Carnival Legend Review sailed 3/15/09 LONG REVIEW

[igraack]

OK... I'm back sorry work is crazy.. I need a vacation ;)

 

SOOO..

 

Dinner was without kids since they liked piggin out with their Camp Carnival friends and eating "kid" food. But this time we picked them up around 8pm to get seats in the theater for The Amazing Lubo and a comedian (who's name I forget already). Of course Carnival does an 8pm Bingo to give you something to do (DANG IT JUST 2 numbers away) ...

 

**side topic.. MY LUCK on this cruise.. Actually was good, but I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. On embarkation day I forgot to mention as we walked around the ship my wife and I both signed up for the Spa drawings. Well of course you needed to be present to win so my wife went.. GUESS WHO ENDED UP WINNING??? Yep the NOT PRESENT ME. It was for a FREE massage and shave.. boy my wife was pissed. I was bummed too, but oh well I'm on vacation. AND as all vacations I didnt reapply sunscreen in Grand Cayman and was TOAST already. Massages and sunburns dont mix. ANYWAY. Another tip I didnt know this until midway through the cruise but if you buy a "signature" drink (different than DOD) which is $7.95 you take it (the receipt) to the Casino for a $5 match play. Me and wife both did.. I put mine on roulette w/ $5 on 1-18 and won. Gave my wife my now LUCKY $5 chip she put it down on 19-36 and SHE WON. So we got more $1 chips played for about 30 mins and won $70 then walked away. THANKS CARNIVAL THOSE WERE GOOD DRINKS :) ***

 

Back to the review.. SO.. we're FRONT AND CENTER. My kids love the front row, and now for Lubo it was the seat to have. He's a big necked strong guy with a beautiful assitant (the comedian later had a joke that all the guys didnt see Lubo balance anything). Well Lubo starts by balancing glasses, then more, the candles, then burning oil lamps (the ship must love that), the golf clubs then a bike all on his head. BUT THE COOLEST THING.. Two swords TIP TO TIP. And he had audience members test the swords.. I was one of those guys. They are solid steel, not sharp that it would cut you but balancing point down over your eyeballs.. could kill you if it fell just right I'd guess. Anyway.. we were ALL amazed. It was a great show. Then he was followed by a comedian.. and he was FUNNY. I wish i remember his name. He was from Alabama so my 7yr old was laughing so hard at him but I think it was just his silliness and accent that got her funny bone. ANYWAY, great show the whole family enjoyed it (7yr old wanted to buy the comedian's CD). So then it was off to bed we were all tired from a great day. Back to the cabin.. yes we did have towel animals every night and the kids loved that. Especially using their sunglasses or something.

 

Next up Cozumel and Paradise Beach.

[alexw]

I really miss the Legend. Great job bringing back those memories.

[Livin4Real]

Wonderful review! We are booked on Princess for October but looking like we're going to switch to the Legend more and more everyday :)

[KimberleyFL]

Can you tell me what kind of selections were on the dining room menu and at the Lido buffet? Do they have chicken strips at the grill? Thanks.

[ColoradoMom!!]

We're considering this cruise and are hanging on every word. Thanks for all the great details. :D

[cuyahoga11]

Can you tell me what kind of selections were on the dining room menu and at the Lido buffet? Do they have chicken strips at the grill? Thanks.

 

 

Yes they have chicken strips

[igraack]

Sorry, traveling for work delayed continuing.. dumb work.. i need a vacation.

 

Wednesday.. Cozumel...

 

