Our Adventure on the Legend!

[anthsmom]

About Us:

 

We are a 38 yr old wife and 43 yr old husband living in Tampa celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary celebration. We cruise every year for our anniversary starting from a 3 day to a 4 day to a 5 day (always an ocean view cabin) and finally now our first 7 day on the Carnival Legend. We originally booked a 4k french door interior (has french doors that open but no balcony to step out on). When booking I figured this is better than an ocean view cabin since we can open the french doors for fresh air. We also had the cabin booked in between lifeboats so we would have somewhat of a view. Two weeks prior to our cruise date we upgraded to an 8k extended balcony. I am so thrilled that we did because what a BONUS it is to sit/stand/read/watch the sunset and sunrise/have coffee and the list goes on and on by having a balcony for the first time. I was however nervous about the ships movement being so far up the ship and nervous about the noise being under the lido deck. These worries coming from reading cruise critic website reviews. But heck, we are going on a cruise so I tried to shake off the worries. ;)

 

Leading up to Sail Away:

 

I spent so many months, weeks, days and hours leading up to our cruise on the cruise critic website. Reading review after review, learning and learning, jotting down notes from others' experience. My DH often called me to bed and I always said "Be right there!" and then literally hours later I would follow...haha. There were more ports to make decisions on, more things offered on the Legend and I just wanted to know all about it! Watching you tube videos, reading reviews, checking out pictures I just couldn't get enough! We have always used the ship's excursions on past cruises so I read and read about non ship excursions cautiously as I did not want to get left behind even though we have passports. After all of the time researching I made decisions and as I go through the day by day review I will add in the tips I have learned. WARNING: I am very, very, very (did I say very?) detailed oriented. In my profession we have one shot at a perfect day so details are very key. I am very detailed by nature. This review may be "overly detailed" for some of you. I am so detailed that I went so far as to list out all of the things I bought for this cruise before and during, the food we ate to a play by play of our adventures. Most of the reviews I read helped me and I hope I can pay it forward to those who read this. So buckle your seat belt, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride! Welcome to our adventure on the Legend....

 

Day One (Sunday):

 

Today is the day we have been waiting for to come! It is finally time to set sail. We are only about 20 minutes from the Port of Tampa but I was up very early. The butterflies were having a field day in my tummy. It was still dark out. I just couldn't help it. I told DH I wanted to get to the port early and he said ok ok ok. At 11:00am (mind you I had been ready to leave hours earlier!) he was sitting in front of the tv making sure he had the DVR set correctly. He was going to be missing football and baseball games (the Minnesota Vikings, Florida Gators and the Rays to be specific more about this later in the review) and other sports shows and I was thinking to myself - come on already get over it we are going on a cruise! We had asked our dear friends R & J to drop and pick us up at the port to avoid paying for parking. No parking fees means more drinks for us! When they asked what time to be at our house, I asked them to come at 10:30am.... well they showed up right on time and the DH had us all waiting. Ugh for me. They were laughing at us as I tried to rush him and he took his time. They were being entertained by the DH as I was itching to get going. FINALLY at 11:45am DH was ready. DVR set, he double checked and triple checked. Let's get this show on the road!

 

We jumped on the cross town and approximately 16 minutes later I saw her. There was the funnel...then as we got closer, she got bigger. The Legend. We pulled right up to the port circle and the porters were everywhere ready and willing to take our luggage and I was ready and willing to get it to them. We kept our two smaller pull luggage and checked in the two larger ones. Tipped the porter $5 for both pieces then gave R & J a big hug goodbye and our thank you's. J got a little teary eyed since they joined us on last year's anniversary cruise but had way to much going on this year to be able to come. DH and I walked over towards the port doors and saw the line. We jumped in line and it moved quite fast. Minutes later the port security was looking at our passports and fun passes and let us in. Yay, we are in the building! Lines keep moving quite fast. Up the escalator and there we were at the x-ray machine belt. Did not have to remove shoes (like at airport). When my carry on luggage went through the tv screen and screener called for a bag check. The supervisor grabs my luggage and asked if I had a wine opener. I said yes and he said ok and let us keep going. No stopping. We had a bottle of wine in each of our carry on luggage and I had the wine opener in mine. We also had twelve little cans of pineapple juice in each carry on for the two bottles of malibu rum I purchased ($55/bottle) through the Bon Voyage Department.

