Carnival Legend Review 3/13-20

[kadams718]

We drove from NC to Tampa on Saturday and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Brandon. Left our car at the hotel and Kingdom Transportation drove us to the port. Arrived at 10:30 on Sunday. The embark process was very smooth and easy. We were allowed on the boat around 11:45. Pack a bag with swim suit, sunscreen, etc as you are not allowed into your room until 1:30. Lunch was being served in the Unicorn Lounge and on the deck. Bars were open. We purchased soda cards for myself and son. You do pay tax and tip on all drink purchases while in port, this includes the soda cards. Once out to sea, no tax only tip.

 

You can carry on a 12 pack of drinks per person. We will do this next time. Also, 2 bottles of wine. They do scan and you will get flagged if you hide beverages in your checked bags. It is permitted to buy a 6-pack of canned beverages (soda or beer) in each port and bring back on board. It goes through the scanner...no problem. A great way to try the local beers and save a bit on the sign/sail card.

 

We were in room 6238 with a balcony. Kelvin, our room steward, and his assistant were very nice and did a great job.

 

We opted for the flex dining rather than an assigned seating time. Did notice a difference in the quality of service with this option than on our previous cruises where we had assigned seating times. I liked the flexibility in dining times, so we were okay with it.

 

We were traveling with our 9 yr old son. The activities for the 9-11 age group were plentiful all week. Our son LOVED camp!! It was March Break in Canada so the boat had over 700 kids. 140 in his age group alone. He ate dinner with them 4 nights...by choice. He attended the 9-11 yr old all-night party on Friday (10pm-3:30am) with over 40 kids and received a certificate of completion. My son really liked Shauna and Mr. B. They do offer nightly babysitting (10pm-3am) for $6/hr. We picked up our son between 10-12 almost every night. Lots of kids in the camp then. So they have fun while parents catch a show, etc... Kudos to a very well run Camp Carnival!

 

The all-inclusive food was fair. To get the best quality food, you must pay for it. The Golden Fleece dining room, dessert cafe, and coffee bar offer upgraded food/drink choices.

 

We enjoyed the Comedy Club and saw 2 great comedians. Nightlife was pretty non-existent except for the casino. The piano bar, which is usually a highlight for us, was disappointing. We enjoyed Kevin, the guitar player, who played in various places throughout the week. Cruise Director, Wee, was pretty visible and funny when we saw him.

 

Disappointed in the photography. We wanted a family photo on formal night. Had over 20 pictures taken and many of them had bad lighting or the poses were awkward.

 

The Serenity Lounge is great! We spent just a few hours throughout the week there when our son was at a camp activity. Couples without kids - this is the place to be!

 

Really liked this itinerary of 1 sea day, 4 ports, 1 sea day.

 

Ports...

Grand Cayman. We did the Moby Dick Sting Ray excursion. Highly recommend.

Cozumel. We went to Paradise Beach. This was our favorite day. Had a great time.

Belize. Cavetubing. Did not have a great experience with this. (cavetubing.com)

Roatan. Booked a car (Bodden Tours) , toured island and went to West Bay Beach. Just okay.

 

**I will detail each excursion on the ports forum.

 

We had a good cruise overall. It was fun! Will answer questions about the Legend if you have them!

[kadams718]

In my above review...it should say you are permitted to bring a 12 packs of soda or water on to the boat during embark.

[cruzinbee]

Thanks for the information. We are driving down from NC in May as well.

Was the Hampton Inn in Brandon convenient or would you do something different if you went back again? You also said the Bodden tour in Roatan was "just okay". Were you referring to the whole tour or just the West Bay beach part? We are booked with Bodden as well and we have been trying to decide which beach we want to go to.

[mimgan3]

Must be a North Carolina thing, driving to Tampa, we are going on this cruise next March, and just wondering if you were accurate, you can bring soda and beer on from the ports?, or was that soda and water.

 

Also, since we will be going first week of March, near same time frame, and you mentioned no nightlife, do you think it was because of the spring breakers, or what? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tim

[islandgirl71]

Thank You for your review!

I'll be on the legend on May 15th.

How much was the soda card without the tax?

[Heather1321]

They let you carry on a six pack of beer in each port? I have never heard that before. I might just have to try that :)….

[crusinpsychRN]

Sounds like a different Legend than the one I went on. There was so much night life everywhere.

 

Wouldn't spring breakers make sure there was a great party all night?

[Newcruiserforlife]

What did you find disappointing about the piano bar? Our last cruise was on the Liberty and we LOVED the piano bar but just assumed they were all pretty much the same on every ship. Our next cruise is on Legend and we were really looking forward to going to the piano bar again.

[crusin4funtimes]

Thank you for the review, we sail in August and can't wait! Do you remember how much the taxi was to Paradise Beach and do you have to call for a taxi when you want to go back to the pier or are there some waiting outside the beach area?:)

[ciship]

They let you carry on a six pack of beer in each port? I have never heard that before. I might just have to try that :)….

 

I was surprised (but PLEASED) to hear this as well!!

