Carnival LEGEND - My Review

CARNIVAL LEGEND: July 18th – 25th 2010

This is my second cruise on the LEGEND in the last 9 months and sixth Carnival Cruise overall; I sailed on her in October 2009 for my 50th Birthday. This time it was just my Wife and I. Most, if not everything was identical to my original LEGEND experience, with the minor exception of the itinerary change switching the order of going to Roatan before Belize. Other than that the other alterations would have to be the different excursions we did this time around so I shall elaborate further below.

Embarkation Day

What else can I say, this is my 4th cruise out of the Port of Tampa and they certainly have their act together. After our initial check-in and receiving our respective sail and sign cards we were onboard and sitting on the Lido Deck enjoying lunch by 11:30 AM. I had originally booking an ocean view cabin several months earlier and was hoping that the upgrade fairy would call, however they never did as the cruise was sold out. Be that as it may, we spent very little time in our cabin so it really made little difference in the end with the sole exception of saving some $$$. Our cabin Stewart YOSSI was terrific and was able to scrounge up two “original style” past guest pins for us although I did buy one of the newer (larger) pins in the gift shop.

Fun Day At Sea #1

Aside from the usual FDAS activities and such, the day was filled with great food activities, and entertainment. We were scheduled for the early/main seating for dinner and found ourselves on the lower level of Truffles Restaurant at a table for two. We really wanted to sit at another larger table with other guests and after contacting KEN the Maitre’D we ended up at a table for six on the lower/main level.

Grand Cayman

Our first Port of Call (POC) was Grand Cayman and we were able to tender right into Georgetown in a matter of minutes. Based on the advise of others here on CRUISE CRITIC, we chose to walk down to EDEN ROCK and snorkel for….wait for it…..FREE!!! We have our own snorkel gear so this was a pretty good money $aving alternative. After that we walked around town and went to Diamond International and Tanzanite International where you could redeem a coupon issued onboard for a free bracelet and charm. We also took advantage of the FREE samples of rum and rum cake and bought some cakes from BLACK BEARDS rum cake stand, which is located inside the open-air market area. It was a pretty good deal, buy 6-mini-cakes for $30 and get a large one FREE!

Cozumel

This was our 4th visit to Cozumel and we wanted to do something different. In the past three visits, we elected to go on the Fury Catamaran Snorkel/Beach Party excursion. Why a 3rd time? Because it Rocks! However this time, and also based on the advise of others here on CRUISE CRITIC, we chose to go to the NACHI COCUM beach resort. This was a short 10-minute ($15) taxi ride from Puerta Maya. We spent a few hours there enjoying the crystal clear beach water, fresh water pool, the 4-course lunch, and unlimited booze. All in all a great day!

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our excursion that included mountain biking through the rainforest and seeing the live habitat filled with monkeys, flora, and termites that you could "sample" if you wished. I passed. After the bike-hike we were treated to a swim at a beautiful pool and provided with a lunch of local cuisine; chicken not termites. Should I ever find myself going back to Belize I may venture out on another excursion, but then again, they don't serve termites on the Lido deck so I may as well stay onboard.

Isla Roatan

This was our second visit to Roatan and although we were really impressed with our previous trip to Tabyana Beach, we wanted to try out Mahogany Bay. Carnival did a great job here. The beach itself is truly MAGNIFICIENT indeed with clean white sand and its refreshing turquoise water. We used the chairlift over and back and were supplied with two chairs, two rafts, and a turtle cover for the chairs. Truly a great beach!!!

Belize

This was our second visit to Belize and this time we chose to go cave tubing. Once again based on the advise of others here at CRUISE CRITIC we opted to go with cave-tubing.com and were not disappointed one bit. The “Masters of the Caves” were all incredibly professional and courteous. The lead guide – MYLES and his crew went all out to make sure we were safe, well-informed, and brought back to the port well before the last tender departed.

Fun Day At Sea #2

Our FDAS #2 was spent poolside for most of the day enjoying the sights & sounds and of course plenty of fun. Once thing to add here that is not necessarily associated with FDAS activities but rather all cruise long is the great level of spectacular entertainment, food, and activities that you can enjoy and participate in. I will not go into detail here except to say all was top notch!!