 

Another line to get our sign and sail cards (S & S cards). We had to fill out a form saying that we haven't been sick nor have had any symptoms in the last couple days. Oh, and don't worry if you don't have a pen, while they are reviewing your info at the sign and sail desk you can fill them out. We were next to go up making small talk with the port attendant who was releasing people towards the next available window. All the staff was very nice might I add. We walked to the window and the next port attendant asked us for our fun pass, passports and our credit card to set up our account. Seconds later he walks away and returns with our two S & S cards. We say thank you and then the butterflies start again. We are on our way woohoo quick and painless.

 

We walk over and they scan our S & S cards (DING!), snap a photo and say welcome aboard. A professional photographer snaps our photo and we are walking through the tunnel. Oh my... the atrium is huge! Much bigger and alot higher than our last cruises. So many urns...urns urns they're everywhere. This I was prepared for as I have researched and viewed so many photos. It is 1:15pm and we know we have another 15 minutes before we can drop off our carry on luggage so we go to the pursers desk to get our S & S cards hole punched. I bring our own waterproof lanyards so we attach them and are on our way. We walked around a few minutes trying to figure out how to get around and it was 1:40pm so we decided to head up to check out where we were going to be staying for the next week. We had cabin # 8153. We opened the door (your S & S card is your room key and your charge card used for drinks, the gift shops, photo purchases and even the casino if you want - more on this later). We open the door and wowza, the cabin space was bigger than our last cabin space and so was the restroom. Oh and the extended balcony. It was SAAAAA - WEEEEEEET! We were overlooking channelside and saw Bennigans and Gallaghers. On the vanity area the two pre-ordered bottles of malibu rum sat so I decided to empty out our carry on luggage. We added our wine and pineapple juice and all of a sudden we had a little bar set up. Oh, can't wait for the beer to get here we thought. We put an 18 pack of Select 55 cans (I watch my calories haha) for me in my checked luggage and a 24 pack of Bud Light cans for the DH in his checked luggage. Minutes later we heard a thump on our door so DH opened it up and viola there was my luggage. I opened it up and yippee the beer made it through. We sat and sat waiting for DH's luggage and it had not arrived. Announcement after announcement and it was getting close to the drill. I had read a tip on CC website that no life jackets were necessary anymore and this holds true. Since we were both hungry and the drill was going to be starting in 15 minutes, we went up to the lido deck to grab a bite. We took the stairs and how convenient, one deck up and there it was. Walked into the Unicorn Cafe and decided to grab something light since the sushi would be opening soon. We both went to the deli counter. DH had a grilled ham and cheese and I had a grilled hot pastrami sandwich. Mmmm...it was good and hit the spot. Horn blows and it is time for the drill. We go down to our assigned lifeboat deck. Quick and painless. I look up to see what the 4k would of been like. Again, thankful we had the opportunity to upgrade to the extended balcony.

 

Drill is over and we head back to the cabin to check on DH's luggage. We go down the hall and turn the corner and realize no luggage in that area of cabins. Back into the cabin. My clothes are in drawers, hanging clothes in one of the closets. (there are three closet doors, two with hangers and one with shelves) Top drawer of the vanity area was a blow dryer and bible. Next three drawers empty for our use. There is a safe in the cabinet doors under the tv and a door towards the bottom with a mini refrigerator. Another cabinet beside the refrigerator for more storage space. Plenty of space in the restroom with shelve space. TIP: Since I can't stand a cluttered area or cabin, I brought my over the door shoe holder. So glad because it kept our vanity area in the cabin clear as well as the bathroom area. I kept our S & S cards, loose $1's for room service tips, sunglasses, hair scrunchies, comb, q-tips, lotion, aloe, toothpaste and tooth brush, contact solution, etc (you get the idea). I brought an old expired credit card to use to lock the safe. I brought binoculars since we had a balcony. A brought a plug in that turned one outlet into three outlets. I brought our laptop to access the free site to communicate with family and friends at home WITHOUT purchasing an internet plan. (more tips I will add as we go since they pertain to different areas).

