Sovereign of Seas 10/12/07-10/15/07-Pleasantly Surprised!(long)

[OliverTheCat]

Sovereign of Seas Cruise Review:

Sailing: 3 Night – October 12, 2007 – October 15, 2007

Intro:

My husband purchased this cruise to celebrate my 30th birthday. We booked this cruise about a year ago. He gave me a choice of Sovereign or Disney Wonder. Now, Disney is my personal favorite cruise line, but I also love Royal. The Wonder’s price was just too high for that week’s sailing, so I chose Sovereign. After all the bad things I have recently read on these boards about Sovereign of the Seas, I wondered if I made a bad decision as I got closer to our cruise date. Some recent threads called SOS the “worst experience ever” “rust and stains all over the ship” and “sewage smell so bad I wondered if it was effecting my health breathing it in.” Lucky for us that Sovereign of the Seas turned out to be a very pleasant surprise of a ship!!!!

Arrival to Sovereign of Seas:

We arrived at the pier at 12:30 PM, a bit later than our normal 11:00 AM. They started boarding the ship promptly at 11:30 this sailing, so I was worried I would encounter a long line. NOPE! We were through all checkpoints and got sea pass cards within 15 minutes total. I have to say that drastic improvements have been made with the pier staff at Port Canaveral since my Mariner cruise in March of 2007. Before, I thought the staff (who work for the Port, not RCI) from the parking area to the check in were some of the rudest human beings I have ever encountered (that obviously hated their jobs). This time around everyone was so sincere, smiles all around, and never hesitated to wish you a happy sailing. Good feeling getting on board.

Cabin:

We walked into the Sovereign and I felt welcome right away by staff and crew. At this time our room was already ready, so we went upstairs to drop off carry on. We had an ocean view (porthole) on deck 2. Cabin #2598, midship. YES, the room is super small, but quite honestly it was truly big enough for both husband and I. I don’t think I would ever need more than that for a short cruise. Porthole was about 18" across. Big enough to see out of with no issues. New linens are on the bed, which I thought were a lot more appealing than the loud bedspread RCI used to have. The mattress did not feel new, but I slept ok on it. I just wished the pillows were fluffier. They were flat as pancakes. The closet is ample with a lot of hangers, and a lot of side shelves. We did not even use drawers in small vanity. 1250 watt hairdryer WITH diffuser was in our room. The room was free of stains on carpets and actually seemed to have no less wear to it than our Mariner balcony cabin…until I opened bathroom door. Ok, the bathroom IS SUPER TINY!!!! I think I am a fairly thin girl, and I even felt claustrophobic in there. You can literally reach shower and sink from toilet. Shaving legs was going to be a real challenge. Shower curtain never stuck to you like it did on the Legend of Seas, and I think that is because it only opens at one end so its less likely to move around while you are in there. The bathroom did show a lot of wear. There was real bad rust all over by doorway, and the shower needed a bit of re-grouting IMO. The water from shower does get all over the floor in bathroom though because the shower is so small there is nowhere else for it to go. There is a drain so it eventually goes down there, but ewh, I don’t want to step in a puddle of water when I get OUT of the shower. I think bathroom improvements need to be made for cabins. Since it’s a haven for germs, why not make it cleaner to the eye? It kinda felt dirty in there each time I was in there due to the rust and the grout issues. We never had toilet flush issues, as I have read on many other posts. Worked fine all the time.

Sewage Smell:

Ok, the “SEWAGE SMELL” was definitely apparent on my deck 2. I smelled it the first time we walked down hall. It was not completely horrible, and you kinda get used to it by end of cruise. Our bathroom really had that smell when we walked in first time. The air freshener we bought masked the smell, and by the time night rolled around it was no longer in our room, just in hallway of deck 2. I was not gonna complain about it. It wasn’t horrific. But it was there, so I will pass along I did encounter it, and the rumors are true. Just make sure you bring air freshener for room because with such close quarters, it really is a MUST. As for other places, I only smelled the sewage smell on Deck 4 a few times, but never on any other deck.

