Carnival Legend Feb 17, 2008 Review

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Background Info: I sailed with my wife and 16 year old daughter. This was the 8th cruise for my wife and I (7 Carnival & 1 Royal Caribbean) and the 6th cruise for DD (all on Carnival). We have previously sailed on the following Carnival ships: Triumph, Victory, Sensation, Glory, Valor and the Liberty.

 

Pre-Cruise: We flew into Tampa International the day before as usual arriving around 10:30 a.m. We took a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel on Kennedy Blvd (about a 10 minute drive from the airport and $12 w/tip). The hotel was recently refurbished in August 2007 and was certainly deserving of its 4 star status. It is across the street from the Westshore Mall so finding something to do was pretty easy especially considering we arrived so early. Our room was not ready but they were happy to hold our luggage while we went to the mall. And most importantly there was liquor about 2 blocks down for some last minute shopping. I booked the room on H*tw*re.com for $100 including taxes. What a deal! The next day we took a taxi to the cruise port (about a 15 minute ride and $14 w/tip).

 

Embarkation: Extremely smooth! We arrived at the port around 10:45 and were checked in by 11:00 and onboard by 11:45. Tampa is my favorite port to cruise from.

Grade: A

 

Ship: The ship’s décor is darker than any of the Carnival ships in which we have sailed. There was quite a bit decorative woodwork throughout the ship. It almost had a gothic feel to it. Not my favorite but still very nice. The layout of the ship is very easy to maneuver. One note, there is new carpeting in the entire ship as it recently came out of a dry dock in January 2008. .

Grade: B

 

Cabin: We had an inside cabin on the Verandah deck (#8252). We managed quite nicely with all three of us. It did not seem crowded at all. The cabin was in the back of the ship but we did not notice any extra rockiness. It is below the Lido deck but noise was never an issue. The bathroom had a nice gift basket stocked with shampoo, toothpaste, razors and the like. Guavo was our room steward and did a fantastic job. I asked for second ice bucket and he brought me a large one that is used to hold the bucket of beers on the Lido deck. He made sure the diet cokes we left out were packed in ice. We rarely saw him but had no complaints.

Grade: A

 

Dining Room: We had the 6:00 seating in Truffles Restaurant at our own table (#336). The service was very good. Our waiter was Houston. He did a great job and had a great personality.

Service Grade: A

 

There were a few new items on the Dinner menu since we last sailed (mostly appetizers and deserts). They had a fried shrimp appetizer that was very good. They also replaced the chicken sate with fried chicken fingers. As usual, the soups were outstanding. I loved the cream of asparagus, pumpkin and mushroom soups especially. New deserts included Bitter &Blanc which was a bread pudding desert. But for the life of me I don’t get all the rage about the chocolate melting cake. It tastes like an extremely under-baked brownie. I was a bit disappointed in a couple of the steaks. The New York strip was very stringy and tough. The chicken dishes I had were very good. My wife’s favorite is the entrée is the Zucchini Eggplant Parmesan.

Food Grade: B

 

Lido Deck: Service was excellent but be warned the lines can be very long during lunch. It seemed to be the worst between 12:15 and 1:30. The Deli was the worst, waiting up to 15 minutes, but, darn if don’t love those roasted turkey on a country roll sandwiches. The line at the chocolate buffet on the last sea day was ridiculous. I passed. The pizza was a little disappointing as it always seemed to be a little under cooked. I like my pizza a little more crispy. This was flimsy if you know what I mean. Breakfast was the usual fare. We ate dinner in the dining room so I can’t comment on that subject. The late night burger bar was very nice.

Grade: B

 

Entertainment: This is the one area I feel that Carnival Legend failed to live up to my expectations. The Vegas style shows were simply the worst I have experienced on any Carnival cruise. They were Jazz Hot (really bad) and Take II (moderately bad). In particular, Crystal Harvey, one of the female lead singers seemed to think that louder she sang the better she sounded. Wrong! I saw many people in the audience with plugging there ears because it was so loud. The dancers had very little enthusiasm and the song choices were questionable. We generally have loved the production shows on all of our previous cruises. That’s what made this so surprising.