First the ship docks at the newer dock in Cozumel which has a very nice (touristy) "village" connected to the dock. The shops had most of what you would look for in Mexico at higher prices than your typical downtown Cozumel vendor village. I needed a rash guard shirt to protect myself from burning anymore so for $34 at the Ron Jons shop I paid basically same as US prices. There is one big store with all the typical Mexican toursty items.. Vanilla, sombrero's, etc. Which was priced pretty well. My DW bought a big straw hat to keep the shade out for $4. ANYWAY, off to our pre chosen destination of Paradise Beach. Now I had done lots of research on where I wanted to lounge the day away with the family on the beach. We chose Paradise beach for a few main reasons 1) $10 and the kids can play on everything, snorkel, kayak, use rafts etc 2) No entrance fee, nice chairs and umbrellas as long as you buy food and drink 3) Free internet access via 2 laptops at the bar (it was the day before the NCAA tournament began and a man has to get his brackets done). So, we walked out to the taxi area which was swarmed with people trying to talk you into going everywhere. I saw a small car taxi in line.. i walked past everyone else and up to him and said "Paradise Beach?" he said $14.. and off we went. Now I had read how some places pay cab drivers to bring them guests, our cab driver subtly suggested a couple places, asked again as we got close but I stuck to my guns. I'm glad I did, Paradise Beach wasnt "gorgeous" as Roatan but was stacked with lots of fun stuff to do. We grabbed chairs/table/umbrella 2 rows from the water. Met our waiter for the day Dominique and ordered a bucket of XX. The place is laid out well, 2 really cool parrots, a chihuaha and 2 water trampolines, big water slide, an "ice berg", big floating mats to lay in the water and kayaks and snorkels to use. We DID have a major downpour roll in for abou 30mins. When it moved out it was hot and sunny. It was fun during the rain too, i sat up at the bar watching everyone drink heavily while the wife and kids played in the water since they were wet anyway. We had 3 buckets of beers a burger (the kids split it was HUGE and came with fries) and we got the big monster nachos. Total for the day was $54.. MAJOR TIP ABOUT PARADISE BEACH. They charge 20% premium if you use a credit card. So make sure to bring cash!!! When we were ready to leave there were a hundred cabs lined up to take people back to the ship. This driver said $13, I said "ok". I never haggled over the cab since they all were in line with getting me where I wanted to be for $20 or less. As I metioned before every island seemed to be the same for my family to get to where they wanted to go. We made it back to the tourist village pier area about 45 mins before the "back on board time". We bought some vanilla and other souvenirs and hopped back on board.

 

Tonights entertainment a juggling comedian...

[gavaman]

Just wondering which nights were formal nights on the Legend?

[deeron51]

I cannot wait for August!! This will be our very first Carnival cruise. Thank you so, so much for all of the great tips!!

[igraack]

Just wondering which nights were formal nights on the Legend?

 

First at Sea Day evening (Monday) and evening after Roatan before last Sea Day (Friday).

[igraack]

First forgive me for not remembering the Juggling Comedians name. I'm horrible with stuff like that. However he was very good and juggling on a tall unicycle on a ship was pretty impressive. He did some good audience particiapation stuff too and was considered a "hit" by the family. We returned to the room realizing we hadn't drunk too much of the wine we brought on board, so we might as well hang out on the balcony and while the kids sleep.

 

I've forgotten to mention that we had wonderful towel animals every night and our guy was very creative with them. Kids were always excited to see what the animal would be for the night and then argue over "who" got to sleep with it (always falling apart by morning).

 

After a goods night sleep it was time for Belize.. the only "booked" excursion we had planned.

 

Now here's where we had some stress and confusion... For this cruise Belize was 2 hrs behind "Ships Time"... Our excursion was for 9am when we booked it. Belize is a LONG tender ride. Cruise excursion tenders started meeting at 7:50am and "general" tenders were starting at 10am. I did not clarify with the excursion company about 9am being local time (which it was). So I was more concerned about getting to the ship on time. So the stress level was even higher... Here's how it worked out

 

Belize morning, breakfast while the tenders started unloading. Messages said for "cruise excursion" passengers to meet in the follies lounge, but NEVER do they mention "other excursions planned" what you should do. I was pretty annoyed by this. Well here's how it really works. ONCE they start tendering and having people meet in the follies lounge at various times there is ALWAYS some room on EVERY tender. You go to the lounge tell them you have an external planned excursion and they'll point to the front of the stage and say "see Matt". Matt will ask how many in your party and give you a number, then you wait. Matt has the numbers for the "available" seats on the tenders once they are full of the ship excursion people. So we showed up .. and he had 4 tickets left for "Tender 5". Which turned out to be the next one, we sat for 2 minutes got called and were on our way. In the end we were WAY early for our excursion but I did not want to miss it. Also the fact that any of this is not explained ANYWHERE is confusing as well. So now you all know and can plan accordingly. Hopefully this all helps anyone else later. Also make sure you know what time ship time the excursion ends. More about my excursion later.. but thats what's important.

 

Next up Belize...

[speedster]

Great review!!

 

 

Cruising on the the Legend in 87 days, can't wait!

 

Your review is escpecially useful for me because we'll be with our 1.5 year old, so we'll be looking to get off the boat and find a beach for the day. Now I know which beaches to go to!

 

Thanks

[bigsteve5]

What night was the food not so good in the dining room? That is when we would like to got the "fancy" restaurant.

