Our Carnival Legend Pictorial Review--August 12-19, 2012

[dz63]

Soon it was time to enjoy our last lunch on the Carnival Legend. We considered eating lunch in the MDR so that we could make use of our free drink voucher (one of the perks of having red VIFP status). However lunch in the MDR is only offered until 1:30 and since we ate a late breakfast, no one was hungry to eat by this time. So, like usual, we ate lunch later on the afternoon from the many yummy food venues available at the Unicorn Cafe.

 

Since pizza was popular among my youngest DS (he liked to grab a slice as a late night snack), I thought I should at least get a picture of it.

 

Pirate Pizza.

 

Dessert Buffet--offers a variety of cakes, fresh cut fruit, gelatin and cookies.

.

 

FYI the chocolate chip cookies, especially when they were fresh from the oven, where soooo good. They were hot and chewy and the chocolate chips just melted in your mouth. It is too bad the dessert area closed up by 3:00. It would be great snacking on these all afternoon! Well, then…there’s always the ice-cream!

 

One of the outdoor beverage stations located behind the Avalon pool on the Lido Deck.

 

Edited September 18, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

And of course, we spent some time lounging around in the pool—the bright tropical sunshine, the slight swaying motion of the ship and the fresh sea air blowing on our faces….ahhh, so relaxing!

 

 

Of course, sipping on a Coco Loco Monkey poolside adds to my tropical moment.

 

I am not much of drinker, but this was really good…and I got to keep this coconut as a souvenir too!

 

After the Coco Loco I took this overview picture of the Camelot Pool.

(No this distortion is not what the pool looked like after I finished a Coco Loco. I experimented with the fish eyes lens on the camera!)

The giant chess and ping pong table by the Camelot Pool.

[dz63]

With clear skies tonight, catching a glorious sunset shot looked favorable. We went out on the Promenade Deck….

 

 

… and yes! We experienced a beautiful Caribbean sunset. A perfect conclusion to our last day at sea.

 

(...and again, I experienced the warm tropical breeze blowing through my hair!)

[travellover39]

With clear skies tonight, catching a glorious sunset shot looked favorable. We went out on the Promenade Deck….

 

 

… and yes! We experienced a beautiful Caribbean sunset. A perfect conclusion to our last day at sea.

 

(...and again, I experienced the warm tropical breeze blowing through my hair!)

 

Beautiful picture of the 2 of you! :)

[dz63]

Then it was time for our very last dinner in the MDR.

 

Every evening, before we were served our starters, either our waiter Slavisha or one of his helpers, brought out a basket with freshly baked bread or rolls for us to choose from. I never did a get a photo of the bread, but here is a photo of the butter dish!

 

 

Starters tonight included:

 

Baked sweet potato soup.

 

Grilled chicken breast with fettuccine…

 

..and from the didja menu (food you always wanted to try, but didn’t dare),

 

Frog legs with provencale herb butter.

 

Well, we dared and we all tried some of the frog legs. After tasting this, I can confidently say, we are not amphibian eaters!

[dz63]

Dinner tonight included:

 

Grilled chicken breast with fettuccine (which was also available as a starter).

To me, this dish was not as good as the farfalle with roast turkey breast.

 

Tender roasted prime rib of American beef au jus.

 

Dessert:

Grand marnier souffle.

 

Cappuccino pie.

 

…and you guessed it…warm chocolate melting cake! Our diligent and wonderful waiter Slavisha, knowing how much my DS’s love the warm chocolate melting cake, gave us the recipe. I was happy to see this recipe serves 8 and not 800!

[dz63]

Tonight, the waiters and diningroom servers sang “Leaving on a Fun Ship” good-bye song. Now everything feels so final. The end to our cruise vacation is quickly approaching and there will be no more fine dinners in the MDR.

 

Click on the photo below to hear the waiters sing the farewell song.

 

But before we leave the MDR for our very last time, we get a photo of our wonderful waiter Slavisha with us.

Edited September 18, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

After dinner we went up to the Lido Deck to see what the ship looks like at night.

 

By the Avalon Pool.

 

The stage lights reflect different colors from red to green to blue. All that was missing was live Caribbean music playing on the stage!

 

 

 

The whale tail smokestack.

 

[dz63]

At 10:45, my eldest DS, DH and I attended the Close-Up Magic show in the Odyssey Lounge. The Odyssey Lounge is located aft, just before the upper level of the Truffles Restaurant. Again, in line with the Legend’s theme, the Odyssey Lounge is named after the Greek legendary hero Odysseus and its décor is in the typical Greek neo-classical design.