 

The comedians were Thomas Brown and Happy Cole. Both were decent but Cole was the better of the two in my opinion. Thomas Brown did the adult midnight show and really had to get after a couple of girls in the front that would not stop talking during his act.

 

The Hypnotist Glenn Miller put on a pretty good show but my favorite was the Unbelievable Balancing of Lubo. The juggler was not very good. The Carnival Legends show was a hoot!

 

The cruise director was Jen Baxter was unspectacular. She told the same tired jokes as all the other CDs.

Grade: C

 

Grand Cayman: We took the taxi to Royal Palms ($14 each way for all three of us). It was $5 for a beach chair. You could put your towel down on the sand for free. We hung out on the beach, swam and enjoyed some liquid refreshments. The food was good too.

A word of caution! Watch out for unscrupulous taxi drivers! Our driver drove right by Royal Palms and tried dropping us off a Sea Grape. She said we did not want to go to Royal Palms because there was a $10 entry fee. I had done my research so I knew she was wrong and told her so in no uncertain terms. She took us back to Royal Palms where there was no entry fee.

 

Cozumel, Mexico: We went to Paradise Beach and did the each thing again. It was a $15 taxi ride each way. They have all the amenities: food, drinks, beach toys, hair braiding, etc….. My recommendation is the guacamole. Get it with the tortilla chips for around $6. One thing to be aware of is they charge a 20% “service charge” for all credit card transactions. Plan to bring cash to save yourself self money. We also did some shopping.

 

Belize: We did the Bannister Island Beach Break and Manatee Watch excursion thru Coral Breeze Limited. Hammerhead Shark Sports was the actual our operator. The boat ride out to Bannister Island takes about 25 minutes and is a little bumpy but I found it exhilarating. Mr. Big was the tour leader and he did a great job. Bannister Island is nice but there are rocks in the water that make it a little tricky. Water shoes are recommended. The drinks are expensive but the food is not too bad and surprisingly good. Simple but good. The potato salad served with my burger was excellent. There were a couple of dolphins swimming around the beach which was exciting. DW took some great pictures. Cost was $50 pp

Roatan Island, Honduras: Our favorite port of the trip! We arranged with Captain Van’s Tours to for transportation to the beach. No iguana farm, no shopping…..just a ride to the beach and back. It also included a lounge chair on the beach and a free drink We met our driver, Brett and he drove to Bananarama Resort and Dive Shop on West End Beach where we spent the day on the one of most beautiful beaches I have ever saw. The water was calm and warm. He sand was soft and fine and no rocks in the water. And to top it off, the beers were 3 for $5. Cokes were $1. If there is paradise on earth, then this must be it. Cost $29 per person. Highly recommended!

Not much shopping here though. Just a few shacks near the port.

 

Disembarkation: Smooth, we were in no hurry since our flight was not until 7:00 pm.

 

Miscellaneous: Overall it was a pretty smooth ride. It was a little rocky one night but that was it. The wind was pretty bad a couple of nights.

The Lunar Eclipse occurred while we were on the cruise. The deck was packed and it was breathtaking from all accounts.

Chair hogs were not too bad.

There were quite a few kids on board as this was a President’s week sailing. They were well behaved. No running, no foul language. The parents were doing their jobs.

Room Service was good. I recommend the tuna salad on an English muffin and the roast beef and brie on a baguette. They are really tasty at about 12:30 a.m.

The gym had very nice equipment. It was busy at the beginning of the cruise but tapered off as the week went along. The cardio machines were busy.

Cruise Critic Meet N’ Greet: Our Roll Call set up a Meet n’ Greet at the aft bar (Unicorn Bar) right after the muster drill. One of the members made name tags for everyone. I believe she said the count was over 50 people. Well I just have to say that we met some fantastic people (that are now friends) that we ended up seeing at the various excursions throughout the week and on board the ship. Our kids became friends. It was truly a great group of folks we met and hope to cruise with again in the future.

