Here ya go.....another Legend review, another perspective

[waykaylincruz]

In the picture with the lofe boats....is that the view when you look down from your balcony??

 

I've never been on the Legend before and we have an extended balcony booked. I'm a bit concerned now that I see your picture IF you do look down and see lifeboats!!!

[HopeILuvCruisin]

We are going on Sept 9th as well on The Legend. Can't wait!

 

We'll be getting on while you will be leaving...47 days for us! YAHOO!

[dawnie216]

Loving your review.. It's getting me so excited for my cruise on the miracle in Nov. Can't wait to read more!!

[pcrum]

Loving the review. DH and I always do the wine and food pairing and we always learn something new. DH likes reds best too, while I prefer whites. It is quite an experience to taste the difference when you pair the wines with different foods.

 

What I have not tried and can't wait to do, is the cooking demonstration. Is there a charge for this? Do you have to get there early in order to get a seat?

 

I'm so glad your meals were served warm. Although we live closer to Tampa, we purposely booked the western itinerary (same ports as Legend) on the Liberty out of Miami due to a rash of recent Legend reviews talking about horrible experiences in the MDR. Now, I'm re-thinking our decision, as we do love the spirit class ships!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[KroozFoolz]

What I have not tried and can't wait to do, is the cooking demonstration. Is there a charge for this? Do you have to get there early in order to get a seat?

 

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

No charge for the cooking demonstration - you do need to get there early!

[summercruisin']

I'm back! We survived the dentist, dropped off DD for VBS, took DS to taekwondo, picked up dinner (a rarity around here, but I still haven't had time to create a grocery list - DH does the shopping!). whew! Busy! First, a few answers...

 

 

In the picture with the lofe boats....is that the view when you look down from your balcony??

I've never been on the Legend before and we have an extended balcony booked. I'm a bit concerned now that I see your picture IF you do look down and see

lifeboats!!!

 

Yes, IF you are standing right by the rail and looking over the rail and straight down, that is the view (from the 7th floor / Verandah deck). However, if you are sitting in the chair with your feet propped on the balcony window, as I tend to do, you don't see the lifeboats...just ocean. Here's a picture taken while I was sitting pretty close to the window.

 

 

When I first saw the lifeboats, I was concerned they would reduce my enjoyment of the ocean view, but it really wasn't an issue.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a wonderful review. We will be on the Legend on Sept. 16th. I do have one question; you mentioned that you were upgraded to a extended balcony - yet the picture posted seems like a regular size balcony to me.:confused: I don't want to offend anyone here as I've never cruised on Carnival - but it sure doesn't look huge. It looks kinda like a normal size balcony....

 

Thank you for the compliment!! Yeah, that whole "extended balcony" thing...while true, it is a misleading misnomer (wait...I think that is redundant!). It is the same width and maybe a foot deeper? Best I can tell from comparing with the normal sized balconies I have had before, the regular size ones would end where that last little section of divider is (there would be no second section in the picture below). So, there isn't much extension to it, IMHO. I only took the upgrade because, at the time, the prices were lower than I had paid for the regular balcony room and I wanted the early saver price reduction. I didn't really care about the extended balcony.

 

 

 

Loving the review. DH and I always do the wine and food pairing and we always learn something new. DH likes reds best too, while I prefer whites. It is quite an experience to taste the difference when you pair the wines with different foods.

 

What I have not tried and can't wait to do, is the cooking demonstration. Is there a charge for this? Do you have to get there early in order to get a seat?

 

I'm so glad your meals were served warm. Although we live closer to Tampa, we purposely booked the western itinerary (same ports as Legend) on the Liberty out of Miami due to a rash of recent Legend reviews talking about horrible experiences in the MDR. Now, I'm re-thinking our decision, as we do love the spirit class ships!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

Thank you for the compliments! There was no charge for the cooking demo. I did get there about 10 minutes early, and I had to sit on the back row (of maybe 5-6 rows). I would recommend getting there at least 10 minutes early to get a decent seat.

 

I was very happy about the meals, too...and pleasantly surprised. In fact, after reading all the recent reviews, I had already resigned myself to be prepared to accept lukewarm at best food. But, that was never an issue. Granted, the food was not still smoking, but it was a good, warm temperature, as if we had allowed it to cool 3-4 minutes. Maybe we just got lucky, but it happened every night.

