First Time Cruisers Review- Legend- 02/07-02/14

[Alaskagriz]

Great review, it sounds like you had a fine time, and made the best of the late arival into Tampa. I would like to also thank you for your service to our country and say, congratulations on your anniversary.

[Chowder_17]

Thanks for a wonderful review! We are going on Legend in four weeks, and you have helped me have a great idea of different things to expect. I had not heard about a bathrobe party......do we bring them from home or wear the ones on ship? Do you know if the walk for breast cancer is on each sailing? I was diagnosed last summer, after we had done a walk for the cure on a different cruiseline. Do they sell tshirts for the walk?

 

We plan on doing Bannister Island through ecotoursbelize. Did you talk to anyone who did this? Which beach on 7 mile beach did you go to?? Seagrape, Royal Palms, or some other one?? We have been to Tabyana Beach(before Mahogany was built) and thought we would just stay at Mahogany this time, but now I'm having second thoughts.

 

Again, thanks so much for all your time involved in writing your review.

 

Also, congratulations on your five year anniversary! We'll celebrate 39 years this July!

 

Thanks!

To answer your questions:

 

1. For the bathrobe party, you wear the ones provide for you in your room or you can wear your own from home if you want. We saw both.

 

2. I believe they said that they do the breast cancer walk on every cruise. The donation to enter is $10 and you recieve a t-shift and a bracelet. They should have everything in the capers and you pay formalities for the donation.

 

3. I haven't heard anyone talk about that excursion in Belize.

 

4. Not sure about what part of 7 mile beach we were at. It seemed like the public area, since that's where the busses and cabs were operating from. We were only there for about 1.5hrs.

 

Congrats on your anniversary and I pray for a speedy recovery for you.

[Chowder_17]

Great review, it sounds like you had a fine time, and made the best of the late arival into Tampa. I would like to also thank you for your service to our country and say, congratulations on your anniversary.

 

 

Thank you for the kind words! The delay into Tampa wasn't too much of a big deal to us. We just needed to make sure we could fly home on Sunday since the in-laws (that were watching our son) needed to get home Monday morning.

[cruising grandma]

Great review, it sounds like you had a fine time, and made the best of the late arival into Tampa. I would like to also thank you for your service to our country and say, congratulations on your anniversary.

 

OK, Gray, get that bathrobe ready for the party!

[cruising grandma]

Thanks!

To answer your questions:

 

1. For the bathrobe party, you wear the ones provide for you in your room or you can wear your own from home if you want. We saw both.

 

2. I believe they said that they do the breast cancer walk on every cruise. The donation to enter is $10 and you recieve a t-shift and a bracelet. They should have everything in the capers and you pay formalities for the donation.

 

3. I haven't heard anyone talk about that excursion in Belize.

 

4. Not sure about what part of 7 mile beach we were at. It seemed like the public area, since that's where the busses and cabs were operating from. We were only there for about 1.5hrs.

 

Congrats on your anniversary and I pray for a speedy recovery for you.

 

Thanks for all, especially prayers on recovery. I have had surgeries and am on meds for five years, so hope it doesn't come back.

[Chowder_17]

As far as what we packed as being too much or not enough...

 

We both packed too many bottoms and not enough tops. I also packed too many dresses, lol.

 

I also wish I brought a long-sleeved shirt or jacket. It was a bit cold on embarkment/disembarkment.

 

We both used the shampoo/liquid soap that was in the shower and they were both fine. I bought along my own conditioner though.

 

Really can't think of anything else we overpacked or forgot...

[kellyq]

May I ask how much you had paid for the vow renewal? My husband and I will be on board celebrating our 10th anniversary in May and I think it would be a big surprise for him if I set it up!

[Chowder_17]

May I ask how much you had paid for the vow renewal? My husband and I will be on board celebrating our 10th anniversary in May and I think it would be a big surprise for him if I set it up!

 

Sure, we did the standard package and it was $385, they also have a deluxe package.

