Review: Royal Caribbean - Sovereign of the Seas - [October 15 , 2004]

[Net Reviews]

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Reviewer Comments:

We sailed on a three-day cruise on Sovereign of the Seas departing on
Friday October 15th. The group consisted of my wife and I, along with
my sister and her husband. This was their second cruise, but it had
been 14 years since their last. We live in Georgia, so it was a pretty
reasonable drive down to Port Canaveral. We drove down I-75 to the
Florida Turnpike. From there we took the Turnpike to Hwy. 528, straight
to the port. This is our third cruise. Our last cruise was on the
Sovereign in 2000 on a 4-day Bahamas cruise. This trip was much
different than the last. On our last cruise we wound up with two days
at sea because the weather was too bad for Cocoa Cay.

We got to the port around 12:30pm. We dropped the girls and the luggage
off and parked our car in the parking deck. It took no longer than 15
minutes for both couples to get through the initial check in and onto
the ship. We went to our rooms and dropped off a few items. The rooms
were pretty much as we remembered from our last cruise in 2000. This
was a basic inside stateroom. Our last time on the ship we had a room
with a porthole. Our room was tight, but adequate. As everyone has
mentioned in other reviews, it was in need of new carpet and minor
cosmetic repairs. We had no other mechanical problems. The shower was
actually very strong and hot. It was better than the one I have at home.

We had lunch in the Windjammer Café. It was pretty good. There were
pasta dishes, fish, chicken, and carved meats. There was also a variety
of vegetables and salad. They also had five or six different deserts.
After that we looked around the ship. There wasn’t much different than
our last trip. We had the muster drill around 4:30, and then set sail
around 5 p.m. This is the first time we cruised with someone we knew,
and we really enjoyed it. There appeared to be a lot of “groups” on the
ship this time. There were several large wedding parties, and groups of
“red hat ladies”. I knew what they were because my mom is a member.

We went to our rooms and got ready for dinner. We had early seating. I
prefer this due to the fact that I don’t like to eat supper between 8:30
and 10:00 p.m. We met our waiter and assistant. They were very
proficient and performed the job adequate.

As far as the meals go, I would have to say the food was pretty good.
Some items were much better than others. My wife’s prime rib was cooked
correctly, but tough. I liked most of the appetizers and soups. The
menu setup had changed since our last cruise. The food was different
also. I usually ordered two appetizers or entrees, and we would share
and sample the food between all of us. I thought the cheesecake wasn’t
very good, but enjoyed most everything else. The brownie with chocolate
mouse was dry and tasteless. But the apple pie was excellent. The best
meal of the weekend was the filet steak on formal night. There was only
one midnight buffet on this cruise. We were disappointed by this, and
had really looked forward to the chocolate buffet we had on the four-day
cruise. They did serve limited snacks in some of the bars and casino at
midnight, but I can guarantee you that it wasn’t very much. The cruise
was sold out. I think a lot of people had the misconception of a
nightly midnight buffet. I heard several people complaining that all
they had was pizza. The line for the pizza was very long between
midnight and 1 a.m. There was one guy making the pizza and he did more
dancing and showing off for the ladies than anything else. The
Caribbean buffet on the second night was pretty good. It was spread out
around the pool area. The lines were not very long and seemed to flow
pretty well. The only problem was there was really no place to sit and
eat. The buffet consisted of several stations of different types of
food. There was one Mexican station with make your own, tacos, steak
and chicken fajitas, and all the fixings. There was also another
station with jerk chicken and other items. There was a whole hog at the
carving station. There was a fruit fondue area, and a large desert area
with ice and chocolate carvings.

On day two we were in Nassau. The ship didn’t let us off until around
11:30 a.m. We took a taxi to the Atlantis. On our last trip we did the
string ray snorkel excursion, and I highly recommend it. We wanted to
do something different this time. You have to exit through the colorful
building on the pier. When you hit the street there will be plenty of
people offering taxis. I had heard the taxi drivers were pretty bad,
but found that not to be the case. Actually, after you’ve ridden in a
shuttle or taxi in New York from JFK to Manhattan, it was a piece of
cake. Anyway, in ten minutes we were at the Atlantis. I was thirsty
when we arrived and was directed to the bar for a beverage. I wanted
water, but all they had was a small 16 oz bottle for $3 and a large
bottle for $6 and neither was cold. I told the bartender that I didn’t
want to drink warm water. The bartender offered me two large glasses of
ice water for free, so I graciously accepted. The girls had cokes. We
walked around and decided to go on “The Dig” tour. It was $29 per
person, and well worth it. The tour lasted about an hour. Afterwards,
we took a taxi back to the straw market area and did some shopping. You
will get a shopping map before you leave the ship. It gives you a good
layout for where the stores are located, even if you don’t go to the
recommended stores.

Day three was Cocoa Cay. We were very happy that we were able to visit
the island. It was much nicer than I expected. Everything seemed very
organized. We got there by 9:30 a.m. We went snorkeling several times.

There was some jellyfish, but I saw no one get hurt other than a few
minor stings. I only saw one the entire day. The sun came out around
lunchtime, and warned things up. We did the barbeque thing with
burgers, hotdogs, ribs, salads, pastas, beans, salad, and assorted
deserts. My wife and sister got their hair braided. My sister got her
entire head done for $70. My wife got half of hers done for $30. It
was a nice relaxing day in the sun. And the Coco Loco was a great drink.

We tried to take part in as much as we could while on the ship. We went
to all of the shows, and also went to Battle of the Sexes, Love and
Marriage game, and the Quest game. We won first place on the Quest…great
teamwork. All of the shows were very good and I felt like it was all
done in good taste. It is impossible to do everything, but we had a
full schedule for the entire three days. We played bingo one time. It
was $35 to play five games. That gave you six cards to play for each
game. The last game was a $1,000 jackpot, but they don’t tell you
everything until you’ve bought the card. The jackpot game only pays
$1,000 if you win in the first 48 numbers called. After that it’s much
lower like $170. Needless to say no one won the “jackpot” on the
cruise. We also went into the casino a few times and played slots.

On the last morning we ate breakfast and waited for our color to be
called. We were off the ship and headed back to Georgia by 9:30 a.m.
This was a great short cruise, but I think I would prefer the four day
cruise again. I look forward to trying the SOS after all the repairs
and upgrades next month. FYI, the front deck basketball area was
closed. They had a crew pulling up all the flooring in that area. Also
both theaters were closed, but they showed Shrek 2 playing in one of the
lounges.