Leave for Sovereign of the Seas in AM

[AAGF]

Have a great cruise and if you want scans of the Cruise Compasses, you can find them here:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/AAGF1

 

Andy

[explorer2000]

I would like to know how the jelly fish are in coco cay. (I'm sure they are fine, but I want to know if there were many;) )

 

Last week it was reported here that there were lots in Coco Cay and in Nassau, too.

[lanie67]

Okay guys,

 

Lanie, my 16 year old had a lot of fun, but felt that there was not as much to do on the Sovereign as there was on the Mariner (which of course was to be expected). As I think I mentioned before, we went with a group of 30+ people so he had a lot of friends on board, and also met a few more.

 

Thanks! Well, Kristen has never been on a cruise before, so I thought this would be a good one to start with. Me however, I was on the Voyager for my first cruise, so most everything is gonna seem small to me. :D

But that is ok, I am thinking of flying in on Sunday before our cruise on Monday and taking in a beachfront hotel for a day. Just to relax and have a few foo foo drinks.

I hear that Holiday Inn and Hilton both are good for kids her age without worrying too much about the Spring Break drinking too much. I am looking at Cocoa Beach.

[nlcentralchmps03]

I would like to know how the jelly fish are in coco cay. (I'm sure they are fine, but I want to know if there were many;) )

 

Last week it was reported here that there were lots in Coco Cay and in Nassau, too.

Working on the review as we speak, but thought I would answer this question.

 

The jellyfish in Coco Cay were TERRIBLE!!

 

We had 4 people in our group go snorkeling and not one came back without at least one sting on them.

 

The good news is at first aid they had vinegar in a bottle that you could spray on it and it would take the pain/sting right away.

[nlcentralchmps03]

I hear that Holiday Inn and Hilton both are good for kids her age without worrying too much about the Spring Break drinking too much. I am looking at Cocoa Beach.

 

 

Speaking of Spring Break drinking there were many underage teenagers that I saw that were drunk on board. :(

 

 

However, I am sure that your daughter will have a blast, especially if this is her first cruise.

[nlcentralchmps03]

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554252924vtDeUI

 

Pictures

[lvanp]

Thanks for the pictures. We will be on the Sovereign in 3 1/2 weeks! Sounds like you had a great time

 

Lori

[Violet Princess]

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554252924vtDeUI

 

Pictures

 

Justin:

 

We are going on the 3-Day after Thanksgiving. Questions:

 

1) How was the food?

2) How was Nassau?

3) What about CocoCay?

4) Are the suvy. cups the same on the boat as CocoCay(with lid, I mean)?

 

I am going with the 1st cousin crew of my family (about 14 of us), any suggestions or comments to help us have a great time. Thanks

[lanie67]

Speaking of Spring Break drinking there were many underage teenagers that I saw that were drunk on board. :(

 

 

However, I am sure that your daughter will have a blast, especially if this is her first cruise.

 

that is a shame, where were these kids' parents? I might let her take a sip of my foo foo drink, but luckily she isnt into the whole alcohol thing yet.

She is just excited to go.. poor girl has never seen the ocean. LOL

She has traveled all over, even to LA and San Francisco, but has never really seen the ocean.

 

Well, I am glad your trip went well and you had a good time.

After our cruise I am taking my older daughter to Vegas for her 21st b-day next July... and my 40th.

Got alot of planning to do :D

[nlcentralchmps03]

As you guys can see I have yet to get around to a review (this weekend?), however to answer some of Violet's questions:

 

 

 

1) How was the food?

 

I would give the food 7 out of 10 stars. I felt that the food was better on the Mariner was better, but the food by no means was bad.

 

On another note, the service was not so great. We at times felt neglected.

 

2) How was Nassau?

 

Nassau was rainy. We went to Senor Frogs and had a good time. Again, more underage drinking took place here. It was formal night, and you leave at 1 A.M.

 

 

3) What about CocoCay?

 

Coco Cay was fun. It was a beautiful day here. A nice cool breeze kept us comfortable all afternoon. In comparison to Labadee we thought Labadee was nicer overall (no jellyfish, loved the mountains), but the breeze in Coco Cay was something that we didn't have in Labadee, so I guess that equaled things out :)

 

And Lanie,

 

that is a shame, where were these kids' parents?

 

I wonder the same thing.

 

Good luck with your planning. Have fun!!

