Legend Review 5/30-6/6

[cruisinbanddirectors]

I'm a little behind in doing this, but here's a review of our recent cruise on the Legend. In our group was myself and DH (our 4th cruise---last year we were on the Legend as well) and my DS (2) and FIL, both first time cruisers.

 

I'm going to start with some points that just jumped out at us (which is more brief) and then I'll do another post with the full review (which is a little long).

 

If you have any questions, ask away!

 

□ Still had chocolates every night. No pins for past guests.

□ We like the new format of the Fun Times.

□ There was no longer a galley tour (which we loved last year) and we heard no mention of the Behind the Fun tour.

□ As mentioned on the boards, the Captain’s reception is no longer in the theater. It’s more centered around the lobby. There are no free drinks, but I think there was a discount (we rarely drink and don’t pay Carnival’s prices to do so). However, the Past Guest reception still had free drinks and canapés and the Farewell Celebration had free drinks as well.

□ While the main show singers, dancers, and band were pretty good, the rest of the musicians were pretty sub par. We would say this especially about the guys that sang in the casino fairly often.

□ Seemed to be less bingo this cruise (though still plenty of chances) but to compensate, we seemed to get sucked in by the Cash Craze pull-tab things.

□ They seem to be giving out medals now for all the trivia and stuff instead of the ship on a stick (which is fine)

□ We did a cooking demo the first sea day and they had a seminar on food and wine pairing (which we did not do). Maybe this is something Carnival is trying to add into its menu of activities (and we would be a fan of that).

□ We are familiar with the fact that the photographers are everywhere taking pictures, but this time around, it seemed even more so. It was constant! There were many times we just had to say no thanks.

□ Our first experience with Camp Carnival was great. In general, the crew all over the ship went out of their way to talk to our toddler and make him feel special and have fun. Carnival did not disappoint in this area.

□ Little thing---we didn’t have a bottle of water in our stateroom when we got on board (which we should have noted with our cabin steward and guest services) and about the 3rd day, there was a charge for it on our sail and sign. We went to guest services to let them know and it was taken off our bill within 24 hours.

□ IMHO, an extended balcony would not be worth paying the money for. We got an upgrade after DH griped with Carnival about a pricing situation and took it gladly, but if we were the ones paying for that, we wouldn’t do it again…we’d just stick with a standard balcony.

□ We actually did 1 small load of laundry twice. There was never an issue getting a washer/dryer, and we’d do it again in order to help with packing.

□ The piano bar was closed---no explanation posted.

[cruisinbanddirectors]

Now for the full review:

 

We arrived in Tampa on Saturday, May 29th and stayed in the Doubletree Westshore, which we got on Priceline for a bid of $50. It was a great deal! The room was great and the hotel sports bar/restaurant had pretty decent food for dinner (great service too). We were actually given free vouchers for the breakfast buffet due to a slight inconvenience with the shuttle (free) at the airport.

Sunday May 30th---After eating at the breakfast buffet we checked out and got a shuttle to the pier from Ground Jet (I think)---ask for Jamie. It was $8 per person (2 year old was free). He had taken us the year before and we kept his number...service is excellent. He also picked us up right on time when we got back the next Saturday to take us to the airport (also $8 per person).

We got to the pier at around 11:30. There was a small amount of waiting to get in the terminal. For some reason there was only 1 door open (besides for VIP) and one old man was checking IDs getting pretty stressed out. We recalled a lot less crowding and confusion when we got there the year before. Once inside, the guy that gave us our zone number (13) was downright rude. Two steps into the process, and we were getting a little agitated. However, the guy that got us our Sail and Signs was super nice. We then made our way to the seats to wait our turn to board. They called Zone 9, and a lady saw us with our toddler who was beginning to get a little restless. She waved us over and let us board with Zone 9 because she said she always hated to see little kids like that have to wait. That alone made up for the first part of the process being frustrating. We were onboard at about 12:15, I'd say.

