Just off the Legend today...great cruise!

[nycfa]

Yay another Legend review!!! Your kids are about the same age as mine (12 & 9) so I'm excited to hear their take on it.

 

We go in July. :)

[deepdish1082]

can u post funtimes please

[TeresaJ]

Got to hand it to the Embarkation Crew in Tampa; do you recall who checked you in and presented you with your Sail N' Sign Cards?

 

I don't recall her name. It was an older gal and she was very nice. It went quickly!

 

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[TeresaJ]

can u post funtimes please

 

I have them so will try and get them scanned and loaded.

 

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[TeresaJ]

Tuesday, March 18th – Cozumel

 

It’s sunny and warm and the high winds are gone! We walked right off the ship around 9:30 or so and hopped a cab to Paradise Beach. $14 for our family of 4. We were the first group of people to arrive and the entry into the pool area is breathtaking. The pool area was serene because no one was in it yet.

 

 

 

 

 

We quickly headed to the beach.

 

 

 

 

The kids didn’t want to do the water toys (I think it was $15 per person for those). My son would have probably enjoyed it but I think it would be a little difficult for my 9 year old to climb on. They were perfectly content with their decision. The staff were setting them out there when we arrived.

 

 

 

After an hour or so they wanted to go up by the pool area so we moved all of our belongings and grabbed 4 lounge chairs by the pool. This is where we ended up staying the rest of the day. The pool area is nice and the kids loved it. We were next to 4 crew members from the Legend too, who we spoke to for a few minutes. So glad they can enjoy some leisure time as well.

We had some appetizers (quesadillas and tortilla chips/salsa), and a few round of drinks. The Blue Frozen margarita is refreshing and delicious!

 

By 3pm, we had enough sun for the day and grabbed a cab back to the port area (plenty of cabs waiting) and we did a little bit of shopping before getting back on board.

 

Then it was time for a late lunch (turkey wrap from the Deli – delicious) and the rest of the family had their usual food of pizza and grill items (burgers, hot dogs, cheese fries, etc). I really enjoyed the sandwiches from the deli – I ate there for lunch 3 times and really liked it. There was never a wait. I usually would make a big salad from the salad bar in the lido buffet and grab a sandwich from the deli. It was a great lunch. There was always a line at the grill and the pizza at the Pizza Pirate was made to order (or so it seemed like anyway).

 

Cozumel sail away – FUN! We were docked right next to the Carnival Triumph and our cruise director Willie and assistant Mike encouraged people on our ship to go up on Deck 10 and be loud and dance to music during sail away. It was so much fun. I have never been part of a sail away like this. Lots of people dancing and shouting back and forth between the ships (all in good fun – nothing mean). Just pure energy and fun! Our ships next to each other.

 

 

We played mini golf in the evening before dinner.

Because we ended up having a late lunch, we did not eat in the dining room that evening. We opted for the buffet later that night. We went to the Hasbro game show in Follies lounge that evening. There was supposed to be another show but the performer’s flight did not arrive in Cozumel in time for him to get on the ship. The kids enjoyed the Hasbro show. For the life of me, I can’t remember what we did after the Hasbro show. I know we had an early morning the next day, so maybe we headed back to the cabin early.

[TeresaJ]

I forgot to post the towel animal from the night.

 

 

Next up is Belize.

[TeresaJ]

Wednesday, March 19th – Belize

 

