11-15 April (4 Nighter) Sovereign Review

Just back from Sovereign and wanted to get my humble opinion out to you all.

Soveriegn is a good value for the cruise you get and I would cruise on her again. She is older (not old at 17 - QE2 is old at 36...and shall we talk about the Regal Empress out of Ft Lauderdale?) and shows her age a bit being a ship designed and built prior to the age of the full bore computer aided design as we see today in the Eagle Class and soon Freedom of the Seas. However she has all the comforts that anyone could ask for. The only RCI ship I have to compare her to is the Mariner which we did in Jan. So lets compare...

I enjoyed the entertainment on SoS much better than on Mariner. SoS had an excellent dance crew and an outstanding comedian Steve Smith. He is one funny guy across the board. Johnny Thunder from the Drifters put on an excellent show as well. Keith our cruise director was annoying but that is how I find most cruise directors so don't read much into this comment. Of course there are the old standards of Quest, Love and Marriage, etc. Overall the entertainment was great.

The food was so so. There was the standard fare for RCI but overall I'd say it was average. I found the food on Marner better tasting and better prepared. I guess it's all in who's running your kitchen. The prime rib was a bit tough and the pasta dishes lacked in flavor but a little salt cured that. Our wait staff was absolutely perfect although there was a bug going around the crew spaces and over 10 waiters went down sick and confined to quarters (dust or something in the crew space ventilation system - no report of passengers getting ill, though!). One of them was our waiter but our asst waiter more than made up for the loss. They knew all the right things to do such as which side to serve from, taking the ladies' orders first and serving them first and so on. If a mistake was made they bent over backwards to make up fo it. Overall, a great dining room experience. I thought the Windjammer was lacking though both in variety and quality as compared to the Mariner. I never had crunchy pancakes before but I guess that's what happens when you leave them under the heat lamp too long. We did not get a chance to use room service. 2 adults and 2 teens in an inside 4 stateroom doesn't leave much room for food! Johnny Rockets was Johnny Rockets and Sorrentos Pizza was OK. Formal night was the night in Nassau. Seemed like everyone came back to the ship for it. Although there were a few who came back 15-20 minutes after our 12:00 midnight curfew.

The ship's apearance was good. The staff worked hard to keep her clean. And yes Virginia, there is a sewage smell. It is only evident at certain times and random places about the ship. My hypothesis is that due to her age, she probably gets an air leak somewhere that carries the smell from the sewage treatment plants and/or plumbing into the main air vents. It seemed to be most prevalent in port which could be when they hook up to and disconnect from the shore sewage lines. But the smell is hardly noticeable when it is present. In 5 days I probably smelled it 4 times.

Staterooms are small but what do you expect? We traveled with 28 family members on this cruise (don't ask) and we had rooms ranging from the inside 4's to the inside 2's to Sea View and Balconies. We even hooked up with some people who stayed in teh Royal Suite...that was nice! But the other rooms were again all were small but very nice. The shower curtain sticks to you! Take clothes pins to weigh the curtain down. I think that will help. The room stewards and stewardesses were intense on meeting your needs. We had a problem with our air conditioning and 2 seconds later there was a knock on the door by ship's maintenance (like the 3 stooges or cartoon gags). We had ice delivered promplty, rooms made up twice a day, towel animals (some I had not seen before) and so on.

The casino was good although I heard a lot of jackpot bells go off the 1st night and barely any the following nights. Loosen the machines to get you in there then tighten them up for the rest of the cruise? Who knows. The other lounges were good. Boleros had a great Latin Band but the Dueling Pianos left much to be desired. If you like screaming in the microphone and loud piano playing then that's for you. I went instead to the Viking Crown Lounge to have a libation and a cigar. Speaking of cigars...you can only smoke them in the VC from 9pm-midnight. Cigarettes are OK anytime. I could not figure that one out. And the place does not smell like smoke (or sewage), I can't figure out how they do it.

