Review: Carnival Legend, March 27 - April 3

[dvd77]

Prologue

 

This is a review of the Carnival Legend. My wife Kellie and I cruised on it March 27 – April 3, 2011. We had planned to go on this cruise with our good friends, Andy and Lisa, for quite some time. We picked the Legend out of Tampa because 1) We loved the ports, and had never been to 3 of them before, 2) it sailed out of Tampa, and my wife and I live less than an hour from the port, and 3) the price seemed very reasonable.

 

In the weeks leading up to the cruise, the four of us voraciously read CC. We especially loved some of the reviews; the ones by “gapearl” and “mariamherrera” really stood out. So I wanted to write one of our cruise, to help someone else who might be planning for theirs. My plan was to bring a laptop with us, and each night, download all the pics from our cameras, and log what we did that day in exquisite detail. Didn’t happen! More often than not, we were too tired at the end of the day to think of something as mundane as trip logging, and so lots of details have been lost. But I’ll do my best anyway!

 

Some months in advance, we did a 3-way call with our friends (who live in NH, by the way) and Carnival, and booked our cabins. We wanted to get balcony cabins that were next to each other, so we could open the divider in between them. (Thanks to CC, we knew which cabins this was possible for, and which ones it was not.) We also wanted unobstructed view, fairly high, amidships, but not directly under the Lido deck. We booked 6219 and 6221, and I would say we were very happy with our cabin choice. We also wanted to dine at a table for 4, so we could catch up with each other. We were told we would have to wait until boarding to see the Maître D’ to ask about tables.

 

Andy and Lisa flew into Tampa Saturday afternoon; we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening running around, getting last minute shopping done, last minute arrangements, packing, etc. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to bed until after midnight, but hey—we would be on vacation the next day!

[dvd77]

More to come...

[dvd77]

Sunday, March 27

 

Another friend of ours with a Suburban had agreed to transport us to the port. He showed up right on time, and we loaded up at 9:00 a.m. We were on our way!

 

After a stop for some breakfast to go, we arrived at the port at 10:00. The signs were clearly marked, and porters were standing by as we unloaded. A little more background here: Each of us had a bag to check, and also a carry-on bag. We wanted to bring some soda along, and, since all 4 of us are wine aficionados, we had a bottle of wine each in our carry-on. We were a little worried about the size of our carry-on bags, but the x-ray machines didn’t have the plastic guards on them that the ones at the airport do, so our worry was for naught. We received our S&S cards, and were directed to a waiting area to await our boarding group. We were assigned to boarding group 2. We took a few pics, wanting to document the trip, until a Carnival employee came over and said picture taking was forbidden in that area. That was surprising, since we were well past the secure area, but no biggie—we had our pics anyway. J

 

At 11:40, our group was called for boarding. We paused for the boarding pic (photographer seemed to be in a hurry, unfortunately—bummer, it didn’t come out well at all) and then we were on the ship!

 

Our plan was to divide and conquer: Andy and I would go to Guest Services to see about the balcony divider, while the girls would go see the Maître D’ to check the status of our table. At Guest Services, they had a form ready for balcony dividers. Each of us had to sign it (yay, we anticipated that, that’s why we divided up) and we were told someone would move the divider Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, the girls found no one at the dining room. After asking around, they were told to come back after 12:30.

 

So we met up on the Lido deck, grabbed some snacks, and relaxed. This would be our first and only chance to use a hammock on the Serenity deck—more on that later. After relaxing, at 12:30 Andy and I went to see the Maître D’ about the table. When we got to the dining room, we found there was a line of about 8 or 9 persons already. We queued up and waited. After about 15 minutes, we were next in line. That’s when we spotted the floor plan of the dining room, with the tables numbered. We didn’t have to wait in line at all! We were happy to see that we were already assigned to a table for 4, in a nice location too. We scurried back to the Lido deck to tell the girls the good news.

 

At 1:15, we decided to see if our cabins were ready. Sure enough, they were! So we unpacked our carry-on bags. Thus unburdened, we decided to explore the rest of the ship. As we were about to leave, our bags were delivered. Wow, things were moving fast! So we finished unpacking everything. Well, ALMOST everything…

 

I should probably state at this point that I am a somewhat detail-oriented person. J Part of this includes making detailed packing lists well in advance of a trip. Well, between things being crazy at work, home, and everywhere else, I didn’t get to make my usual lists, and ended up packing hurriedly the night before the cruise. As a result, I found that I forgot: a USB cable for transferring pictures (fortunately, our friends had one they loaned us), sport socks, and—shorts!!! How does a guy from Florida forget shorts on a cruise? I had one pair from boarding, swimwear, and that was it! Sigh. Oh well…

 

Now, regarding supper: We were debating what to do. We had early (6:00) dining, but we really wanted to see the ship pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Well, as expected (thanks again, CC!) we were approached about dining in the Golden Fleece restaurant. If we dined there Sunday night, we would get a free bottle of wine with our meal. Remember I mentioned all four of us were wine aficionados? Deal done! We made our reservation for later that night. Explored the ship, got a drink on the Lido deck, and waited until we passed under the bridge. We watched from deck 10, right in front of the funnel and Golden Fleece—a great place to view it.

