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Sunburns, Drownings and Other Tales From the Sea - Legend 9/4/11

vamartha

By vamartha,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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vamartha

vamartha

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We were on the Legend on 8/28/11 and took the Barrier Reef snorkel and beach break excursion through Carnival (for the 2nd year in a row) and we went to Bannister Island both times. The best thing about this excursion is they pick you up right from the ship, you don't have to tender in to Belize City first, just right to the reef from the ship.

Loving your review - I'm almost finished writing mine, and it sounds like we have the same 'cruise style'!

 

If Carnivals advertisement for the shore excursion had said Bannister Island instead of being so vague about the location I probably would have booked it even though I am adamantly against spending extra money on a ships excursion. BUT I am so glad I didn't! I bet that excursion was canceled on the Legend too due to poor visibility and if we hadn't have booked outside the ship we wouldn't have been able to experience Bannister Island almost alone. I wouldn't have changed a thing about that day - visibility be darned! Yep I would have loved to snorkel in clear water but the Bannister experience was so amazing it was worth the sacrifice of the clear water. This is one of these decisions I debated about long and hard before booking with Coral Breeze. I'm satisfied that this time I made the right decision!

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skye02

skye02

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There is an interesting set of stairs to get into the Golden Fleece and I think I went up them during the daylight hours but when it came time to leave we started to go down them and it turns out that they are transparent – like clear glass! EEK! I am deathly afraid of heights and through these stairs you can see the all the way to the main lobby – from deck 10 to deck 2. I don’t mean you can see over the banister down' date=' I mean you can see past your foot – 8 floors! No way could I walk down them! [/size']

Do you have any pics of these stairs? I would love to see them! You are doing a great review, fabulous writing!

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theneals4

theneals4

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Hey, that is us out there on the Dream!

Loving your review!

They cancelled out snorkeling to Geoffs Cay about an hour before we were to tender:( I was sorry not to be able to go, but sounds like the visibility was as bad as they said.

 

Those storms were something else! We were in Cozumel the day before you, and the water was really rough. We were at Nachi and there might have only been 40 people there. We were the only ones that had signed up for snorkeling... they took us out in 3 foot swells to the reef, and I spent the entire time asking myself what kind of idiot I am! We snorkeled about two miles in those swells... Yikes!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review:)

 

We were on the same Sailing and we were waiting for elevator to go to breakfast and heard them cancel your excursion! I told my hubby, thats gotta suck! we decided not to go out to Belize. Kinda glad we didnt. I still hope you had a enjoyable trip though!

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theneals4

theneals4

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Very nice review so far;) Im glad you guys had a decent trip. I was on the Dream at the same time you were on the Legend and we anchored outside of Belize we went to breakfast and we saw your ship. I believe i even got a picture of it! And thanks for the advise on Bannister Island, we had no idea what to do if we would have got off in Belize. So now we have an idea! Thanks for a good review and keep it coming! ;)

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Brittasbay

Brittasbay

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ATD side note – ATD was great! It is our vacation and we despised having to share our dinner with people we don’t know and may or may not have something in common with. The last time we cruised ATD wasn’t available but we had the Maître de move us to a table for 2 after an uncomfortable first dinner. This time the ability to not only have a table for 2 but to eat on our schedule and not someone else’s was fabulous! The tables are NOT as close as I had been lead to believe on CC. You are not alone during dinner but you aren’t elbow to elbow either. We always sat at a table for 2 overlooking the main dining room and couldn’t help but think how fortunate we were not to be dining at one of those tables for a jazillion people down below us! The view was great and we were able to see the dancing waiters at least once.

 

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We sat on our balcony, walked around the ship and just generally had a good time the first night sort of learning our way around. We stayed up way too late but we had a good time! We even got some hammock time in Serenity! Just heavenly! I wanted to take a nap and if DH had let me I’d probably have slept there forever!

 

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(I don't know who that girl is - but she and her chins snuck into the hammock with my husband :D :eek: :D)

 

I also got my first look at Cigar Dude! Holy Moly - what the heck - have you seen that guys guns???

 

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I have a tip for anyone with a smart phone and that is the Shipmate app. It is FREE and would have been worth paying for (app developers out there – don’t get any ideas!)! We put our phones on Airplane mode soon after sail away and never took them off until we were back in port. But the Shipmate app works fine with no internet access and has the best map of the ship. I carried my phone for the camera and the clock anyway but with this app I was never lost! I highly recommend it! Angry Birds works too and it can be great when waiting in line at Guest Services! Just remember to turn the sound down!

 

We are not sun worshipers (watch The Big C on Showtime to get an idea why) and we spent the Day at Sea bumming around the ship. We did go to the Mixologist Contest and the Hairy Chest Contest. Oh my. They really humiliate those guys but I am guessing that a lot of alcohol is involved with the participants so they are only humiliated the 400th time or so that it is shown on the in-cabin TV! J We made a donation to Carnival in the casino and a few at the bar but I had purchased some drink coupons before the cruise via the Bon Voyage website and that took some of the sting out of the bar tab! I’m ready to start buying them again! We stopped by the internet café to double check that there was a special on minutes if you bought a package that day and there was – 20 free minutes.

 

 

Cigar Dude is chilling out, love it! Thanks for the heads up on Shipmate, it is awesome! Great review!

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w8ing2cruz

w8ing2cruz

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Just wait till she gets to the part about trying to drown me !

This is the DH.

