Back from Legend to Hawaii - 4/5/04 sailing

[mberli]

When you go planning to have a good time, you will. The ship is old, but in great condition. It was very pretty. Our inside cabin was small and noisy, but very adequate. RCCL was not ready for the passengers coming into the airport in San Diego until 11:30 AM. They did not offer lunch or drinks to those passengers who came in, like us. We were on a 7AM flight from San Francisco, and were there at 7:45AM. We bought our own breakfast and lunch. The bus from San Diego to Ensenada was air conditioned, and it was a very nice scenic ride down the coast if you sit on the right side of the bus facing the coast. The bus makes a short stop at a hotel near Ensenada to register the passengers. There were a couple of screw ups here. Some passengers luggage went missing, after being put on buses.

We got to the ship after a 2.5 hour ride, and went right on board with our Seapass pictures taken on boarding.

Had a quick bite at the Windjammer and went ashore to explore the shopping in Ensenada. It was pretty good if you went away from the tourist area, and just went to the Mexican stores.

The first days at sea were pretty windy and cold, so you were not able to be out on deck, but there were loads of activities to keep you busy. The entertainment was surprisingly good, except for the production shows, which were primarily old show tunes. The singers and dancers, however, were very talented. We had to turn back our watches 1 hour for 3 nights, as Hawaii is 3 hours behind Ensenada.

The food was also pretty good, although they ran out of syrup and bananas along the way. The steaks, except for the filet mignon, rib steak, and prime rib roast were terrible, as previously noted on these boards.

The casino slots were pretty tight all trip, with no big winners. The tables were OK if you could last until you got a good run, and then walked away.

We had at least 20 minutes of rain on every stop, with a half day at Kona, a full day at Hilo, a half day at Kauai, when we drove to the Waiamea Canyon, half hour on Maui, aand 20 minutes on Oahu.

We rented a car off an on line service. We rented through Thrifty - $24.50 a day for Kona, Hilo, Kaui, Oaho. You can use Budget for Maui, as Thrifty does not have a shuttle to the pier, and a cab to their lot was $50.

It ended up much cheaper doing all the excursions on our own. We just checked the excursion list on board, and went to the places that interested us, like the canyon on Kaui, the Road to Hana, the Old Lahaina Luau, and snorkeling on Kapalua Bay on Lahaina, Volcano National Park on Hilo ($10 entrance fee per car), Parker Ranch, the Painted Church, and the coffee platations on Kona, the Arizona and a drive around Oahu to all the surf beaches and the pineapple plantations. We had just 2 people in the car, so I guess if you have more, you will save even more.

BTW, we tender in just 2 places, Lahaina and Kona.

All in all, it was an unforgettable trip.

Mel [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/flags/flagsusa/usflagwithfireworks_e0.gif[/img] [img]http://animatedgif.net/facessmiles/vcsun1_e0.gif[/img]
Fascination - July '95
Imagination - December '97
Sensation - December '98
Mercury - December '99
Rhapsody of the Seas - 3/'00
Victory - December '00
Summit -December '01
Millenium - October '02
Radiance of the Seas - 1/'03
Victory - July '03
Mariner of the Seas - 1/'04
Legend of the Seas - 4/'04
Jewel of the Seas - 12/'04

[dougp26364]

Thanks for posting your report. My wife and I are still trying to decide between Hawaii and the Panama Canal for 2005. I did a pole and it came out 50/50. We'll eventually do both but can only do one per year.

The Legend is a fine ship. At least it was when we sailed her to Alaska in 2002. Glad to her she's still in great shape.

Future cruises
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2005;01;14;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=CD20CD&cdt=2004;11;14;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

Past cruises
Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03
Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

[pkexton]

I am glad you had a good time - we are leaving for our Hawaii trip May 6th (going out a day early).

Legend of the Seas Hawaii 5/7/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;05;07;12;00;00&timezone=GMT-1000[/img]

[setsail]

In addition to Mel, 2 formal nights,1 smart casual,and the rest casual. And, I can not leave out Charo. She did a great show. The windjammer was good as always and the fries at the solarium were still good.There seemed to be a lot of sea sick passengers but we thought the sea swells were just average.Most of the time it was just 4 to 6 ft. with one day some 8 ft.Not rough at all.

