Spring Break was Legendary!!

[chrislaurn]

A little bit about us. We are a family of four -- My husband, me and my two boys ages 9 and 7. This was my 12th cruise and our 5th as a family. This was our gold cruise for Carnival.

 

Pre-Cruise

 

We drove down from Alabama the day before and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn near the airport. We used our points for the hotel so we were not looking at any cruise and stay packages. When they say near the airport what they mean is "at the end of the runway." When we pulled in I was concerned about the noise, but we never heard a thing. The hotel was very nice and clean. They had a great breakfast the next day. Kids under 12 ate for free and it was $12 per adult. They made eggs to order and it was nicer than your standard continental breakfast. They do have a park and stay with shuttle service, but we opted just to drive our car. Norwegian had a desk set up there with a shuttle for its ship. There appeared to be a good number of cruisers staying there.

 

We left the hotel around 10 and after stopping at the store for some last minute forgotten items, we were at the port by 10:45. The port in Tampa is in an area called Channelside. It was a little confusing as to how to park as the parking lot is across the street. If your an over packer - like me - and have a ton of luggage, you can get dropped off with the luggage. However, the cops have to be in the mood to let you go through. After one failed attempt, we were able to get in and were immediately met by a porter to help with our luggage.

 

The parking deck is different then what we are generally used to. You did not pay in advance. Rather, you got a gold coin that you were to enter into the machine upon leaving the garage. The attendant told my husband to leave it in the car. Otherwise, it surely would have been lost after a week on the ship! (In fact, we watch a woman dump her purse on debarkation trying to find her gold coin.)

 

We got to the terminal entrance just as they started letting people in - it was around 11. Security moved REALLY fast - like "have your docs ready or get run over" fast. We're not booze smugglers (we ordered a bottle from bon voyage) but we did carry on our two bottles of wine. We also brought two twelve packs of soda to mix with our bottle of Crown. Security did not blink and we went right up to the desk. We were not able to purchase FTTF as we booked the cruise less than a month out. We were checked in in less than 10 minutes and waited approximately 40 minutes to board. Totally painless!!

 

We were on the lido deck grabbing lunch by 12:30. At 1, the rooms were ready! Up next - our room.

[StaceySteveDMB]

We sail on the Legend in 32 days! We have four five children in out group from ages 5 to 16. I am looking forward to your review!

 

 

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[mishka422]

I was just on the Legend for our spring break cruise too. Love that ship!!!

 

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[chrislaurn]

Since we decided really late to take this trip, we thought that there would be limited options. I was surprised to find that there were a good number of rooms available and the pricing was great. We ended up booking a balcony guarantee and had a room assigned within 3 hours.

 

We had extended balcony room 8153. We were really pleased. Here's my over-packing tip for parents. I always bring an over the door shoe rack and hanging folding shelves. They fold flat and take up very little space in the suitcase. Without the shoe rack, I'd be chasing little flip flops all throughout the room, so it makes things much easier. We have the shelves in the closet and it takes clothes and the little things that can be hard to keep track of - chargers, goggles, etc. I am really strict about keeping things put away so my boys know what to expect. They also can find their stuff, so it works out.

 

Our cabin steward was Carlos and he immediately introduced himself was extremely friendly. We got the room set up and unpacked and then headed to the muster drill.

 

A lesson learned on the muster drill. The early bird gets screwed. Being the first one there gets you lined up against the wall with everyone standing in front of you. Close. Really, really close. Don't be late, of course, but the last ones to arrive generally get to stand in the front without someone's pony tail getting stuck in your teeth. Unless you're into that. I don't judge. Take that advice however you want.

 

We had anytime dining which was FABULOUS! Usually, we do the early seating with the kids. We were able to watch the ship go under the bridge (that was cool) and then head to dinner.

 

We're also not purveyors of food pornography. I don't get it. So sorry if that's your fetish. The menu seemed different than our last cruise, but we do not cruise to eat. Some do, and that's fine, but we are more about the experiences and the sights.

 

For the parents - This was the only meal that our boys actually ate with us. We are of the opinion that it is their vacation too, so we give them the option of eating with us or eating with the camp. They chose the camp every night. It was like having a week of dates! We spend our days together, so if that's what they want to do, that's fine with us.