The youth activities are outstanding. our group had 7-15 y.o.'s who did not want to leave the place. My daughter (15yo) did say she did not care for the teen youth director. He had an attitiude that if it weren't for you teens, my job would be easier. Rock climbing was good with several skill levels and 3 stories to climb.

The gym was good. Not as big or ornate as Mariner but plenty of treadmills, elipticals and machines for all muscle groups (Life Fitness machines). IT was sized just right for the average percentage of cruisers who take advantge of the facilities.

Ports! Coco Cay was excellent! A great place to stop. Lots to do and pretty much enough time to do it if you start early. The seas were very smooth the day we were there so the launches were reliable. The Straw Market was quaint but didn't do anything for me. My kids rented a kayak (sp?) and had a blast. The buffet was OK but nothing to right home about. 15 min massages for $25 was good. Lots of little coves that were good for the very small kiddies to play in the water (had a 2 y.o. niece in our group). Nassau was Nassau. It was my 2nd time there and my 1st time to Atlantis, probably my last too. The aquarium is worth seeing but I've seen hotels just as nice at Disney or Vegas. Do take the water taxi there. It would have been $6 per person. We took the regular taxi instead and it wound up $10 per. The water taxi would have been more scenic. Not much off the main drag in Nassau to look at.

And that's about it. An overal great ship and wonderful experience. She has her chinks in the armor but the staff does well to make up for it. If someone handed me a ticket today, I'd be at the terminal in a heartbeat ready to do it again. Hope you all get someting out of my ramblings but I just wanted to put out what I thought. (I also wanted to fish for those inevitable derogatory comments that people feel compelled to give....LOL). OK you land lubbers, enjoy and I hope to see you on another cruise someday.

God Bless,

Reltco

Thanks for your detailed review!

You said the kids rented kayaks in Coco Cay, was that on the guided excursion or on their own? We're interested in renting them on our own, curious how much it cost. Also, if the price is per person or per kayak. Thanks!

Mmm, crunchy pancakes?? Did you eat in the dining room for breakfast at all? If you did, was the food better there?

Thank you! :D

Hey Reltco:

Welcome back and glad you had a good time.

Glad you took a "pleasure" trip this time.

Just wanted to say thank you for serving in our military. Many of us truly appreciate you from our hearts.

from your post i still cannot figure why you called it a nightmare?we returned on the 11th before you went out and was great.please explain

Thanks for the update! We're heading out on her on MONDAY! WOW....it sneaks up so fast! :D

Thanks for the update! We're heading out on her on MONDAY! WOW....it sneaks up so fast! :D

Hey Oceanbound, we will be seeing you there as well. Our first cruise and we are looking forward to it so much. Then we can write our review for all who are going later.

Thanks for your detailed review!

 

You said the kids rented kayaks in Coco Cay, was that on the guided excursion or on their own? We're interested in renting them on our own, curious how much it cost. Also, if the price is per person or per kayak. Thanks!

 

Mmm, crunchy pancakes?? Did you eat in the dining room for breakfast at all? If you did, was the food better there?

 

Thank you! :D

LAURASUE,

The kayaks are $15/kayak/30 min and you could go anywhere,by yourself or with a group, as long as you were back before your time expired...i.e. $15=30 min. You can rent them longer but I don't know the prices. You can also get jet skis, rides on the big banana, parasailing, etc. If you want a raft to lay out on the water on (thin foam type) that's $10.

Breakfast in the dining room is always better for me. Food is prepared fresh, I like all the attention from the waiters and so on. No crunchy pancakes there!

Thanks for the review. I will be on the SOS in about three weeks.

Hey Reltco:

 

Welcome back and glad you had a good time.

 

Glad you took a "pleasure" trip this time.

 

Just wanted to say thank you for serving in our military. Many of us truly appreciate you from our hearts.

Thanks Legalwife,

Comments like these go a long way with us. God bless!

from your post i still cannot figure why you called it a nightmare?we returned on the 11th before you went out and was great.please explain

Couldn't find "nightmare" in my review. Can you clarify your question?

