Live / Solo from the Carnival Legend - December 5-12, 2021

[brilliantseas]

Obligatory cabin photos. Standard balcony cabin 6130. It appears as if the cabins were not refurbished during the most recent drydock. I would say they are in "average" condition for an older ship. They are not up to the standards of the new Carnival ships, but I've seen far worse on the Triumph, Victory, and a few of the Fantasy class ships. I'm still happy to call it "home" for the next 7 days. 

[brilliantseas]

4:30 PM and the sun is already beginning to set behind the Cape Wrath.

 

Cape Wrath is one of the Naval Ready Reserve Fleet roll-on, roll-off vessels that last saw active duty moving military vehicles from the East Coast to Europe ahead of the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Docked behind her is her sister ship, Cape Washington, which is also laid up in Baltimore in Ready Reserve Fleet status. 

[brilliantseas]

Tonight's dinner menu - Baltimore Embarkation Day

 

 

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Don't turn on Sentry Mode and you'll lose a lot less per day. Just returned from 10 day days away cruise and South Beach weekend and my 2018 M3LR lost only 2%, from 89% to 78%. Parked on the streets in Center City Philly and NO SENTRY MODE on!

That's 80% to 78%. Typo.

[brilliantseas]

Thrusters have started and it is time to say goodbye to Baltimore! 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

We cleared the bridge with just a few feet to spare. I have an excellent photo of the funnel directly below the bridge, but for some reason CC rotates all of my portrait photos 90 degrees clockwise and I can't find a way to correct it? Anyway, here is the ship on approach to the I-695 bridge. 

[brilliantseas]

 

Bruno Mars on the violin? It is happening right now in the Alchemy Bar. Interestingly, "Accidental String Trio" is only a duo tonight. 

[brilliantseas]

No wait for YTD tonight. I checked in on the app around 7:00 and less than five minutes later, I was assigned to table 422. Almer and Joseph are wonderful waiters and the pacing of my meal was surprisingly quick. 

 

I ordered the quesadilla and strawberry bisque as my appetizers, and the sweet and sour shrimp as my entree. 

 

The quesadilla was well prepared, although the menu is deceiving for those who have never had it before. What is described as chicken tinga includes not only well seasoned chicken, but also peppers and black beans. I enjoy it, but it may not be what others are expecting. 

 

The strawberry bisque is exactly what I remember from previous cruises - think light strawberry smoothie in a bowl. 

 

 

The sweet and sour shrimp were just a tad greasy and could have used another 30 seconds in the fryer to crisp them up. The sweet and sour sauce paired well with not only the shrimp, but the fried rice as well. 

 

Almer surprised me with a special treat - crispy wonton wrappers that served almost as "chips" as a side item with the shrimp. 

 

 

I finished off the meal with Tiramisu, which was incredible; better than I remember from previous sailings. I highly recommend it! 

 

From start to finish, dinner service took just under an hour. Almer and Joseph were very attentive, and I won't hesitate to ask for them again tomorrow evening. 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

Time for some Punchliner Comedy in th3 Firebird Lounge! Larry Omaha is the first comedian performing this cruise. 

 

 

Renier from South Africa is the comedy club manager on the Legend, but he says don't worry, he didn't fly in recently. 

[HarborHermit]

Great pictures. I can't believe I'm sitting in a hotel in Galveston waiting for my cruise tomorrow, but I'm still on Cruise Critic drooling over someone else's cruise photos. I need help! 😜

[CookieShip]

6 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

First test of the "Premium WiFi" package onboard Carnival Legend shows encouraging speeds. 30 Mbps download at 4:00 PM on embarkation day, which appears to be enough to stream the Bengals game on YouTube TV without buffering. 

 

Nice, curious to see how the speeds fare further away from shore. 

Love all the details you're giving us!

[heidikay]

15 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

I'm sad to report that they have changed Guy's Fries! 

 

What used to be a fresh-cut French fry is now a frozen, skin-on fry. The seasoning is the same, but the taste and texture is far inferior to a fresh cut fry. First and last Guy's Fries of the cruise. 

NOOOO.  I loved those fries.  This is horrible news.  But good news for my waistline. 

[heidikay]

So happy you are sharing your cruise. I board next week. Now I know I need to get Tiramisu the first night.  How full is the ship?   Also if you get to the gym would you please post the fitness class schedule?  I’m hoping they are offering spin classes.  Thank you!  

