Carnival Legend Review sailed 3/15/09 LONG REVIEW

[igraack]

Carnival Legend Review sailed 3/15/09

 

I feel like I just got off the ship yesterday I HATE coming back to work after a vacation.

 

Anyway.. here's the GOOD, BAD and the "OK" of my cruise w/ DW, and kids 5 & 7 (girls)

 

First let me start by saying OVERALL it was a GREAT vacation. The weather was PERFECT upper 80's and sunny every stop (30 min rain in Cozumel mid day followed by glorious hot humid sun). The seas AMAZINGLY calm. Only movement my seasick prone DW felt was the last seaday. Also the only day we saw a few white caps but it was VERY windy that day. Even the CD Jen said that was the best weather they'd seen in months so hopefully we left some behind for y'all cruising soon.

 

OK..

Day 1..

Fly out early am, arrived in Tampa at 11am. Great cab driver (but slow, i'm eager to see the ship you know) took us to a Walmart Neighborhood Market on way to ship. Good bottles of wine there for $12, picked up 2 cases of the lil gatorades for the kiddos. Arrived at port and MAN it was busy. Very warm day in Tampa and line to get in to terminal stretched outside and to the front of the building. Standing in the sun wearing cold weather clothes w/ grumpy tired kids and DW not the most pleasant experience. Once in building it was "cooler" but not really. Mostly the holdup was port security they were SLOW. Once past them Carnival had long lines but moved quickly GET THAT FUNPASS FILLED OUT ONLINE PEOPLE!! And it'll save you about 20mins. Overal 1hr to get to the Carnival checkin.. 5mins w/ Carnival agent then on to the ship. Embarkation photo was not good since kids/DW not in the mood. Plus not a fan of the fake ship backgrounds.

 

BUT.. walking across the gangplank onto the ship WOW.. all of our moods were magically changed. I hadn't cruised in 8 yrs but had been on 8 cruises before this one. WOW.. that atrium lobby sure washes the last hour of hell away. At this time it's 1:30 exactly so we figure our room is ready. However.. I forgot my room number and it had changed since I printed my funpass... they did not give me anything with it on it.. so.. silly me I assume the "folio number" is the room number (dont flame me on this room number was 8246 and folio was 8164).. so after going to wrong room i say .. I remember our room was supposed to be aft. Then we go and find it :).

 

Room 8246 Aft Balcony room. Good room great view. Right under Lido deck and after all the reviews/posts about rooms under the Lido I was very concious of noise however I didn't say anything to my picky DW to see if she'd say anything all week. She never did, I noticed based on room location that around 6am i'd hear some chair noises since we were under the "early bird" breakfast area. Nothing that if I was really asleep would ever notice. Late at night I heard noise a couple of times but seriously NOTHING I would complain about, the noise of the chairs first to me sounded like drawers from the next room opening and closing. Anyway, I ended up loving the location being 1 deck below all the daytime action, buffet, ice cream, etc. Would not hesitate to have same room/location ever again.

 

Day 1 continued.. coming right up..

[WAcruisers]

Cant wait to hear more! Any pictures?

[igraack]

After changing into swimsuits it was up to the pool and the slide my kids were dying to try. My youngest was 36.5 inches and you must be 36 to slide. All the measuring sticks had her big enough except the one at the bottom of the slide was warped a little.. but when they had someone down there they never questioned me when I said she's tall enough. She was my slider, older kid got tired of the walk and line after a couple of slides, youngest one could make that hike all day.

 

Then we lounged by the middle pool of the 3 (aft pool being the "adult" pool and planned landing place for the 500 ParrotHeads on board). This middle pool became our place for the week. Good hang out spot plenty of waiters and with the stage entertainment was plentiful. The regular band was lots of fun and I put on my "no one here will see me again" attitude and even got up to my kids surprise and did the dance instruction to the Carribbean music they were playing. My signal to my family "it's time to have some fun". Ordered 2 DOD cards from the first bar and me and DW had our 2 first DOD. Good perfect thing after the stressful morning. I felt myself and family slip into relaxation/vacation mode. Oh yeah, grabbed some food from buffet, big spread out buffet but once you get it down you know where to go.. well I did. On last sea day I heard a guy finally ask a waiter "where do you get a burger?". The answer is the only place is out by the middle pool "grill" area of the buffet (same w/ hotdogs and nacho chips/cheese/meat that my DW liked).

