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Just returned from Legend, 8/9 - 8/17

toesockrock

By toesockrock,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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Thought I'd post a small (haha, "small" -- not really) review for my second cruise, as I discovered this board about three months after my first one, so I wasn't able to post a review, then.

 

No complaints that I can think of, except for the fact that we traveled with people we would never travel with, again (my uncle and his 4 kids), but the ship was so big and there was so much to do that we rarely had to see them, save for at dinner and occasionally in the buffet and at the shows.

Embarkation wasn't too bad. We got there at around 10:30 and had to wait for my uncle, because we had one of his kids in our stateroom (since it's only 4 to a cabin). He finally came in at around 11:45, with only one kid in tow. The cops by the pier wouldn't let him go into the drop-off area, so he had to go around, and then he walked with the one kid who was being checked in with us... He went back to get his other kids, and we checked in. We just made the early check-in, but my uncle missed it. It wasn't much of a difference in time -- he ended up right behind us, anyway, so does early check-in really pay off in the long run? I guess it's better to be on the boat as early as they'll let you get on. :)

 

Our cabin steward was wonderful. His name was Nestor. He always greeted us with a smile and a pleasant hello when he saw us -- come to think of it, all the stewards on our floor (deck 4, Main Deck) did. (We had room 4150, by the way.) Genuinely nice people. Nestor kept our room very clean, we had our towel animals every night, and he even left my brother a smiley face cookie one night after hearing that he didn't feel too well.

 

Dining in Truffles wasn't bad at all. The food was great. I'm easy to please, though. :) At everyone's suggestion, I tried the pumpkin soup, and it was absolutely wonderful. I was expecting a real pumpkin-ish taste, but it wasn't like that at all. Even my uncle's picky kids liked it. We sat in the "Private Club" room that's off of the main dining room, probably because we had so many children with us -- it seemed as though that was the "kids room." We got to hear all of the stuff in the main dining area, but we saw none of it, which kind of stunk. Our head waiter was Warren from Guyana, and his assistant was Andres. Sometimes we saw Andres quite often, other times he would disappear for quite a while. Really strange. Warren paid more attention to my uncle's six year old (who acts more like he's three), and my mom and I were often last when it came to getting water and the food, and one time I was even forgotten about when the salads were delivered. My mom was not pleased. Other nights, though, Warren did look out for me. If I couldn't make a decision, he'd insist on bringing me both entrees. One night, he didn't think I'd like the entree I'd ordered, so he made me tell him my second choice, so he could bring that out for me, as well. So there were good and bad sides to Warren.

 

The Lido waitstaff/buspeople often looked to me like they were irritated or at least, that they hadn't gotten enough sleep. Most of them were very nice, though, and a few of them really liked to talk; just starting up a conversation with you. It was nice.

 

San Juan, we just walked around a bit, got hot, and then went back. I bought sneakers in Foot Locker, there, because I hadn't brought any, and my feet hurt. :)

St. Thomas, we did the Godfrey tour. Definitely worth the $20 a person. Banana daquiri on the Mountain Top was quite good, and the views were just lovely. We went to Coki Beach and it was the best beach visit I've EVER had.

Tortola was a waste. We should have done Virgin Gorda, or just stayed on the ship. We walked around and took pictures of chickens.

 

We took advantage of the gym and whirlpool a bit, this vacation. I was impressed with both. My family often saw some of the dancers in the gym, too, working out alongside us, which was cool.

 

The shows were pretty good. I didn't think too much of Take II, though -- I'm really not sure why. Jazz Hot was pretty good. The first comedian of the cruise -- David Sayh -- wasn't all that good, at all, in my opinion. I think he made too much small talk with the audience. I wanted to hear some jokes, and I didn't hear very many. Marvin Bell was another comedian -- we got to see him on our last night. I'd seen him before, on the Miracle, and his routine was EXACTLY the same. The Village Idiots juggling was good, and I liked Jazz Hot. Magic show was nice.

 

Lots of activities. Of course, you have to like trivia and BINGO and all that stuff. I got a 24-karat gold plastic ship on a stick for Battle of the Sexes on the ladies' side -- yay! I thought Lloyd and Tory did a fantastic job with everything, and the dancers that helped out were very pleasant. Mouna, another social host, was very quiet -- I wasn't sure what she was all about, actually. Didn't see her doing too much, other than standing there.

 

Cruise director, Brett Alans. I was expecting the terrible. But to tell you the truth, he wasn't all that bad, in my opinion. At first he appeared to me to look like/act like/talk like a used car salesman, but he grew on me enough. His jokes were a tad lame, and the man will really do just about anything for a laugh (any past-Legend passengers see the end of the talent show???), but I didn't think he was too awful. Probably not genuine at all, and I got the feeling he wanted you to think of his as some kind of celebrity, but like I said, I could tolerate him, well enough. His magic act was pretty good, and I thought it was cute how much he loves his birds.

