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Legend of the Seas review


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Just back yesterday (Wednesday 8th Feb 2017) from a 10 night South Pacific cruise ex Brisbane.

 

In this review I’ll focus on the ship facilities and service. I also didn’t use the pool, spas, gym or set foot in the Day Spa. Not my scene (others can comment).

 

By way of background, this is my 9th cruise and 4th with RCI. I’ve previously cruised from Australia on Voyager and Explorer of the Seas (both sister ships) and Rhapsody of the Seas. Although Legend is a Vision Class Ship (same as Rhapsody) she was the first of the class and her design is a little different to Rhapsody (for example, Windjammer is at the front of Legend whereas it is at the rear on Rhapsody; the MDR on Legend has huge panoramic windows that let in a lot of natural light; and the smokestack and Viking Crown Lounge on Legend is positioned more amidships, which reduces the pool area but does leave room for a 9 hole putt putt golf course at the stern). Like for like I preferred the layout on Legend compared to Rhapsody.

 

Knowing that Legend has been sold to Thompson/TUI (and they make no secret of this) and that this was the second last of her South Pacific cruises I set my expectations low, expecting service levels and maintenance to be slipping. I was totally wrong. The service on board was fantastic, and being a smaller ship, staff do recognise and acknowledge you (hence I was “Mister David” to the bartenders in the Schooner Bar and the Viking Crown Lounge). Sometimes the service at the Pool Bar was a little slow (not their fault; I suspect a lot of people who use this bar are on a drinks package as the bar staff seem to be very busy making non-stop cocktails). Hint, if service is slow at the Pool Bar, go to the bar in the Solarium (same level) which is often quicker.

 

The foredeck plan on the Vision Class ships is open, so you get to see the staff working hard on port days anchoring or mooring. I was there a few times and they constantly play “It’s the Final Countdown…” to the crew decks and are always urging the staff to keeping serving “the Royal Way”. RCI is certainly doing its best to keep staff morale at the highest level, and this reflects well.

 

That said, there are a few indicators that the ship is on its way out. The mechanism for the aerial shows in the Centrum seems out of service and we never had any of the aerial shows on this cruise. I assume that’s it, which is a pity. A few of the deck chairs look a bit worse for wear, and many of the clocks on board have either stopped working or are set on the wrong time (the clock in the Schooner Bar is locked on to 5pm, which could be a good thing). However the crew were constantly working on maintenance (rust repair, pressure cleaning etc).

 

The MDR is great. Try and get there for breakfast as you will get table service and get to meet new fellow cruisers. The same for lunch (except on port days when your only lunch options are the Windjammer Café or the Park Café). Windjammer is Windjammer. You either like it or put up with it. Buffet service, and it can get very busy at peak times (breakfast and lunch), however good if you have young children to feed or you are pushed for time.

 

I tried the two speciality restaurants (Chops and Izumi). I love Japanese food so I went four times to Izumi (they offered me a 20% discount on port days). I tried Chops once and the food is high quality (although I struggled to get through all the courses). You pay extra for Chops ($35 USD per person) and a small cover charge and a la carte pricing for Izumi.

 

My favourite place on all the RCI ships is the Viking Crown Lounge (deck 11 on Legend). It’s a great spot to escape the busy public areas on the ship for some quiet time (reading or playing games). You get a great view of the pool deck from up there and you are in air conditioning. And as a bonus you can indulge in a drink when the bar is open. However, on Legend the Viking Crown Lounge was my (personal) biggest disappointment. During the 2013 refurb they added Izumi and Chops to the area normally allocated to the Viking Crown Lounge, reducing it to around one third of its former size, and with views on the starboard side only (Izumi has the pick of the forward views). To add further to my woes, the best part of the Viking Crown Lounge was closed off each evening on my cruise from 5pm to 8.30pm for the overflow from the Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Lounge. There seemed to be a disproportionate number of Diamond and higher cruisers on this cruise, and I assume this trend will continue until she is transferred to Thompson/TUI (quite a few on board are continuing through to Barcelona).

 

I like the Schooner Bar on Legend. It seems larger and better laid out than on the past three RCI ships I’ve been on, however it does get used a lot for Trivia Comps, Scrapbooking seminars etc. The R Bar can also get very busy when there are performances on in the Centrum.

 

I did notice an increasing trend by RCI to “sell stuff” on board. In this cruise, they introduced an Art Auction program. Now I don’t mind the RCI selling culture. I understand that if they can supplement revenue by selling value add on board, then that can help contain fare rises and make the base cruise affordable to more, but the problem with the Art Auction is that it takes up valuable real estate on a small ship. During the day an area within the Centrum (which is already crowded) is taken up by art displays, and when the regular auctions are on, the Anchors Aweigh Lounge, which would be ideal for the trivia comps and others that clog up the Schooner Bar, is taken over by art works.

 

All in all I enjoyed myself. This review probably isn’t going to help many as I believe all the remaining cruises are (or are close to be) sold out.

 

At the Senior Officers briefing on the second last day a few questions were asked about the ship’s transition to Thompson/TUI. It seems that it will be configured for the UK market, and the casino will be gutted and replaced by enhanced public areas. I’d love to go back and experience her as Discovery 2 to see the changes.

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Thank you very much for your detailed Legend of the Seas review.

I'll be at the last RCCL sailing before she is handed over to Thomson Cruises in Barcelona.

Hope the level of service will remain for the last RCCL sailings.

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Thanks for review. We were on the same cruise and enjoyed a similar experience.

 

We did the Chef's table, Chops champagne lunch and kitchen tour, and a regular dinner in Chops package (USD120 for the 3). All were good, but the filet mignon in chops was "off the menu" when we dined (apparently they had complaints from earlier diners about the quality).

 

The R Bar staff were great - we did spend a bit of time there and enjoyed good banter with the 2 guys there.

 

The impression of from the officers at the "Captains Corner" was that for the last few voyages they wanted it to be a celebration of the ship, not a "run out" cruise to Barcelona. Apparently the last couple of sectors will have around 400+ diamonds and above.

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