Carnival legend review 10/14-10/21!!!

[ss75511]

Let me first introduce myself. I am a 25 year old female from North Carolina who has cruised 6 or 7 times on 3 different cruise lines. I traveled with my 29 year old boyfriend who was taking his first ever cruise! Now onto the review!......

 

 

So I’m going to be completely objective when writing this review. I don’t believe in over-inflating a situation nor being overtly negative so hopefully you will all appreciate the honesty associated.

 

 

Instead of going day by day & telling you what I did I’m going to format this a little differently. I’m going to start out with the positives…..good things not to miss, then I’ll give you some random tips, & then I’ll move on to things that weren’t so great & to skip. Finally, I’ll hit each port individually. Hopefully that will cover everything. I plan to hopefully come back one day next week when I have the time & put up some pictures but for now I can only commit to written word…

[ss75511]

Things I found GREAT and NOT to miss:

 

The Motown show was AMAZING:It was the second to last night in Follies & the singer was super talented.

 

The Serenity Deck: We spent 60-75% of our time on the ship on this deck. Whether it be sea days between activities or right when we got back from ports. We managed to find one of those large round clamshells almost every single day. I did see a fight break out over one of them but it was more amusing than anything. God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy :) But they do a great job maintaining this part of the ship. The towel girl, Jessrill from the Philippines, gave outstanding service! We tipped her an extra $10 at the end of the cruise & I hope other people think of her too. She’s trying to support her son back in the Philippines & she works so very hard to be attentive and to keep everything clean and in good order. She also has to deal with the angry chair-hoarders who come back to the towel stands for their belongings when people move them. Can’t be an easy job. ANYWAY—this was the best place on the ship, quiet with no loud pop music and absolutely NO children. The glass doors with “21 & over only” seem to do the trick. And on our cruise at least, chair hoggers didn’t really seem to be much of a problem. Carnival crew was great above removing towels & belongings after 30 minutes & like I said I never had a hard time getting a clam shell for my boyfriend & me….the time of day was always varied too….The last sea day we managed to get one from 11am-5pm and only left for lunch once. We went to the MDR and service was sorta slow, we ended up being there about 45 mins to an hour and expected our stuff to be removed when we returned (and rightfully so) but it was still there and there was another empty clamshell right next to ours so again just not as crowded as I would have thought especially with the kids being in school and not seeing too many on the cruise.

 

The Cooking Demonstration: I’ve been to these before on other cruises but this one was by far the best. Everyone got to taste the spinach salad (which I didn’t care for because I don’t eat blue cheese or bacon but if you like these things I think you’ll find it quite pleasant), beef stroganoff (which was incredible…the chef on this particular ship definitely takes pride in his stroganoff so give it a chance, my boyfriend even ordered it in the MDR even though I told him about all of the terrible reviews on here because it was so good in the demo and it was JUST as good in the MDR so definitely give it a chance, it may not be good on other ships but it’s GREAT on the Legend) and the cheesecake (which was also divine). It was great meeting the executive chef & the man in charge of all of the beautiful fruit carvings. Plus this is a great opportunity to see the steakhouse if you don't decide to eat there one night. We didn't do the steakhouse but heard great things about it! We just didn't want to give up trying one of the MDR menus. The steakhouse is beautiful though! and on the tip-top of the ship so take the glass staircase from the lido up there for the demo! you'll be glad you did!

 

The Midnight Mexican Buffett: Okay so it was more like 11pm instead of midnight but it’s definitely the answer to the cutbacks….it made me still feel like they had a late night fun buffet & the food was delicious. I found the tacos to be yummy and crunchy, as well as many of the other speciality items on the buffet. They had lots of carved watermelons and overall the display was not to be missed because it gave me some of that old carnival flavor I miss from before the economy tanked.

 

High Tea: Always one of my favorite things on the ship. I only went to one this week since “tea” isn’t really my boyfriend’s thing but he surprisingly agreed to go with me. I had originally planned on going on my own & just conversing with people at my table but he expressed interest so I told myself I’d just go to one and let him choose what he wanted to do on the other day. Tea is on Sea Days at 3pm. This tea was very good and the Legend has some of the best scones I’ve EVER HAD. They also had strawberries and crème which I’ve never had before on a carnival tea time. The fruit was very fresh overall on this cruise & we really enjoyed it.

