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

[brilliantseas]

 

 

 

 

[kupton]

Thanks for your review.  Very informative and I really enjoyed following along.  Have a safe trip home.

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks for a lovely review and taking the time to do so while on YOUR vacation!  Safe travels home today, hope traffic isn't too terrible.

[HLR]

2 hours ago, brilliantseas said:

Pools are empty of passengers and the bar is closed. I guess it is time to go?

 

Oh! I am so sad now! And I embark next Sunday! LOL!

[brilliantseas]

They ask everyone to be out of your cabin by 9:00 AM so they can begin flipping the rooms for the next cruise. Breakfast is offered on Lido deck and in the restaurant until 9:30. I was an "early riser" this morning and beat most of the crowds to the buffet for an omelet and some French toast before heading outside to capture a few more pictures. It was cold and windy after spending a week in warmer climates!

 

Waiting areas are Follies Theater decks 3 and 4 (all passengers), or deck 2 for platinum and diamond. Firebird Lounge on deck 1 is used for guests requiring mobility assistance. The full length of deck 3, including the lounges, as well as all spaces on Lido Deck are available for waiting after the 9:00 check-out time for cabins. 

 

The ship was exactly on time after taking the time to rotate 180 degrees in the turning basin before coming alongside. Disembarkation began at 10:00 on the dot, beginning with platinum and diamond level self-assist from the Follies Theater on deck 2. I was seated toward the front of the theater and was off the ship and cleared immigration and customs by 10:15. 

 

Immigration and CBP at Baltimore was a joke. Two immigration officers who didn't even glance at my passport and two CBP officers who were just scanning the crowd. No screening of any kind. The good news is that the line moves quickly when there isn't any actual screening taking place. What is the point in having the presence if you aren't actually going to screen?

 

After a quick walk to the car, I was loaded up and on I-95 by 10:20. 

[brilliantseas]

Thank you to everyone who followed along this week, and to those of you setting sail this afternoon, I hope you have a wonderful trip! I know I did!

[sparks1093]

29 minutes ago, brilliantseas said:

They ask everyone to be out of your cabin by 9:00 AM so they can begin flipping the rooms for the next cruise. Breakfast is offered on Lido deck and in the restaurant until 9:30. I was an "early riser" this morning and beat most of the crowds to the buffet for an omelet and some French toast before heading outside to capture a few more pictures. It was cold and windy after spending a week in warmer climates!

 

Waiting areas are Follies Theater decks 3 and 4 (all passengers), or deck 2 for platinum and diamond. Firebird Lounge on deck 1 is used for guests requiring mobility assistance. The full length of deck 3, including the lounges, as well as all spaces on Lido Deck are available for waiting after the 9:00 check-out time for cabins. 

 

The ship was exactly on time after taking the time to rotate 180 degrees in the turning basin before coming alongside. Disembarkation began at 10:00 on the dot, beginning with platinum and diamond level self-assist from the Follies Theater on deck 2. I was seated toward the front of the theater and was off the ship and cleared immigration and customs by 10:15. 

 

Immigration and CBP at Baltimore was a joke. Two immigration officers who didn't even glance at my passport and two CBP officers who were just scanning the crowd. No screening of any kind. The good news is that the line moves quickly when there isn't any actual screening taking place. What is the point in having the presence if you aren't actually going to screen?

 

After a quick walk to the car, I was loaded up and on I-95 by 10:20. 

All of the passengers are fully vetted by CBP during the cruise, so the need for screening on departure is minimized. They do need to make sure that no one lost their documents during the cruise and if there are any questionable passengers they are likely shuttled to secondary inspection separately from everyone else.

[arizdback]

1 hour ago, brilliantseas said:

Thank you to everyone who followed along this week, and to those of you setting sail this afternoon, I hope you have a wonderful trip! I know I did!

Thanks for taking us along. How much charge did you lose sitting all week?

[brilliantseas]

I left it powered down from the settings menu all week and was pleasantly surprised - only 2% drain while I was gone. 

[HLR]

Thank you!!!!

 

What a loverly week we had following your daily activities and posts! I'm all packed and a week to go until sailing.

 

Howard

[grima625]

Thank you for sharing your great review.

[CookieShip]

Hope you had a safe trip home, thanks for letting us follow along.

[surfone]

We were also on this cruise.  For us it was our least favorite cruise.  I will do a review under the regular "review" tab on the cruise critic page.   The MDR food was the worse we've had on a CCL cruise.  The steak house was just not up to par for a pay for meal, but good service.  We were given the paper menu in the Steak House by request and the sea day brunch menu.  Used our apps at other times but saw several given paper menus when requested. The crew and staff were friendly and hardworking.  House band was good in the Red Frog pub.   Casino as usual over the top smoky but we expected.  When you combine the newer slot machines which are much bigger and give off tons of heat from the lights, etc., and the ceiling height along with the smoke it is much worse than years ago.  We were in our car leaving within 10 minutes of walking off the ship (at 10am)  Good embark and debark.