 

Details here at: http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/weddings/pdf/vowrenewal08-09.pdf?icid=CC_Weddings_52

[CMM]

[/font]

 

We bought the bag into our room and I was happy to see that my rum runners made it though with no problem. However, throughout the duration of the cruise I think I only made two drinks with the alcohol that I bought. When we cruise again I probably won’t bring the rum runners anymore. There was too much worrying about smuggling alcohol when I barely drank it. However, the bottle that I got from my husband through Bon Voyage was a great deal and we will do that again.

 

E]

 

 

 

Yup I can relate. After pouring over reviews I convinced myself that everyone brings along packed alcohol. We didn't have a use for it as we enjoyed getting drinks in the various bars/lounges. Our cabin clean up crew benefited from our efforts when we left it at the end of the cruise, but I would have prefered not to mess with it in the first place.

 

 

You mentioned being the only Americans in the gym. What nationality were there?

 

Enjoyed your review. Helmet diving has always looked interesting & I appreciated your description. I think Carnival handled the delay very nicely with the air credit & hotel. Glad you made your flight, but sounds like Carnival tried their best to make a positive ending for everyone.

[habby]

Thanks for taking the time to post such a great review and to answer questions. May you celebrate many more anniversaries, either at sea or on land!

[BrennsMom]

Thank you so much for such a detailed review!!! My husband and I are going on the legend 3/21 for our honeymoon, and it is also our first cruise. It was like reading a book and imagining myself there so vividly!!! We have not booked any excursions for Belize or Roatan....we were just thinking about shopping and enjoying a beach hopefully!

[linda1cox]

Thank u so much for writing all this. My family is taking this Cruise this Sunday and u gave some really good things to do. I am so excited:)

 

Thanks again,

Linda

[Texaninarlington]

That was really a great review. I read it with interest because my DW and I took that same cruise on the Legend last July and your comments brought back very good memories. In my opinion, the Legend is a great ship and the staff is fantastic. We had absolutely no complaints. I will also say to anyone going on this cruise that I agree that Roatan was our favorite stop (we did ziplining) and Belize was our least favorite (did not enjoy the trip to and from the cave tubbing).

 

Thanks for the review and the memories. Hope we all have many more in the future.

[Chowder_17]

Yup I can relate. After pouring over reviews I convinced myself that everyone brings along packed alcohol. We didn't have a use for it as we enjoyed getting drinks in the various bars/lounges. Our cabin clean up crew benefited from our efforts when we left it at the end of the cruise, but I would have prefered not to mess with it in the first place.

 

 

You mentioned being the only Americans in the gym. What nationality were there?

 

Enjoyed your review. Helmet diving has always looked interesting & I appreciated your description. I think Carnival handled the delay very nicely with the air credit & hotel. Glad you made your flight, but sounds like Carnival tried their best to make a positive ending for everyone.

 

 

The whole thing about the gym was just an assumption. There were a lot of Canadians and a good amount of Europeans on the cruise in general.

 

Thanks for you kind words about the review! Let me know if you have any other questions

[stampmouse]

chowder 17 great review.

 

I can't add to much nor can I do as good a job as you but here are a few things.

 

After getting on board we did the spa tour and I won a facial which was an in port time but I was able to get a 4 pm (just as we sailed) out of grand cayman which was very nice after all that salt water.

 

grand cayman we did the stingray, hell, turtle farm. this is a great taste and I would love to go back and do a longer stingray although we had a good hour in the water there. the stingrays were awesome my mom did the tour with us and she doesn't swim nor does she like the water but she braved it and had a great time. Kelly tours did a good job on this tour. the turtle farm was fun we picked up several different turtles and had pictures taken. good information. hell was a short 20/30 min stop enough for a picture, soda and potty break and write out a couple of postcards. I would recommend everyone bring stickers with addresses on them if they do this so you have enough time and don't forget anyone. I also recommend a small snack for when you are done with the stingrays.