Once on board, we took care of some details at Guest Services, showed FIL around parts of the ship, and ate lunch at Lido (which of course was crowded). We then managed to make our way to our cabin at about 1:15. The luggage actually got to our cabins earlier than I had remembered in the past. Our cabins were side by side but not adjoining. We did ask them to open our balcony divider and that was done within a couple of hours. As a side note, these were extended balcony cabins due to an upgrade we didn't have to pay for. I will say I would NOT pay extra for the extended balcony...not enough difference to me, and I think they pretty much all overlook lifeboats. After the safety briefing (thank God you don't have to wear your life vest anymore), we spent time on the balcony and let our DS take a nap. Nap was followed by dinner and dinner followed by Welcome Aboard Show.

FOOD--The 1st night we proceeded to the MDR for dinner (late seating). We were on the 2nd floor at a booth for 4. The service by Michael and NiPutu was fabulous all week, and the food was overall very good. Sometimes the main desert selections were a bit weak. They were great to deal with our toddler (who actually fared very well in the MDR) and after they figured him out the first night, his highchair was out each night when we got there and his order was already in every night. One of the bar servers, Stanislava, and hostesses, Eva were particularly nice to our son. Eva found out his favorite fruits and had a special order of them for him the last 4 nights of the cruise.

We ate breakfast and lunch at the Lido each day, and it was generally good food. I was a big fan of the Chinese most of the week for lunch. Lunchtime was a bit challenging at times to find things our son would eat, but that's partially because he's fairly picky.

We ate Thursday night at the Golden Fleece Steakhouse (toddler at Camp Carnival) and enjoyed it immensely! The $30 you pay is well worth it, as they really take the food up a notch from the MDR.

ENTERTAINMENT---This is a sticky topic with us as we are musicians. We thought overall that the main lounge shows are of good quality for cruise ship style performances. The musicians (vocal and instrumental) and dancers in those shows were of superior quality to our first couple of cruises. We are not huge fans of The Big Easy show because we feel it's too randomly constructed as far as the music goes, but the costuming and sets were great. I will say this; the other vocalists throughout the ship were pretty average at best...this is something Carnival could surely improve!

The comedians were both great! We all saw their PG shows, and my hubby and FIL caught the R rated shows and said they were both great. Lubo's balancing act was good I guess if you're into that sort of thing (not really my cup of tea). I preferred the "Physical Comedy of Max Winfrey"---kind of a juggling meets light comedy act. There was a hypnotist show we did not get to see, and I regret that because it got good reviews from fellow passengers.

Monday, May 31---Sea Day---Fairly typical sea day with a pretty good mix of activities. We are fans of Bingo and Trivia (I will say it actually seemed like there were less Bingo opportunities this cruise). My hubby and FIL did go enjoy tea in the afternoon (something not to be missed on sea days). We went to a cooking demo (something new to us on Carnival) and my FIL went to an acupuncture seminar. It seems as if Carnival is increasing the "enrichment" type activities available. The show that night was Jazz Hot---our favorite of the 2 main shows.

Tuesday, June 1st---Grand Cayman---No problem getting a tender, but we were not really in a huge hurry to be the first off the ship. We did the Island Tour with Captain Marvin’s (got there early because we missed the fact they were an hour behind ship time). We had our own private tour in a small air conditioned van. Our tour guide was Matlee, and she was great! We drove by the Governor’s House, went to Hell, stopped at 7 Mile Beach for some photo ops, and went to the Turtle Farm which was a big hit! The tour cost $30 per person (toddler free).

