My Picture Review of the 10-10-10 Legend sailing and our Mega Vacation

[TeknikDC2]

 

The Lido Pool Areas:

[TeknikDC2]

The Unicorn Cafe:

 

And that concludes the ship tour. Sorry I didn't photos of all the parts of the ship like the Gym or Spa. I also didn't repost anything I already had photos of like the Firebird Lounge and Medusa's Dance Club. While I was out and about I also chose to buy ourselves a Future Cruise Certificate. We knew we would cruise again sometime in 2011 so it only seemed to make since where if we bought the certificate for $100 that would go towards the final cost of our next cruise and they would give us $100 in OBC (for a 7 day cruise). It was a no brainer and i'm glad we did it.

 

I soon meet up with Kiera and Kyle and Valisa and also did some relaxing in the sun for about another hour our so. By that time they were done with the sun and getting hungry so we packed up and got some food and then went back to our cabins to get ready for the evening.

 

 

Once back in the Cabin my burns from the previous day were starting to hurt. As you can see in the photo the spots where I got burned were very random though.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After getting ready we went back out and walked around the ship. We probably grabbed some ice cream before finding ourselves in the Casino. We brought a bunch of Quarters with us for use on toll roads. Kiera wanted to play that quater pusher game so we took some of our quaters and played. We only ended up playing $1 out of what we brought and we won and additional $9. Not bad since we aren't big gamblers. Kyle and Valisa didn't win anything though.

 

 

We next made our way to the Follies lounge where the next little while we were entertained by playing Trivia. We pretty much all failed though as we didn't get very many questions right. Since the night was coming quickly to the close after the Trivia was over Kiera and I headed up to the Shops to do some quick shopping before the shops closed.

 

 

We got ourselves our ship post card and also a christmas ornament to signify our cruise vacation. And since Kiera never found herself a purse she liked in Jamaica she ended up buying a ROXY purse that she liked on the ship. I told her that it was probably better in the long run cause she paid as much as she would on the islands but its probably a much higher quality product. So she was happy with her choice.

 

 

After buying all we wanted at the shops we went back to our room to drop them off. We had some time to kill before dinner so we figured now would be the time to face the sad music and get our stuff packed so that the staff could pick it up. Upon return to our room we found it already turned down for the night. However we were pretty dissapointed to find that for our final night on the cruise we were not left a towel animal. So instead we joked that ours was an invisible animal this night.

 

[TeknikDC2]

It was sad but we soon quickly got all of our stuff packed (except for what we needed the next day) and to our luggage set outside our door. I'm always kinda nervous when we set our luggage outside the door however that soon went away as not even 2 minutes later the staff came by and picked up our luggage. With our luggage gone now it sank in that this was our final night on the cruise so we had to make the most out of our night.

 

 

It was soon time for dinner so we meet back up with Kyle and Valisa and made or way to our final dinner of the cruise. Our staff was excellent again and continued to prove how great they were at what they did. We were pretty sad though that this was all coming to an end.

 

 

But then again we really had nothing to be sad about as although we missed most of our ports we still had one hell of a vacation and we loved every minute of it.

 

[TeknikDC2]

For our starters this evening Kiera ordered her typical Fruit Cocktail and also a Chicken Alfrado type dish. I ordered my normal Ceasar Salad and I also decided to try the Shrimp Cocktail. Something I wish I would have tried ealier cause it was Really good.

 

 

For dinner this evening we keep it simple. We both only ordered one dish lol. Kiera ordered the Salmon and I ordered my favorite the Prime Rib.

 

 

While waiting for desert our waiters did there goodbye song and dance. It was once again very entertaining and we love that they do it for us.