 

Cozumel - we took the yellow boat into Tulum and did the tour. LONG winded but had a lot of information tour guide. Our group was seperated into 3 buses which was a shame because we never did meet up again even though they said we would at the ruins. If you want more time ditch the tour guide at the ruins or you wont see it all and forget about the beach at all. the ruins I guess have changed over the years we had someone in our group that did the tour 13 years ago and he could climb the ruins and it wasn't so commercial. I would have preferred a booklet with info on each site to listening to the tour guide which by the way tried to steer you toward buying particual items. We were the last ones to board the boat I think as we got off the yellow boat the legend was blowing its horn and we had people clapping as we were boarding. a good reason to book a carnival excursion. Nice tour but wouldn't do it again and really wouldn't recommend it. Long long bus ride and boat rides.

 

Belize - first off where is the beauty to this country?? I have heard it was there but guess I didn't go to the parts that were pretty. Very poor and very dirty outside of the port shop area. We did the zip line and it was awesome. Highly recommend it. Very safe they geared you up individually checking everything two times and again before we were hooked to the lines. a safety briefing was given and good guides. the walk was shorter than I expected and a lot easier then expected. we had my brother who has trouble walking with us and he had no problem at all. the rocks were a bit slippery but with the railings it was easily done. the zipping was fun and very very safe I was very impressed with this. we were not rushed we had a small group around 12 or 15 I think and were the second group through as we pulled up another group was leaving and as we left another group was coming in. I had heard it got really busy and rushed but we were not. In fact they let me stop along the way and take pictures though most did not turn out darn camera kept foggin up on me. but there are pictures available on the way back for a fee of $25 for 2 people (they give you a disc with the pictures on them) and $10 per extra person. they cut us a deal as we had 7 in our family on this. the pictures are worth it they showed us zipping and doing some repelling as well as some posed shots. other then the zip line there is no reason to go back for me at least.

 

Roatan - GORGEOUS unspoiled at the moment but I wonder in 10 or 20 years if it will be just like other ports. the man made beach area is nice clean and lots of security. BOOK A TOUR you will be happier unless you plan to hang out at the beach. the port will take you about 20 minutes to cover the shops. we didn't book a tour and ended up renting a car about 1/2 way through our visit. we made it down to the west end and stopped at a resort that let us walk down to their private beach and walk along the beach. gorgeous perfect place for snorklers and divers. My husband did the clear kayak and snorkling and enjoyed it but said the clear kayaks were only so so they were scratched up so you couldn't see much. Friends that did the monkey tours really enjoyed these.

 

the shows were great I ended up doing the hypnotist and had a lot of fun at least what I remember and what everyone tells me. The karakoe (sp??) was a blast though I didn't sing listening to others was fun. I have been on some ships where the cruisers were more talented then the performers.

 

was disappointed in the photography though. only bought one picture and that wasn't very good (mom cut off and space on other side) but I wanted a group shot of the 8 of us. looking through the photos of not only us but others there were so many shots of closed eyes, shadows, missed shots completely and cut off people. they didn't even care to look at what they were taking pictures of it seems. what a waste in today's green world I hated seeing it. To bad they don't go to somethign like what disney does and the photo pass. the photo shop was unfriendly and unhelpful as well. we bought a reusable underwater camera from them and when we went to get more film they don't sell it. crazy isn't it?? why would you not sell film for a camera that you sell. The camera took pretty good pictures for costing less than 20 bucks too.

 

everything else was pretty good a few little minor things but really a good time. This was my second carnival cruise and 5th cruise all together but probably rated the lowest I think the service was good but not as good as other cruises. the food was good but not as good as other cruises that sort of thing is the only reason I say that.

[Moonsilk]

Personally I had a great time in Belize. My BF and I also booked with Major Tom. Yes the bus ride was a little long, but if you read the reviews of Major Tom you should have known this, and also you should have known you would have to wait for the zipliners. WE did the ziplining first (which was totally awesome!). I would recommend doing this part since you leave at the same time as the people who don't do it. We didn't get to spend time jumping into the river on the rope though, but I would have rather done the ziplining.