 

Oh yeah one thing I forgot to mention, our dining was changed for us from "Early" sitting to "Open". DW was annoyed but I was in vacation mode and figured "lets give it a try". PLUS I knew it would be tough to be on the highest deck near the funnel passing under the Skyway bridge while in the dining room. Which I'd read was THE place to be for that and you know what IT WAS COOL. So anyway, lounged by pool, took our own walk around the ship got our bearings. Swung by Camp Carnival because this was one of only 2 times adults could walk in and check it out. Kids were excited about it. So after more lounging/swimming/relaxing we figured we'd unpack, get ready for dinner and then go up for skyway bridge passing. Which we did. As mentioned before GO UP TO TOP DECK NEAR THE FUNNEL FOR THIS.. neat to watch front of ship pass under bridge then look up as the funnel clears by about 5 feet. People were cheering like it was magic or something. BUT more it felt like "we're on our way" cause after that bridge it's open waters!!

 

NEXT.. First Open Dining trip and Camp Carnival Orientation AND.. something that I wish that EVERYONE could have but if you have kids MAKE SURE TO GET!!!

[kimberlys]

Love your review so far . . . it's definately getting me in the cruising mood! I can't wait to see the legend in a few more weeks!;)

[igraack]

Ok.. We we went down to the dining room 3rd floor and went to the "Open Dining" Side. For now the Legend has about 1/4 of it's total dining room set aside for Open seating. They have a fancy computer setup with names of everyone in your room and would check you off as you come in. There were 4 head waiters/teams for this section we ended up having 3 of them. All 3 were different then the next so if you liked a "happy chatty" waiter, or the down to business "take my job very serious" waiter, or the mix of two then you have your pick. We likee our first night waiter Senvil from India and his team, very efficient and attempted to learn my girls names right away. Food was "ok" my DW was more disappointed than I but she was remembering RCCL honeymoon cruise where it was fabulous food. She had higher expectations than I, none of the food was "bad" it was just not blowing her away like she wanted. I do agree on one thing with her.. there was really no "theme" or rhyme or reason to the menu. Some nights there would be ribs and thai soup and italian somthing else. We enjoyed have a solid "theme" to dinner meals on previous cruises. However Carnival's variety provides something for everyone. Also first night had Mac & Cheese as side on some of the entrees so the kids got that and you know what it was GREAT Mac and Cheese.. not your "box" kind. Anyway.. now you have ongoing food story from us.. I'd put it like this breakfast GREAT in dining room or buffet. I preferred in dining room because they brought it and i didnt have to run around get the various items from various stations. Lunch.. also great but only did buffet. Good selections everyday, personally didnt think the Asian was that good, but it was enjoyed by many others so basically not the items I would normally choose at any other chinese restaurant. Dinner in the main dining room as I said.. food was GOOD, DW not wow'd as she wanted.

 

Overall as week went on juggling kids in/out of Camp Carnival and really trying to be flexible I'd say overall we ended up liking the Open Seating. Never had to wait for a table (usually went just before 7pm). Did notice from 7pm - 7:30pm seemed to be some waiting but not much. Would only needed to wait had we wanted same waiter.

 

CAMP CARNIVAL ORIENTATION..

First Camp Carnival is a well run program. And being a Spring Break week we were told at the meeting that there were 500+ kids 17 and under on the ship. Orientation is a must if you want to use Camp Carnival because you have more forms to fill out AND the give the kids Cruise memory books to keep for the week. Filled out forms met some staff (all very nice mostly eastern european ladies) then asked the burning question.. "Can my 5yr old who's turning 6 in 6 weeks be in the 6-8 group w/ her sister". The answer was (as expected from these forums) depends on number of kids and she would be on a "trial" basis. Which meant "yes" unless theres a problem, which my kids I knew there wouldnt be.

 

NOW THE THING I WISH EVERYONE COULD HAVE BUT IF YOU HAVE CAMP CARNIVAL AGE KIDS GO TO THE ORIENTATION FOR THIS ALONE BECAUSE ITS AWESOME... THE SHIP PORTABLE PHONE!!!!

 

You'll notice many crew members of any importance have a phone with them. This is a portable version of a cabin phone like you would have at home. It only works on the ship and enables Camp Carnival to call you. It's free for families w/ a kid in Camp Carnival (dont lose it though you get charged $150) and comes with a charger. BUT.. not only can Camp Carnival get hold of you ANYONE on the ship can. So one of us would always have it and we wrote the number on my kids S&S card so they could call us whenever. It was nice.. wife was out shopping finds a ship phone calls me and says "should i buy this watch?" or "where are you" or "whatever". VERY handy for finding each other. I wish everyone had a portable phone like this.