 

It is 4:25pm and we have started sailing away and our tradition has always been to go up on the lido to overlook the houses and condos as we sail through Davis Island and head towards the Skyway Bridge because we never had a balcony. DH doesn't want to leave the cabin just yet... he is somewhat irritated since his luggage hasn't made it. Our collapsible cooler is in his luggage so we can't get ice yet to ice down the beer so I check the little silver ice holder and there was ice in it. I decided to make us both a malibu rum and pineapple while waiting for luggage. TIP: we brought our little tumblers with lids (they also sell them in red or blue in the gift shops) to use for our mixed drinks and beer, two koozies for when we ordered buckets of beer, and two HUGE mugs with lids. We used the huge mugs to bring down ice water, ice tea and lemonade to the cabin as well as used these big bad boys when laying out at the pool. It saved us trips back and forth for non-alcoholic drinks. (they are so huge they hold about 5 cans of beer)

 

DH sucked down his first cocktail and we were cruising by the houses and condos in Tampa. I was trying to distract away and make light of the missing luggage so I was asking him to point out Derek Jeter's new house and he answered by saying we couldn't see it from where we were. Anything sports related usually gets him happy but it didn't work. I know he was still nervous about his luggage. All of his clothes were in there and he is one who likes to unpack and get organized prior to getting the party started. It was nice to start sailing away on our own balcony because it started drizzling...the drizzling got harder and turned into a full down pour. An hour and several cocktails later, still no luggage. Everytime he heard a thump on the cabin door he went running to the hallway. FINALLY, at about 6:10pm his luggage appears. He is relieved! He opens it up and there is a letter. Oh no! "Dear guest: welcome onboard! We are looking forward to having you sail with us. We only want to take a minute of your time to let you know that during the security scanning of all baggage, your luggage showed the appearance of certain prohibited items....so on and so on." You know where this is going right? Yuppers, they confiscated the 24 pack of bud light. Now DH is kinda sad and kinda mad. He KNOWS that we were taking a chance by bringing the beer on board but thankful mine made it through...plus thank goodness for the Bon Voyage department.

 

He unpacked all of his luggage and I read our first fun times to figure out what we were going to be doing. (oh I saved all of the fun times and will try to scan and post them) We left a note for our room attendant and asked her to ice our cooler and to please check the tv remote control as it didn't work and the light barely lit up. Probably needed a new battery. With the note I left $20. We then went up to the lido deck middle bar. We ordered a bucket of beer (tip: you are charged port taxes on all purchases like drinks, gift shop, soda card, etc. until after you go under the Skyway Bridge) and walked up to the next deck. Rain had stopped but the ground was wet. We saw many falls and alot of people slipping while walking. TIP: Make sure to have good gripping shoes/flip flops on the pool decks. We didn't get to the Skyway until about 6:45ish due to the delay of sail away. After we went under the Skyway we went back down to the lido deck to get away from the open deck as it was quite windy up there. We sat at a table and met a mother and daughter vacationing together. They were super nice and in our conversations we found out daughter was from Tampa and mother from Sarasota. Three buckets of beer later, we went to explore the ship. We found the library, the internet cafe, rodeo drive, the Truffles dining room, the enchanted forest. Medusa's Lair, the nightclub. We found the Follies where the shows are held, the Firebird Lounge where the comedy shows are. We were looking forward to Punchliners. Yay. Love comedy shows. We found the piano bar. Another thing we were excited about since our last cruise we had Barry and he was absolutely AWESOME! Anytime someone walked into the piano bar he asked their name and came up with a rhyming jingle like my name is Barry but I ain't hairy, if I were that would be scary...haha. Unfortunately the Legend's piano bar was not as exciting or interactive. Boo! I don't want to focus on negative. It was somewhat disappointing but not enough to ruin our adventure though!

 

Right down the stairs from Billie's Piano Bar we hit the jackpot! Sushi...mmmm yum! They were serving tuna, salmon and shrimp. All so good. We parked at a small stone table in front of Satchmos where folks were singing karaoke. Wow...some great talent (or the buckets of beer did us good!) haha. We had another plate each of sushi and another bucket of beer. Met a nice couple from Philly chatted a bit then we headed to Truffles. Tonight we were able to attend dinner "as is" so we didn't bother changing outfits. Headed to dinner and we were escorted to our table # 232. It was a table for six. Two other couples were already seated when we arrived. They all looked nice (and changed in cruise casual attire) and we walked in with our bucket of beer since we had two more bottles left wearing shorts our "as is" attire (cute but not dressy). TIP: They sell buckets of beer in ice cold aluminum bottles of Bud Light, Bud and Mic Ultra but they now also have buckets of beer in cans if you prefer that. They are almost $2 less per bucket. We like the aluminum bottles but on our last cruises they didn't have cans available.

