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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Mason
Email: bmason@haberer.com
Age: 28
Occupation: Network Administrator
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Sovereign
SailingDate: 9/10/99 - 9/13/99
Itinerary: Nassau & Coco Cay
Cabin: Category D
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 91
DeckService: 92
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 92
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 94
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 93
OverallPortsofCall: 89
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 88
CruiseActivities: 87
Casino: 87
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 94
DiscoNightclubs: 88
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 89
OverallCruiseValue: 94
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 15 Sep 1999
Time: 13:01:00
Remote Name: 207.86.78.83
Remote User:
Comments
This was my first cruise and my wife's second. We had a wonderful time and plan on doing
it again. Here are some of
the highlights of the trip as well as some pros and cons.
Embarkation: This was quick and easy. Even though the line looks long it does move very
quickly. Prepare your
documents ahead of time and you won't feel rushed at all. Once on the ship you have all
afternoon to explore, eat
lunch, and find the perfect place for when the ship leaves port. I would recommend the
back of the ship since most
people haven't had time to wander that far back. The views are great and not crowded at
all!
Dining: We chose to eat all our dinners in the dining room. The attire most nights was
casual (khaki pants and polo
shirt for men) and one night was formal (although most men wore suits not tuxedos). The
food was good but not great.
I didn't expect the food to be gourmet since they have to feed 2000+ people in two
sittings. The variety of food was
good and it seemed they stress quantity over quality. Our waiter and assistant waiter
didn't speak English very well
and most of what they had to say was scripted. This was a bit of a disappointment although
they really did try hard to
please. We didn't see our head waiter until the last night when he shook our hands with
one hand and expected a tip
with the other.
Eat dinner during the second seating. We found that the first seating was too early. We
would have missed seeing the
ship depart from Miami as well as shortening our excursions at Coco Cay and Nassau.
Room: Our room was larger then expected (Category D) and fairly comfortable for two
people. Our room had a safe
and the bathroom even had a full size tub! Our cabin steward provided the best service of
the trip and as such
received the largest tip. There was a rather large window, adequate closet and nice area
for my wife to put her
makeup on.
Entertainment: We missed the first nights entertainment but would definitely recommend the
second night. The
comedian and the Not So Newlywed Game were absolutely hilarious!!!
Nassau: Being that this was my first trip to the Caribbean I thought it would look
tropical like on Fantasy Island. Well…
Nassau is a fairly poor city whose sole means of industry is selling to tourists. Expect
to be hassled over t-shirts and
hair braiding. The shops were mostly selling fine jewelry and duty free alcohol. The
alcohol was very inexpensive… the
jewelry was less expensive then in the United States but definitely not cheap. I would
recommend doing one of the
excursions. They had one where you feed and pet stingrays. The couple who shared our table
at dinner did this and
absolutely loved it. There is also an excursion to Atlantis if you like to gamble.
Coco Cay: This was by far the highlight of the trip for me. This is what I think of when I
think Caribbean! Large enough
that it is more then just a beach but small enough that you can walk end to end in about
fifteen minutes. We rented
floating mats and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Definitely have at least one Coco Loco (the
local drink) and find a nice
hammock to relax in. The water was crystal blue and warm. You can snorkle, jet ski,
parasail, etc. We chose to just
relax on the beach. It was wonderful!!! Lunch is served on the island and is more then
adequate. However, just so you
know… there will be more then half the ship on this island. Don't think you have the
place to yourself! It can get
crowded.
Tips: While we understood that tipping was definitely a requirement, we underestimated how
much was actually
expected. The main waiter and cabin steward (it is recommended) receive $3.50 per person
per day. The assistant
waiter should receive $2.50 per person per day. The head waiter is up to your discretion
and all drinks, and bar staff
have a 15% gratuity automatically added to the bill. For us this amounted to over $70.00.
It was worth it but be
prepared!
Debarkation: This was also a bit of a disappointment. Prepare to wait. We had four
Non-U.S. citizens on the ship who
did not show up at the designated place for immigration. Until those people were found the
whole ship was on hold. No
one could leave the ship for over an hour while we waited for these people. This wasn't a
problem for us since our
flight didn't leave until the early afternoon, however, it could have been trouble for
those with early morning flights.