 

 

Theres no pictures of our desert though as tonight we once again ended the cruise by both ordering the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. With dinner now done we said our goodbyes to our wait staff and we made our way out of the "Private Room" Extension of the Dinning room where we ate each night. It was sad saying good by to our wait staff as they were truely incredable and went above and beyond for us.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

The show tonight in the Follies Theater was the Carnival Legends show. The show where actual guests on the ship perform as famous singers and usually aren't that great. We went to this show on our last 2 cruises but sorry we weren't ready to go thru it again. So instead we got some ice cream and had some fun messing around on the ship the rest of the night. While getting our Ice Cream on the aft deck we could see 2 other ships off in the distance. Its pretty amazing how bright these ships are out on the ocean. Of course I have no idea what ships they were though.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

As we continued to wonder we made our way up to where the funnel is located. This also turns out to be where the adult only lounging area is for those who were wondering. I kinda scared Kiera while up here though as she didn't think it was funny when I actually climbed onto the funnel for a photo.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

We next made our way along deck 10 towards the front of the ship. We decided to take some photos with the life ring but a word of caution of you do this at night. It took us a good 20 minutes to find the right settings on our cameras to make the picture come out alright. I recommend you take the photo during the day time if you can.

 

[TeknikDC2]

The ships are very beautiful to walk around at night. However I found how the Spirit Class ships are designed that its very difficult to take time delayed photos of them at night. Still I got some decent ones I think of the Lido Pools and some other parts of the ship.

 

 

We spent some time just lounging and talking amungst one another under the stars. It was so relaxing and it felt good to be outside. We stayed here for quite awhile before deciding to go back inside the ship.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After walking around inside it was now past 1am. There was one thing though I wanted before heading back to the cabin for our final night. Midnight Pizza. So we made our way to the Unicorn cafe and We got our Pizza to pretty much mark the end of this fun and exciting night that we made. We had a blast just wondering around and joking with each other.

 

 

After the Pizza we called it a night. We headed back to our Cabins for the final time and quickly got ready for bed. We would be disembarking the Legend in the morning and because of such we had to wake up early. Unfortunatly our whole vacation adventure was quickly drawing near the end.

[TeknikDC2]

Well that ends the review for today. Thanks again to all who continue to follow my review and give your comments. It means alot. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have and I will answer them as quickly as I can. Only 2 more segments left and this recap will be over (except for bonus content I plan to add).

 

 

Apologies in advance, I lurk here a lot and I don't post at all, but I do feel like posting because you did get one fact wrong in your review.

 

The singer Barbi that in your opinion, you didn't like, hasn't done any other ship but Legend. She couldn't have been on Glory when you were cruising because I cruised it last year and there was a blonde named Jessica singing lead in the shows who was OK but in my opinion, didn't have the range or power like Barbi. When I spoke to Barbi during one of her classical shows (that's right, she sings opera too) she said Legend was the only ship she'd done for Carnival up to now.

 

And if you missed Barbi's classical show, you truly missed a treat and something not done on any Carnival ship now. Hard to find anything to complain about there because I haven't seen any other ship singer be able to match the quality of that show. Ask the hundreds of people at standing room only in the atrium when she did her shows there. I thought she was brilliant (I have a music degree) and I can speak for several others in my group who went to both of her shows. I think she's quite versatile, very talented, and a lovely person to boot.

 

I hope you'll pardon my slight correction in your review. Just wanting to make sure people have correct facts when they read it. Thanks.

 

I'm not gonna try and argue this as it would be my word against yours and for the most part arguing gets no one anywhere. However I do have the Capers still from our Glory cruise last year and a performer named Barbi is listed as one of the main singers who was also blond and sounded exactly the same. I'm not saying i'm right but i'm just going by what I have. So I guess in this case we'll agree to disagree.

 

Thanks for your detailed review. We're planning to take our nieces to Harry Potter at Universal as a shore excursion from the Pride next May so really appreciate getting the information so we can make the most of our short time there. We've been to the rest of the park so we can focus on the Wizarding World.

 

We were on the same cruise so I kept looking for some place in your photos our paths might have crossed. When you posted about playing bingo I remember seeing a group taking their pictures with their bingo cards that must of been you. (Sorry, I commented to my wife "Look at the Bingo Newbies" :p but it was all in fun.)

