Seabourn Legend Jan 2nd 2005 Cruise From Ft. Lauderdale To Costa Rica

[MIKE RING]

Has Anyone Who Has Made This 14 Day Cruise Give Me Their Opinon Of It And Any Tips. Thanks Mike R.

[ITravelNow]

Mike:

We plan to take this cruise. We've cruised the Panama Canal before, but not on Seabourn. If you have questions about the canal perhaps I can help.

We also know the Legend well, having cruised her on other Seabourn itineraries.

We're looking forward to this cruise, and have booked the following 14 days to make the roundtrip to Fort Lauderdale. 28 days of luxury for us - can't wait!

[curiousx]

I took this cruise with Seabourn (Fort Lauderdale to Costa Rica) last year. It was marvellous.

We took tours organized by Seabourn which were also excellent.

Here's a summary

Belize: people who took it raved about the all-day tour to the Mayan ruins in Guatemala but it was too long a hauI for me. I went snorkelling (also included a visit to Swallow Island where we sighted manatees, to Shark Alley (mantas and sharks) and Caye Caulker (beer). If doing this again, I would probably book independently because the boat was crowded although I have seen worse and I had a great time with the other Seabourn pax. Coral Breezes is highly recommended on the Ports of Call board as a Belizean independent operator. I enjoyed strolling around Belize City and visiting the National Handicrafts Centre about 10 minutes walk from the Tourist Village where the cruise tenders dock.

Hunting Caye: marvellous private island with excellent snorkelling (seahorses!) at the reef on the beach on the opposite side of the island from where the tender docks. This was the site of the caviar in the surf event. Sandflies bothered a number of people (pax and crew) who came out in nasty rashes a few days later.

Roatan: we took a taxi to Foster's, a funky hotel/bar establishment, and snorkelled at the far far end of the beach - excellent, but a good hike. The cabbie stayed with us all day (we bought him lunch). An excellent day but again, beware the sandflies! Many went to the dolphin experience and enjoyed it hugely - but you have to get over your revulsion at the notion of keeping these wild creatures penned up for our entertainment, and we couldn't.

Puerto Moin - we went on the Tortuguera Canal Cruise - it was very well done but I would consider organizing this independently if repeating the trip. Lots of animal life - take good binoculars.

Gamboa - great fun - an enormous resort that has had tons of government $$ poured into it. It looks like a future white elephant to me but for now is running well - take advantage of everything that's offered - the tram ride, the orchid and butterfly farm, the buffet and folk dancing, the beautiful pools. The hotel shop also has a small selection of Panama hats for reasonable prices (or at least less than others paid the next day in Panama City!).

Panama Canal Transit - Seabourn had arranged for excellent onboard lecturers to prepare us for the transit, and our way through was further enhanced by a guide from the Panama Canal Authority. The prow of deck 5 was a relatively uncrowded vantage point for the transit.

Fuerte Amador (Panama City) - as storm clouds raged around, the Legend basked in a pool of sunlight. We chose to stay on board. The tour highlight, according to those who came back sodden but happy, was the paddle up to the Embara Indian Village and meeting the proud, independent villagers.

Puerto Quepos - We took the outrigger canoe trip hoping to work off some of the pounds added by Mr. Palmer's menus ! In that respect, the outing was a bit lame, but the tour company did do things very well, and included some fun stops over an alligator filled river on the way back. In fact, the pax on the tour were so pleased, we voluntarily anted up additional tips in recognition of the quality of service and attention. If doing this port again, I would arrange with an independant tour guide to go to the Manuel Antonio National Park nearby, as did some others who said this was the highlight of their trip.

Playa Flamingo - the zipline canopy advanture (run by Congo Tours) was absolutely fantastic - cannot recommend this highly enough.

The only tip I have to offer is that the best 'tourist shopping' we found was actually on the bustrip back from Caldera to the airport - this is a scheduled tour stop and we expected the worst - only to find excellent crafts and excellent prices.

Hope this helps - feel free to ask other questions if you wish.

[ITravelNow]

Curioux:

Thanks for all of the tour information - I want to see the Mayan ruins and I enjoy the eco tours - sounds like a great cruise.

[MIKE RING]

Thanks For Your Reply. Please Tell Me About The Legend. Mike

[curiousx]

To Mike Ring: Here's a copy of the trip report I posted on this board last year - it's now in the Cruisecritic Archives.

Topic: Seabourn Legend - Panama Canal - Nov 22-Dec 6 2003 - Report


curiousx
Cool Cruiser posted
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As promised, here is a report on my recent cruise with Seabourn Legend November 22-December 6 (Fort Lauderdale, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama). Thank you Norm, Martha B and others for all your pre-cruise advice.

