Hi, I just got off the Sovereign Of The Seas last Friday and thought I'd post this review as I did enjoy reading others before my first cruise.On Sunday we flew from Pittsburg to Orlando where we rented an Avis car to drive to Port Canaveral. WE checked into the Radisson and was just taken with the suite we had.(Room was $94.00) The pool is just amazing. It even has a waterfall.. . After a Quick dip we drove to the pier to see the ships. There were three to look at. Then we went to a nearby restaurant called The Grills. We had called an hour ahead from the hotel and was put on a waiting list. We arrived and was seated in 5 minutes at the window where we listened to live band, watched all 3 cruise ships sail past our window at 5pm with drink in hand and a great meal. What a great start for my first cruise.On Monday morning we drove to Cocoa Beach and we visited some shops. They even have a real I Dream of Genie Lane where we went down to the ocean. We then returned our car to Avis in Port Canaveral and took a free shuttle to the pier. (Rental was $37.00) They took us to baggage area and we were on our way inside the terminal. It took about 15 minutes and we in the lobby of the ship drinking what they call a yellowbird. (Free). . We dropped off our carry on bags to room. Room was very small but clean. The port window was cool. Our stateroom attendant came in and introduced himself. (Ricardo) Our room was always done when we were gone. Towel animals were amusing. Day 1 Compass was there .The television has camera in front of the ship and CNN. Retro TV is what we always had on. We set out to explore the ship. We went to shore excursion desk and booked our excursions. At 5 pm we were poolside for sail away party. We had 8:30pm seating in the Kismet dining room. The waiter was very attentive (Orlando). . The waiters sang on 2 of the nights. Photos were taken on all nights including one with a pirate. Dinner was very fast to arrive and we were very happy with the food . . We had as tablemates a couple from Michigan and their 2 well mannered children. Every meal we had in dining room except lunches. Dining room makes eggs to order where the windjammer has only scrambled. The windjammer was ok. Like cafeteria style food but plenty of it. Water, lemonade, iced tea were free. There was coffee at windjammer starting at 6:30 am. We drank coffee and enjoyed sunrise on the pool deck every morning. Kismet and Windjammer opens at 7:30 for breakfast. The Gigi dining room is only open for dinner. There is food available from 7:30am to 9pm. Then it is pizza and hotdogs rest of the night .On day 3 there is a pool party at 11pm with steak, roast pig, and lots more. Dancing poolside under the starts was great. .The follies lounge was closed due to some water damage for most of the cruise but opened on last night for a farewell show which was Rock on Broadway (Royal Caribbean Dancers) which we enjoyed. We did also go to see John Wing (comedian) in the music man lounge. He was quite funny. We saw singer Lenny Welsh in the Finian's rainbow lounge. Entertaining for older folks like myself. Mike Price was the juggler act on day 3 in Finian's. The love and marriage show is very funny which is Like the newlywed game. It was lots of laughs. The Captains welcome aboard champagne reception was nice as everyone in formal clothes as it is on formal dinner night. We did have picture taken with the captain. The formal night in the dining room was very nice seeing everyone in there finest .There was a poolside party with steak, an entire roasted pig and lots more on this night after dinner 11pm. The Scooner bar is a very nice relaxing piano bar. Great view. Drink specials were bahama mamas, hurricane’s , cape cod, and goombay smash (3.95) We did not make it to the Viking Crown lounge. I did notice that only 1 elevator goes up there to the top of ship. Deck 14.I suppose I was too busy making my donation at the casino. There is just so much to do, you have to miss some of the places onboard. The pool was never crowded except for the day at sea. The were chair hogs that day. There was the sexy legs competition and a belly flop contest. The weather was perfect 80% every day on the cruise. No rain, no clouds. It was just perfect. That means we went to Coco cay. I have read so many times that the ship skips this stop lots of times due to weather. We arrived at 8am and had to take a tender boat ashore. They run every 20 minutes. The excursion folks go first, then, you get a ticket and go in order. We waited till noon and there was no line at all by then. Barbeque was ok but was very crowded. The farter you walk away from the boat area the more secluded it is. We found a couple chairs and enjoyed the afternoon in the Caribbean sun. This Island is just beautiful and worth the entire trip. We sailed at 5pm to go to Nassau. We arrived in Nassau at 8am and couldn’t wait to go ashore. We were so early that the shops were not even open until 9am. We walked around town, went to Post office to mail postcards, and then did some shopping. We went back to ship for lunch then back to pier for our excursion tour of Nassau and Paradise Island. They broke the tour group up into 10 people each and went into taxi vans. The guide was very informative but I have to say that Nassau does not have that much to see. Paradise Island was cool, especially Atlantis hotel. Aquarium is just fantastic. I never saw anything like it.
After day at sea we arrived at Port Canaveral at sunrise and went to breakfast. We left our room at 8am to wait on pool deck. It was almost 10am by the time they called our color to get off. Then it took bout 20 minutes to get luggage and back to Avis shuttle pickup. We got home last night at 10Pm and I worked today. I need to know how to cope with post cruise depression. Voyager next I think. Overall this is a great first cruise. Ship is kind of old but kept up very well. Well worth the money. Best vacation Ii've taken. I think I'm addicted. Thanks for reading this long review. copy of compass and a few pics is here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/pjm327 
thanks pat