Once off the ship we didn't have any trouble finding our luggage which was grouped by a
color coded tag and quickly
found a taxi. The cost from the port to the airport is $18.00 plus tip.
Overall, we loved the time we had. I wish we had more time and felt that I was just
getting into the swing of things when
it was all over. We plan on doing another cruise and will probably do a seven day cruise
next.
Name: Michelle Oden
Email: moden0807@aol.com
Age: 37
Occupation: Secretarial Lead
NumberOfCruises: 0
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Sovereign
SailingDate: 8/23/99
Itinerary: Nassau/CoCo Cay/Key West
Cabin: 2128/I
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 88
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 89
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets: 91
CabinSteward: 88
ShoreExcVariety: 89
FoodVariety: 93
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 89
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 93
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 92
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 98
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Sep 1999
Time: 14:15:04
Remote Name: 158.23.25.225
Remote User:
Comments
This was my family's first cruise--my husband, 12-year old daughter and myself. My parents
also went on this cruise
with us--this was their 3rd cruise. Embarkation and disembarkation went along very
smoothly. This was a great cruise
and we are already looking forward to the next one! The ship was beautiful and clean. The
food was delicious and our
waiter and assistant waiter were the best!
The ports of call were okay--Nassau was okay; Key West was okay; we enjoyed CocoCay the
best. Except for the ants
and the rocks in the shallow part of the water, we enjoyed it very much. Once you got past
the rocks, you were able to
enjoy the blue water.
Our daughter absolutely enjoyed herself. She met and made quite a few friends from the
kids' program and they hung
out for the entire trip. She went kayaking on Coco Cay for the first time and enjoyed it
very much. The weather was
beautiful, as well. Nassau got a little hot as the day wore on, however. We did buy some
things at the shops in Nassau.
The cabin was a little small--we had an outside cabin. But for our first cruise, it was
still nice.
The staff was very helpful and friendly and we really felt pampered in the dining room. We
always ate breakfast and
dinner in the dining room so we could be pampered by our waiters. They did a tremendous
job at that! My husband
had asked for a dessert item that was not on the menu and the waiter found it for him
anyway!
The shows and comedian were very good--very entertaining! We really felt spoiled and when
it was time to go, we
weren't! We definitely plan to go another RCL ship very soon--this time a 7 night cruise!
Name: Derrick and Sandra Grimes
Email: dmgrimes@sprynet.com
Age: 30
Occupation: Military Officer & Electrical Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 0
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Sovereign
SailingDate: 9/6/99
Itinerary: Nassau, Cococay, KeyWest
Cabin: 9534D
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Sep 1999
Time: 13:04:21
Remote Name: 140.90.17.169
Remote User:
Comments
This was our first cruise. My husband and I and three other couples (friends of ours)
decided to tour together. The
Sovereign of the Seas is a beautiful ship. It is well maintained and the crew was always
willing to please. Below is a list
of highlights and points of interest:
Embarkation: We arrived at the port around 1:00 p.m. There will be several men there ready
to take your luggage. Be
prepared to give them a tip! Word of wisdom: Do not put fragile items into your suitcases.
The men were literally
throwing the bags onto the carts. You should hand carry all valuable and fragile items.
The lines were really long,
however they moved rather quickly. Have your cruise documents filled out before getting
into the line. A lot of
passengers had to leave the line to fill out the necessary paperwork.
Cabins: Once we arrived on board, we immediately found our cabin. Surprisingly, our
luggage was waiting outside of
the door. Our entire group was on the 9th Deck with outside rooms. The cabins were a lot
larger than I expected.
Closet space was adequate, the bathroom had a full size tub, and there was also room for a
vanity area. There was
also a television that offered movies such as October Sky and Austin Powers. Our cabin
steward, Cheryl Ann, from
Trinidad made sure that our cabin was always neat and clean. After returning from
breakfast and dinner, we always
returned to a spotless room with fresh towels, pillows arranged into a neat figure and
chocolate mints on the bed. Tip:
Bring a travel iron along. The cruise line does not provide any on the ship. Our clothes
were quite wrinkled from the
drive, so we had to have them pressed by the laundry service on board. The prices were
reasonable, however.
Dining: We opted for the main seating. This allowed time to savor the midnight buffets.
