Legend of the Seas – recent feedback/opinion requested – “new” to RCCL

[JohnBoy in NC]

My first cruise ever was on Monarch a long time ago---and it was an ok experience (it did not ignite the cruise bug that was evidently dormant somewhere inside me). Then for my 20th anniversary I discovered cruisecritic and all of its wealth of information and have been happy happy happy ever since with all of our recent cruises. I haven’t had a bad cruise yet…some better than others but overall I am pretty easy to please. I like to experience different things (cruise lines, ships, destinations, etc.).

 

 

 

For our 2015 annual Jan/Feb winter Caribbean cruise I am looking hard at a Legend of the Seas cruise. The itinerary is perfect and I like sailing out of FLL versus Miami. Yes I would love to sail Allure/Oasis one day…but the price is too high for the particular time frame we are looking at. 10 nights would be our longest cruise yet---and for such a long time on one ship – I just want to be fairly comfortable with the decision.

 

 

So Legend of the Seas….I understand the recent 50mil refurb and I have read a lot of reviews for 2013. I know to take some reviews/complaints lightly because I have read similar reviews on the sailings that I myself was on and scratch my head. However there seems to be a lot of differing opinions from frequent RCCLers on the Legend, so I wanted to get some more feedback from this board before we make a decision next month.

 

 

Would you sail 10 nights on the Legend in a heartbeat….or would there be hesitation? Again itinerary counts the most for me...but I would like to also really enjoy sea days and nights on the ship....so the ship is the 2nd factor for me.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for your time!

John in NC

[Clarea]

We were recently on Legend for 13 days. We would have no hesitation to cruise on Legend again. Delightful ship and crew. The only thing that bothered me a bit was how much of the Viking Crown was taken away by the addition of Chops and Izumi.

[SadmanCruiser]

We recently did 30 nights on the Legend and loved it.

 

Park café for breakfast and lunch - perfect.

 

MDR did seem crowded with the number of tables close together.

 

Ship was clean - still in need of some varnish and paint here and there.

 

Would go back on tomorrow if the wife would let me!

 

Pete

[hannibal54]

I just got off the Legend yesterday, I would definitely go again on her.

[JohnBoy in NC]

thanks everyone---good to hear!

[franl24fan]

Since someone asked I'll give my subjective opinion, which I'm sure others can and will disagree with. I sailed the Panama Canal 15 day last month I personally I would not sail on the Legend again. Service was not up to par and there were other issues in many areas (aside from the neuro outbreak that can happen to any ship). You can read recent reviews on cruise critic, and even there you'll see disagreement. I always take reviews with skepticism unless I know the person giving it. Not sure why there is such a difference of opinion for the Legend, that would concern me also since it might indicate a lack of consistency rather than an issue with the reviewer.

[hazeleyez3]

I was on the Legend back in September for 9 nights. Would definitely cruise her again...and I am one who likes the promenade on the larger ships.

[JohnBoy in NC]

Since someone asked I'll give my subjective opinion, which I'm sure others can and will disagree with. I sailed the Panama Canal 15 day last month I personally I would not sail on the Legend again. Service was not up to par and there were other issues in many areas (aside from the neuro outbreak that can happen to any ship).

Thanks Fran - this is the type of feedback I wanted to get..from folks who have sailed many RCL ships. I know experiences can vary on the same ship week to week.

Thanks to everyone so far - Merry Christmas!

 

John in NC

[JohnBoy in NC]

I was on the Legend back in September for 9 nights. Would definitely cruise her again...and I am one who likes the promenade on the larger ships.

 

good to hear...awesome past cruise history. Was Legend up to par with your other RCCL experiences?

 

Thanks

[ChipLondon]

We just got off the Legend this week, and would sail again on her anytime. Great Crew with very visual and approachable officers. Sure as a smaller ship she lacks some of the amenities of larger ship but makes up with that with the friendly approach. The ship is well maintained and the new added areas are well presented. This ship does some of the best itineries of the whole fleet :D

[rubrrick]

We just got off the Legend this week, and would sail again on her anytime. Great Crew with very visual and approachable officers. Sure as a smaller ship she lacks some of the amenities of larger ship but makes up with that with the friendly approach. The ship is well maintained and the new added areas are well presented. This ship does some of the best itineries of the whole fleet :D

 

ChipLondon, it was great to meet you and your beautiful bride on this cruise. We were all together at the captains table, and if you look at the picture, I'm the one in the Tommy.

