K&K’s European Adventure ~ Carnival Legend Review May 2013

[CupKayke]

Marseille, France continued…

You basically have two options for getting around Marseille… take the little touristy train up to Notre Dame and back (it will drop you off and pick you up later) for 8 Euros per person or wait by the sign and take the hop-on/hop-off to the same sites the train visits (except you can get off the bus, not the train) for 18 Euro per person. We studied the hop-on/off bus and decided it just didn’t go to enough places to warrant a 20 Euro difference for the 2 of us.

We took the touristy train up to Notre Dame and back…

It was just “okay” – we didn’t see much and the Notre Dame wasn’t impressive compared to everything else we had already seen this trip.

The Notre Dame

So, we were a little tiffed at Carnival in the end… because we spent about $75 to see nothing and do nothing. They need to change a different drop-off location for their shuttle and/or simply stop offering it. I’m also tiffed at myself – DH and I would have loved an excursion to the Provence area and I should have scheduled one so shame on me, too, for making this port no-so-great.

We got to the port and we were super excited – shopping! There were some booths setup at the port and people were buying things like they hadn’t shopped the entire cruise! My husband said there was more for sale in those little four booths than in the entire city of Marseille!!

We were goofballs and bought ourselves “French” hats today…

Mine

DH

So, despite the semi-boring day, we did have a good day. Every day on this cruise, by the way, was a good day.

This evening I remembered to take a picture of the lights on the ship I thought were gorgeous…

[CupKayke]

Wonderful review and pictures! Loved our cruise on the Legend. :)

 

Thank you. We loved our cruise, too. It was lovely... John Heald & Calvyn were extra funny...the Lido deck and dining room staff were super efficient and friendly... we had a great room steward...and, of course, the ports...what an experience!! :)

[Casey&Ryan]

I received the following Italy from a reputable company in Rome on May 27, 2013...

So sorry to read about "smart cruise tours" experience, this people are brokers, they sell your tours to other tour companies, not reputable ones of course, since this company survives only with commissions, no one goes to work with those prices in Italy, gas is very expensive over here, same for cost of life and tax, only of you had told me about your choice, I could tell you more about them, they are not longer allowed in Port of Livorno because they left over 35 groups till today with no car and same happened also in port of civitavecchia, people lost their flights because of them!!

 

I said something back to her and she mentioned they had just screwed-up that day in Civitavecchia, blah blah blah.

 

Our Cruise Critic Roll Call had 3 Smart Cruise Tours booked and they did not show-up for 2 of the 3. There is no way in a million years I would use that company again and if I had a way, I would report Julia and Smart Cruise Tours to the proper Italian authorities for a long list of inappropriate actions.

 

 

Was this another tour company that sent that email, I'm just curious...... I appreciate all your info very much.

[cruz.n.carebear]

Thank you for your kind comments about my review! :) ONE MONTH TO GO FOR YOU - THAT IS EXCITING!! Who knows what Julia will say but this weekend is when they did not pick-up the passengers at the port in Civitavecchia and they missed their flights.

 

For the first time since I booked the excursion in January, she has not replied. She always answered my questions within an hour or so. I'm taking this as either she is on her way to Italy to try to salvage her business or we are SOL. I contacted a different tour company to see their pricing. We can't afford Rome in Limo - but trying to find something else that won't break the bank and still be reliable.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Great Pics!! Thanks for posting!

[mj]

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing some of your great tips on the ports as well.

[CupKayke]

Was this another tour company that sent that email, I'm just curious...... I appreciate all your info very much.

 

Yes.

 

For the first time since I booked the excursion in January, she has not replied. She always answered my questions within an hour or so. I'm taking this as either she is on her way to Italy to try to salvage her business or we are SOL. I contacted a different tour company to see their pricing. We can't afford Rome in Limo - but trying to find something else that won't break the bank and still be reliable.