 

You are going to love the cooking demo! Enjoy!

Edited August 1, 2012 by summercruisin'

[Webecruzen]

Great review! We have been on the Legend twice and are looking forward to our Thanksgiving cruise on her this year. We are planning to do the food and wine pairing on this cruise for the first time.

[summercruisin']

On this particular cruise, the first elegant night is on the first day at sea, which is convenient...plenty of time to get ready. I, however, am NOT a girlie girl at all, so my getting ready regimen generally takes very little time. I don't even take makeup, a curling iron, or any other girlie stuff...just clothes and a hair band with which I do a two-minute uptwist of my very long hair to get all fancy. So, please forgive the not-so-elegant look :D. Here we are...

 

 

 

 

DS insisted on wearing his suit, and I'm glad he did. Hopefully the rest of us were acceptable looking to those who are bothered by people who don't go all out anymore. We used to really dress up for elegant nights, but honestly it got so tiresome trying to find ways to pack the evening gowns and suit jackets to wear for just a few hours. As a high school teacher, I get to dress up every year for prom (in fact, I jokingly tell people that's why I teach high school), and that's plenty enough for me. That being said, I didn't notice how others around me were dressed either. I'd like to think that if someone was really out of place I would have noticed, but I can't be sure. Obviously, other people's attire didn't detract from my dining experience.

 

Nonetheless, this was an exciting night for a couple of reasons. For one, DS, our very picky child who not only limits himself to a few rare meal selections, but they also must be just so, sometimes even of a particular brand, decided to try something new tonight! If you are not parent to an autistic child, you may not understand just how significant this is...it is HUGE. I tried to contain my goofy motherly excitement (or at least not burst into tears) while encouraging him to try whatever he liked. He chose to eat the shrimp cocktail (oh my goodness! This is a child who thought ketchup was too spicy until he was 7. Granted, he didn't eat the cocktail sauce, but usually just the smell of it and knowing it had at one time been on the same plate would have made him say "no way!").

 

 

I had the stuffed mushrooms, and I barely remember how they tasted because I was so wrapped up in what DS was doing. They must have been good, though, because I ate them all!

 

 

DH and DD had the minestrone. DD didn't like it, which is normal. Soup is one of the few things she will attempt to avoid. DH did like it.

 

Edited August 1, 2012 by summercruisin'

[melflip8]

Great job! Cant wait to hear about your experience on the Chef's Table! :) We cruise on the Legend on 8/29!

[summercruisin']

For dinner, DS got the salmon (holy cow!!!). Granted, he has always liked fish, but he likes it fried the traditional Carolina way (and who can blame him. If you've ever had Calabash-style seafood, you probably understand why that is on his short list!). He has never tried salmon though, which is, of course, not much like the flounder that is typically fried here in NC. He loved it! He ate almost all of it, and I just couldn't be happier (can you tell?).

 

 

DH and I each had lobster tail...

 

 

AND we shared a plate of the prime rib.

 

 

DD got chicken nuggets. She was given a kids' menu this night, and much to my dismay, chicken nuggets became her meal of choice most nights. They didn't look good to me, but she seemed to like them.

 

 

Just as I was all happily wrapped up in the events of the evening thinking it couldn't get any better, the head chef came by to introduce himself and ask if we had any allergies (in advance of the chef's table meal that was scheduled for the next evening). I LOVE chef Panda. He is so friendly, funny, lighthearted, eager to please...just ideal. He talked with us for a little while, joked with the kids and asked where they would be the next night (he seemed genuinely concerned!), and wrapped up telling us that if there was ANYTHING we wanted, all we had to do was ask. He said we could now say we know the chef and get whatever we wanted. It was so nice of him! He insisted on getting the kids something special, and so we finally asked him to get them some strawberries and grapes. Both of our kids love fresh fruit, but DS is not fond of melons and tropical fruits like pineapple. So, he decided not to order the "fruit cocktail" because he didn't think there would be much fruit that he would eat. When we mentioned they'd like to have just berries and grapes, Chef Panda pulled out his cell phone and ordered them up on the spot before sending our server to go get them. Wow.

 

 

Yep, he had me at "anything else?...whatever you want!" It was an awesome experience, and it made me even more excited about the chef's table the next night!

