RE: Review of the Legend

[doolange]

Just returned from my cruise on the Legend out of NYC. Here is my review.

 

Travelled with husband (37) myself (35) and 3 children boy age 12, girl age 11 and boy age 8.

We also had about 60 family and friends that came along. We leftTuesday and went very very slow to avoid Alex. Wed. the sea was very rough. !2 foot swells. Lots of vomit. We used our sea bands, ginger and Motion Eaze and every one of us were fine. Rest of the trip the weather was a perfect 10.

 

Arrived at the pier about 11:30a.m. and waited in very long lines. Did not get on the boat until 1:45. Got on the boat and went up the the Unicorn Cafe to get lunch. We had our luggage by the time we finished lunch.

Cabin - Spacious and clean. As a matter of fact, my 8 yr. old was booked in a cabin with mother-in-law and stayed with us the whole time without a problem. Ample storage space and we fit three in the king bed. Balcony was a nice added feature because if someone was sleeping you could go on the balcony and relax. We were on the 8th floor which was very convenient to the pools and such. I would recommend the 7th floor next time because 6a.m. every morning you hear the chairs being dragged. Also, on the pool party night, the noise was very loud and was hard to sleep.

Food - Average at best. I don't consider myself or children too picky but, the buffet breakfast was boring everyday - they never changed the menu. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, cereal, pancake or french toast, cold bagel or cold toast and few danishes. Lunch same story. Hamburgers, hot dogs, few deli sandwiches, not much variety. We survived but the food was so-so. The buffet lines were always very very long. A real pain that anytime you wanted to eat, you had to wait in a long line.

Dining Room - Food was better, service was good - depending on who you had. Since we were a group, we sort of knew a few of the waiters. My kids sat with their friends at one table with a waiter who went above and beyond. He would cut their food, etc. Our waiter gave quite the attitude when you ordered a second dinner or put him out of his way too much. Was not pleased with his fake smile and attitude. Dress code was clearly stated in all brochures. I even asked on this board about pants. Well, after the 3rd night I stopped getting my children decked out because it was obvious nobody was paying attention to the dress code. I strongly feel if you are going to make a rule, you need to enforce it!!! If Carnival wants to say no shorts in the dining room, they need to stop those that do.

Entertainment - Very good. Had a great time at all the shows. The complaint I have is with the kids program. 6-8 is excelllent. My 8 year old loved Camp Carnival. The 9-11 program is not enticing to the kids at all. This needs to be worked on. Could not get my 11 year old to go after the 2nd day. My 12 year old, however, loved the arcade and the teen disco. Hardly ever saw him the entire trip. He made a ton of new friends and really enjoyed the teen program. My 11 year old could not join her brother though because of her age and that was a bit of a nuisance. They need to do better with that 9-11 program. As a whole, I would have to complain that considering you are at sea for 2 days each way, they should be doing more than they do. Very little to do during the day. Not that we didn't have a blast, because we had a ton of fun. Just think they could do more on the entertaining department.

Ports - San Juan was a waste of time. Hated it. Tortolla and St. Thomas are beautiful islands and had a blast going to the different beaches.

 

One major problem with this ship was that the floors by the pool were like an ice skating rink. I myself saw about 15 people take a spill. One lady broke her ankle, one fell with her baby in her arms, tons and tons of kids slipped daily. It was uncalled for. If you are going on this ship, wear rubber soled shoes around the pool deck. Do not go barefoot. One lady slipped coming down the stairs of the hot tub. She went face first onto the deck. She ended up getting stitches on her face. Someone said she was dizzy that is why she fell. I saw her fall -- I thought for sure we were going to divert to Bermuda too! Thank God she was o.k. Another problem, which I complained to the front desk about, was the saving of deck chairs. If you get to the deck after 7:30, forget about a chair. I started getting wise to this so I started to save earlier. However, one day I sat at 10 a.m. and decided to watch how long the surrounding people were gone from their chairs. Now, I kid you not, one chair with a book on it, the person never came. That's right, the whole day from 10-4 2 chairs where nobody ever came. The other 2 I watched did not come until about 2 and then took their towels and left?!!

I feel they need to enforce the "no saving chairs" policy they do have.

 

All in all, the ship was o.k. Like people say on this board, a bad day at sea is always better than a bad day at work. I love cruising and had a great time. I just would not recommend this ship. Carnival has a lot of improving to do in a lot of areas!!