Windjammer Buffet:

For the buffet I was SO SURPRISED to see wonderful selections over and over for this cruise!!!!!! We also ate in Windjammer for 2 of 3 dinners, 2 breakfasts, and 2 lunches, and had no issues finding selections to eat. For dinner on past cruises, we did dining room on Navigator and Mariner, and both times did not have great service and mediocre menu selections, so we chose buffet for dinner on our past Legend cruise and this one as well. I do not eat meat every single day, and the Jade portion of buffet did have some tofu and/or meatless entrée offerings, including sushi. I was even given tofu for salad when I asked for it. Also, they have a salad and fruit area with plenty of offerings, including some great Mediterranean items, including a tasty veggie dish with goat cheese. There was a taco bar 2 days, a pasta bar where chef can create your own sauce, carving station of meat, and so much more. Breakfast had a pancake station, and eggs made to order as you like them. If you need soy milk, as I do for cereal, just ask an attendant for it, they will gladly go in the back and get you a glass of it. It is not out in cartons like regular milk is. The food was always at the temperature it should have been, and I never had any issues in regard to taste. Everything was very good and filled me up at Windjammer. If you go hungry at Sovereign’s Windjammer, then something is wrong. If you wanted to know what they had a free drink stations, it was lemonade, water, iced tea, and fruit punch. There is a station set up to buy soda right by free drink station. I got a coke one time. I think it was $1.95. One gripe I did have is that Windjammer did not open up the 2nd side most of cruise. Chair space was very limited due to this, and the buffet lines were long and uncozy for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was less busy so it worked out ok.

Food - Sorrentos Pizza, Johnny Rockets, midnight buffet:

Sorry I did not eat in dining room this entire cruise so I cannot comment on it. Don’t even know what it looked like, or what deck it was on. Sorrentos ended up being the place we would go to hold ourselves over between lunch and dinner. There were about 4 selections of pizza, including vegetable, cheese, pepperoni, and chili beef. I always ended up getting slices right out of oven so they were nice and hot and crust was crunchy. I thought the pizza tasted fine. The place was always busy. Just don’t go in there expecting pizzeria pizza. Just take it for what it is. Someone recently said they got wings at Sorrentos. I never saw wings in there on my sailing, unfortunately.

We love Johnny Rockets here at home, and we had a great time eating there on our Mariner cruise, so since we did not get to eat lunch while in Nassau, we were ready and hungry for our burgers and onion rings that night. We both know that the food there is SO filling you really have to go in there on an empty stomach to indulge in a shake, burger, and onion rings. Yes, it’s a $3.95 cover, but C&A members have the free coupons in there book to eat there. Also, shakes and soft drinks do cost extra. The staff in Johnny Rockets were my favorite of entire cruise. SOOOOOO friendly! Our server was a sweetheart. They really keep the place spotless from what we saw. Even cleaning napkin dispensers after a party leaves. Very good experience.

We were still way too stuffed to eat when midnight buffet rolled around, and I do believe I have been too full every single Royal cruise so far to enjoy it. Honestly I am kinda glad I am full because the line is always too long for my liking to enjoy some real heavy food at midnight. My body probably thanks me every time for NOT indulging. This time I couldn’t even get down there to photograph the fruit carvings and ice statutes it was just too packed.

Sovereign staff and entertainment:

We had Captain James MacDonald on this sailing. Seemed like a nice enough guy. Never saw him on decks roaming around though.

Our Cruise Director was Chris Northey of Canada. I had not heard of him talked about on Cruise Critic before. Chris was a neat guy, very very handsome to look at, and did a good job as a Cruise Director. Kept us laughing at Quest, and hosted it well. The rest of activities staff were riots. Especially the redheaded guy (can’t remember his name!!!). He was crazy!!

Lovvy was our stateroom attendant. I really thought she was a sweetheart. Never intrusive, always in halls to say hello with a smile, and cleaned room up as it should look.

The bands on board were super this cruise!!! The band in Boleros Mambo Caliente, had a really good female lead singer, and I loved their sound. It was sad that Boleros was empty every single night during their sets, and only got busy for karaoke and salsa lesson. Boleros was very spacious on this ship compared to voyager class ships, and I really liked that. The soft piano player in Schooner Bar, Marek, was also very talented, as was Rosario Strings playing in promenade area on deck 4 but very light on crowds!! Honestly, I see why they are slowly getting rid of live music on Royal if that is what bands are dealing with…empty clubs while they play. The band in Boleros really deserved an audience and I felt bad for them. The pool band, Extra was my favorite pool calypso band to date. Very talented group of guys, and they really set a great mood at pool each and every time we were there. I never even used my Ipod while out there because I enjoyed them that much. When they had set breaks, the recorded music was of great variety and suited all age groups.

