Royal Caribbean International
Sovereign of the Seas Cruise Review
Bahamas

Susan
Age: 41
Occupation: medical receptionist
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: April 10th, 2006

My husband and I, along with our two daughters, ages 15 & 18, just returned from the 4 night cruise. There are positives but also negatives about this cruise.

I had visions, hopes and dreams about this vacation……unfortunately the weather did not cooperate! So if you’re going on this cruise, just be mentally prepared for the possibility of bad weather… It was very windy the day we boarded. That first night was rocky on board because of the 11-15 waves! One of my daughters felt sick and could only eat broth for dinner….the rocking even woke me up…TIP:Pack a sweatshirt…..it gets very windy on the decks. They made an announcement the first night that we would switch the itinerary, have the day at sea first then Nassau, then Cococay(see below)The first day at sea was very windy..and we had sun for 3 hours only….the pool water was cold the entire cruise..and the hot tubs were constantly filled with people… we never got to go in one…….we were going to try the rock wall, but because of the constant wind it was constantly closed!!

Some good news: the beds were very comfortable…our cabins on deck 8 were fine for 2 people. We had adjoining cabins….we had enough storage….you spend very little time in your cabin…..

Overall the staff was very helpful in all areas and tried really hard to please us!
And of course Royal Caribbean has no control over the weather!

FOOD: was good….remember you can have as many entrees as you want!! We did not buy the soda package…glad we didn’t…I told my girls to drink the lemonade or fruit punch..and I would buy them the virgin pina coladas’ etc…….

NASSAU: again, the weather did not cooperate…it was cloudy and rainy…the girls wanted to get their hair braided….there is an area after you clear the customs building…it took about 1 ½ hours to get half a head done..cost $65 each..we shopped in the straw market..then went back to the ship for lunch…..after that we took a taxi over to Atlantis and just walked around for a while…..the beach had red flags…the water was rough…

Before the trip, I booked, through their web site, Dolphin Encounter….it’s about $30 cheaper than booking through the cruise line….this was the HIGHLIGHT of the trip…it is truly a once in a lifetime experience!!!!!! I booked this for my 2 daughters….my husband and I just watched…big mistake!!! When my girls were doing this I wished I booked all of us!!! They had smiles on their faces the entire time!!!!

BACK on the ship…..my girls went to the teen club the first night for 1 hour…not a lot of teens on board , they never went back……but we all enjoyed the shows, bingo and the comedian…the dancers and singer were excellent!! BUT……….

MY DREAM was to go to Cococay, I could picture myself there! Relaxing in a hammock….snorkeling in the beautiful water…..etc…..the morning we were to go to this private island….the captain announced that the water was too rough and not safe for us to go there……..I COULD HAVE CRIED!!…HUGE DISAPOINTMENT…there was no compensation whatsoever…..the least they could have done was give us a free drink…the next problem was finding a lounge chair that day….at least we had sunshine but we had to lay on the deck until a chair became available…it was still very windy..in fact that morning I was outside walking around with my cup of coffee and the wind blew the coffee out of my cup, all over me!!!

OVERALL: we did have fun on the cruise!! The family pictures taken on the ship were beautiful…we bought about 4- 8x10s $20 each…TIPS: pack clothes for chilly weather….pack a small amount of clothes detergent…..Have Fun!!

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