Legend Review- just back

[spunke]

We just returned from a great week aboard the Legend and I wanted to share some of our impressions.

 

First, we are a couple in our early 40’s and love to cruise. This was our 14 cruise, the last two years we rang in the New Year aboard Celebrity’s Summit and before that we were on the Carnival Freedom, in 2010. This was our second Carnival cruise but we have sailed all the major lines. In the end our favorite line has to be Celebrity for the service and food but Carnival provides a quality vacation experience. Prior to sailing I had read so many bad reviews that I considered canceling the trip and booking on the Glory, but I am glad I didn’t.

 

First the Ship:

The Ship is in excellent condition and I did not notice any issues with my stateroom of or the rest of the public areas. The whole ship was clean and very comfortable. I have no problem with the décor, every ship I have been on had some over the top theme and the Legend theme works.

 

Staff:

Everywhere we went we were smiled at and greeted by the staff. The exception might have been the officers, but I could care less. They just need to do their jobs so we can be safe and have a good time. Our rom steward was great although unseen most of the time. The reception area was great as well as the bartenders.

 

Gym:

The gym on the Legend was well equipped but might be a bit on the smaller side. There are plenty of cardio machines but the free weight area could be a bit larger.

 

MDR:

We had YTD and sat with Paul in section 335 most of the time. He was great ALL the time. He took such great care of us I tipped him extra! Barbra ( hostess) was also very helpful and always willing to take care of us at breakfast and dinner.

 

Food:

I have read so many bad reviews about the Legends food that I have nowhere to start. I thought he food was always good and maybe great a few times. It was however, always fresh and hot. For breakfast we ate in the MDR for half the trip, it was good and the service was solid. We did head up to the buffet towards the end of the trip. I typically hate buffets but the eggs were great and the fruit was awesome.

For lunch if we were not on an island we ate at the buffet. Salad and Oriental were both great and fresh.

 

Dinner: we ate in the MDR 6 nights and the steakhouse once. The steakhouse was awesome and worth the trip and fee. The MDR was good each night and I think that a lot of this might be due to Paul and his service. The food was always hot and cooked to order. Twice I ordered Flank steak and Salmon together, Medium rare and it was delivered as ordered. The soups were great, however, the pasta’s left us a little disappointed. The last night they had mahi –mahi- and it was way over cooked! Paul took one look and brought out something else. Generally I consider cruise food to be, just ok. I like trying different things but I do not consider it to be fine dinning in any regard. I do think that many of the review were way to hard on the Legend and thought the food to be up to par with RCCL and NCL. I do think however, Celebrity does a slightly better job.

 

Room:

We had an aft facing balcony (7300) and it was awesome. This was our first aft balcony but wont be the last. I loved sitting watching the wake of the ship and it was very convenient to serenity and dinner. The veranda was slight deeper because of the shape of the ship.

 

Entertainment:

We are not much for the singers and dancers, but don’t miss the illusionist. The show was very entertaining and impressive to be on a cruise ship. The Comedians were ok, but not great. We enjoyed Juan in the main lobby; he has great song selection but can get off key at times.

 

Ports:

Coz- Went to Alberto’s beach and had a great day. Snorkeling was a bust but the lunch and relaxation was a plus.

 

Belize was canceled and replaced with Costa Maya. We were looking forward to seeing Costa Maya but it was cancelled as well due to strong winds.

 

Honduras:

Mahogany bay is beautiful, but very crowded with two ships. I wish we had booked the Maya Key excursion, the regular beach was too busy.

 

Grand Cayman:

Walk over to Paradise beech to snorkel and have lunch. Lunch was great but the snorkeling was a bust.

 

Areas that might be improved:

I would really like to see Carnival make a few small changes. First, lower the lights in the MDR. It is way to bright and it feels too casual. Also, add a wine steward/ sommelier. The waiters had very little knowledge of the wine and couldn’t make any recommendations.

Allow passengers to order full breakfast in their cabins. We were unable to order eggs or anything hot to the rooms. Provide a level of cabins that this is allowed.

 

In the end:

I really enjoyed our trip and would have zero reservations to sail on the Legend again. I think Carnival understands it’s cliental and knows that there is a value that their shoppers are looking for. It is not top of the line but it is not offered at that price point. I spent $700 less then sailing on the Summit and I didn’t have to fly to SJU. Earlier I mentioned that we love the Celebrity line; but I still chose to pay less and travel on Carnival.

 

Carnival provides a solid vacation experience at an affordable price. The rest is up to you!

Please go and have a great time, life is way to short on happy times with loved ones!

 

Feel free to ask question-

[leenieweenie]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the legend in 4 more weeks, yay! I will not let any of the bad reviews of the legend influence my trip. I keep an open mind and judge based on my own experiences. Every one has different expectations and no two cruises are alike. So glad you enjoyed your trip and look forward to enjoying ours!

[Darcy03231]

I was on this cruise and we had a great time too! I'd say your review is spot on (although we enjoyed all the shows and comedians).

[lucky13elec]

Thanks for the review. I think most of what you said can go with just about any newer Carnival ship. Thats why Carnival gets most of my cruise $$. Value. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

Thank you for your review! I love your perspective on everything. We will be on the Legend in two weeks and I didn't think I could possibly be any more excited than I already was, but this has done it!

[CrusingGolfers]

So refreshing to read a review like that. Very well put! We will be on her in two weeks!!!

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the review, we will be on her in May in Europe and I'm liking that there are more positive reviews lately:D

[thephantomsgirl]

Another "will be on her in two weeks" cruiser who enjoyed your review and is even more excited to hear the mostly positive remarks about the Legend. Thank you!

[divinmule]

41 days till we get on her. Thanks for the review.

[KirkNC]

Welcome home, thanks for the report.

[crusinpsychRN]

Glad you had a good time! I had a great cruise last November and am going again at the end of March.

[footballbabe3]

Thanks this makes me feel a little better. We will be on her in 4 days!!

[marshhawk]

We've sailed on the Legend twice-honeymoon and our third anniversary and both times felt the ship and crew were great!

However, if you are a smoker, there are very few areas to smoke, and since there are only two areas to smoke,(except for one small section of the casino) they get crowded. I mean crowded, so book a balcony.;)

[cardbucfan]

Thanks for the good review-your attitude regarding food and cruising is the same as mine!

[salsanacho]

I agree with your review, we were on the New years cruise on the Legend and have nothing but praises for the cruise. I thought the food was consistently pretty good, the staff was great, and the ship was in good condition. As other folks have mentioned about this class of ship, it never felt crowded to me. Probably the busiest place I encountered the whole week was the buffet area at lunch time on a sea day. And even then, I didn't have any trouble find a place to sit or waiting too long to get food.

[myangel]

We have been on the Legend 4 times, and every time was WONDERFUL!!!