Now I'm not sure if we took a different route than you but it did NOT take 1.5 hours to hike to the cave tubing. It was probably half a mile and took about a half hour. It was kind of a bummer we didn't have helmets with flashlights, but there were so many other people with them that you could still see. I knew we would make it back in time and personally I thought it was a very cool experience overall.

[PunkinsDad]

Day 3- Grand Cayman:

We woke up around 6:50AM and we had just arrived in Grand Cayman. We were anchored next to a NCL ship and the sun was just coming up.

One of my friends that I’ve known since I was 6 is a diver instructor on Cayman and she works for the Sea Trek Company, which is one of the Carnival excursions, so we were able to do the excursion for free. We didn’t have to meet her until 8:30AM, so we took our time getting ready to catch a tender to shore.

We had no issues leaving the ship and the tenders were running consistently. We arrived to shore and made the short walk down the road to Hammerhead’s Restaurant (the company was right next door). It was crazy to see cars driving on the “wrong” side of the road, since we forgot this was a British Island.

We met up with her and picked to do the excursion at 9:30AM. We had some time to kill, so we decided to seek out the Big Black D*ck Rum that I read about. We found the cut out very easily and of course took photos and headed upstairs to the shop to make our purchases. We bought a rum cake, shot glasses, and one bottle of the coconut flavored, which was delivered directly to the ship and we got it on the last evening.

We headed back to the shop to start our excursion. We decided to the Sea Trek excursion (wearing helmets and walking on the ocean floor), instead of Snuba. We were with another couple from the Valor and a gentleman from a Costa ship. Actually, there were 6 ships in port that day (Celebrity, Costa, MSC, Two Carnivals, and NCL). The excursion started with a safety brief and a bit about the helmets. We then boarded a small boat that took us out to the point where we would be walking on the ocean floor. The helmets were really cool. Outside of the water they weigh 75lbs, but when you have them on in the water they feel less than 15lbs. After getting the helmets on, you walk down a ladder to the ocean floor. The tour guide was my friend’s boyfriend, Chris, and he was wonderful. He showed us the different types of coral and plant life along with the various types of fish. He carried around a pouch of fish food, so we had a school of fish following us the whole time. And I am not just saying this because they are my friends, but it was our favorite excursion on the whole cruise. We highly recommend it!

We were pretty hungry after the excursion, so we decided to eat lunch at Hammerhead’s. We both got jerk chicken sandwiches with seasoned fries. The sandwich was delicious, but boy was it spicy! I loved the sauce and I wish I could have bought a bottle of it.

We still had a few hrs to kill, so we decided to head to 7 mile beach. We took the bus, which was $2.50 per person. They are van and man do they pack them full. We got to the beach and it was very, very crowded. I’m glad we decided not to spend the whole day there. We went in the water for about an hour before deciding to catch the bus back to the ship.

Getting back on board was easy with our S&S card and a driver’s license. We got back on board about 2 hours (an hour before they wanted you back on) before the ship left.

We got cleaned up and headed down to the casino a bit before dinner. I played roulette and ended up winning a little bit back of the money that we lost the night before.

We headed to dinner and tonight our wait staff was fantastic! Our head waiter was Hastya and the waiter was Probo. They were so great that we ate in their section for the remaining dinner that we ate in the MDR. I can’t remember what I ordered that night, but we ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon ($24).

After dinner, we headed to the 8:30PM show, which was another comedian. He was ok, but not good enough that we had our hearts set on attending his adult show. Afterwards, we hit up the casino again and then hit the hay to prepare for Cozumel the next day.

 

I met your friend last year on our Legend Cruise. I wasn't sure until you mentioned her boyfriends name. My FIL and I did the SNUBA tour and she was our guide. She was awesome and a lot of fun. A beautiful young woman inside and out. The SNUBA experience was awesome....but unfortunately, I forgot that, if you have a mustache, you need to use some wax or petroleum jelly on it to help your mask seal. I spent as much time clearing my mask as I did taking in the underwater sights. :)

[PunkinsDad]

Day 5: Belize- OUR 5 YR ANNIVERSERY

Today we got up around 6:45AM, since we were suppose to arrive at 8AM and I’ve read horror stories about catching tenders in Belize, especially if you didn’t book a Carnival excursion.

