Legend Christmas Revu - VERY LONG

[MMW37]

Carnival Legend Review 12/18-12/26 2006

A little about us, first: It was only DH and I on the cruise, he's 37 and I am 27. We've been married a year and a half and have no kids yet. We love to eat and we definitely drink, and we aren't so into onboard activities. We'll lay by the pool all day and spend the evening at the cigar or piano bars. We live in Tampa and drove to Fort Lauderdale. We spent the night before the cruise at the La Quinta in Hollywood, which included parking for the duration of our cruise. and shuttle to the ship. I reviewed our hotels at both ends in the East Coast Departure forum, as well as going into much more detail about our excursions in the Ports of Call forums. I'm sure this review will be long enough anyways. If anyone needs more details, please look there or let me know, I have them saved and can PM you if you'd like.

 

EMBARKATION

We arrived at the pier around 12:15, and had free champagne in our hands by 12:45 at the latest. Absolutely painless, probably because we were early. There was actually a line for the VIP check-in but not for us regular folks. We had our funpass already filled out online, and even without passports there was no hassle with anything. I brought my marriage certificate but was not asked for it. And yes, I did say free champagne. It was available all over the ship from embarkation until the muster drill. We had um...several...each. Took a brief nap in the middle, and were as clearheaded as you need to be for the muster drill. Anyone who is interested - we checked a case of wine, clearly marked as such, and no one mentioned it. It appeared at our cabin with all bottles present and intact. We also brought a 12 pack of water and refilled the bottles from the boat's taps. We chose not to smuggle hard liquor.

 

MUSTER

No one enjoys this. It's required by law. Can you just go, and not whine loudly the whole time? You don't have to go on time, but we thought waiting 20 minutes in our cabin was enough. Nope, still tons more latecomers after us. One particular woman (thankfully we only saw her a few more times on the ship, always whining about something) was the last one there, wouldn't stop talking, and moaned to her child about how they could dare inconvenience her by making her attend. Just get it over with, sheesh! Some people...

 

 

BOAT LAYOUT

My only previous Carnival cruise was the Conquest on our honeymoon. The Legend is noticeably smaller but still features the same general amenities. More of the bars are wide open and connected to the promenades, so if you hate smokers beware, you will be forced to walk through their (our) areas occasionally. On the Conquest most bars were all enclosed. We noticed the urns, but don't really understand why they'd bother anyone. Everything looked clean to us at least, but we weren't really looking for problems.

 

ROOM

We booked a balcony guarantee, and were assigned to 7246. I think it's technically "obstructed" because if we looked down we saw a lifeboat, but it was two floors below us and we only saw it if we stood up and leaned over. We like to have some wine on the balcony in the evenings, and I read out there sometimes during the day. We think it's worth it, but it depends on how you like to spend your time. The room was as large as you can expect on a ship, with a king size bed (MUCH more comfortable that last year - the new bedding rocks!) a couch, a table, and adequate drawer/closet space. One thing, I brought clothespins for the shower curtain, and ordinary ones don't fit over the ledge at the bottom of the shower. You must need heavy duty or something.

 

 

FOOD

We ate all our breakfasts and lunches on Lido. We kept meaning to make it downstairs, but just didn't. We're on vacation, so who cares. The breakfasts were the same every day, but they were decent. The deli was very good. I don't like corned beef, but they have an arugula, roasted pepper, and mozzarella panini with a pesto sauce that I really liked. DH got the corned beef or reuben several times. Salad bar was always available and fresh. I had the pizza once, it was good but not overly impressive. I feel that for a buffet, the quality, variety, and freshness available on Lido is definitely above average.

 

We had 5 of 8 dinners in Truffles. Our waiters, Zsolt and Pindile, were much better than those we had on the Conquest. I have worked fine dining, and while casual service doesn't bother me blatantly incorrect "fine dining" service does. Our servers this time were great and did everything that they were supposed to. They were friendly without being overbearing and timed our dinners well. We brought wine 3/5 nights, and were charged corkage twice. We also bought a bottle one night and cocktails the other, so we had a pretty good dining room bar tab, altogether. The food was better than last time, although still not standout. I am very picky about food and service, having worked in New Orleans restaurants for my whole adult life up until Katrina. Take my opinions with a grain of salt. I had the lamb chops (above average), duck (average) plus lobster tail (not rubbery this time, good), chateaubriand (ordered med rare, served at or above medium, but at least tender), mahi mahi (very good), scallops w/saffron risotto (wasn't risotto, scallops way overcooked) which I sent back for what my husband had - the chilean sea bass, which was amazing. So their fish dishes were my favorites. Note to self for next time...last time I tried to order meat every night, hoping it would get better, and it never did. The food is seasoned to please 2100 people as well, so I knew going in that it wouldn't be as spicy as I like. The food was much better than on the Conquest, and it probably helped that my expectations were a bit lower. It was definitely above average on the whole, especially for mass market cuisine.