[Murphy]

Thanks for your feedback! We are also on the May 7th sailing with PKexton,but we leave on May 1 to spend 5 nights on Kauai. Can't wait!

We are definitely going with the "have a great time" attitude. Can you suggest nny other dos or don't dos?

Did you have enough people for a Meet & Mingle? If so, when was it?

Aloha and Mahalo!

7 previous cruises, Hawaii on Legend scheduled May 2004, and Enchantment Oct 2004

[cruzaholic]

Mberli,

Sounds like you were able to do alot of exploring on the Hawaiian islands.

Who was your CD and captain?

Thanks [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[abridalmaven]

We did the Legend also, but in reverse and stayed in Oahu 5 days before. I was pleasnatly surprised how nice the ship was. We have done the smallest to the biggest and did not know what to expect. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/stone/27/names/b/barbara02.gif[/img]
My vacation pics
[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/abridalmaven"]http://community.webshots.com/user/abridalmaven[/url]
Norwegian Dawn May 23
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;5;23;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[mberli]

Tim Siebert was the CD. Tor something or other was the Captain. Not enough people for the 'meet & mingle'. I found plenty to do onboard while at sea, and just to b safe, the BW and I took a Meclazine tablet every day, starting in Ensenada, as we had heard previously on this board that the Pacific could be slightly rough.

Mel [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/flags/flagsusa/usflagwithfireworks_e0.gif[/img] [img]http://animatedgif.net/facessmiles/vcsun1_e0.gif[/img]
Fascination - July '95
Imagination - December '97
Sensation - December '98
Mercury - December '99
Rhapsody of the Seas - 3/'00
Victory - December '00
Summit -December '01
Millenium - October '02
Radiance of the Seas - 1/'03
Victory - July '03
Mariner of the Seas - 1/'04
Legend of the Seas - 4/'04
Jewel of the Seas - 12/'04

[cruzaholic]

Thanks, Mel [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[PR1NCESSD1ANE]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Had a quick bite at the Windjammer and went ashore to explore the shopping in Ensenada. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Were the shops walking distance and did any of them sell sodas that we could bring back on board?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>The first days at sea were pretty windy and cold, so you were not able to be out on deck, but there were loads of activities to keep you busy. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When you say "the first days at sea" would it be safe to say that at least a couple of the sea days as you got closer to the islands were warm enough to sun bathe? We will be leaving out of Ensenada on the Serenade 5/8 with 4 days at sea and I'm hoping that at least two of the sea days can be spent by the pool....do you think that's likely?

[setsail]

You should be able to fit in a couple of outside pool days. We had one good day and some parts of others, although we did use the outside hot tubs all the time (never that busy).

[mberli]

Diane, there was a shuttle to the shops that was $2 there, and $1 back, and there were some stands at the pier that were slightly overpriced.
Probably early May will see slightly warmer temps, and you might get some sun outdoors.

Mel [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/flags/flagsusa/usflagwithfireworks_e0.gif[/img] [img]http://animatedgif.net/facessmiles/vcsun1_e0.gif[/img]
Fascination - July '95
Imagination - December '97
Sensation - December '98
Mercury - December '99
Rhapsody of the Seas - 3/'00
Victory - December '00
Summit -December '01
Millenium - October '02
Radiance of the Seas - 1/'03
Victory - July '03
Mariner of the Seas - 1/'04
Legend of the Seas - 4/'04
Jewel of the Seas - 12/'04

[HFP]

Great review Mel! Thanks! Could you tell me what cabin you had that was so noisy? We are in an inside cabin also. Would like to know if we need to bring earplugs! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Also did you have adequate storage space?

Herb

[cruzelovr]

Mberli, did they have a box lunch for you on the bus ride from San Diego to Ensenada? I've heard conflicting reports lately. THanks.

Tropicale - 02/95
Carnival Destiny - 09/98
Paradise - 11/99
Grandeur of the Seas - 12/00
Disney Wonder - 12/01
Millennium - 09/02
Star Princess - 10/03
Legend of the Seas - 04/04

"I wanna go where it's warm!" -Jimmy Buffett

[setsail]

no box lunches and keep your carryon on the bus with you.Do not store underneath.