MS Sovereign (formerly MS Sovereign of the Seas) is one of three large cruise ships of the Sovereign class operated by Pullmantur Cruises and formerly by Royal Caribbean International.

History

She sailed on her maiden voyage on January 16, 1988. She was initially based at the Port of Miami.

In 1998 and 1999, the Royal Caribbean International cruise company was fined US$9 million because the MS Sovereign of the Seas had repeatedly dumped oily waste into the ocean and tried to hide this using false records, including fake piping diagrams given to the US Coast Guard. Because the company was and is incorporated in Liberia, Royal Caribbean argued that this case was not in the jurisdiction of US courts. Despite their argument, they were unsuccessful.

Her refurbishment in November 2004 was the subject of the Travel Channel mini-series Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn. Throughout her time with Royal Caribbean she sailed three-, four-, and seven-night cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean out of Miami & Port Canaveral, Florida, southern US. These cruises visited Coco Cay, one of RCI's privately owned islands, in the Berry Islands group.

In November 2008, after serving for Royal Caribbean International for 20 years, Sovereign of the Seas was transferred to the fleet of Pullmantur Cruises, a Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD subsidiary, and renamed MS Sovereign. Sovereign set sail on its first voyage with Pullmantur Cruises on March 23, 2009. Similar to other ships in the same class, Sovereign has a multi-deck atrium lobby called the Centrum, and a top-deck, funnel-mounted Viking Crown Lounge with panoramic views of the sea. The ship features 9 bars, 5 restaurants, 4 pools, spa, casino, and many other amenities.