 

We sat down, introduced ourselves to the other two couples. It was obvious that the two couples had not engaged in conversation prior to us joining them so we all started going around the table. One couple was from Ohio, she a nurse and him a airplane builder. The other couple was from Florida, he a business owner and she was his bookeeper/assistant. Our head server came over and introduced herself...she was Bianca and her assistant was Armando. They were two of the best we have ever had! My passport and S & S card had my legal first name but I actually am called by my middle name. I told Bianca that if she addresses me and I don't respond right away I apologize in advance as I go by my middle name and don't respond right away to my first name. She asked me what my middle name was and the entire week she and Armando called me by my middle name. Awesome I tell you. Our maitre d was Ken. Last year we had George the Greek and I thought to myself that Ken has BIG SHOES to fill to try to win us over after having George the Greek.

 

Since we had just devoured two plates of sushi each and several buckets of beer (plus a few cocktails in the cabin) I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to get dinner down. Well, guess what? It is NOT HARD TO DO when the adrenaline and excitement is running through your veins. I didn't want to over do it so I ordered the shrimp cocktail, chicken ala greque, vanilla creme brulee and a cappuccino. DH had the shrimp cocktail, flat iron steak and the warm chocolate melting cake. TIP: espresso and cappuccino is free at dinner in Truffles. The maitre d never made it over to our table. I had read comments/reviews about some maitre d's not working the room until towards the end of the cruise closer to tipping day. Again my thoughts were, he is not like George the Greek.

 

After dinner, DH and I headed to the piano bar. Was not jumping at all. On past cruises this was the place to be. I ordered a Classic Carnival cocktail. TIP: If you order from this list of drinks they cost $8.75 each but if you take the receipt to the casino cashier's cage they give you a $5 credit ticket that you can use at the casino tables. So it breaks down to your cocktail costing $3.75 since you get the $5 back in casino credit WOOT WOOT! (Carnival Classic cocktails are Long Island Iced Tea, Ultimate Margarita, Mojito, The Cruiser and I think there are a couple more. I only know which ones the DH or I ordered)

 

Since the piano bar was boring we decided to go back downstairs to the casino. Ding ding ding ding....bells going off we were excited. DH and I go to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa so we enjoy the casino atmosphere. DH headed to the slots and I headed to the roulette tables. We do not have roulette at the Hard Rock Casino so I was excited to be able to play. We were having a blast! After a few hours of playing in the casino, we realized we missed the Welcome Aboard show and started getting tired and knew we were just starting this adventure. We decided to call it a night... went back to our cabin as winners! Yuppers, $156 from the roulette table for me, and $175 for the DH from the slots and another $101 from the slots for me. Woohoo! TIP: there is one HOT SHOTS slot machine which is fun fun fun and over by the casino bar around the corner from the restrooms are two CASH SPIN slot machines. They are the best...and they pay well. Bad thing is they are always in use. Boo!

 

We got back to the cabin and I started filling out our room service breakfast order. We ordered coffee, orange juice, fruit and muffins. I wanted to sit on the balcony to drink my first cup of coffee. Our first towel animal waiting for us was a seal. The cooler was on the floor full of ice and we had a different tv remote control. Tried to use it the light lit up but the tv didn't. New remote but it didn't control the tv. :confused:

 

Next up is Monday, our first sea day. I also have photos but have to figure out how to post them. Will write more soon!

[Ehpride]

Thanks for the review so far. I love detail so this should be a good time.

 

If it makes your husband feel any better about his luggage, on my first cruise, my luggage didn't get there until sometime during late seating dinner!

[Honeyroastedmelnut]

Very nice! Keep it coming!

[kml2000]

Can't wait.....I have a while before I cruise, but am very excited.

 

YEAHHHH for a Legend review...

[travelntreats]

Wow.... if that was just Day 1......this is gonna be one loooooooooooooooooooong review !!! THANKS !

[poptart]

I love the Legend and am really enjoying your review. Thanks! I like complete and detailed. Looking forward to pictures.

[Tangocherie]

This is good! Can't wait for the next episode!

