Just Back from 3 Nt SOVEREIGN

[svwkirby]

I forgot to mention that there were two interesting occurances on this sailing although I missed both of them. Saturday morning the ship passed and reported a small, sinking boat. We heard the announcement about it from the Captain, but missed seeing it since we were getting ready for breakfast. The second event happened in Nassau when someone from Explorer fo the Seas which was docked next to us fell in the water. Our cruise director was doing his required lifeboat training at the time and rescued the passenger. This was announced at the Captain's Reception. At the beginning of the show that night the cruise director then recognized three passengers that jumped in to help.

 

The only food complaint we had was the strawberry cheesecake on formal night was too dry. Someone else at our table had the lowfat version and said it was also dry.

[Steve&Alisha]

I heard about the guy falling in but nothing about the Boat. We were probably still sleeping !!!:D

 

I have the Passport Coupon Book that I bought and only used a few coupons from it.

If anyone would like some, It has coupons good at many ports, and we will probably not be going on another cruise anytime soon.

 

I also forgot to use my Johnny Rockets coupons that we received from C&A.

 

Does anyone know if they can be used on future cruises? It says Valid for this Cruise Only, But there is no date or even a ship name anywhere on it.

[Steve&Alisha]

I now have the Daily Compasses in the webshots album.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/steve_alisha

[Steve&Alisha]

Susan:

 

 

I just found out that I was sitting right next to Donna, from the Roll Call thread, at dinner and didn't know it was her. I was reading through that thread yesterday, and some of the things she had written just sounded familiar, so I posted and yes, it was her.

 

Small World !!

[alpinecat]

Susan,

Sounds like you had a great cruise. We are leaving on June 10. I can't wait. I'm surprising my husband with the cruise for his 40th birthday! If I can just make it a few more weeks without any slip ups. On formal night did you notice many tuxes? I can't decide whether to pack his tux or a suit. He loves to wear a tux (yes, I am lucky my husband loves to dress up and go to formals) but I don't want him to be out of place if more men are wearing suits. Also for the women long formal or short formal? Which did you see more of? Thanks for posting the picutures and the daily news letters!

 

Alpinecat

[srlucado]

Thanks for the reviews & posting of the photos/Compasses. My wife and I will be on the Sovereign in October, and I'm already getting excited about it!

[LESTRELA]

HOW WAS COCOCAY, I am also planning on suprising my hubby with this cruise in October 7th i figured it is a weekend and we only miss 2 days out of work, and it will break up the time of out cruise's we just went on the vos in may and if we do this one in october, then FOS or NOS in August 06 just waiting for the price's to drop!!!

 

when was formal night, and is it worth 3 nights ??

Which room should i get, is it worth a balcony or window view is just find, i always get balcony though i find it a little steep with this cruise!!!

 

thanks lestrela

[PH8]

On the 3 nighter,the second night is formal night.............

 

We ,too,prefer balconies and book them whenever we can.........we had a balcony on the SOS and to me,it wasnt really worth it...........it does cost a whole lot more and since you are in ports both full days you have,you really wont get too much use outta one...........the only time we sat on it was right before dinner for a glass of wine..........

 

I would never book a balcony for the 3 nighter again..............the OV will be fine.......we have been on the SOS lots and we always enjoy it............quick weekend getaway..........

[Steve&Alisha]

.........we had a balcony on the SOS and to me,it wasnt really worth it...........it does cost a whole lot more and since you are in ports both full days you have,you really wont get too much use outta one.........

 

I agree.

 

And the balcony on the Sovereign has an overhead thing that sets way out, so I was never able to use the balcony for tanning.

[Merion_Mom]

Dear Steve&Alisha:

 

Thank you so so so so much for those great pictures and all your posts. This thread is the best information I have read so far about the Sovereign.

 

And now, a few questions:

 

Did you see any other Junior Suites? Do you know if they all are the same? In other words, can I expect our JS 1584 to have the identical configuration and size as your 1058?

 

Did the cabin steward pull out the sofa bed each night, or did you do it yourselves? Who slept in yours, and did s/he find it comfortable? (my 17 year old, 6' tall son will sleep in ours).

 

Did you get robes, either because they were just in the cabin, or because you asked your steward for them?

 

It looks like your cabin had MEGA storage space. This is good - my 20 year old daughter thinks that "travelling light" means lots and lots of white clothing! LOL!

 

The balcony looks pretty small. What did you think? Do you think/know all the JS balconies are the same size? (we are spoiled from having 7688/7388's mega-balcony on the Voyager class three times:))

 

Where did they play the Quest?

 

How was the pizza in Sorrento's?

 

I see from your pictures that the Windjammer has a second level. Are there just tables up there, with all the food serving areas on the first level?

 

Would you please tell me all about the Dolphin excursion?

 

Did you stay overnight in Port Canaveral? If so, in which hotel, and what was your experience there?

 

Did you get priority embarkation for a JS and/or for whatever level of C&A membership you have?