 

We ate at the Golden Fleece twice. It's $30 a head and worth twice that. The food is fantastic. Prime beef, aged, and cooked perfectly to temperature. I got the filet one night and the surf and turf the other. Beef carpaccio is one of my favorite foods, and it's slightly hard to find so had that both nights. The caesar is good and prepared tableside. Our service was a little flawed, however. The first night up there, our head server got a large table around when we were finishing. We eventually received dessert menus, but held them for 20 plus minutes while she dealt with them. Don't know where the backwaiter was... The whole meal felt slower paced than even the 2.5 hours we had expected. We wound up asking for our check from the bartender. We felt bad, they felt bad, but it was after 10:30, our dinner started at 8, and we had to meet our tour the next morning at 8am. We figured if it took a half hour to order dessert, we really couldn't wait for it to be rung in, then delivered, then coffee, etc. It was odd. There was always someone there to refold your napkin if you use the restroom, but not to take a dessert order. It seemed like they focused a little too much on those aspects and a little too little on actual customer service. We had a different server the next time and everything was on point. The food was fantastic both nights though, and I stil highly recommend the place.

 

 

One night I got the buffet for dinner, DH was feeling the boat rocking a bit much and we had a two-top so I didn't want to go eat by myself. The buffet was a bit sparse, so I just got salad, fruit, and another of that pepper/mozz sandwich. We also ordered a lot of room service. Occasionally they warned us of a 45 minute wait (like immediately after reboarding from a port) and they were right, but otherwise it was very prompt. We both love the BLTs that they have, plus the veg plate and I just love Carnival's caesar dressing. I get the caesars everywhere. Always tipped a few bucks upon delivery.

 

ACTIVITIES/NIGHTLIFE

We only attended one show, the first adult comedy show. The guy just wasn't funny. We and the couple we were with gave him about 20 minutes until we walked out. That kind of soured us on the other comics, and we didn't give them a chance. It's alright, because we walked out and found Garth in the piano bar. We spent several later evenings with him. He encouraged us to sing-along, and frequently asked for requests. He played some Christmas carols one night too. We didn't go to the revues or the talent shows or the disco. We'd just rather listen to piano or sit in the cigar bar all evening. Dragana, the bartender the majority of the week at the cigar bar, created several regular customers with her great personality and smile. We got to know most of the regulars and hung out with the same people on many days. If we were neither of those places, we may again be on our balcony, sipping some more wine and eating room service.

 

SEA DAYS

We mostly prefer to lay out by the pool and read all day. The first sea day, unfortunately, was a little chilly - at least for Southerners like me - so I braved it for a couple hours while DH hit the casino. We did a couple activities - the wine tasting, blackjack tournament, and game show - but mostly just read until at least 3-4 pm. Then we might go meet our new friends down in the Cigar Bar or go have some wine on our balcony, or even take a bit of a nap before dinner. We figured out why they get Denver TV stations - so when it's 90 out and you just left Panama, you can watch the blizzarding going on where you are not going to be for Christmas. If anyone is curious, they also had Hanukkah activities on board. I actually noticed them more than I did carolers. One thing - my husband has cruised with me once before, and was not seasick, but on this trip he didn't feel well a couple of nights. We should have brought more medication, etc., for that purpose, but we didn't know he'd need it. This is a smaller boat with a long way to travel, and even though I never felt ill I noticed the movement more than on my previous cruises. He never vomited or anything, just general queasiness and malaise that I wish he could have avoided. Even if you didn't need it before, bring something along and go ahead and take it, is my advice.

 

PORTS

Colon:

We did Two Oceans by Railroad thru Carnival. It was a very good, interesting, informational tour, but it was expensive. I think that a boat going thru the locks is a must-see, but get there on whatever type of tour fits your lifestyle and price range

 

Limon:

Booked a private tour with Charlie Soto. We ziplined and toured the Tortugeuero Canal and a banana plantation. It was a long, busy day that took up the entire time that we were in port. We got slightly nervous about making the boat at the end, but Carlos (our guide) knew what he was doing and we had 10-15 minutes to spare. I think private tours are the way to go - you can see so much more for so much less, and they really do care if you make it back on time.

 

Belize:

We booked cave tubing through belizecavetubing dot com, with Major Tom of ***** Adventures. This is the best excursion I have ever taken. Our guide, Carlos (again) absolutely made the trip for us. Please ask me about this trip, or go read about it on the Belize board. Our next vacation is going to be a week in Belize, I'm already pricing tickets. We were back in plenty of time to do a bit of shopping and catch one of the later tenders (you can see the line from the shopping area). Only complaint is directed at Carnival: we were told by Tom to be on the first tender, but Carnival would not let us on. We arrived at the lobby when we were told to and were the first number called, but they wouldn't let us on the boat. We almost missed our tour, and there was a group behind us that did. They give priority to their own tours, so make sure you run to the tender area and don't stop for water, bathroom, etc. We didn't know we had to be rude to get on the first boat, but apparently you do.

 

 

 

Any questions? (if you made it through the whole thing) Please ask away!