[10th Anniversary]

Thanks Champs for the pictures. I can't wait to read your review. Looking at your pictures makes we want to be on the ship even more. Like I said before, this will be a complete surprise for our kids. I don't know if I can keep the secret. But the look on their face, when we tell them that they are getting on the ship, will be priceless.

 

After being on the Mariner, what did you think about the movement of this much smaller ship? You as you may recall, on the Mariner we had good weather everyday and she is so much larger. I never did feel her move and not once was the least bit sea sick. I'm concerned about sea sickness on such a smaller ship.

 

I see in your signature, that you will be taking the 5-26-07 Liberty cruise. Lewis and I are considering the 5-19-07 Liberty cruise. We already know of 2 others, who were on the Mariner with us last May and we met at the Meet & Mingle, that will be on the 5-19-07 Liberty cruise. Did we meet you and your family at the Mariner Meet & Mingle?

 

Again, welcome home and I can't wait to read your review.

[forpaws]

Coco Cay was fun. It was a beautiful day here. A nice cool breeze kept us comfortable all afternoon. In comparison to Labadee we thought Labadee was nicer overall (no jellyfish, loved the mountains), but the breeze in Coco Cay was something that we didn't have in Labadee, so I guess that equaled things out :)

 

We were at Coco Cay in late August...we didn't see any jellyfish...so the over-abundance of jellyfish doesn't happen all the time. We did, however, have a small shark :eek: swimming around us in the shallow water where we were. We would have probably missed it if a man who was wading hadn't pointed it out--we were so glad he did! We watched the shark weave his way in and out around us...then he took off towards deeper water. Really, really neat!

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Hope your trip was wonderful. Look forward to a review, as you should have returned on the 18th.. hope it was fabulous!:)

[Violet Princess]

As you guys can see I have yet to get around to a review (this weekend?), however to answer some of Violet's questions:

 

 

 

 

 

I would give the food 7 out of 10 stars. I felt that the food was better on the Mariner was better, but the food by no means was bad.

 

On another note, the service was not so great. We at times felt neglected.

 

 

Nassau was rainy. We went to Senor Frogs and had a good time. Again, more underage drinking took place here. It was formal night, and you leave at 1 A.M.

 

 

 

 

Coco Cay was fun. It was a beautiful day here. A nice cool breeze kept us comfortable all afternoon. In comparison to Labadee we thought Labadee was nicer overall (no jellyfish, loved the mountains), but the breeze in Coco Cay was something that we didn't have in Labadee, so I guess that equaled things out :)

 

And Lanie,

 

 

 

I wonder the same thing.

 

Good luck with your planning. Have fun!!

 

 

 

Thanks Justin

[nlcentralchmps03]

After being on the Mariner, what did you think about the movement of this much smaller ship? You as you may recall, on the Mariner we had good weather everyday and she is so much larger. I never did feel her move and not once was the least bit sea sick. I'm concerned about sea sickness on such a smaller ship.

 

Funny you should ask. The group of 30+ folks were mostly first time cruisers. So to them this was a gigantic ship. I guess that is irrelevant, but I guess what I am trying to say is they felt the ship moving all over the place. At one point a lady with us said, "I swear the ship is listing!!" :eek:

 

Though I felt the ship moving around, it didn't bother me one bit. I guess you can actually say I like the rocking and the feeling of 'sea legs'. But to answer your question, nobody got close to being sick, and it wasn't bad at all, IMO. :)

 

I see in your signature, that you will be taking the 5-26-07 Liberty cruise. Lewis and I are considering the 5-19-07 Liberty cruise. We already know of 2 others, who were on the Mariner with us last May and we met at the Meet & Mingle, that will be on the 5-19-07 Liberty cruise. Did we meet you and your family at the Mariner Meet & Mingle?

 

What date in May was it? We went 5/21 but didn't attend the Meet and Mingle.

 

 

We did, however, have a small shark swimming around us in the shallow water where we were.

 

Funny you should say this, because I also heard some people saying there was a small shark out with the swimmers. Yikes!! :eek:

 

Hope your trip was wonderful. Look forward to a review, as you should have returned on the 18th.. hope it was fabulous!

 

Thank you Beary, it was! We really enjoyed every minute of it.

