Turning 40 on the Legend Oct 23-31 Review w/ pics

[whendoweleave?]

And that balcony is AWESOME! :D It looks like it's deeper than the balconies I've seen, too! Wowza! I wannaother balcony!!!! :( Got a porthole booked in January---only on the cruise because of the AWESOME price, so didn't want to push it. It's OV or suite on the Elation that we're sailing, so I'm just taking my OV porthole inside cabin for the price of a NO-WINDOW-AT-ALL inside cabin. Best deal going at $229 for a 5-day!

[BeccaBecca1713]

OMG! That "costume" was tooo much and just plain disgusting! Trying to forget it :rolleyes:.

 

My door signs are always a bit dorky but at least I know which cabin is mine, LOL!!!

 

Did you have a great cruise?

 

Gina

 

 

Cruise was awesome! I think I got a pic or 2 of your group dancing at the club before the contest started. I'll try to upload them this weekend.

 

My DH was "Barrel of Monkeys." I was a cat but more clearly resembled a chubby hooker.:rolleyes:

 

Oh well......there's always next year!

[Eeyoregon]

Sorry for the long pause! Ok, where was I??

 

Roatan, Honduras:

 

This is the one port where I went back and forth on what to do. Money was tight for everyone in my groups so spending the day at Mahogany Bay made sense. But I really wanted to experience Roatan and since I was the sole planner for my group, I wanted the day to be great for my dear friends.

 

Just days before we sailed I contacted Victor Bodden and arranged for a tour. We were mostly interested in a driving island tour and some time at some of the amazing beaches since this would be our last chance to relax on the beach and swim in the warm water as our excursion in Belize was all day and didn't involve any beach time.

 

I followed Vitcor's directions and we all made the climb up the hill and out of the compound. We encountered a few locals that tried to tell us we weren't allowed outside the compound and that we "had" to come zip-lining with them or come with them on a beach tour. I knew better and politely said no thank you. We were a tad bit late getting off the ship as we were moving slowly that morning. Once over the BIG hill, I spotted the signs for Bodden tours. We checked-in and were assigned our driver and guide: Derek and Miss Annie. They were both fantastic and there wasn't any language barrier. We drove around the island and learned a lot about the culture, schools, vegetation, etc. Stopped for some souvenir shopping at a roadside "market" and enjoyed the breathtaking views.

Chrissy and Miss Annie at roadside shopping.

 

Mahogany Bay.

 

Flying chairs at Mahogany Bay

 

 

Another great view from my balcony:

 

 

We were making our way to the beach and passed by Victors home. Derek mentioned the monkeys and my friend Jennifer's ears perked up. We had a quick discussion and decided we would spend the $5 to go see the monkeys. Derek flipped a U-turn and we arrived at Victors place. Almost instantly we were greeted by Victor. He asked if I was "Gina the birthday girl" and I said yes. Without saying too much, I will tell you that his kindness and generosity that day touched my heart and will be a birthday memory that I will never forget. Here is what we did next:

[Eeyoregon]

Look carefully at Noelle's face in the background, LOL!! Yep, we were going zip-lining and Noelle and Maggie were not thrilled about the idea! I politely told them that this was an amazing opportunity and to get their gear on!

 

 

 

The gals and Victor.

 

 

 

We ziplined for close to an hour and had a blast!! And who had the most fun? Yep, Noelle and Maggie!! We had 2 guides and a photographer with us. At the end you could purchase a CD of all of the pictures for $20, which we did. Over 80 photos and they burned it right there. It was off to see what we had originally stopped for: monkeys!! Hands down the best part of the entire trip for me.

 

Noelle and a friend.

 

Me and the babies. Notice the one that is sound to sleep on my arm while his mischevious brother plays with me.

 

"Well I'm the king of the swingers boy...a jungle V.I.P" Ok, had to work in at least one Disney reference!

 

The monkeys were adorable and it was hard for me to say goodbye!

[Eeyoregon]

More pictures at Victor's:

 

 

 

 

We loaded back into the van and headed for the West End where Derek took us to a wonderful restaurant right on the water. We dined on the open air deck and enjoyed the water. Due to our unexpected ziplining and monkey stop, we were running out of time and had to make our way back to the ship :(.