[MMW37]

To add - dinner attire. In Truffles, the majority of diners on non-formal nights wore jeans and maybe a halfway decent shirt. Not what they wore on deck all day, but almost no one dressed up. We sat right next to the maitre'd stand, and no one was turned away. Not the guy in shorts and flip flops at the table next to us, nor the guy in the backwards baseball cap 2 tables over. We started to feel stupid for packing skirts and khakis. I felt like I'd dressed up to go to Cracker Barrel, seriously. I don't get "offended," but after reading so many threads on this topic, I couldn't help but notice. Formal night ran the gamut, from tuxes and dark suits and cocktail dresses to cotton skirts and khakis and a polo, but at least people wore the most formal clothes they had with them. I just wish they'd be clear on this, b/c I wouldn't mind bringing less luggage...or more than one pair of jeans...just either have a dress code to some minimum standard or do away with it entirely, I guess. Getting off my soapbox now.

[Cruising89143]

Nice review. I took the Legend back in 02 on the eight night southern itinerary. The Spirit class ships are my favorite ships in the Carnival fleet.

[Caliber1]

Thanks for the great review, we are going in a few days now. How cold was the water in Belize when you went cave tubing?

[crusingirl01]

Thanks for the great review! We will be on the Legend on 7/1/2007! One question, my husband can eat his weight at the Hamburger/french fry station on the Lido deck. Did you see a place to get Hamburgers on the Legend? We have cruised on the Conquest and Elation and they both had it. He loved to eat a hamburger when we got back on the ship from a port and I must say they did have the best french fries with mayo! Again, thanks for the review!:D

[MMW37]

They did have a grill/hamburger stand, tho we never ate there. I heard someone say they even had veggie burgers that were good. The water in Belize was not warm, especially if you're from a place that doesn't have winter, but it's not uncomfortable either. You walk 45 minutes from the base up to where you get in, and the walk is hot and sweaty and through the rainforest, so you're looking forward to it. The cold shocks you at first, but you get used to it in a minute. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

[crusingirl01]

We went cave tubing in July and the water was cold at first. But after that long walk you were glad you could cool off.

[EggDropErin]

Thanks for the detailed review! Sounds like it would have been a good time. :)

[Caliber1]

They did have a grill/hamburger stand, tho we never ate there. I heard someone say they even had veggie burgers that were good. The water in Belize was not warm, especially if you're from a place that doesn't have winter, but it's not uncomfortable either. You walk 45 minutes from the base up to where you get in, and the walk is hot and sweaty and through the rainforest, so you're looking forward to it. The cold shocks you at first, but you get used to it in a minute. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

 

Thanks MMW, we are an hour and a half east of you. Won't get in the pool if it's below 80 LOL.:rolleyes: Glad you had a great time.

[mumofsons]

Is formal night on a night when you have been in port?

[Knights on the Beach]

We did the Southern itinerary the week before the Christmas cruise -- still working on my review and it's getting very long! Formal nights were on sea days. The hamburgers and fries were great on the Legend and I wish I had one of the calzones right now -- YUM!

[Hogladyrider]

Really enjoyed reading your review. Like you we enjoy the heck out of our balconies.......coffee in the morning, naps, reading, just chilling out.

 

Unfortunately the Elation only has balconies in the suites, which are really just overpriced balcony rooms on those smaller ships so we are cruising with just ocean view in a few weeks but its better than no cruise in our books.

 

I love hearing about your port stops, and wondering why you chose to cruise out of Ft Lauderdale rather than right here in either Tampa or Port Canaveral was it the specific route of this ship?

 

Panama Canal cruise is on my list of things to do and we will be stopping in Belize on our Sept cruise so enjoyed all your feedback.

 

I agree with your opinion on the tours, I had hear the same comments from previous cruisers and read the same thing on these boards about Carnival only allowing their own tour groups to tender first. Kind of sad, but I can see both sides of the coin. Maybe they shouldn't mark up their tours so much and more people might sign up! I find it exciting exploring on our own and trying different things.........oh well.

 

Would love to see some of your photos from your cruise if you have any you can share..........Happy New Year........Susan

[MMW37]

Formal nights were both on sea days, on both the Legend and the Conquest last year. I'm sure that's on purpose.

 

We (I, DH just said whatever you decide, honey) did pick this itinerary for the ports. We wanted to go out of Florida, but where in Florida didn't matter. As long as we don't have to pay for plane fare it's fine. I wanted to go to 3 ports in countries I hadn't been to before - not going to Ocho Rios, when I've already been to Montego Bay, before I get my first chance to go to Costa Rica.

 

Tendering is a pain in the you know what, and I don't like how it's organized/prioritized, but at least Carnival is building a deep water port by Belize City that should open in about 18 mo., from what we heard.

[Sisters of the Sea]

Great review! I'll be cruising the Legend next month. It'll be my second time aboard this ship, but still like to read about new experiences.

 

How long was your drive from Tampa to the port?

 

Thanks!

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great review, thanks for sharing :)