We booked an excursion through Carnival in Belize due to the tender process and the fact there really isn’t much in the Belize port on your own. We booked the Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef. We had a nice 35 minute boat ride directly from the ship to Rendezvous Caye. The island is pretty but very small. We got on our snorkel gear and they took groups out (beginner, intermediate, advanced) for about 45 minutes. We were in the beginners group. I stayed with my daughter and well, it just didn’t go well. 2 years ago in Cozumel she tried snorkeling at Chankanaab and she started screaming when the fish swam around her (people probably thought she was getting eaten by a shark or a barracuda). Anyway, she decided she wanted to try it again in Belize. I let my son and hubby go out together so they could enjoy it. My daughter and I ended up not really snorkeling and went back to the beach to wait for the rest of my family. I was completely fine with it. We walked around the small island, looked at various shells, etc. The boys returned and said the snorkeling was pretty good. We had about another 1 ½ hours before we headed back to the ship. We were served a cup of rum punch and the kids were served rum punch minus the rum for the boat ride back. I enjoyed the excursion even though I didn’t snorkel as planned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on board up to Lido for lunch from the Deli and pool time. After enough pool and sun, it was time to get ready for dinner. We went to the main dining room a little later tonight. All of us except DD had the flat iron steak. It was tender and juicy. It is not a “steakhouse” steak, but it’s still pretty good. My daughter had the macn’cheese again.

 

We did not go to any shows tonight and instead bopped around to various areas that had live music (just me and the hubby). Some of you are probably wondering – why aren’t the kids going to Camp Carnival? The first 2 cruises, my kids went to them everyday and enjoyed them. Last year we went on a shorter cruise (5 day) and they didn’t go to Camp Carnival. We attributed it to being a shorter cruise and trying to cram in too many other activities. Well, I was sure they were going to go this year but neither seemed real interested and we didn’t push it. Honestly, we were enjoying our family time together as we are so busy in our everyday lives with work, school, and other activities that having down time together is quite nice! The nice part with their ages is they can pal around together and go play mini golf, ping pong, basketball, get ice cream numerous times, and pizza too, or have downtime in the cabin so it’s not like they are attached to us all day long. I have nothing but good things to say about Camp Carnival when we sailed on Destiny and Dream. My son actually had a great time playing basketball everyday for a couple of hours with other kids.

 

So the kids went back to the cabin to settle for the night and DH and I went to the Red Frog Pub and listened to music with Angie for a bit. She is a good acoustic singer. The Red Frog Pub is nice and smelled brand new! We also stopped in the Atrium/lobby bar area and listened to music with Me and My Cousin (two guys that I’m assuming are actually cousins). After awhile we watched Teeples Peoples in the Atlantis on Deck 2 Aft. This area was packed and no seating available so we just watched for a few minutes and went back to the cabin.

 

Tonight's towel animal

 

[Tutontow]

Thanks for posting. It looks like your children really had a good time. I will be on the Legend in 31 days, can't wait.

[TeresaJ]

Thanks for posting. It looks like your children really had a good time. I will be on the Legend in 31 days, can't wait.

 

They had a great time. They're already asking what ship for next year.

Hope you have a great cruise on the Legend!

 

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[Jimmy Geegitz]

Thanks for posting all the great pics. Love the waterslide.

[carnival03]

Thanks for the review, sailing in 17 days and can't wait! Overall would you recommend paradise beach? How long of a cab ride was it to there from the port?

[TeresaJ]

Thanks for the review, sailing in 17 days and can't wait! Overall would you recommend paradise beach? How long of a cab ride was it to there from the port?

 

Yes I recommend Paradise beach! It was very nice. I think the cab ride was like 15 minutes.

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Enjoying your review! Are the water toys at Paradise Beach as close to the beach as they look in the pics? Did they stay there the whole time? I read that the water was deep by the water toys. Good news if they aren't since we're thinking of going there in August with the kids.

Edited March 28, 2014 by cruizinisthebest

[TeresaJ]

Enjoying your review! Are the water toys at Paradise Beach as close to the beach as they look in the pics? Did they stay there the whole time? I read that the water was deep by the water toys. Good news if they aren't since we're thinking of going there in August with the kids.

 

They were putting the water toys out when we got there. Some were out in deeper water and a few were closer. I think it will depend on kids ages. My son (13) would have been fine. I think some of them would have been tricky for my 9 yr old to climb on. You need upper body strength to pull yourself up on them. The kids and older teens that were on them seemed to be having a blast.