 

The Taste Bar & Sushi: I put these together because they’re around the same time on different decks. Sushi is on the Lido (hidden in a corner near the drinks next to the salad bar) from around 6 to around 8:30 every day and it is fresh & delicious. One day they had spicy tuna rolls & they rivaled anything you can get in a sushi bar inland. Very good quality, free, and all you can eat! The taste bar is on deck 2 right outside the sports bar/satchamos/legends café and is open from 5:30-8 and offers small appetizers (2 each night that they’re open which is not every night) and a $5 drink special. This is the ONLY drink you will drink on the ship under $7 so I’d go for it if you’re a drinker. Plus the appetizers are VERY good & inventive.

 

Lunch in the MDR: Do it at least one of the sea days, we did it both. Even the build-your-own burger is better than the burger on the Lido. But they also offer delicious items you can’t get anywhere else on the rest of the cruise. I had great soups & a wonderful vegetable fajita & my boyfriend loved it both of the times we took the time to eat lunch in the MDR. It’s just a great experience and gives you the chance to see the MDR (& the view from the MDR) during daytime. We had 815pm seating & we greatly enjoyed seeing out of those portholes during the day.

 

The Martini Tasting: On certain nights (almost all of them actually) they had a martini tasting in the explorers lounge outside of the MDR on deck 3 and the bar outside the MDR on deck 2 where they had karaoke. You can choose 4 martinis for $17 and it comes with a recipe book & wine glass charm that says carnival to take home! It was an excellent deal and gave me the chance to taste different martinis. Both of those bars can also sell you a large version of any of the ones you like for $8.75. My favorite was the Chili flavored one…it was pineapple-y and a little spicy! Just Divine!

 

A big table in the MDR for dinner: If you’re traveling just the 2 of you at least TRY OUT the table they assign to you. My boyfriend is a natural introvert & this concept made him very uncomfortable. He hates making small talk & hates even more having people judge the number of items he orders for dinner. I begged him to just give it a chance for one night & it could easily be changed. (it CAN easily be changed by the way---just go to the guest services after the first night & tell them that you wanted anytime dining instead & they will be happy to switch you.) After our trial run, my boyfriend admitted he was wrong. We LOVED our dining companions and since we kept to ourselves mostly during the days we enjoyed reconvening every night with these new-found friends & sharing our day’s experiences. Even if you aren’t “other people” people, give it a chance for one night…most people on the cruises are just like you: positive people in the mood to be social and have fun and not judge!

 

Piano Bar: Jordan is AMAZING. He was SUCH a great Pianist, singer, & overall entertainer. The way the Piano bar is set up is very effective too. On other cruises it’s been in sort-of an open area with not much seating and people tend to stand and gather around the piano. It was different on the Legend, as there was bar-type seating all around the piano which meant everyone had their own personal space & could see Jordan as well as the other people sitting around him. He pretty much just took requests from 7-12:30 every night & he would even play longer if you tipped him! He had a great personality & an even greater talent. Don’t miss him! We often stopped here between other activities and we would find ourselves skipping things sometimes to stay, he was arguably the best entertainment on this ship.

 

Love & Marriage Show: Unfortunately our Cruise Director was not very visible and approachable. He was sort of a Diva. A VERY FUNNY diva but a diva just the same. :) He did, however, host the love & marriage show and he made the show as funny as it was. Which was VERY VERY funny. DO NOT MISS THIS. He’s quick on his feet with his wit & we didn’t stop laughing the whole show.

 

Trivia: We went to almost every trivia on the ship. My boyfriend is a trivia NUT. We only won 2 ships on a stick but we actually played honest & fair which I’m not sure can be said about everyone else that attended. Maybe I’m just bitter…HA! But a lot of people at every session did say they got every answer right and I just find that hard to believe! Either way we enjoyed playing it a lot and all of the girls that ran them (2 girls from Canada and 1 from Great Britain did a great job) They made trivia interactive and funny & worth it to go.

 

Salad Bar on the Lido: Very extensive & fresh. All of the fruits & veggies on this ship in general were impressive but the veggies on the salad bar, lettuce, & dressings were especially delicious! The balsamic dressing was REALLY good, the crutons were yummy and crunchy & even the hardboiled eggs tasted just-made no matter what time of the day I ate them. I made a salad almost everyday with ranch & balsamic mixed and I still miss those on my now-6th day off the cruise! It’s hidden in the corner across from the drinks next to where they lay out the sushi at night. The grill out by the pool had some amazing chicken tenders & I would sometimes put those on my salad.

