Just Back from Sovereign....a Mini -Review!

[Host Caroline]

As usual Sovereign delivered a great 4-night getaway but the great thing about THIS cruise was the perfect weather for this "not liking hot weather" person;) .. high 70s, sunny... just a chilly sailaway.

I will do a review but a few random thoughts....

 

Cabin: had an obstructed OV on deck 8.. cabin is tiny in "king bed" config but we were truly only in there for a while and it was fine.. storage was okay for 4 nights. Bit of an odd odor in the bathroom occasionally but not bad.

Ship: great layout ex. for crowds in atrium.. Main complaint: turn on the A/C.. I'm usually cold on ships but they seemed to have a heat/air issue.. it was quite warm most of the time

Dining: Will never never do early dining again.... love the "Anytime" concept... 6:00 was way too early and 8:30 too late.. food was okay, not great.. Did have tablemate issues for only 2nd time in 30+ cruises and head waiter Bruno was a gem getting us table for 2 when it was really crowded.. Windjammer Marketplace a good concept... enjoyed using C&A coupons at Johnny Rockets but soft drinks should be included IMHO.

Embark/Disemark: Platinum embark and priority disembark a huge plus! Although we did express disembark and were off at 7:25.. we would have been second off with priority disembark.

Entertainment: Dueling Pianos are great in Boleros late on 3 evenings; too much Latin music = it was fun but they need a "top 40's" lounge.. Didn't go to any shows... Voltage disco was really good... good crowd, good mix of music.. we stayed up way way late twice we were having so much fun! :D AND we had a great Quest team = this is on last night at 11 in Voltages and hilarous even if you don't play. Took dance lessons twice, played trivia and name that tune and won great RCI caps! They had lots of pool activities on sea day for those that like to be busy. We just vegged out on the comfy cushioned chairs on Promenade and read!

 

CocoCay: our fav private island.. kayak seats are miserable unless you take the "kayak tour" but water was calm and still fun... lots lots of hammocks.. loved walking the beach, esp. down by Walkers Beach where tide was out and it was very uncrowded. BBQ lunch was excellent and . CocoLoco gets my vote for drink of the day anytime... Oh, and the rooster drinking rum punch on a picnic table def. got my vote for "picture of the day"!;)

Did the Thriller Powerboat in Nassau "just because"... it's lots of fun and would be a great tour on a very hot summer day...not as fast as thought it would be but we are "speed people"...

Overall: Love Sovereign for short cruises and CocoCay is a plus altho they coudl skip Nassau.. CocoCay and Key West were it closer and doable would be my choice... hey, RCI, how about 5-nighters on that itin from Port Canaveral????? Food was not as good as on Princess but not bad either... just a bit bland although the duck was excellent on formal night.

We don't like "big" ships i.e. Freedom of the Seas etc. are not appealing to us and wish they would build some more Sovereign-size with bigger cabins! Now that would be nigh near perfect.

That being said and even though it's bigger (been on Mariner once and loved it) we are looking forward to Western Caribbean on the Mariner of the Seas next Jan. 13, 2008!!!

C'mon and join the CC group!!!!:D

[Nano]

Loved your review! I'm a fellow Tarheel sailing on the Sovereign for the first time on 2/16 (President's Weekend). It will be me, my good friend Karen (both mid-40's) and our daughters, 13, 12 and 11. My family has only been on the Mariner (3 times now) so we're not really sure what to expect. Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for the review...

[veryhotred]

Thanks for the review!! I too will be going on the Sov for my first RCI cruise in May, 5/7/07, looking forward to it! We are taking the kids 6 & 7 on their first cruise, yay!!!

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thanks Caroline :D We would love the "anytime" dining concept as well.

 

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[princess402]

You mentioned that you had a cabin on Deck 8. My mom and brother, and myself and my partner are sailing on the Sovereign at the end of April. My mom and brother are staying on Deck 8 and myself and my partner are booked on the interior of Deck 3.

 

How are the deck 8 cabins? Do you get a lot of noise and/or lights from the promenade deck on Deck 7? My mom knows it is an obstructed view, but I just want to make sure the cabin is ok otherwise, and also my partner are kind of on the fence as to whether we should upgrade to Deck 8 so we can be closer to them. Any thoughts?

[uksimonusa]

You mentioned that you had a cabin on Deck 8. My mom and brother, and myself and my partner are sailing on the Sovereign at the end of April. My mom and brother are staying on Deck 8 and myself and my partner are booked on the interior of Deck 3.

 

How are the deck 8 cabins? Do you get a lot of noise and/or lights from the promenade deck on Deck 7? My mom knows it is an obstructed view, but I just want to make sure the cabin is ok otherwise, and also my partner are kind of on the fence as to whether we should upgrade to Deck 8 so we can be closer to them. Any thoughts?

 

Would much rather be on deck 8 than deck 3. Closer to everything, and even the obstructed view cabins are better with the light, and you still get a sea view. Normally not much of a price difference between deck 3 and 8:)

[wolfcathorse]

Caroline - don't you love Bruno! I had his pic but my digital botched it. He was a great head waiter.