 

We then returned to our cabins, and got changed and ready for Golden Fleece. After reading so many reviews, we were really looking forward to it. We took a couple pictures on the beautiful staircase leading up to it on the way. (The staircase treads are transparent, which means you can look through the stairs and see all the way to the atrium 9 decks below—very cool. Ladies, you might also keep this in mind if you are wearing a dress!)

 

To put is simply, we were disappointed in the Golden Fleece. In reflecting back on it, there were several reasons. But first, the positives: the food presentation is excellent. A lot of thought and care went into it, and it showed. And the staff were all extremely friendly and seemed to genuinely want us to have a good time.

 

However… well, let’s start with the wine. Free is good! But it was mediocre at best. That’s understandable, they aren’t going to give away the good stuff. No biggie. But the service at the Golden Fleece was s-l-o-w. The restaurant was nearly empty, so perhaps they cut back staff on the first night in anticipation of this. But each course would be finished, and then we would sit there with our plates in front of us, wondering when they would be cleared and the next course would show up.

 

At the 2 hour mark, we hadn’t gotten around to dessert yet, and we were feeling antsy. We wanted to go to Follies and watch the Welcome Aboard show, and it didn’t look like we were going to make it. We finally flagged down a server and told her we would have to skip dessert. She very helpfully said No problem—just tell me what you would like, and I’ll have it sent to your room instead. Great! So we gave her the room number and scrambled out of there. The only problem—it never showed up. A couple days later we called about it, and were told that oops, we would have to come by and pick it up. Sigh. We never did get around to that dessert.

 

Don’t take this as saying the Golden Fleece is bad. We are very spoiled in Tampa, with several nice steak houses: Ruth’s Chris, Flemings, Capital Grille, Charley’s, Bern’s… so Golden Fleece has some stiff competition, and in my opinion, it trailed each of those restaurants. Also, while the food presentation was excellent, the quality was just “ok.” A perfect example was the lobster—it was overcooked. In contrast, the lobster we had in the main dining room later in the week was cooked perfectly. We had higher expectations for GF.

 

OK, enough Golden Fleece bashing. As mentioned, we went to Follies to watch the Welcome Aboard show. In a word: LAME. Skip it.

 

So, the first day had ended—and I had some very mixed emotions! On the one hand—I was on vacation! On a cruise! With my wife and good friends! All positives. On the other hand:

 

Golden Fleece—didn’t meet expectations. Welcome Aboard show—lame. Also: All afternoon/evening Sunday, we were surprised to see litter laying around the ship. For example, someone left a food tray with plates and half-eaten food lying on the deck just outside the Golden Fleece window. It sat there all day. Beer bottles and empty drink cups littered the decks. In the meantime, there were scores of staff running around with trays trying to sell you drinks, and no one cleaning up. Was this what Carnival has come to?

 

So as we turned in the first night, I was a little worried that the cruise was going to be a disappointment, and not live up to expectations or past experiences.

 

Happily, I would be proved wrong.

[mprince4]

I love the details - keep them coming! I'll be on the Legend next month so I am reading all the reviews :)

 

How did you find out about the free bottle of wine at the steakhouse - you say you were approached...? And what kind of wine did you get? I figure any bottle on board is going to be at least $25 so it might be worth it even if it's mediocre ;) and I'll pretty much drink anything!

[dvd77]

Mprince4: We found out about the wine from reading the boards here at CC! CC rules! :-) We got a bottle of Merlot, I don't remember the label. I'll check with one of my companions.

 

When you board the ship, there will be someone there with models of the food at Golden Fleece. If you make eye contact with them, they will tell you about it.

 

More details coming as I'm able to type them up.

[ADB_BWG]

My BFF from high school and I will be on the Legend 9/24, and we also have early dining. We were hoping to see the bridge passing and then scurry to the dining room (within 15 minutes of our time). Is that possible?

[psbaldi]

I am loving the review especially since I will be in cabin 6219 on the Legend in July...WOOOHOOO...

[cincycruisincouple]

My BFF from high school and I will be on the Legend 9/24, and we also have early dining. We were hoping to see the bridge passing and then scurry to the dining room (within 15 minutes of our time). Is that possible?

 

 

When I checked my camera we went under the bridge at exactly 6:15. For whatever that's worth :)

[dvd77]

My BFF from high school and I will be on the Legend 9/24, and we also have early dining. We were hoping to see the bridge passing and then scurry to the dining room (within 15 minutes of our time). Is that possible?