 

Thanks Justin

 

My pleasure Violet :D

[forpaws]

Funny you should say this, because I also heard some people saying there was a small shark out with the swimmers. Yikes!! :D

 

That's funny! I would have thought the little shark would have been a more isolated incident, but apparently not! I had my camera around my neck and was frantically trying to get in position before it took off...I did get a couple of pics, but unfortunately, it mostly just showed a dark shadow....but I KNOW it's there! And it's a SHARK! :eek: :D

[10th Anniversary]

What date in May was it? We went 5/21 but didn't attend the Meet and Mingle.

 

We were also on the 5/21 sailing. We met several folks from cruise critic at the Meet and Mingle and continued to chat with all week during the cruise. I was trying to recall if we had met you and your family at the meet & mingle.

 

So the SOS has a lot of movement because of her smaller size. I will probably need to get the sea sick patches.

 

Have you posted your SOS review yet?

[forpaws]

We were also on the 5/21 sailing. We met several folks from cruise critic at the Meet and Mingle and continued to chat with all week during the cruise. I was trying to recall if we had met you and your family at the meet & mingle.

 

So the SOS has a lot of movement because of her smaller size. I will probably need to get the sea sick patches.

 

Have you posted your SOS review yet?

 

10th:

 

My nephew, niece and I did feel quite a bit of movement the first night, and we felt pretty queasy from it, but after that, it smoothed out or we must have gotten used to it. The first night, however, I was laying in bed with my laptop propped on my knees, if that makes any sense, and my knees were actually swaying slowly from side to side--YIKES! At that point, I thought I was in for a very long 4 days, but as I said, it smoothed out and wasn't a problem from then on. Just our experience..for your info.

 

Justin:

 

We're waiting on that review!!! :D Let's me live vicariously through your experience!!

[nlcentralchmps03]

The review will be posted very shortly.

[nlcentralchmps03]

Well here is the review that everyone has been anxiously waiting for.

 

About Us

We booked this cruise back in May with a private travel agent. It was me (Justin, 45), Wife (Laurie, 40), Son (Mark, 16), and Daughter (Jenna, 5). This was my and DW 5th cruise, Mark’s 4th and Jenna’s 1st. We also went with a group of 30+ people, including us. While it was hard to please everyone, it was fun, and something I think we would all like to do again in the future.

 

The Ship

 

A little bit of background information on the Sovereign of the Seas. She is the oldest ship in fleet. She underwent a complete refurbishment in 2004, during which they added Johnny Rockets, Fuel (Teen Disco, which son was often a visitor of), Sorrento’s Pizza, Ben and Jerry’s and Bolero’s just to name a few things.

 

The Cabin

We stayed in Oceanview cabin 3520 (Cat G). We had four people staying in the room. If you have not read already, the cabins onboard the Sovereign of the Seas are smaller than in most ships (122 sq. ft.). As you can imagine we were very crammed all weekend. We did not find any noticeable mold in the shower or anywhere around the room.

 

Food

 

We ate dinner every night in the dining room. We were assigned to the Illusions dining room, which was located on deck three, the same as our cabin. I enjoyed every meal I had, as did everyone else in our party.

 

However, the windjammer food was not as great. Most of the time it was cold, and just not as good as the food we were treated to on the Mariner back in May.

 

Entertainment

 

I only attended one show, and that was the second one. It was the welcome aboard show, and the Captain made an appearance and introduced his fellow officers. Afterwards, there was a comedy show. The comedian was Rick Corso, who I felt was talented, but was not a great comedian. He did a few imitations, and he was great at that, but I was not a fan of many of his jokes.

 

A side note, there was a trio or Rosario Strings (yes, I know there are multiple of them). Also, liked the Sovereign’s orchestra. The Love and Marriage show, and The Quest were great as always.

 

The Ports

 

Nassau, Bahamas

 

Well Nassau is…just that, Nassau. We arrived around 11 AM. We have been there many times and it never really has impressed us much. So we didn’t have any excursions planned, and were going to make this a play around day. The men and the women split up. The ladies went to the straw market and did a little shopping while the men headed over to Senor Frogs, both which are in walking distance of the dock. Other people in our group did the Atlantis Day Pass (I guess that is what it is), and they enjoyed it. We couldn’t hang around Nassau long because we had to get back onboard for formal night. Another tip, if you have a big day planned in Nassau, take the late seating, because it really stinks getting off the ship and then jumping right back on to get ready for the formal dinner.