 

Other Lido Food not to miss: Anytime they had pork chops on the rotating buffet, they were awesome. I made a porkchop sandwich with whatever the focaccia bread of the day was & this was one of my favorite meals all week, the corn muffins were heavenly, they had creamed corn in the middle of them & were very moist & delicious, the carvery had great roast beef, the sandwich bar was ALWAYS a good choice (I loved the turkey on the country roll & I would always ask them to make it hot…as was the tuna-- it was garlic-y with just the right amount of mayo), the spring rolls on the Chinese buffet (they changed every day but they were all good), and The chicken fingers & homemade tortilla chips with chili/cheese/sourcream from the grill (this chili was good on hotdogs, burgers, tortilla chips…ANYTHING)

 

Plates in the MDR not to miss: Prime Rib was amazing (if you like medium rare, order it rare...if you like medium order it medium rare & so on and so forth), LASAGNA WAS SOME OF THE BEST I’VE EVER HAD & I CONSIDER MYSELF A FOOD SNOB (with Italian being my favorite type of food), Lobster & Shrimp was good but honestly the shrimp was way better than the lobster, Fried shrimp, Short Ribs/Filet duo, Stuffed mushrooms, Spare Ribs (I didn’t love the sauce…a little too smoky for me but my boyfriend wouldn’t stop talking about them so I have to include them), TOM KA GAI SOUP (Do yourself a favor and order this! It sounds too intense on the menu but it was one of the most flavorful and delicious soups I’ve ever tasted in my life! Seriously! Do it! You won’t be disappointed), chicken noodle soup was also pretty good, Crabcake, Beef Stroganoff (I know this has overwhelmingly bad reviews but the Legend is different…this guy takes great pride in this dish, trust it!) Oysters Rockefeller (SURPRISINGLY GOOD & I’ve eaten oysters all over the world---they aren’t the best in the world but again surprisingly good for what I was expecting), Frog Legs (Not joking…they were actually delicious and I’ve had them before & not liked them. They were prepared with garlic & butter (both of which I love) and they were fall-0ff-the bone tender. If you ever wanted to try frog legs just to say you’ve tried them this is the place to do it!), and last but not least: Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp (fried shimp is good and served many days as an appetizer but this dish is served on the last day with this awesome horseradishy cream sauce and it’s just delicious!)

[ss75511]

Some Random Tips:

 

SODA: Bring soda on the ship! We didn’t bring 24 (like we could have...up to a 12 pack per person) but this saved us LOTS of money. The bottomless bubbles is like $6.75 per person per day, no sharing. So that’s like $55 per person after tax. We spent that $100 swimming with the sea rays in cayman (more on that later) which was a MUCH better use of this money. We stopped at a gas station on the way to the tampa dock and picked up 4 sprite cans, 4 diet coke cans, a few pepsis/dr. peppers, and 4 or 5 gatorades. We threw them in a mesh carryon and they were definitely worth the minimal pain they caused. By pain I mean: they were heavy to carry through security/on the boat/etc. But once we got on the ship we made a beeline for our cabin (even though it was too early) to see if it was ready & it was! So we dropped them off & overall it was WAY worth it! You can also bring soda & gatorades back on in the ports so that’s another reason to only bring on what you can carry because you can always re-up in the ports if you need to!

 

WINE: Bring Wine on the ship! Put it in your carry on & they ask you to get it out before they go through the x-ray so that they can inspect that they haven’t been open or tampered with! This saved us $$ too as one of the nights we just drank these. 1 bottle per person is allowed on the ship. A word to the wise: Call room service to request a wine opener, 2 wine glasses, and open your wine in your room. You can't then take it anywhere on the ship (even the MDR) without being hasselled for a “corking fee” We learned this the hard way as we tried to get the guy in Satchamo’s to open the wine & he was very adamant about charging us a $10 fee even though we didn’t even want to stay there to drink it. We finally got the precious lady in the casino bar to open it for us for free as long as we promised to leave directly thereafter. Next time we’ll just call room service, which is the tip she gave us right after she so sweetly opened it for us.

 

SMUGGLE: I am a smuggler…with all due respect: keep your opinions to yourself ;) No offense but nothing you say is going to change this. We still spent lots of money on beer, the martini tasting, & white Russians (because I couldn’t make these & they’re my favorite) but it also saved us a lot of money on just basic mixed drinks. I just wanted to let people know that it CAN be done and it can be done without buying rum runners. Here’s HOW: If you’re bringing on clear liquor the best advice I can give is don’t be greedy. Put ¾ of a fifth in ONE water bottle and hide it well in your checked bags. I wrapped mine up in my panties and put it in the bottom of the side pocket of my carry on. No Problem! My boyfriend only drinks dark liquor and I went to the grocery store and bought one of those “naked” drinks. You know the ones that are kind of square & have healthy fruit/veggie juice in them?...well they have one that is completely brown, plus its in that glazed bottle. It also happens to hold a pint PERFECTLY. Again, I wrapped it up in his boxers and put it in the bottom of the side pocket of his carry on. Again, NO PROBLEM! Don’t be afraid, works every time!