 

We wandered the ship a bit after dinner and then I took my little man back to the room to bed while the hubs hit the piano bar with my oldest. More on that later.

[chrislaurn]

The boys were up bright and early and wanting to head to the camp for a while. We dropped them off after getting a little breakfast and headed to the Serenity area. It was impossible to get a lounger there. The ship was apparently the site for a family reunion of invisible people. Invisible, serene people with towels. I didn't see any chair hog police and while there were probably 15-20 loungers with towels or shoes on them, there were never more than 4 people in the pool.

 

We picked the boys up and then headed to the waterworks area. The green thunder is so cool! The bottom drops out and you slide pretty fast. The boys probably rode in 20 times. The lines never got as long as you would expect on a sea day. My only criticism of that waterworks is that there is really no seating in that area for adults. There were a total of 6 chairs and they were a pretty hot commodity. There's also no bar service there. However, the Serenity bar is directly under it. Which was weird, but there was never a line at that bar.

 

Speaking of bar service, this was one area that I was not thrilled with. The attitude of the bar staff when you ordered anything non-alcoholic was really off-putting. They looked annoyed. In fact, my son was never able to order anything on his own. He couldn't get anyone to wait on him. That surprised me as its never been a problem before.

 

We did dinner and then headed to trivia with Mike. In all my cruises, I had never done the trivia. I had no idea what I was missing. It was one of the highlights of the cruise. There was a great crowd of people participating and Mike was a riot.

 

We then went to the piano bar. Also, something I've never done. TC was the piano bar entertainer and he was brilliant. So talented and entertaining. We ended up in there just about every night. He'd let you know when the show was going to head in to a rated R area and the kids all cleared out. Most nights there was only one bar tender and one server in there. Those poor women looked like they were going to pass out. Not sure why the bar staffing seemed so short this cruise.

 

Up next, Grand Cayman.

[nycfa]

We are booked for July! Can't wait to hear more. :)

[chrislaurn]

We did a snorkeling excursion through Carnival on this one. We did the Kittywake shipwreck and reef snorkel. Cayman is a tender port, but we went right down and had no problems.

 

It was a five minute walk to the boat which was beached, not docked, so you had to go down in the sand and climb up a letter on the bow. No one seemed to have any problems. It was a decent boat ride out to the ship and the guides were very helpful and knowledgeable.

 

Parenting Note - Both of my boys are good swimmers and have snorkeled in a pool and off the beach. I did not think of the fact that it would be very different for them to jump off the boat and into the ocean for snorkeling. They were both pretty intimidated and wanted to get back on the boat. There were adults that found it a little rough and got back on the boat as well. By the reef stop, they decided to try it again and then I couldn't get them out of the water! It was a reasonably priced excursion and I would definitely recommend it.

 

We were back on the ship in time to hit the pool again before dinner. Kids hit the camp and we did the trivia (we won 90s trivia!!) and then hit the piano bar. Once we picked up the boys, we took them back to the Red Frog Pub to listen to some live music. The Red Frog has a shuffle board table and a foosball table as well as checker boards. This is a great alternative to the arcade. Its free!! There was never more than 15 people in there and it was a great venue to listen to music and relax. The bar service in there was terrific!

[apey9995]

Since we decided really late to take this trip, we thought that there would be limited options. I was surprised to find that there were a good number of rooms available and the pricing was great. We ended up booking a balcony guarantee and had a room assigned within 3 hours.

 

We had extended balcony room 8153. We were really pleased. Here's my over-packing tip for parents. I always bring an over the door shoe rack and hanging folding shelves. They fold flat and take up very little space in the suitcase. Without the shoe rack, I'd be chasing little flip flops all throughout the room, so it makes things much easier. We have the shelves in the closet and it takes clothes and the little things that can be hard to keep track of - chargers, goggles, etc. I am really strict about keeping things put away so my boys know what to expect. They also can find their stuff, so it works out.

 

Our cabin steward was Carlos and he immediately introduced himself was extremely friendly. We got the room set up and unpacked and then headed to the muster drill.

 

A lesson learned on the muster drill. The early bird gets screwed. Being the first one there gets you lined up against the wall with everyone standing in front of you. Close. Really, really close. Don't be late, of course, but the last ones to arrive generally get to stand in the front without someone's pony tail getting stuck in your teeth. Unless you're into that. I don't judge. Take that advice however you want.

