JUST BACK: Legend 11-10-13

[Lovefuninthesun]

We just returned from The Legend, 11/10 -- 5 stars!:D

This was our 9th cruise, but first time on the Legend. Had been previously to Cozumel and Grand Cayman; Belize and Roatan were new to us.

 

It's just not my style to do a big narrative review with pictures of food, so I apologize if that is your thing! I am more of a "just the facts, Jack" person, bullet-points and all!:o

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation/Muster: all quick and painless

 

Crew: to a person, all excellent -- friendly, polite, accomodating, helpful

 

The Ship:

- Loved the size and found it very easy to navigate.

- Did NOT like the fact that you must go through the casino in order to walk aft on the promenade deck to get to the MDR. The smoke was unbearable, and you could smell it clear out into the atrium area. BLECH!

- Our cabin was a 4-K, with the French door (the "falcony"). Loved it! Our only view was a peek between the lifeboats, but it was still great because the room is a little bigger and has a couch. And at an interior price -- super value.

- The Serenity Deck was awesome, but fills up fast -- had to migrate to one of the other pools on the last sea day because Serenity was full. And did not like that because>>>>

- The DJ-ed "music" at the two main pools is so loud, it will cause a seizure! (Or at the very least make your ears bleed!) Everybody complianed about it!

 

Food:

- MDR: late seating. For us, the food was very good to excellent, with only one "fail" for us (chewy prime rib one night). Our waiters (Miroslav, Joy and Milos) were fantastic and earned every penny of their tips; we also gave them each an extra $20 on the last night because they were so efficient and accomodating.

- Buffet: lunch, OK. Breakfast -- nasty; don't know which was worse -- slimy, grainy "eggs", raw bacon, wallpaper-paste grits, or tasteless pastries.

- Deli: excellent! Best reuben ever!

- Pizza: very good.

- Room service: we used it twice for sandwiches and a plate of cookies; both times, food was great and it came within 10 minutes.

- Lido grill: great hamburgers, chicken strips and fries.

 

Alcohol:

- We decided at the last minute not to purchase Cheers; we enjoy our alcohol, but weren't sure if we could get our money's worth, especially with 4 port days. We made the right decision -- we only drank $53 worth PP (the break-even point) on the two sea days.

- Bought a wine package for the MDR, the middle ("deluxe") package, which cam to 4153 with the gratuities. We thought the choices were varied and very drinkable.

- We each did the martini tasting which was a blast! We did all 8 varieties since there were two of us. Our favorites were the Chipotle and the Blackberry Bramble.

 

Ports:

- Cozumel, 5th time, loved it as always. We always shop at Los Cinco Soles, at the end of Avenido Rafael Melgar -- very nice, authentic potteries and handicrafts. Then we ate lunch, per usual at Pancho's Backyard -- delicious as always! And when they found out it was our 5th time, they made a fuss, sang to us, and gave us free shots!:)

- Belize -- pouring down rain, we opted to stay on the ship.

- Roatan -- Sun 'n' Fun tour with Victor Bodden, and cannot recommend it enough!! Frank was a wonderful guide, and we had a great tour, which included time at Victor's Monkey Business, interacting with monkeys and macaws -- great fun! We ended up at West Bay beach, which was lovely; had lunch there at the Thirsty Turtle -- yum.

- Grand Cayman, 3rd time -- had fun in town, ate at Breezes by the Bay, sitting on the balcony overlooking the port. Our food was very good, but food (and everything) in GC is expensive -- 2 sandwiches, 1 shared order of fries, 2 drinks -- $65.

 

All in all a wonderful cruise! Any questions -- ask away!

[rskater59]

Thanks always nice to see a review no matter how long or short. We are on the Legend on December 8th. It cannot come soon enough.

[HoneyBadger]

Milos was awesome

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Lovefuninthesun]

Forgot to mention that we had FTTF for this cruise -- money well-spent IMO!

Straight on the ship, straight to our cabin, checked bags received within an hour. So we were unpacked at ready for vacay by 12:30! :) And the priority tendering in Grand Cayman was the best.

 

We did have one funny story about FTTF -- shortly after boarding we went to Guest Services with a question. There were several people in the regular line who said nothing when we stepped up to the "express window" where the sign clearly reads it is for Platinum, Diamond and FTTF. A very snotty lady who had just stepped away from the window, saw my gold card and said "The line is over there -- this is for Platinum only". I smiled nicely and said, "We have FTTF, so we can use it, too". She was quite unconvinced and looked at me with actual disdain. Geez, really?:p

[rskater59]

We have it well. We just want to drop off our carryons with our soda and wine and start our vacation.

[BeachLoverstoo]

Forgot to mention that we had FTTF for this cruise -- money well-spent IMO!

Straight on the ship, straight to our cabin, checked bags received within an hour. So we were unpacked at ready for vacay by 12:30! :) And the priority tendering in Grand Cayman was the best.

 

:p

We are also on the Legend on 12/8 and glad to read FTTF was worth it. Love Legend and thrilled to read such a positive review!

[Lovefuninthesun]

Cozumel: Pancho's Backyard (cell phone picture -- little blurry, sorry!)

 

Roatan: Victor Bodden Sun 'n' Fun Tour

 

 

 

Grand Cayman, view of Legend and Glory

 

Martini Tasting -- yes, please!

 

[kcwingwalker]

Glad you had a great cruise and thanks for sharing:)

[jtorty]

Thanks for the info.

We begin our cruise 11/24 and have not booked any excursions!

Can you book a Victor Bodden tour there? Do they have booths just outside the port? We're really not beach or water people but do enjoy nature, animals and geology. So that excursion sounds great.

[cruisetobeaches]

Glad to hear the Legend is still in good shape! Haven't been on it for a couple of years.............

[waiting4acruise]

Thanks for the info.

We begin our cruise 11/24 and have not booked any excursions!

Can you book a Victor Bodden tour there? Do they have booths just outside the port? We're really not beach or water people but do enjoy nature, animals and geology. So that excursion sounds great.

You will have to contact them before the cruise.

They do not take walk ups.

[Luvtoeat]

Will be on the Legend this Sunday for the 3rd time. The ship is the ideal size for getting around. We were on the Dream in July and thought the ship seemed very crowded. It's also great only having to drive 25-30 minutes to get to the port. If only the price to park was not so crazy, but you pay for the convenience of being right there.

[Lovefuninthesun]

Thanks for the info.

We begin our cruise 11/24 and have not booked any excursions!

Can you book a Victor Bodden tour there? Do they have booths just outside the port? We're really not beach or water people but do enjoy nature, animals and geology. So that excursion sounds great.

 

jtorty:

You book it ahead of time via phone or Internet -- boddentours.com.

We booked online, and they were very quick and thorough with their response and instructions. The nice thing is you do not have to pay anything in advance -- your money is collected in cash the day of the tour. Our tour was only $30 PP, which was a great value -- the Carnival island tour was shorter, and much more expensive.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Lovefuninthesun

[wemjam]

Quick question on food if I may... is the Legend running the "Comedy Club Brunch" menu... or are they still serving a full breakfast and full lunch menu in main dining room - specifically also did you see California rolls on the menu anywhere?

 

Thanks!

Edited November 22, 2013 by wemjam

[deepdish1082]

going in jan 2014