[CruisinPedsNurse]

On 12/12/2021 at 6:34 AM, sparks1093 said:

On our sailing they had crew stationed at the entrances of the Lido buffet handing out masks to anyone who was not wearing one. They look like they are wearing an apron but it is a pouch full of masks.

On Mardi Gras they were doing the same. 

[destiny217]

On 12/6/2021 at 1:05 PM, brilliantseas said:

 

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! 

We were also on this cruise and were told 80% full.  This made me a bit anxious.  In September, it was only 60% on the Pride~much better.  But, had a wonderful time.

[destiny217]

On 12/6/2021 at 1:32 PM, brilliantseas said:

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. 

 

 

Sure was a lot of trivia.  Our trivia days are over.  They really need some better daytime activities.

[destiny217]

On 12/8/2021 at 5:51 PM, brilliantseas said:

Caribbean Colada from the Red Frog Rum Bar. It is supposed to have coconut, banana, and pineapple, but I could not taste the banana and can only assume the bartender made a regular pina colada instead.

 

 

Carnival has moved on from the paper straws and is now using the Sorbos edible straws. Sadly, these are better in concept that in execution. While they hold their shape, they develop a slightly sticky or slimy outer texture and are NOT a flavor or texture you actually want to consume. The closest thing I can compare it to is chewing on dense cardboard. If you want a better straw, I recommend bringing your own. 

The straws are definitely slimy and disgusting.

[destiny217]

What a great review.  Thanks for all the details and photos.  Couldn't believe how much we missed and still had a great time.  Can't wait to sail Legend again based on your info. 

Happy Sailings!

[brilliantseas]

14 hours ago, destiny217 said:

Sure was a lot of trivia.  Our trivia days are over.  They really need some better daytime activities.

 

I would agree that some of the other daytime activities were missing, presumably because they were deemed to violate social distancing. No hairy chest competition, etc. I think the extensive number of trivia sessions also coincided with the fact that this was a December cruise out of a northern port, and the sea days to and from Baltimore aren't always conducive to outdoor/pool deck activities. 

 

They probably could have done more karaoke and other types of indoor activities in some of the lounges during the day, but I never found myself bored. 

[brilliantseas]

14 hours ago, destiny217 said:

We were also on this cruise and were told 80% full.  This made me a bit anxious.  In September, it was only 60% on the Pride~much better.  But, had a wonderful time.

 

I heard 1,800 passengers (capacity is 2,124) on this sailing, which is just shy of 85%. Aside from the comedy club, it never felt overly crowded, but it was close to "full". One of the things I enjoy about Carnival's smaller ships is that they never seem to feel exceedingly crowded. The larger ships add more amenities, but if everyone still wants a burrito at Blue Iguana at 1:30, the lines are much longer on the larger ships. 

[ISHCruising]

When we boarded we were informed the ship was oversold "beyond CDC required capacity", I'm not sure how that was remedied?  I assume some people (at least one person on the related FB group) tested positive so was unable to travel.  I wonder if carnival is now overselling with the idea that some may not meet the travel requirements?     

Regardless, we never waited more than 15 minutes for a table, and were only denied entering one show which was "full"--it definitely did not feel crowded!

 

My biggest complaint was all the black soot that covered the Serenity deck--staff did seem to be trying hard to remedy the situation.

[brilliantseas]

11 hours ago, ISHCruising said:

When we boarded we were informed the ship was oversold "beyond CDC required capacity", I'm not sure how that was remedied?  I assume some people (at least one person on the related FB group) tested positive so was unable to travel.  I wonder if carnival is now overselling with the idea that some may not meet the travel requirements?     

Regardless, we never waited more than 15 minutes for a table, and were only denied entering one show which was "full"--it definitely did not feel crowded!

 

My biggest complaint was all the black soot that covered the Serenity deck--staff did seem to be trying hard to remedy the situation.

 

 

The cabin three doors down from me appeared to have missed the cruise. The keys were outside the door all evening, and the mailbox also got the "naughty list" flyer for not doing the safety briefing. There was also a couple on our FB group that unfortunately was not able to go on the cruise due to a positive test result. 

 

It appears as if the "quarantine" cabin area was on deck 1 forward. The fire door to that starboard hallway near the entrance to the Firebird Lounge was closed with a warning sign that it was a restricted area. Hopefully this is only for crew doing their two week quarantine after boarding the ship. CDC still shows the Legend as "green" / no cases onboard. 

 

100% agree with the soot on the Serenity Deck. I'm thankful the new ships are transitioning to LNG, however I suspect they may still generate some soot from the onboard trash incinerators. 

[d-train]

Thanks so much for sharing your vacation with us all!!

 

Loved experiencing vicariously!

 

 

[RhinoMomIL]

On 12/11/2021 at 8:26 PM, brilliantseas said:

Tonight's Dinner Menu (Day 7 / Last Sea Day)

 

 

 

Carnival's signature dessert - Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. This one was just a little too "liquid" for my liking. I ate about half of it, along either the ice cream. 

Just off the Sunrise and we said the same thing about the Melting Cake. It's all chocolate sauce now and hardly any cake. I used to get it almost every night and once was enough for me this time. 

[peteandpris]

Great review, thank you.