Very LONG Review Legend 8/30-9/6 LOTS of pictures plus comparison to Royal Caribbean

[Seago2]

What an excellent review. We were on the Glory two weeks ago and your pictures brought back memories! Your redheads are too cute and I love the picture of the croc. I love Belize and I love Roatan and your pictures reminded me why. I'm so glad you had so much fun! And yeah, why ARE the CCL TV's picking up Denver stations?

What a gorgeous sunset.....:)

[3redheads]

[quote name='jerseygirl79']

Since you love WCMC like I do, any signature not to missed desserts on RCCL?[/QUOTE]

I cannot think of a comparable dessert on RCCL! Although I am going to try my hand at making the WCMC. I did buy a cake mix called Lava Cake. Not quite the same, but it wasn't too bad! I will report on how well I can cook this delicious dessert!

[3redheads]

[quote name='Name Of The Game']Great review!

Here's a dumb question I've wondered about. Is Rony's name pronounced Ronnie....or with a long O?[/QUOTE]

You know, I butchered his name several times. The "R" is a rolling "R". He answers to both. Such a nice guy!! A real asset to his island!

[quote name='Fauna']Going on the same cruise in Dec. and found your review very helpful.

One question, why were you concerned about getting back from the cave tubing on time?[/QUOTE]

I read on several reviews, here and on tripadvisor.com, that they cut it close. I emailed Major Tom and he said we'd be back 45-60 minutes before the last tender. I didn't want to cut it that close.

[quote name='Oompaland']Can you post the address of the orphanage? I would like to donate clothing that my daughter out grew.

I think this is a very kind act. We visited the schools in Jamaica and brought school supplies to donate. My daughters realized how fortunate they are and have become very giving individuals.[/QUOTE]

The orphanage is run by a ministry. Their website is: www. sblmroatan. org

Thank you all for the kind words. This was a cruise to remember!

[3redheads]

[quote name='nursiegurl']This is so gross, but had to show...I was on this same cruise. This was a portion of my back after Roatan - Sand fleas!!! They are tiny, and I had no idea what I was in for! That said, I still enjoyed the port. I was just glad it was the last port because I wouldn't have put a bathing suit or tank top back on with my back and arms looking like this! LOL[/QUOTE]

Those suckers are brutal! I itched for a couple of days.

[Bridge Maven]

Thanks for your wonderful review. We will be taking this cruise in June and found your review to be extremely helpful :)

[Cayoooga]

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post an excellent review.:D It will be our turn in a few more weeks. It will be our first CCL cruise, so looking forward to it even more:rolleyes:! After reading about your excursion in Cozumel, it will be a must do for me next time. Thanks again for sharing.:D

[kerrytens]

Thanks for the great review Redheads! I really loved the part about visiting the orphanage - want a fabulous thing to do. Was that something you asked Rony specifically about doing or is it something he offers?
Glad you enjoyed Carnival ... I fully intend on doing so in a few months too :)
Miriam

[jetskier]

[quote name='3redheads']I cannot think of a comparable dessert on RCCL! Although I am going to try my hand at making the WCMC. I did buy a cake mix called Lava Cake. Not quite the same, but it wasn't too bad! I will report on how well I can cook this delicious dessert![/quote]

WCMC
1 pound Dark Chocolate (I used the Special dark morsels)
1 pound Butter
10 Eggs
10 ounces Sugar
6 ounces Flour

Melt the chocolate and butter. Mix the eggs with the sugar and whisk for a few minutes; add the flour. Combine the egg mixture with the melted chocolate and mix. Then pour into individual greased molds. Bake directly in the oven at 400° F for 14 minutes.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with fresh fruit. Serve warm with ice cream.
Note: Please make sure that the eggs are at room temperature and the chocolate is warm enough while making the mixture.

Serves 20 if you use the plastic condiment cups from Walmart.

[IMG]http://www.mcldet1073.org/wcmc.JPG[/IMG]

[MDSue]

Great review. We sailed the Legend last spring and sailed RCCL the year before. Each had their pluses and minuses [mostly pluses]. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip on the Legend. I found most of the dishes in the MDR quite good. The warm chocolate melting cake made sailing Carnival all worthwhile. The debarkation was riduculously easy. We did the self disembark, waited a few minutes after they announced we could debark, walked out of our room, into an almost empty elevator and out the door into customs. Going through customs was painless. Afterwards we walked out of the building and into a waiting taxi. We were at the airport by a few minutes after 8am. The only problem was having to sit in the airport waiting for our departure. Next time, I'll book an earlier flight.
Tampa is a great port to sail out of and the Legend was a great choice.