I truly loved Roatan and am so thankful that we took a chance with Victor Bodden tours and experienced Roatan. This was my farvorite port and I can't wait to return someday. Oh, the cost per person for the tour was $25 and we tipped our two amazing guides extra (also tipped our ziplining guides!).

 

All aboard was at 5:30 and we made it back with about 30 minutes to spare...boy was the line to board the ship long! We split up and returned to our cabins to clean up. During this time the captain made an announcement that we would not be going to Belize the following day. Oh no!!!! I was soooooooooooooo looking forward to Belize as that was my actual birthday and we had a day of cave tubing planned. It had also been Noelle's dream to visit Belize for as long as I can remember and I broke down. The tears started flowing...mostly out of sadness and disappointment for Noelle. She was totally fine but I was crushed. I knew when I booked a cruise during hurricane season that anything could happen and it did. Hurricane Richard swept through Belize just the day before. The buoy's that mark the narrow/shallow channel for the ships had been ripped out of place and it would take dive teams to reset them so the Legend could not safely visit Belize. Understood.

 

We were going to Costa Maya, Mexico instead. I will tell you that the speed and level of efficiency by the staff of the Legend was impressive. By 8:00pm alternate shore excursions were in place for Costa Maya and Wee Jimmy was broadcasting live on the tv with information about our new port. Our funtimes that night had Costa Maya information and we were in route for a 9:00 am arrival.

 

We opted for the all day jungle beach break which included unlimited drinks for $49 per person (the main reason for choosing this excursion!). We stopped by the excursion desk after dinner and reserved our spots.

 

To be continued.....

[boaterette]

I love your pictures. Glad you came back to post more.

[BettyPC]

Looks like a great time! Looking forward to reading the rest of the cruise! Thanks for sharing with us

[Eeyoregon]

I love your pictures. Glad you came back to post more.

 

Looks like a great time! Looking forward to reading the rest of the cruise! Thanks for sharing with us

 

Awe, thanks! I'm not a very good writer so it's nice to know I have at least 2 followers!

 

Gina

[AryMay]

 

You found my flower! It almost looks like the same photograph! I also took this picture at Victor's house.

 

 

How fun to read about your day in Roatan. We visited there in August on our Legend cruise. Having done a tour with Victor back in 2004 when he was just getting his business started it was great to see how his business has grown and grown. His brother, Francisco, was our guide for the day, but Victor took time to find us and say hello.

 

It looks like you and your friends had a great time. I'm sure your birthday will be one you always remember!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[gapearl]

Great review! Keep it coming!

[Eeyoregon]

Great review! Keep it coming!

 

Looks like you've done some solo cruises. I'm going to have to do that one of these days since my kids can't miss school and I rarely have someone to cruise with. Just not thrilled about the solo rates!!!

 

Gina

[gapearl]

Looks like you've done some solo cruises. I'm going to have to do that one of these days since my kids can't miss school and I rarely have someone to cruise with. Just not thrilled about the solo rates!!!

 

Gina

 

My next cruise is wayyyyyyy more than what I was wanting to spend. My first 2 solos were very reasonable. It was as if I paid a double occupancy rate plus a little discount. My 6 day solo cruise on the Freedom, inclusive of port fees and taxes, was $160 cheaper than the cruise fare alone for my upcoming solo 5 night on the Destiny! :eek: Ghee wiz!!! I likely will not do another solo on Carnival for a while with prices like that. I hear RC still has some good solo rates. I might give them a shot the next time I feel inclined to do a solo.

 

I've done some of the same activities as you- swimming with manatees and hugging a sea lion (plus I got a kiss!) in Cozumel and swimming with sting rays in GC. Roatan looks like a lot of fun. That balcony looks AWESOME. Sorry about your camera and missing Belize. Hopefully you'll be able to make it there on a future cruise, maybe a solo one. ;)

 

Oh yeah, happy birthday!

[Eeyoregon]

My next cruise is wayyyyyyy more than what I was wanting to spend. My first 2 solos were very reasonable. It was as if I paid a double occupancy rate plus a little discount. My 6 day solo cruise on the Freedom, inclusive of port fees and taxes, was $160 cheaper than the cruise fare alone for my upcoming solo 5 night on the Destiny! :eek: Ghee wiz!!! I likely will not do another solo on Carnival for a while with prices like that. I hear RC still has some good solo rates. I might give them a shot the next time I feel inclined to do a solo.

