carnival lovers, lend me your ears!

[haras]

Hi everyone!

 

Today was the best friday I've had all year because I got the okay from work to book a spur of the moment cruise 11 days before it sets sail. I sailed carnival on a 3 day cruise with my family when I was younger (5 years ago) and didn't know about cruise critic, so I don't count that trip. Now that I'm wise to the world of cc and all the wealth of information, can you help me by giving pointers on what not to miss on carnival?

 

For instance, my last trip with NCL, I got the heads up to buy the anniversary package. It was $79 for some champagne, strawberries, canapes, discount on a photo and dinner for 2 at the specialty restaurant. I thought that was one of the best tips ever!

 

I should probably prep you by saying we're sailing on the Carnival Legend, October 11th for 8 days to the eastern carribean. I've been to the ports before but I'm excited to revisit tortola since we didn't get to spend enough time there.

 

We're booked in a BL which is guaranteed balcony. I don't mind so much where i'm on the ship as long as my tushie is on board. I'm a gamblin' girl, so the posibility of an upgrade is fun. I couldn't book one of the coveted aft balconies, since we booked so late, so any ol' balcony will do.

 

So, I have 10 days to spend 24 hours on the boards before I set sail to the carib. What should I do other than laze around all day eating good food and drinking good wine? Any martini clinics or secret spots on the Legend only people in the 'know' know?

 

Thanks so much in advance for any and all tips.

 

Sarah

[Leo Jay]

Congrats on the upcoming cruise! We just got off the Legend a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic time. My suggestions:

 

*Have your pictures taken wherever you can. You can always decide which, if any, you want to buy later. Find them in the gallery each day and try to keep them all together as the week progresses, so you can choose the best of the lot at the end.

 

*Wake up early at least once to catch the sun rising over the water. Or if you just can't bear to wake early, then try to catch a sunset. :) The public deck areas aft on Deck 4 are hardly ever used (I never once saw anyone else out there), so that can be a nice quiet place to watch the sun rise or set. We had a balcony too, but I still enjoyed going down to the deck for a more expansive view. Your mileage may vary. :)

 

*Take a ton of your own pictures. Take lots of film or memory, as appropriate.

 

*In Tortola, do the excursion to Virgin Gorda -- it's so beautiful, and exploring the 'caves' is so much fun.

 

*Make yourself scan the next day's Capers each night before you go to bed. On a few lazy days, by the time we got around to checking the Capers (around 4 pm, LOL), we were shocked -- shocked! -- to find that we had actually missed out on a few things we would have liked to do. :o :)

 

*Eat at the Golden Fleece specialty restaurant at least once. Great food, great service -- so well worth the $30pp.

 

*Avoid the balcony for the shows. The sound system is cranked up like a heavy metal concert on steroids, and I think the balcony gets the worst of it. :eek:

 

*The 24 hour pizza rules!

 

Have a blast -- don't sweat the small stuff, and get the big stuff sorted out right away.

[haras]

Thank you for your reply! I will definitely try the specialty restaurant. Anything in particular you can recommend that I *must* order?

 

One of the reasons I booked this cruise is that it's visiting tortola. Our last cruise did too, but we were so dumb and didn't get off the ship until 11 am and so we only got to spend roughly an hour and a half there since the boat ride over and back is 45 minutes each way!

 

How was the ride down to the carib? was it bumpy? I'm a little nervous so I'll have some sea sickness drugs ready. I still need to check the weather but I'm assuming since we're going to the carib, it'll be fairly warm.

 

I didn't even think to check for hurricanes! lol I spent my entire day roaming the boards and booking the flight and cruise!

 

Any *must see* shows on the Legend? It sounds like we're doing the same itinerary?

 

Thanks for the help and any other you can provide.

 

Sarah

[Leo Jay]

Thank you for your reply! I will definitely try the specialty restaurant. Anything in particular you can recommend that I *must* order?

 

We went twice -- I had the veal chop and the filet mignon, which were both delicious; GF had the free range chicken and filet of sole, which were (apparently) both delicious. I haven't heard anything bad about anything there.