The dining room staff was just
wonderful. I commend the exceptional service they provide. Our waiter, Gilles, from
France, spoiled us completely. Our
asst. waiter, Brent, from Italy was just as attentive. By the second night, he knew what
drink we would order and it was
ready before we asked. Now that's service. Daniel, from the Virgin Islands, was our asst.
waiter at breakfast. He was a
riot and always made us laugh at his funny jokes. We normally ate lunch in the Windjammer
Café. The food was buffet
style and pretty good.
Entertainment: The few shows that we attended were great. The NewlyWed game is a must! Our
friends told us that
the comedy show was also hilarious.
Shore Excursions: Nassau: We chose the Nassau Sightseeing and Atlantis Tour. The
sightseeing portion was okay,
but the Atlantis Resort is gorgeous. I advise you to NOT book the excursion through the
cruise line. There will be
numerous taxi drivers waiting as you depart the ship offering to take you to the Atlantis
for as little as $3. We paid $70.
Now that was a rip off, however, we learned our lesson.
CocoCay: The ship's private island was the best part of the cruise according to my
husband. This was a day of
relaxation for me. I found a beach chair and lounged most of the day. There are also
hammocks provided. For lunch,
the cruise line prepared an enjoyable barbeque. For those loving to shop, there were
several vendors on the island.
Key West: This was a nice little island. We ventured on the Home and Garden Tour which
included a visit to the
Hemingway home. There was a lot a walking involved on this tour, so wear comfortable
shoes. After the tour, we just
walked around an did a little shopping.
Tips: Be prepared to reward those who have provided service to you on the last night of
the cruise. Our group tipped
based on the recommend allowances with a little extra. It was definitely worth it.
Debarkation: We departed the Sovereign around 8:30 am. After going through customs and
locating our bags, we
were on our way back to SC by 9:00 am. Finding our luggage was easy. The cruise line
groups them according to
color codes.
Overall, this was a wonderful experience. We will definitely cruise the RCCL again!.
Name: Angie Jones
Email: angie_jones@msn.com
Age: 28
Occupation: Records Coordinator
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Sovereign
SailingDate: September 17 -20 1999
Itinerary: Miami, Nassau, Coco Cay
Cabin: 6569
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 92
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 96
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 92
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 92
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 92
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 88
EntertShowLounge: 92
OverallPortsofCall: 86
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 96
CruiseActivities: 96
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs: 96
DeckSpace: 92
Stabilization: 94
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 28 Sep 1999
Time: 14:38:09
Remote Name: clipper.rollins.edu
Remote User:
Comments
We went as a group of 10 family members. Some first time cruisers. Our party ranged in age
from 10 - 58. The
week we went Hurricane Floyd had just hit the Bahamas a few days earlier so we knew we
would have some
changes in itinerary. We drove down from Cocoa Beach (3hours North of Miami) and arrived
at the port shortly after
11am and were on the ship checking out the scenery by noon.
The cabin was smaller than I expected, but very comfortable. Our steward kept the bed
apart in the couch position
during the day, and made it up into a full size bed in the evening. My son loved sleeping
on the top bunk. Didn't see
our steward much but the room was always straightened up when we would come back from the
pool or lunch.
We had dinner in the Gigi Dining room main seating table 15. Our waiter was Z from
Yugoslavia and he was great.
He kept my 10-year-old son entertained with small talk about the ship. He did everything
including peeling our
shrimp. We ate almost every meal in the dining room, and by lunch the 2nd day our
assistant waiter knew what
everyone wanted for his or her drink without asking and we had 10 people at our table. The
food was very good
and presented beautifully. The food in the Windjammer Cafe was good also, but my son and
fiancé enjoyed the
service in the formal dining room. After dinner we would take my son to the kids program
(he couldn't wait to get
there), and we would go relax in the Viking Crown Lounge with a drink until the shows
started. It was a beautiful
view, not crowded, romantic.
My son really enjoyed the kids program. They had tons of sony playstations, and there were
quite a few kids my
son's age so he made some new friends to hang out with. The staff was extremely friendly
and enthusiastic; they
kept the kids well entertained with games, parties, and crafts.
The shows were good especially the Not So Newlywed Game and The Liar's Club. We went to
bingo and karoke.