[firstcruiser2010]

GREAT review. We are leaving out on the Legend this coming Sunday! Soooo excited. Your review is perfect timing. LOVE how you are so open about the beer smuggling. My hubby is a beer drinker too, so really appreciate the TIP re: buckets of beer. We also got rum and vodka from Bon Voyage but are planning on taking some rum runners as well. This is our first cruise so we will see what happens. Can't wait to see your Fun Times as well. We are trying to pack and plan now so it will be great to see what we have to look forward too. Keep it coming!!!!

JB

[lovedogs]

Great review so far! I hope the piano bar gets livelier throughout your cruise. I was on the Legend 8/15-8/22 and the pb was not hopping AT ALL! I'm going again on same cruise with my family on 10/24. Hopefully, the pb will be more fun. Keep up the great review.

How lucky that you were upgraded to an 8K. We've got one too (7258) for our cruise!!

[Ellanora]

Love the details! And I hope to go on the Legend one day soon. :)

[kjunea]

Great review! and in 40 days, I will be on the Legend!

[ChefSusan]

Loving your review of Legend! We also live 20 minutes away,and every time that we see a funnel while driving on the crosstown, I have to do everything within my powers to not steer the car towards it!

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your experience. Aren't balconies da bomb diggity bomb? ;) :cool:

[Jan1031]

Love the review, we sail in 26 days and can't wait my daughter is getting

married on sailing day, so excited.

[anthsmom]

Thanks for the review so far. I love detail so this should be a good time.

 

If it makes your husband feel any better about his luggage, on my first cruise, my luggage didn't get there until sometime during late seating dinner!

 

Wow...I will definitely let him know. I think it that were me I would be going nuts! :eek:

[anthsmom]

Wow.... if that was just Day 1......this is gonna be one loooooooooooooooooooong review !!! THANKS !

 

I warned you! Details details details! :p

[anthsmom]

Day Two (Monday Fun Day At Sea):

 

After all the fun in the casino we got to sleep around 3:00am and I woke up at 7:45am with room service. Tipped the room service deliverer $3. I am not a big breakfast eater but somehow I get hungry on vacations. I don't know why, maybe because it is included in the price? Perhaps it's because I am not cooking it? Or just because I just can? Ha. I drink my coffee. Not the best tasting coffee but it works. I sit on the balcony sipping. The water is so blue and beautiful. There is no sign of land around. Just miles and miles of deep blue ocean. So quiet and peaceful. TIP: If you drink your cream and sugar with a little coffee like I do (haha) make sure to request extra cream and sugar on the room service order. They delivered one tiny cream holder and one sugar caddy that had 3 regular sugar packets. I take two regular sugar packets and a big helping of cream in my cup.

 

DH woke up about 9:15am and joined me on the balcony with a cup of orange juice. He doesn't drink coffee so I ordered the juice for him. We are using the binoculars to see if we can spot anything. Nada. We decide to go up to the lido for a hot breakfast. I had bacon, breakfast potatoes and a small scoop of the scrambled eggs. We circled for a minute then found an empty table. This time I had passion guava juice. It was delish. Eggs didn't taste "real" to me but after I added some ketchup (yes I like my eggs that way haha) it tasted much better. DH had an omelet. He ordered, went through the buffet for bacon and danish and maybe 5 minutes later his omelet was ready. After reading about all the lines, we were quite happy with our wait times. Hey, we are on a cruise...there are much bigger things to stress out about. I did see a man get loud with the "bacon police" for not giving him enough. I don't understand why - just ask for more, it's not like he will say no. I just chuckled to myself. He did look like he was from the movie Grumpy Old Men. haha.

 

After breakfast we headed down to the casino to sign up for the slot tournament for $25 per person. We were instructed to come back anytime between 12:00-2:40pm and play. We never played in the slot tournament before. When I read about it in the fun times I thought it was the entire time of 12:00-2:40pm. This was good news because now we could hang out with the pool and come back whenever we wanted between those hours. We then went back to our cabin and we found two envelopes in our mailbox which is right outside your cabin door. Letter from the casino host inviting us for a meet and greet with him and a complimentary cocktail tonight at the casino. Hmm..nice. We then change into pool attire and grab our towels (TIP: they provide new towels daily and a huge comfy bathrobe so no need to pack this) and head up to the pool. We like to hang out on the deck above from the pool and look down. Not in the action but not too far away either. I read alot about chair hogs and hoped that we wouldn't have to experience this first hand. We easily found two loungers looking down the pool to the right and the stage to the left. Hairy chest contest at 1:00pm...woohoo. Love this. The participants are crazy funny and how they interact with the judges cracks us up! Looking down around the pool there were alot of empty loungers. Oh and every time we went around the adult only pool no kids. Whenever an adult walked in with a child/children, they were asked to leave almost immediately.