 

BEER: They don’t heavily publicize this but they always offer pitchers of that good thirsty red frog beer in the sports bar for $18 for 60 ounces! Good deal…probably the best on the ship on alcohol!

 

MDR: Order however many meals in the MDR that you want! A lot of times they serve some of the best appetizers & entrees on the same days. For example they have the lasagna & prime rib both on the last evening AND the really good Fried Jumbo Shrimp. I ordered all 3 and I’m so glad I did because these 3 were probably my 3 top entrees for the whole cruise. I only ate half of everything, shared some with my tablemates etc & Boy was I glad I didn’t miss that lasagna! So don’t be shy, they expect this. They even expect some people to go overboard. The guy at the table next to us ordered 7 lobster plates. Yes, SEVEN! And multiple other entrees & appetizers that night. We averaged anywhere from 2-4 appetizers and 2-4 entrees per night. No one looked at us funny & we never finished anything, we look at it more as just a tasting opportunity. You’re paying for it, so do it!

 

Comedy Shows: These were great! They’re in the lounge downstairs on deck 1. But you can get there via deck 2 and a flight of stairs next to the follies entrance. We really enjoyed all of the comedians we saw…definitely don’t bring your kids to the late night ones…they’re raunchy! But funny! This is in the tip category because you need to get there EARLY. Like 30-45 minutes early. We always did and we still weren’t the first people there! You definitely don’t want to be stuck sitting up front---trust me on that one & don’t say I didn’t warn you!! :)

 

Room Attendant: Make him your best friend. We were very cordial & nice to him & simply asked him to keep our ice bucket full when he cleaned the room & he always did! We never wanted for ice & he always left us clean glasses of different varieties for the liquor he knows we smuggled on. He also let us take out all of the drinks in the mini bar and put them on the shelf until the end of the cruise. So another word to the wise: NEVER DRINK THE BEERS FROM YOUR ROOM MINI BAR. God only knows how many people did what we did…so god only knows how many times those beers have been hot then cold, hot then cold…etc

 

Power Bar & Hangers: Bring them! I was glad I did! Especially the power bar. There is literally only one plug in the whole room!!

[ss75511]

Okay Onto the Cons of the Trip/Ship/etc…things that just weren’t so good and to skip:

 

Service: I am a stickler for service and our experience on this ship was well below par. Besides our Room Attendant and precious Jessrill on the serenity deck we found the service to be overwhelmingly bad. Every other person we seemed to come into contact with was rude & pushy. Drinks were consistently pushed on us at the bars & shows and even though we usually ordered one, they would try to upsell like crazy. An example: we went to a comedy show & my boyfriend ordered a beer. The waiter would not leave, he stood there for a full 2 minutes trying to sell us a bucket. It literally got awkward how many times we refused. In addition, Every time I would call guest services to ask them a question they acted as though I was putting them out. I once called because I had accidentally thrown away the debarkation papers & I wanted them to job my memory about the self-assist situation and what time deck 4 was supposed to get off. She was VERY rude, sighing & snapping at me telling me that “it was at random and would be announced the following day”. I simply stated “ma’am it was clearly printed, I remember there was a time in the brochure & I just wanted to know that time” she then sighed again, raised her voice, and repeated herself VERBATUM. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, If I don’t understand you the first time, repeating yourself is not going to accomplish anything. She had the worst attitude & no matter what my question, she always sighed & snapped her answer. I realize there were many different hers (as in it wasn’t the same person everytime) but it was always the same attitude

 

My final example of terrible service: We ordered room service one night & we asked for the steak sandwich with the Roll warm and toasted. When it came not only was the roll not toasted but the steak on the sandwich was completely RAW & FREEZING. I called the lady back and told her this just so that we could receive another sandwich and she very rudely and confrontationally argued with me. She said that it was “supposed to be served that way”. I told her that there was no way that the meat was supposed to be raw. She said “RARE. MA’AM. IT IS RARE.” I asked her to please send another sandwich with warm & toasted bread. It came right & tasted great! The guy who brought it was VERY apologetic once I showed him the first sandwich & told me that the guy cooking was new & that he’s so glad I checked before eating it. I asked him to please take that sandwich to the rude woman who answered the phone and argued with me. He said he would, not sure if he did. Either way it was ridiculously terrible behavior by this woman, whose name I should have gotten. Room service is another tough-y all around. These people pretty much demand tips from you. We always tipped at least a $1 except this one time all we ordered was an OJ & grapefruit juice (as mixers) and when the european woman came she STOOD IN OUR ROOM very awkwardly and just stared at us, obviously waiting for her tip. I was too embarrassed to not give her a dollar but in hindsight I wish I had stood my guns. I shouldn’t have let her bully me into tipping her.