The first night in the disco was 70's night, they also had a sock hop, and the scavenger
hunt the last night was a
riot. They had a midnight buffet once on the 2nd night it was a beautiful display on the
pool deck under the stars.
The other nights they came through the lounges and discos with midnight delights.
In Nassau we did our own thing opting out of the shore excursions. Some of the guys in our
group went to Paradise
Island Atlantis to watch college football on TV. We did some sightseeing and shopping. We
didn't go to Coco Cay
due to storm damage so we had a day at sea. The day at sea was nice hanging out around the
pool deck
swimming, dancing, and just getting some R&R.
I thought the pictures were a little expensive $19.95 for one 8x10. I snapped some
beautiful pictures with my own
camera and had couple of them enlarged. Overall everything was wonderful.
Debarkation was a breeze we were off the ship by 8:45am and I was back in my den (and
reality) by noon. I highly
recommend Royal Caribbean. We are already planning a family reunion cruise on Voyager for
late summer 2000.
Name: John & Glenda Cameron
Email: politcl@hotmail.com
Age: 33 & 27
Occupation: IT professional
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Sovereign
SailingDate: 15 Oct 99
Itinerary: Miami-Nassau-Miami
Cabin: 6088 / F
FoodDiningRoom: 87
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 94
FoodRoomService: 87
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 87
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 87
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 89
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 82
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 92
CruiseActivities: 89
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 28 Oct 1999
Time: 19:32:19
Remote Name: 207.226.12.97
Remote User:
Comments
My wife and I were looking forward to our first cruise and being alone together for the
first time in years. Unfortunately
we had an uninvited guest on our cruise, Hurricane Irene! Thank God United Airlines didn’t
cancel our flight into Miami
like everyone else did. During the cruise everybody was talking about how they eventually
arrived in Miami and some of
the stories were enough to scare Vincent Price. Practically everyone on the ship was quite
stressed out.
After landing, we found the RCCL greeters and inquired about the cost of taking the bus
over to the ship. For those of
you who wish to know, it’s $10 per person each way. We opted to take the bus since I
had done some research and
read that a taxi is about $25 one way. The greeters take your information and the $40 was
added to our cruise account.
I thought that was nice since I was able to hold onto my cash for a little while longer at
least. We were led to an area
where a bus pulled up shortly. The driver loaded our baggage as we boarded. There was
another couple that boarded
with us, Beth and Kenny from Atlanta, and we started talking about what a great time
everyone was looking forward to.
Then we waited, and waited, and waited. It became obvious that the driver was paid by the
passenger and not by the
trip. Fifty (50) minutes went by before the driver was satisfied that the trip would be
worth his while. By this time, my
fellow passengers and I were threatening to commandeer the bus and drive ourselves to the
port. Note to RCCL: If this
is company policy to make people wait for a full bus, serve drinks! You’re losing
money otherwise that would be spent
on board the ship and the passengers would be in a much better mood.
We left the airport around 2pm with Irene really pounding Miami. We passed a few golf
courses and it was funny to see
only the flags sticking out of the water. There was flooding everywhere. We passed one
side street where the cars were
practically floating. Welcome to the sunshine state!
Our driver was a nice guy despite making us wait. He went into a comedy routine and was
pointing out various
landmarks or watermarks, as was the case. His island accent made it difficult to
understand him at times, but no one
really cared anyway. He kept making a point of telling us of the ‘very nice
hotels’ we passed. We were wondering why he
was doing this, when we pulled up at the Hyatt. He parked at the front door and said we
were going to love staying here.
Then he got off and commenced pulling out luggage. Not a soul was laughing at this
situation. We knew the Sovereign
was in port because we ran into some passengers that had left the ship that morning. They
had to come into port at
1am because they were experiencing 20 foot swells. One of the passengers said it made
dancing difficult to say the
least. The driver came back on the bus and after looking around at us with this big smile
and noticing that no one was
smiling back, said, ‘There is someone for the Hyatt, right?’ This woman at the
back of the bus got up telling us she was
so sorry for this misunderstanding and got off. The driver didn’t really do much
joking anymore after seeing his life was
in danger because of that stunt. Finally, we arrived at the port.
We breezed through check in. From the bus to the room was about 15 minutes! The ship is
bigger than we expected, as
was our cabin, 6088, category F. After reading so much about the size of the rooms I was
expecting little more than a
linen closet. My wife and I were quite comfortable with the size of our cabin. The window
was larger than expected also.