 

We also had our cruise critic roll call meet and greet set up for 11:00am. DH and I go to adult only pool bar and stand there at 11:00am. We look and look hmmmm.... maybe it was the middle bar I told him. We then went to the middle bar and were standing there. DH is like how are you suppose to know who they are? I was dumbfounded. I don't know! There were people around the bar areas but not a big group...that is what I was looking for. I asked him to walk back to the adult only pool bar one last time. Still no sign of a gathering. I was kinda nervous as we booked one of our excursions with a group from the roll call board. (more on that later) So back up to our loungers we went. Roll call for DH and I = unsuccessful.

 

It was hot. We used ALOT of sunscreen. 70 for our faces and ears and 40 for the body. We were pleased the entire cruise that we did NOT burn and came home with very nice bronzed skin. Did I mention it was hot? We forgot our HUGE mugs so DH went to the cabin and got them. He filled them up with ice water. The ship always has very good water. On our past cruises we always brought bottled water, then we watched the purification process that takes place on the ship on one of the ship channels and it looked good enough to drink. We started drinking it, it tasted good and we didn't get sick. We now always drink the water. TIP: There are some channels on the tv that initially sound irritating. Cruise Director channel, shopping channel and the video of everything going on around the ship. If you take the time to watch they are informative. This is how we learned that it was safe to drink the water. The video of all of the cruising passengers is funny. You are also able to check your S & S balance on the tv to track how much $$ you are spending.

 

There was a cocktail mixing contest called the Legend Master Mixologist with the cruise director Jen at the stage area. I had read very mixed reviews about her. Many saying she and her voice was irritating. Some very delighted by her and her energy. We had heard her on the intercom and she definitely has a louder than normal voice and an English accent. Not irritating per say, but strong. We saw her for the first time and in action and she wasn't so bad. She is kinda different "set in her own kinda humor" and laughs at herself which is kinda weird, but all in all she was alright. There were four judges, three being cruise ship staff and one being a guest. Watching some of the participants making the drinks some sounded good while others made me drunk just hearing the ingredients. haha. The winning cocktail was Allison's Raspberry Delight. Oh and I forgot to mention, yesterday's drink of the day (DOD) was the funship special and today's DOD is the Blue Margarita. Also, every morning between 8:00am - 12:00pm they offer bloody marys, screwdrivers and mimosas for a discount. After the cocktail mixing was done, they cleared the area and it became the Hairy Chest Contest. I ran downstairs while they were getting contestants together and grabbed some salsa, french fries and chicken tenders. We were still kinda full from breakfast but wanted a little something something to snack on....again because why??? TIP: Inside buffet has an assortment for lunch. There is a deli area, rotessiere area where there is a meat of some sort being carved to order, Asian area, Pizza area and the Taste of Nations that changed everyday, today was Caribbean themed. Of course there is also desserts galore and a salad bar. Also, Truffles was open for sit down breakfast and lunch if buffets aren't your thing.

 

After laughing hysterically at the hairy chest contest, we decided we should head down to the casino. We didn't want to be labeled chair hogs haha so we packed up and dropped our stuff off the cabin. It is nice and clean. We also have a letter in our mailbox inviting us to hear the shopping specialist and the great deals we passengers can get by visiting their preferred vendors. Blah! We go down and each get a raffle ticket. The raffle ticket was good for a "WILD CARD" meaning, if you didn't qualify as a finalist with your points, he was going to raffle off a wild card spot in the finals. The raffle ticket was also good for a jeweled necklace (I forget what kind of stone exactly - tanzanite maybe?) that the shopping specialist on board was raffling off. So we are set and have to spin with the credits they already setup on the slot machine. I picked machine #8 for my DM's birthday and DH picked #6 his favorite #...plus it is someone that he idolizes uniform #. Ack to him and his sports idols numbers. (more on this later) We had to beat 2994 points to qualify in the finals. I ended up with 1900 and DH ended up with 4994! Yippee... he is IN like flynn. The casino host asked us to come back at 2:45pm, DH for the finals and me for the raffle. We look over from the slots and we see the Legends Sports Bar. Smelt like a cigar factory (they allow cigar smoking in there). There were tvs...oh oh the DH knows that there is a sports bar onboard.