 

Disorganization: 3 of the shows were cancelled due to various people not getting on the ship. I understand that things happen but what I don’t understand is that we were never informed until the very last minute. They were still printed in the fun times as though they were going to happen & were never announced as being cancelled until 5 minutes before when a crew member would sheepishly come and inform us. The last show was a comedy show and a lot of us had been in there 45 minutes or so beforehand to get good seats. The poor girl had to come and tell a packed house, who had mostly all already ordered drinks from the bar in the comedy lounge, that the show wasn’t happening literally AT THE TIME it was supposed to have started. 1 time maybe….3 times though? Way too many. It should have never been in the fun times if these people didn’t make it on the ship they knew plenty of time ahead of time to be sure that passsengers weren’t wasting their time.

 

The Shows: Overall these were pretty disappointing with the exception of the Motown show & the comedy shows. All of the rest of the shows (namely: the jazz show, & especially the final show) were just not up to par with past cruises I’ve been on. The singers couldn’t sing (with the exception of the beautiful African American star who was way out of everyone else’s league) and the dancers looked as though they hadn’t practiced (completely out of sync and often lost) This is one place I say major cutbacks. The last show was comprised of passengers for heaven’s sakes! Passengers who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket by the way. It was ugly. No more bon voyage spectacular show…just cruise passengers who auditioned, most of whom ran unopposed & many of whom can’t sing if their life depended on it, “entertaining” the rest of us with their renditions of songs. Very disappointing.

 

Lido Deck Food: monotonous, repetitive, & cold. The Chinese food gave me the WORST general feeling of malaise & heartburn I’ve ever had & it barely varied from day to day. The pizza was inedible. I mean INEDIBLE. I’m actually pretty easy to please with pizza and this stuff was disgusting. Skip it altogether. The garlic bread was cold and bitter, and the Caesar salad was DRENCHED in dressing and tasted like straight fish. I’m not joking: don’t even go to this section of the Lido, you WILL be disappointed. As for the “alternating” buffet, it was French 2 days, Caribbean 2 days, Italian 2 days, & America 1 day. The French food was also inedible. I tried a little bit of everything and not one thing was good. In their defense you really shouldn’t make a buffet out of French food but then why do it two days?! I expected this buffet to change every day and by the end of the cruise I was glad to get away from this! The only saving grace was the Caribbean buffet. I was actually glad they had this twice because it was very yummy. The American, French, & Italian all left much to be desired. So on those days you basically only had terrible pizza, MSG-full & monotonous Chinese food, the salad bar, & the grill. I got really tired of salad & chicken tenders but honestly the grill & the salad bar were the only places with consistently good food on the Lido. This ship desperately needs another option for dining besides just the Lido & MDR especially with the constant repetition of food & bad quality I saw on the Lido.

 

Foods in the MDR to skip: The shark & langoustine firecracker roll, alligator fritters (these tasted basically the same---no meat, just breading) bacon macaroni & cheese (I don’t eat bacon but my boyfriend said this was terrible, cold, & desperately needed salt&pepper), arugula and mint salad (just wasn’t good at all…tasted like mint leaves with olive oil on them), baked eggplant (tough & underseasoned), chilled asparagus soup (just eww. I had high expectations and man was it bad!), Smoked Duck & carmelized oranges(inedible. Tasted like raw bacon. My boyfriend couldn’t even finish it & made me try it JUST to taste how awful it was…he was right), assorted seafood entrée Newberg style (it was SO fishy. Smelled to high heavens…the whole dining room smelled like rotten fish because of the number of people that had ordered it. The sauce was even fishy because the fish was so fishy), greek salad (underseasoned minus the REALLY salty feta), Fried Chicken (dry & underseasoned…the potatoes were pasty & c’mon I’m from North Carolina, I know my Fried chicken & this just isn’t good.) Tomato soup (tasted like campbells), Braised Beef Brisket (just not good at all.), linguini with Italian sausage (the sausage was the only good thing in this entrée, the pasta was overcooked, the sauce was underseasoned and the vegetables were undercooked. NOT good), and the chicken a la grecque (just not good at all. Dry, poor seasoning, pretty inedible)

 

Drink Prices: The Drinks of the Day are $7.50. They used to be under $5 if I remember correctly. They skimp on liquor in lots of them & the beer on the ship is $5.95 for 16oz. Just very expensive in my opinion! Made me happy we brought on our own liquor.