[OhioDogLover]

Just got off the last Legend cruise.  Will be interested to hear if your take is similar to ours.  We had a terrific time.

Ohiodoglover

[luvcruzing]

16 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

I have an excellent photo of the funnel directly below the bridge, but for some reason CC rotates all of my portrait photos 90 degrees clockwise and I can't find a way to correct it?

Portrait?  That’s odd.  Usually posters complain about their landscape photos being flipped.  Try flipping your phone when taking the portrait photos.

[brilliantseas]

12 hours ago, CookieShip said:

Nice, curious to see how the speeds fare further away from shore. 

Love all the details you're giving us!

 

Well I'm finally back! The ship had some internet connectivity issues beginning around 10:00 last night, but all appears to be working again now.

 

I think it is about time to head off to Sea Day Brunch. What should I order? I'm debating between the Skillet-cake and the Frittata. 

 

[brilliantseas]

13 hours ago, CookieShip said:

Nice, curious to see how the speeds fare further away from shore. 

Love all the details you're giving us!

 

I just ran another speed test for comparison. I would assume the difference from yesterday is due to an increased number of users as opposed to the distance from shore. I'm just happy it is working again so that I can share my cruise with all of you! 

[Hogladyrider]

@brilliantseas... I think the internet outage was fleet wide as other reviews I am following have made the same comments!

 

Enjoying your review......looking forward to reading more.

[sparks1093]

Can't wait to re-board in February! Following along to sail vicariously!

[brilliantseas]

4 hours ago, heidikay said:

So happy you are sharing your cruise. I board next week. Now I know I need to get Tiramisu the first night.  How full is the ship?   Also if you get to the gym would you please post the fitness class schedule?  I’m hoping they are offering spin classes.  Thank you!  

 

I'm seeing a lot of spa "sales seminars" for things like botox, acupuncture, plump your lips, etc., but no group fitness classes on this cruise. I would assume this is due to ongoing group activity restrictions.

 

Many of the pool games and the classic Carnival Quest are also not taking place on this cruise. They've replaced them with a few alternate competitions that keep people spaced out, as well as lots and lots of trivia. I've never seen more trivia sessions on a cruise than what is being offered onboard the Legend this week. Today alone, we have 5 trivia, 2 variations of "guess that song," and a hybrid 80's music trivia party, all before 4:00. 

[brilliantseas]

Brunch is served. The frittata is underwhelming. Plenty of potatoes, but I haven't found the cream cheese, and only a few tiny pieces of ham. It was served just above room temperature. 

 

 

The chia seed pudding is delightful. Exactly as I remember it from the very first week they introduced the new Sea Day Brunch menu for testing on the Horizon. Highly recommended. 

[brilliantseas]

6 hours ago, heidikay said:

So happy you are sharing your cruise. I board next week. Now I know I need to get Tiramisu the first night.  How full is the ship?   Also if you get to the gym would you please post the fitness class schedule?  I’m hoping they are offering spin classes.  Thank you!  

 

In terms of "how full is the ship?," it isn't sold out, but I would guess we are somewhere around 75-80% this week. At 1:00 PM on the first sea day, the hot tubs are full, nearly every table in the Lido buffet is occupied, and I count 19 people in the pool under the dome.  

 

MarineTraffic shows the ship just south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and the air temperature is 71 degrees. If the sun would come out from behind the clouds, it would be a truly beautiful day at sea! 

[brilliantseas]

I finished off brunch with a slice of banana cream pie. This is the first time I've had this dessert where the bananas were still frozen in the center. It was still tasty, but the texture was a bit different. 

 

 

Service was below standard at brunch today, a complete 180 from my experience last night. Both waiters assigned to my table seemed to be going through the motions. No refill on coffee, and no check-back aside from clearing my empty plate and dropping off dessert. I'm hoping this was isolated and I have a better experience tomorrow. Carnival's team as a whole is incredibly hard working and they usually do a phenomenal job, especially given their long working hours and the length of time they spend away from home. There is a reason why I've spent nearly 100 days at sea with Carnival. 

 

[brilliantseas]

Motown Music Trivia Party is hopping near the Lido stage! The whole deck is singing along. 

[brilliantseas]

And in just a matter of minutes, the weather has changed and the clouds have opened up on us. Decks 10 and 11, as well as 9 Forward, are now closed off due to high winds. 

 

 

The forward pool is now empty, but the mid-ship domed pool still has several swimmers. I think it is time to head down to the Follies Theatre for Game of Thrones Trivia at 1:45.