Is the Legend really that bad?

[eddieg07410]

We want to take a cruise to Hawaii in September. And the most reasonably priced ship is the Caenival Legend from Vancouver. However, after reading the reviews I am a bit hesitant. Generally, we are not demanding cruisers and essentially believe there is not a bad cruise. But after reading these reviews I amy have to revise my view. We are in our 60' and went with celebrity to Hawaii a few years ago and had a marvelous time. We missed Kaui on that ship which the Legend goes to. Are we making a mistake considering this ship and hould we stick with Celebrity?

[CruiseReg]

We want to take a cruise to Hawaii in September. And the most reasonably priced ship is the Caenival Legend from Vancouver. However, after reading the reviews I am a bit hesitant. Generally, we are not demanding cruisers and essentially believe there is not a bad cruise. But after reading these reviews I amy have to revise my view. We are in our 60' and went with celebrity to Hawaii a few years ago and had a marvelous time. We missed Kaui on that ship which the Legend goes to. Are we making a mistake considering this ship and hould we stick with Celebrity?

 

Unless something has recently changed, there's nothing wrong with the Legend as a ship. But having sailed both Celebrity and Carnival, among other lines as well, the product can be significantly different in multiple ways. If you are happy with Celebrity, I would stick with Celebrity.

 

Note that I'm not saying one is better than the other.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

My husband and I cruised on the Legend this past July in Alaska. I have never done Celebrity but I can tell you the ship was clean and the staff was A+. We had a great time. The onboard naturalist was fantastic. The ship is a bit gaudy in our opinion but for the value and with the right attitude it was great. I saw go for it!!!!

[riffatsea]

I have not sailed on Celebrity but would imagine that it is a higher end product than any of the Carnival ships.

If that is what you seek then you probably should stick with it as the informality of Carnival may not be what you enjoy.

We love it! We are your age and have sailed on the sister ships to the Legend. They are smaller than some of the newer classes of ships so they have few extra bells and whistles. We love the layout and have always had great service and are actually happier with that class of ship(the Spirit class) than any of the other larger ones! Everyone travels differently and so you have to stick with your own style which may be very different than ours.

[eddieg07410]

We have no strong preference when cruising as I indicated I have yet to be on a bad cruise. My question arose because of some of the terrible reviews given this ship on its Hawaii voyage. I know as a general rule people are likely to post when they are unhappy than when they are happy, so I wouldn't to find out if there were differing opinions. By and far this is the least expensive one way trip to Hawaii. But no matter how cheap it is I'd like to know that there is enough to do during the sea days, food is decent, entertanment is good, and the ship is well cared for. As I only eat a limited number of chices (mostly fish) and vegetables, food does not have to be haute cuisine. We have been on Carnival before and particularly enjoyed the Comedy shows. And in fact prefered them to the Musical stagings. Princess is now our preferred ship line, but we for the cheaper price this appears a worthy consideration.

[Nic6318]

Hi there,

 

I find it funny how every month or so we see a new thread that starts exactly the same as this one.

 

Is the Legend really that bad? You can insert any ship name Liberty, Dream, Splendor, always the same. I am almost certain that if you did a search you might find that there has been a similar thread started for every Carnival ship afloat. I am pretty sure the one I saw for the Breeze, asking if it was as run down as the reviews said, came up when the ship was only a little more than a year old. :)

 

There are thousands of people sailing on these ships every week and it would seem likely a few people each week could have a bad experience. If you get a handful bad reviews it doesn't suggest that anything has changed. It means a handful of people didn't enjoy themselves. Every cruise ship, hotel, restaurant has had some bad reviews. You have to take them for what they are. You could make a decision based on some reviews that you have read, but to me it would seem silly to me to because you are basing your decision on the word of strangers that don't know you or your tastes.

 

We are going on the Legend to Alaska in three months and I am sure that we will have a great time. I can't imagine how you could go to Hawaii and not have a wonderful experience.

 

You have to make your own decisions but I wouldn't make them based on just a few bad reviews.

