Review: Legend of Seas - 3/11/06 - CAYMANS and COSTA MAYA

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 3 – GRAND CAYMAN: Grand Cayman is always one of my favorite western Caribbean ports. Its Americanized and laid back, which I love. We got in around 9:00 AM, and we got in tender ticket group 4, so we didn’t get off ship til’ around 10:00. The power on ship went out for 2 minutes while we were waiting for our number to be called. That was pretty scary when the whole ship went black. Never figured out why that happened, but nobody ever talked about it again, so I guess it was nothing. The tender ride over was smooth and we then took a cab over to Sea Grape beach for some relaxation. The weather was pretty overcast today, so it was kinda dreary on the beach, and water was a bit chilly. We only stayed about an hour. Sea Grape Beach was recommended to me by fellow Cruise Critics, and I was not too impressed with it, but I would go back if I didn’t book an excursion. It was a lot smaller than I thought, and the staff wasn’t as friendly as I thought they would be from past reviews, but all in all, its quiet and served its purpose. There are plenty of water toys, jet skis, banana boat rides, etc. if so desired. We didn’t do any of those this time around. After our hour at Sea Grape, we went over to Senor Frogs since it’s a new location and we wanted to check it out in GC. Horrible service at this location, and they screwed both of our orders up 2 times. Also, I asked for a Dirty Banana frozen drink, which they have at the Cozumel location, but they looked at me funny and told me they don’t know what that is. So, I ordered a plain Banana Daiquiri, which is pretty similar to the Dirty Banana. Now the crazy part. The yard drink ended up being $24 US DOLLARS!!! I am sorry but that is pretty darn steep. Their menu is also in Cayman Dollars, so remember that when ordering. Drink prices are not listed, so make sure you ask before you order, or you will be getting ripped off like I did. I mean COME ON, $24 for a Daiquiri is absurd. Its $12 for a daiquiri yard any other bar in any other island. It was simple drink, and I really felt jipped when I left. It was more than our two meals combined. Anyway, just check drink prices before ordering. The atmosphere was pretty crazy as always, so that didn’t disappoint. Many college kids from our ship and from a Celebrity ship there. The drink costed us so much, we ended up only having enough left for a few gifts at Del Sol, and we got those and tendered back to the ship. Smooth ride back and no line. After dinner, we did the Crowne and Anchor party, which was very crowded, and I enjoyed meeting the crew. They served free drinks as well J Then, we went to watch the comedy act of Troy Thirdgill. SUCH a funny act, and I will post review later on. After this we watched the Love and Marriage game, and all 3 couples were great. Lots of laughs as always, and the honeymoon couple won. Ah, then comes the “Dancing Under the Stars” Mexican themed party. Sigh. Yet another pool deck party that disappointed. No room to dance, just like the sail away party, and they did the same dances!!!!!! Ugh! This time, about 100 people were dancing, and all falling on one another because there was just no room. There were some neat things about this party though. The food display was really laid out nice and it was Mexican themed. Tacos, fajitas, desserts, and, if you like that sorta thing, a whole pig roast. The staff were decked out in Mexican attire and the fruit carvings and displays were very nice, and I took lots of pics of them. Food was hot and yummy. I also loved the fact they were serving any flavor daiquiri you wanted in freshly carved pineapples! This was soooo cool and I felt like I was in Hawaii with one in my hand. They costed $6.95, but worth it for one time. The party went on for awhile, and we headed in early because we had a long excursion planned in Costa Maya that next morning and I was very much looking forward to it.

DAY 4 – COSTA MAYA (SEADAY): Well, I woke up nice and early, excited about my Boat Blast Adventure excursion planned for Costa Maya. This was the only ship excursion we planned, and the excitement built up to it was intense. But then it happened. We began facing huge swells once at dock to drop anchor and the ship actually bumped the dock and damaged a ?fender? on the dock. The captain kept us very informed of why ship was swaying so bad back and forth. It got pretty bad and I was having trouble walking down hall. The weather outside was clear as day, but the seas right by dock were just very rough. Smooth more you got into ocean though. The conditions got worse instead of better near dock, so we headed back into sea for a seaday instead of stopping in Costa Maya. Captain’s discretion. BUMMER! The Carnival ship that arrived before us pulled in safely to port, but they must use thrusters or didn’t encounter our swells so they got the Costa Maya port all to themselves that day. We just lounged out in our Aft Spa loungers or at pool all day today. Nothing special. They had a very talented young juggler aboard, Mike Price, and he did a great act for the headliner show tonight. We then went and got a casual photo taken after show. The photographer was really rude in my opinion. She was very demanding, put us in very unnatural poses, and we looked more like brother and sister in pictures than married. We didn’t buy any of the silly pictures that night. I did see some really cute ones of kids on the photo board, and hopefully parents got a chance to purchase those. Next we went to the 70s Disco Inferno party. This was a lot of fun. They had Village People imitators, cruise director dressed as Austin Powers (dead on impression) as well as a tribute to ABBA with the production dancers and singers. Emerald City band played lots of 70s songs, and they were very good house band. Many attended and lots got up to dance. The crowd seemed to be loosening up by this night. Ready to have fun! We went to Viking Crowne disco afterwards to have a few more drinks and then went to bed.

[heartofamerica]

I know I'll take some heat for this, but IMHO, you didn't miss much by missing Costa Maya.