 

Once in the Lounge, we gathered around the grand piano and the magician performed some amazing card tricks. On top of that, he even revealed how he did those tricks! He proved the hand really is quicker than the eye!

 

[wrigley80]

i throughly enjoyed reading your review and looking through pictures. Its like I relived my cruise vacation from the Legend. I also tried Frog Legs onboard the Legend.......my first and last time as well :D

[dz63]

Now it was time to return to our cabins and do the inevitable—pack! Our large luggage needed to be outside our stateroom door by midnight.

 

It was also time to say goodbye to our wonderful room steward, Luis.

 

Goodnight Legend!

 

 

 

This concludes Day 7 of our Carnival Legend vacation.

Tomorrow I plan to wrap up this review with our debarkation details and share my closing thoughts about Carnival and the Carnival Legend.

 

 

 

Coming up—Debarkation & Closing Thoughts

Edited September 18, 2012 by dz63

[ddbaab53]

:) Thank you so much fo rthis review I have really enjoyed reading it and seeing all the pictures. I have 60 days left before we board and can not wait to find all of the places you had in your pictures.

[drewlin]

Thank you so much for your review. We're hoping to sail on the Legend next year when she comes over to the med. and was a little apprehensive as we have picked the cruise on the itinery. But not anymore! Can't wait to experience her for ourselves - thanks again.

[dz63]

I noticed the photo link I posted of the waiters singing their farewell song was not opening up.

 

So, I am trying it again. It appears to be working this time!

 

Click on the photo below to hear the waiters sing, "Leaving on a Fun Ship"--the Carnival Farewell song.

[dz63]

Day 8—Debarkation

 

 

 

Well, this it! The countdown is on and in a few short hours we will be off the Carnival Legend--but unlike our port stops--this time there will be no coming back onboard at the end of an adventurous day.

 

This morning, before debarkation can begin, all non-US citizens were required to meet in the Follies Lounge at 7:30 am for a mandatory customs inspection. Since we are Canadian citizens that meant us!

 

Our Immigration Notice.

 

Once in the Follies Lounge we had to wait until after 8:00 am. before the custom officials came onboard. The officials were set up on stage and once they were ready, the rows were dismissed one by one. The rows filled up the aisles but the officials worked fairly quickly checking passports and custom declaration forms to assure everything was in order. I was somewhat surprised by the number of people who did not wait their turn and simply got out of their seats and butted into the aisle line. Anyway, 1 ¼ hours later, we cleared customs. We were out of the Follies Lounge by 8:45 am.

 

We were supposed to be out of our staterooms by 8:30, so as soon as we got out of the Follies Lounge we picked up our carry-on’s from our cabins and then quickly went up to the Lido deck to grab breakfast before debarkation begins. The US Immigration Notice we received mentioned that we would have adequate time to enjoy breakfast once we have been cleared by customs. However, we really did not have that much time. By the time we got up to the Lido Deck some of the breakfast stations were already beginning to close down. By 9:15 all the breakfast stations were closed—so we got our breakfast just in time!

 

The Unicorn Café and Lido Deck were packed with people, all eating their breakfast before debarkation. We actually ended up eating breakfast on a lounge chair, poolside, as we could not find any available tables!

 

After breakfast we waited in the Lounge area outside Billie’s Piano Bar until our debarkation number was called.

 

 

 

We received debarkation tags #18 the evening before. This is also the number we attached to our large luggage.

 

Debarkation began sometime after 9:30. By 10:30 our number was called. Dragging our carry-on’s behind us, we walked through the Atrium Lobby one last time, and exited the Carnival Legend.

 

Well, now it is official. Our Exotic Western Caribbean cruise, which we had looked so forward too and anticipated with so much excitement over the past 6 months…just like that, is all over!

 

We found our large luggage easily and then waited in a long line for a taxi to whisk us away from the Port Terminal and also away from the beautiful Carnival Legend.

 

 

Waiting in a long Taxi line outside Terminal 2.

 

Sea World is located right next door to the Carnival Terminal.

 

 

…Even though the Carnival Legend fades out of our sight, she will always remain in our memories. ….But right now, we have something else to look forward too…

 

…Busch Gardens here we come!

 

 

 

 

Coming up—Closing Thoughts

 

[dz63]

Day 8—Debarkation

 

 

 

Well, this it! The countdown is on and in a few short hours we will be off the Carnival Legend--but unlike our port stops--this time there will be no coming back onboard at the end of an adventurous day.

 

This morning, before debarkation can begin, all non-US citizens were required to meet in the Follies Lounge at 7:30 am for a mandatory customs inspection. Since we are Canadian citizens that meant us!