 

We had anytime dining which was FABULOUS! Usually, we do the early seating with the kids. We were able to watch the ship go under the bridge (that was cool) and then head to dinner.

 

We're also not purveyors of food pornography. I don't get it. So sorry if that's your fetish. The menu seemed different than our last cruise, but we do not cruise to eat. Some do, and that's fine, but we are more about the experiences and the sights.

 

For the parents - This was the only meal that our boys actually ate with us. We are of the opinion that it is their vacation too, so we give them the option of eating with us or eating with the camp. They chose the camp every night. It was like having a week of dates! We spend our days together, so if that's what they want to do, that's fine with us.

 

We wandered the ship a bit after dinner and then I took my little man back to the room to bed while the hubs hit the piano bar with my oldest. More on that later.

 

LOL @ the pony tail comment.... I agree, I've learned that lesson the hard way for next time! We were verryyy close to some really bad B.O. during the muster drill... and there's no where to escape to.

 

Enjoying your review! Last year was our first cruise with our sons, and I can't wait to hopefully have many more! Looking forward to reading the review of a seasoned family-cruiser! :)

Edited April 30, 2014 by apey9995

[SUSIEK]

Hi, we will be on The Legend in 2 months. Do you happen to have any of the kids club programs that you could post? My son is 8.

[chrislaurn]

Hi, we will be on The Legend in 2 months. Do you happen to have any of the kids club programs that you could post? My son is 8.

 

Sorry - I should have stated at the beginning. I didn't keep any of the FunTimes. Too much clutter. Once the day is over, I throw them out. Sorry!!

[chrislaurn]

For us, Cozumel is a "been there, done that, got the sombrero." It was also our youngest's birthday. Here we messed up a little. We didn't do an excursion. We intended to just get out in the port area and take the boys to Senior Frog's or Carlos and Charlie's. We failed in not realizing that we would be no where near either of those places. The Legend docks at a pier that is several miles away. It didn't look that far, so we decided to walk. Ten different cabs offered us rides and we politely declined until one enterprising individual informed us that we were three more miles from downtown. Sold! For $2 pp he took us down there and we walked around a bit. We took the boys to Margaritaville which is right on the water. It has those water trampoline/slide things that are free if you're at the restaurant. I had a Margarita (when in Rome and all that) and we ordered the nachos. The four of us could not finish it. With the drinks and tip the total bill was under $50 and we spent a good while there. The boys had a hard time climbing the water things, as did most of the adults, but they had fun. We walked around the little market for a while and picked up some random knick knacks for the boys - like one of those wrestling masks that he HAD to have. Ask me where it is now. Exactly.

 

We took a cab back to the ship and went back and used the pools and the waterworks.

 

Again, the boys ate at camp and that night we all went to see one of the shows. Disclaimer -- I grew up in New York City. As a result, there are somethings about which I am a complete snob. Pizza. Bagels. Shows. I have never seen a cruise show that I really enjoyed. Most people would love them. Not me. Apparently, my snobbery is genetic. We took the boys to see the Justin Illusion show. It was entertaining but when your 7 year old is accurately explaining the "illusions" you have to wonder. For what it was worth, it was fun. The production value of the show was great.

 

We spent some more time in the Red Frog Pub and there were always some unsupervised kids in there. They were generally respectful however. The music in there was always fun.

[chrislaurn]

This was the port that we looked forward to the most. We signed up to do a cave tubing tour with the Butts Up. It started off a little sketchy. We needed to be on the first tender from the ship. We did. My husband had to stop off in the restroom at the port area. Once we got to the gate, there was someone there asking us who we were looking for. He told us to follow him to a van and told us to get in the van to catch up to the bus. Uhmm, what? There was another couple in there so also signed up with them so we got in and the van took us to the bus which was pulled over on the side of the road a couple of miles from the port. The bus left when we were in the bathroom. They called ahead so the bus stopped for us.

 

The rest of the trip was amazing. Ashton was our main guide and he and his crew were wonderful. They give you the option of also doing a zipline and an ATV tour. We thought the boys were too young for those, so we just did the tubing. I don't know what I expected, but it was awesome. They have to rig the kids tubes with life jackets so they don't accidentally fall through the bottom and they carried their tubes. There is an approximately a one mile hike to the start of the river. Our boys' school had just done a unit on the Brazilian rain forests so getting to hike through one in Belize was a great learning experience. They were so excited to tell their teachers and classmates all about it. It was not bad at all, but if you have mobility issues, it is probably not for you. You do have to carry your own tube and its cumbersome, but doable. We floated for at least an hour and it was really beautiful.