Debarkation

Self-assist is the way to go. Fast, efficient, and generally hassle free and the Port of Tampa once again demonstrated that they have their act together. All in all, this was yet another incredible Carnival Cruise experience that I am looking forward to repeating once again next November 2010 on the INSPIRATION.

Wonder if you could tell me.....The chair-lift in Roatan.......DH and I have some mobility issues. We use canes and lets just say neither of us are "petit" people:p Will we be able to use this.

Wonder if you could tell me.....The chair-lift in Roatan.......DH and I have some mobility issues. We use canes and lets just say neither of us are "petit" people:p Will we be able to use this.

I would say most certainly as the lift moves slowly and the bench seat is around 4-5 feet wide.

Wonder if you could tell me.....The chair-lift in Roatan.......DH and I have some mobility issues. We use canes and lets just say neither of us are "petit" people:p Will we be able to use this.

Just to add my 2 cents...We were at Mohogany Beach back In April and if you have mobility issues (as my brother did), they will even stop the chair for you to board and deboard it safely. The chairs seat 4 comfortably so your good :)

Thanks for that great review!

I would say most certainly as the lift moves slowly and the bench seat is around 4-5 feet wide.

Just to add my 2 cents...We were at Mohogany Beach back In April and if you have mobility issues (as my brother did), they will even stop the chair for you to board and deboard it safely. The chairs seat 4 comfortably so your good :)

Thanks so much........I feel a lot better......have been worrying about this.

My friend & I are sailing on the Legend on Aug 15~we are doing a "girls" cruise& leaving our husbands home! I sailed on the Liberty last April & loved it~this will be my 12th cruise & my friends 6th, her first on Carnival. I know she will be pleasantly surprised with the wonderful, food, service & entertainment! Thanks for the great review~counting the days!

We used cave-tubbing.com in Belize also and they are the BEST!!!

I was impress with the whole Mahoney Bay area in Roatan. Didn't go to the beach since I live in FL and have the beaches I try some of the tours. We did the Pirates, Monkeys and Birds, which was fun, but don't do it this time of the year because it is very hot. Holding the monkey was such fun since my hair was wet with sweat it loved sitting on my head.

Love the Legend and can't wait to go again.

Naoma

COZUMEL CORRECTION....

I guess that somewhere along the way a previous section from another review that was about Belize was integrated into the Cozumel section and as I cannot edit my review please disregard it.

Cozumel

This was our 4th visit to Cozumel and we wanted to do something different. In the past three visits, we elected to go on the Fury Catamaran Snorkel/Beach Party excursion. Why a 3rd time? Because it Rocks! However this time, and also based on the advise of others here on CRUISE CRITIC, we chose to go to the NACHI COCUM beach resort. This was a short 10-minute ($15) taxi ride from Puerta Maya. We spent a few hours there enjoying the crystal clear beach water, fresh water pool, the 4-course lunch, and unlimited booze. All in all a great day!

Disregard Below

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our excursion that included mountain biking through the rainforest and seeing the live habitat filled with monkeys, flora, and termites that you could "sample" if you wished. I passed. After the bike-hike we were treated to a swim at a beautiful pool and provided with a lunch of local cuisine; chicken not termites. Should I ever find myself going back to Belize I may venture out on another excursion, but then again, they don't serve termites on the Lido deck so I may as well stay onboard.

I was wondering about the walk to Eden Rock, is there a beach? How far is the walk?

we are on the Legend in September. Was all set to go to Tabyahna...now you"ve got me thinking about Mahogany Bay!! Is this a Carnival excursion w/the chair lift? Ans does it go right from the area we port? Sorry to butt in, but it sounds interesting!!

Legend is one of my favorite ships..we'll be on her for the 3rd time in October...first time we are able to go to Mahogany Bay (opened after we were there in Oct last year) and we are looking forward to it...one quick question...what is a turtle cover? Never heard of this before..I'm assuming maybe some sort of "turkish towel like cover that has elastic running around it to fit on the chair so it won't blow away" :confused::confused:

I was wondering about the walk to Eden Rock, is there a beach? How far is the walk?

