Pictorial Trip Report: Legend OTS ~ December 15, 2014

[DarthGrady]

How was the live music/bands on your cruise? I know cruise life varies each sailing, I do hope for a lively atmosphere in a few weeks!

John in NC

My main experience with the live music was the nightly piano bar with Doug D. He was an excellent piano player. I mention in the review that it's a real shame the crowd wasn't very into the whole piano bar sing along. Had we been on Carnival it would have been nuts.

 

Other things I noticed were the live bands on the pool deck on sea days, and a nightly band in the Centrum/R Bar.

Thanks for your review...always have enjoyed your views. Can you tell me who the CD was?

His first band is Keith, I can't recall the last name though. Nice enough guy, but a little mild for my tastes. But he mirrored the overall feel of the cruise, so I suppose it's a good match.

[jdmerck]

I must say, I went to every show on this cruise and this was the best I have seen on all my vacations, the singers and dancers were excellent the comedy shows were awesome, and the Motown group was great (the one guy signed my 11 yr old sons hand..LOL) I saw the Piano man a couple times, not to many people in there, he was good.. I never went to any events in the Centrum since there is no room in there, its the most insane place to have an event!!! Me personally didn't care for the CD but that's me... was not happy with the Miller Lite situation...it was a part of the I.T. problem... heard to many stories, wish I could remember names but loved the 2 men in Park Café every morning, and 2 waiters I had by the pool during the day, but I was most IMPRESSED with Adventure Ocean!!! being a ship that was not used to kids sure had one of the best staff in AO my son has ever been with!!!

[DarthGrady]

Ok, lets get this thing going again:

 

Day 3, Still At Sea:

 

The second day at sea went much as the first. The weather had gotten overcast and windy, so the seas were up. The Solarium was full since most were trying to avoid the main pool deck.

 

I got my gym visit done after breakfast. This opened up the afternoon for relaxation. I visited the Park Cafe for a sandwich, which was good. The Park Cafes usually has decent sandwiches and salads.

 

In the evening we spent most of the time at the Concierge Lounge, and then at the VCL. After the cocktail hours we spent some time in the piano bar. Doug D was trying his best and the crowd was a bit livelier, showing some promise (at last!) on the third night onboard. The disco was also a bit more populated, but still far too empty for a ship full of vacationers.

[DarthGrady]

Day 4, Aruba (Jamaica, girl I wanna take ya......)

 

Since we had a long day in Aruba, we booked a tour through a private company. Sonny's Tours picked our group up at the terminal building and we set out for a three hour tour.....a three hour tour.

 

Sonny did a great job telling about the history and various parts of the island. We visited several places including a fallen natural bridge on the north side of the island, a natural rock formation, and a lighthouse. If you have the time to do a non cruise line tour, I highly recommend it. They tend to be much less crowded and offer more personalized attention. The only drawback is that the ship won't wait if you're held up for some reason. So always plan accordingly.

 

We walked around the downtown area for awhile, then got back on the ship. We had a light lunch at Park Cafe and then got the gym over with.

 

Our friend LT came out of his three day slumber and joined us out and about in the evening. We had a few drinks in the DL, and then moved over to the CL which was less crowded. Carol and Lorna were nice enough to let us join their table. In turn we were joined by Mario at the Windjammer, and had a nice casual dinner.

 

The pier area at Aruba

 

 

The Freewinds was in port with us. Once a Commodore Cruise Lines ship, she is now owned by the Church of Scientology.

 

 

 

 

There is a free trolley that runs between the pier area and downtown

 

 

Edited December 29, 2014 by DarthGrady

[DarthGrady]

Our first stop was at some large rock formations. There are steps up to the top which offers some good views of the island.

 

 

Ascending to the top

 

 

 

The view from the top of the rocks

 

 

 

The stairs back down are a bit easier

 

[DarthGrady]

These large organ pipe cacti grow all over Aruba

 

 

The garden around the rock formation

 

 

 

 

My beer of the day, a Balashi, brewed in Aruba

 

[DarthGrady]

Pics from the north shore of Aruba

 

 

 

A natural bridge

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

One of the colorful above ground cemeteries

 

 

A divi divi tree, the odd shape is due to the constant wind direction on the island

 

 

This chapel is built at the location of the first church built when the island was settled

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

The south shore of the island is much calmer, and is where all of the resorts are located

 

 

Our last stop on the tour was the California lighthouse, so named for the SS California that sank off Aruba's coast while the tower was being built. There is also a nice Italian restaurant located in the old keeper's quarters that was highly recommended by our tour guide.

