Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas - Cruise Review

Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 22:18:04 -0500
From: Gutren@aol.com (Linda)
Subject: Review

This was a cruise taken over Thanksgiving and the ship was at capacity. We stood in long lines to board the ship and to disembark. Considering the many people in line,I felt this went smoothly, though it took quite some time. We were going on the cruise to celebrate my mother and father-in-laws 50th Anniversary. There were several other cruisers wearing T-shirts bearing 50th Anniversary logos, so I think there were at least 3 or 4 groups cruising for the same reason we were. The weather was a little chilly at Port Canaveral.

STATEROOM: We were budget cruising (yes, we had a closet with a porthole), Deck 2B, Room 2211. Our room attendant was Anneziar from Trinidad. She was very gracious and pleasant and did a wonderful job. We enjoyed the towel animals as a treat in our rooms. One night it was a bunny, another night a swan.

FOOD/ROOM SERVICE: We had early seating in the Kismet dining room. Our group took up two tables. The Head Waiter was Yusef from Turkey. He was very interesting and entertaining and stopped by our table a lot during our 4 day cruise. Presented a delicious cake for the anniversary couple. This was his last cruise on SOS. He was being transferred to Miami and the Voyager of the Seas, I believe. Our waiter was from Thailand and his name was Khantee. Khantee did an excellent job and wanted to please. His assistant was Henery from Trinidad. He was kept very busy and did a wonderful job though I do not believe he understood much English. The kids were at the other table and they had Vladymir from Lithuania as their waiter. Henery also was their assistant. We were all pleased with the service, quality/presentation of the food. We were in agreement with what we had read in other reviews: Eat in the dining room for your lunch and evening meals. Windjammer (cafeteria/buffet style) is okay for breakfast, but the food definitely is not up to the level of the food served in the dining room. I had all my meals in the Kismet or Gigi.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS: I was not impressed with this place at all. Beautiful sky, beautiful water. Not a true view of what the place is like I am sure. The comedian on the ship described it as "the first time he ever took a cruise to a "GARAGE SALE." We did not do any of the fun things (money things)here, just walked the streets and looked in shops. The hairbraider's were our first encounter off the ship. My nephew was thinking about getting his hair done (a couple of words between two of the ladies about who saw him first). The lady said my nephew had a lot of hair and she expected a GOOD tip. It was decided not to get the hair braiding done. (Note--Later on, my niece came off ship with her dad and she had her hair braided, the tiniest of braids and it was a whopping $180 to have it done. I think my brother-in-law had heart failure. Katherine really looked good in the braids, but she took them out on Tues 12/3). One questionable person bumped into my other nephew and said some thing to the effect of "drugs", not totally understood as we quickly walked past this guy.

FORMAL NIGHT: (the night at port in Nassau) We looked great dressed up. The filet mignon was delicious and a good size. We all ordered different desserts so we could taste a bit of each. Some reviews I read said the meals were skimpy servings, but not on this cruise. I gained 5 pounds in 4 days (glutton).

COCO CAY: A beautiful little place. We were told that the previous week there was bad weather and that cruise did not get the chance to visit the island. Our group went parasailing, snorkeling and kayaking. I went hammocking. Lunch was okay. I enjoyed the hot dogs most. The BBQ chicken was okay. I did not enjoy the beef ribs. Plenty of fruit, water and juice. I had the drink called Yellow Bird (alcoholic). It was good.

ENTERTAINMENT: Flashback--Dancing and singing oldies. I really enjoyed the show. My sister-in-law did not and went to the casino. The Love and Marriage Game was not as entertaining as it apparently was on some other reviews that I read but, better than reruns on TV (which they did--showing it on the ship's TV later on, in case you missed being there). I loved the the juggler Charlie Frye and his wife. They were great. Also, the comedian, Rick Corso was very entertaining. Karen Maybury was the cruise director and the "star" of a funny little film at the end which had her in the classic Titanic pose at the front of the ship.

SUMMARY: Don't expect luxury. Do expect excellent service, good to excellent entertainment, smiles and really nice people. Enjoy yourself. I did. I would recommend going on this cruise as a good value for the money. This was my very first cruise. I loved the layout of the ship. Plenty of places to see the water and beautiful scenery. My very fit brother-in-law and sister-in-law took advantage of the ShipShape Center and the jogging deck. Wish I had. E-mail me if you have questions.

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