 

You didn't mention the interesting history of the Bauxite mine facility that we were docked at in Jamaica but you may wish you had taken more photos there. That mine was Dr No's "Crab Key" evil layer in the James Bond movie Dr No. The part of the movie were Ursula Andress comes out of the ocean was filmed at the base of Dunn's River Falls.

 

By the way, we were at the Falls too. We came on the party cateraman that is parked by the beach in one of your photos. We were in one of the first groups to start climbing that day. BTW, the party boats are fun, but the big party you see as they return to dock is staged to make the excursion more attractive to the people that didn't go that time.

 

We were happy with the fact that we were able to get another port after three were cancelled. It was our second time there so were not quite as intimidated by the pushing vendors.

 

Did the Matre'D sing as part of the entertainment for the late dinner seating? He sang at the early seating every day and has a great Dean Martin voice and Frank Sinatra style.

 

I'm glad to hear that you had a great time. We saw too many people that were just getting plain grouchy after Jamaica. A positive attitude make life much more fun than finding things to complain about.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Great Job!

 

Wow. I must say thank you so much for your post. Yes the Wizarding World is amazing and your kids will love it. I've actually made a Wizarding World tip list that I posted on a Universal Resort website that i'm going to post here as soon as i'm done with the recap. Watch for it as it includes all of my tips to make the most out of your visit. I believe I even posted things on the list that I didn't mention in this recap.

 

I did not know that about the facility that we docked in. I'm a big fan of the James Bond Movies but I can honestly say that I don't think Dr. No is one of them that I have seen. I guess i'll have to go rent it sometime. Now I really wish I would have taken more photos of the area.

 

Yes we were very happy as well that we got another port too. It was just that fear of the unknown that got to us but as you can see we made the best out of our visit to Jamaica. We made the most out of the whole crappy situation and unlike so many others on our ship we had a great time dispite the changes.

 

Yes the Matre'D did sing to us as well each night. The first few nights I honestly didn't know it was him singing. I really thought it was a Sanatra recording. He was truely spectacular and the best Matre'D we've had the pleasure of sailing with.

 

Thanks again to everyone else for all your comments. Once again please keep them coming as they are truely appreicated.

[Cruiser_SG77]

I can honestly say that I don't think Dr. No is one of them that I have seen.

 

Really? It's the first one of the entire series.

[starcheryl]

Nooo I don't want it to end :( Now you have to plan another cruise so you can make another trip report! Your wife is really pretty too btw! :)

[Max Circus]

TeknikDC2 - Still enjoying the review. Had another question. Did you happen to hear from anyone who attended the Chef's Table?

[TeknikDC2]

Nooo I don't want it to end :( Now you have to plan another cruise so you can make another trip report! Your wife is really pretty too btw! :)

 

LOL don't worry. I may have something on the Horizon ;)

 

TeknikDC2 - Still enjoying the review. Had another question. Did you happen to hear from anyone who attended the Chef's Table?

 

I actually didn't speak to anyone who did it. Sorry. Honestly we didn't really speak to anyone else haha. But the ship did advertise it pretty much every announcement they made. Sorry I can't be of anymore help.

 

Really? It's the first one of the entire series.

 

I know kinda crazy huh lol. But when I was out black friday shopping I found a Dr. No DVD for only $3 so I ended up buying it and will watch it soon.

 

Anyways thanks for the continued support everyone. I appreciate it. I plan on finishing my review this week with back to back segments on Tuesday/Wednesday or Wednesday/Thursday. Sad to think this will be ending very soon. Thanks again to all who have contributed. I appreciate it.

[TeknikDC2]

Day 12: Debarkation Day

 

The day we had been dreading soon arrived. It was the day we would be leaving the Carnival Legend and our cruise would officially be over. We awoke early to get ready and get our few final things packed so we could be out of our room by 8. After getting everything together we meet up with Kyle and Valisa and we bid farewell to our cabins and headed upstairs to the Lido deck to grab some breakfast before debarking the ship. This turned out to be the first time in nearly a week that everyone used the elevators instead of the stairs. With our heavy carry on items that we had to carry off the ship as well we decided we didn't want to trek up 9 flights of stairs with the extra weight.