 

 

One of the local iguana's

 

 

Our towel animal that night, with an invite to the past guest party the next evening. It was actually misprinted as the top tier party, which didn't happen until later in the cruise.

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 5, Bonaire:

 

We didn't have an excursion planned for Bonaire. Although I began to wish that we had after hearing Carol describe it's natural beauty the night before. We slept in late and got breakfast in the WJ. I took advantage of the empty ship and got my pictures for this review. Then we went ashore for awhile.

 

In town, we found a little bar that offered free WiFi. Better still, they had relatively cheap beer! After waking around a bit we got back on board, then did Park Cafe for a late lunch.

 

I got to the CL early, and it was crowded since early seating dinner hadn't started yet. We were all treated to a presentation by Darren the head housekeeper and his housekeeping staff, which I haven't seen on other ships. All of the deck and other area supervisors came in and introduced themselves to the crowd.

 

We watched the sunset from the VCL then moved down to the CL for another drink (or two, or five) before the past guest party in the main theater. They had a nice reception for the past guests there, and also a small show by the entertainment staff. It was a nice party, even better that I was able to get a beer.

 

Lots of Crown and Anchor rumors were being discussed around the room that night. The Diamond members future (or lack thereof) in the Diamond lounge was bandied about. Whether cocktails would be ended in the DL and CL now that the vouchers are working was another topic. The raising of the bar for D+ and Pinnacle, a higher Pinnacle Club level, and so on. But the biggest rumor was the new level between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club. At least one RCI employee (who will remain nameless) acknowledged that it was being discussed.

 

After the past guest party we had another casual dinner in the WJ. I then stopped into the piano bar. Unfortunately someone had the bright idea to have the Wii going at the same time. So I was treated to Doug D with screaming kids on backup vocals. Not a good combo.

 

I managed to stay up for the late night comedian in the main show lounge. That lasted about five minutes and I was back in the piano bar until 11-ish. Unfortunately a good piano player only gets you half way, the crowd (or lack thereof) was still DOA. I then went up to the disco in the VCL. Similar experience there. No party crowd on this voyage. A total 180 from my guy's cruise on Carnival a few months ago. Even less energy than the sedate populace on Freedom during our Halloween cruise.

 

A crew muster drill was being held after our arrival in Bonaire

 

 

 

 

The Thomson Dream, a formerly of Home Lines and then HAL, was parked behind us

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

More from Bonaire

 

 

The little bar on the water where we had some drinks

 

 

My beer of the day

 

 

Good advice

 

 

I was curious about the glass enclosed area at the aft end of deck 5. The galley is forward of it, so it isn't for guests. We were told that it is the crew's gym.

 

 

Another of the nice touches on the "little" RCI ship, cold towels being handed out upon the return from each port.

 

[DarthGrady]

The housekeeping supervisors give a presentation in the CL

 

 

The great view from the VCL each night

 

[DarthGrady]

A few pics from the past guest party

 

 

"Super" Mario gets his top cruiser prize

 

 

A full house

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 6, Curacao:

 

In Curacao we booked another private excursion through a local operator named Leo Platte. His tour first took us through downtown Willemstad. He talked about the history of the area, the buildings and the businesses. We saw the floating pontoon bridge, the markets and some of the local government offices. Our only stop in town was at the Curacao liqueur factory for a tasting.

 

After the tour in town we went across the island to the northern shore and saw some of the natural coral formations and caves. We had two more stops at some picturesque beaches on the south shore of the island before returning to Willemstad. We asked to be dropped off downtown so that we could walk around there for awhile before getting back on the ship.

 

Park Cafe finally had some tomato soup to go along with the grilled cheese sandwiches. In my opinion, if you're going to offer grilled cheese you should always have tomato soup available.

 

In the evening we did our usual trip to the VCL to watch sunset. But this was unfortunately impossible since someone decided to construct a sushi bar on the port side of the lounge. Unfulfilled, we went down to the CL for a few more drinks before having dinner in the buffet.