Thanks for the review!! I leave on the SOS on 4/29 (3 nites), and can't wait! This is my 4th time on her (the first since the refurbishing), and am so looking forward to seeing the changes!

Michele

Thanks for the review. We are going on the Sovereign in June and love to read about her!

Maggie

Reltco,

I Apologize Been Up For Two Days Working And Cannot Read !sorry Glad You Had A Good Time.i Apologize Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reltco,

 

I Apologize Been Up For Two Days Working And Cannot Read !sorry Glad You Had A Good Time.i Apologize Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No worries.

Thanks for the reply! We can't wait to get there :D

Happy cruising!

Almost as if I were there.

King Kiliwani

I appreciate the review (especially the comparisons you made to the Mariner). So many reviewers seem to rave about the bigger ships that it was just nice to see comparisons

We haven't done the Mariner have been on Radiance and Vision Class ships (as well as the Sovereign) and have had great times on each. In fact for a "fun factor" our kids still say the Sovereign is their favorite cruise ever.

-Monte

Thanks for a great review. You did a great job of telling the good and not so good and didn't set me up to have unrealistic expectations. We also leave on 4/29 and am looking forward to a wonderful cruise.

Where was your cabin located? We had the sewer smell 24-7 in our cabin. Nothing anyone did could alliviate it. I believe it is all in location. There were plates in our cabin that said grey water outlet behind headboard....

And also when we sailed her alot of crew were sick then as well in Feb?

Having sailed on SOS 2 previous times and having much better cabin locations I would agree on those occasions she is a good deal and a nice ship over all.

Can I get some cabin recommendations? We want ocean view, lower decks. If there's a sewer smell in our cabin my dh will *never* let me forget it. He's a chemist and has a Ph.D. in sniffing.

M/R

Reltco: Please tell me about formal night, on any of your trips on the Sovereign. We'll be on her for seven days (doing a B2B over New Year's), but others will look at this as just a 3-day or a 4-day cruise. How dressy is formal night on these shorter cruises? I would think that the cruise that include New Year's Eve will be dressier, but what about the first one? Should my son count on wearing his tux once, or twice?

Many thanks.

Carol

Thanks for the review. We have been on both the Mariner and the Sovereign but the Sovereign was prior to the refurb. She didn't have balconies when we sailed her. However, we plan a repeat in November so your review was timely. Again, thanks.

Reltco, just back too.

Lots of times you get to see a completely different view of a cruise you've taken, but I have to say, I agree pretty much with everything you've mentioned.

This was our first RC cruise and while I wouldn't rush to book another cruise, I wouldn't not consider them either.

Steve Smith is always a hoot! We saw him once before and laughed just as hard. We didn't stay for all of Johnny Thunder, too much chatter for us. Did some dancing in Boleros, I agree the band was great! Dueling Pianos was great too, the first night. But when we went the second night, it was the same show. :confused: Which was strange since they take requests.

Our waiter was out after the second night also. But service was still good. One other thing I noticed about the Windjammer, you can't always get a seat easily. It seemed very crowded. And why they insist on formal night being the night they're in Nassau is strange too.

You missed out on the casino, someone hit a $3K jackpot on the over-sized slot machine at the casino entrance and on Thursday night someone else hit a large jackpot on a slot and a lady behind our Blackjack table hit a big payoff on the video poker. We, however, only left $5 ahead that night.

An overal great ship and wonderful experience. She has her chinks in the armor

Where was your cabin located? We had the sewer smell 24-7 in our cabin. Nothing anyone did could alliviate it.

 

What cabin was this? We have 3 cabins booked in October.

. We took the regular taxi instead and it wound up $10 per.

WOW-------has it gone up that much???????It used to be the same as the water taxi(which I wouldnt ever take again--they tend to overload them).....anyway,$10PP????????????

Hey Cruisingator..........check out our roll call for the May 6th SOS.......

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=121267&page=1&pp=25