 

The Lido deck and buffet were very packed with people. For some reason or another NO ONE had been cleared to be able to leave the ship yet. So no self disembarking people had left and they hadn't called any zone debarkation yet. We were able to get our food easily with little lines however trying to find a place to sit and eat was a nightmare. Since no one had debarked the ship yet everyone was still up on the Lido deck. And after they finished there breakfast no one left there tables. They just sat there until they could leave. We ended up just taking our trays and sitting at one of the Lido Bars. The bar tender kinda looked at us funny but it was the only place we could find to sit so whatever.

 

After breakfast we decided to leave the bar so we would stop getting bad looks from the bar tender. Our cruise director continued to come over the PA system appologizing for the delay in debarkation. Still at this point no one had left the ship. Apparently many people were getting pretty angry with the Cruise Director because we hadn't been cleared for debarkation yet. Sorry people but just like the weather that made us miss our ports, Carnival does not have control over the U.S. Customs clearing us to debark.

 

We decided to go wander around the ship again while we waited to be debark. during our wondering we found our way back up to the funnel deck and decided to do some waiting there. We were the only ones up there and there was plenty of places to sit and relax and it was quite. It was nice looking at the beautiful city of Tampa again but very sad to think the cruise was coming to an end.

 

 

While we were on the funnel deck Wee Jimmy finally announced that we had been cleared for debarkation and that anyone who was self disembarking or had an early fight to catch could come to the gangway now. With this announcement we figured it wouldn't be long until we could disembark as well so we started to get all our paperwork together for disembarking. However Kyle and Valisa could not find there customs decloration form. So we went down to the Atrium to guest services to see if they had any extra (which they did). After getting it refilled out we waited in the atrium lobby for them to call our zone. At this point they had just called zone 1 and 2 to leave the ship. While waiting Wee Jimmy actually came up to us in the lobby. He asked if we were ready to leave the ship yet and we said yes. Then he told us to go and leave then don't worry about your zone lol. This was awesome that he told us we could just go anyways so up we went and we were soon walking down the gangways off the ship.

 

The customs process in Tampa was just as easy as it was in Orlando. We pretty much waited in no line and we were cleared with no hold ups. Our luggage was also very easy to find in the warehouse type area where they put the bags in sections. We found them very quickly and made our way outside to the taxi pickup area. We once again requested a van and one came very quickly for us. Once loaded up we were on our way back to the airport.

 

So what were my final thoughts on the cruise? We loved every minute of it. We understand the risks of cruiseing during hurricane season so although we didn't make it to all our ports we still had an amazing time. the Grand Cayman was beautiful and we got to swim with stingrays. How many people can say that. Although Ocho Rios wasn't somewhere we every planned to go i'm really happy we got to experiance the Jamaican culture and climb a waterfall. Once again an experiance that will never be forgotten. So the burning question is was it our best cruise yet? Thats a tough question. As far as the ship goes it was hands down our favorite ship we have cruised. We love the smaller Spirit class ships and I love how more "classy" the Legend felt compared to the Glory. However I do like the bright color theme of the Glory compared to the more artsy theme of the Legend. We had the best Wait staff we had ever had on the Legend. A staff thats going to be hard to beat on future cruise for us. We also though Wee Jimmy was the best cruise director we've ever had as well. The food has been excellent on all 3 cruises. The only bad remarks i'll give on the legend is in regards to our room steward. He never introduced himself to us so we didn't ever see him or even know who he was. But in addition to this we didn't get our ice bucket filled every day and many times there were towels missing. Not a big deal as the rest of the room was taken care of very well but sometimes the little things go a long way. But no biggie. It didn't ruin our vacation. Had we made all of our ports i'm sure this would have been the best cruise we had ever taken. However the Ports play a big part in the cruise experiance for us and although the Grand Cayman was amazing and Jamaica was alright we still enjoyed our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Glory last year more. Would I cruise the Legend again? You bet I would. It was a very nice ship that is our favorite we have sailed on and you can't beat cruising out of Tampa. We look forward to cruising again in the future and hoping we can make it to the ports we missed some day.