Wednesday, June 2nd---Cozumel—After breakfast on Lido deck, we headed off the ship and hired a cab to take us around the island with the intentions of having him drop us off at Chankanaab Park at the end of the tour (so our son could play in the lagoon and see the dolphins, etc.). The tour was $80 for the 4 of us for 2-3 hours. The tour guides name was Abraham and he spoke really good English…much better, in fact, than previous cab drivers. He had a minivan (with good AC) which was good for us with the toddler. After driving through downtown and a failed attempt to stop in at Margaritaville for a shirt (it was not open yet), we drove around and stopped at several points around the less developed side of the island for photo ops and shopping and to step out on the beach a time or two. If you haven’t ever been to Cozumel, it’s a pretty rocky shoreline in many places, so the surf is fairly rough…but nice to look at. We stopped by El Cedral, where there is a small Mayan church and small old temple. During the course of the tour, Abraham recommended we might want to do Mr. Sanchos for the beach (beach only was free) instead of Chankanaab in order to avoid the entrance fees. So that is what we did. After a little while on the beach we caught a cab back to the dock for $15 (which was $5 more than we were quoted earlier in the day).

Thursday, June 3rd---Roatan---I must stop and say here that when we cruised the Legend last year, the Mahogany Bay dock was not completed, so this was the first time we got to dock there. We were big fans of the development there. It’s very nice and clean with the typical variety of shops but has a really nice open feel. It’s a short walk to the Mahogany Bay beach (or you can pay $10 a piece for the chair lift) if that is of interest. We had booked the Discover Roatan excursion through Carnival (I think it was $59 a piece). We first boarded a small bus (with AC, but not as good as we spoiled Americans are used to) and then went a short distance to board a small boat which took us around some of the mangroves and very near a couple of the nearby shipwrecks (great photo ops). After the boat ride, we stopped at several locations around the East side of the island for shopping and photo ops. One of the last stops, we got to sample some local jams and other foods (including some jack fish cooked in coconut mile that was amazing). We also stopped at the “Garifuna Experience” where some of the Garifuna people played, sang, and danced for us. We also got to watch a lady make cassava bread and sample that. A bottled water or soda was included. Overall, I’d say it was a great excursion (but most of it could be done much cheaper with an independent guide)

Friday, June 4th---Belize---Again, we had no long wait for a tender as we made our way to Belize. We hired a guide from Belize City Cruise Excursions to do a city tour and take us to Altun Ha. This was mine and my husband’s third time in Belize and 2nd to go to Altun Ha (father-in-law really wanted to see some Mayan ruins). We were on a 15 passenger van with 3 other couples. Supposedly there was AC, but in reality there was not. It was miserably hot that day…that combined with the lack of AC really dampened the experience. Truthfully, there’s not that much to really see on a city tour of Belize. The ride to Altun Ha is exceptionally rough. Altun Ha is a great set of ruins and you can actually climb many of the structures. Some of the local school children were there on a field trip, so it was actually somewhat crowded. Our guide (wish I could remember his name) was okay. He knew his stuff but he almost talked too much at Altun Ha (I think archaeology was his thing). He wanted to make sure we heard every single thing he had to say before doing any pictures. On a hot day with a toddler (after much debate, we decided to take him), that didn’t thrill me…but again, the heat probably turned me off a good bit. We did get to enjoy fresh mangos while we were there. Some of the locals were selling them for $2 a bag, already peeled and sliced.

Saturday, June 5th---Sea Day---Once again, pretty typical sea day…lots of pool time, some bingo/trivia, etc. We did do some photo shopping and father-in-law and I went to the Fun Farewell Celebration which was pretty nice (free drinks). Our son spent some time in Camp Carnival and got some nice Funship Freddy souvenirs.

CAMP CARNIVAL---Our son (2) spent a little bit of time there every day except one. He did really well, and only fussed once when we dropped him off. That time I ran back upstairs to get something and went back to check on him. When I couldn’t find him on the TV monitor, one of the counselors told me he was already calmed down and playing. They had a nice variety of activities, and the staff seemed to have a great attitude. I’m sure we’ll be using this again in the future! I guess if I had any complaint, it was that it seemed some of the hours they were closed for dinner and to prepare for other activities were some of the times we would have like to use it most, but that’s our schedule probably.