 

The service was terrific too -- the hostesses and wait staff were all so sweet. We got up to dance at one point, and when we returned to our table (having our chairs pulled out for us), one of the servers proudly announced that she'd used my camera (which I'd left on the table) and taken a couple of pictures of us dancing. Adorable. Ok, so the pictures didn't turn out so well, but still, how sweet was that? :)

 

As for the main dining room, one hearty endorsement I can give is the duck, the duck, the duck. Fab. You. Luz. I should have ordered a second serving. I'm already thinking about that our next cruise in August '07! :) I'm pretty sure that was the first Formal Night, but I'm not absolutely sure.

 

One of the reasons I booked this cruise is that it's visiting tortola. Our last cruise did too, but we were so dumb and didn't get off the ship until 11 am and so we only got to spend roughly an hour and a half there since the boat ride over and back is 45 minutes each way!

 

You must have had a much longer stay in port then, if you didn't disembark until 11 and still had 90 minutes there. Our Carnival excursion started about 8:30, and we only had about 2 hours at VG. Based on the date/time stamp on my pictures, the group convened about 8:30 and took a short bus ride to the ferry. After a delay of 10-15 minutes or so due to mechanical problems with the ferry, we set sail at about 9:00, got to VG about 9:40, and after a short bus ride to the top of the baths, and a brief um... briefing, we walked the trail down to the baths, and were on the beach a little after 10:00. We had to be back on the bus at noon, so it was not a lot of time, but better than nothing. On our next trip, we plan to pretty much blow off the beach and snorkeling completely and spend the two hours just exploring the caves.

 

Many people have full confidence in the private tours and I've heard great things about the Patouche outfit in particular, but... I recommend the ship's excursion, because on the off-off-chance the ferry breaks down, or what have you, with only 5 hours in port you don't have much leeway to make up lost time, and watching the ship sail away as I sprint down to the dock is about the worst possible nightmare for me. :D

 

How was the ride down to the carib? was it bumpy? I'm a little nervous so I'll have some sea sickness drugs ready. I still need to check the weather but I'm assuming since we're going to the carib, it'll be fairly warm.

 

I didn't even think to check for hurricanes! lol I spent my entire day roaming the boards and booking the flight and cruise!

 

Apparently, we had legendary rough waters the first night. I slept through the whole thing, but apparently there were 20 foot waves, the ship was being tossed to and fro, passengers were scared out of their minds, the whole bit. We were sailing away from Ernesto, and the captain decided to charge ahead full blast rather than alter the itinerary. There's been a bit of controversy about whether it would have been appropriate for him to make an announcement to reassure the passengers that he had everything under control. On the one hand, some people were really freaked; on the other hand, others like me were dead asleep and oblivious, and only would have become freaked if awakened at 2 AM to hear "uh... don't worry -- I've got it under control". Anyway, once we survived that first rocky night, the weather and waters were perfection.

 

 

Any *must see* shows on the Legend? It sounds like we're doing the same itinerary?

 

 

We missed a bunch of shows -- there was actually some confusion and some screwups about the scheduling. Because of the rocky first night, they couldn't have the dancers go on, so they postponed the "Jazz Hot" show until later in the week -- we never caught it. Then another day, the Capers announced the auditions for the Talent Show, which was supposed to be that same night, but we never went, and then we saw the talent show listed again later in the week, so I'm not sure which night it actually went on. :confused: We had actually hoped to perform, but saw the audition notice too late.

 

Anyway, what we did see was A "Singing With The Big Band" show featuring Trent Webb, which was quite good, followed by an 'old-school' female magician/comedian who was deliberately corny, but very funny and entertaining, and actually quite a good magician. Another night we saw a big production show called "Take II". The singers and dancers were quite good (except the lead, who I found annoying), but the concept (I thought) was just stupid, and the music was SO DARN LOUD! Overall, just okay.

 

We missed the other comedy and music shows, but I've heard good things. Caught some good live jazz, though, in one of the lounge areas. Great classical trio, also.