 

Anyway Camp Carnival orientation ends w/ lil dancing in the disco and ice cream sundaes (not the soft serve but real ice cream and great toppings).

 

We are BEAT by now and head to the room to relax and sleep.

 

First sea day tomorrow... stay tuned my fingers are sore for now... :)

[igraack]

By the way.. feel free to ask any questions. I'll answer what I can. I'll see about posting photos.. wife's in charge of camera so not sure if she's done anything with them yet.

[cantwait06]

NEXT.. First Open Dining trip and Camp Carnival Orientation AND.. something that I wish that EVERYONE could have but if you have kids MAKE SURE TO GET!!!

 

 

That phone sounds great, I hope they have it on the Imagaination!

[BrookeLH2]

After changing into swimsuits it was up to the pool and the slide my kids were dying to try. My youngest was 36.5 inches and you must be 36 to slide. All the measuring sticks had her big enough except the one at the bottom of the slide was warped a little.. but when they had someone down there they never questioned me when I said she's tall enough. She was my slider, older kid got tired of the walk and line after a couple of slides, youngest one could make that hike all day.

 

Then we lounged by the middle pool of the 3 (aft pool being the "adult" pool and planned landing place for the 500 ParrotHeads on board). This middle pool became our place for the week. Good hang out spot plenty of waiters and with the stage entertainment was plentiful. The regular band was lots of fun and I put on my "no one here will see me again" attitude and even got up to my kids surprise and did the dance instruction to the Carribbean music they were playing. My signal to my family "it's time to have some fun". Ordered 2 DOD cards from the first bar and me and DW had our 2 first DOD. Good perfect thing after the stressful morning. I felt myself and family slip into relaxation/vacation mode. Oh yeah, grabbed some food from buffet, big spread out buffet but once you get it down you know where to go.. well I did. On last sea day I heard a guy finally ask a waiter "where do you get a burger?". The answer is the only place is out by the middle pool "grill" area of the buffet (same w/ hotdogs and nacho chips/cheese/meat that my DW liked).

 

Oh yeah one thing I forgot to mention, our dining was changed for us from "Early" sitting to "Open". DW was annoyed but I was in vacation mode and figured "lets give it a try". PLUS I knew it would be tough to be on the highest deck near the funnel passing under the Skyway bridge while in the dining room. Which I'd read was THE place to be for that and you know what IT WAS COOL. So anyway, lounged by pool, took our own walk around the ship got our bearings. Swung by Camp Carnival because this was one of only 2 times adults could walk in and check it out. Kids were excited about it. So after more lounging/swimming/relaxing we figured we'd unpack, get ready for dinner and then go up for skyway bridge passing. Which we did. As mentioned before GO UP TO TOP DECK NEAR THE FUNNEL FOR THIS.. neat to watch front of ship pass under bridge then look up as the funnel clears by about 5 feet. People were cheering like it was magic or something. BUT more it felt like "we're on our way" cause after that bridge it's open waters!!

 

NEXT.. First Open Dining trip and Camp Carnival Orientation AND.. something that I wish that EVERYONE could have but if you have kids MAKE SURE TO GET!!!

I've read so many reviews, but I still don't know what all these acronyms mean that people use...what is DW? DOD? Thanks =)

[igraack]

Took me awhile too.. DW=Dear Wife.. DOD = Drink of the Day (that one is worthwhile since it takes a lot of time to type) :) DH=Dear Husband, SIL=Sister In Law, etc etc..

[BrookeLH2]

Ahhhh, thanks! I figured the W was Wife, H was Husband, etc., but couldn't figure out what the D was!! Haha, thanks!

[Grayce]

Can't wait to read more!

[kimberlys]

I can't wait to read about the different ports!

 

Do you know if you are assigned a "specific" dining time (we are early seating) can you try the open dining? Or would you have to clear that with the dining room?

[deeron51]

Thank you so much for your review - really enjoying reading it.

[igraack]

We were assigned to "early" sitting which is 6pm(ish). However once we got on ship and looked at S&S card it said "open seating". I believe you have 1 day to try and change if you'd like to early, late or open. We "thought" we were Early the whole time leading up to the cruise wasnt till we got on ship we saw it was changed to "open".

[igraack]

I'd read a topic once that debated whether getting up early to watch a sunrise was "worth it". Well with daylight savings time and ship docking 8am ship time (6am Roatan time) we caught many sunrises. This might answer the "is it worth it" question. Plus it was taken from our balcony room 8246.