Edited August 1, 2012 by summercruisin'

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I didn't really watch the time once we got out of the shuttle bus' date=' but I remember thinking it was going to take forever to get through security. The line was obviously very long. However, it moved really quickly. I'm fairly certain it took less than 30 minutes to get onboard. As soon as we stepped into the atrium, we were greeted by all kinds of helpful Carnival people (many of whom were wearing bright red t-shirts that said "just ask" - that was convenient). The rooms were already open, so we went straight to ours to put our carry-ons away. We had an extended balcony room on the Verandah deck (room # 7189). I booked early saver and ended up getting upgraded from a regular balcony room to this one AND got over $300 in onboard credit (from price drops) by the time we sailed.

 

[img']http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/pmain13/DSCF2144.jpg[/img]

 

I had ordered the birthday decorations for DS well in advance, and they were in place. My sister ordered him some soda coupons as a birthday treat. DS can count on his two hands the number of sodas he gets in a year (and DD can count on ONE hand the number she has had ever), so this was a real treat for him. He felt some kind of grown being able to walk up to the bar and order a soda on his own. :p There was a note for him indicating that he would get his coupons at dinner that night (and he did). We also had our pins, our free drink coupons, and several information papers waiting for us.

 

Maybe it was just me (and the fact that the kids are growing...DH too :rolleyes:), but this room seemed a little smaller than some of the others I've been in, especially once it was set up for four of us to sleep.

 

 

Anyway, it was fine for us. The bathroom was tiny but had plenty of shelf space.

 

 

The free goodies included shampoo and conditioner, tiny packets of toothpaste, and emergen-C packets.

 

 

First of all let me say thanks for taking the time to do this review. I know they are time consuming but we do get so much valuable information from them. I'm sure everyone with upcoming cruises on the Legend is very grateful for your review.

 

I hope I'm not out of line in saying this, but I'm proud of you for sharing with all of us about your son and the problems you face with him. We have been foster parents for 7 years now and unfortunately usually see the flip side of stuff like this -parents who don't care about their children at all or aren't willing to go that extra mile for them. Anyway, I think it's great that you are getting him out there in the world and encouraging him to live outside the box and face new challenges.

 

I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind. We booked early saver also (traveling in October) and so far our prices have just been higher. Final payment for us was just a week or so ago, so I'm hoping to start seeing some price drops. Do you remember when the prices started dropping on your cruise? It sure would help us out to get some OBC since there are 6 of us and we still have all those tips to pay.

 

Next is parking. You said you used Capital Parking? We plan on doing self debark because we will have about a 9 hour drive ahead of us on Sunday when we leave the ship so we are concerned that if we don't park right at the port and pay that hefty $15/day it will take too long to get shuttled to our car and be on our way. What was your take on the timeliness of getting picked up and back to your car when the cruise was over?

 

Thanks again and please keep posting - we are anxiously waiting!

[summercruisin']

Well, good gracious! I forgot (until DS just reminded me) that the kids and I did go to the show before dinner on elegant night while DH finished getting ready. He tends to move slowly, so we work around him :D. It was called Showtime, and it was pretty good. The first few songs were a little rough. I remember thinking it must be a new show or had new performers or something, because it seemed like several of them (singers included) just didn't have it together yet. It picked up after a few songs, though. I didn't get to take pictures or video, of course, but the sets and lighting were lovely. I know some people have expressed concern that the costumes are a little risque. Although we did see a flash of butt-cheek here and there, I never felt uncomfortable with my children there. It was tastefully done, IMHO. I can remember Carnival shows where the outfits were very revealing, so I think they have toned them down a little.

 

Anyway, I didn't take pictures of our desserts, since we all just ordered ice cream or sherbet this evening. After dinner, we hung out on the promenade for a little while to let DD dance (she LOVES to dance as you will see as the week progresses).

 

 

And when we got to the room we found a cute little towel animal.

 

 

And, for the record, we did get a towel animal the first night, but it was that typical first night one that most people get...you seasoned Carnival cruisers know the one...it could almost be used for a detailed instruction about female anatomy. You can tell me it's a walrus or a seal or whatever, but I swear I think the room stewards do this on purpose the first night....trying to get a whole Love Boat vibe going or something (ugh...I said "vibe"). I did not take a picture :cool:

[summercruisin']

well, that's about all I have for tonight. I can't stand to stay up as late as I did last night, because DD has her peanut butter tolerance test in the morning! Wish us luck! I think the biggest challenge is going to be getting her to eat it. She's been told for over 3 years (forever, in her eyes) that she should never ever touch anything with peanuts, and now she is afraid to try it tomorrow, even though I've explained her "blood says" she can have it now (they drew blood to test because the reaction was so low!). I sure hope she has outgrown it so we can breathe a little easier, especially since she is going to kindergarten in a few weeks!