Welcome show and exit show by RCI singers and dancers was of your standard show. I personally thought the songs and dance choreography were a bit cheesy, but that is me. I enjoyed RCI shows a bit more on other ships. I liked the set up of Follies Theater on Sovereign. The couches were cozy. We did have a magician show the night we were in Nassau, but I was too tired to make that one and was napping to get ready to get up by midnight for sailaway. I really really loved the comedian on board, Phil Tag. He did a clean show at the first variety show, and then a late night adult comedy act last night of cruise. The late night act really had me and husband rolling in aisles. He was hilarious! I want to catch him next time he comes by Orlando area for a show. I met Phil after show and he seemed to be a really nice guy. He was giving everyone autographs and taking photos.

Voltage was a great late night club. The music catered to the people in there. We had a lot of different groups on board, of different cultures, and the DJ made sure to cater to whatever music people wanted to hear, and took requests. I do wish there was more 80s music mixed in though. I only got to hear one good dance track from 80s. Most of what was played was current hip hop music, but that was what majority wanted to hear. It is always fun people watching in these clubs in the late hour. That is entertainment all of its own.

Nassau, CocoCay, and weather issues:

We woke up for our Nassau day to see very dark clouds and rain outside. The waves were rough as well. I went up to the gym to do a workout as we pulled into Nassau. Great view from there! We had the yellowbird party boat excursion planned, and I was sure it was going to have to be canceled. By 1:00 PM when we met for the excursion on pier, it was just lightly raining, and we were told we were going to go forth with our excursion. The yellowbird was A LOT of fun. There were not too many of us from Sovereign booked on that so they paired us up with a group from one of the Carnival ships. I was not sure I was gonna like that too much, but it ended up being a great group of partiers, and not overly boisterous. While on the beach part of excursion (Blackbeards Cay) it started raining very heavy. We had ponchos in our bag so we just put them on and stayed on the lounge chairs. The beach was very small, but plenty of room to swim. The boat was definitely rocking in waves on way back. I really liked the song selections they did on the party boat. Even though it was pouring sideways rain on way back, we still managed to have a fun drunken time J We went to Senor Frogs afterwards to complete our fun. The rain subsided on our walk back to ship. It never got sunny, but at least it was dry for a bit. The Bohemian Café had closed already, so I didn’t get to get my conch fritters and grilled lobster this sailing. I was craving them, but I will have to wait til’ next trip.

The waves were so rough on Sunday that we had to bypass CoCo Cay. The tenders were rocking soooo much. I would not have wanted to get on that thing rocking like that. I really wish we could have stopped, considering weather in Nassau the previous day, and sun was out Sunday, but Captain was right, and waves were way too dangerous. One lady told me she had been on Sovereign 10 times and has only seen CoCo Cay one time due to tenders not being able to be used. Doesn’t get my hopes up too much about ever stopping here. I wish there was a substitute port we could stop in instead because I am not a fan of sea days like my husband is. I like to get out and see things on trips. In any case, we enjoyed the pool activities today and just laying around lazy. It was a good day.

They had a poolside BBQ this day with the hamburgers, hotdogs, BBQ chicken, and fresh sliced fruit.

Sports Fans (games shown onboard):

What a neat thing to have an NFL football party for sports fans football Sunday. They showed the Packers/Redskins game on the big screen tv in Voltage lounge, opened up bar, and severed hot dogs and stuff for food.

For my husband’s beloved Cowboys game, it was on the stateroom tv on 6 channels!!! Also, a few college football games were shown on Saturday in the Viking Crowne Lounge, and Baseball playoffs were shown each and every night on the big screen in Voltage. You can be at other end of club and still see the tv from your seat if you want to watch the playoffs.