 

We are back at the casino with bells on and ready for DH to kick some slot butt. He was in the fourth slot which means that he gets to pick which slot machine he wants to play in the fourth round pick. (Fantasy draft talk he claims) So they draw a raffle ticket and the winning ticket belongs to the #1 finalist with the highest points. His DW is gonna play the wild card. The casino host verifies and informs them that the ticket belonged to her hubby and she could NOT use it. I thought that kinda sucked. I had both mine and DH's raffle tickets since he was in the finals already. I felt bad for her. Anyways, he drew for another raffle ticket and someone else was in. My DH picked machine #6 again when it was his turn to pick. Ready, set, go...... DH didn't win but he did get a t-shirt. The winner was...... the wild card player. What luck for him! As for the necklace they didn't raffle one off. The casino host said that everyone could go to the shopping specialist desk to receive a shopping coupon for when we get to port. Not our thing. Would have much rather hearing a raffle winner. We left the casino and decided to get a quick snack so we go to the buffet and I have a grilled hot pastrami/cornbeef combo and DH had two pieces of pizza. One fully loaded supreme and one margherita. He enjoyed, I enjoyed yay.

 

Back to the pool we go...this time I am ready for an adult beverage. I order a Kiss on the Lips. Yummmmmy! That is so good. Tonight is our first elegant night as well as the Captain's Reception. They no longer serve free drinks but they do discount $1 off a drink. Also, the sushi bar which is normally open from 5:00 - 8:15pm is NOT available tonight. We decide to skip the reception and just hang out on the balcony. I read and felt so relaxed plus the tummy was full from our snacks. DH was on the balcony reading too then went in the cabin for a minute and after a while I noticed he was fast asleep on the couch. Good thing too cause he knows I woulda had his head if he crawled up into our clean fresh comfy bed after a hot sweaty pool day. Oh, and the pools are filled up with saltwater by the way. So when you get out you will have salt on you. TIP: If you are wearing a black coverup or flipflops they will have white salt spots when they dry up.

 

When the DH wakes up I had already showered and was starting the get ready process and getting dolled up for elegant night. I asked him to go to a bar for two red wine glasses. Tonight we were having the Simi Cabernet Sauvignon that we brought on board. One of my favs. I opened the bottle before my shower so it had time to breathe. I looked outside and it looked so inviting. So I took a break from getting ready, poured a glass of wine and once again sat on the balcony mesmorized by the blue ocean beauty. After a nice glass of vino, we finish getting ready and head on down to deck 2 with our glass of wine. Most of the action is here and there are photo booths setup everywhere. With the photo booths there were lines and ALOT of people taking pictures. Couples, families, kiddies they were posing here and posing there. Everyone looked so nice. It was a treat to see. We wanted to get out of the crowds way and we were in no way waiting in the lines for photos so we headed towards the Truffles dining room. There is a bar right outside with tables and entertainment so we sat there listening to music both wishing that we could be snacking on sushi. Time for late seating so we head into the dining room. DH and I are first to the table this time. Minutes later the couple from Florida arrive. Bianca greets us and gives us our menus, she asks us about our day. Everyday she did this so I won't keep repeating it. This was a normal ritual on our adventure. Armando quickly gets us water and is working the bread. I skipped it again tonight - even though I love it so much! We wait, we wait, we wait a lil more...Ohio couple do not come so we place our orders. With no sushi or bread, I splurged. I had the baked mushrooms (mmm..mmm..good), caesar salad, lobster with shrimp and the warm chocolate melting cake. DH has the same except he ordered another kind of salad that was listed under the appetizer section and he had the warm apple crisp and enjoyed it. Oh, he also ordered the prime rib and we shared that. Surf and turf baby. Dinner is delish. DH ordered a bud light and I ordered a Carnival Classic margarita ($5 towards gaming tables). Our drink server remembered seeing us in the piano bar and informed us he would be up there after dinner. Still no sighting of the maitre d at our table. Although we see him walking, talking and singing. We have ok chit chat with our table mates. We say our goodbyes to them and as we are leaving we notice sitting behind us is the sweet mother and daughter that we met on day one on the lido deck. We exhange hello's and how are you's. They have another mother and daughter seated at their table. So neat how the tables mates are paired off. We have always been happy in our past tables mate assignments but were having doubts this cruise.