 

I'll be back tomorrow to tell all about Chef's Table...good stuff!

[summercruisin']

First of all let me say thanks for taking the time to do this review. I know they are time consuming but we do get so much valuable information from them. I'm sure everyone with upcoming cruises on the Legend is very grateful for your review.

 

I hope I'm not out of line in saying this, but I'm proud of you for sharing with all of us about your son and the problems you face with him. We have been foster parents for 7 years now and unfortunately usually see the flip side of stuff like this -parents who don't care about their children at all or aren't willing to go that extra mile for them. Anyway, I think it's great that you are getting him out there in the world and encouraging him to live outside the box and face new challenges.

 

I do have a couple of questions if you don't mind. We booked early saver also (traveling in October) and so far our prices have just been higher. Final payment for us was just a week or so ago, so I'm hoping to start seeing some price drops. Do you remember when the prices started dropping on your cruise? It sure would help us out to get some OBC since there are 6 of us and we still have all those tips to pay.

 

Next is parking. You said you used Capital Parking? We plan on doing self debark because we will have about a 9 hour drive ahead of us on Sunday when we leave the ship so we are concerned that if we don't park right at the port and pay that hefty $15/day it will take too long to get shuttled to our car and be on our way. What was your take on the timeliness of getting picked up and back to your car when the cruise was over?

 

Thanks again and please keep posting - we are anxiously waiting!

 

awww! Thank YOU! Our journey with DS has been a very challenging but rewarding one in so many ways. We knew early on, as early as 9 months old, that something was "quirky" about him, and we have begged, sought, researched, and fought for information on how to help him. It has not been easy, as there aren't many physicians or therapists that know how to treat kids with Aspergers and its associated disorders. For the longest time, the only advice we could get was to medicate him for his ADHD, his depression, and his anxiety, and we refused to do that for several reasons (among them we believed that he had to find ways to cope with the world himself...we can't shelter him or find chemicals to do it for him). And he suffered so badly. It absolutely broke my heart then and still does. And to make it worse, some of my family members, neighbors, friends, and colleagues have been less than supportive. They have said hurtful things and have even avoided us. People who don't know what my son goes through love to tell us what he "just needs"...you know, he just needs to join a sport or spend more time with his dad or he Just needs a good spanking or to get organized...and it makes me so angry.

 

So, I set out to find our own way. I read everything I can, and I have a great resource at my school, as we have a class for high functioning autistic kids. And in a few weeks, I am taking online graduate level courses so I can get certified in autism spectrum disorders. I hope to help other kids, and more so their families, because there just isn't enough support and understanding out there. You surely know, being a foster parent (and kudos to you for that! I very much wanted to adopt or foster children but DH thinks I have my hands full enough. It is a calling, for sure!).

 

I have to take the chance to say that I do not call my child an "aspie" or an "Aspergers child" because the disorder is not who he is. It definitely shapes how he reacts to the world and to others around him, but my child is so much more than that. He is incredibly smart, loving, religious, kind, and full of remarkable potential.

 

Sorry to go off on a tangent there, and I hope I'm not coming across as "I am supermom" or anything. But one of the reasons I'm willing to openly share what challenges DS is so they can "get it" and so I can tell people how awesome he is and how strong he is. He motivates me to be a better mom, and I just love him so much. I think there are many autistic kids out there (I've taught quite a few) who are misunderstood and spurned by the world around them (or even worse, no one cares to help them), and that is just so terribly wrong.

