LEGEND Review - May 13th thru 21st

[MrPete]

We booked this cruise in May of 2004, as a treat for DW’s godmother who lives in Scotland. I was not interested in cramming four into one cabin, and decided it was time for a treat myself. I have read with interest of these wrap around Aft cabins, but would have been useless to me as they only sleep two, and we always sail with three.

 

So, here was my opportunity! I’d book two cabins, one with the wrap around, and one adjoining, booking DD in the other cabin, but she could stay with us, while the godmother had her own room. One downside. We did a regular aft cabin a couple of years back, and wife HATED it. I don’t remember if at any point I mentioned this to her. I wanted the wrap!

 

We had also sailed this ship before, having taken wife’s 84-year-old grandmother from Scotland in 2002. She has since passed.

 

http://image14.webshots.com/14/7/72/11/166677211IBHaUw_fs.jpg

 

I guess the Legend is sort of our ship of treats.

 

The bad news was that the godmother had a heart attack a couple of weeks back, and to make a long story short, we decided to just go with the three of us. I did call TA in advance to make sure my 6-year-old, who was now officially in her own cabin, would have no problems. I was told no problem, as the cabins were connected.

 

OK Now off to the meat.

 

DAY 1

Woke up on embarkation day the morning after the landslide that cut off the Henry Hudson Pkwy. just north of the GW Bridge. But I also expected to get there later than normal, as DW and DD were at work /school.

 

So I was shocked when we arrived at the pier in 22 minutes!

 

I paid my $180 fee and parked my car. Got downstairs, and found three LONG lines. Oh well, I was there, and I’m quite patient. We got friendly with the people before us and after us. Everyone so excited to share their previous cruising expertise!

 

First advance tip I got on these boards was that the Skippers Club was on the OTHER side of security. I AM glad I knew that before I got there, as I would have expected to simply walk onto the ship otherwise.

 

So once we got back security (of course I was on the third of the three lines), everyone was being directed left. That was when I asked where the Skippers Club was. “Oh, right this way,” and was directed right.

 

We got on line, being fourth, and found there were two people doing the checking in. Unfortunately, we were sharing this check in with people in wheelchairs. So here we are waiting, and person after person was being wheeled up. Finally, the lady behind the counter said enough, and asked us to approach her.

 

I placed both sets of documents on the counter, only one of which was actually eligible for the “club.” She took the first packet, and then the second, and slid them back at me, proclaiming that I “somehow had someone else’s tickets.” I’ll leave my own interpretation to myself on how she looked at me down her nose as she did this “slide.” She changed her tune REAL fast when I pointed out it was for my daughter.

 

TIP: have your B.V.I. card filled out before check-in. It is here that they collect them. Also, standing in the pier, inside no less, that I realized I should have brought my jacket in from the car. It was COLD!

 

So she checks us in, and then it’s back on another line to have our sail and sign pix taken prior to boarding. Imagine my surprise that now we were actually BEHIND the people we were originally next to PRIOR to security.

 

They can keep their skipper’s club in NY.

 

So finally, onto the ship. And now it’s time to head AFT, not knowing how DW will like being there, or even knowing that’s where we’re going. She is still once in a while confusing cat 11 with deck 11.

 

We find our little corner, walk in, and find it’s not how I imagined it at all, from the pictures I have seen. And it took two walk throughs to find the bathroom. All of a sudden I hear “Oh my GOD!” and find it’s coming from the balcony. SHE LOVES IT! Well, it wasn’t five minutes she was on her cell phone boasting about our cabin. And how we should change our booking next June to this cabin again, and the three rooms next to it.

 

Ample space out here, with four lounge chairs, two regular chairs, two tables, and plenty of room. Yes, this is good.

 

Go back inside, and the connecting door to the adjoining cabin is locked, with no way to unlock it. I head to the purser’s desk, and I figure this will also be where I test requesting opening the balcony partition. Seems this is the trick. So get down there early, and they put you on a list. They inform me they will open the adjoining door right away, and will open the partition by the next day. And they do.

 

And the best way I can describe the inside is that it is really three side by side rooms, first being the hallway and sitting room, the next being the bathroom, the dressing room, the walk-in closet, and the hallway to the balcony. The last room in the bedroom, but it’s not a full room, as part in next doors room. And with having the adjoining cabin, we had two bathrooms (no getting ready in stages!), three TV’s, two VCRs (I brought tapes, and watched maybe 10 minutes worth), and plenty of closet space with nooks and crannies all over.

 

Another bonus I found was the secret staircase one cabin down from my room that takes you to the outside promenade on deck three. There’s one on the other side too. Even used it for our lifeboat drill, when everyone else was crammed on those staircases, we simply walked down and then back up again.

 

The rear elevators were quiet as well, and never had to wait. Being further down, I figured getting up and down would be a challenge, but I actually liked this deck.