 

Regarding the Legend, I totally agree with you about the crew, they were wonderful and made sure that all needs were met. It was a bit different for the first couple of days, as we actually had one noro virus case come aboard in Ft. Lauderdale, and the ship was being sanitized from the some 80 cases from the last cruise. As tired as the crew was during the first couple of days, they were still chipper and did everything in thier power to make sure that we continously had an enjoyable cruise. And yes, even though the ship is smaller, it's still one of our favorites, great itineries, and we would not hesitate to book more cruises on her.

 

Merry Christmas to all!!:)

 

Rick

[Trekker954]

I too got off her Monday after 11 nights. I would lean toward NO, I would not sail her for 10 nights, if there were alternative Royal ships doing the itinerary you like. She is certainly not up to any of the other numerous Royal sailings I have taken.

 

Unfortunately I want to do a Panama Canal cruise and if I stick with Royal, the Legend is my only option so I am very torn. I will most likely chose Celebrity, unless I hear some of the issues have been addressed.

[FLACRUISER99]

I did 30 days on the Legend B2B Panama Canal and found much contrast on this ship. Some things were great, others not so hot. I found MTD a disaster and switched to late for the second leg and it was great. Francois the Hotel Director was wonderful and very knowledgeable. It had the best Chops of any RCI ship that I have been on. The ship is in wonderful condition but still and old ship. Many folks complained about odors, poor AC and no cold water (the shower water was so hot that they had to go to the spa to take a shower) fortunately I did not have many of these problems. However I did smell sewage orders several times in the passageways.

 

Would I travel on Legend again? Yes

[Jiffymom]

We will be on Legend 15 nights panama cruise in March. I really prefer a bigger ship. More activities

[hazeleyez3]

• 
  

good to hear...awesome past cruise history. Was Legend up to par with your other RCCL experiences?

 

Thanks

 

It was definitely up-to-par with the other ships.

 

I was hesitant to sail her, but a cruise around the itinerary was too good to pass up.

 

• The MDR service and food was great, and (unlike the Liberty) making a reservation was easy.
  
• Piano bar was one that had a wonderful singer and (thankfully) not a sing-along.
  
• If we wanted a late night snack or coffee, there was the Park Café.
  
• The activities seemed to be about the same (trivia, dance lessons, exercise, seminars).
  
• We didn't go to a lot of the shows because we were exhausted from the excursions.
  
• We aren't pool people, and I couldn't care less about who the CD is, so I can't comment on that.
  
• Yes, there was some sewage smell at times, but I have had that on most ships.
  

 

Now I will say....

 

I believe there were a few decks that weren't a straight shot to get from one end to the other.

 

Looking at some of the dimensions, I believe the cabins were smaller, but we had a GS so it wasn't that noticeable.

Edited December 26, 2013 by hazeleyez3

[Bfson]

Were there enough elevators for the number of passengers?

[Clarea]

Were there enough elevators for the number of passengers?

Yes, one thing we noticed from our recent 13 day cruise on Legend were the many times there was very little waiting for an elevator.

[Trekker954]

Never had an issue with elevators, we were on Deck 8 closer to the centrum elevators which offered many. We used the stairs for access to the WJ, Park Café, pools and CL.

 

Often returning onboard, security made us walk up to Deck 2 to catch the elevators as they were too close to the security set up at the gangway to let us on deck 1.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I was on the same Legend transatlantic as Bob. Here is a link to a picture review I did. You can see some of the venues and activities.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1943590

 

We enjoyed our cruise. It is a smaller ship and we did not expect to have all of the bells and whistles.

 

Some positives:

1. The crew is very laid back. They do not walk around by the pool pushing drinks.

2. They do not force hand sanitizer. [i wash my hands before dinner--I hate the sticky stuff]

3. The Captain gives the shortest updates and speeches we have ever encountered. The noon updates are about 30 sec long. For the Muster drill we did the usual demo of life vest, etc. Then the crew member said now for the Captain to end our drill. He got on the PA and said, "this drill is concluded." Loved that, rather than a long speech.]

4. I enjoyed the scrapbooking and card making classes. I do not do that much at home--but, it was a fun thing to do onboard on a sea day.

 

Here are a few negatives:

1. We missed not having more places with entertainment in the evening. The music ended in the Centrum very early. [around 10-11pm] We had late dinner seating so there was very little after dinner entertainment for us.