 

Our US Immigration Notice.

 

Once in the Follies Lounge we had to wait until after 8:00 am. before the custom officials came onboard. The officials were set up on stage and once they were ready, the rows were dismissed one by one. The rows filled up the aisles but the officials worked fairly quickly checking passports and custom declaration forms to assure everything was in order. I was somewhat surprised by the number of people who did not wait their turn and simply got out of their seats and butted into the aisle line. Anyway, 1 ¼ hours later, we cleared customs. We were out of the Follies Lounge by 8:45 am.

 

We were supposed to be out of our staterooms by 8:30, so as soon as we got out of the Follies Lounge we picked up our carry-on’s from our cabins and then quickly went up to the Lido deck to grab breakfast before debarkation begins. The US Immigration Notice we received mentioned that we would have adequate time to enjoy breakfast once we have been cleared by customs. However, we really did not have that much time. By the time we got up to the Lido Deck some of the breakfast stations were already beginning to close down. By 9:15 all the breakfast stations were closed—so we got our breakfast just in time!

 

The Unicorn Café and Lido Deck were packed with people, all eating their breakfast before debarkation. We actually ended up eating breakfast on a lounge chair, poolside, as we could not find any available tables!

 

After breakfast we waited in the Lounge area outside Billie’s Piano Bar until our debarkation number was called.

 

 

 

We received debarkation tags #18 the evening before. This is also the number we attached to our large luggage.

 

Debarkation began sometime after 9:30. By 10:30 our number was called. Dragging our carry-on’s behind us, we walked through the Atrium Lobby one last time, and exited the Carnival Legend.

 

Well, now it is official. Our Exotic Western Caribbean cruise, which we had looked so forward too and anticipated with so much excitement over the past 6 months…just like that, is all over!

 

We found our large luggage easily and then waited in a long line for a taxi to whisk us away from the Port Terminal and also away from the beautiful Carnival Legend.

 

 

Waiting in a long Taxi line outside Terminal 2.

 

Sea World is located right next door to the Carnival Terminal.

 

 

…Even though the Carnival Legend fades out of our sight, she will always remain in our memories. ….But right now, we have something else to look forward too…

 

…Busch Gardens here we come!

 

 

 

 

Coming up—Closing Thoughts

 

[dz63]

Closing Thoughts

 

 

 

The Carnival Legend’s Western Caribbean itinerary took us to new exotic destinations and new exciting adventures. In Roatan, we were able to zipline on the highest and longest lines in the Americans and in Belize we experienced the only place in the world where cave tubing can be done. We also handled pre-historic-looking creatures in Grand Cayman and enjoyed the amenities and floating toys on a tropical beach in Cozumel. The Legend’s 4 port stops and 2 sea days gave us a nice balance between busy and relaxation. Sure, some of our tour operators, did not live up to our expectations, and we were not able to do everything we liked to have done (I guess this gives us a good reason to come back again someday), but they were there to greet us with a smile, they kept us safe and they brought us back to the ship on time. More importantly, the time we spent together as a family was precious and valuable and contributes to special and lasting memories that we will always share together.

Pirates of the Caribbean, Extreme, Extreme Zipline has the highest and longest lines in the Americas!

[dz63]

Closing Thoughts continued...

 

 

Now that we are at the end of our wonderful and exciting “legendary” cruise vacation, I will now go on and share my thoughts about Carnival Cruise Lines and the Carnival Legend.

 

First, let me begin by saying something about the entertainment offered by Carnival. Unfortunately, I did notice on this cruise that there where noticeable cutbacks in this area. Not only was I disappointed by the lack of Caribbean atmosphere by the non-existence of Caribbean music and live bands on the Lido Deck, but I also noticed a change to the main show offerings. On our past cruises we have always enjoyed watching grand Vegas-style magician/illusionist/light shows and spectacular juggling/acrobatic/comedy shows in the main show lounge. On this cruise, this type of entertainment was not to be. My DS’s always looked forward to the magician and juggling shows on past cruises and this time around they were disappointed that these shows were no longer part of Carnival’s entertainment program. In general, the shows that Carnival did offer were either stand-up comedy acts or singing and dancing performances. We noticed there was not as much variety in the different entertainment venues as there was in the past. My family are not big fans of stand-up comedy (although Tommy Drake was great) and although I do not mind watching singing and dancing shows, this type of entertainment is not engaging to everyone—like my DH and DS’s who do not find these types of shows very appealing. Additionally, the day we were in Belize (besides the Marriage Show), there were no other shows that night—that’s right, no comedy, no singing and no dancing performances. Although Carnival cruises still offer a good value for the money, we were disappointed how much the cutbacks affected the live music and entertainment department. We really missed the entertainment we grew so much to love and looked forward to from our previous cruises.