 

I've done some of the same activities as you- swimming with manatees and hugging a sea lion (plus I got a kiss!) in Cozumel and swimming with sting rays in GC. Roatan looks like a lot of fun. That balcony looks AWESOME. Sorry about your camera and missing Belize. Hopefully you'll be able to make it there on a future cruise, maybe a solo one. ;)

 

Oh yeah, happy birthday!

 

Hmmm...might look into RCCL myself! I sailed with them once on a REALLY old ship (glad they took it out of their fleet!) and was not impressed BUT I know that the newer ships are much, much better. No bad cruise in my book!

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

Ratan continued: Everyone in my group agrees that our day in Roatan was absolutely amazing. The weather, the scenary, the food, the water, the monkeys, the zipling, the island and our two wonderful guides.

 

I really can't remember what all we did that evening. We went to dinner in the MDR as we did every evening. Pretty sure a couple of us went to the adult rated comedy show. I always spent time on the balcony before bed. Love the stars and sound of the ocean as we make our way to our next destination.

 

Costa Maya, Mexico: Today was my actual birthday. We had to meet our excursion group at 9:00. We met for breakast in the buffet and filled our tummies. We were able to dock in Costa Maya, which was nice. There is fairly new market area with shops, restaurants and a huge pool in the middle of the village. When we returned that afternoon it was apparent that a lot of passengers just hung out there for the day.

 

It was a long pier and they had a trolley that you could ride but we opted to walk. Climbed on the tour bus and made our way to the beach. Maybe a 20 minute ride. We arrived and claimed some loungers under a palapa (sp?) and I made a break for the water. It was refreshing but there was lot's of sea grass and little rocks so I opted for my water shoes.

They had sea kayaks for free so Maggie and I did some kayaking. I was determined to conquer my snorkeling issues and borrowed Chrissy's mask and snorkel. Did a lot of self motivating and talking and eventually put my face in the water. Then I laid down and off I went!! I DID IT!! There were lot's of fish...schools of big ones and little ones and a bright red star fish.

 

For and extra fee you could be taken out to the reef but I wasn't ready for that. Needed to be able to stand up when I needed to and know that the shore was right there.

 

We of course got right to the free drinks! And when they realized it was my birthday, the drinks got stronger and stronger. The bar tenders were making these layered red, blue, green and purple things. Couldn't tell you what they were but they sure went down smooth!! I was feeling happy!! We ordered some food, which was delish!! Kept drinking and dancing. A huge black storm cloud moved in and the wind picked up, it rained for a bit and was gone. More drinking and dancing. The staff was wonderful and very interactive. Before we knew it the last bus back to town had arrived to pick us up. The bar tenders filled our water bottles with drinks for the road and we were off!

 

I quickly realized that my group was LIT! Also realized that my back was quite burnt...had so much fun snorkeling that I forgot to reapply the sunscreen. The bus ride was LOUD thanks to my group (sorry to the other folks on board!). We arrived back at the plaza and checked out a few stores. Jennifer, who is a lite weight drinker like myself, was drunk. I was hot and the burn was hurting so I decided to take Jenn with me and make our way back to the ship. That was one loooooooong journey. One foot in front of the other....

 

Jenn was easily distracted by the pushy vendors and stumbled into a store with pretty dresses. The vendor put one of the dresses on her and she of course loved it. Oh boy.

Jenn: How much?

Vendor: $38

Jenn: THIRTY EIGHT DOLLARS!?!?!? NO WAY

Vendor: You have plastic?

Jenn: No.

Vendor: How much you want to pay?

Jenn: drops to her knees and starts digging for money. She finds $17.

Vendor: NO! Give me your beach towel, water bottle and $17.

Me: Those are Carnivals towels and we will be charged for them so NO!

Vendor: Come on pretty ladies, I like the towel.

Jenn: You can't have my stuff. I only have $17

Me: I have NO dollars because I gave what little cash I had to the bard tenders for tips.

Me: Come on Jenn, we need to get back on board...take the dress off.

So we start wiggling her out of the dress and vendor says, "Ok, $17."