In summary, accommodation, cuisine, wines, service levels, staff attitude and training, and other passengers were all excellent, first-class, super, brilliant. Seabourn is exactly what it advertises itself to be, and possibly better.

As for specifics: the suite was a model of good marine and hotel design and elegant (not gaudy) taste. We were upgraded both to a higher deck and to a suite with a ‘balcony’. This was a very pleasant surprise.

The meals were outstanding...nothing disappointed and most surpassed expectations. I adore seafood but am reluctant ordering it in restaurants because it is often overcooked and/or oversauced. Not here - perfect every time. The menus were inventive and enticing - even after days of solid eating! The sommelier’s wine selections were well thought out and complementary to the food. The waitstaff in the restaurant and Verandah were professional, unobtrusive, informed, and helpful.

The professional entertainment was geared to a broad range of interests and there was something for everyone. The entertainment director and his staff were tireless. Loathsome activities like bingo and art auctions were not in evidence. Instead, we played low-key bridge, scrabble, trivia and read lots of good books from the library. The enrichment lecturers, especially Doug Porch, were a highlight.

The tours organized by the ship that I took were well selected and well organized. The canopy cable (zip line) excursion in Playa Flamingo was my favourite.

The photographer was professional and discreet. Either there were no rotten photos or he had the rare good judgement to X them out himself. At any rate, we bought the ones he posted.

The spa was fabulous and - a first for me - there was no heavy pushing of ‘products’.

As I mentioned, the level of service was outstanding. For example, our favourite spot on sunny days and for sunsets was the foredeck of deck 5. Even though we were usually the only people there, the bar crew still made their way there with cold towels and drinks.

As first-timers, we particularly enjoyed the practice of having ship’s officers and enrichment lecturers/entertainers invite passengers to their restaurant tables in the evening. We met fascinating people this way - both guests and crew - and made some friendships that I hope will be lasting.


Given the time of year (tail end of rainy season), we had surprisingly good weather: 8 days of sun, 3 days of overcast with a bit of sun and a bit of rain, and 3 days of wall to wall rain.

You won’t be surprised to learn that we have already made arrangements for our next Seabourn cruise.


A few things we learned:

- we made a contribution to the Crew fund in lieu of tipping as suggested here. Passengers who contribute to the fund have their donation posted in the crew area and later receive a letter of thanks from the purser;

- another passenger brought computer-generated business cards giving name, address, email etc., as well as the ship’s name and the date of the cruise (so we could remember where we had met). I will do this next time;

- for shoppers, one of the best shops I found was the National Handicraft shop in Belize tucked away in a back street about 5 minutes from the tourist village. Ask one of the local Tourist Police for directions...with luck, he/she might even walk with you, as happened in my case. The other best shop was - surprise - at the rest stop made by the Seabourn bus that took us from Puerto Caldera to San Jose. The gift shop at the Gamboa resort also had a small selection of Panama hats which were better priced than the ones in Panama City; and

- if you use travellers cheques, most places we stopped ashore wanted you to write your passport number on the back. Some reluctantly accepted Visa numbers or drivers’ licence numbers. Since Seabourn collects your passports at embarkation and only gives them back at the end, I would suggest taking a photocopy of your passport with you on all shore trips.


There were a few glitches, to be expected given that this was the first itinerary in this region this year. The crew rose to the occasion each time (for example, when the pier at Hunting Cay proved to be unusable, they jury-rigged a tender to use instead). There were really only a few problems that affected the passengers and I am sure these will be addressed before the next sailing:

- the embarkation in Fort Lauderdale was very very slow. This was because the Port Authority did not allow the Seabourn ship crew to perform the security and ID processes. The onshore staff who had to do them did not know how to use the ship’s equipment;

- the departure from San Jose airport was marred by confusion over whether the $26US per person departure tax was included in what we had paid Seabourn. Shorex (who managed the bus transport for Seabourn from Puerto Caldera to San Jose) said it was. Our cruise/air travel documents also say all government taxes were included. However, airline staff and customs/immigration officers said the departure tax had to be paid at the airport. In the end, everyone grumbled and paid and agreed to put the question to Seabourn;

- the internet access needs to be improved; and

- oh, heartbreak, we ran out of strawberries and raspberries on the last day and had to make do with caviare and champagne.
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[ITravelNow]

curiousx :

Your report made my already growing anticipation increase! Thanks for reprinting it here. Several of your suggestions have been added to my list.

[curiousx]

TTT for Host Richard