 

After dinner we were joined by Lorna, and staked out some prime viewing locations for the aerial acrobatics show in the atrium. The show was good, and lasted exactly one song. Only then were we informed that the "full show" would be on night #8.

 

With my thirst for late night entertainment still not quenched, I stopped into the piano bar to listen to Doug D. He's the strongest piano player I've yet heard on Royal, with the unfortunate predicament of having the weakest crowd to play to.

 

It also became blatantly clear on this night why Royal put a buffer corridor between the Schooner Bar and the Centrum on later designs. The obnoxious "70s Dance Party" music was bleeding in the entire time. I tried to close the glass doors that separate the two, but found them to be locked open.

 

Colorful downtown Willemstad

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "birthday cake" building

 

[DarthGrady]

The Curacao factory

 

 

 

 

One of the caves in the coral formations on the far side of the island

 

 

 

[kandj05]

The new Chef's Table was built on the bridge area between the two sides

 

What is the Chef's table used for?

[DarthGrady]

More from around Curacao

 

 

 

A manchineel tree, native to the Caribbean and Florida, it's sap is highly poisonous

 

 

The manzanilla fruit from the manchineel, equally poisonous

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

The new Chef's Table was built on the bridge area between the two sides

 

What is the Chef's table used for?

 

The Chef's Table is a specialty dining experience where one of the executive chefs prepares a gourmet meal for attendees. It also includes a wine tasting, and is pretty highly regarded by those that have done it.

[DarthGrady]

 

 

Not a local brew, but it will do the trick

 

 

 

The Queen Emma pontoon bridge

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

 

 

 

The Thomson Dream was in port with us again

 

[DarthGrady]

 

The "appetizer" aerial show

 

 

 

The 70s dance party

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 7, Back to Sea:

 

We slept in late went up to the WJ for breakfast. It was a madhouse, so we just took our food to go and sat in the CL. Apparently very few have been taking advantage of the light breakfast offered in there, as most of it looked to be untouched. It was sad and disconcerting to see so much pristine food simply thrown away when the crewman cleared the small buffet area. If the cruise lines are looking to cut costs, food waste would certainly be a good place to start.

 

The rest of the day was mostly just relaxing on deck. We had lunch in the dining room, and then watched the belly flop competition on the pool deck with LT. We also got our daily workout in, even though it was becoming ever more difficult to find the motivation as the cruise went on.

 

The evening itinerary was the same as days before. We started in the VCL and eventually made our way down to the CL before the top tier Crown and Anchor party in the Solarium. I only went into the Solarium for a moment to get a White Russian. It was pretty watered down, so we just stayed in the CL.

 

There were a lot of people out and about, the Schooner Bar was nearly full. I watched part of The Quest game show, but left about halfway through. The Cruise Director kept it pretty tame, even by RCI standards.

 

 

The belly flop competition

 

 

 

Some goodies in the room

 

[DarthGrady]

Day 8, Jamaica:

 

My wife was able to get a travel agent day pass to the Sandals in Ocho Rios. We shared an overpriced taxi with some friends, it was only about ten minutes to get there.

 

The resort is bigger than the one we'd previously visited in Nassau. It is very lush and tropical, with many small buildings and villas spread out around the campus. It was also much harder to navigate. I liked that the Grand Bahamian was more compact, requiring less walking between pools, bars and restaurants. We took their tram up to another area of the resort with a much larger pool area and better party atmosphere. We'll know where to go next time.

 

Back on the ship I got my workout done, then went up for drinks in the VCL as we sailed from Jamaica. Dinner was again in the WJ. We watched the full length aerial acrobatics show in the Centrum. It was very well done. The only inconvenience was when one of the photographers decided to set up a large backdrop with the floor mat right before the show. This created a major bottleneck in the area we were watching from.

 

Unfortunately Doug D had played the Schooner Bar earlier in the evening. When I arrived football was being watched in there. Needless to say, I didn't stay long. They held the midnight deck party at 10:30, it was livelier than I thought it would be. There were probably 40-50 people in and around the dance floor area. The nightclub in the VCL was totally empty.

 

 

Sandals in Jamaica

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

The full length aerial show

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

 

The deck party