Carnival Legend / Hawaii - Good or Poor Experience?

[slavearlen]

We are Royal Caribbean Diamond Members. We are looking at Hawaii in 2016 or 2017. Right now the rates for Royal Caribbean, and even NCL, are considerably higher than Carnival's for the exact same itinerary. The rate for Royal Caribbean 2pp balcony is $4620.00, NCL is $4975.00 and Carnival is only $2965.00. All last we checked! Have not cruised on Carnival Cruise Lines before and because of the significant difference in price, we are concerned about the the quality of the cruise. If you have cruised on the Carnival Legend in Hawaii and can compare it to either Royal Caribbean or NCL, I would like to hear your thoughts and reviews on the Carnival Legend, There was a posting on CruiseCritic from a passenger who sailed in June of 2015 and it was not a good review. I want to be fair so reaching to you guys for some feedback. Your the best! Thank you in advance!

[SadieN]

The Legend hadn't done a RT HI itin yet. We went to HI last October on her sister, the Miracle. Going back on the Miracle again in October, November and January to the MR. The Spirit class is a favorite among many sailing Carnival.

What exactly do you want to know? There were lectures, arts & crafts, Hawaiian themed activities. We were never bored on sea days, there are 9 of them when sailing out of LA.

MDR menu changed every night. The buffet Taste of Nations only repeated itself once. Switched between brunch and breakfast/lunch menus on sea days, lunch menu never repeated.

Our pax mix was very similar to our 10 day Princess cruise. A very mellow vibe.

[californiatripman]

I would look at doing Carnival Miracle instead of Legend to do Hawaii. The miracle has more experience doing this cruise and it is not a relocation cruise like on the Legend.

[SadieN]

I would look at doing Carnival Miracle instead of Legend to do Hawaii. The miracle has more experience doing this cruise and it is not a relocation cruise like on the Legend.

 

 

Oh. If that's the case, a relocation cruise, OP should look for reviewed if those cruises. Possibly on the Australia board b

[SeeBurd]

I've been on the Legend, and cruised to Hawaii, but not at the same time.

 

The Legend is my favorite Carnival ship, and the days we spent crossing the Pacific and cruised the islands were the most memorable of all our cruises. We had a Hawaiian deck band that got us in the mood more and more each day. And once we hit our first port, it was like a non stop whirl wind that just got better with each one. We had a car ready for us on each island, so we came and went as we liked.

 

One day we hope to repeat this. Ours was a relocation cruise, which are significantly cheaper than the R/T. It was $1058 PP for 12 days, with 2 overnights at Maui and Honolulu, 1 stop in Kauii, and 2 stops on the Big Island, one east, 1 west. And 5 1/2 days at sea from SanDiego/Ensenada.

Edited July 9, 2015 by SeeBurd

[meanjean80]

I was on the Legend for the Florida-to-LA portion of its transition last year, and loved every second of it. I am partial to the Spirit class anyway but found for this trip (which also had a lot of sea days) that they really did an excellent job of providing lots of programming options.

[Lurkyloo]

We are Royal Caribbean Diamond Members. We are looking at Hawaii in 2016 or 2017. Right now the rates for Royal Caribbean, and even NCL, are considerably higher than Carnival's for the exact same itinerary. The rate for Royal Caribbean 2pp balcony is $4620.00, NCL is $4975.00 and Carnival is only $2965.00. All last we checked! Have not cruised on Carnival Cruise Lines before and because of the significant difference in price, we are concerned about the the quality of the cruise. If you have cruised on the Carnival Legend in Hawaii and can compare it to either Royal Caribbean or NCL, I would like to hear your thoughts and reviews on the Carnival Legend, There was a posting on CruiseCritic from a passenger who sailed in June of 2015 and it was not a good review. I want to be fair so reaching to you guys for some feedback. Your the best! Thank you in advance!

 

I'll let you know - My sister and I are sailing the Legend from Vancouver Canada to Hawaii as it relocates back to Australia in September. Looking forward to long lazy sea days and seeing a couple of Islands I haven't been to! I have been on two of the Spirit Class ships and loved them, so I am sure I will love the Legend as well, and I haven't had a bad cruise yet, so I am sure I will have a great cruise! :)

[Budget Queen]

Not sure what the OP is looking at?? They really can NOT be the "exact" same? There are differences in ports and port times, which can mean a big difference depending on what activities you want.

 

It sound like they are referring to a repo cruise, since NCL otherwise does round trip Honolulu- which in my opinion, is the "winner" itinerary. I've sailed to Hawaii on several itineraries, including the round trip Ca, repo Vancouver/LA sailings, and my most on the round trip NCL Hawaii. I'm bored with sea days- which needs a strong look with those first timers, since that can involve 2/3's of some cruises.

