Got home just about 5:30 PM from Orlando. We flew down on Thursday the
day prior to sailing. Guess you could say we were a bit anxious due to
TS Ophelia looming off the coast of FL eventually turning into a
hurricane. We spent the day mostly in our suite watching the weather
since it was overcast, drizzly and gusty winds at times outside. We were
at the Embassy Suites near Orlando Intl Airport. Finally around 6:30-7
that evening we found out that our cruise on the SOS would be departing
from Port Everglades instead of Port Canaveral due to the hurricane.
Morning of sailing we were told to be back at the Orlando airport
between 10 AM till noon for a four (4) hour bus transport to Ft.
Lauderdale. We got there and was the second bus to leave for Port
Everglades. To make matters worse our bus broke down half way there!
After repairs to our bus was made we finally arrived at the ship around
3:30 PM and were swiftly checked in at the terminal. The ships sailing
time was altered to depart at 10 PM due to the change of ports.
Now to the cruise...overall it was Ok. RCCL did not provide any credits
for this inconvenience except for supplying comp transport to Ft.
Lauderdale. I was not all that overly impressed with the total
refurbishment of the Sovereign. From the television program I watched
and now have seen in person I was somewhat disappointed. Some of the
public area you could tell were completely new, but saw other areas I
thought were overlooked. We had a superior oceanview stateroom on deck
9. Hmm I don't know if I would consider it superior? It was fine,
however I did notice a rather large cigarette burn on the bed spread and
a couple other shows of wear and tear around the cabin.
Dining was fair to good. The new Windjammer Marketplace was Ok...repeat
& repeat for breakfasts, and lunches fair. We used our Crown & Anchor
vouchers for one comp visit to Johnny Rockets, and the Sorrento's pizza
was always good. Main dining for dinner was fair. Many repeat dishes on
the menu from other RCCL cruises. Our wait staff however was excellent.
Entertainment was good...I feel RCCL always puts a strong effort into
providing good entertainment in the show lounges.
Thankfully the weather in the Bahamas was perfect! Mid 90's both
days...Nassau & Coco Cay. Have a blazing sunburn right now to show for
it.
Well back to my unpacking now and prepare to go back to work
tomorrow...UGH!
Len...
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