 

Just before that lifeboat drill, I met up with my first CruiseCritic member ever...JFritz. She and her family were great to meet.

 

We didn’t sail at 4, or even 5. It was well after 6, while we were having dinner. Captain said we were sailing late due to refueling. We were just coming out of the dining room when we were passing Lady Liberty.

 

Once we started moving, not going back to my car to get my jacket was a mistake. I finally found a reason to wear those silly robes. And it was worse that night. So our trips to the baloney were short lived that night. By the time we had gone to bed, we had gotten as far south as the bottom of New Jersey.

 

And for those keeping track, the first full day waking up we were off Virginia Beach/Chesapeake Bay, and that night, we were down by the Carolinas/Georgia. The second full day, we were off of Florida north of the Bahamas (although a LOT further east obviously), and by the night we were south of the Bahamas.

 

DAY 2

That first full day out, the weather had warmed up dramatically, and the water was that nice shade of blue. It was definitely a pool day.

 

Called cabin steward to have my suit brought down to be pressed. Paid the 50% surcharge for same day service. He told me it would be back by 4:30. OK, I realize that’s a little bit close for the 4:45 Captains Welcome party, but I know I can do it. Check my manual, and it says stewards come back on at 4:00.

 

Made my reservations for the Supper club for Monday night, cause I’ve done all my homework, and find that’s the weakest night in the regular dining room.

 

Had a great sea day, came down to get ready for formal night. AH. It was really nice having two bathrooms. About 4:35, still no suit. So I try paging. Not connecting, so I call the purser’s desk. They tell me the stewards come back on at 5:00, and didn’t know where I was getting a statement that my suit would be delivered by 4:30. I inform them it was the STEWARD. 4:38, I see steward coming down the hall, with “dry cleaning.” Gives me my two dress shirts, and what I though was my suit behind it. NOT! It was a tux. I go running down the hall. He looks FLABBERGASTED. Another long story short, they find my suit, delivered to the wrong cabin, about 9:00 that night. I get a personal visit from some white suit launderer, and a bottle of wine, with all the charges reversed. Meanwhile, I missed the cocktail hour, picture opps, but got the embarrassment of walking into the dining room in a tie and dockers.

 

Afterwards, we saw the show in the lounge Jazz Hot. It was alright. I think I had seen it before.

 

DAY 3

I got a visit at the pools from two girls asking if I was MrPete. They were out scouting for their mom, another Ccer. So I got to meet at least two people from here. Again, she and her family were very nice. I actually didn’t meet her husband until yesterday morning when we were getting off the ship.

 

Another thing I noticed was that they were enforcing the Adult pool in the back. I saw one passenger try to argue, but he lost. The pool was also heated at times, which was nice.

 

And yes, the slide is closed, with a sign stating “Out of order - sorry for the inconvenience.” Looks like it hasn’t been used in quite a while. I asked one security person why, she just smiled and said I should inquire at the purser’s desk. I figured if they didn’t know when their stewards worked, they wouldn’t know when their slide did.

 

That night we skipped the magic show (and all shows with Brett Allans, including the welcome aboard show). He is just horrendous. I had him once 12 years ago, and it was embarrassing. This time was even worse, as he was all over the TV channels.

 

But we did catch the Survivor finale on TV!

 

I also noticed Carnival got wise in using the casino for cash advance, instead of using the ATM with the $5 surcharge. They now charge a percent or a rate, whichever is higher, on sail and sign chip purchases. Another loophole closed. Damn these boards!

 

Also, there are signs/placards on the chairs now that say no chair saving. I have to state though there were ALWAYS ample supplies of chairs available.

 

DAY 4

Everyone was getting ready for our first stop in Puerto Rico, when the rains started at about 1:00 P.M.. We had no plans, but were thrilled when we found they had closed the cover on the middle pool. So we swam for the afternoon, and I got a haircut. The humidity was not playing nice with my doo. We never got off the ship here.

 

That night we ate at the supper club. This was my first experience, but I had not done all my homework, as the weak menu (the daily menus are now on TV) in the dining room turned out to be the day we were in St. Thomas. Oh well. Anyway, it was nice, but again, my expectations were over hyped. Wife loved it, as did DD. Meal was good, I must say. So was the service. Nice touch with having a keyboard and soloist. Got a couple of dances in. But the place was EMPTY! We were done in two hours, which was a good thing having a child along. I figured we’d have to go for strolls between courses, but everything flowed just right.

And I was so full that I skipped breakfast the next morning.

 

Day 5

St. Thomas. I love this port. Two many options. But this time I chose to do the Godfrey tour. I had never actually toured the Island. Previously, we’d wither head over to St. John for Trunk Bay, or go to Megan’s Bay. But this was NICE. A little shopping, a nice tour with breathtaking views, and a two-hour beach stay. All for $20!