Stateroom TV:

First of all, I really loved how tv was on wall and not on vanity. Saves room in a small stateroom. Lots of great movies were shown on stateroom tv, including Pirates of Caribbean, Breach, Oceans 13, License to Wed, Premonition, Shrek the Third, etc. ESPN, Fox News, and CNN were also on there. I missed the channel that shows the distance sailed, weather, etc. that is on larger ships. One night TCM was on the TV and they were showing the Exorcist unsensored in there. I awoke from my nap to find that on tv and was kinda freaky, haha. I think The Way We Were was on before I fell asleep. BIG CHANGE!!!!

Overall:

I really honestly think the Sovereign was my favorite atmosphere cruise so far on RCI. The passengers on this sailing were sooo nice for the most part. There was a group of college age kids from Europe that had a really rude ‘ringleader’ kid that did not want to follow rules, swam in pool in his see through underwear because “he could”, would tell staff off in French, steal people’s pool deck chairs, including mine, smoke wherever he wanted to, and just was LOUD, but that is about the only problem I had. I really thought the passengers on this ship were the most friendly I have EVER encountered, including on Disney. So many strangers willing to strike up conversations with you all over ship, and just a fun friendly group of people. This is why I would not hesitate to sail Sovereign of Seas one more time before it leaves fleet. I am trying to talk husband into another cruise before that occurs, but we have Enchantment booked for May 2008, so I doubt it will happen. We only had about 50 children on board this sailing according to staff. Most of the crowd was college age and adults. There were over 30 honeymoon couples, and at least 2 weddings on board. I really just loved the overall mood of this sailing. Nobody seemed stuffy, snooty, or grouchy, which I have seem on other sailings. Kinda a “go with the flow” mood. The ship may be older, but honestly, I still think Sovereign is a beauty. The ship was in waaaay better overall condition than Legend of the Seas was, which WAS showing its age. Sovereign actually appeared to just have a paintjob on outside body, but I am unsure. Sure looked bright and shiny to me. While Mariner may remain as the prettiest ship in the fleet so far for me, Sovereign takes reigns as my favorite OVERALL experience so far. I only wish all cruises could have such a good atmosphere. It was a very good birthday indeed.

Final notes:

1) This ship did not have that horrid $20 “lose your pool towel” policy that all my other RCI cruises did. You could freely get a towel from attendant at pool as needed. I HOPE they have discontinued the $20 lose it policy fleet wide.

2) The photographers are getting a bit ridiculous. After you get your Welcome Aboard picture taken (which by the way was a sticker shock to see at $19.95 for a 2 “photo package” of same print in 2 sizes for purchase at photo gallery. #1 I don’t need 2 of same photo, #2 why not still have option of just buying 1 of 2? This has changed since my Mariner 2007 cruise.) Also, in Nassau, they take 3 separate photos of you as you get off boat. 1 with a pirate, another with life preserver, and 3rd with ship in background. The one with pirate irritated me because he would NOT do group photos. Just you and him, that’s it. This is obviously to get you to buy more photos. ANNOYING.

3) Formal night is almost non-existent on the 3 night sailing. So, if you want to get your family all dressed up just to do it, take some nice formal pictures, or whatever, go ahead. Just know, on this sailing, 80% of passengers are in shorts, jeans, or casual attire. For a 3 night sailing we also did not want to haul formal wear with us, because that is an extra suitcase for us. Obviously most people felt same way. For this sailing I think that is fine. For longer cruises, I like to participate in formal night. From what I saw, majority of people had on jeans, shorts, and club wear for night time.

4) Henry the vacuum (for us Friends of Henry) was missing on this sailing. The imposter with “Nanceco” written on its head was vacuuming my deck. He had eyes and seemed happy cleaning up for everyone, but it was NOT Henry!! I saw a little red vacuum being dragged around by its hose in the Follies Theater, but I don’t think that was a Henry either.

5) Getting off ship was slowest EVER for us. They were short Customs agents, and due to high number of international sailors on this cruise, it just really held things up. We did not even get off ship until 10:00 AM. We were supposed to be off the ship by 8:55 AM. Lined moved slower than molasses. At least the Port Canaveral staff was friendly this go around, unlike Mariner.

6) Casino – tightest slots on the high seas! I did not seem like to many people were winning big bucks in there at any game.