 

Coco Cay

We have been to Labadee (RCI’s other private island), however this was our first visit to Labadee. I think I compared and contrasted them earlier in the thread, but here is a quick rundown again.

 

Labadee had the beautiful mountains and had a little bit of history behind it (Columbus’ landing etc..). What we liked a lot more in Coco Cay compared to Labadee was the beautiful breeze that was continuously blowing, keeping us cool at all times.

 

Anyways, I decided to buy snorkeling tickets (on the ship) for DD, Jenna, and I. When we got to the island we had seen numerous people already stung by pesky jellyfish. That is when I decided that there was no way I was going to risk my 5 year old daughter getting stung. So those went to waste. This was the day that DS and I were given a private bridge tour by the captain so we had to be back onboard by 3:00. Other kids in our group went to the aqua park and received multiple jellyfish stings. I understand that it is just that time of the year, but you would not believe the amount of these creatures in the waters of Coco Cay!

 

Other Information

 

Our Cruise Director was Chris Armas. Our Captain was Vidar Solem.

 

The Summary

 

The Sovereign was a beautiful ship for its age. It did however show signs of wear and tear, but this is to be expected. Everyone had a great time, and felt there was something to do for everyone. However, I felt more crowded on this ship, than I did on the Mariner (which is twice the size). I also, felt this ship was harder to navigate than the Mariner, considering the sizes. That aside, I felt it was a pretty flawless trip and I could see myself sailing the Sovereign one day in the future.

 

Any other questions please feel free to ask, as I would be more than happy to answer them for you. :)

 

Also, please take it easy on me, this was my first review, so I am still a newbie at this :p

[forpaws]

Great review--thanks for taking the time to post. I for one enjoyed it! :)

[10th Anniversary]

Forpaws:

My nephew, niece and I did feel quite a bit of movement the first night, and we felt pretty queasy from it, but after that, it smoothed out or we must have gotten used to it.

Thanks for the information. I believe I will have this problem, but I think if I take sea sick medicine, I will be OK. Did you feel it more in the dining room and therate, as they are aft? Or did you feel it all over? Was your room aft, middle, or forward?

 

The Summary

 

The Sovereign was a beautiful ship for its age. It did however show signs of wear and tear, but this is to be expected. Everyone had a great time, and felt there was something to do for everyone. However, I felt more crowded on this ship, than I did on the Mariner (which is twice the size). I also, felt this ship was harder to navigate than the Mariner, considering the sizes. That aside, I felt it was a pretty flawless trip and I could see myself sailing the Sovereign one day in the future.

Thanks for a great review and for being honest. I appreciate people being honest and sharing their thoughts and opinions and not trying to sugar coat things. The kids have never been on a ship before, so they will think it's huge and great. But for me and my husband, after being on the Mariner, we need to know what to expect from this smaller, older ship.

 

Jellyfish...will we have a problem with these in late November? I didn't realize there was such a problem with them.

 

Thanks again.

[nlcentralchmps03]

Forpaws:

 

Thanks for the information. I believe I will have this problem, but I think if I take sea sick medicine, I will be OK. Did you feel it more in the dining room and therate, as they are aft? Or did you feel it all over? Was your room aft, middle, or forward?

 

 

Thanks for a great review and for being honest. I appreciate people being honest and sharing their thoughts and opinions and not trying to sugar coat things. The kids have never been on a ship before, so they will think it's huge and great. But for me and my husband, after being on the Mariner, we need to know what to expect from this smaller, older ship.

 

Jellyfish...will we have a problem with these in late November? I didn't realize there was such a problem with them.

 

Thanks again.

You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

I am not sure about the Jellyfish in November issue. Maybe somebody else can chime in??

[nlcentralchmps03]

Great review--thanks for taking the time to post. I for one enjoyed it! :)

Thanks for the kind words :)

[Merion_Mom]

We were on the same Sovereign cruise as you :~) (9-15 to 9-18). I just came on here to see if I could find out the name of the "dueling pianos" guys in Balaro's lounge and ran into your post.

They were both awesome!!! We loved Chris (the young one), but can't remember his last name. He's from Canada and left the ship after that cruise and we're not sure if he's coming back to Sovereign or what. We were hoping he'd have a webpage or something to show his schedule, so we can see what other cruises he's got booked. Any info you've got would be MUCH appreciated :~)

designer: email me at my cruise critic name on america online, and I'll try to help.