 

How was the chair hogging situation? :D

 

I would love your Nassau coupons and/or JR coupons, if you want to share. :)

 

Thank you beforehand for all your help in sharing your wisdom and experience. :)

 

Carol

[Steve&Alisha]

We did not see any other suites. I believe they are all the same, just some are reversed.

 

On the first night, the steward asked us if we wanted it pulled out. We said yes and it was pulled out each night after that. My 3 yr old daughter slept in in. Your son will definitely not fit in it. It was probably only 5 ft long, and that may be exagerating a little. Unless he curls up like a baby when he sleeps, he may be uncomfortable.

 

Our robes were there when we got there. I believe that is a JS perk. Someone please correct me if wrong.

 

Yes, lots of storage space. Even after unpacking, we still had unused space.

 

We have only had standard balcony cabins in the past, and this one was a little bigger than those, deeper and wider. Really nice balcony furniture too.

From the outside of the ship, they all looked about the same.

 

I never saw them advertise the Quest game anywhere on the ship, or in the Compass. If anyone else did, please add.

 

Steve and I never tried the pizza. Some people we were with did have it and said that it was "so-so".

 

Actually the Windjammer is only 1 level. There is a second section of Buffet at the very front, all the forward ,(we didn't know about this at first !) but the upstairs is where Sorrentos and Johnny Rockets are.

 

We didn't go, just friends of ours, but they loved it and said it was well worth the money. They have a picture of a dolphin giving them a kiss on the cheek.

 

We stayed the night before at the Best Western in Cocoa Beach, in a tower room right on the ocean. We really enjoyed the hotel, very clean room, nice balcony, and within walking distance of Cocoa Beach Pier. No Room Service.

We stayed at the Radisson at the Port last time, room was fine. Restaurant was Ok, (Buffet would be the better choice). They did have a free shuttle service, but it does get quite hectic there in the morning, we ended up not waiting for our scheduled shuttle time and just took a taxi to the port.

 

Yes there was Priority Check In for JS. (We are only Gold Members.)

 

The times that we were at the pool, I always saw open chairs. There was some "saving" but lots of open chairs. Nothing like the other ships we've been on.

 

I'd be happy to send you what I didn't use.

 

Hope I got to all your questions, let me know if I missed anything.

 

 

sametcalf3d@hotmail.com

 

 

Alisha

[Sportsdude]

RealtorBMW - I think I saw you. I was standing with my wife wearing a searsucker suit. I sort of stood out in that.

 

 

Those guys were blasted. I just got tired of the nasty, loud language. I totally forgot about them as soon as the dining room doors opened.

 

 

I had a ball on the cruise though. Coco-Cay was awesome.

[Steve&Alisha]

I am already having a serious bout of Post Cruise Depression.

 

 

Only one way that I know of to cure that....:p

 

We don't even have anything in the works though.

 

Hopefully with the warmer weather coming I will be ok, a least for a little while...:rolleyes:

 

 

Alisha

[maggieworkman]

Thanks for the pictures. I now have a good idea what the rooms look like.

 

I have a few questions.

1. I see you brought your laptop. Did you get internet access?? How does that work? How much? I read that when they refurbished the Sovereign they put in wireless internet. How does that work and how much?

2. I see from the kids compasses that the kids activities for the 12-14 yo goes until 1 am. Do you have to pay after 10 pm? Also, I noted that the 9-11 yo activities end at 10 pm and then you pay $5 after. Did most kids stay or leave? My mom will be there to watch my DD, but if she will want to stay at the kids club after 10 pm I will let her.

3. I see also from the kids compasses that they can IM their friends and send email?? How much does this cost?? I know if my older DD (13) sees that, she will want to chat with her friends at home and I am worried it will cost me and arm and a leg!!

4. Does the ship time change at all?

 

Thank you,

Maggie

[Steve&Alisha]

Hello Maggie:

 

1.We brought the laptop mainly to download pics at the end of every day. We did not use the internet at all so I don't know prices, but I heard people talking and they said about 75 cents a minute, and also available cheaper if you buy "blocks" of minutes. But there was an internet cafe on the ship that had a wireless "hot spot" near the cafe if you do bring your own and have wireless capabilities.

 

2. I only know about the Late Nite Zone for the 3-5 yr old group. We let her do that just about every night because she was enjoying herself so much, most nights she didn't want to leave. And it was $5.00 / hour, from 10pm- 1am, put on your Sail & Sign Card. There were usually at least 2 or 3 other kids in her age group that stayed. But I don't know about the older ones, there place was on a different deck from the younger ones.

 

3. I'm not sure if they charge for that. DD's room had computers but I don't know if they went online. But I did see web cams.

 

4. The ship is on Eastern time, and no it did not change during this cruise.

 

Hope I answered everything.

Or if you have more, just let me know !!:)

Alisha

[Steve&Alisha]

I just remembered that I wanted to mention that since the Junior Suites are on Deck 10, right below the POOL DECK, it can get a little noisy in the rooms at times. Especially if they have a party or activity going on at the pool, or a live band. Sometimes the scraping of deck chairs too.

Never did we regret getting this room, but for some people this could be a problem.