[rjrice1]

Thanks for the awesome review... we sail her in 16 more Sundays.. (sounds nicer).

Looking forward to the pics.

Cathy

[ss75511]

PORTS:

 

Cozumel---> here we did the Mayan Steam Lodge. We had an amazing experience & learned so much! I hope I can get back on here next week to share some pictures. If you’re particularly into culture, this is a GREAT alternative to the ruins. I feel like you really get a feel for Mayan culture and Petrus, our guide, was always willing to answer any questions as well as giving us great guidance & knowledge. We asked him about December 2012 & other questions we had & he had a great, wise answer for everything. This was an experience like no other. You do sweat a lot but we felt so renewed and refreshed after getting out of the temazcal. This excursion comes highly recommended. It’s $80 per person and includes a information session, a smudging/giving thanks ceremony, the actual steam experience, & a swim in a natural 90 foot cenote. It also includes transportation and fruits & juices and even a little take-home gift to remember the experience by.

Here is the website for the Temazcal

http://www.temazcalcozumel.com/

and here are trip advisor reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150809-d1597293-Reviews-Mayan_Steam_Lodge-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

with pictures & other people’s experiences.

If you’re looking for a cultural experience like no other that is off the beaten path & away from the tourists this is it!

 

Belize----> sorta disappointing because where the ships dock is VERY dangerous. Like men with machine guns and sketchy people dangerous. The downtown area is rundown & not worth seeing really & the closest beach is like 45 minutes in a cab. I recommend doing the zoo excursion here (to see all of the wild animals/monkeys/etc) or cave tubing (as other people really seemed to enjoy this excursion). We just did some fabulous shopping in the port. If you walk RIGHT outside of the port gates and instead of going right towards downtown if you go right across the street to the left by the insurance building there’s a little market with lots of local goodies & people who will haggle with you on prices. I got a 4 pairs of earrings and a bracelet for $17 US and it’s all beautiful. Inside the cruise port we also got a 2 Belkien Beer tshirts for $25 (usually 20 a piece) and a knock off coach & Louis Vuitton purse for a bit under the asking price. They don’t haggle as much but still try! Overall I wouldn’t need to go back here unless I flied in because the docking tender is on the side of the island that leaves much to be desired & everything else is too far for the few hours were in this port.

 

Roatan, Honduras---->AMAZING. Just BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful! This was by far my favorite port. Very lush & green & gorgeous. Here we did our own excursion through Spa Baan Suerte. This is an independent little spa that is locally owned & operated. We got Tangerine sugar treatments that involved a 30 minute brush then rub, then we showered, & it was followed by a 60 minute massage. All for only $79 per person! That price also comes with use of their pool, hottub, beach, kayaks & snorkel gear, and a free appetizer at the nearby restaurant. You can also arrange air-conditioned transportation through the spa for an additional fee (much cheaper than cabs). Our driver also stopped on the way back at this little shopping area so that we could do some shopping. I would DEFINITELY go back to Honduras and definitely go to this spa again! It was so picturesque and the treatments were far better than what you usually get here in the US. My therapist was amazing, I told her I’d take her back to the US with me if she’d let me!

Here is the link to the Spa:

http://www.spabaansuerte.com/

And the link to the reviews on Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303874-d1591353-Reviews-Spa_Baan_Suerte-Sandy_Bay_Roatan_Bay_Islands.html

With amazing pictures that don’t even begin to do the place justice.

I also took some AMAZING pics so I will try to get those uploaded for y’all too!!

 

We also got some awesome shopping done in the port area in honduras. Steer clear of the stores & instead go to the little carts …support the locals, plus they’ll haggle with you on beautiful knick-knacks made of wood! Theres a little market area too but the best shopping I found was in those little carts! Got some great gifts for people back home. If you buy multiple things from one cart they’ll give you a great deal!

 

Cayman---->very touristy & expensive. Get your shopping done BEFORE here! Everything is OUTRAGEOUS. Shirts for $45, beers for $7.50 A CAN, we even went into a little store that sold 6 packs of beer that had steel reserve for $17 US for a six pack. Just crazy prices! DO NOT SHOP HERE! GET IT ALL DONE BEFORE HERE! I REPEAT: DO NOT SHOP HERE! Haha!