[tarheelmjfan]

Sounds like a different Legend than the one I went on. There was so much night life everywhere.

 

Wouldn't spring breakers make sure there was a great party all night?

 

The OP mentioned SB in Canada & 700 kids onboard. I'm guessing these SBers weren't quite old enough to party hard. ;)

[cuted126]

How long was your drive to Tampa? Just wondering. We are doing this drive in September from Va.

[tarheelmjfan]

How long was your drive to Tampa? Just wondering. We are doing this drive in September from Va.

 

We live in Tampa, & drive to the mtn's of NC to visit family often. It takes us about 10 1/2 hours. It's sometimes longer, if we stop a lot. My family who drives faster can make it here in a little less than 10 hrs. I'm not sure where you are in VA, so I don't know how much longer it will take you.

[crusinpsychRN]

Can you give us a link to your port reviews please?

[Froufie]

Also interested in hearing about the port reviews - esp about the cavetubing experience and Victor Bodden!

[Froufie]

What did you find disappointing about the piano bar? Our last cruise was on the Liberty and we LOVED the piano bar but just assumed they were all pretty much the same on every ship. Our next cruise is on Legend and we were really looking forward to going to the piano bar again.

 

The piano bar 'experience' depends a lot on who is playing on your specific cruise- I have had some GREAT experiences but unfortunately more bad ones..... the 1st night there are a few cruisers but by the 3rd/4th night the singer is basically serenading him or herself - Carvnival needs to work on the calibre of some of the individuals they hire!

[nikita]

Thanks for the review. I also did not know you could bring beer back onboard at the ports. Please verify this. Was it out in the open? How many times did you do this? My DH is a beer drinker so this would save us some coin if we can do this. We sail in May - yahoo!

[cuted126]

We live in Tampa, & drive to the mtn's of NC to visit family often. It takes us about 10 1/2 hours. It's sometimes longer, if we stop a lot. My family who drives faster can make it here in a little less than 10 hrs. I'm not sure where you are in VA, so I don't know how much longer it will take you.

 

Thanks we live in central va so we are probably looking at around 12 hours.

[kadams718]

Thanks for the information. We are driving down from NC in May as well.

Was the Hampton Inn in Brandon convenient or would you do something different if you went back again? You also said the Bodden tour in Roatan was "just okay". Were you referring to the whole tour or just the West Bay beach part? We are booked with Bodden as well and we have been trying to decide which beach we want to go to.

 

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Brandon because we were using our Hilton Honors points. It was a $25/each way shuttle ride and took about 20 min to get dropped off/picked up right at the door. We could leave our car there for free too.

 

The Bodden Tour consisted of a 25 min drive to a lookout point and that's it. We did add the Iguana Farm and West Bay Beach to the package for an additonal fee. Our driver was nice but did not have any energy or excitement to make our tour anything than just okay. I e-mailed Victor Bodden and he replied that he was very sorry to hear this and would follow up. I was not crazy about all the solicitation on West Bay Beach either. Every 5 min someone asking you to buy cigars, jewelry, hammocks, etc...

[kadams718]

Must be a North Carolina thing, driving to Tampa, we are going on this cruise next March, and just wondering if you were accurate, you can bring soda and beer on from the ports?, or was that soda and water.

 

Also, since we will be going first week of March, near same time frame, and you mentioned no nightlife, do you think it was because of the spring breakers, or what? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Tim

 

We brought a 6 pack of beer in cans onto the ship from every port. The beer was put in our backpack/beach bag and ran through the scanner. We did this at all 4 ports.

 

There were lots of families on this cruise. The groups of college kids were in the casino and partying alot during the day. The disco was empty the 2 nights we stuck our head in around 11/11:30.

[kadams718]

Thank You for your review!

I'll be on the legend on May 15th.

How much was the soda card without the tax?

 

The soda card for 1 adult and 1 child in port was $89.68.

Can not remember the breakdown before tax and tip.

[kadams718]

They let you carry on a six pack of beer in each port? I have never heard that before. I might just have to try that :)….

 

Yes...we did this at all 4 ports. It must be in cans and none opened.

[kadams718]

What did you find disappointing about the piano bar? Our last cruise was on the Liberty and we LOVED the piano bar but just assumed they were all pretty much the same on every ship. Our next cruise is on Legend and we were really looking forward to going to the piano bar again.

 

The female singer was nice, but was just not that good, unfortunately. It is hard for a female to sing the Elton John/Billy Joel sing-along songs. A very different experience from our previous cruises.

[kadams718]

How long was your drive to Tampa? Just wondering. We are doing this drive in September from Va.

 

From Charlotte, NC...it was 9 hours with 2 stops. We hit no traffic delays.

[kadams718]

Thanks for the review. I also did not know you could bring beer back onboard at the ports. Please verify this. Was it out in the open? How many times did you do this? My DH is a beer drinker so this would save us some coin if we can do this. We sail in May - yahoo!

 

We did this at all 4 ports. A six pack of local beer in cans in the store bag in our beach bag. No one said one thing about it. It must be in cans though, no glass.