 

Wondering if DH was going to make an appearance :D I wish every cruise we've taken were filled with laid back people like you guys! Loving your review Martha - we've sailed this itinerary a couple of times and it's great re-living the Western!! We actually did the Carnival snorkel tour our second time in Belize. I'm with you - definately avoid ship sponsored tours but being picked up right at the ship is a huge bonus in Belize. Bannister Island is absolutely amazing and the rum punch on the ride back didn't hurt either :p. Can't wait for the Roatan and alleged drowning!!

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vamartha

vamartha

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Wondering if DH was going to make an appearance :D I wish every cruise we've taken were filled with laid back people like you guys!

 

My first cruise I worried about how I was going to dress, stressed everything being so formal when in my real life - things just aren't that way.

 

Second one was DH's first one so I was stressed about how he would enjoy it, how he would fit in, etc. He was just coming off some chemotherapy too and was getting back up on his feet. (it went great in case you couldn't tell - I got him to go again and he looks GQ fabulous!)

 

This time - we are who we are. I am one who is happier and happier as cruising becomes less stuffy, less formal, less and less like the yesteryear of First Class Passages. Granted we wouldn't have cruising as we have it today if we hadn't had all those Grand Sailings and early methods of traveling across vast seas but just as mankind has evolved from most of the protocols of the early 1900's, so has cruising. I'm glad there are cruise lines like Seabourn and Crystal - those who choose to live a more formal lifestyle may still cruise in the manner in which they are accustomed and those of us who live us a more relaxed lifestyle have several choices too.

 

This post will ruffle a few feathers but there will be some who chuckle and say they agree. The latter are the people I want to cruise with in the future! :D

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w8ing2cruz

w8ing2cruz

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My first cruise I worried about how I was going to dress, stressed everything being so formal when in my real life - things just aren't that way.

 

Second one was DH's first one so I was stressed about how he would enjoy it, how he would fit in, etc. He was just coming off some chemotherapy too and was getting back up on his feet. (it went great in case you couldn't tell - I got him to go again and he looks GQ fabulous!)

 

This time - we are who we are. I am one who is happier and happier as cruising becomes less stuffy, less formal, less and less like the yesteryear of First Class Passages. Granted we wouldn't have cruising as we have it today if we hadn't had all those Grand Sailings and early methods of traveling across vast seas but just as mankind has evolved from most of the protocols of the early 1900's, so has cruising. I'm glad there are cruise lines like Seabourn and Crystal - those who choose to live a more formal lifestyle may still cruise in the manner in which they are accustomed and those of us who live us a more relaxed lifestyle have several choices too.

 

This post will ruffle a few feathers but there will be some who chuckle and say they agree. The latter are the people I want to cruise with in the future! :D

 

 

Well said - there is a reason for many different lines. I'm so glad this third time was the charm!! I wish you and your husband many more relaxing sailings in the future!!

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vamartha

vamartha

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I was most excited for the following day in Roatan. I’d been dreaming about snorkeling on Tabyana Beach for months. We had a private tour for the two of us booked with Victor Bodden and when we arrived in Roatan it was in the middle of a driving, pouring hard rain. When I was born my aunt (the only aunt or uncle I have, my Mothers sister) was in the Mainland of Honduras as a Medical Missionary. I’d never been anywhere in Central America so although I was going to be on the island of Roatan I was still excited to see the country where my Aunt Nancy had spent a quarter of her life. We hurried off the ship (not many others were getting off in that rain, we heard comments later from other passengers talking about watching the fools leave in the rain – LOL) and went to catch a taxi over the hill to Victor Boddens representatives for $2 each! So worth it in the rain!

 

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We were met by our guide, Ben Hernandez who turned out to be the best tour guide ever! He was great! Ben took us around the entire island, showed us each community and told us a bit of history about each area. He had come to the island when he was 8 and there were no paved roads and he told us about all the other things that he had seen change over his lifetime. He knew we wanted to snorkel and took us to Bananarama Dive Resort and our first look at the beach in West Bay. Oh my, where did those angry seas come from? The surf was way up, much further than we wanted to snorkel in. We oohed and aahed the beautiful beach and then climbed back into Ben’s vehicle to see more of the island since the snorkeling was now out of the equation. I wanted some local lobster so he took us to a restaurant in West End that is built right up against the water and we had lobster and shrimp skewers and a local beer. Then Ben took us through Coxen Hole on the way back to the fairytale land that Carnival built and called Mahogany Bay. Guys and gals, this isn’t Roatan – it is fabricated and fake and designed to keep your money and keep you out of the REAL Roatan! Get a tour and get out of the CCL Fantasyland see the sights of the island. The natural beauty of West Bay and West End are far more beautiful than any beach resort that Carnival could build!

 

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crusinpsychRN

crusinpsychRN

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I was on this cruise and totally missed the thunderstorm. In Roatan we had another storm and a very loud and close lightening strike scared the daylights out of me when I was on the balcony. Roatan was beautiful!

 

Those clear stairs freak me out too! I have to look up and hold the railing.

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drenee73

drenee73

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Martha, I'm ready to book our next cruise with y'all! :) This has been a great review. I'm hooked. Great f'ing porn too - food AND fish! ROFL

 

I watched the thunderstorm and almost went into my bathroom so it would be dark and quiet so I could pretend I was the one on the balcony that night! (how silly is THAT!?)

 

Oh, and the towel vagina - I burst out laughing and when DH asked what I was laughing about I said "nothing." I can't wait till we get one of these next month so I can use it and watch him pee himself laughing! hehe

 

THANKS! Only 34 days!!!!

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