 

She was wonderful at replying to my emails ASAP. The itinerary she sent us was FABULOUS - and then she told her son she never sent us an itinerary!! He couldn't believe it when I showed it to him. There is a lot more to this story that I did not write about because I'd rather not waste my time focusing on the negative of this cruise. WE HAD A GREAT CRUISE. I feel VERY sorry for those on our bus that had never been to Rome before, however. They missed soooo much. :(

 

I would choose Carnival if it was Rome - for $79 per person they will shuttle you to Rome and back - and you are guaranteed to make the ship! You can catch a hop-on/off bus for 24 Euro each (maybe less?) and see 100s of sites. The bus we took in Rome in 2009 was a 3-hour hop-on/off. We saw SOOO much just sitting on that bus, not counting the times we hopped off for this or that.

[CupKayke]

May 16th - Debarkation in Barcelona, Spain

So… it’s debarkation morning and I wake-up before 4am and hop in the shower. Breakfast started on the Lido deck at 5am today. The schedule was setup to have everyone off the ship by 8:30am and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it happen – Carnival was super efficient this morning!! We had pre-paid Carnival $24.95 per person to transfer us directly from the port to Barcelona airport today. Carnival had given us Zone 7 tags which meant we were to be downstairs and getting off the ship at 6:15am.

Taxis were lined-up in the early morning darkness..

We were on the aft of the ship, facing a Royal Caribbean ship early-early this morning and we had a view of the “W” hotel…

 

After reading one too many horror stories of lost luggage in the Barcelona airport from last year’s CCL transfer buses, we opted to roll our large suitcases off ourselves and walk them directly to our Carnival transfer bus, watch them be loaded on our bus, and then get on that specific bus. It was easy and worth the peace of mind.

HOWEVER…. Pay attention folks… we were on a bus transferring us to Terminal 2 in Barcelona airport… a large, nice bus that could possibly hold 50+ …but it was only DH & I myself and about 7 other people (3 couples and one with a baby). DH & I pulled our luggage from our room all the way to the bus – easy peasy – short walk! The other people apparently put their luggage in the hall the evening before.. with their Zone 7 luggage tags… so when they called Zone 7 overhead to leave the ship… these people did not stop and get their luggage from Zone 7 before boarding our bus… which I could not understand as John Heald continually announced for you to get your luggage. I think people thought if they paid for a transfer with Carnival …somehow… magically….their luggage would show-up outside the port on their respective transfer bus. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. We took our luggage to the bus, the driver put it underneath, and we sat and waited. We watched the other people get on the bus without their luggage. Other people were pulling their luggage to the Terminal 1 buses so I don’t know why the people on our bus thought they were special. Just before we started to leave for the airport one guy upfront who had gotten on the bus prior to DH & I seemed a bit concerned and asked the assistant “Is our luggage on the bus?” and he obviously barely spoke English and simply said yes. We got to the airport, they opened the luggage hatch, the bus driver pulled-out my suitcase and DH’s suitcase and nothing else was there. YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOK ON SOME OF THEIR FACES! As we left with our luggage, the group started talking to the driver – all at once. The couple with the child had a flight leaving soon so she took the child and went to the check-in gate and he went back for the luggage. And, they must have all been able to go back to the port and grab their bags because we saw one of the couples in the airport about 30 minutes later with their luggage. In the end, I doubt anyone missed flights or had too many problems but they should have paid attention. This same type of thing happened last year in Barcelona so for us to witness it first-hand this year was surprising. Last year, a lady on CC blamed Carnival. From listening to all of John Heald’s announcements, I would not blame Carnival. Carnival had all the luggage in zones, lined-up like little statues, perfectly neat and easy to get too – best I’ve ever seen luggage lined-up in a port. Anyway, maybe they need to make it more clear for CCL transfers??

The Barcelona airport (Terminal 2) was empty the entire time we were there…

They have a playground for kids at the airport… it was used a lot and I thought it was a great idea… burn off some energy before the flight!

They also had some interesting displays in the Barcelona airport of illegal contraband… these were real items they had confiscated… snake skins, alligator skins, etc..

[CupKayke]

Dublin, Ireland again…

 

We had a 10:50 am flight from Barcelona to Dublin this morning on Aer Lingus. I had prepaid for an additional bag for souvenirs. Total for 2 flights and 3 bags ~ 179 Euros or $245 US dollars. We got to the Aer Lingus gate and I was told it didn’t matter how many bags I had prepaid for… the total weight allowance per person was 44 pounds! Why have another bag??!! I decided to put everything in one bag and pay the overweight fee if they would give me a credit for the additional bag. The agent agreed to this situation and made it an even exchange - no fee for us! Aer Lingus customer service was great all around on both flights.