[Lurkyloo]

Not sure what the OP is looking at?? They really can NOT be the "exact" same? There are differences in ports and port times, which can mean a big difference depending on what activities you want.

 

It sound like they are referring to a repo cruise, since NCL otherwise does round trip Honolulu- which in my opinion, is the "winner" itinerary. I've sailed to Hawaii on several itineraries, including the round trip Ca, repo Vancouver/LA sailings, and my most on the round trip NCL Hawaii. I'm bored with sea days- which needs a strong look with those first timers, since that can involve 2/3's of some cruises.

 

Totally agree... the 10 day to Hawaii with 5 sea days and 5 port days would be torture for my hubby - most he can handle is 2 sea days and even then he grumbles! :D Which is why I am going with my sister who loves sea days as much as I do. Cruises with heavy sea days is not for everyone, but many love them.

[JOANN226]

I'll let you know - My sister and I are sailing the Legend from Vancouver Canada to Hawaii as it relocates back to Australia in September. Looking forward to long lazy sea days and seeing a couple of Islands I haven't been to! I have been on two of the Spirit Class ships and loved them, so I am sure I will love the Legend as well, and I haven't had a bad cruise yet, so I am sure I will have a great cruise! :)

 

On the same cruise with you, I have been on the Legend twice and had a great time

[tjmj]

I cannot give you a comparison of Carnival and NCL, but we sailed June 2nd, 2015 on the Legend, and loved it. We liked it so much, we are sailing the Sept. 2016 to Hawaii on the Legend. The staff and crew were extremely nice. The ship was clean, and the food was really good. And we will most likely do another Alaskan next year on her. (Hope DW doesn't read that!)

[slavearlen]

Great information everyone! We are RCCL Diamond Members so switching is always a concern. The price for Carnival to Hawaii for 2016 is half the cost of RCCL or NCL. So I was naturally concerned about the quality of the ship, service and experience but everyone has put those concerns to rest.

 

Now, we need the itineraries for 2017. RCCL, NCL and Princess all have theirs out there but not Carnival! Ugh!

[going2cruz]

Carnival does a lot of things right that the other two don't. I have been steering away from Carnival for other reasons and I do miss some aspects of their product. With that said a Hawaiian cruise with Carnival would be a no brainer for us.

If you decide to do Carnival, I have one recommendation for those who never cruised Carnival. Be careful when you select your room because of the late night / all hours of the morning activity. Don't select rooms above or below public areas and never get room above or below the casino.

Keep us posted on what you decide.

Edited July 18, 2015 by going2cruz

[MoyCoy]

We are Royal Caribbean Diamond Members. We are looking at Hawaii in 2016 or 2017. Right now the rates for Royal Caribbean, and even NCL, are considerably higher than Carnival's for the exact same itinerary. The rate for Royal Caribbean 2pp balcony is $4620.00, NCL is $4975.00 and Carnival is only $2965.00. All last we checked! Have not cruised on Carnival Cruise Lines before and because of the significant difference in price, we are concerned about the the quality of the cruise. If you have cruised on the Carnival Legend in Hawaii and can compare it to either Royal Caribbean or NCL, I would like to hear your thoughts and reviews on the Carnival Legend, There was a posting on CruiseCritic from a passenger who sailed in June of 2015 and it was not a good review. I want to be fair so reaching to you guys for some feedback. Your the best! Thank you in advance!

 

I came on Cruise Critic to ask the same question! We normally sail RCL and they are sold out of their cheaper rooms for May 2016- Crazy prices

[FloridaGram]

I sailed on the Legend in June in AK. I loved the ship. I liked the decor, the staff was friendly and efficient and the shows were OK.

 

I have only sailed more recently on the Enchantment of the Seas last Nov. only to compare with Carnival. While the decor of the ship may have been a bit more elegant I did not feel like the cruise was worth the additional money. Food was no better, the pool deck was atrocious, no one ever came to pick up dirty plates people would leave. About 5 PM I saw a supervisor getting onto a crew member but by then it was too late, people were leaving the pool deck for the day after putting up with a mess all afternoon.

 

I would give Carnival a try for that much money, it could be for another cruise! Just don't spend to much time comparing that you do not enjoy your cruise! I have done that twice, comparing CCL to Disney and to RCCL. It took away some of my enjoyment because I allowed myself to be preoccupied. And the food was better on CCL than on Disney!

[Djptcp]

DH and I sailed on the Legend in a large aft balcony cabin near an elevator two years ago. We loved the Legend and found it to be very elegant and easy to get around. Our balcony cabin was huge and a different configuration from rest of the balcony cabins. Right behind the aft elevators, but oh so quiet and absolutely no noise whatsoever. Loved the cabin. Never been to Hawaii, so can't comment on the itinerary, just wanted you to know we loved the ship.