 

I just checked the timestamp on our pictures. It looks like we passed under the bridge right at 5:30 p.m. So you could make it, assuming the ship sails at same time, speed, etc.

 

The clearance is so close, I wonder if they try to time it at low tide? No idea.

[deadmoney]

Keep it coming, we are sailing on 5/8:cool:

[Gecko7]

Thanks for the review. We sail at the end of June and are carefully considering what to expect and what to do. Great details so far, can't wait for the rest. :)

[crusinpsychRN]

I just checked the timestamp on our pictures. It looks like we passed under the bridge right at 5:30 p.m. So you could make it, assuming the ship sails at same time, speed, etc.

 

The clearance is so close, I wonder if they try to time it at low tide? No idea.

 

They have to be sure it's low tide.

 

You'd be at least 20 minutes late to dinner. You might want to tell Maitre D' or server.

[ADB_BWG]

Thanks, dvd77 and cincycruisincouple! We don't want to be (too) late for dinner and hold up any tablemates we might have, but we would like to see the bridge! I guess we'll (1) check our table to see how many tablemates and (2) see how the time goes.

 

Aleta

[NU2Cruise55]

Yes please more info I sail in the 1st of May!

[dvd77]

Monday, March 28 – Day at Sea

 

We slept in. Wow, does it feel great not to wake to an alarm clock!

 

We gathered our friends and went down to the dining room for breakfast. We were seated next to a window, at a table for 6. We were shortly joined by a very nice couple who kept us entertained for the entire meal; we enjoyed their company. It was nice to wave at them later as we would pass them from time to time on the ship.

 

Had a forehead-slapping moment at breakfast. Shortly after we were seated, a server came up and asked, “Would you like a Bloody Mary or Mimosa with your breakfast?” We weren’t exactly craving one, but sure, why not? So he returned with them a few minutes later, and then said, “I’ll just need your S&S cards…” Duh! Of course they weren’t included, what were we thinking? We felt a little suckered in the way they were presented to us, but went with “we are on vacation, we’ll enjoy it anyway!”

 

Our plan was to then find some deck chairs together and relax in the sun for a while. That was not to be. Try as we might, we couldn’t find a deck chair that was not “saved” or occupied. We finally split up and agreed to meet up for lunch. A staffer (deckhand?) was putting out some chairs on deck 10, so Kellie and I stayed there, Andy and Lisa went aft to try the shaded area by the Serenity deck.

 

It was WINDY that day! We must have been sailing into a stiff headwind. Several times we saw people get up to get a snack, bathroom break, or whatever, and their towel, flip flops, book, or other seat-saving device would then blow away. You had to keep everything securely fastened down.

 

We met up for lunch on Lido. That worked well for us, each could get what they wanted. I think I had the calzones that day—yummy. However, there were fairly long lines at each of the stations, and you and to “swoop and score” to get a table. I think this was the most crowded we found lunch to be for the rest of the trip.

 

After lunch, we wandered for a bit. We saw the end of the hairy chest contest. The guys they had picked for it were VERY good sports, and really hamming it up for the crowd. We got a good laugh thanks to their antics. We went up to try to play mini golf. Well, remember how windy it was? NOT conducive to playing mini golf. We watched some trying to play. They would hit a ball, and then chase it as it accelerated aft. Certainly a new challenge to the sport! We decided against mini golf that day.

 

That afternoon, there was a shopping talk. If you attended, the Fun Times said you would receive free Tanzanite studs. That’s all the girls needed to hear! Off we went.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this was 1 hour 15 minutes of pure torture. Granted, I’m a guy, and I don’t view shopping as a sport like others do. ;-) But even the girls were bored here. The talk was conducted in Satchmo’s, which is the karaoke bar. The seats there are very uncomfortable, so that didn’t help. But darn it, we were going to get those studs! :-D Well, at the end, they gave us coupons with which we could go into a store at port and exchange it for the studs. When we saw folks come in with 5 minutes to go and get the coupon—sure wish I had done that!

 

By the way, the couple that gave the presentation did a fine job, and the majority of the people there seemed to enjoy it just fine. I’m just whining here.

 

Promptly at 1:00, someone came by and fastened back the divider between our balconies. We loved this, it let us really make the most of our time together. On the Legend, unfortunately, the door swings OUT so that it is against the railing, blocking a portion of your view. As we saw other ships on the cruise, we noticed that they didn’t have this design flaw. I’ll try to post some pics of it later, so you can factor this into a decision if you are thinking about doing this too.

 

This was formal night—er, nope, “Cruise Elegant” night. We all showered, changed, and got ready. Before leaving for the dining room, we uncorked a bottle of wine we had brought, poured it into glasses, and brought it with us. I really recommend this, it was a nice way to go.