 

About your questions...I'm happy to tell you that my cruise price went up up up for so long that I gave up and quit looking regularly for quite some time after final payment. And when my category was sold out, I really got discouraged. But then, one day about 6-8 weeks out, I was bored and decided to check just in case. That was the day that I found out the upgraded category was cheaper (by $140). I didn't know if upgrades were allowed, but I called my TA and she took care of it. A few days later, the price dropped again by $60....and then again the very next day by another $40 or so. So, hang in there! It could happen! We ended up with $450 total credits, including an incentive credit the TA had offered when we booked. Very pleased :D

 

About parking. We were also concerned about getting on the road quickly. We had a 12 hour drive, and DH had to work the next morning at 8 am, so we too needed to get on the road. We did not do self-assist, though, because we thought handling the kids and the luggage would be too much. As I remember, self assist started around 9:15 (so not too early, unfortunately) and numbers were called a little before 10. When we got off the ship (after 10 am - the long line moves pretty slowly), it took us maybe 10 minutes to find our luggage and get a porter. He wheeled our bags across the street for us (about a 4 minute walk), and there was a group ahead of us waiting for the shuttle. It arrived about 10 minutes later, but the group ahead of us filled it up, so we had to wait for him to come back again. That took about 20 minutes, and the drive to the parking lot was short...maybe 5 minutes. So, I would say the whole debarkation-to-vehicle process took about an hour. If you park across the street, you MAY save a half hour (I don't know how long it takes to load up and get out of the port parking lot). To me, paying a quarter of the total cost of parking at the port was worth giving up that half hour. Hope this helps!

Edited August 1, 2012 by summercruisin'

[Cyn7]

Did the Chef's Table last year on the Legend with Chef Panda, absolutely love that man!

[JAXCRUISER]

Great review--Thanks!

[grandmacani]

Thanks for the time you are spending doing this review. And thanks for mentioning your son. I have a 15 yr old grandson that has Autism and he counts the days until his next cruise. I'm in the know about people that judge kids that appear to be unruly as kids that have no disipline. It's good for people to understand that a change in routine or something as small as a persons stare can set things in motion. It sounds like you had a wonderful time. And I can see the kids did too. We are doing the Legend in Europe next year. Love your photos. Thanks

[txmom11]

Loving your review. Hope today went well with your DD. Peanut allergies are nothing to play with. Keeping my fingers crossed that the sensitivity is passing. Your son sounds like a pistol. I have two nephews who are autistic--each with his own very different issues.

 

Don't you just love the "you ought to" kind of people? Sounds like you have a handle on your family.

[oregoncruiselover]

We are going on our first curise in a month and our son is special needs. I love that you are talking about your trip. Love it!

[DebBrown]

Great review!!! Can't wait to see pics of the food at the Chef's Table. We will be there soon!

[breezycruiser]

Hi Shenika!!! I DO remember you and your beautiful daughter! We were so sad when you had to cancel. How cool is it that you are following us on the Legend this summer? Y'all are going to have a great time!!! I hope you are doing well!

 

I am so ready to go! Your review is making me even more excited to go on this cruise. I can't wait for next weekend! You have made me want to try the wine pairing and cooking demonstration. I love seeing reviews by people that have kids my daughters age. I want to take her on her first cruise next year and I recently found out she I'd allergic to macademia nuts.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[marshhawk]

Your joy at your son choosing something new and different brought tears to my eyes. Once again, thanks for a great review, and I am anxiously waiting for more.

 

And I, am not a girly girl make up wearing(what is that stuff)person, think you looked very elelgant on elegant night.

Edited August 2, 2012 by marshhawk

[summercruisin']

Woohoo!!!! DD is peanut allergy free! And she was so cute. As soon as she ate the first teeny tiny bit of peanut butter, she was spinning around in the doctor's chair, pushing it across the room wildly, and singing a happy song about being able to eat peanut butter (to the tune of Tangled's "I've Got a Dream"!). I tell you, she is a spot of sunshine! The doctor has officially told her she can eat all the peanuts she wants (she said "it's like I'm rich!"). We are a little nervous still, but very happy.

 

Back to the cruise (after a big "thank you!" again for the support and feedback!)

Thank you!

So, let's talk about ports. My family is a group of beach lovers. We go to the Caribbean not for the shopping or the food, but for the beaches. I do like for my kids to learn a little about other cultures or history, so we do enjoy tours, but they need to end with some beach time, in our opinion.

 

Tuesday was the first port day - Cozumel. We have been to Cozumel many times, and we always end up at Paradise Beach. We love the clear water, the wide sandy beach, and most especially, the chips and salsa (with a margarita, of course!). Heavenly.

 

 

We considered going to another beach this time, but once again chose Paradise in the end. We figured the first port day was a great one for spending hours doing nothing but enjoying the Caribbean.