[TeknikDC2]

Now at this point with us on our way back to the Airport you probably thing the vacation is quickly coming to an end. But its not. When we booked our airline tickets we found we would save nearly $200 by flying home monday morning then we would flying out sunday afternoon/evening. So we decided to fly home Monday and have an extra day of vacation. We soon arrived back to the airport and made our way to the Hurtz car rental location where I booked a full size car thru Hotwire.com for dirt cheap. Upon picking up the car the clerk asked if I would want to upgrade to a van for only $12 more. I figured that although we could all fit in a Full Size car that I originally booked we'd have plenty of room in a van so I upgraded bring out total to only like $45 bucks for the day. not too bad if you ask me. We soon picked up our rental van which was a Toyota Sienna and our final day in Florida began.

 

 

We debated on what we wanted to do for the day. The only thing we really had to do was go to the Tampa Hard Rock Hotel to pick up a shirt for Kyle. Since we didn't know what else to do in Tampa we made the decision to go back to Orlando and do some things that we didn't get done before the cruise that we wanted to. So off we went to make the 45 minute drive back to Orlando for most of the day. the Hard Rock Hotel happens to be on the drive to Orlando so that worked out perfectly with the quick stop there to buy Kyles shirt.

 

[TeknikDC2]

We soon started to see Disney related items which ment we were close to Orlando now. One of the places we needed to go was a clothing store thats only back east called Dillyas. Valisa had a gift card there so we punched it into the GPS and found it to be located in the Florida Mall. So thats where we went first.

 

 

First I cannot believe how huge the Florida Mall is. Seriously its probably the largest mall i've ever been in. I also couldn't believe how packed it was for being a Sunday. I guess i'm just use to everything being pretty much shut down on Sundays. But here it was like it would be on Saturday during the Holidays. Before finding the store Valisa needed to go to though we decided to grab some food at the food court. After a delicious Five Guys Hamburger we made our way back into the mall and soon found the store Valisa needed to find.

 

Kiera looked around too but didn't find anything she liked so while Valisa and Kyle continued to look we went down a few stores to the M&M World. They have one of these in Las Vegas too that we always go to so it was kinda interesting to see another one. Let alone this one being located in a Mall.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Kyle and Valisa went to look at some other stores as well so we also decided to stop and look around the Disney Store. They had many fun items and i'm sure just going to the normal Disney Store in the mall for suvoniors is much cheaper then buying them in the Park. We found alot of cute Toy Story plushes and also some Phineas and Ferb toys (I Love that show).

 

 

We soon meet back up with Kyle and Valisa and our time at the Florida Mall was over. Next on the agenda we would be splitting up for a few hours cause Kyle and Valisa were going to go back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure. When they bought there park tickets before the cruise they got a killer deal on a 14 day ticket. Kiera and I bought our 7 day tickets before Universal raised the prices for Harry Potter so our tickets had since expired however Kyle and Valisa could still use theres. I told them I would take them back there for a few hours under the condition that they bring Kiera and I a butterbeer. So from the Florida Mall we made our way back to the Universal Orlando Resort. This time we went in the back way though and it was really cool seeing the parks attractions from a different angle while driving down the road.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

After Dropping Kyle and Valisa back off at Universal to spend some more time in the Wizarding World (I'm still so Jealous) Kiera and I decided we would go to the Outlets. We originally planned on going to the Premium factory outlets as they have the same ones in Las Vegas that we love. However they are located closer to the Disney property and not wanting to drive that far we decided to just go to the Prime Outlets that are very close to the Universal Resort and at the end of International Drive.

