A few days ago, the venerable Sovereign of the Seas departed the Royal Caribbean International fleet.  She takes up a new role with Pullmantur Cruise Lines, a sister line to RCI, to be known simply as Sovereign.   Twenty years ago, Sovereign was a true revolution in cruise travel.  She marked the start of a building spree which has yet to end within the cruise industry.  Her size was twice that of the nearest ship in the fleet, and only slightly smaller than the massive ocean liner Norway (the former France.)  She was built from keel to stack as a pure cruise ship, and incorporated seemingly endless features that still guide modern design.  The Centrum was the first multi-deck atrium, used as a central lobby and public space.  Sovereign becomes the seventh ship to leave service with Royal Caribbean.  The original three RCI ships, Song of America, Empress of the Seas, Viking Serenade, preceded Sovereign.

As Sovereign moves on, the Oasis of the Seas has reportedly floated out in Turku.  Nearly a year remains until she enters service, but the physical structure of the ship is now substantially complete.

Visit www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com to view the Sovereign and Oasis photo galleries!

Coco Cay is RCI’s name for Little Stirrup Cay, an island they received as part of a buy-out of a smaller cruise line. It is a pretty little island that features snorkeling, para-sailing, and some very nice beaches. They serve a Bar BQ on the island, and a pair of bars are also available to passengers. The water is too shallow for the ship to dock, so tenders shuttle passengers to and from the island. On my visit, I managed to get onto the island just as the tenders started their service about 11 a.m. I got to the island, promptly got my snorkeling gear, and got into the water. The water was an amazing 88 degrees that day. The photos of that are a little further along the site. I was in the water an hour before leaving again for the ship. That proved a timely move. A matter of minutes after I left the water, a strong current started to pull the many other divers out to sea. They retrieved them in boats simply enough, and nobody was at risk per say. But a rain squall utter drenched the passengers which had waited an hour before going ashore. They had figured they would skip the rain. They were very wrong. Most people saw it clear up a bit, and stormed the beaches, only to get caught shortly there-after in a hour long down pour! I got dressed, took my camera and went ashore as the rain stopped and took these pictures.

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Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Key West
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I had planned on getting up in time to watch the ship dock. But having left BG late, I lacked the extra day to recover before leaving. The result was I turned in early the night before, and slept in for day two. I spent the day snoozing and relaxing on board, and never actually left the ship. Nassau is a dump from what I’ve been told and years since my visit, I’ve skipped the port twice.  I woke up and went up to the Windjammer Cafe for breakfast. I was greeted by the sight of the Disney Magic docked to Sovereigns Starboard. The Carnival Fantasy was three spots over. Later the Oceanic, known also as the “Big Red Boat” docked between the other two ships.The town itself was an easy walk from the ship had that been of interest. It was nice having the ship to myself for the day.

We had the Magic, nearest, with the old Big Red Boat starboard of her, and the Carnival Fantasy beyond her.

Promenade deck, looking aft.

The Sun Deck, looking out over the town.

More views from the ship, looking over the town.

If your a people watcher, you have a great scene to watch as people walk to and from the ship.

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Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Coco Cay.

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At Key West, I went snorkeling again, which was even more fun than at Coco Cay. I didn’t take any time to shop in the town itself, and frankly its not of much interest to me. I can drive down there someday. A major storm kicked up near the time the last shuttle conk trains left the town, which left a few people to brave strong winds and rain to get back on board. The wind also made it hard for Sovereign to push itself away from the dock.

The main shopping district in Key West is very compact. You can walk most of it with ease.
The snorkeling excursion uses the catamaran you see below.

A top notch port draws a lot of people off the ship, but as the day drew to a close, and people returned from shore excursions, the pool deck got busy.

There are two main modes of transportation from the dock. Shuttle buses and the “Conk Train.”

In this case, the last of the passengers made it aboard just before the rain squall hit the area.

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Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Nassau.

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Formal Night. A staple, tradition, celebrated institution, and for some, a dreaded moment of awkward fashion Armageddon. People who can name the chemical composition of their sun tan lotion, calculate the exact number of Q-tips to pack in their luggage, and know to the second, what they’ll do on a cruise, have been reduced to whimpering masses, trying to determine exactly what formal night means.

Some rail against formal night as a wanton attempt to dictate how they spend their vacation time. Others fear not being dressed well enough. Others fear people not being dressed well enough. The truth is that the definition and accepted level of dress on formal night isn’t much more than what you might wear to a special church service. If you think this spoils the vacation, you would be wrong.

You have to look at formal night, like the formal dinning room itself, as an experience. For a public accustom to casual dinning in countless restaurant chains, with food, service, and decor where been appropriate to wear a tie and jacket too 30 years ago, the formal dinning room might not have the same mandate it once did. Yet, the crew puts on its best show, the food remains better than what you, I, or most anybody would eat in a given year. The experience of being surrounded by more than a thousand people dressed well, minding their Ps and Qs, is a rare one in this life. As it happens on a cruise, it is fun and amazingly memorable.

Among other things, formal night includes a chance to get photos taken. These are often some of the most cherished photos anybody takes or buys on a cruise.

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Next Post, Sovereign of the Seas, Key West.

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