There was ample closet space and the shower was large enough for one person (I’m
6’2’ 190lbs, my wife is 5’4’ 118lbs),
two if you feel adventurous! We quickly unpacked the two carry-on pieces of luggage we
had. Of course, we had
packed our own liquid refreshment in the one piece we gave to the cruise line at the
airport. So off we went to hunt
down the crewmembers with the drinks and to do some exploring. After all, we were on our
very first vacation after eight
years together and our first time away from our 4 yr old and 2 yr old kids for more than
one night…we were determined
to have a great time!
We wandered around for about 15 minutes before we found ourselves on deck 11 where the
Windjammer Café is
located. As soon as we arrived we found the men carrying the Pina Coladas that we were
looking for! After signing for
them, $5.95 each, and taking a sip, we started to feel like we were on vacation. Next
stop, buffet line. Despite what I had
read from other people, the buffet was very nice. There was roast beef and salmon with a
nice saffron sauce that was
absolutely fantastic! We quickly ate and went back to our cabin.
Our luggage still hadn’t arrived and seeing most everyone else’s had I became a
little concerned. I checked with one of
the baggage handlers and he said we shouldn’t worry until about 6pm. Considering the
ship was to sail at 5pm this
didn’t put me at ease very much. I went back to the cabin and we picked out our shore
excursions for the weekend. We
chose the Yellowbird Tour in Nassau and signed up for snorkeling and floating mats in Coco
Cay. I went down to the
main lobby and placed our choices in the collection box.
We decided to check out more of the ship and get a couple more drinks before we sailed. We
went up to the Viking
Lounge. It’s very nice and very quiet, but since smoking is not permitted we left to
find a place to relax and indulge our
nasty habit. We fell in love with the Schooner Bar. It has a great view, it’s not
crowded, it’s located in the middle of the
ship, and it’s quiet. We had a few drinks and decided to go back to the cabin to
check on our luggage.
It wasn’t there yet. Now it’s close to 5pm and I’m getting a little
anxious. Our tickets for our excursions were there
though. So I opened the envelope and was quite shocked to see that we had been signed up
for the swimming with
dolphins tour! I thought my wife was going to kill me. I assured her that I didn’t
pick it out and that I would have it
changed to the correct tour. Off to the Shore Excursion desk I went.
I couldn’t have asked to have been treated any better than the guys at the excursion
desk treated me. They were very
apologetic and quickly fixed the error. As I was thanking them the Captain came on the
loud speaker stating that the
storm was getting worse, many of the passengers hadn’t arrived yet, and we
wouldn’t be sailing tonight. He said we
would be sailing at 5pm the next day and only to Nassau where we would arrive at 8am
Sunday and depart at 4pm
Sunday. We would not be going to Coco Cay. He apologized for the inconvenience and trouble
this was causing and
told us Royal Caribbean would give us 50% off our next cruise. A woman in the lobby lost
her composure completely.
She literally was crying and screaming about how she had saved up for this trip for a long
time. I really felt very sorry for
her.
Now my shore excursion tickets were worthless for Coco Cay and not much better for Nassau.
If we wouldn’t have the
opportunity to snorkel in Coco Cay I wanted to do it in Nassau. Again the guys at the desk
took care of me. I was fixed
up with a four-hour snorkeling tour in Nassau.
My wife allowed me back in the cabin and our luggage arrived shortly before 6pm. We
decided to check out the
champagne bar. It’s very classy. Only champagne and fine liquors are served there.
They do have Louis XIII for $69.00
a glass for those of you with platinum cards, and a bottle of Dom with a tin of caviar is
$189.00. We had the cheapest
glass of champagne for $8.00 each. Like I said, we have two kids.
We went back to the cabin to relax and get ready for dinner. We had the 8:30 seating. The
food wasn't great but not
bad either. No lobster on the shorter cruises, boo. I recommend eating in the dining room
for all your meals except
breakfast. You can get that in the Windjammer and it’s buffet style. Our waiter Glen
was great. We did have our table
changed after the first night because the husband of one of the couples we were sitting
with was a real jerk. He kept
insulting his wife and telling her she was fat (she was 7 months pregnant!). Our new
tablemates were great and we
wound up exchanging addresses. By the way, casual doesn’t mean a tee shirt and
shorts. I was absolutely stunned to
see people dressed like that for dinner. Think of it as business casual and you will be
right on. I wore a sport coat and
tie with Dockers on the casual nights and a nice black double-breasted suit on formal
night. My wife wore cocktail
dresses on the casual nights and a long, blue, formal dress with pearl jewelry on the
formal night. Our picture on formal
night looks great on our fireplace mantle, too.