[CruisnKs]

Awesome review and perfect timing. We sail on the Legend in 18 days and were on Independence of the Seas in March. Your comparison was very helpful.

I have a couple of questions if you have time.

1. I know this is difficult to judge, but our boys are 6 and 7 do you think the slide will be too fast or scary for them? They have been on a couple of moderate slides at local waterparks, but not the major lose your suit kind of slides.
2. How was the coffee compared to that in the Promenade Cafe?

Thanks again for taking the time to write your review and post your pics. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

[crewsweeper]

3 Redheads...Nice review. Great pics. Sorry the MDR wasn't an up for you. I was wondering what you wound up doing on Roatan after all your posts. Glad you made it to the orphanage and Rony's Tours worked out well for you. Is there an agency/charity that helps the orphanage? What's the address for "care" packages?

[Payd]

Great review. Thanks for posting your pictures.

Too bad the dining room wasn't amazing - we have always been so pleased with our meals.

I see you found one of the few very special balcony cabins...sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~

[Cathy p]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=magenta]Thank you so much for the wonderful review. We will be on her 10/18 and can't wait.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Tar Heels]

An absolultly fair and balanced review!:p I've sailed both Carnival (7 times and RCI (2 times). Both have more in common than diffences! The best and most fair review I've read since I've been on this board!:D:D:D

[Mrs.C05]

[quote name='jetskier']WCMC
1 pound Dark Chocolate (I used the Special dark morsels)
1 pound Butter
10 Eggs
10 ounces Sugar
6 ounces Flour

Melt the chocolate and butter. Mix the eggs with the sugar and whisk for a few minutes; add the flour. Combine the egg mixture with the melted chocolate and mix. Then pour into individual greased molds. Bake directly in the oven at 400° F for 14 minutes.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with fresh fruit. Serve warm with ice cream.
Note: Please make sure that the eggs are at room temperature and the chocolate is warm enough while making the mixture.

Serves 20 if you use the plastic condiment cups from Walmart.

[IMG]http://www.mcldet1073.org/wcmc.JPG[/IMG][/quote]

A pound of butter?!?!! Yikes! If this is how they make it on the cruise, I might just be staying away from it!

Thanks for a wonderful and amazing review! I'm not going on Legend, but it's always nice to read detailed reviews with pictures!

[airhead22]

I have to add, the sand fleas must be a sometimes thing. We were there last year and had no problem. Not one bite. Mayan Princess is wonderful and I would not hesitate to go again. Cinthia...of Cinthia and Diana was our guide and she was great. I found her on the Roatan board.

[scraphappylady]

Hey 3!

Loved the review . . . all the memories of my family's Legend trip came flooding back, but with the added bonus of seeing your different excursions! Really well done! (And your sunset picture was stunning!)

I remember you asking about the differences in RC vs. Carnival around the time I was doing my review. I'm glad you found Carnival, and the Legend, just as fun as we did. I pretty much have to agree with your comparisons . . . and in the long run, it seems the two cruise lines are very much the same (cost notwithstanding) with only minor differences here and there.

So glad you had fun! I can't wait to sail her again, so we may meet up on some future cruise. :D

-Cathy

[cathyoo]

[quote name='nursiegurl']This is so gross, but had to show...I was on this same cruise. This was a portion of my back after Roatan - Sand fleas!!! They are tiny, and I had no idea what I was in for! That said, I still enjoyed the port. I was just glad it was the last port because I wouldn't have put a bathing suit or tank top back on with my back and arms looking like this! LOL[/QUOTE]

Ouch, they look really painful. I'm sure that is one souvenir you did not want. Hope they quickly healed.

[cathyoo]

great review, gorgeous pictures, sorry your dining experience did not live up to your expectations. Thanks for taking the time to share your memories.

[3redheads]

[quote name='jetskier']WCMC
1 pound Dark Chocolate (I used the Special dark morsels)
1 pound Butter
10 Eggs
10 ounces Sugar
6 ounces Flour

Melt the chocolate and butter. Mix the eggs with the sugar and whisk for a few minutes; add the flour. Combine the egg mixture with the melted chocolate and mix. Then pour into individual greased molds. Bake directly in the oven at 400° F for 14 minutes.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with fresh fruit. Serve warm with ice cream.
Note: Please make sure that the eggs are at room temperature and the chocolate is warm enough while making the mixture.