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

They were putting the water toys out when we got there. Some were out in deeper water and a few were closer. I think it will depend on kids ages. My son (13) would have been fine. I think some of them would have been tricky for my 9 yr old to climb on. You need upper body strength to pull yourself up on them. The kids and older teens that were on them seemed to be having a blast.

 

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Thanks for the information!

[Alwaysoncountdown]

Great review. Glad you had a wonderful trip. We leave in 2 weeks.


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[deepdish1082]

thANK YOU IN ADVANCE

[TeresaJ]

[quote name='Alwaysoncountdown']Great review. Glad you had a wonderful trip. We leave in 2 weeks.

Have a great cruise!

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[TeresaJ]

Thursday, March 20th – Roatan

We had a shorter day today in port from 8am-3pm so it was an earlier morning for us. We had to meet at the pier by 8:45am for our Tabyana Beach Break Carnival excursion. We headed out about 9am in shuttles for the approximate 35 minute ride or so. What an interesting ride. We got to see some very poor areas of this country and you realize how lucky we are. The ride is very hilly and curvy (hope they check the shuttle brakes once in awhile), but so worth it when you arrive to the West Bay area. There are a few resorts in the area too.

We were greeted upon our arrival and then we grabbed our loungers (plenty available). There was only one other ship in port that day (NCL Jewel) and their passengers arrived about an hour after us so we had first pick. There were the usual beach vendors, but I just say no and they go on their merry way. My husband snorkeled a lot here and said it was the best snorkeling he has ever seen. Hundreds of colorful fish. A couple next to us saw a sea turtle. This beach, IMO is one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to.

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The shuttles begin heading back at noon and run every 30 minutes until last one at 1:30. We took the 1pm shuttle as we didn’t want to wait for the last shuttle. Once on board we headed to Lido for lunch and some relaxing on ship. My son did his usual basketball and my daughter hung out with us for awhile in the pool (it was very hot that day!).

Mahogany Bay beach area, which is right near port. Maybe a nice alternative if you want something nearby:


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Tonight is the 2nd Elegant night and we decided not to dress up. This is our 5th cruise and 4th with the kids so we felt 1 elegant night was enough for us. We took a little nap before dinner at the buffet. After dinner, we went to the Studio VIP 8:30pm show in Follies Lounge. It was dancing and disco music. It was pretty good and the kids enjoyed it. After the show, the kids went to the cabin and hubby and I hit the casino for a very brief period of time and listened to music in the lobby area before calling it a night.

[crusinpsychRN]

Where is Bonsai sushi? Did you try it?

[TeresaJ]

[quote name='crusinpsychRN']Where is Bonsai sushi? Did you try it?[/QUOTE]

We did not try it. It is located on Deck 2 near the Atrium/Lobby area. It was never crowded when we walked by.

[Tutontow]

Thanks so much for posting. I leave on The Legend 4 weeks from today. You are correct when you say how fortunate we are. I bet you were glad to get down south for a couple of days considering the winter you guys have had up there.

[deepdish1082]

have you got the funtimes

[zabaco]

We leave Sunday, so I am reading anything I can find. I second the request for Fun Times! I haven't been able to find a recent set anywhere. I guess I'll just have to get my OWN set, starting Sunday.


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[AnnaBeth]

We will be on the Conquest in April with several of the same ports so I was excited to read your review. My girls are 11 and 9. We have booked the same snorkeling tour in Belize and since my girls have never done this before I was glad to see that staying on the beach is a good option as well.

We were considering Chankanaab in Cozumel. I see that you mentioned you did that in the past. Did you prefer Paradise over Chankanaab? I don't think my girls would use the water toys that were out in Paradise so I thought Chankanaab would give us more options for something to do.

Since Roatan is our fourth and final port we are planning on staying at Mahogany Bay. My youngest dd wants to try ziplining. I have read that there is a place in the port. Did you happen to see it and is it a reasonable walk if you did?

Thank you for all of the info! We are getting really excited for our trip and seeing your pictures of the ports makes us all even more excited! :) Edited March 31, 2014 by AnnaBeth