 

We arrived in Dublin before 12:30 and once again checked into the Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport (this time the rate was 85 Euro and prepay was not available). We quickly left our bags in the room and took the hotel shuttle back to the airport. At the airport we paid less than 2 Euro per person to take the bus out to Malahide, a seaside little town with more of a “country” feel to it ~ it seemed more like what I thought Ireland would be. The drive out there was picture perfect.

 

Surgery…

 

It’s definitely green in Ireland. There was a guy beside my husband mowing in the rain!

 

We found this adorable seaside restaurant, The Greedy Goose and the outside menu listed a 4 or 5 course meal for under 25 Euro per person… and the menu offered items like seared scallops, fresh catch of the day, etc. I can’t think of all the goodies listed but we immediately decided to check it out… and we were told they are booked up to a month in advance! It also looked as though they are only open for dinner and only open four days a week. Major foody place, eh?!

 

Waterfront by The Greedy Goose

 

We walked around Malahide and decided it was much more expensive than Dublin. We went to a grocery store and it was my favorite grocery store of the whole trip - they were selling the strangest items! They had a big display in the back of "American" pancakes for sale - they looked terrible! LOL They also had the most interesting baking items. If luggage weights were irrelevant, I would have left that grocery store with a big bag full of interesting goodies to share with my mom.

We got back to the hotel and we were in the lobby of the hotel next door and I saw this sign & chuckled...

 

Remember the basil, mozzarella, chicken sandwich I spoke of from the last evening meal we had in Dublin?? Well, I insisted we return to the same restaurant and eat there again tonight! This time I ordered a proper tea first (with cream). It was cold outside but warm in our bellies and our hearts. What a wonderful way to end our beautiful time overseas.

[CupKayke]

Our flight left Dublin, Ireland the next morning. For the first time ever, we cleared U.S. customs prior to arriving in the U.S. You check-in for your flight, go through airport security, go to U.S. customs, answer questions and get your passport stamped again, go through security – again - more thoroughly this time – and then you are confined to one area for all the flights leaving to the United States. It’s a big enough area but there aren’t any wonderful duty free items like they have back in the first area you enter, FYI. We checked-in about 3 hours early and the Delta agent told us to proceed immediately to U.S. Customs because the wait can be up to an hour and a half – she even wrote “proceed immediately to U.S. Customs” on our boarding passes. It was good advice mainly because we avoided the huge crowds behind us. We were still able to buy some last minute Ireland souvenirs in the smaller area of the airport including an adorable tea cup and spoon.

We flew Economy Comfort to Dublin and back and it was a tiny bit better than regular cattle-car class but not much. I was disappointed that Delta does not offer individual monitors to play games and watch your own movies for international flights – every short flight we’ve taken with Delta in the last two years had this amenity and our long flights did not. Strange.

We settled-in and watched the monitors as our plane was about to leave and our adventure had come to an end…

I may come back later this week and write a small wrap-up with some final thoughts and a few pictures I wanted to post but couldn’t figure out how to squeeze them in the original review.

Thank you all for reading and commenting and being so kind to my review. I have enjoyed sharing our memories! Chao!

~Kay

[CupKayke]

Great Pics!! Thanks for posting!

 

Thank you :)

 

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing some of your great tips on the ports as well.

 

Thank you :) I'm glad people appreciate the tips. I loved reading reviews for the tips prior to our cruise. I think I could have read a few more though... mistakes were made. :o:p HA!

[samavarcruiser]

Amalfi Coast, continued…

On the road again… we passed Sophia Lauren’s former home. She refused to pay Italian taxes and moved to Switzerland where she no longer pays taxes.

Amalfi was my favorite little stop because it was mainly all locals, they were all out after Sunday church, and it felt like a real Italian small town. Prices for items were actually cheap and we purchased aprons and other small items here. I saw a purse in Amalfi as we were leaving and I still regret not buying it. Don’t you just hate it when you do something like that?!! The only good picture I took of Amalfi… I was too busy enjoying the locals and shopping (if you haven’t figured it out by now, I like to shop and my husband indulges me)…

By the way, prior to a hurricane many years ago, Amalfi was the capital and largest city of this coast which is why the entire coast is called The Amalfi Coast. Today, Amalfi is a sleepy little fishing village.