If you like to dance (as my wife does) the first night was disco night. That was a lot of
fun. The cruise ship personnel
dressed up like the Village People and taught us all a dance called the John Travolta. It
was hilarious! I cried ‘Uncle’ at
1:30am and we went to sleep around 2am. What a first day.
We had coffee and croissants brought to us in our cabin the next morning. The hurricane
finally had pulled away
leaving Miami in pretty bad shape. Even the Royal Caribbean sign on their headquarters
across from the dock was torn
to pieces. It was partly sunny but still quite breezy.
The Captain announced that since we weren’t leaving port until 5pm he had decided to
have open bar from 11am until
noon. My wife and I were in the Schooner Bar at 11:01 am and made sure we took advantage
of that offer along with a
few of our shipmates. The open bar consists of rum punch, bloody Mary’s, and
screwdrivers. We told the waitress to
bring us a tray of rum punches and a tray of screwdrivers. There’s only so much of
looking at the port of Miami that a
person can stand.
We had lunch around 1pm and then headed off to see the Not so Newlywed game. What a blast!
Don’t miss it! It’s
funnier than the real TV show because after the game you see these poor folks for the rest
of the cruise. This one
couple was applauded everywhere they went. Let’s just say that I won’t watch
another Panther’s hockey game without
thinking of them!
The rest of the afternoon we spent on deck by the pool. There was a belly flop contest
that was interesting to watch. My
wife wanted something to nibble on so we went inside to the Windjammer, which is just next
to the pool. The only thing
they had was pizza and let me tell you, Pizza Hut has nothing to worry about. We sat down
at a table just as the ship was
pulling away from the dock. It’s a little strange to see the ship moving but feel
nothing. It takes a minute to adjust to that.
We ate quickly and hurried to our cabin to pick up the camera and then headed for the
decks at the back of the ship.
We took some great shots of Miami and some of the huge homes around the port. I’ve
got a very nice picture of my wife
with Miami Beach over her shoulder. I recommend that shot for all you shutter bugs out
there.
After entering the ocean we went back to the deck above the pool area to have a beer and
relax on the deck chairs. It
was peaceful with the ocean breeze and the calypso band playing. There weren’t many
people on deck because the
first dinner seating was about to begin. We watched the sun set then went down to our
cabin to dress for formal night.
We had our picture taken with the moon background. They also have a background with the
ship on it. You can get in
both lines if you wish. Dinner was nice and one of the couples at our table bought a
bottle of wine for the table. We
really enjoyed their company a lot and actually miss them all. I hope our paths cross
again one day.
Once the ship is off shore they open up the shops and casino. The only thing my wife and I
noticed that was an
unbelievable bargain was liquor. It’s dirt-cheap! My wife bought a watch for $70.00.
They have porcelain figurines and
other such things but we weren’t in the mood for shopping. We went to the casino,
which is very nicely decorated, but
crowded. My wife had never gambled before so I gave her $20.00 to blow on the slots. She
didn’t do all that badly and it
took her almost an hour to lose it. A woman sitting next to her won $600.00. If you enjoy
gambling, you’ll have some fun
in there.
It was time for the midnight buffet by the time we left the casino, so we went up on deck
to check it out. Again, despite
what I had read about prior sailing’s not having ice sculptures, there were several.
The food was spread out around the
deck, so if you didn’t like what you saw you could just meander around until you saw
something you did like. There was
organized dancing, and then they cleared the dance floor to introduce the dancing bar
tenders. They were impressive.
They danced, limboed, and did push ups with glasses of whiskey on their heads! A little
while later the ship must have
entered a new pressure gradient because the wind really picked up. Trays, glasses, and
practically everything that
wasn’t tied down were blowing all around and off the deck. It was difficult to even
stand so we retreated back into the
ship. My wife wanted to go back to the disco but there wasn’t much going on by that
time so we called it day and went to
bed.