[IKE]

Thank you for you detailed review. I can undersatand why you wouldn't recommend this ship. I have sailed on Carnival 8 times- all new ships and some were better then others. Last Sept. sailed on the Glory and nothing was enforced. When this happens, You wonder why they set rules and not enforce them.I would not recommend the "Glory". I am sailing myself on the Legend end of Sept. first time out of NYC and I am a bit nervous because it is hurricane season and Atlantic is always rougher than the Caribbean. We always sail out of Fla. So hoping all will be OK. with our cruise. Sorry your cruise was a disappointment but you did have some nice memories too. I love Cruisng like you. So hopefully your next Cruise will be great!!!! Ike

[stokerhj]

Thank you for your review. I checked, and it looks like I'll have to wait until Nov. to read any new reviews of the sailings out of Ft. Lauderdale. I have a feeling some of those might be more positive. At this point, I'm glad that I don't usually hang out near the pool area when cruising. Were there places on the ship, maybe in the back where there were chairs free or it was less crowded? As long as I've got a breeze or a view of the ocean I should be happy.

[jocountry]

Thanks for your review. My sister and I will be on this cruise Sept 28, 04. It is our first Carnival experience...soooooooooo..............I am hoping it will be a positive one. We usually cruise with Royal Caribbean and always love every little part of it.

I guess my biggest concern is the weather, considering it is hurricane season...I will be sure to get the wrist bands etc. Just how rough did it feel. was there serious rocking?

Did they have crafts and wine tasting and bingo etc on the days at sea?

thanks for your info.

Joanne :)

[doolange]

There was a lot of rocking. I had trouble walking straight. My husband did not wear the wrist bands or use the ginger and he did not feel well. They really help! Make sure you buy ginger from the health food store.

 

Yes, bingo was going on during the day and a recall one craft day. Wine tasting I don't recall. A cruise is always a lot of fun, no matter what. Don't get discouraged by my negative comments.....you always have a blast on a cruise!

[Laurab23]

I agree with the floors being very slippery. I took a tumble walking along by the pool.However I found the lunch buffets to be delicious and varied every day. There was always something different. I loved the Chinese buffet. Breakfast was kinda boring until I discovered the omelet station the 3rd day,then I had an omelet every day with differendt fillings each day. Make sure you tell them you like it well cooked.

[SLINKY-YJ]

thanks for the review, sorry you had a not so pleasent experience ill be on the legend October 6 and was wondering do they have a chinese restraunt on board? and why do you say san juan is a waist what was bad about it? (people, excursion,etc....)? tia

[barbpol]

I was on the Legend in June and I was prepared to wake up very early to get a chair by the pool because it was a nightmare when we were on the Conquest last year. The first morning my dd and I were up at 7am to get chair, well we could've had our pick. There really wasn't any need to get up so early. From that day on we had chairs up one deck looking down on the pool area and we loved it. Went to the same spot every day.

 

I agree with you on the slippery pool deck. My bil wrote a letter to Carnival about that.

 

My dd always complained that breakfast was boring, but what else could you have? I thought lunch was great. Each day there was a different nation's food on the buffet plus the regular burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc.

 

Barb

[hstrybuf]

Glad to hear that the seas didn't give you a bad time. We sailed the Legend in April on it's other itinerary and really enjoyed the ship and the ports. My DH slipped while trying to get french fries and they wanted to haul him off to the infirmary. Luckily, just a scrape, no doctor needed, but I didn't get my fries! ;)

[cuevogirl]

I have never sailed on the Legend but, on The Pride they will have a differen't selection of food everyday ...Italian,Chinese,American etc...I actually remember the Chinese selection to be on more than one day :)and very good:)

[jerseygirl3]

We were on the Legend last year and I agree with you about the flooring by the pool (I'm referring to the aft pool). It's marble or something very slippery. I took a spill last year because it was wet and I went sliding across it and fell. You'd think after so many people have fallen, they'd do something about it.

[prose]

We sailed the Legend in January 2003. Always found chairs available next to the wading/kiddy pool near the steps to the slide. Hardly ever any kiddies there - if I got hot, just opened the gate and cooled off in the water. It was a little windy on this deck, but it was fun watching people go up the steps and down the slide.

 

Usually ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room and had a reuben sandwich from the deli midafternoon. Can either have it with pastrami or corned beef. Yum!

[seadays4me]

Sailed on the Legend in Sept. 2003. Had a wonderful time. We did go to Bermuda because of a sick passenger, and missed San Juan. Every passenger got a $20 credit. Found food to be very good. Had breakfast and lunch in the dining room as much as possible, however at the buffet for breakfast, they were making eggs to order any way you wanted them. The lunch buffet always had a good variety. New York Style deli, Taste of Nations (different every day), Chinese (Sushi also), American fare, and a nice salad and fruit bar. Pizza and Burgers by the pool. Many buffet stations so lines were not to long. Dinner was very good, but it is better if you have a excellent wait staff. A bad waiter can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Did have rough seas the first night because of a hurricane that came ashore in NC, but by the next morning the seas calmed down. I agree, watch your step on outside decks, the parts that are not wood.