 

We planned on going to the comedy show but wanted to check out the piano bar again hoping that maybe tonight would be better. It wasn't. Our dinner cocktail server waited on us again. We made a couple requests from the piano player and he had to go through his sheet music to see if he had the songs. What - are you kidding me? I started to kinda feel bad for him. He seemed so flustered and confused. I dropped $10 in his tip jar. DH said why? I said I felt bad so guess what? We left and ended up at in the casino. With our winnings from last night we wanted to roll the dice again. We decided to be generous and gave back our winnings. Ugh! What were we thinking? We went back to the cabin and I filled out our breakfast room service card. We plan on having breakfast on the balcony again and no hot breakfast since we get to Grand Caymans early and have to catch an early tender (little boat that takes you from the ship to the port since the ship is too big to dock) for a nonship excursion.

 

More to come about Day Three in Grand Caymans...

[anthsmom]

GREAT review. We are leaving out on the Legend this coming Sunday! Soooo excited. Your review is perfect timing. LOVE how you are so open about the beer smuggling. My hubby is a beer drinker too, so really appreciate the TIP re: buckets of beer. We also got rum and vodka from Bon Voyage but are planning on taking some rum runners as well. This is our first cruise so we will see what happens. Can't wait to see your Fun Times as well. We are trying to pack and plan now so it will be great to see what we have to look forward too. Keep it coming!!!!

JB

 

The way we look at it...we spend alot of $$$ at the bar, the casino, for pricey photos, gifts from the shops and through the Bon Voyage department. We brought wine and beer in the past and still had huge S & S balance at the end. Not trying to beat the system...just buck it a little. :eek: :D :p

 

You are sooooo gonna have a blast on the Legend. We are talking about doing it again next anniversary cruise it was so fun! I have sooo much more to post about.

[anthsmom]

Great review so far! I hope the piano bar gets livelier throughout your cruise. I was on the Legend 8/15-8/22 and the pb was not hopping AT ALL! I'm going again on same cruise with my family on 10/24. Hopefully, the pb will be more fun. Keep up the great review.

How lucky that you were upgraded to an 8K. We've got one too (7258) for our cruise!!

 

Oh my word....I hope that it gets going. Did you have the piano player with the glasses? I forget his name. We asked him if he funs on the audience and he said no. We asked him if he takes requests and he said he tries and if he knows it. Just not as interactive as past cruise experiences. I guess everyone has their own style. I recken that's why it doesn't get happening. :confused:

[anthsmom]

Loving your review of Legend! We also live 20 minutes away,and every time that we see a funnel while driving on the crosstown, I have to do everything within my powers to not steer the car towards it!

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your experience. Aren't balconies da bomb diggity bomb? ;) :cool:

 

I know exactly how you feel driving by! Oh and yes oh yes they are da bomb diggity bomb!!!!

[anthsmom]

Love the review, we sail in 26 days and can't wait my daughter is getting

married on sailing day, so excited.

 

CONGRATS on your daughter's wedding! I have never been to a wedding on a cruise ship but I am sure it will be amazing for you all! :)

[vlngirl]

Thanks for the detail! I just got back from the Legend last weekend so I am reliving my trip here :)

[Greg in GA]

Thanks for the review so far!

We have a group of seven from Atlanta sailing on the Legend this coming Sunday so I can hardly wait to hear how the rest of the week went for you.

 

Greg

[Ren1216]

Awesome review!! Love your carefree, roll-with-it, vacation-mode attitude.... wish all cruisers were that way. Would love to see your pictures too, so if you can't figure out how to post them here, upload to webshots or flickr or somewhere and give us a link! Demanding lot, ain't we?? :D

 

I have a group of 7 booked on the Legend in November, first CCL cruise for all of us.... but can't wait!

[djmaine]

I'm loving your review we sail in March on her. I do have a question. you mentioned the carnival was it classic drink of the day that you get $5 towards the casino. How does they work do they give you a reciept that you take to the casino????

 

Donna

[Mike&Shell]

Great review so far..... :D:D