7) Is there a free frozen yogurt stand on Sovereign? If so, we could not find it!!

8) I was told this sailing was completely sold out solid. I never felt the crowd on this cruise, except at the Windjammer for lunch on last sea day. Always able to find a chair right by the pool!!! The ship never ever felt like a sardine can, even at sailaway. I havent been able to say that for any past cruise I have been on, including Disney. For such a small ship you would think you WOULD feel the crowd, but nope!!

Do not hesitate to book Sovereign of Seas. It may not have the bells and whistles of the big big ships, but it is perfect for a short little cruise!!!

[PH8]

Thanks for that review.....funny,how some love her,some hate her.......oh well, glad you had a good time....

 

BTW-the frozen yogurt is directly above(go up the stairs) the Pool bar.......It is sorta hidden......dont know why,but thats where it is:) (on the deck plans, it is where the Mast Bar is)

[OliverTheCat]

Thanks for that review.....funny,how some love her,some hate her.......oh well, glad you had a good time....

 

BTW-the frozen yogurt is directly above(go up the stairs) the Pool bar.......It is sorta hidden......dont know why,but thats where it is:) (on the deck plans, it is where the Mast Bar is)

 

 

Hey thanks for letting me know about he yogurt. I knew I should have asked about it, I just had figured they didnt have it on this ship since its usally so out in open. I dont think I ever even saw someone with a cone though..so maybe it was shut down for service.

[mom3kids]

Thank you so much for the review. DH and I are going 10-26 and I loved reading all the details. We went last year and had an awesome time. This time we are going casual and do not plan on stepping foot in the dining room either. Can you tell me more about what the Windjammer had to eat for dinner? I wondered how much from the dining room they had in there. Thanks again :p .

[OliverTheCat]

Thank you so much for the review. DH and I are going 10-26 and I loved reading all the details. We went last year and had an awesome time. This time we are going casual and do not plan on stepping foot in the dining room either. Can you tell me more about what the Windjammer had to eat for dinner? I wondered how much from the dining room they had in there. Thanks again :p .

 

While I do not know what the menu was for dining room (although I assume it has not changed since my last cruise) I honestly dont too many if any of the entrees or appetizers were in Windjammer for dinner. I never saw a steak or shrimp in there (except baby shrimp for salad). I thought I saw the lamb and chicken marsala dishes, but I bypassed both. They did have some of the soups they offer in dining room though. Trust me, there is so much food in there for dinner you wont miss the meals in dining room, IMO. I think the pasta bar where you can create your own pasta sauce was a great station. I could do a spicy red sauce with vegatables of my choice if I wanted, a basic olive oil and basil sauce with vegatables if I wanted. I really liked the variety. The oatmeal raisin cookies were yummy at dessert station as well!!

[Gator0178]

Thanks for the review. I have been on her many times and sail again in APril '08. Glad you had fun despite the weather.

[kittymom65]

Thanks for the excellent, well written review!

We do love the Sovereign, hope to get in one more before she leaves.

[karena1]

Thanks for the great review. We love SOS and have 3 more booked for next year before she leaves. We will miss her, but since Monarch was our first ever cruise, we are looking forward to having her be our new 3 night cruise ship! So glad you had a good time. We also feel the crowd is very relaxed and we also don't dress formal for the 3 night. Love to dress for the 7 night, but just not take all the extra stuff for the 3 night. Pretty much any goes for dress and no one ever feels out of place.

 

Again, glad you had such a great time.

[dagadget]

Excellent Review 3 of us are booked on Sovereign for March 31st 2008 4 nighter and we look forward to Sovereign.

 

 

Thanks :)

[cruiseapril]

Enjoyed your review. Glad you mentioned Rosario Strings. We thought they were excellent. We enjoyed every aspect of our Sovereign cruise.