We awoke at 7am already docked in Nassau. I couldn’t believe it because I’m a
very light sleeper and I never felt a
thing. We grabbed some coffee and went out on deck. It was a glorious morning but that
didn’t help the way downtown
Nassau appeared. It’s not a town that you would go through a roll of film taking
pictures of.
After having some breakfast we disembarked around 9am. The local women asking to braid my
wife’s hair immediately
bombarded us. Most of them took ‘No, thank you’ the first time, but a couple of
them persisted until we were forced to be
rude and just ignore them. The one that got me was the 6-yr. old girl asking to sing you a
song for a quarter. I passed
on the song but gave her a quarter anyway. The taxi drivers were much more pleasant to
deal with. We decided to just
walk around and check things out. Most of the shops and stores were closed because it was
Sunday. The only places
open were the tourist traps. This wasn’t of major concern to us because we did not
come for the shopping anyway. All
we wanted to find was a place selling tee shirts 4 for $10.00 so we would have gifts for
the folks back home and in the
office. We decided to take a horse and buggy ride around town since we thought it would be
romantic. The driver told
us it would cost $20.00 for a twenty-minute ride. I coughed it over and then we were off
to the races! I’m not kidding. We
were passing other carriages and I thought the poor old horse would die of a heart attack.
The ride was over in 10
minutes. Don’t take the horse and buggy rides. It’s not worth the money and not
worth the risk to your life.
We bought our shirts and a couple of toys for the kids and were back aboard ship by noon.
After lunch and a quick
drink in the Schooner Bar (which has a TV so I could catch some of the ESPN pre-game NFL
show) we scurried back to
the cabin to get into our swimsuits and get ready to go snorkeling. . Five minutes before
we were to leave they
announced that the excursion was cancelled. Needless to say I was ticked off. We had put
up with enough already and
for them to cancel this excursion five minutes before departing, after it was too late to
sign up for anything else, was
totally unacceptable. I was second in line at the desk to discuss my options and I was
quickly followed by about 20 not
very happy others. The shore excursion guy, Paul, was great. He explained that the reason
it was cancelled was
because since the ship was a day late getting there, the locals that run the excursion
figured we weren't showing up, so
neither did they! He did bust his butt for us and was able to hook us up with the Sea
Princess's (they were on time)
snorkeling tour. He told us that it wasn't as long but it was a better reef. It was a very
nice reef! We had very good time
at Rose Island. The water was very clear and the sea life abundant. Paul was there to meet
us when we arrived back at
the dock to make sure we enjoyed ourselves and to escort us back to the ship. I commend
him for his dedication and
RCCL certainly benefits from his employment.
We showered, dressed, and then ran up on deck as the ship began to leave the harbor. We
took several pictures and
marveled how the sun danced on the water around Paradise Island. We didn’t have time
to go to Paradise Island but
people who did had mixed reviews. The Atlantis Resort is VERY impressive from the outside.
As the sun set, my wife and I found a quiet corner of the deck near the back of the ship.
We considered ourselves
fortunate to be laying on the deck lounges, holding hands, and watching the most beautiful
sunset we had ever seen. It
truly was unforgettable. With the last rays of light disappearing, we decided we had
better get dressed for dinner. We
entered the ship through a side door to the disco lounge. As we walked through we noticed
there wasn’t a soul in the
entire place. No passengers, no waiters, not even a bartender. There was a slow song
playing in the background. My
wife and I took advantage of this. With the dance floor all to ourselves, we enjoyed the
most romantic dance we have
ever had together. That dance will always remain the most memorable part of our cruise.
On our way back to our cabin we stopped off at the Schooner Bar for a drink. It was there
that one of the most
interesting things happened. All during the cruise there was this guy throwing money
around like it was nothing. Cash is
not something that is required on a cruise so when he was tipping waiters with $50 bills,
you can’t help but notice. He
was having one hell of a time, dancing, drinking and goofing off. He wasn’t
obnoxious, just having a good time. His wife
of 23 years and some of their friends accompanied him on the trip. My wife and I usually
sat at a little table away from
the bar, but this time we were sitting at the bar. This fellow arrives with his friend and
orders a couple of drinks. He flips
the barkeep a fifty and starts talking about how much his wife is upset with him. It seems
she didn’t like the fact that he
gave the band $500.00 to play ONE song. He went on to say that it’s only money and
he’s got lots of it. He didn’t
understand what the fuss was all about. I told him for $500.00 I would stand up on the bar
and sing any song he wanted
to hear. He almost took me up on it, but then said, ‘Nah’. He looked over my
shoulder and saw my wife sitting next to me.
