New Year's 2008? Plus some Carnival newbie?

[vossjemi]

Hey guys. As you can see from my ticker, I haven't sailed Carnival since 1995! I've been looking into New Year's Cruises for Dec 08 & I see Legend has pretty much the exact itinerary I want...grand cayman, cozumel, belize, and roatan. I've been to grand cayman and cozumel before, so the real draw is belize and roatan in the same sailing. If you know of other ships doing both of these places, let me know for comparison purposes.

 

Now, to my questions:

1)How is the Legend? Nice or getting old? I see its a 2002 ship...any renovations done/planned?

2)If we get a balcony cabin, what is the best type for the $? Any secrets on balconies? By that I'm wondering if there are any rooms that are better quality (room size or balcony size) for the same price as others in the same category? When I did my last RC cruise, I had a D1 aft balcony with an extra large deck which was priced the same as the other smaller D1's. What about connecting cabins? Any spots to recommend if we go with another couple?

3)Any recommendations as to booking agents for cheaper prices? Or is Carnival the same as RC & Disney now that agents can't advertise lower prices and reduce commissions, but still give onboard credits maybe?

4)Is $1349pp for a balcony a good price for new year's? Since its a holiday sailing, would you expect price to increase or would there be a 90 day ticker with lower prices? What has happened in the past?

5)How is the entertainment as compared to RC and Disney?

6)What about motion of the boat? Did you feel it much? Is this a smaller ship at 88 1/2 tons?

7)Is there already a cruise meet thread for this sailing? I didn't find one.

 

Thanks. Any tips/recommendations for either this ship or a belize/roatan sailing would be great!

[*Mach*]

Hey guys. As you can see from my ticker, I haven't sailed Carnival since 1995! I've been looking into New Year's Cruises for Dec 08 & I see Legend has pretty much the exact itinerary I want...grand cayman, cozumel, belize, and roatan. I've been to grand cayman and cozumel before, so the real draw is belize and roatan in the same sailing. If you know of other ships doing both of these places, let me know for comparison purposes.

 

Now, to my questions:

1)How is the Legend? Nice or getting old? I see its a 2002 ship...any renovations done/planned?

2)If we get a balcony cabin, what is the best type for the $? Any secrets on balconies? By that I'm wondering if there are any rooms that are better quality (room size or balcony size) for the same price as others in the same category? When I did my last RC cruise, I had a D1 aft balcony with an extra large deck which was priced the same as the other smaller D1's. What about connecting cabins? Any spots to recommend if we go with another couple?

3)Any recommendations as to booking agents for cheaper prices? Or is Carnival the same as RC & Disney now that agents can't advertise lower prices and reduce commissions, but still give onboard credits maybe?

4)Is $1349pp for a balcony a good price for new year's? Since its a holiday sailing, would you expect price to increase or would there be a 90 day ticker with lower prices? What has happened in the past?

5)How is the entertainment as compared to RC and Disney?

6)What about motion of the boat? Did you feel it much? Is this a smaller ship at 88 1/2 tons?

7)Is there already a cruise meet thread for this sailing? I didn't find one.

 

Thanks. Any tips/recommendations for either this ship or a belize/roatan sailing would be great!

 

Let me try to answer a few of your questions... I don't think a ship that's only been in service for five years can be old, but, none the less she's scheduled for dry dock in Jan of 2008, from the 6th through the 19th...

 

Motion, as I'm sure you're aware is a function of the sea state. That being said, the Legend has stabilizers and should be just fine.

 

As for the price, it will probably only go up from here. Book early and if the price drops you can get a refund in the form of on board credits.

 

The aft wrap balconies are always larger than the standard balconies, hence the higher price. You can look at the deck plans to find out which cabins connect. Try here:

 

www.cruisedeckplans.com

 

Hope this helps a bit...

 

Mach

[vossjemi]

Thanks Mach. So, carnival doesn't refund $ if price drops? Just OBC?