[doolange]

We arrived late in San Juan because of Alex and I'm sure if you get there on time, there is sightseeing to do. I am a real beach goer so I prefer St. Thomas and Tortola because of their beautiful beaches. As far as the buffet goes, yes they did change the food at the Nations buffet---maybe the lunch was a little more varied. The lines were always so long so sometimes I never bothered to wait!! There was a really nice salad bar though.

[jocountry]

These are all such great post, and very helpful to us about to embark...lol....It is my first expierence on a Carnival Cruise, so I am very excited to see what kind of adventure it will be.....My sister and I can have fun no matter where we are, so I am sure this will be another wonderful cruise.......any suggestions as to some things we MUST do?

Jo :)

[judyf]

I too would like some sugesstions on what to do on the Legend. I just booked her for a March sailing. I will watch out for the floor by the pool. I don't need my 66 to mother falling.

 

Thanks for posting!

[steveNcindy]

Treat yourselves to a meal at the Golden Fleece - it was incredible, relaxing and well worth the extra charge.

[cjar855]

I would only add -Eat breakfast in the dining room where you can have your eggs cooked any way you like, also eggs benedict. I love the warm croissants in the morning in the dining room. I am really not a big breakfast eater so most mornings was Pot of coffee and croissants in the cabin.

[doolange]

With three children sleeping in each morning I never did make it to the dining room. Because the buffet breakfast was not so good, I would suggest the dining room whenever possible. I think the shows were very good and one of the best was the karoke night which was hysterical!

 

If you are traveling without kids then stay in the adult pool at the back of the boat. I couldn't stay there but feel that if you don't have kids it is much more relaxing (I got to spend a few hours one day when all the kids were at activities). The other pools, besides the deck being slippery, have kids jumping in all day. From what I gathered on the boat, few adults knew about this pool. One lady complained to a father sitting at the pool that his son splashed her. The father responded that he was sorry but there was an adult pool. Then, next day I saw her at the adult pool. I am not so sure everyone was aware of the fact it was there.

 

No matter what you do it will be fun. Cruises are the best.

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for your review of one of our favorite ships.

 

So sorry you didn't see her at her best

[Newcastle]

I think the correct saying is a bad day at sea is always better than a good day at work.

[diggerhawk]

We were on the legend in July and loved it. The food was great. Breakfast was fine, just your usual breakfast fare. The slippery floor was a problem. I saw many people fall and I almost fell a couple times myself. It was especially bad at night. I have been on other carnival ships and have never had this problem with the floor. It definitely needs to be fixed.

[Mikey86]

My family, friends and I also just returned from the 8/3 sailing of the legend.

We all had a great time, the first day at sea was a little rocky but not enough to cause anyone in our group to get sea sick, the remainder of the cruise was pretty smooth. Food was good not great, our waiter had no problem getting us 2nds or getting us extra entrees to try, some of the cold soups were very tasty (orange tapioca and the mango ones come to mind) 8 year old daughter enjoyed camp carnival and the counselors were very good. The buffet was OK, breakfast was the same every day the omelet bar was good, you could get sunnyside eggs their also. Everyone raved about the pizza, but it was like Dominos. Lunch/Dinner was better since one food station changed every day (Italian, Indian ,Greek, Mexican, American, French )try the hot dogs they are very good, coffee was not so good but the hot chocolate made up for it. Some of the deserts were yummy, again our waiter had no problem bringing us every variety for us to taste.

Shows were good,dancing /singing/Comedy/juggling/magician/Adult comedy/a lot of variety, Kareoke was also entertaining.

Ports, we got the San Juan late so there was not much to do but walk around the local shops, St. Thomas was nice did some shopping and went to Coki beach for snorkeling they have a snorkel rental on the beach for $5.00 per mask $5.00 for fins.Tortola was also nice the beach at cane garden bay was very nice. If you are buying rum get it at the local supermarket its cheaper.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[veritas_]

Did you do Carnaval excursions in St. Tomas and Tortola? Can we get on Tortola beach by our own? We're going on Legend in 2 weeks. Thanks.

[judyf]

When I went to Tortola we just got a cab and told him what beach we wanted to go to, no problem at all. We had a great time.