Sunday, June 6th---Debarkation---We had 6 bags among us and of course the 2 year old, so we had opted to do general debarkation rather than self assist. We had an 11:10 flight, so we were pushing it a little bit. Last year, they had all the people with early flights meet in one of the lounges and let us off the ship right after the VIPs, before self-assist. This was no longer the case this year. Self-assist was pretty much the first group off and a LOT of people did the self-assist, so we were probably an hour later getting off the ship this year (and we were in zone 2 of the general debarkation). In the future, we’ll probably have to plan on struggling with self-assist or getting a later flight, because it’s just a bit risky (though we made it in plenty of time).

[lillian marie]

Thanks for the great review.

[ibm_db2]

Thanks, good review. Does the Legend have a Seaside Theater?

[dreamangel1700]

We will be honeymooning on the Legend in 2 weeks. What nights were the formal nights?

[nomoredyess]

I sure hope they get that Piano Bar opened! I like hanging out a couple nights there........Was there a charge for the cooking class, and did you have to sign-up?

[okwriter]

Thanks for taking time to post this!

[quickmatch]

dreamangel both formal night are the days at sea. which is Monday and Saturday. Wife and i will also be on the legend in like a week and half. getting pretty excited.

[AryMay]

Thanks for the review...I especially appreciated your observations.

 

We did the cooking demo on the Freedom last summer and enjoyed it. No charge and you got to sample some of the food served in the supper club after the chefs explain how it is made. Not sure how it is handled on the Legend, but we had to call and reserve a spot in advance...there was limited seating. The wine seminar followed and it had a $15 fee per person to attend. (We did not go to this however.) Both were held in the supper club.

[BigBird6]

So this is my first post to CC after lots of lurking and reading. I just had to say THANKS for all the great info.

 

We sail on the 4th with my Mom and Dad and my husband and 2 boys - 9 and 5.

 

Did you enjoy the Roatan excursion? It didn't sound great on CCL site, but your description make me think I'd really like it. My mom has back problems so I'm trying to find her something that's interesting but still low key.

 

Do you need reservations for the tea? I've only seen it referred to on here, but can't find anything on the CCL site. Mom LOVES having tea so I want to make sure we go.

 

And is there a sports bar on board? My husband wants to catch some of the World Cup games if he can.

 

Thanks to you and anyone else that can offer info.

[cruisinbanddirectors]

BigBird, we did enjoy the Roatan excursion. It would probably be a good option for your mom. We chose it because it was something different for DH and myself and was an appropriate "speed" for FIL and DS.

 

No reservations required for tea. Just look on the Fun Times for sea days. It's usually around 3 or 3:30 in one of the lounges outside the dining room.

 

Yes there's a sports bar..can't remember right now if it's on deck 2 or 3, but it will be easy to find.

 

Quickmatch and Dreamangel, the formal nights on the Legend are actually Monday and Friday. I think you're right quickmatch that they're usually on sea days when possible, but I guess on the Legend they didn't want to do a formal night on the final evening.

 

Nomoredyess, the cooking class was in the steakhouse. No charge and no reservations required but since it's limited space it was first come, first served (though it didn't seem to have more demand than there was space...but it was full). We did get yummy samples of beef stroganoff, baby spinach salad with mushrooms and blue cheese, and cheesecake. The wine pairing seminar was also in the steakhouse. We didn't go, but they mentioned there was a surcharge ($15 sounds about right) to cover the cost of the wine.

 

ibm, there is no Seaside Theater on the Legend. It seems like this is something they're updating on ships as they go into drydock (not sure when the Legend is up for that). I am kind of anxious to go on one of the ships that has one though.

 

Hope this helps! If anyone has any more questions, ask away!

[nomoredyess]

BigBird, we did enjoy the Roatan excursion. It would probably be a good option for your mom. We chose it because it was something different for DH and myself and was an appropriate "speed" for FIL and DS.

 

No reservations required for tea. Just look on the Fun Times for sea days. It's usually around 3 or 3:30 in one of the lounges outside the dining room.

 

Yes there's a sports bar..can't remember right now if it's on deck 2 or 3, but it will be easy to find.