 

 

Alisha

[alpinecat]

Hi Steve and Alisha,

This question was really directed for you guysl, my mistake! I was at work that day trying to type it in real quick and typed the wrong name. Sorry, it was just one of those days at work! If you could help me I would really appreciate it. We actually were up at the port yesterday and saw her leave. I was so excited but couldn't say anything because of the surprise for his birthday.

 

Sounds like you had a great cruise. We are leaving on June 10. I can't wait. I'm surprising my husband with the cruise for his 40th birthday! If I can just make it a few more weeks without any slip ups. On formal night did you notice many tuxes? I can't decide whether to pack his tux or a suit. He loves to wear a tux (yes, I am lucky my husband loves to dress up and go to formals) but I don't want him to be out of place if more men are wearing suits. Also for the women long formal or short formal? Which did you see more of? Thanks for posting the picutures and the daily news letters!

 

Thanks

Alpinecat

[laurasue]

The only food complaint we had was the strawberry cheesecake on formal night was too dry. Someone else at our table had the lowfat version and said it was also dry.

 

We had the same complaint! I'm a cheesecake fanatic and I wasn't very impressed. Very dry, not the consistency that cheesecake should be. Ooh, but most of the other desserts were fabulous!!

[moofus]

Susan,

Sounds like you had a great cruise. We are leaving on June 10. I can't wait. I'm surprising my husband with the cruise for his 40th birthday! If I can just make it a few more weeks without any slip ups. On formal night did you notice many tuxes? I can't decide whether to pack his tux or a suit. He loves to wear a tux (yes, I am lucky my husband loves to dress up and go to formals) but I don't want him to be out of place if more men are wearing suits. Also for the women long formal or short formal? Which did you see more of? Thanks for posting the picutures and the daily news letters!

 

Alpinecat

Hi Alpinecat, I am going on this cruise with a friend of mine. I so look forward to it. It is a consolation prize from my DH because he had to cancel our Alaska cruise. SO he suggested I book one for a close friend and myself,, so we are going June 10th.

As it turns out, I just got back, yesterday, from a 3 day on Carnival with DB, SIL and brother's MIL. I was never on Carnival before, It was fine, but I like RCCI better. While we were docked in Nassau, the Soverign was right next to us,,, I was looking at it longingly... it is a much prettier ship.

 

If anyone has extra coupons, I would love them also. Htorina@torinamedia,com.

Also, Alpinecat, I am a Platinum member of C&A and get coupons when I arrive. Many of which, I won't use. So if you want to tell me your cabin number, I'll call you and you can have any that I don't use. I am in a Junior suite, can't remember which one, think it is 1060. It is awesome that you are surprising your DH how are you going to pull it off?;)

Holly

[Steve&Alisha]

Which did you see more of?

Alpinecat

 

In Nassau we were running late getting back to the ship, and also had the Early Dinner time, so we missed formal night dinner. But we did see people walking around before and after both Seatings, and we saw a little of everything. But from what I did see, there were a lot more men wearing dark suits and ties than tuxes, but that was only what I saw, and each cruise is different.

 

The women were the same way, everything from nice little black cocktail dresses to prom-like formals, I even saw 1 girl in a white dress that was so elegant it could have been worn as a wedding gown.

 

And don't forget that some people have different ideas of what formal is, so you will see a little of everything.

 

But I always say, Hey, this is your cruise, your vacation. If your Hubby likes to dress up, I say go for it. And especially if this is a surprise birthday cruise. For instance we brought a dark suit for him, and I had a a long, sleeveless silk dress, but the people we knew on the ship were bringing tuxes.

 

Besides the formal pictures you can get done will look great.

[Steve&Alisha]

Borrowed this from another thread... Thanks Cruisingator2 !!:p

 

 

Ever wonder what goes into a drydock??

http://tlc.discovery.com/schedule/s...d=0&channel=TLC

 

Starting this Sunday TLC will air a series of programs on what it takes to refurbish a ship during a drydock. The ship is the recently refurbished Sovereign of the Seas.

[medic123]

Alisha, I would love the passport book. medic123@iwon.com Thanks

[moofus]

Did the Jr suite have a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom?

 

Thanks

Holly

[coolshop]

Borrowed this from another thread... Thanks Cruisingator2 !!:p

 

 

Ever wonder what goes into a drydock??

http://tlc.discovery.com/schedule/s...d=0&channel=TLC

 

Starting this Sunday TLC will air a series of programs on what it takes to refurbish a ship during a drydock. The ship is the recently refurbished Sovereign of the Seas.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up on this series -- this sounds great! I've setup a season pass on TIVO so I don't miss an episode!

[Steve&Alisha]

Did the Jr suite have a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom?

 

Thanks

Holly

 

 

No, just a regular tub. The Junior Suites on this ship are really nothing more than a a large balcony cabin with a little more sq.footage and a Lot more storage space.

 

And of course the bath with a Tub.:)

 

None of the other things that a Suite has on the newer ships. (i.e. NO Vcr, Jacuzzi, Concierge,etc)

 

But we still enjoyed it.

 

ALisha