 

Thanks for the help and any other you can provide.

 

No prob.

[nybumpkin]

We opted for the "Virgin Islands Sailaway" excursion through Carnival in Tortola. It's a sail on a catamaran across the Francis Drake Channel to Norman Island for snorkeling and takes about 4 hours. (We ended up taking 5 hours, because one of the props on the catamaran became fouled with a line on our way back, so they were running on only one engine.) The snorkeling was great - they first take you to a cove in about 15' of water, then around to a beach for snorkeling from the beach. The catamaran ride itself is well worth the price.

 

As for "secret" spots - our favorite places on the ship were the outside promenade on deck 2 and the seating area by the Legends Cafe (coffee) on deck 2. We liked getting coffee there and playing cards in the morning - you can get decks of cards from the Purser's Desk.

 

I have pictures from our Legend cruise posted at http://community.webshots.com/user/nybumpkin.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Leo Jay]

 

As for "secret" spots - our favorite places on the ship were the outside promenade on deck 2 and the seating area by the Legends Cafe (coffee) on deck 2. We liked getting coffee there and playing cards in the morning - you can get decks of cards from the Purser's Desk.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check that out on Miracle.

 

 

I have pictures from our Legend cruise posted at http://community.webshots.com/user/nybumpkin.

 

 

Nice pics. So you were at Magen's Bay and Coral World? How close is Magen's to CW?

[haras]

 

I have pictures from our Legend cruise posted at http://community.webshots.com/user/nybumpkin.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks for the pictures, nybumpkin! When I have kids, I'm gonna make them wear little tuxes too! So adorable!

[haras]

Last march, we traveled on the NCL Sun from Miami to the E. Carib. Maybe b/c it was closer so we had more time, but we arrive around 7 am and the ship didn't leave until 5 or 6 pm. The Legend is only there until 2 pm. We bought the tickets for the boat ride from the office down the road, and the fare included the shuttle up to the virgin gorda place. Then we just paid 2 bucks for entry.

 

You're making me drool with all this talk of food! ;)

[Leo Jay]

Last march, we traveled on the NCL Sun from Miami to the E. Carib. Maybe b/c it was closer so we had more time, but we arrive around 7 am and the ship didn't leave until 5 or 6 pm. The Legend is only there until 2 pm. We bought the tickets for the boat ride from the office down the road, and the fare included the shuttle up to the virgin gorda place. Then we just paid 2 bucks for entry.

 

You're making me drool with all this talk of food! ;)

 

7am - 6pm in Tortola? Aww, you're making me so jealous. Didn't know any of the ships/cruiselines did full days there...

[MrPete]

I'm sitting here jealous reading someone booking and sailing so quickly, especially on this cool NE morning!

[GoinCruisin]

You can order the Anniversary package and any number of gifts on Carnivals website (look under gifts)...

 

the supper club is FANTASTIC and well worth the $30... the surf and turf is delish!! I would do the spinach salad next time... the crab cakes and lobster bisque are YUMMY!!!!!!!!! Very nice experience..

[nybumpkin]

Nice pics. So you were at Magen's Bay and Coral World? How close is Magen's to CW?

Just pictures of Magen's Bay - didn't make it to the beach itself. We took Godfrey's tour, and the pics of Magen's Bay were taken during our drive to the Mountaintop. If I had to guess (and that's all it would be - a guess), I'd say it's probably about a 1/2 hour-45 minute ride from Magen's to Coral World.

[Leo Jay]

Just pictures of Magen's Bay - didn't make it to the beach itself. We took Godfrey's tour, and the pics of Magen's Bay were taken during our drive to the Mountaintop. If I had to guess (and that's all it would be - a guess), I'd say it's probably about a 1/2 hour-45 minute ride from Magen's to Coral World.

 

Ah, thanks. Coral World was down just a little ways from where we were on Coki Beach, but we were having so much fun snorkeling and relaxing, we never actually made it down there. :o

 

 

You're making me drool with all this talk of food! ;)

 

Talk is cheap.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=7737023&postcount=16

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=7812905&postcount=17