 

We booked our excursion through Carnival…it was the Deluxe Stingray Sandbar and we loved it! Only $49 per person & it included transportation, a boat ride to the middle of the ocean where there was a sandbar and the most pristine water, and LOTS of stingrays to swim with. We all were provided with snorkel gear & got to swim with these amazing creatures for like an hour. We all also got to feed them squid…they would suck it right out of our hands!! This was an incredible experience and if you haven’t done it, do it! Especially for this reasonable price! There were also showers on the back of the boat & a place to change so that you didn’t have to be in your bathing suit for the rest of the day so bring a change of dry clothes. We explored cayman some more, my boyfriend bought a Cuban cigar from one of the local stores & we went back on the ship. Overall we really enjoyed Cayman---although it was definitely more built up and touristy than the rest of the ports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay I guess that about sums it up for this cruise! We had an amazing time overall and we would probably do the Legend again although I really want to take him on a Princess or Holland cruise & see what he thinks about the comparison. I really like the Legend’s size & the decorations. I did NOT notice the ship being rundown as others seemed to complain about. I thought it was beautifully decorated & very wide open. I never felt claustrophobic or surrounded by people except for the first day on the Lido (which is to be expected.) My boyfriend really enjoyed cruising and already wants to plan another trip…so overall the positives outweighed the negative for sure!!

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!!

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your detailed and balanced review! And yes, I do appreciate your honesty. Some of the things you mention as negatives, I have heard other people mention many times. Sounds though that your overall experience was a good one though. So thanks again for taking the time to post your experiences here.:)

[lastinga]

Enjoyed your review!

[ss75511]

Thanks! I'm going to try to figure out this posting pictures thing now & I'll do that more in order & by day & try to include captions if I can figure out how! I've never uploaded pics on this site before! So bear with me.........

[sjn911]

Very much appreciated your review and would have loved all your shore excursions..thanks sooo much..Sarah

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Thanks for taking the time to write a review and share your experiences with us! Sounds like you had a good cruise!:)

[moopig]

I was on the same cruise with my mom and sister :)

 

Was the fight over the Serenity deck clamshell bed on the day we boarded? My sister was in one and left to have a smoke and some guy threw her stuff off saying she had been gone 30 minutes when she was only gone 5-7 minutes. Just curious :)

 

My sister didnt like the pizza either. I had one of the specialty pizza and it was really good so maybe their regular pizza is no good.

[ss75511]

I was on the same cruise with my mom and sister :)

 

Was the fight over the Serenity deck clamshell bed on the day we boarded? My sister was in one and left to have a smoke and some guy threw her stuff off saying she had been gone 30 minutes when she was only gone 5-7 minutes. Just curious :)

 

My sister didnt like the pizza either. I had one of the specialty pizza and it was really good so maybe their regular pizza is no good.

 

HAHAHA yes that would be the one...and for the record your sister was totally in the RIGHT. I knew there was gonna be trouble when that guy and his girlfriend showed up with a member of the crew, telling them that your sister had been gone for 30 minutes. She definitely had been gone less than 10. I, being the self-proclaimed nosy person I am, kept an eye on it knowing it was going to go downhill & it definitely did! After your sister left, the drunk guy that stole her chair offered to buy everyone staring a beer! That was definitely my entertainment for the afternoon!

[zetaome]

Thanks for the great review - I really enjoying reading a review that is balanced with both the positive and the negative!!

 

I'm sailing the Legend in a few weeks and your review makes me super excited to get on her!

 

If you have a minute, I'm curious as to what sorts of activites were offered on Sea Days ... for instance were there any arts & crafts classes, or was there more than one cooking demonstration?

 

Thanks so much for the info!

 

Cheers!

[moopig]

HAHAHA yes that would be the one...and for the record your sister was totally in the RIGHT. I knew there was gonna be trouble when that guy and his girlfriend showed up with a member of the crew, telling them that your sister had been gone for 30 minutes. She definitely had been gone less than 10. I, being the self-proclaimed nosy person I am, kept an eye on it knowing it was going to go downhill & it definitely did! After your sister left, the drunk guy that stole her chair offered to buy everyone staring a beer! That was definitely my entertainment for the afternoon!

 

Lol! Funny that you witnessed it!

My sister pointed the guy out to me and he looked like a real douche :D

Hopefully he got stuck buying a lot of people free beers!

[ss75511]

Thanks for the great review - I really enjoying reading a review that is balanced with both the positive and the negative!!

 

I'm sailing the Legend in a few weeks and your review makes me super excited to get on her!

 

If you have a minute, I'm curious as to what sorts of activites were offered on Sea Days ... for instance were there any arts & crafts classes, or was there more than one cooking demonstration?

 

Thanks so much for the info!

 

Cheers!