 

I was a nervous wreck that we wouldn't get back to the ship in time. We hit some traffic on the way back and cut it closer than I would have liked. We only have 20 minutes in the port before the last tender. Or so we thought. there ended up being three more after ours. I wish I had more time in the shops there.

 

I would definitely recommend the folks at Butts Up. They have so much pride in their country and in their business. Skip the cashew wine though. I think I can still taste it. Bleh! After the tour, the bus stopped at a private little bar where we were served the most delicious tamales. Both boys passed out on the way back.

 

A word to the wise - do not walk around the outside of the port area. It is not nice. There's a ton of knock off bags in the port area and everything is very negotiable.

 

I can't remember what we did that night. I'm sure it was trivia and piano bar. I think that was also one of the late night parties at the camp. The boys love a good party and begged us to stay later. It's sad when your out-partied by your kids, but such is life, I suppose.

[chrislaurn]

This was the most disappointing stop for us. We pre-booked the beach day at Mahagony Bay. We love Roatan and really wished we had gone somewhere authentic. The excursion was supposed to have gotten us four clam shell loungers, four floats and unlimited rides of the chair lift. Total waste of money. Though we pre-paid, we still had to wait in line to get what we had already paid for. We were in line in the sun for nearly an hour. The Glory was also in port and the beach was packed. We joked that it was a tropical Jersey shore. The poor workers were overwhelmed. He couldn't find us any loungers and ended up moving someone's stuff off one and then leaving us to deal with their ire when they came back. It is also a short day. So unless your going to just sit and stay on the chair lift you can walk just as easily. And its free. The loungers are also free. We wasted $80.

 

Next time, we'll go to a real beach and enjoy the island. That was also the second formal night. We opted to do dinner in the steakhouse that night. It was definitely worth $35 per person. I guess I shouldn't call it formal night. Cruise elegant. There's lots of different interpretations as to what that means. There was tuxes and gowns and jeans. I personally don't care what other people where to dinner (as long as its not vulgar or will require an anatomy lesson for the kids), but we didn't want to have to pack two dressy outfits, so we opted out.

 

We did see someone get turned away from the dining room. She was half naked. Most bathing suits covered more than what she tried to wear to dinner. Others reported that people were not permitted in the dining room wearing jeans on elegant night.

 

This was also the first time that we realized how thin the cabin walls are. My youngest son commented on the "weird song" that was playing in the next cabin. Apparently, it was a religious song. Sometime to think about. Just sayin.

[chrislaurn]

We didn't do much on the last day. Just enjoyed the ship. There was a very laid back feeling to the ship. Again, we were really impressed that the pools and the slides did not seem crowded even though it was a sea day.

 

That evening we did the Epic Rock show and trivia. The show was slightly cringe-worthy. I think there was something wrong with the sound. One of the singers were so screechy it was painful. However, the choreography and sets were awesome. But for the tortured cat sound, it was the better show.

 

We turned in early as there was not much to do that evening other than gamble. We opted to do the self-debarkation. We waited in the Legends Lounge while they called the self debark deck by deck. Like the good little sailors we are, we waited patiently for our deck. No one else did. In fact, one of the social hosts asked what we were waiting for and told us to just go. We had to wait for the elevators - which only took ten minutes and within 20 minutes of leaving the ship we were headed back to Alabama having thoroughly enjoyed our vacation.

 

Parting observations -

 

The 2.0 upgrades are great. We were on the ship 2 years ago and really appreciated the improvements. We loved the location of our room and didn't really notice any noise from the Lido deck. We did hear the deck party and you could hear them moving the chairs around, but it wasn't bothersome at all. We did notice a sewage smell at times in the front of the ship. It was especially noticeable in the Follies Lounge and in the Red Frog. Not enough to keep us out, but was there. If you've never done the piano bar, do it. Such a great, interactive experience. I had no idea.

 

My kids will judge cruises by their water slides from now on. Carnival did a great job with that.

 

Hope you enjoyed the review. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Happy cruising!!