Legend Review - Singapore to Brisbane.

[AussieVisi2r]

There have been a few very negative review of Legend on its way to Australia - so I thought I had better submit one as well.

 

I must walk around with my head in a bag! I didn't see a tired old ship. I didn't see any rust! At all - but then I got to relax not inspect metal on railing. Sure, my cup is always at least half full but here is my take on things.

 

I just did 28 days on Legend - Singapore to Hong Kong to Brisbane and had a great time.

 

The negatives.

The WIFI was bad. Slow but I was able to upload photos. It just took time. It was fine for emails and checking facebook. But considering that I was floating on the ocean on a ship, I'm glad to have any wifi. Strangely it got worse in Australian waters. Some days it went for hours where you couldn't log on.

 

I had a few issues with two ships tours (some activities omitted, and a very sub standard zoo visit) - I went to discuss my issues with the appropriate people.

 

My air conditioning was not very cold....but like a grown up I picked up the phone and had someone come and work their magic. Then it was great.

 

I HATE the art auctions. I think they are a terrible waste of space and so much noise pollution. But obviously many people love them or they would not be in business.

 

I saw a few of the comedians and thought they were not even average. But other shows were good.

 

The rest.

I had my first experience of a Junior Suite and I can total understand the obsession with them. It was amazing. SO BIG! So much storage. Giant deck with 2 chairs and table and a bed chair. I did have a coffee table, and a coffee machine. Bathroom was clean and well stocked.

Yes the room did creak a bit - that's part of being on a ship. Yes I did hear noise from the Solarium above (trollies being moved with food), but again that is what happens on a ship with steel floors. We had connecting rooms adn I couldn't here any noise from the other room.

 

If I could.....I would always be in a JS - even under the noisy deck..

 

I really don't understand all the 'tired' references. I saw a lovely ship with brilliant staff. Yes she is a different layout to the Rhapsody, but much of it, in my opinion, is much better. I so prefer Legend for the Concierge and Diamond Lounges. So much better than Rhapsody. I did miss Giovannies!

 

I never saw anything dirty, or broken or rundown.

I did see lots of the usual ongoing maintenance like sanding and painting/varnishing. I did see all the new mattresses changed out (whole ship) in Singapore. I did see carpets being replaced.

 

I though the Cruise Directors team were really good. They ran some fun activities.

 

I didn't see my room steward a lot. But I did see my room cleaned beautifully, twice a day, with my ice bucket filled each time etc. To me a good room steward is one who learns my movements quickly and slips in when I am gone. I don't understand the need to 'see' them all the time. I did see the housekeeping boss heaps - walking the corridors asking if everything was good.

 

I did see general cleaning staff everywhere - handrails, toilets, glass hoppers etc.

 

I did MTD and usually 8.30 - so there was never a queue, always go the table size we wanted and had super service. We even got the big Maine Lobsters for free on Lobster night.

I only went to the Windjammer twice...but was able to find a table without any trouble and the place was cleaned quickly. I'm not a fan of buffet food.

 

They changed the smoking rules in Singapore as there was no smoking in the casino from there! Fantastic.

 

In public bars I didn't have to wait long for a drink. And If I did i could have walked to the bar and got one much quicker. I know there had been a lot of criticism of drink prices but I think $10 cocktails are great!

 

I didn't have to get into the queues for tender rides. But the people I was travelling with all got first tender tickets without trouble. The queues to get back on were some of the quickest I have ever seen (apart from Airlie Beach but it is always slow there and as apparently the Legend crew are not yet familiar with tendering when a swell is running. This did mess them up a bit.)

 

On the occasions I went to the pool deck I was able to get a chair or bed in the shade every time.

 

True the Legend doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that the bigger ships have but there was never any shortage of things to do. There were some great lectures (as well as a few shockers by one speaker), lots of trivia, crossing the equator, sexy man, belly flop etc. as well as all of the sports comps - golf, climbing, shuffleboard. I didn't manage to fit in all the things I wanted to do.

 

The ports were fantastic. An amazing itinerary.

Koi Samui - private driver and a fantastic day. Temples

Bangkok - huge day with a few hours drive. Grand Palace and temples.

Cambodia - such a poor country with so much beauty. Amazing markets.

Saigon - Another long drive. SO MANY SCOOTERS and history. Much fun.

Nha Trang - Great Temples. Amazing food.

Hue - Great Temples. The Incense Village was so pretty.

Manilla. So much to see - Paco Park , American War Cemetery, Slums, up to Tagaytay for amazing food and views over the volcano - even a whiff of smoke, and Old Town.

Puerto Princesa - Batak Tribe and a canoe ride up the mangroves.

Kota Kinabalu - a cultural village and a disgusting zoo.

Bali - a drive up to Ubud - Monkey Forest, $13 four handed massage, great food, rice paddies and more.

Darwin - HOHO bus and a visit to Crocodylus to watch fools hop in a perspex tank and go into the water with giant beasts :eek:

Cairns - a drive up into the Daintree rainforest and a walk through the elevated walkway.

Airlie Beach - Segway through the rainforest.

 

I have heard people complaining that the ship was a long way from places like Bangkok and Saigon. How rude of those people to build there cities (hundreds of years ago) inland away from cruise ship ports. All ports but Hue, Vietnam, had plenty to do close by. It's just that I wanted to see the big attractions that were an hour or two away!

 

So basically I had a great time. Heaps of great people on board.

Glad I enjoyed it as I am going back next week for another 10 days!

 

Raina

(I did a full blog if you want to see more about each port - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2279117 )

[BecciBoo]

Thanks Raina....that just about sums it up for us too.

 

Our trip to Hawaii was delightful...sure we had a couple issues with our Diamond concierge, but nothing concerning us personnally, just some things we would've liked done and she said "We don't do that anymore" which is not what a Diamond likes to hear, but we dealt with it.;) As for Wifi, we don't touch our devices on a cruise, they are strictly off limits...we own an I.T. company so a vacation has to be away from the net.

 

Lovely Hawaiian group dancing and lecturing, just lovely! And we couldn't have been more pleased with the ship/staff. Small ship easy to get around, but Allure just about wore me out:D

Edited December 15, 2015 by BecciBoo

[tingyyy]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your review and i'll be hopping over to your blog soon;) The Legend was the ship on which i did my first cruise ever and she has a special place in my heart.

 

tingyyy

[BettyPC]

Great information and well presented! thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Arnie65]

thank you for your lovely blog, have been following it and loved the summary of it. Was getting very worried with all the very negative reviews lately, has hardly seemed to be anything positive and that was worrying to us embarking on our first family cruise in 24 days! loved your photos too!

[DianeandMark]

Thanks Raina...nice to hear positive feed back for a change. We had friends on your cruise who also had good things to say. We are on her in January for the 14 day NZ cruise, and I'm sure we'll have a great time [emoji2]

[DianeandMark]

Hi Raina, just wondering what you thought of the new mattresses on your cruise. Another CC thread are complaining about the rock hard beds on other RC ships. Thanks

[weidenhofer]

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. Have been reading so many bad things, I was worried about 10 day Chriestmas cruise

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

Keith

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the review. Nice to get another perspective.:D

[Royalty X]

You're a breath of fresh air Raina. I go on cruises with an open mind, like yourself. Don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy. Great review! [emoji4]

[Clarea]

Excellent review, thanks!

[fairywren]

Thanks Raina, We were on Legend from Singapore to Fremantle last September and it was one of our best cruises.

I have been reading reviews and thinking, were we on the same ship?