 

The Legend docked some time right before the 9 am arrival time, and we did not get in any big hurry to debark. We ate breakfast in the buffet and then headed off the ship around 10. It took no time at all to get off the ship, but getting through the port (Puerto Langosta - our first time at this port) is a whole different story! After walking down the long pier, we were faced with a life-sized maze forcing us through several shops and past several vendors. There were no clear signs directing visitors to the taxi stand until about halfway through. There were moments we literally stood still looking around because we didn't know which way to go to get out!

 

By the way, there are two ports Carnival uses in Cozumel, Maya and Langosta. Let me suggest that you make mental note of which one your ship goes to, because we found out later that the Legend was scheduled to dock at Maya. The taxi driver bringing us back even showed us the schedule because he was worried I was telling him incorrectly when I said the Legend was at Langosta.

 

We finally made our way to the taxi stand and found the prices posted, as we expected.

 

 

An attendant hailed us a taxi quickly, and we got into a small car with no seatbelt in the middle back seat (just fyi if you are travelling with kids). When we told the driver where we wanted to go, he said something like "I'll get you there quickly" to which I responded, "no, no! We are more concerned with you driving safely with our kids". He said "okay," but it didn't matter. As soon as we left the city streets around the port, he drove like a lunatic! He was weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating (seriously got as close to about a foot with one car in front of us for what seemed like an eternity!), and at one point we were going about 120 kph (about 74 mph. I was horrified, DS was afraid, and DD kept saying "this guy is not a good driver." Bless them. I felt like such a bad mom for not saying something to him, but I was seriously a little worried he'd toss us out in the Mexican countryside....no thanks! I tried really hard to send DH messages through ESP so he would say something (he was in the front passenger seat), but I think even he was dumbfounded.

 

We made it safely, though, and were pleased to arrive at Paradise Beach!

 

Welcome to Paradise!

 

When we got there, we paid our $2 a person for a chair and umbrella, and I paid $12 each for me, DS, and DD to be able to use the water toys. This, for the most part, was a waste of money (and I should have known, so it was my fault). DD can't swim yet and was too small to really enjoy the water toys. DS was too anxious to enjoy them. He did convince me to go with him on a kayak, something we couldn't have done without paying the $12, and he really enjoyed his time out there, so that part made it worthwhile. When we first arrived, we settled down in some chairs one row back from the ocean.

 

 

but soon after, we moved to a spot under the palm trees, which was much better for us. Nice and cool, and right in the middle of everything.

 

 

We had the pool, with a swim up bar, behind us

 

[summercruisin']

Now, this is the first time we've been to Paradise Beach since they built the pool. When we were last there, there was no pool and only a few water toys (like one trampoline and one slide). Last time the water was very clear and lovely, and there wasn't a big crowd. My have things changed. This visit was pretty crowded and the ocean view is filled with water toys. The water was not clear but a shade of emerald green with lots of seaweed (not that the owners can do anything about that....just sayin'). Service was a bit slower than before as well. Now, I'm not saying this ruined our day in any way, but we did say at one point that we kind of missed the magic of the "old" Paradise Beach. We did enjoy ourselves overall. We ordered cheese quesadillas for the kids and the Mexican platter (it had chicken and steak to put in fajitas, a cheese quesadilla, chicken flautas - the only disappointing part -, with beans, rice, and guacamole - yum!). Our chips and salsa, lunch, 4 or 5 margaritas (I lost count), a bucket of beer, and tips came out to about $85, which I thought was reasonable.

 

Here are a few pics from the grounds

 

the main bar

 

 

 

 

the birds in the bar!

 

 

the changing rooms and rest rooms

 

 

and other

 

 

 

We left PB around 3:30 and headed back to the ship. We had a much better driver this time...so much better! We did have to convince him that the Legend was at Puerta Langosta, not Puerta Maya, but he was very polite. We got back safely, looked around the shops for a few minutes, and then got back on board with no problems. We were scheduled to leave at 5 pm, and we sailed away on time (maybe even a few minutes early), so I guess there was no pier running excitement. The pier was on the other side of the ship from our room, so we didn't get to see for ourselves.

Edited August 2, 2012 by summercruisin'

[summercruisin']

real quick....

 

the view of the beach from the kayak

 

 

and the view getting lined up to go back on board. The line to get back on was not very long, and it moved very quickly!