My wife is a former model and now she is a professional photographer, so she looks great.
‘How about her?’ he asked. I
turned around to look at her. She thought about it for a minute. ‘No, I haven’t
had that much to drink. Thanks anyway,’
she said. My wife and I still laugh at how she was able to turn down $500 bucks for a song
and I would have sung
‘Danny Boy’ for this guy. You can meet some characters on a cruise ship.
After dinner we went to our cabin to do a little packing before going back out. There was
an announcement earlier
about a scavenger hunt, but we decided not to attend. We went back to the disco just as
the scavenger hunt was
ending. After seeing the male participants standing in the middle of the dance floor
wearing bras, we were disappointed
that we missed it!
After they announced the winner of the scavenger hunt, the rest of the night was 50’s
night. There was a twist contest
and a hula-hoop contest. I still can’t get over the winner of the hula-hoop.
Thirty-five hoops over 3 times around! I think
she could have done it ten times around. She was that good. Much later, the music changed
to contemporary and we
went back to the Schooner Bar for a nightcap. The piano player was there and he was awful.
He couldn’t sing and didn’t
play very well either. The other live bands on the ship were great, especially Heat which
played mostly by the pool. We
finished our drinks and retired for the night.
The ship docked in Miami around 6am the following morning. We left our cabin shortly after
7 and went up to the
Windjammer for breakfast. They began making the customs and immigration announcements
early on but they were still
tracking down people at 8:30, so we had a few more minutes on the ship. Don't be in such a
hurry to leave the ship.
They want you out of your room by 8am but the crowd is very large, so go up to the
Windjammer and have another cup
of coffee and then leave around 9am.
Ours was the first cruise to use the new docking facility. I've read quite a bit about the
trouble others have had in the old
one. Leaving the ship was very easy (except for the fact you don’t want to leave).
They have a new set up for collecting
your luggage. It's just like an airport baggage claim, different carousels for the
different colored tags. We collected our
luggage, handed the customs official our declaration paper, and went outside to board the
bus to the airport. All of the
excursions around Miami were cancelled due to the hurricane damage and flooding. After
checking in with United, we
went up to the lounge on the eighth floor of the airport hotel. Our flight wasn’t
scheduled to leave Miami until 1:30 p.m.
and this was a nice place to finish our vacation. We were back home in Northern Virginia
by 4 p.m. wishing we had more
time on the ship. That evening, after putting our son and daughter to bed, we began
planning our next cruise. We
decided to take the seven-night western Caribbean cruise on board the Voyager of the Seas
in October 2000.
Here are some things I would like to pass along. Bring lots of spending money. The cruise
card is great but it makes it
very easy to spend money (that's the whole idea I'm sure). We really didn't buy much and
still spent $500 on board the
ship and another $80 in cash in Nassau. We tipped along the lines suggested by the cruise
line. We gave our waiter
$25, his assistant $20, and our fantastic cabin steward Derrick $25. We tried to give our
headwaiter $10 but no one at
our table could find him. We sent our waiter to fetch him so he could receive his
envelopes with the cash but even he
couldn’t find him. We never made it back to the dining room to give it to him. Those
amounts I just mentioned are for a
three-night cruise. You are expected to tip more on longer cruises.
The most important thing I can pass along to anyone about to take a cruise is attitude.
Even with all the things that went
wrong on our cruise, we didn’t let it get the best of us. It did have its trying
moments, but in the end we were determined
to enjoy ourselves. Leave your troubles at home knowing that they will still be there when
you get back. Treat any
adversities that may come along like water off a duck’s back and you will have a
fantastic cruise. I hope you found this
review informative and entertaining. I had a great time writing it because it brought back
so many memories of the
greatest weekend I’ve ever spent with my lovely wife. If there is some information
you would like to know that I didn’t
mention here, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to provide you the
correct answer. Bon Voyage!
John and Glenda
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