Somewhere between Amalfi and Ravello we stopped for lunch with a beautiful view…

Great food and good wine at reasonable prices…

“Dessert” was free and delicious! Ice cold lemoncello shots! I don’t normally like lemoncello but these were fantastico!

After a long lunch and some good company, everyone was in good spirits so we got in the Mercedes van and sang on our way to Ravello. "That’s Amore" was first!! It was fun-fun and funny!! The wine may have made it even funnier!

 

What a great review, can you please tell me what was the restaurant name?

[TravelingDiva1]

O. MY. GOSH. My husband is going to bust-up laughing when he hears about this!!! HA HA HA HA He's probably going to tell John Heald he owes us a drink if he we ever actually meet him in person!! THAT IS SO FUNNY!!!

 

Your dad was soooo funny!! I'm glad he loved the trip and I hope your mom did too!! We are probably done with overseas cruises for a couple of years - we've yet to see Alaska and I'm never leaving my dog that long again!! HA :D

 

We all had a great time! Paris will via land travel and I'll probably add a UK visit to that. I want to try an Asian cruise soon, but we're going back to the Caribbean next year for a family and friends cruise. So maybe 2015. My dad recently announced he wants do an Alaskan cruise as well. We'll see! They'll do pretty much anything I plan. lol So much to see and do!

 

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed the pics. I felt like I was reliving the experience!

[CupKayke]

We all had a great time! Paris will via land travel and I'll probably add a UK visit to that. I want to try an Asian cruise soon, but we're going back to the Caribbean next year for a family and friends cruise. So maybe 2015. My dad recently announced he wants do an Alaskan cruise as well. We'll see! They'll do pretty much anything I plan. lol So much to see and do!

 

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed the pics. I felt like I was reliving the experience!

 

Thank you so much for your kind comments. You were a joy to meet!!!

 

We have land trips to New Orleans and New York City and then another cruise will probably happen next year... probably Alaska. Asia is the next BIG trip on our list and I just can't do it as long as the dog is alive. :o

[CupKayke]

What a great review, can you please tell me what was the restaurant name?

 

I have the name of the restaurant, their Internet address and their Facebook address - but not on me now. I will post them tonight for you. :)

[CupKayke]

What a great review, can you please tell me what was the restaurant name?

 

Here You Go!

 

 

and

 

[juliegilb]

Thanks for your incredible review! I loved that you answered so many of my little-detail-questions that I had never seen covered before. And I also love foreign grocery stores and Christmas ornament souvenirs, so thanks for covering those too :)

[CupKayke]

Thanks for your incredible review! I loved that you answered so many of my little-detail-questions that I had never seen covered before. And I also love foreign grocery stores and Christmas ornament souvenirs, so thanks for covering those too :)

 

You're welcome! :)

[CupKayke]

Wrap-Up… a few last thoughts...

The longer we’ve been away, the nicer the trip seems. That always seems to be the case with vacation…. you are in a hurry, running from amazing place to amazing place and you forget to stop, breathe, look around you, and actually take-in everything around you. This trip, we did stop a few times and just look at each other and say “Hey – look where we are!” However, coming home and looking at our photos has been a big treat. Here are a few final thoughts…

Top Ports

*Athens, Greece

*Venice, Italy

and… believe it or not…. Izmir, Turkey!

If I had to choose my favorite port… it would be Athens because our day was filled with amazing sites and lots to do and I had good feelings all around while in Greece.

Top Activities…

*Walking the wall in Dubrovnik, Croatia

*Walking the backstreets of Venice

*Seeing the changing of the guard in Athens while our tour guide gave us an amazing history

*Driving the Amalfi Coast – the breathtaking scenery never stopped.

Most Memorable Moments

*Seeing the Carnival Legend cruise into Venice

*Hearing the morning call to prayer on our balcony in Turkey

*A guy came out on his balcony in Positano – in just a speedo! (you had to be there)

*The singing of “That’s Amore” in the RIL van and in the MDR!