The walk is no more than 5-8 minutes and there is no real beach to speak of, however there is a small strip of sand and lounge chairs to use is you want.

we are on the Legend in September. Was all set to go to Tabyahna...now you"ve got me thinking about Mahogany Bay!! Is this a Carnival excursion w/the chair lift? Ans does it go right from the area we port? Sorry to butt in, but it sounds interesting!!

It’s totally FREE to walk over and grab a chair, however I believe the Carnival “excursion” fee of $20 bucks covered the use of the lift, two chairs, two floats, and the turtle cover.

Legend is one of my favorite ships..we'll be on her for the 3rd time in October...first time we are able to go to Mahogany Bay (opened after we were there in Oct last year) and we are looking forward to it...one quick question...what is a turtle cover? Never heard of this before..I'm assuming maybe some sort of "turkish towel like cover that has elastic running around it to fit on the chair so it won't blow away"

The “turtle” cover is more of a half-moon shaped, tent-like covering that goes over the chairs and provides shade. It is made of green canvass and thus resembles a turtle shell.

Sounds like you had a fabulous time! :)

It seems like yesterday we were just counting down with you and now you are back and have completed your review. Time is just a flyin! :(

After reading your review I'm ready to finalize plans with cave-tubing dot com. Thanks for the review ShotoJuku...now it's time to focus on your next one - the Inspiration. ;)

Thanks ShotoJuku! Great info!!

one quick question...what is a turtle cover? Never heard of this before..I'm assuming maybe some sort of "turkish towel like cover that has elastic running around it to fit on the chair so it won't blow away" :confused::confused:

I think the OP means a "clamshell".

I think the OP means a "clamshell".

Yes, but they were called turtle's at MB.

Hello Meowsmurphy,

My family and I will be sailing with you for our first experience on the Legend. We have been on several Carnival cruises however and just can not wait!

We were on this same sailing and couldn't agree more with this review, except for one thing. We got to the port around 12:30-1:00 and the line was horrendous! Luckily we had VIP boarding which was a real treat, but some people told me it took them almost 2 hours to get onboard.

Went to Tabyana Beach in Roatan last time I was there, thought it was very nice, but loooved Mohagany Bay. Very clean, convenient, terrific shops with nobody hastling you to buy. If you only want the chair lift ride, you can purchase right at the start of it for $10 adults, $6 children (i think thru age 8 or 10). We weren't charged for chairs. Nice restaurant with good food, but it's easy enough to go back to the ship for food also.:)

ps...specific shows included a balancing expert...truly amazing, a physical comedian (mostly juggling), hypnotist with a late night r-rated show that was very funny, and 2 new Carnival shows, a jazz tribute (so-so) and The Big Easy which was fabulous...not to be missed! Singers and dancers were really top notch.

pps....Carnival Legends show should go!!!

Just one postscript addition that I forgot to mention that I am VERY PROUD of my incredibly beautiful, and brilliant Wife who won three great prizes in a call in trivia contest!!! Cruise Director Jen and her assistant James hosted a call in trivia show that was seen over the ships TV channel. In order to win she had to answer the following trivia questions:

1. What is the national sport of Canada?

2. Who played the character of Eddie in the film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show?"

3. What color paint did Mr. Miyagi have Daniel-San paint his house in "The Karate Kid" film?

I am PROUD to say that she was able to come up with the correct answers and won the following prizes:

1. A faux gold medallion on a red/white/blue ribbon.

2. An expensive bottle of champagne direct from Wal-Mart.

3. And finally, the ultimate prize of all prizes - a 24K solid GOLD (plastic) SHIP-ON-A-STICK!!!!

As of now the medallion is hanging off the corner of my computer desk, while the champagne is chilling in the fridge, and the 24K solid GOLD (plastic) SHIP-ON-A-STICK is being PROUDLY displayed in the living room!!!

Oh and in case your curious about the answers to the trivia questions they are: 1. Lacrosse, 2. Meatloaf, 3. Green

TTFN