 

http://family.webshots.com/photo/2387733370104984637NlQqSZ

[ama-sam]

Today I realized I need a vacation and after narrowing down the many options, found this itinerary and think I am hooked. Your sunrise picture just might convince me to book this weekend.

Looking forward to the rest of your review...

Ally

[igraack]

Here's outline of what I've still got to write... when I have time..

 

Day 2 Sea Day (the wonders of relaxation)

Day 3 Grand Cayman (or why to take a full min van over an empty one)

Day 4 Cozumel (ahhhhhh Paradise Beach)

Day 5 Belize (Captain Your Own Boat Tour .. thrilling, crocs, monkeys, etc)

Day 6 Roatan (seriously paradise, loved wish the ship stayed longer)

Day 7 Last Sea day (chair hogs and wind)

Day 8 Tampa (disembarkation and the wonders of Luggage Express)

Miscellaneous stuff.. (entertainment, staff, rooms, Camp Carnival, Parrotheads, etc etc)

 

So.. as you have questions throw em out there. I'll work on this over the next few days.

[igraack]

Today I realized I need a vacation and after narrowing down the many options, found this itinerary and think I am hooked. Your sunrise picture just might convince me to book this weekend.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review...

 

Ally

 

I really did enjoy this itinerary. It's a great "beach" itinerary. Really you end up having 2 1/2 days at sea because you leave Roatan so early (eventhough I wish it stayed later).

 

Truly a "fun" ship, and if you go say hey to Justin the guitar player in the Atrium lobby. He can whip up most any song and sounds great in that large lobby space. We were requesting all kinds of music from my late 80's college days and his REM and LIVE were fabulous. More to come :)

[bakechef]

I remember when food cruise was much better and had more of a WOW factor. I have read many threads about how much better Carnival's food is much better than what Royal Caribbean now offers, too bad because back 10-12 years ago it was sooooo good.

[igraack]

I remember when food cruise was much better and had more of a WOW factor. I have read many threads about how much better Carnival's food is much better than what Royal Caribbean now offers, too bad because back 10-12 years ago it was sooooo good.

 

I agree. I will say this though. The Supper Club blew my sox off, well worth the $30/extra. OH MY it was like a $100/person restaurant easily. I'll have full review of that later. But lets just say even my picky wife said "i wish I had a camera to take a picture of this food" . But that doesnt make the "regular" dining room seem any better once you go back from Supper Club :(

[Cathy p]

It is like reading a good book and have to put in down as lunch time is over. I am ready for the rest. Going on the Legend in October.

[BrookeLH2]

I'd read a topic once that debated whether getting up early to watch a sunrise was "worth it". Well with daylight savings time and ship docking 8am ship time (6am Roatan time) we caught many sunrises. This might answer the "is it worth it" question. Plus it was taken from our balcony room 8246.

 

http://family.webshots.com/photo/2387733370104984637NlQqSZ

Your picture is beautiful!!!

[bakechef]

I agree. I will say this though. The Supper Club blew my sox off, well worth the $30/extra. OH MY it was like a $100/person restaurant easily. I'll have full review of that later. But lets just say even my picky wife said "i wish I had a camera to take a picture of this food" . But that doesnt make the "regular" dining room seem any better once you go back from Supper Club :(

 

I liked the food on the legend, but I wasn't blown away either. I did the supperclub on the Glory and it was amazing, some of the best food that I have ever experienced.

[igraack]

Well.. on with the review...

 

First nights sleep was "ok" but thats always me. Too much to think about. I will say this WOW those curtains make the rooms DARK. We brought a nighlight as I read on a forum BUT.. we wanted to put in the bathroom, the ONLY plug in the bathroom was marked "shaver" and was some kind of funky foreign plug... looks like we needed an adapter. Should've asked for one but never did. Anyway, with curtains fully closed it's dark as an inside room. That always helps me sleep. Beds were "ok" I enjoyed the pillows wife did not.. but she doesnt like ours at home either. We had a glass of wine from smuggled on Bota box of Pinot Grigio.. great white wine in a box (yes it can be done). We had room steward empty fridge for us and put our wine and gatorade in it. Took a day to cool off, but im' guessing from poor design of having fridge in closed cabinet. Once we started leaving cabinet door open fridge worked better.