 

Quickmatch and Dreamangel, the formal nights on the Legend are actually Monday and Friday. I think you're right quickmatch that they're usually on sea days when possible, but I guess on the Legend they didn't want to do a formal night on the final evening.

 

Nomoredyess, the cooking class was in the steakhouse. No charge and no reservations required but since it's limited space it was first come, first served (though it didn't seem to have more demand than there was space...but it was full). We did get yummy samples of beef stroganoff, baby spinach salad with mushrooms and blue cheese, and cheesecake. The wine pairing seminar was also in the steakhouse. We didn't go, but they mentioned there was a surcharge ($15 sounds about right) to cover the cost of the wine.

 

ibm, there is no Seaside Theater on the Legend. It seems like this is something they're updating on ships as they go into drydock (not sure when the Legend is up for that). I am kind of anxious to go on one of the ships that has one though.

 

Hope this helps! If anyone has any more questions, ask away!

 

When we were on Freedom they had the Seaside Theater, it was pretty darn cool!!!

 

Drydock is scheduled for the first two weeks of Feb, as of now at least

[63galaxie]

We just got off the Legend last Sunday.

 

There IS a Behind the Fun Tour. It's listed on the last page of the Shore Excursions book. We booked it as soon as we got on the ship.

 

They added a second tour because it was so popular.

 

The tour was Saturday from 9-12:30. The second tour started at 9:30.

 

Loved it!

 

Also, we paid for the Extended Balcony (7299) and absolutely thought it was worth every extra penny. The cabin was beautiful. It even had marble counter tops throughout the room, marble and gorgeous tile work in the bathroom, big mirrors, an enormous amount of closets and storage space, a complete set of beautiful wine and cocktail glasses, and a very long sofabed. Even the table had a marble top. The balcony had teak floors and we had four chairs which reclined and two side tables on the balcony!

[nillachick]

Quick note: There is a Behind the Fun tour, it was Saturday, it was listed in the Fun Times as well as announced. The galley tour was Saturday afternoon as well.

We were on the Legend a month ago and the piano bar was open...no issues.

Just wanted to clear that up!

[gogetter]

thanks for the review.......

 

Why did you NOT like the bigger balcony?

 

I just got upgraded from an 8E to an 8K and got 60 dollars back.

[okwriter]

thanks for the review.......

 

Why did you NOT like the bigger balcony?

 

I just got upgraded from an 8E to an 8K and got 60 dollars back.

 

I think the 8K on the Legend overlooks the boats. And depending on which deck the 8K is on, you may be right under the Lido deck.

 

[gogetter]

Hello,

 

Thanks for the info. I make sure i am not near any noise or underneath a deck i don't like.

 

My 8K is on deck 7 midship. Decks 6 & 8 are cabins The lifeboats seem to be at deck 5 and 4 possibly.

 

A previous cruise on the Legend we had a deck 5 cabin, obstructed view. It wasn't bad though. if you looked straight out you could see fine. If you looked straight down you could see the lifeboats.

 

So again, why not have a bigger balcony?

[marci4tony]

We are ext balcony on deck 6 and are hoping to move up or upgrade -

 

If you are trying to watch the dolphins swimming next to the ship, you cannot see them for the lifeboats...

 

If you want to look STRAIGHT DOWN, your view is obstructed, but most of everything you see will not be STRAIGHT DOWN... But I get the concern, cuz I am or will be there too!

 

BUT - that being said - Any VIEW is better than NO VIEW! And any BALCONY is better than NO BALCONY!!:cool:

[okwriter]

Hello,

 

Thanks for the info. I make sure i am not near any noise or underneath a deck i don't like.

 

My 8K is on deck 7 midship. Decks 6 & 8 are cabins The lifeboats seem to be at deck 5 and 4 possibly.

 

A previous cruise on the Legend we had a deck 5 cabin, obstructed view. It wasn't bad though. if you looked straight out you could see fine. If you looked straight down you could see the lifeboats.

 

So again, why not have a bigger balcony?

 

If you are okay with the fact that when you look down, you will see lifeboats, you'll be fine! Enjoy!