Serves 20 if you use the plastic condiment cups from Walmart.

[IMG]http://www.mcldet1073.org/wcmc.JPG[/IMG][/QUOTE]

I need to buy the ramekin cups. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will add these ingredients to my grocery list. Although with this recipe providing 20 servings, I might eat them ALL. :D

[quote name='CruisnKs']Awesome review and perfect timing. We sail on the Legend in 18 days and were on Independence of the Seas in March. Your comparison was very helpful.

I have a couple of questions if you have time.

1. I know this is difficult to judge, but our boys are 6 and 7 do you think the slide will be too fast or scary for them? They have been on a couple of moderate slides at local waterparks, but not the major lose your suit kind of slides.
2. How was the coffee compared to that in the Promenade Cafe?

Thanks again for taking the time to write your review and post your pics. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.[/QUOTE]

The slide is very slow. My 11 year old weighs 65 lbs and it wasn't fast at all! If they're not afraid of climbing the stairs, they should be just fine!

I don't drink coffee. Maybe someone will chime in with this info.

The Independence is a sister ship of Freedom. I would love to hear your comparison once you've sailed both ships. Enjoy! I'm jealous!

[3redheads]

[quote name='crewsweeper']3 Redheads...Nice review. Great pics. Sorry the MDR wasn't an up for you. I was wondering what you wound up doing on Roatan after all your posts. Glad you made it to the orphanage and Rony's Tours worked out well for you. Is there an agency/charity that helps the orphanage? What's the address for "care" packages?[/QUOTE]

I don't have the address, only the website. I would suggest emailing them via the info from the website. The name of the ministry is Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries. www. sblmroatan dot com. I have such admiration for the volunteers. The children are so well behaved and seem very happy, but you can't help but cry a bit inside when you realize they don't have parents.

As far as the food in the MDR, I'm sure it's hit or miss. We will definitely not give up on it!



[quote name='Tar Heels']An absolultly fair and balanced review!:p I've sailed both Carnival (7 times and RCI (2 times). Both have more in common than diffences! The best and most fair review I've read since I've been on this board!:D:D:D[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much! I'm sure there's stuff I left out. I kept looking for stationery in order to take notes. Every time I thought of something to compare, I immediately thought of the review I was going to post. I would not have had such a great cruise without the help from all the people on this board!!!!

[dmdiver]

We loved twister & isla pasion, too! That's one trip I would do over & over!

[carncruiser1964]

Great review. I, too, am trying to post a review with pictures. Did you use the review form? I started to do that but couldn't figure out how to upload pictures. I posted a question and was told by one person that you could not post pictures on the review (which obviously is not the case) and someone else said you had to get a "host" that would support their system. I just want to add pictures to the review just like you did. Could you please help me on this?
Thanks,
Michele

[3redheads]

[quote name='carncruiser1964']Great review. I, too, am trying to post a review with pictures. Did you use the review form? I started to do that but couldn't figure out how to upload pictures. I posted a question and was told by one person that you could not post pictures on the review (which obviously is not the case) and someone else said you had to get a "host" that would support their system. I just want to add pictures to the review just like you did. Could you please help me on this?
Thanks,
Michele[/QUOTE]

Michele,

I typed up my review, without pictures, on a Microsoft Word then transferred it. I did not use a review form, but posted as I normally would.

As far as your photos, make sure they're uploaded to your computer, then you can get a free account at: [url]www.photobucket.com[/url] and upload them there.

Here are some screen shots. Once you sign up for photobucket, you click on the upload button, right in the middle:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/3redheads/photobucket1.jpg[/IMG]




Once you get the photo on the site, you will see, on the left "DIRECT LINK" copy that.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/3redheads/photobucket2.jpg[/IMG]

Now, get up the post area on cruisecritic and click on the button with the landscape, if you run your mouse over it, it will highlight with INSERT IMAGE. Click on that:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/3redheads/photobucket3.jpg[/IMG]



Now this will bring up the following screen, in which you will paste your "DIRECT LINK". Right click on paste:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/3redheads/photobucket4.jpg[/IMG]



You can put 6 images in each post. Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have anymore questions!

[CruisinloversfromTexas]

Awsome review! You gave me some different ideas on excursions I would have never thought about! Thanks!