 

The first sea day started with breakfast in the buffet. This being the first trip to the buffet for breakfast I started with a scouting lap around the area while kids held down the table by the window. Our room was aft so we came up at the back area of the buffet. I learned quickly where the cereal was so I could get my cereal loving kid going with a bowl of Lucky Charms and a cinammon roll while I went to the eggs cooked to order station. Here's my tip here.. there are 4 food stations 1 will not have eggs cooked to order 3 will. Invariably there will be long line at one or two but not all 3 if you want an omelette or eggs. Most people dont know you can (and I did) get eggs over easy or any other way you want, also they have egg whites as well for those of you health conscious. I've seen many complaints about them serving you the ham and bacon, but I never cared and they give you whatever you ask for so no biggie to me. I'd usually get a bowl and get sausage and bacon in it fairly full and share with the kids who'd eat it all up. Wife and I are from Missouri we were surprised at grits everyday on the buffet but must be lots who like them. The "biscuits" they have are "interesting" and not your typical buttermilk biscuit. The sausage gravy is tons of sausage and light on the gravy but tasty. Coffee seemed inconsistent in the buffet area as to quality.. sometimes strong sometimes weak. Also they had pancakes or french toast everyday but waffles were only to be had in the dining room from what I could tell. Juice was good, kids loved the Pasa-Quava juice but they stopped having it everyday at 11ish and went straight lemonade only. Never had trouble finding a table in buffet for the most part (except disembarkation day).

 

So.. breakfast is done.. we move out to the pool. Found 2 chairs right by the pool, not in the sun right away but with deck above and moving ship sun seemed to move around anyway. Pool was ALWAYS in the sun so we'd sit there if needing some rays, in the pool area. Chair hogs were not to be seen this first day, so they set the trap for the last day where it was ridiculous.. but I get ahead of myself.

 

More to come :)

[igraack]

First sea day..

 

Starting by finding the two chairs was good bet. We are a family of four but the kids can share our chair or mostly they are in the water. I'm kind of annoyed when people grab chairs but for "everyone" but never use all of them. The crowds around the pools were pretty spaced evenly. Since this was the 2009 Parrothead Cruise (500 Jimmy Buffett "phans" on board). They overtake the adult pool as part of an annual ceremony they have. I know there are lots of groups that cruise but I will have to say cruising with the Parrotheads on board wasnt too bad at all. I did notice ALL the entertainers on board had brushed up on their Buffett but other than a little extra "margariatville" playing they are a fun bunch to have on board. Many that I met have been doing it for years.. so would I sail again on a cruise packed with Parrotheads.. absolutely. Seems to me that Parrotheads are the perfect kind of cruisers just fun loving, paradise seeking group of people. Here's to you guys, it was nice meeting y'all. ANYWAY.. with 500 parrotheads and others at the aft pool that left the families and spring breakers and remaining others to divy up the other 2 pools. The middle pool was great because I liked the island music played by Energy, sipping a DOD listening to the steel drums and tropical party music was perfect. As for the spring breakers there were lots of college "kids" on board, but mostly all hung out together and were outgoing and fun to talk to. Only drunken out of control anything I saw was on the dock in Cozumel and that was a Parrothead my parents age.

 

One of my "complaints"... ready... I HATE THE SODA CARD.. here's why. With so many kids and others on board this week it took me FOREVER to get a bartender to take my "real" drink order. Everyone up at the bar flashing their soda cards. I'm not a soda drinker and other than the wine I brought on board and left in my cabin I enjoy getting tropical vacation drinks from the bar or a bucket of beers. But waiting for 10 people with soda cards to get their cups filled while I was trying to get a real drink at the bar was annoying. I wish they had some self serve soda fountain off to the side with a single crew member checking cards that fountain card users could use. I think the card is a good deal for those who are soda drinkers I just wish there was a better system for using it. Ok complaint done...

 

One thing I figured out about the bar.. they have LOTS of different beers, much more than what is displayed. If you have a favorite just ask. You might be surprised. They had Landshark Lager on this cruise, I guessing because of the Parrotheads but maybe it's all the time. I love that beer but if I didnt see someone order one I'd never had known.

 

About the pool. I liked the design with a 5 foot deep middle and very shallow space around the side to just sit in. Becomes a very social area with people relaxing, talking and meeting everyone while the kids played in the pool. Even my youngest could easily swim from one side to the other since I'm guessing the pool is only about 10 ft wide. Hot tub was always busy. I've read lots of complaints that it's not that hot.. well it's not because everyone leaves the bubbles on all the time. If you get in the hot tub early in the morning before anyone bubbles it up for hours.. it's HOT and feels good. We're early risers so I had a chance to enjoy it before the spring breakers got up and swarmed it. It was nice.

 

More to come.. later.. activities and dinner 2nd night.