My Review of Legend 8/17 - 8/24

[tcneal]

Just got back from my cruise on the Legend. Overall this was a very good cruise for my family of 4. I don't have much to compare it to. Our only other cruise was a 3 day on the Caribbean Princess, so that will be my reference.

 

Pre-Cruise

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We arrived in Tampa 2 days early for a 1 day trip to Disney on Saturday. Southwest flight from Chicago went smoothly. We rented a car from Avis. Received a brand new Pontiac G8 but after 20 minuites of trying to install a car seat, I realized that they forgot to install the LATCHes for the car seat. After switching cars, we headed to the Homewood Suites in Brandon. A good stay. Although, they mixed up my reservation and tried to give me a studio suite instead of the 1 Bdrm that I booked. After some complaining, we were given a 2 Bdrm suite, so everthing worked out great. As for Disney, I'll just say, with 2 kids, ages 5 and 2, 1 day was enough.

 

Embarkation

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This was probably the worst part of the trip. Getting to the port was a breeze. Took the free Avis shuttle to (and from) the Terminal. Arrrive at about 1:00 and it took about 2 hrs to get on the ship. Princess out of Ft Lauderdale was about 30 minutes on a larger ship. I think there was only 1 XRay machine and a single queue to check in. Where, on Princess, we were able to check in by deck. But we finally got on and our room was ready.

 

Ship

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The ship was in great shape. I thought the Legend was a little harder to navigate than the CB. But I love the fact that it never felt crowded on the ship. The atmosphere was much livelier on the Legend which I think fit us better. The one thing that I didn't like is that I really felt the motion. Especially on the last sea day when the ship was only doing 10 knots and it felt like it swayed all the way back to Tampa. I think I'm torn on the size but I think I like the larger ships better.

 

Dining

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Carninval's food was much better than Princess, in my opinion. Maybe it was because the 3-day we took on Princess was not normal for them and there were some cutbacks. We did open seating on both cruises although they seem to be run a little differently. Our kids ate a camp each night, so we always were given a table for 2. On Princess, for Anytime dining we were seated with a large group so it felt like tradional dining with flexible times. The Legend felt more like going to a restaurant. There was never a wait to be seated. The buffets were great also. One thing I noticed that was different was that the CB had hand sanitizers at every food station and other places on the ship and I don't think there was one on the Legend. Maybe just a difference in philosophy.

 

Camp Carnival

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The kids had a great time at the camp. I like the fact that it was isolated on deck 5 instead of on the upper decks on the larger ships. Although, I thought it was somewhat small. But no compliants. We were given cell phones for the 2-5 age groups.

 

Ports

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The port days were switched because of Faye. The switch turned out to be a blessing. The Cozumel day was swapped with Roatan which meaned more time Roatan instead of the short day that was scheduled. I thought Roatan was by far the best port. We did a beach day on GC, Belize, and Roatan and Roatan was the best beach by miles. But we had a good time at every stop.

 

Overall, we had a wonderful time and I would sail the Legend again. But first, I would like to try one of the conquest or splendor class ships first.

I'll be happy to answer any questions If I can.

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Thank you for the report.

 

My second trip on Legend is coming up soon.

 

I am glad you had a good time!

 

Could you tell me who the CD was?

[tcneal]

Thank you for the report.

 

My second trip on Legend is coming up soon.

 

I am glad you had a good time!

 

Could you tell me who the CD was?

 

Thanks,

 

I believe her name was Shawn Bussey?

[demos]

Thanks for your review! Glad you had a great cruise. I wonder if the rough ride on the way back was due to Faye?

Last year Costa Maya got hit by the hurricane a few weeks before our cruise. Roatan was added instead of Costa Maya and we really enjoyed the Jolly Roger excursion. Beautiful island. What beach did you go to in Roatan? Thanks!

[tcneal]

Thanks for your review! Glad you had a great cruise. I wonder if the rough ride on the way back was due to Faye?

Last year Costa Maya got hit by the hurricane a few weeks before our cruise. Roatan was added instead of Costa Maya and we really enjoyed the Jolly Roger excursion. Beautiful island. What beach did you go to in Roatan? Thanks!

 

The water didn't seem any rougher than any other day. It could have been because we were going so slow. The last day was Cozumel instead

of Roatan so we didn't have to travel as far to get back to Tampa. This could be normal. I don't have much experience but I know on the CB, I could hardly feel if the ship was moving.

 

It is a beautiful island. We went to Tabyana Beach. White sand, clear water. The beach sits in a natural cove so the waves were very gentle. We took the Beach Break excursion in Belize. Hardly any sand, just crushed shells, could cut your feet. Water was very murky with seaweed everywhere. I know it's the ocean but it was night and day compared to Roatan.

[dairymancruiser]

Glad you had a great time. We were on a southern cruise and the last night we were going so slow the ship was really rocking. We only had to go from St Thomas to San Juan so they had to kill time.

 

I was wondering if the 12 to 15 year old kids club was on deck 5 or up top? Which would be the circle c club. Thanks for your review:D

[tcneal]

Glad you had a great time. We were on a southern cruise and the last night we were going so slow the ship was really rocking. We only had to go from St Thomas to San Juan so they had to kill time.

 

I was wondering if the 12 to 15 year old kids club was on deck 5 or up top? Which would be the circle c club. Thanks for your review:D

 

I think you are correct. I think deck 5 was for 2-5 and 6-8 year old kids.

[demos]

Thanks! White sand and clear water sounds good to me!

[rebeljohn]

Enjoyed your review.............We are awaiting our Legend cruise in Feb...........