 

You should be very excited! Based on the decor & size of the ship I would DEFINITELY sail her again. I also GREATLY enjoyed the itinerary & I think you will too! To answer your questions there are TONS of activities during the sea days. Probably 3-4 activities in every time slot ranging from art auction activities to ice carving demonstrations to bingo to trivia to free health/wellness activities (like a footprint analysis telling you where you place your stress when you walk & free aerobics classes) to a murder mystery game (that lasted throughout the cruise...and people really seemed to have fun with it) to diamond/shopping seminars to slot tournaments to big "sidewalk" type sales...don't miss the $10 sale! it's a great one! They also have beanbag toss contests, Putting competitions on the minigolf course, freethrow competitions on the bball court, dance classes, limbo competition, and karaoke hours.

 

I don't remember any particular arts & crafts type of activities.....they probably have that for the kids but not as much for the adults. If you're talking about for your kids, definitely utilize camp carnival, I've heard they're great!

 

To answer your question there was only one cooking demo unfortunately and it was at 11am on the first seaday. Directly following it (at 12:30) was a wine pairing seminar outlining how to pair wines with certain foods & that offered free food & wine. We didn't do it because the cooking demo made us hungry! We hadn't eaten all day so we went to the MDR for lunch! But those are the only two food type seminars and they're on the first sea day one directly following the other!....

 

Hope you have a great cruise...I have NO DOUBT that you will!!!!!

[Andoria]

Great review! Thank you so much for sharing. 16 more days until I'm on the Legend.

[SteelerCruiser]

Love the Legend!

[proudpatriot07]

Thanks for your review :). We are going in 16 days and now I'm considering booking that spa day!

[katiel53]

I loved your review and living in FL, I don't know why we haven't sailed Legend. I think you were very objective and based on our cruises on other Carnival ships, you were pretty much right on.

 

Having said that, I have to make a comment and it's just my opinion and I know you disagree. I don't think anyone should order room service for anything without expecting to tip the delivery person. In hotels, there is usually a 15-25% fee for room service and a tip is still expected. So, even if we just order coffee, we tip $1 or 2, and that's probably why the server waited for a tip. Some tip is expected. It doesn't matter what you order, a tip is expected and it should be or you could go get your own juice etc.

 

I am NOT trying to be snarky or anything, but I am basing my post on many cruises.

[ss75511]

I loved your review and living in FL, I don't know why we haven't sailed Legend. I think you were very objective and based on our cruises on other Carnival ships, you were pretty much right on.

 

Having said that, I have to make a comment and it's just my opinion and I know you disagree. I don't think anyone should order room service for anything without expecting to tip the delivery person. In hotels, there is usually a 15-25% fee for room service and a tip is still expected. So, even if we just order coffee, we tip $1 or 2, and that's probably why the server waited for a tip. Some tip is expected. It doesn't matter what you order, a tip is expected and it should be or you could go get your own juice etc.

 

I am NOT trying to be snarky or anything, but I am basing my post on many cruises.

 

Not to argue but don't we tip 11.50 per person per day? Don't the people that deliver our food get a portion of that? That's $80.50 PER PERSON which for us was $161 which was more than our airfare (given we got VERY reasonable airfare :) ) but I feel like with the cost of the cruise + 20% added onto every drink we ordered + $161 in gratuity no one should EXPECT anything additional. Especially in a rude & awkward way. Don't get me wrong I understand where you're coming from, I just don't particularly agree considering the close to $200 in tips we spend over the course of 7 days.

[ss75511]

Thanks for your review :). We are going in 16 days and now I'm considering booking that spa day!

 

Personally I think you would be very happy!! This was one of our favorite excursions! It was a great way to see the island via car and when we got to the spa we couldn't have been more impressed! It was literally in the middle of a lush & beautiful jungle...there were animals everywhere & we had the spa completely to ourselves. This was my boyfriend's first professional massage, whereas i've probably had more than 100 in my life. The therapists were very professional & was just such a great treatment. I noticed their prices went up a bit on their website since we went but it's still about HALF of the price of the ship & when do you get to be in such a serene environment like that?! Very comfortable sheets, airconditioned treatment cottages, & clean showers. They've really done everything right. Not to mention its like a beach excursion too! You get to use all of their equipment & their beach front which is beautiful & pristine. Take the time to look on the tripadvisor link because there are great pictures on there but even those don't do the picturesque setting justice!

 

Have fun & enjoy your cruise! you're gonna love it!!!

[mmbcater]

Thanks for the honest review-we just booked Legend for a European cruise! I look forward to your pictures!

[iowa-traveler]

Thanks -we are heading out in Dec on this ship. Look forward to it

[ddbaab53]

:) thanks for the review, we board on the 18th and I am really looking forward to trying many of the things you mentioned inthe MDR. Thanks looking forward to the pics....:)