 

Day 6

Tortola.

I was a little disappointed. I really would have liked to have gone to Virgin Gorda, but I figured I’d do that next year, when more of us are going. I didn’t think wife, godmother and child would be into a rock formation. I was going to go myself, but with godmother out of the picture, I skipped it altogether, and figured I’d hear how great it was when people got back.

I didn’t expect Tortola itself to be that depressed. We chose just to go to the beach, and while the beach itself was “OK,” getting there was some hell of a ride. We chose Cane Garden Bay, which is on the Atlantic side, facing the back of St. Thomas. Yet every once in a while you saw multi million dollar homes. Go figure.

 

That night, we hit some rocky seas. This was the start of our way back. Rumors were out that this was the first of the hurricanes of the year. It was really not that bad, but everyone had their stories the next morning.

 

Thursday was the second formal night, and I had my suit on! By the way, the purser’s desk called me on Tuesday to see if I ever got my suit back. Show that night was Act II or something like that. Again, it was good, but I had seen it before.

 

Day 7

First off, it was nice having the extra day; that this would normally be the day I was getting off. Another good pool day

 

Day 8

I mentioned this somewhere else, but they have now installed discipline in the self assist debarkation. Now it’s more organized, although it took us longer to get off as there’s more people doing the self assist thing. There was no pushing, shoving, or yelling. There were people in the front of the line that said they were there at 6:30. No thanks. I’d rather spend three hours watching us pull in, than be the first to get off the ship. We only waited 35 minutes, so that wasn’t bad at all.

 

Synopsis.

And so it goes. Another cruise come and gone, with another booked for June of 2006. I just hope they change the cruise director.

 

Good cruise Good food. Nice people. Relaxed people. People just having fun in general. Nice cross section of all ages. No one age group outweighing the others. Never saw anyone rude. No teen gangs. Great service. A couple of glitches, but they just made for better reading. None of it got to me. Hey, I’m on vacation. And a couple of Bahama Mamas help too!

[afcgirl]

As expected, great review! Thanks for sharing!

[PollyNJ]

Glad to here your trip went well. Great Pix's also. I am sailing on the 29th and it will be my fourth time on the Legend. My third time with this itinerary. I just love the sea days. Glad they are enforcing the no children rule in the Adult pool. When we went last July that was not the case. Also glad to hear dinner menu now on TV. Were they posted in a week long format or daily. Just curious because we rarely each lunch in the dining room but sometimes I would like to if the dinner is not to my liking. I went to the ESB cam to watch you come in and checked back later I saw you crying all the way to your car. LOL

Thanks for the review.

[MrPete]

Were they posted in a week long format or daily. Just curious because we rarely each lunch in the dining room but sometimes I would like to if the dinner is not to my liking.

 

Daily, broken down by meal, and even broken further from starters to desserts. Breakfast Lunch and Dinner! Let me know if i was going to the dining room for lunch. This is the first trip i never did go.

[rharrz]

If Everyone Complains About The Cd Why Do They Keep Him On The Ship?

[Laurab23]

If Everyone Complains About The Cd Why Do They Keep Him On The Ship?

Good question. Anyone have the answer? We didn't like him,either.

Laura

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the review Pete. The Legend is a great ship and I love those wrap arounds!!!!

[Gingee]

Hey Polly - this time next week we will be cruising. Hope for good seas.

 

Also to Pete - what do you mean by everyone having their own stories on the rough seas at night? Was it hard to sleep during it?

[PollyNJ]

Gingee- I have been checking out the 21 day forcast for ever it seems lol We should have good weather. If you go to the casino on Memorial day you will see my husband and I we dress in red white and blue for the patriotic holidays SIL is embarassed of us When we came back last year my DD threw out my blinking earrings/ Yeah I am on vacation right? Out for a good time.

 

Pete I will check out the lunch in the dining room. We like to go at least once Also, where did they build the poker room everyone was talking about? OP showed a picture but I can't figure out if it is by the coffee shop by Satchmo's lounge or by the Atruim. Did you see it? Thanks

[MrPete]

Also, where did they build the poker room everyone was talking about? OP showed a picture but I can't figure out if it is by the coffee shop by Satchmo's lounge or by the Atruim. Did you see it? Thanks

 

If you're talking about the Texas Round up, it's just outside the casino, at the far end of the atrium.

 

Gingee, yes. People were mentioning their lack of sleep due to the "storm". It was rocky, I must add. Wife was scared, more paramoid, but knew it was because she was on a treatment of (sp?) Presnidone.

 

Speaking of the atrium, for pictures, twice I saw they had an area to "dress up like the old west" old fashioned shots. We did it, after passing on it for years. It was cute.

[MrPete]

They raised the "price" of the supper club to $30PP.

[kaitchin]

:) I am sooooo jealous!!

 

When I book my next cruise (?) you can be my travel agent!