We put out the continental breakfast form on our door the night before and right on time our breakfast arrived. We got ready for the day and headed down to Follies lounge to get a tender ticket.

The ticket system was fairly organized from what I can see. They had different colored stickers for the Carnival excursions and numbered stickers for those who had non-Carnival excursions and those that had none and just wanted to go ashore. We booked Major Tom’s Cave Tubing and we were supposed to take the earliest tender to meet our group.

Shortly after 8AM they started with some of the earlier starting Carnival excursion and I believe it was the second tender they started on those with non-Carnival excursions. The tender ride was a good 15-20 mins and the seas seemed a bit rough.

We got off the tender and saw the signs and teal shirt for Major Tom’s and we followed them to meet up with another large group from a different ship. A lot of the other tours had their buses nearby, but our group had to walk a decent distance through a run-down part of town. When we finally got to the bus, it was a school bus and it was completely full with two adults to a seat that was meant for school aged children.

Now, I researched this excursion and read awesome reviews for it, but the day seemed to be filled with stuff that wasn’t mentioned in the tour description…

First, the drive to the caves was a little over an hour on a cramped school bus. However, the tour guide gave a good background and I found that to be very interesting. I had no idea that Belize was an English speaking country. I thought all Central America countries were Spanish speaking. Anyways, after we arrived to the site my husband and I rented water shoes ($3 pp), since all we had was running shoes and flip flops. One of the things that wasn’t mentioned that if you didn’t book zip lining also (most of our group didn’t) you will be waiting around a lot. Since the zip lining + cave tubing was 6.5hrs and just cave tubing was 5hrs.

Anyways, we pick up our tubes as did the several other groups and began our journey through the Rain Forest. Now, I knew there was a small hike through the forest to get to the site, but what wasn’t know was the fact it was a several mile hike (took about 1.5hrs) over rocky terrain and you’re in water shoes. It was pretty cool to see the Rain Forest, but it got really old and uncomfortable after the first 2 miles.

In the middle of the forever long hike there was an area where you could jump off a cliff into the water and rope swing into the water. I did both and they were fun! I noticed that a lot of the other tour groups didn’t stop to let the guests do either.

After we finally got to the tubing site there were several other tour groups, which resulted in about a hundred people getting in the river. Most of the other groups had helmets with lights on them, we didn’t. Just lifejackets and a selected few people got flashlights. We linked up in two lines by have your ankles locked under the armpits of the person in front of you. As we tubed down the river there were several area where the water was only a few inches high and even though there was the call of “butts up” I got several bruise on my lower back.

Overall, the caves were pretty cool to go through. There were some neat formations, but the tubing part was maybe 45 mins long.

After tubing, people who bought lunches in advance got to eat. I didn’t purchase them in advance thinking we could buy them on the spot, but that wasn’t the case. We were very hungry!

Then began the long bus ride back to the ship. We were so worried that we were going to miss the last tender, which was at 3PM. We got back at 2:45PM and luckily we made it back.

Overall, I picked cave tubing since it looked like the best excursion to do in Belize, but we really didn’t like it too much. We could of skipped Belize all together…

Since, today was our 5yr anniversary we booked dinner at the Golden Fleece Steakhouse. My husband wore a long-sleeved button down shift, dockers, and dress shoes and I wore the same dress that I did for the 1st formal night. We ate once we got back on the boat at the buffet since we didn’t get lunch and I’m sure that it spoiled our appetite for the amazing steak dinner.