2. I did not enjoy the "enrichment talks." But, that is something that depends on my preferences/interests.

3. Because there are fewer locations on the ship the activities staff had activities in most of them everyday. If we wanted to go sit in the Schooner Bar in the afternoon, there was a loud activity going on. i.e. trivia. [often full]

[Bfson]

Any comments on the casino?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Any comments on the casino?

 

We found the casino to be about like what you would expect. They had slots and table games. Here are 2 pics of the casino during our slot pull.

 

 

 

Here was the big winner on our slot pull. Notice the 4- 7s.

 

 

It was busy most of the time, yet, you could still get a machine when you wanted one. [maybe not a particular machine] There were several events during our cruise.

 

There were a few non smoking nights.

 

There is no bar in the casino. However, it is beside the Schooner Bar.

Edited December 27, 2013 by DragonOfTheSeas

[JohnBoy in NC]

And yes, even though the ship is smaller, it's still one of our favorites, great itineries, and we would not hesitate to book more cruises on her.

 

Merry Christmas to all!!:)

 

Rick

 

Thanks Rick - good to hear from someone who has sailed many a ship and line.:) Merry Christmas as well

 

John in NC

[JohnBoy in NC]

I too got off her Monday after 11 nights. I would lean toward NO, I would not sail her for 10 nights, if there were alternative Royal ships doing the itinerary you like. She is certainly not up to any of the other numerous Royal sailings I have taken.

 

Unfortunately I want to do a Panama Canal cruise and if I stick with Royal, the Legend is my only option so I am very torn. I will most likely chose Celebrity, unless I hear some of the issues have been addressed.

 

Thanks Linda....I think the Legend is the only ship doing this particular itinerary. It is interesting to see well travelled cruisers say yes and no (or lean towards to)...but after lots of reading I can see why. I think that if we choose to sail her...I would be ok if some of these issues surfaced..given that the itinerary is the main focus this time. (in other words....if I was to sail Allure/Oasis in the future...I wouldn't really care where the boat went!)

 

Thanks to all for weighing in....these boards do help people with making an informed decision.

John in NC

[JohnBoy in NC]

I did 30 days on the Legend B2B Panama Canal and found much contrast on this ship. Some things were great, others not so hot. I found MTD a disaster and switched to late for the second leg and it was great. Francois the Hotel Director was wonderful and very knowledgeable. It had the best Chops of any RCI ship that I have been on. The ship is in wonderful condition but still and old ship. Many folks complained about odors, poor AC and no cold water (the shower water was so hot that they had to go to the spa to take a shower) fortunately I did not have many of these problems. However I did smell sewage orders several times in the passageways.

 

Would I travel on Legend again? Yes

 

THANKS! I wil definitely try Chops if I sail RCCL again....loved the steakhouse on Carnival. I have smelled the sewage just a few times on top open decks--but never in hallways..yuck!

 

Again appreciate the input from another extensive cruiser!

[JohnBoy in NC]

I was on the same Legend transatlantic as Bob. Here is a link to a picture review I did. You can see some of the venues and activities.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1943590

 

We enjoyed our cruise. It is a smaller ship and we did not expect to have all of the bells and whistles.

 

Some positives:

1. The crew is very laid back. They do not walk around by the pool pushing drinks.

2. They do not force hand sanitizer. [i wash my hands before dinner--I hate the sticky stuff]

3. The Captain gives the shortest updates and speeches we have ever encountered. The noon updates are about 30 sec long. For the Muster drill we did the usual demo of life vest, etc. Then the crew member said now for the Captain to end our drill. He got on the PA and said, "this drill is concluded." Loved that, rather than a long speech.]

4. I enjoyed the scrapbooking and card making classes. I do not do that much at home--but, it was a fun thing to do onboard on a sea day.

 

Here are a few negatives:

1. We missed not having more places with entertainment in the evening. The music ended in the Centrum very early. [around 10-11pm] We had late dinner seating so there was very little after dinner entertainment for us.

2. I did not enjoy the "enrichment talks." But, that is something that depends on my preferences/interests.

3. Because there are fewer locations on the ship the activities staff had activities in most of them everyday. If we wanted to go sit in the Schooner Bar in the afternoon, there was a loud activity going on. i.e. trivia. [often full]

 

Yes thanks for your review...I went through yours and another really long one before creating this thread. Appreciate your pro's/con's above...again very helpful! (a transatlantic is on my bucket list amongst many others)

Thanks!