 

Overall: We had a good time and would not hesitate to sail the Legend in the future. I would like to see some more variety in the entertainment area, though. But overall, I felt I received my good value for my travel dollar.

Final Grade: B+

 

If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them either here or via e-mail.

[ncbuckeyes]

fantastic review!

Grade: A+

 

we can't wait to board the legend in may!

 

did you find captain van’s tours online?

 

would you recommend the excursion you took in belize?

[CaribbeanKim]

Ahoy Dr. Jack~

 

Thank you for the wonderful review of your cruise on the Legend! I really enjoyed reading about your week. My family of 4, along with my sister & her DH will be sailing the first week of June and can't wait...especially after reading such positive remarks. I would love to see some pics - if you get the chance to post some, please let us know!

[qprrules]

Any pics? Where's the pics:D Great review! Only 20 months to go:eek:

[shan9700]

Dr. Jack Daniels,

 

Glad you had a great cruise. Hey what area did you bid in Tampa to get the Intercontinental Hotel?? I love that hotel. I also love pr*cel*ne. Also thanks for writing a review.

 

Thanks,

shan9700

[GottaLuvCruising]

A total of 53 name tags were picked up at our Meet 'n Greet! I was very pleased with the turnout and it was terrific to meet everyone.

 

We enjoyed the production shows much more than your party did. Otherwise I'd give about the same feedback. It was a good cruise.

 

Thanks for sharing your review! It's particularly fun to read how others perceived the same experience.

[nybumpkin]

Hi, Dr. Jack! Good to "see" you again. We were cruising alongside you on Valor. I have some good pictures of Legend anchored in GC - we're starting to get all our pictures organized on the computer, so I hope to have them posted soon. Glad you had a good time!

[Heirloom]

Nice, honest review. Thanks much, we love hearing real personal points of view ! Our trip is in April........right around the corner !!!!!!!!

[KenMo]

Thanks for the review!!!

 

I hope I like the shows more than you.....I could do without them, but DH likes to go so I'm stuck...lol!!!

 

Will you be posting the Capers???? Please?????

[LHP]

Thanks so much!!

 

I don't do the shows...since I live in karaoke...but hubby does.

Why is it that some singers equate louder with better????

 

I love to sing, but can't stand it when the sound check is set to loud!!!

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

fantastic review!

Grade: A+

 

we can't wait to board the legend in may!

 

did you find captain van’s tours online?

 

would you recommend the excursion you took in belize?

 

Captain Van is online. Just Google "Captain Van's Tours" I actually first read about him on the Roatan port of call board.

 

I would recommend the the Bannister island Beach Break in Belize. One thing I forgot...for an extra $15 they will take you to the reef for an hour or two of snorkeling.

 

This is the same place Beach Break excursion through Carnival will take you. The only difference is if you book through Carnival you board a tender that takes you directly to Bannister Island so you get there a little earlier than the tours that originate from the dock in Belize. I say this because beach chairs were hard to find by the time we arrived. I found three but really had to look.

 

Pat

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Dr. Jack Daniels,

 

Glad you had a great cruise. Hey what area did you bid in Tampa to get the Intercontinental Hotel?? I love that hotel. I also love pr*cel*ne. Also thanks for writing a review.

 

Thanks,

shan9700

 

Westshore - Tampa Intl Airport TPA - South Tampa

[nybumpkin]

Here's Legend at sunrise in GC last week.

[KellyJean40]

Thank you so much I so glad I came across this it really helped we ( My family 10 people) Are going on the Legend in August 2008, the same ports, and the tips you gave me really helped with things to do especially in Grand Cayman with 10 people we need a bit of a finicial break and no entey fee is great thanks!! If you have any other info or thought of what we can do and things to see Please let me Know!!:)

[dommer573]

Nice review, Thanks for taking the time to share;)

[twopugs]

Did you feel that they did a good job of seating at dinner (ie-pairing similar couples/groups together)? It seems some ships put more effort into it than others. Traveling with a small child our hopes are that we are paired with others with children. Did you happen to notice that young kids and families were grouped into one area of the dining room?