We pay, leave dress on and leave.

 

A few seconds later, Jenn realizes that she left her straw sunhat. I warned her that he was likely going to pretend that he knew nothing about her hat. She staggered back to the shop and as soon as he saw her he said, "Oh, you left your hat. I tried to find you but couldn't."

B.S. on that! I can assure that we would have been easy to find since she was walking diagonally and slower than a turtle with honey on it's underbelly!

 

With hat back on her head we made our way to the trolley....thank gawd for the trolley!!! Got back on board and made the looooooong journey to her cabin. Tucked her into bed and went to my cabin.

 

The other three girls had discovered the swimming pool in the plaza and the swim up bar. Oh dear. Maggie and Chrissy both jumped into the pool fully clothed with a loud COWABUNGA! Luckily Noelle was still with it enough to know that they had to return to the ship. I can tell you that everyone in that pool area was DRUNK!!! Not sure how it happened because I wasn't there but all I know is that Chrissy returned to the ship in a semi-long t-shirt and nothing else, oh my!

 

Maggie, Noelle and I got cleaned up as it was the second elegant evening. We made our way to the early show, which was really good that night. The plan was to meet for dinner. The three of us were seated at our table and 10-15 minutes later the other two arrived. It was obvious within seconds that Jenn was SICK!! "KK" our waitress noticed it immediately.

 

And of course the ship was a rocking! Not just the side to side motion but the up and down at the same time. Add in the vibrations from the engines and we were all looking a bit green. Out came the bottle of meclezine!

We ordered our food and as soon as the plate was put in front of Jennifer, she excused herself to the bathroom. I think Maggie went with her. She staggered all the way thru the dining room.

 

Lets just say that by the time the dinner was over, it was just me and Noelle left. The staff brought out a pretty cake and sang to me. Ken made his birthday announcements and then started singing a slow song. A gentleman from the table behind us came over and asked me to dance. He said that the birthday girl couldn't sit alone and not dance. Very sweet!

 

We hardly ate 2 bites of the cake...not feeling too good. It was straight to bed. Not exactly how I thought my birthday evening would go, LOL!! I think they did it on purpose to get out of singing karaoke that night. Luckily, only one of us ended up face-to-face with the toilet that night!

 

This was in Costa Maya as the storm was rolling in:

 

Looking at the lounge chairs and resort area:

 

LOVED this tree!

 

 

Edited November 21, 2010 by Eeyoregon

[gadawg66]

I just found your review and love it! My father & I are taking that cruise next Sept. It will be my first balcony & I am excited. #6284 I will be 45 by then & this is my college graduation present to myself as I am finishing up in May. I would love to find out more information about some of the tours that your took. The first one with the sting rays. I have heard that name before in here, I believe Moby Dick? Does he have a website? Also the one in Roatan. Does he have a website? Is there a lot of walking involved? If so, are there places to stop & sit? My father can't walk far distances but doesn't mind stopping along the way like he did last Christmas when we did an excursion in St. Maarteen.

thks!

[campdaan]

Happy Birthday Gina !

 

Great Review !...

[Eeyoregon]

I just found your review and love it! My father & I are taking that cruise next Sept. It will be my first balcony & I am excited. #6284 I will be 45 by then & this is my college graduation present to myself as I am finishing up in May. I would love to find out more information about some of the tours that your took. The first one with the sting rays. I have heard that name before in here, I believe Moby Dick? Does he have a website? Also the one in Roatan. Does he have a website? Is there a lot of walking involved? If so, are there places to stop & sit? My father can't walk far distances but doesn't mind stopping along the way like he did last Christmas when we did an excursion in St. Maarteen.

thks!

 

Yes, Mobydick tours has a website as does Victor Bodden. Just do a search using those names and you will find the info ;). Victor will respond to your personally in a day or two and is a very kind, accomodating man who truly wants your experience in Roatan to be the best!

 

In Roatan you must leave the Mahogany Bay "compound" and walk up a very steep hill. If YOU walked the hill and met up with your guide on the other side, they can drive you back to the compound and pick up your father. And on the way back they will drive you down the hill. It is a bit of a walk thru the compound to the ship but there are places to stop and rest.