 

 

We soon arrived at the Prime Outlets and the scene was the same as the Florida Mall. It was VERY packed. We were pretty lucky to find a parking spot quickly though and pretty close to the outlets too. We spent the next 3 hours here looking at all the many different stores. One of specific interest and one I highly recommend is the Disney Character Warehouse. This outlet is where Disney sends all its discontinued merchandise from the Parks. So many of the items actually say Disney World or Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom on them. If you go to Disney this store is the cheaper alternative to buying your kids stuff in the parks. The Prime Outlets also had an area of play things that kids could do like super trampolines or these hamster ball things that they could run around in on water. Although the Prime Outlets had alot of cool stores and we enjoyed looking around we didn't end up buying anything. Nothing really stood out to us and it ended up working out perfect as right when we were finishing up with the Outlets Valisa called and said they were finished at the Wizarding World.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

On our way back to the Universal Orlando Resort to pick up Kyle and Valisa I decided to take the back way again. Here we passed the Worlds Largest McDonalds and enjoyed that view again of the park attractions before arriving at the pick up zone.

 

[TeknikDC2]

We didn't wait too long until Kyle and Valisa showed up. They had a big bag of additional merchandise that they bought in the wizarding world but what I was most happy to see was the mugs of Butterbeer that they brought Kiera and I. Oh how I missed butterbeer. Even now writting about it i'm wanting one so badly. They are really one of the best things ever made.

 

 

With Kyle and Valisa back in the van we decided our time in Orlando was over and we headed back to Tampa. The drive seemed pretty short again and before we knew it we were arriving back in Tampa and made our way to our hotel. Just as with our rental car I used Hotwire.com to book our hotel in Tampa. I ended up getting the Doubletree Westshore Airport for about half of what it would have cost normally ($59 for the night). Although the room wasn't as big as our Doubletree room was in Orlando the room was still very nice and we would highly recommend staying here again. They also have a park and cruise package that was pretty reasonable for those who drive to your cruise in Tampa.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After getting settled in it was time to go get dinner. Valisa was really excited for this because she had an old High School friend who now lived in Tampa and we were meeting her for Dinner. It had been about 6 years since Valisa and last seen her so she was pretty excited for it. They decided on an applebees that was just a few miles away from our hotel so after punching the address into our GPS we were on our way. The GPS actually ended up taking us by the football stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and also the baseball stadium where the Tampa Bay Rays play there professional Games. It was pretty cool to see. It'd be even cooler to see them during the day though. Unforunatly next though the GPS took us thru a ruff part of town. It was litterally a porn shop or a strip club like every other building. Kinda scary and interesting but we soon found the Applebees.

 

 

Dinner was good and Valisa had a great time and was very happy that she got to spend time with and old friend. By this time though the night was getting late and we really needed to get some sleep due to having early flights in the morning. So Valisa and her friend said there goodbyes and we made our way back to the hotel for the night. When walking into the lobby though there was a pretty cool motorcycle that I snapped some photos of. The airbrush work on the bike was excellent.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Our day was soon coming to a close. Now back at the hotel we reorganized all of our bags to get ready for our flights in the morning. Valisa also gave us the tumblers they picked up for us in the Wizarding World that they didn't have the first time we went. I also snapped some photos of our view from the hotel room before sitting down and exchanging the rest of our photos of the trip with Kyle. It was hard to believe the vacation was really coming to an end in less then 24 hours.

 

 

Right before climbing in bed for the last time this trip Valisa asked us the all important question. Would you guys vacation with us again? Heck yes we would. I must say they were the perfect travel companions. I wish that we could go on every vacation in the future with them. Really they were perfect and we couldn't have asked for anyone better to vacation with then these two. It saddens us infact that they can't join us on our next vacation adventure.

 

And with that we were soon in bed and falling asleep. We had to awake early the next day to be at the airport around 7ish. We would be home tomorrow.

[TeknikDC2]

And thats all for today. Thanks to all who continue to follow my recap. I can't believe that tomorrow it will be coming to an end. As always please feel free to add any comments that you have or ask any questions and i'll be ore then happy to answer them. The community has been great and I love all the support you guys have given me. Thanks again to everyone.