 

have a great cruise

[elliair]

My husband and I cruised on the Legend this past July in Alaska. I have never done Celebrity but I can tell you the ship was clean and the staff was A+. We had a great time. The onboard naturalist was fantastic. The ship is a bit gaudy in our opinion but for the value and with the right attitude it was great. I saw go for it!!!!

 

We're cruising on the Legend to Alaska in May. Never been on the Legend so we're looking forward to seeing what she's all about. The Legend can't be any gaudier than the Pride.:eek:

[Nic6318]

Hi EddieG

 

We have done 15 day return from Long Beach to Hawaii. There were many sea days. I would say that you should be prepared to entertain yourself somewhat. Five sea days in a row is a long time, if you are expecting the entertainment staff to fill your every moment you might be disappointed.

 

We found that it was the return leg was the hardest. Going I believe the anticipation made the time pass easier, on the return leg everything was an unwinding. As much as I enjoy time at sea, the excitement was over. With you having a one way trip you should be fine.

 

have a great cruise

[erinmarie424]

I thought Legend was the prettiest of the seven Carnival ships I've been on so far, for what that's worth.

[clhayes]

14 Carnival Cruises and Legend is our favorite ship. Long and narrow. We like being able to see out both sides of the ship in one glance. The ability to get from aft to stern is easy, no up and then down stairs. The decor is beautiful. So I guess it's simply the layout and design of the ship for us. Even purchased a large wooden model of her! Hope you get the opportunity.

[jordanaire]

Hi EddieG

 

We have done 15 day return from Long Beach to Hawaii. There were many sea days. I would say that you should be prepared to entertain yourself somewhat. Five sea days in a row is a long time, if you are expecting the entertainment staff to fill your every moment you might be disappointed.

 

We found that it was the return leg was the hardest. Going I believe the anticipation made the time pass easier, on the return leg everything was an unwinding. As much as I enjoy time at sea, the excitement was over. With you having a one way trip you should be fine.

 

have a great cruise

 

I tend to disagree. I thought the 4 days at sea each way from San Diego were fantastic! We were able to meet and spend a great deal of time with our new friends that we made on our 15-day Hawaii cruise. Love every single minute on the Spirit!

[Danacat222]

It's my favorite ship so far.

[FloridaGram]

I went on the Legend in June last year and I have not one bad thing to say. Actually I liked the dining room decor better than any ship I have been on in 24 cruises!

 

If you truly do not care to compare it to Celebrity I suggest going for it. To me itinerary and price and the most important things. I would rather go more often. I have never been on Celebrity but in my mind I like them to the Marriott and Carnival to a Comfort Inn. They both have beds to sleep in and bathrooms, what more do I need? One might be more luxurious but the other meets my needs just fine!

 

We are of the same mind as you, I have never had a bad cruise. It is what you make it.

I hope you do go to Kauai, it is beautiful. We spent a week there and went over almost every mile!

[Gopherpharm]

Love the Legend. Haven't been on any of Celebrity's ships.

[skiorcruise]

We, too, love the Legend. Actually all the Spirit class ships. I was very unhappy when the Legend left Tampa. I dislike sailing from Miami, and the added airfare versus Tampa just adds to my frustration.

 

One thing I always do when researching cruises is to divide the ships size (tons of water displaced) by the number of passengers. This gives you a number indicating the relative amount of space per passenger. More space equals a ship that feels less crowded. Spirit class ships are the best of all that we have sailed on.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[april_jb]

Have done three cruises on the Legend. First one in 2012 to Western Caribbean, second to the South Pacific in 2014 and last one to Alaska in 2015. Had a blast on all three cruises. Yes the ship decor is over the top and it's showing its age a little but the crew on all three were awesome and I believe in making the most of any holiday and situation. I like to R&R on my sea days but if your the sort that has to be entertained all the time you may find that a lot of sea days may get boring. Having done a few different cruise lines now Carnival is a little more mainstream no "airs and graces" and they do call them the ships! I do love the layout of the spirit class ships easy to find your way around, love the serenity deck and size wise it's not too big as when I cruise I like to feel like I'm on a ship not a floating town.