The cabin is great. My husband & girls' would love the balcony!

 

Too bad about the slide.

Is it really $180 to park out of NY?

 

Glad you had a great time.

Welcome home.

K

[ANewCruiser]

Hi Mr. Pete,

Thanks for the great review and I have a question about the NYC port.

About what time did you arrive there?

I was sorry to hear of the conditions surrounding the Skippers Club.

We will also be able to check in using Skippers Club in July, but it is shameful that this is not better organized here in NYC and Carnival should not advertise this as a perk if it really isn't.

But, I promise not to let this ruin my cruise! Life is too short to sweat small stuff, but I do not like to pay extra for things I am entitled to and to be ripped off because of someone's or a company's lack of disorganization. They have had plenty of practice to get it right!!!!

Thanks again Mr. Pete. I am glad you had a great time otherwise.:)

[Denycejac26]

MrPete...

 

I was wondering if you had your capers and are able to post them? I will be on the Legend Sunday(cannot wait! ) and was just curious.. not like I can't wait but thought I would ask. lol

 

Thanks!

Glad you and your family had such a nice time.

 

Denyce

[MrPete]

I was wondering if you had your capers and are able to post them?

 

I do have them. I'll see if I can get a chance to post them.

[MrPete]

About what time did you arrive there?

 

I got there at about 1:45, which is later than I normally get there.

 

I have my best luck arriving at 11:15, which puts me on the ship at 12:30. Another time, I got there later than normal, by design. It was about 3 PM, and we simply walked onto the ship. Everyone was on board already.

:eek:

[cbabe]

Thank you for your review MrPete.

You have a lot of the same opinions and observations that I did. Especially concerning the CD.

[BettyB2]

Thanks for the wonderful review....it sounded fabulous. We have a wraparound this December and I am pretty excited about the balcony. Did you spend a lot of time there? I am also thinking about Godfrey's for our upcoming cruise....it sounds like a great day...but wonder if the 2 h-3 hours of shopping would be TOO much for my DH to be..hmmm. I like the $20 pricetag for the day....

 

thanks again Pete...love reading LONG and detailed reviews......

[MrPete]

Did you spend a lot of time there? I am also thinking about Godfrey's for our upcoming cruise....it sounds like a great day...but wonder if the 2 h-3 hours of shopping would be TOO much for my DH to be..hmmm..

 

I spent a LOT of time there. Loved laying on my lounger. And all that space, and the views!

 

As far as the time for shopping, Ii think he offers 1, 2 and 3 hours. We went for the 2 hours. Did a little shopping, had DD's hair braided (she waited a year for that), and then we sat in the park. If we had more time, we would have gone to one of the hotels for lunch. He then has the two hour tour, followed by the 2 hour beach trip.

 

Again, well worth it, and Godfrey was detailed as well. He has a real passionate love for his island.

[jfritz126]

And we also loved our Godfrey tour but we took the 9:00 pickup. Pete and I were then on the same bus the rest of the day and it was a very good tour. I would do it again!! I just wish I could have seen your cabin Pete!!!:(

[Gingee]

21 day forecast? Do you believe it? If they are anything like our town's forecast, they aren't reliable. I do hope we have good weather (of course).

[marella68]

I was wondering about the "drink specials" of the day? Are they specially priced or are there special drink prices, say at the Lido bar from 5-7 or something like that?

 

I had heard you could get the souvenir glasses, then use them to refill later at a cheaper price? Is that true for just the Fun Ship or all foo-foo drinks?

 

And what exactly is a Miami Vice??? :)

 

Thanks!

Maria

[MrPete]

I was wondering about the "drink specials" of the day?

They had daily drink-of-the-day specials. Cost 2.95 for a tumbler, and 6.95 for a souvenier, and 4.95 for a refill on those. The regular foo foo souvenier glasses could be refilled cheaper as well, anytime.

 

No "happy hours" that I saw, except the two formal cocktail parties, where all the drinks were free, except I did see a special stand for Cosmopotans that they were charging for.

[MrPete]

I just wish I could have seen your cabin Pete!!!:(

 

JF....Did you check my pix? Gene came by. We gave him the full tour. Obviously, that wasn't the purpose of his visit!:eek:

[toesockrock]

Sounds like you had a pretty good time. We're cruising on the Legend this August; I really enjoyed reading your review. Last year on our Miracle cruise to the Bahamas, we didn't go to any beaches, but we're definitely going to some, this time around...

 

Question about Brett Alans, the CD... Seems like just about everyone on this board thinks he's pretty awful. What is it about him, exactly, that you don't like? Is he mean? Stupid? I'm quite curious, because I only have Mark Hawkins from the Miracle to compare him to... I doubt a bad CD would come even close to ruining my cruise, but the negativity regarding Brett Alans makes me very nervous. :o

 

xoxo

Maggi