[Suedog]

Cruise on Sovereign the day after Thanksgiving so enjoyed your review. Do have a question on football viewing: do they show more than 1 game or is there only 1 tv in the lounge? Any other bar/lounges that showed games? My daughter is a Bears fan (big time)& since that Sunday is also her birthday she has mentioned wanting to see the game if we can find it on. :) by the way our cat's name is OLIVER (AKA O-Man)

THANKS! Mary Kay

[fl-raybee]

Thanks Oliver The Cat for your review. I was on the 5 day cruise just before you and had a great time. Arrived at 1130 am and on the ship by 1130 No wait what- so- ever. We were off the ship by 730 am. This was the best ever embarkation and debarkation of any cruise, I have ever been on. Some notes. No problem at all getting to COCO CAY by tenders and getting back to the ship. Lots of lounge chairs, tables, and food. We were by the volly ball courts and had a blast. There's a bar next to the courts. In Nassau we had a group of us go to the Wyndham Resort at Cable beach, by way of Jittney #10 for 1 dollar per person and paid 15 dollars at the Wyndham for use of their Facs. The pool was closed so we walked to the Sheridan and enjoyed their pools and Facs. Went snorkling off the beach by the rocks and saw many fish and large barracuda. My DW and her friend had a great time at the pool bar with Robert the bartender. On our way back to the ship we all stopped at the Fish Fry for local sea food. Conch fritters, Cracked Conch Fried, and fresh fried grouper,and lots of beer. The jitney took us back to town. Ray

[OliverTheCat]

Cruise on Sovereign the day after Thanksgiving so enjoyed your review. Do have a question on football viewing: do they show more than 1 game or is there only 1 tv in the lounge? Any other bar/lounges that showed games? My daughter is a Bears fan (big time)& since that Sunday is also her birthday she has mentioned wanting to see the game if we can find it on. :) by the way our cat's name is OLIVER (AKA O-Man)

THANKS! Mary Kay

 

There was 1 big screen tv in Voltage lounge which is where they showed a game at 1pm and a game at 4pm as far as football Sunday goes. Also, up in Viking Crowne they had a few smaller tvs showing the games, although I think it was same ones.

 

In my stateroom, the 4pm Patriots/Cowboys game was being shown on SIX channels...but I do think they are limited in what channels they can show, so if the game is on Fox of CBS you may get to see it :)

[OGCFreddie]

Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it. A friend I met on the Mariner and I will be on the Dec 14 sailing. I've sailed her on the 4 night, but never the three. Can you tell me if they had the Love and Marriage show? Also, I noticed you mentioned the Midnight Buffet. is that the chocolate buffet like the 4 nighter I took last year?

 

Thanks again for your help!!!

[crsrock]

a message for Oliverthecat: nice review of the Sovereign. I was on her last week (for MY third time). I always have a good time. Interesting that you mentioned Marek the piano player. Hubba hubba. and that's all I'm going to say.........I'd go cruising again to see him play anytime!

[OliverTheCat]

Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it. A friend I met on the Mariner and I will be on the Dec 14 sailing. I've sailed her on the 4 night, but never the three. Can you tell me if they had the Love and Marriage show? Also, I noticed you mentioned the Midnight Buffet. is that the chocolate buffet like the 4 nighter I took last year?

 

Thanks again for your help!!!

 

Hi! :D

 

The Love and Marriage game was on the 3 day, Sunday night. Honestly I didnt attend it this time around just becuase there was too much going on at that time. The midnight buffet was the poolside fare that they have on all the cruises at some point. I am not sure what they had down there, besides a roasted pig sitting there with its face that I didnt care to view, but it was not the famous chocolate buffet that you are thinking of.

 

I really think the 3 day cruise on Sovereign was one of my favorite cruises to date. That is what really took me by surprise....I never thought I would compare it with my Mariner experience, ever!

[OliverTheCat]

a message for Oliverthecat: nice review of the Sovereign. I was on her last week (for MY third time). I always have a good time. Interesting that you mentioned Marek the piano player. Hubba hubba. and that's all I'm going to say.........I'd go cruising again to see him play anytime!

 

 

Marek is very attractive indeed! Shhh dont tell DH :D :D :D

[cruiser4fun1960]

Great review we got on when you came off for the 4 night and had a great time. weather was great we stopped in coco cay. This was our 2nd time on the sos and hope to sail on her again.

[sea-cruise]

Thanks for the great review. I sailed SOS recently and discovered that in the WJ (portside) at dinnertime they offered free old fashioned ice cream. It was delicious. :)