*John Heald playing a joke on a lady’s husband – calling his cabin, waking him from a nap, and telling him he had 10 minutes to get to the theatre to win $500! Of course, this was not true and it was HILARIOUS!!

 

Best Souvenirs

*A a gorgeous thick cotton/canvas red apron with an Italian flag embroidered on it. My thing on vacation, by the way, is to purchase aprons – and so I did - from everywhere – heavy, cloth, sometimes embroidered, aprons – not the cheap slick ones you see everywhere hanging outside souvenir shops – go inside and look around, you will find the good quality aprons.

*Santa being a gondolier Christmas ornament from Venice

*A scarf I purchased in Positano. It is sooo beautiful. The tag on the scarf was even exquisite.

*Decorated glass piece from Venice – now utitlized on my desk at work as a paperweight.

Things I would change if I could…

*We would definitely purchase a Carnival tour to Provence or Aix for the port of Marseille

*We would have done Rome on our own (obviously)

*Our hotel would have been in Venice and I would have worn capris and lightweight tops with sandals in Venice so we would have enjoyed ourselves more there – I wore walking pants and Skechers Go Walks and I was sweating the entire time we were in Venice – it’s the humidity. Oddly, Venice was our hottest port this cruise.

*We were in Barcelona in 2009 and loved it so I think we would have stayed in Barcelona post cruise, not Dublin again. Ireland should be done in a car, through the countryside, for a week or two.

*I would have picked-up a Bella Perlina bracelet and some charms from Carnival’s gift shop (before they sold out). CCL sells them for less than half the price I can purchase one in my small town.

*I’ve already bought new luggage – smaller luggage!! No way would I travel with a 29 inch suitcase ever again!

* It’s obvious in my review I like shopping. There are still 2 or 3 items I wish I had picked-up that I didn’t…. the beautiful blue bag in Amalfi for only 8 Euro… the faux embroidered tote in Pisa for only 2 Euro….the linen top in Positano….the unique luggage in the Marseille port. These types of purchases would not have made a dent in our budget for this trip yet I hesitated and now regret it. (It’s my personality – I do this at home too). Murphy’s Travel Law: you will never see this item again ….so you better get it while you can!

 

Overall, we loved our cruise!! I can say this was the best Carnival cruise we have ever taken and Carnival impressed us in every area. We are teetering on trying RCCL again or NCL because we simply want a different color scheme, a new menu, varied activities, something different. We would never stay loyal to only one cruise line… it seems silly to me to even be so close-minded. Having said that… at times, I can be Carnival’s biggest “cheerleader” ever – and this trip is no exception.

The End.

[Captain Carnival]

BRAVO!!!!!

 

What an incredble review of such a great cruise, it made me feel as if I was there with you; wait a minute....I was and we may actually be in one another's review pictures!!!

 

I'm still working on my review (link below)and hope to have it done within another week.

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective on our cruise - Great Job!!!

[mississauga]

Thank you for your wonderful review. Love your writing style and all the tips you give.

[Guest fyree39]

This whole review was exquisite!

[CupKayke]

BRAVO!!!!!

 

 

What an incredble review of such a great cruise, it made me feel as if I was there with you; wait a minute....I was and we may actually be in one another's review pictures!!!

 

I'm still working on my review (link below)and hope to have it done within another week.

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective on our cruise - Great Job!!!

 

Thank you so much! :) I know that means a lot coming from you because I'm sure your review is magnificent! I didn't want to read it until I was finished, just to see comparisons of the ports.

 

I have hid a picture of you in my review... once you go looking... you will see it - immediately! ;)

 

By the way, every time we saw you & your wife on the cruise you were happy, smiling, and seem to be having the time of your life!! It's like you were honeymooners!! :)

[CupKayke]

Thank you for your wonderful review. Love your writing style and all the tips you give.

 

This whole review was exquisite!

 

Thank you both for your kind comments. Melts my heart. :)

[Captain Carnival]

I have hid a picture of you in my review... once you go looking... you will see it - immediately! ;)

 

You're right - I'm the guy in the blue shirt in the middle!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding....I am however the guy in the blue "Aloha" shirt in this pic.