 

We got to our table, and met our servers. We had Heinke (“Call me Heinke Panky!”) and Rey. I simply cannot say enough good things about these two. They could not have been any better—excellent servers, and just good folks too. We felt like they truly enjoyed their work, and it was a pleasure to see them every day. Heinke was from Indonesia. Andy and Lisa know a little Indonesian, and Heinke was delighted that they made the effort to speak to him in his native tongue. At any rate, both were perfect.

 

My dinner that night was lobster, shrimp, and the obligatory Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. All of it was excellent; couldn’t have asked for better. In some of the reviews, I had read that the quality of the food had gone downhill, and after our Golden Fleece experience, quite frankly, I was a little worried. Well, this night put my mind at ease. We thoroughly enjoyed everything.

 

After dinner, they had the portrait stations set up, so we went to 7 different stations and got pictures taken. Some of the photographers really seemed to be putting a lot of effort into their work, and we appreciated their effort.

 

We then went down to the Firebird to watch the PG comedy show. I’m sorry, I don’t remember who performed that night, but I do know we enjoyed it.

 

On the way out, we paused outside Satchmo’s (karaoke). There is a nice spot where you can sit, just outside, and still hear and watch the performances. So we watched for a bit, then finally went back to our cabins, prepared for the next day, and got some sleep.

 

A couple random notes while I am thinking about it: Our cabin steward was Pandi (“Call me Pandi Bear”). Nothing but positives to say about Pandi. He did a great job, greeted us by name whenever he saw us, and was always friendly and nice.

 

Also: A tip we read here on CC, which we used. We cleared out the beverages from the minibar, and put them in one of the cubbies next to the bed. That left room for the beverages we brought with us, as well as the odd snack we would bring back to the cabin from time to time.

 

There was only 1 available electrical outlet in the cabin, but we had brought a mini power strip with us, and it was not a problem. Especially since our cell phones were turned OFF and in the safe for the duration of the cruise. :-D

[dvd77]

There will be more to come, but I probably won't get to it today. Thanks for the encouragement!

[deadmoney]

Just so you know, the room steward will remove the stuff from the mini bar if asked. Was your cold? last cruise ours was not cold at all:(

[crusing48/51]

Thank you for taking the time to do a review. I am thoroughly enjoying it, and am waiting patiently for the ports portion. Sorry to hear your Golden Fleece experience wasn't what you expected. DH and I are booked for the first night of our cruise in October. Hopefully ours will be a better meal. Again, thank you for the great review so far, and keep it coming!

[nikita]

I am loving your informative review. Looking forward to as much as you can stand to write! I love every little detail. By the way - we moved into the Tampa area not too long ago and someone gave us a gift cert. to Berns. How long in advance do you need to make reservations there? We tried one week in advance for a Sat. night and they were all booked. We are looking forward to trying it. Thank you!!

[dvd77]

Just so you know, the room steward will remove the stuff from the mini bar if asked. Was your cold? last cruise ours was not cold at all:(

 

We had heard that as well. We weren't using the cubby on the far side of the bed for anything anyway, so it was no big deal for us to empty the items into that space, and replace them at the end of the cruise.

 

Our fridge was adequately cold, as long as we were careful that it shut completely and sealed. A couple times we didn't get it sealed, and then the warm air from the motor warmed it up pretty quickly.

[Gecko7]

We'd love to see any pictures especially of the cabin and other area around the ship. Looking forward to the rest of the review.

[dvd77]

We'd love to see any pictures especially of the cabin and other area around the ship. Looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

I'll see what I have on hand...

[mprince4]

dvd - it looks like your balcony rooms were almost directly on the other side of the ship (and a deck down) from where I'll be on the Legend. Did you have any issues with noise being close to the stairs/elevators? I am closer to the elevators and atrium elevators than you were, but I assume it would probably be about the same. I figured it couldn't be that bad since no one would be getting off at that deck unless they were going to their cabin... what was your experience?

[GayleR]

Please keep it coming. I know it's a pain to post pictures, but it would be appreciated. :D

[dvd77]

dvd - it looks like your balcony rooms were almost directly on the other side of the ship (and a deck down) from where I'll be on the Legend. Did you have any issues with noise being close to the stairs/elevators? I am closer to the elevators and atrium elevators than you were, but I assume it would probably be about the same. I figured it couldn't be that bad since no one would be getting off at that deck unless they were going to their cabin... what was your experience?

 

We were VERY apprehensive about the same thing. Our cabins were right beside the midships elevators. Extremely convenient--exit the elevators or stairs, and the cabins were right there.

 

To answer your question: we were delighted to find that we never heard a single thing! Not a sound from the stairwell or elevators (or the users of them, either). Kudos to the shipbuilders; they did a good job with the sound insulating.