 

My father passed away a year ago this month. He was just shy of his 82nd birthday when he passed but I was lucky enough to take him and my two sons on an Alaskan cruise when he was 80 (his only cruise). Priceless memories and I am so thankful that we were able to share that with him.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. It was a great cruise even tho we missed Belize :(.

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

Happy Birthday Gina !

 

Great Review !...

 

:D Thanks :D

[Eeyoregon]

I remembered: Leroy Selmon! That was the name of the fantastic restaurant that our shuttle driver took us to in Tampa! I know, sort of random but I hate it when I can't remember the name of a place!

 

I've been dreaming about the fried green tomato's that I had there - YUM!!!

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

Another random thought: Before I left on the cruise my mother gave me a pair of diamond earrings that she and my Dad had purchased a year earlier for the big occasion. Dad passed away last year so these earrings had extra special meaning to me.

 

I think it was the 3rd night when I was standing at the sink in the bathroom (dumb me!) and was changing from my diamond earrings to a different pair. Next thing I know, I fumble with the back of the earring and it goes flying into the sink and straight down the drain :eek:!

 

Oh sh%t I start yelling! I remove the stopper and can see my earring just laying in the bottom of the drain but I have no way of getting to it. I ran to the phone and called my room steward. I told him what had happened and he said that he would call maitenance. In less than 5 minutes the maitenance team had arrived and safely retrieved my earring. Crisis over.

 

I was extremely impressed with how quickly they sprung into action. I even made it to dinner on time :).

 

Gina

[explodr]

Hello Oregon girl we live near grants pass in southern oregon, will be on the legend in march loved your review and cant wait for the trip. sorry about you missing belize I wanna see that the most happy cruisinf...

[Eeyoregon]

Hello Oregon girl we live near grants pass in southern oregon, will be on the legend in march loved your review and cant wait for the trip. sorry about you missing belize I wanna see that the most happy cruisinf...

 

How is life down south? We're supposed to get snow tonight and an overnight low of 22...brrrr...I need the Caribbean!!!

 

Enjoy Belize for me!!!

 

Gina

[gadawg66]

Yes, Mobydick tours has a website as does Victor Bodden. Just do a search using those names and you will find the info ;). Victor will respond to your personally in a day or two and is a very kind, accomodating man who truly wants your experience in Roatan to be the best!

 

In Roatan you must leave the Mahogany Bay "compound" and walk up a very steep hill. If YOU walked the hill and met up with your guide on the other side, they can drive you back to the compound and pick up your father. And on the way back they will drive you down the hill. It is a bit of a walk thru the compound to the ship but there are places to stop and rest.

 

My father passed away a year ago this month. He was just shy of his 82nd birthday when he passed but I was lucky enough to take him and my two sons on an Alaskan cruise when he was 80 (his only cruise). Priceless memories and I am so thankful that we were able to share that with him.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. It was a great cruise even tho we missed Belize :(.

 

Gina

thanks a bunch for that info...I am going to start planning excursions after first of the year....may be asking more ?'s..

[Eeyoregon]

thanks a bunch for that info...I am going to start planning excursions after first of the year....may be asking more ?'s..

 

I'll do my best to answer any questions.

 

The other thing that I liked about booking with Victor Bodden and MobyDick is that you don't pay until the day of the tour. It's just nice not to have to deal with refunds, etc. if your ship doesn't make that port.

 

Gina

[jtdlmc]

Another random thought: Before I left on the cruise my mother gave me a pair of diamond earrings that she and my Dad had purchased a year earlier for the big occasion. Dad passed away last year so these earrings had extra special meaning to me.

 

I think it was the 3rd night when I was standing at the sink in the bathroom (dumb me!) and was changing from my diamond earrings to a different pair. Next thing I know, I fumble with the back of the earring and it goes flying into the sink and straight down the drain :eek:!

 

Oh sh%t I start yelling! I remove the stopper and can see my earring just laying in the bottom of the drain but I have no way of getting to it. I ran to the phone and called my room steward. I told him what had happened and he said that he would call maitenance. In less than 5 minutes the maitenance team had arrived and safely retrieved my earring. Crisis over.

 

I was extremely impressed with how quickly they sprung into action. I even made it to dinner on time :).

 

Gina

 

Phhew! You had me worried there for a minute that you didn't get it back. So glad you did :)