The people at the steak house were awesome. We got a table for two, right next to the window and there were about 5 people waiting on you hand and foot. It was suppose to be a 7 course meal and there was too much food. I ordered the Baked Onion soup for starters and they brought out fancy bread with 3 different spreads (butter, bruschetta, and a eggplant spread), a small chef’s special (I got a mushroom soup thing and my husband got a seafood thing). I ordered the prime chop and my husband ordered the porterhouse. We brought our own bottle of wine and we did get charged the $15 corking fee. Anyways, the food was so delicious but it was too much. I only finished half my steak and we skipped desert all together.

Overall, I think it was worth the $30 price and we would do it again. Next time, without spoiling our appetite.

I believe after dinner we went and gambled away some more money before the show. Overall, I though the casino was great. For smoking being allowed, I didn’t think it was smoky at all. There was a wide variety of slots ranging for 1 cent up to $5 and plenty of table games.

We went to the 10:30PM show (we liked that time frame better since it was less crowded). We got there a little early to play half off Bingo, but I didn’t win anything. Tonight show was a guy that can balance all sorts of crazy things. It was pretty neat!

After the show they were having the adult show for the hypnotist. While some of the people were pretty funny, most weren’t hypnotist, so they were booted from the stage and one guy was pretending and it was really obnoxious.

Afterwards, we hit the hay to prepare for early morning in Roatan…

 

To Be Continued This Evening…

 

Don't give up on Belieze or cave-tubing. Last April we booked with http://www.cave-tubing.com after extensive research. They have actual tour buses, not old school buses, that are comfortable and air-conditioned. I agree the hike in is long, but the scenery is so beautiful that I really didn't mind.

 

We were given headlamps to wear while in the caves, and each group of 4-6 had it's own personal guide. Our guide (I wish I could remember his name) had us linked together and literally pulled us through the caves. The poor guy must have burned 3000 calories pulling our group of 5 through the shallow "butts up" parts of the caves. Needless to say, he got a nice tip from us.

 

This was in marked contrast to some of the other operators. I witnessed many fellow tubers who were pretty much left to drift on their own, often having to get out of the tubes and walk through the shallow areas.

 

Our guide knew exactly where the deeper parts of the river were, and for the most part kept us afloat. IF we were grounded, he simply pulled us until we got back afloat.

 

After the tour, we were taken to an area where we could purchase lunch. Freshly cooked Chicken, beans and rice. It was yummy!!

 

All during the bus ride there and back, our guides kept up a running commentary on the country and the areas we were travelling through.

 

It was one of our favorite excursions ever. I highly recommend http://www.cave-tubing.com if you are ever in Belize again.

[Chowder_17]

Personally I had a great time in Belize. My BF and I also booked with Major Tom. Yes the bus ride was a little long, but if you read the reviews of Major Tom you should have known this, and also you should have known you would have to wait for the zipliners. WE did the ziplining first (which was totally awesome!). I would recommend doing this part since you leave at the same time as the people who don't do it. We didn't get to spend time jumping into the river on the rope though, but I would have rather done the ziplining.

Now I'm not sure if we took a different route than you but it did NOT take 1.5 hours to hike to the cave tubing. It was probably half a mile and took about a half hour. It was kind of a bummer we didn't have helmets with flashlights, but there were so many other people with them that you could still see. I knew we would make it back in time and personally I thought it was a very cool experience overall.

 

 

I believe we took a different route for the tubing, since we tubed/walked the whole time, while you guys ziplined. Overall, I had a great time, my husband really didn't, but it didn't ruin our day or cruise. No big deal, I came in with really high expectations for the tour and its probably something we won't do again if we go to that port.

[Chowder_17]

Here are the capers for the week: http://sourcemirrors.org/capers/

[vladdyfan]

The whole thing about the gym was just an assumption. There were a lot of Canadians and a good amount of Europeans on the cruise in general.

 

Thanks for you kind words about the review! Let me know if you have any other questions

Great Review! It's the best one I've read here and I've read a LOT!! Thanks for taking the time to put it up!! You should think about being a writer...you really held my interest and the attention to detail was great!!

[Ohio4Cruz]

I loved your details :) When are you planning your next cruise? Your fans wants to know.