[guatmama821]

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.

We sail on 5/24 for the first cruise with our 2.5 year old daughter. I was so glad to read what you had to say about Camp Carnival. The phone will make my worry wart husband feel better. What excursions did you take that the kids enjoyed? I haven't heard anything good about Belize or Roatan so I am anxious to see what you say. We are considering the pirate ship in Grand Cayman.

[igraack]

What night was the food not so good in the dining room? That is when we would like to got the "fancy" restaurant.

 

Obviously the formal nights have better food choices. I actually didnt look at menu when choosing the night in the upscale dining, but chose a night that had just a "singer" for the show and Camp Carinval had good night planned. For us that was after Cozumel. The Supper Club takes close to 3 hours and that time flys by. Not to jump ahead to my description of that food, but I would say this.. .once you have the Supper Club the rest of the dining is all "not so good". The Supper Club is amazing...

[igraack]

We sail on 5/24 for the first cruise with our 2.5 year old daughter. I was so glad to read what you had to say about Camp Carnival. The phone will make my worry wart husband feel better. What excursions did you take that the kids enjoyed? I haven't heard anything good about Belize or Roatan so I am anxious to see what you say. We are considering the pirate ship in Grand Cayman.

 

 

We saw the pirate ship.. it looked like tons of fun but my kids were frightened. They do have a cannon and they do shoot it off.. You can walk the plank and jump from the ship. All looked fun, but my girls were not thinking so, I thought it looked very fun.

 

Not to skip ahead, but Belize we did an excursion that was quite and adventure but I would never "go it alone" in Belize it was very poor and didnt lend itself to doing something on your own.

 

ROATAN.. oh my.. is amazing.. Reminded me of what most the Caribbean was like when only 1 ship could dock. I'm getting to it, but grab a cab, go to BananaRama resort (snorklers/diver resort about 3 resorts over from Tabyana where Carnival goes) and beach it that day. My kids did not want to leave, neither did I. I would go back to Roatan in a heartbeat.

[myacuna]

We are going on the Legend for our Honeymoon at the end of July. I am loving the review and can't wait for more!

[bigsteve5]

What would be the best night to go to the supper club? Can you recall a night when the dining room menu was particularly uninspired?

[WhiteDane]

My family and I cruised on the Legend in July 2008. I just spoke to a Carnival agent about booking for the new Dream ship this Christmas. She said the Legend is the next ship in line to be refurbished.

 

After all the picky reviews I've read, I think my family must be easily impressed. We had a really fantastic time on the Legend. I can't imagine our cruise experience getting any better, so I hope this new ship can really blow our minds.

 

Sounds like you had a good experience. Can't wait to go on our second cruise.

[WhiteDane]

We saw the pirate ship.. it looked like tons of fun but my kids were frightened. They do have a cannon and they do shoot it off.. You can walk the plank and jump from the ship. All looked fun, but my girls were not thinking so, I thought it looked very fun.

 

Not to skip ahead, but Belize we did an excursion that was quite and adventure but I would never "go it alone" in Belize it was very poor and didnt lend itself to doing something on your own.

 

ROATAN.. oh my.. is amazing.. Reminded me of what most the Caribbean was like when only 1 ship could dock. I'm getting to it, but grab a cab, go to BananaRama resort (snorklers/diver resort about 3 resorts over from Tabyana where Carnival goes) and beach it that day. My kids did not want to leave, neither did I. I would go back to Roatan in a heartbeat.

 

I'm with you on Roatan. I read some other reviews where people hated it. I can't possibly imagine! It's not so commercialized like some of the other stops. The water was magnificent and snorkeling on those beaches was pure heaven!!

[bigsteve5]

My DW already posted the question about the supper club under my ID. (Her name is not "Steve.")

I grew up in St. Louis. I can accept your being a Chiefs fan, but, as far as baseball is concerned, you gotta love the Cardinals.

Amazing job on the trip review. We are booked on the Legend for our 18th cruise, but there are still gems of wisdom we are learning from your report.

[TravelingTrio]

Thank you so much for this review. I'm living vicariously through you right now. I can't wait to read the rest!

[62B]

Random confirmation question - Does the Legend have Pineapple juice available throughout the day?

[crusingcuties]

looking forward to more details... we're booked on the Legend :)

[krninco]

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. :)

 

Do they give this to any Camp Carnival families or is it limited to those with really young kids?