[Laurie S.]

We love Legend! I've been on her four times now, the last time for 22 days.

[tlw440]

We have sailed on the Legend 3 times, it's one of our favorites.

[JWGrayson]

Hi EddieG

 

We have done 15 day return from Long Beach to Hawaii. There were many sea days. I would say that you should be prepared to entertain yourself somewhat. Five sea days in a row is a long time, if you are expecting the entertainment staff to fill your every moment you might be disappointed.

 

We found that it was the return leg was the hardest. Going I believe the anticipation made the time pass easier, on the return leg everything was an unwinding. As much as I enjoy time at sea, the excitement was over. With you having a one way trip you should be fine.

 

have a great cruise

 

We love the Legend! We spent 39 days on her around Northern Europe, Great Britain, Iceland and Greenland. The Legend is in one of the Miracle class ships that has a feature we love: Extended Balconies! The balconies are deeper, giving you 60 sq ft of space, compared to 35 sq ft on other ships.

 

We are booked on the cruise you are thinking about to Hawaii. The Roll Call is really slow right now, but based on the cruise last year, it should pick up around April, about 6 months out.

 

The main benefit of this cruise is that you only cruise to Hawaii; thus you have the option to spend some time there post-cruise; thus avoiding what Nic considered the hard 5 day return. By joining the Roll Call I expect that we will have stuff planned that will help the 5 sea days go faster.

 

I have the Roll Call website linked in my sig. Hope to see you on the Roll Call! John

[dulcimergirl]

The Legend is my favorite ship so far. Unless things have changed recently. I wouldn't hesitate to book her over any other ship. She's just not in my hemisphere anymore. (sigh)

[Taters]

I loved the Legend and am looking forward to being back on board this wonderful ship in 81 days. I think you should take the negative reviews with a grain of salt.

[crusinpsychRN]

I like the Legend. Spirit class is so easy to navigate.

[eddieg07410]

We love the Legend! We spent 39 days on her around Northern Europe, Great Britain, Iceland and Greenland. The Legend is in one of the Miracle class ships that has a feature we love: Extended Balconies! The balconies are deeper, giving you 60 sq ft of space, compared to 35 sq ft on other ships.

 

We are booked on the cruise you are thinking about to Hawaii. The Roll Call is really slow right now, but based on the cruise last year, it should pick up around April, about 6 months out.

 

The main benefit of this cruise is that you only cruise to Hawaii; thus you have the option to spend some time there post-cruise; thus avoiding what Nic considered the hard 5 day return. By joining the Roll Call I expect that we will have stuff planned that will help the 5 sea days go faster.

 

I have the Roll Call website linked in my sig. Hope to see you on the Roll Call! John

 

Got a nice deal on an extended cabin, so we are off. After reading most of the replies I am so much more reassured. I don't mind sea days as cruises help me catch up on my reading. So sitting by the pool and reading is just my cup of tea. Can someone tell me about the Gym and walking areas, as these are activities we also like to take part in.

[Thebosn1]

We want to take a cruise to Hawaii in September. And the most reasonably priced ship is the Caenival Legend from Vancouver. However, after reading the reviews I am a bit hesitant. Generally, we are not demanding cruisers and essentially believe there is not a bad cruise. But after reading these reviews I amy have to revise my view. We are in our 60' and went with celebrity to Hawaii a few years ago and had a marvelous time. We missed Kaui on that ship which the Legend goes to. Are we making a mistake considering this ship and hould we stick with Celebrity?

 

I sailed on LEGEND from Long Beach to Sydney and I loved the ship. The serenity area was fantastic, and the crew was one of the best I have sailed with. I know crew turns over a lot, but the ship itself was well laid out, spotlessly clean, just wonderful. Not sure what all the "problems" are that are being reported, but I would sail on her again in an instant!

[eddieg07410]

How would you rate these two features. Very important to us on Sea days.