 

Debarkation was somewhat easy. We had someone picking us up who was only two blocks away when we docked, so after we got off the boat, we only had to wait like, a minute. We did self-assist, and my mom refused to wait in a lounge until the crowds died down, so we had to stand on a huge line for about a half hour. We were off the boat by 9:45, though. But my back hurts from all the luggage I had to pull/carry. I'd brought a lot of stuff!! :)

 

Threw away some money in the casino. Thought the Enchanted Forest was hideous (we were used to the very pretty Gatsby's Garden in the same area on the Miracle). Went to the past guest party (small mention of next Conquest class ship after the Freedom -- yet to be named -- and the newest Pinnacle class that really has no details yet save for the fact that it will be the biggest cruise ship in the world). LOVED the ship. Never wanted to go home. I literally came home and couldn't stop crying. Awful, huh? I really need to seriously consider working on a cruise ship after college.

 

Did I leave anything out? :)

 

xoxo

Maggi

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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Thanks for the feedback. :)

 

I just remembered something, actually -- the new look/format for the Carnival Capers! They introduced the new ones in the middle of our cruise. I'll scan 'em and post them with the rest of my Legend pictures, later on today.

 

xoxo

Maggi

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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There is a basketball court located outside on the Sports Deck (Deck 10). It's enclosed by a net. Basketballs can be found at the Purser's Desk on Deck 2. :)

 

Pictures of the ship (and the capers) coming soon -- probably not tonight, though, as I had planned. I'm being quite lazy. Plus, I have the return-from-cruise blues. :(

 

xoxo

Maggi

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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Just realized that though the basketball court IS on Deck 10, it's the Sun Deck, not the Sports Deck. :::bangs head on keyboard::: I was thinking sports, so I said Sports Deck... Yeah.

 

Still need to get up the motivation to post those pics... :)

 

xoxo

Maggi

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Shelley9962

Shelley9962

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Two silly questions.... (1) did they have elliptical machines in the the health club? and (2) did you have a bathrobes in your room, like I've read about on other Carnival ships...

 

Oh, and one more...I'll be traveling with my teenaged daughters (17 and 14) -- what do you recommend that they ABSOLUTELY must do on the ship?

 

You're review was wonderful -- thanks!

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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To answer your questions, Shelley...

Yes, there were eliptical machines in the gyms. I think there were four or five. Maybe six. They get taken very quickly, so the only time I was able to use them was when we were in port and everyone was off doing their excursions. (I could only use it for five minutes, too -- it hurt my legs!) :)

Yes, there were bathrobes. Two of them. They're in the closets. I've heard on this board that you shouldn't wear them, but I wore mine.

Being 18, I "aged out" of any teen programs. However, Carnival is doing a lot to give the older teens more to do... For teens ages 15-17, there's the new Club O2 thing -- it's located by the gym. The 12-14 year olds now have their own disco time until 11 (it used to be 13-17). I can't speak for your daughters, and like I said, the teen programs weren't even open to me, but I enjoyed all the family things -- trivia, BINGO, the shows... And being 18, I could gamble. :D My ultimate piece of advice -- make sure they get out and do at least some of the organized activities. Those'll probably be some of the most remembered moments of the cruise, and the most fun. (My uncles kids -- and my uncle, too -- hardly did any of the activities, and at the end of the cruise, all they did was complain that "there wasn't enough to do." You've GOT to be kidding me.)

 

Bran -- my head? I didn't give myself a chance to get seasick (I was miserable for almost 24 hours last year on the Miracle before heading to the infirmary), but I bought my own pills to take as soon as we got on the boat, and I don't think they agreed with my stomach. Next time, I'll just get the ones Carnival gives out.

The weather was beautiful. It was a bit foggy in NY during embarkation, and I'd checked the weather reports for the ports and all I'd seen was rain, rain, rain, but there was almost none. A little rainy when we were going into San Juan, but it stopped after 10 minutes, and by the time we were let off the ship, it was all sun. In St. Thomas, we did the Godfrey tour, and as we were being driven around, it would rain for like 30 seconds and then stop. Same thing at Coki Beach in St. Thomas. But definitely nothing big at all.

I walked through the piano bar a few times. It was nice. I was trying to do as many organized activities as possible, so I didn't sit in the lounges too much. But we may be going on the Legend again, next year, and I'll definitely try to get more time in to sit around. :)

 

xoxo

Maggi

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barbaragrace

barbaragrace

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St. Thomas, We went to Coki Beach and it was the best beach visit I've EVER had.

Tortola was a waste. We should have done Virgin Gorda, or just stayed on the ship. We walked around and took pictures of chickens.

 

 

Coki Beach IS the best beach EVER!!

Next time go to Cane Garden Bay beach in Tortola. You can get the open air van right off the ship and for about $4 per person each way you can sit on the nice beach and have drinks...

We went on the LEGEND this past June, last summer and the summer before.

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toesockrock

toesockrock

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Just the lifeboats. If you lie on the floor, you can make out a bit of ocean. :D Great room, though. My mom claims it's a lot less rocky when you're in the middle of the ship. I really couldn't tell any difference.

 

Glad ya like the pictures. :) I wish I'd taken more of the ship(lounges, pool area, etc.), but I'll most likely be on the Legend again, next year, so I'll do it, then.

 

xoxo

Maggi

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