 

The new VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) program is another noticeable cutback. Although we were invited to the past guest party on our last cruise, we did not receive the invitation this time. In fact, we will not receive this invite again, until we reach Gold status. The Captains Reception Party, now called “Captain’s Celebration” is another victim of cutbacks. No longer are complimentary beverages provided. Instead take $1.00 off any drink you order from the bar.

 

However, when it came to food, it was always good and there was always plenty of it! From the Unicorn Café down to the MDR, everything we ate was hot and tasty and we did not notice any “bacon” police at breakfast either! Our waiter in the MDR worked hard to please, but with staff cutbacks, we could see he was extra busy running and darting back and forth as he served from table to table. Even so, our soups and dinner were always brought to the table, served the way they should be--hot! Kudos to Slavisha for a job well done!

 

Our cabins were always kept very clean by our room steward Luis and I did not notice any signs of wear and tear. In general, the entire ship was in great shape and so clean, it literally sparkled! It amazes me, how a ship, so large with over 2000 passengers onboard, could always look so clean and stay in such great shape. I noticed one day that a piece of canvas over the drain area by the Camelot pool was coming loose. Well, the next day there was a crew member cutting a brand new piece of this material to replace the worn out one!

 

The Carnival Legend is a mid-size ship--smaller than the Dream, Conquest and Destiny class, yet larger than the Fantasy class ships. Throughout her 12 decks are creative, custom-made pieces and artwork depicting legendary, historical and mythical characters and stories. I have read that some people think the Legend’s décor is “over-the-top”, but in all honesty I think this all adds to the Legends charm and uniqueness. Sure, there are neo-classical urns (with a flower basket on top), all over the place, but I think this is what makes the Legend so memorable and contributes to an interesting “legendary” cruising atmosphere.

 

 

The Carnival Legend is like a floating museum, waiting for you to discover all the stories and legends she has to offer! Appreciate the Legend and take the Legend Adventure. Explore the ship. Check out the elevators and stairways, the nooks and crannies. What legends and stories can you discover?

 

 

Thank you everyone for following our adventures on the Carnival Legend and for your patience “staying tuned” over the past several days as I posted our experiences.

 

To all those who will be sailing or are thinking of sailing on the Carnival Legend, may all your adventures be “legendary” ones!

 

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

[sweet angel]

Great review!

 

We were looking to get to the port by 11 to board, but your debarkation was at 10:30, so I'm guessing 11 is too early to get there?

[gambee]

Thank you for a wonderful review, I truly enjoyed reading it. :)

 

I have yet to travel carnival and your review gave another perspective to carnival cruising.

 

 

thank you

[dz63]

Sorry folks. For some reason (and I really don't know how it happened), post #190 and #191 are duplicate posts.

Edited September 18, 2012 by dz63

[novinha]

One of my favorite reviews ever. Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us. You write so well, and the photos were just perfect, I felt like I was right there with you all.

[dz63]

Great review!

 

We were looking to get to the port by 11 to board, but your debarkation was at 10:30, so I'm guessing 11 is too early to get there?

 

Not necessarily. Embarkation will not begin until everyone is off the ship. How fast everyone gets off the ship will determine how soon you can get on. We were one of the last numbers called to exit the ship. There was probably only one more set of debarkation numbers called after us.

 

Arriving at 11:00 will likely mean you will receive a zone number and will have to wait your turn until the ship is ready to embark. Depending on how quickly you would like to get on the ship will determine how soon you would like to be at the port. The lower zone number you have, the sooner you will be on board. In our case, we arrived before 1:00 and we were able to board immediately--no zone number and no waiting for our number to be called!

[Andoria]

::::::::Deafening Applause:::::::::::: Awesome review! Thank you.

[sweet angel]

Not necessarily. Embarkation will not begin until everyone is off the ship. How fast everyone gets off the ship will determine how soon you can get on. We were one of the last numbers called to exit the ship. There was probably only one more set of debarkation numbers called after us.

 

Arriving at 11:00 will likely mean you will receive a zone number and will have to wait your turn until the ship is ready to embark. Depending on how quickly you would like to get on the ship will determine how soon you would like to be at the port. The lower zone number you have, the sooner you will be on board. In our case, we arrived before 1:00 and we were able to board immediately--no zone number and no waiting for our number to be called!

Okay, great. Thanks for the info!