Tonight was our last dinner in the dining room. It was also our server, Anneline’s birthday, and my father in law had bought her a bouquet from the flower cart in the Centrum. You could tell that she was overwhelmed and had to take a moment to compose herself. She said that she was missing home, and that it really helped to brighten her day. :) The service was wonderful as usual, and I had the NY strip and it was fantastic.

After dinner, both kids went to Adventure Ocean and both were going to stay for the late night party zone (10pm-1am). My husband and I headed to the casino for our last night of donations, and then went to the Liar, Liars Club show in the Follies lounge. This was hilarious (but very adult oriented). Mark the Cruise director was in rare form. The ship started “rocking and rolling” pretty hard tonight, probably as bad as I have ever experienced. I had not given the kids any Bonine, so we went up to check on them around 11:30pm, and brought the 4 year old back to the room.

 

Thank goodness he fell asleep!

The 11 year old was having too much fun playing Gagaball, and wouldn’t think of leaving. Many, many people were seasick. On deck 9, I had to dodge luggage and vomit the entire hallway leading to Adventure Ocean (yuck). After 11:30pm the ship was a virtual ghost town! Around midnight, my oldest son and I went to Sorrento’s for a quick bite, and we were the only people there. Any other night, it was standing room only, since it was one of the few places to eat past 10:00pm.

[Clemson Cruiser]

Debarkation Day

Woke around 6:45 am. No breakfast for us. I did manage to purchase our photos this morning. Nothing like waiting til the last minute! We were first to be called, after diamond members so we were off around 7:45am. This was the easier debarkation I have ever experienced.

General Comments:

We had a wonderful time, and tried to make the best of the Coco Cay situation. We live near the coast, so missing the beach to us wasn’t catastrophic, but many were highly disappointed. I think many passengers would have booked a beach excursion in Nassau, had they realized we would miss Coco Cay. I guess they didn’t realize that we could miss it twice!

When we booked our rooms in January it was cheaper for us to book two rooms, than to book a quad because third and fourth persons were actually HIGHER in price than first and second.

The service on the Sovereign was better than on our Carnival Glory cruise last year.

If you cruise in a separate stateroom from your husband, bring two cameras (one for each of you), and also go to the Purser’s desk to get a key to each other’s staterooms. We did not do either of these, but it would have made it easier if we had.

[Clemson Cruiser]

rcclcarib, you are welcome:)

 

alwalaska,

 

1) unfortunately very few cabin photos. :(

 

2) I missed maybe the first 15 minutes of sailaway, because I was still getting ready:o . The first 15 minutes of Port Canaveral are the best too... I completely missed Jetty park. I guess you could dress for dinner prior to Muster, than head to the pool deck afterwards.

 

3) AO welcome aboard...They introduced the entire AO staff, and gave a rundown of the activities planned for the week. They also played music, and had everyone stand for a few dance moves. :D

[Clemson Cruiser]

The cruise director was Mike Szwajkowski, not Mark, like I stated above, lol.

[cruiseapril]

What a fun review. Thanks. We enjoyed the Sovereign.

[webteach]

Greatest review! What fun to read and see the pictures! Thanks.

[firefly333]

Great review, must be extra good day, another one with pictures was on the Carnival site for Conquest....and as luck would have it Im booked that cruise and this one.

 

We have the SOV for Sept 24, so I will be getting off the day of my birthday. I hope we have as good of a time as you made it sound. Id like to see any pics of cabins as well, as Iv heard they are small on this ship, but we are not picky, so if you dont have them we still appreciate all the hard work you put into this great review.

 

thanks from me too.

[alwalaska]

Thank you for the additional information. One more question, if we are fast at getting ready for dinner, do you think we can get ready after the sail away party? Again, we will be sailing without our kids.:)

[Hatsoff389]

Very nice review. Great idea to put pictures in your review!!!

[amybear912]

Great pictures! I loved your review. It really reminded me of our Sovereign cruise last year.

 

My sister was on your cruise!!! She was one of those that was highly disappointed about missing Coco Cay:(

 

BTW, you were right about the "filet" that you were served as being different from what you were used to... that's because it's not really filet. DH is a chef so when he had it, he immediately knew that it wasn't filet and was a bit disappointed that it was presented as such. Still tasty, just not what it was advertised to be.

 

Thanks again for your review...

[OliverTheCat]

I loved looking at your photos and reading your review.

 

Did you really feel the ship moving about? I am set to sail Sovereign in October for my 30th birthday, and am nervous the motion will really get to me since its a much smaller ship than I am used to.

 

Oh yeah, and GO CLEMSON! I too am a tiger fan :)