We Had Our Best Cruise Ever 4/27/2014 On The Legend

[Tutontow]

This was a Premier Cruise on the Carnival Legend. A Premier Cruise is one where they invite certain gamblers to special cruises with special perks for those gamblers. I cannot stress enough, if you get one of these offers do it at least once. It is sooooo worth it.

 

We live thirty minutes from the port of Tampa so the ride over on a Sunday afternoon was a breeze. We used valet parking and had priority boarding. We arrived at roughly 1 PM and were on the ship ten minutes later. Our cabin was ready and my Bombay Sapphire was waiting. A nice drink on the balcony and an envelope waiting for my better half with all of the information concerning free drinks while gambling and the welcome reception for her as a gambler. This was the oh no moment. I booked the cruise and she was supposed to get $400.00 from the casino and I was to get $600.00 from the casino in addition to both of us getting free drinks while gambling.

 

Like I said uh oh, nothing for me waiting in the room. I had contacted the players club at least five times and had received five different answers. Well $600.00 and free drinks is worth pursuing in my book. A quick call to our casino host Vicky and all was made right.

 

At five O'clock we headed down to the meet and greet and my paperwork was waiting there. Vicky came through for me. That meet and greet for the Premier Players is not to be missed. It was a first class operation.

 

They had at least twelve servers running around with gourmet appetizers, the one that stands out in my mind are the panko crusted prawns. The servers also served any drink you wanted from the open bar.

 

After the meet and greet a quick trip to the casino and we had our casino cash.

 

We gambled to the wee hours and ordered room service. On the advice of CC members we ordered two turkey sandwiches and two BLT's then we turned it into a club sandwich. Topped off with the wonderful chocolate cake and all is well with the world. BTW our cabin steward Erfan was the best we have ever had. He kept our room spotless, the ice chest full and was just a very pleasant individual. He receivedt high praises on our comment card as well as some additional green.

 

The next day being a sea day we slept in late and had room service again. We had salmon and bagels along with the chicken fajita wrap. Decaf for her caffeine for me. All was excellent. Room service is a real plus, those two pots of coffee alone have cost me close to $50.00 many times while staying in Las Vegas.

 

Anyway plenty of Black Jack being a sea day and Carlos another casino host asks us what time we would like to eat in The Steakhouse. He comped us the Steakhouse and two bottles of wine were also waiting for us. We only drank one and took the other back to Tampa with us. All in all a wonderful meal.

 

It seemed like just about every night the casino had some sort of nice gift waiting in our room. One night was champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, another it was two plush beach towels embroidered with "Carnival Players Club". We also received a $25.00 bar credit, a box of really nice cookies from Cherry On Top.

 

We ate in the MDR several nights and the food was good, some better than others. Yes the portions are small but I guess that is to cut down on waste. I just ordered a lot and always left satisfied. The Beef Stroganoff was wonderful as was the red snapper and lamb shank. The prime rib was just okay. All in all considering how inexpensive Carnival is I am surprised the food was as good as it is. BTW make sure you try the bitter and blanc.

 

Our service was over the top. We had your time dining and never had a wait to get in. Another great tip I learned here is if you have your time dining and like your waiter you can request him every night. We had Rodrigues at table 363 and we sat in his area everytime we used the MDR.

 

In Conzumel we did the La Casa en La Playa - A Select Retreatit was just okay. They did everything that was promised but quite frankly I don't think it was worth the money. We talked to some people who did Xplor Park - All Inclusive which cost $30.00 more pp and they couldn't quit raving about it. I mean they were really pumped up about it. Oh well we still had a good time and had plenty to eat and drink.

 

In Belize we stayed on the ship and recovered from a very late night in the casino

 

At Mahogany Bay we wandered around and enjoyed the beach. I will tell you next time I won't be so self conscious about this 57 yo body and I will bring my trunks and flip flops and get in that crystal clear water. A good tip, if you get back to the ship early go to The Red Frog and people watch out of the windows. You have a great view of all of the activity at the beach. Nice and cool in there and a nice Miami Vice makes it even better. Muriel the waitress is a real hoot and the foosball and shuffle board is a nice touch

 

Grand Cayman we wandered around and shopped. We did find a place that rents snorkels, mask and lockers for $15.00 total and you explore a reef right at the beach where they rent it. Here is a link http://paradiserestaurant.ky/

As stated above next time I will definitely not be so self conscious about being thirty ponds overweight and I will just enjoy myself. For that matter I might get motivated and just lose the weight.

 

In closing debarkation was a breeze. My wife who only cruised because of me is now a convert. On prior cruises the tipping thing drove her nuts. By the time we left The Legend she was handing out $20.00's everytime I turned around in addition to our prepaid tips. On the last morning we had a letter from the casino stating we have a free inside cabin on any cruise that last from 3-8 days as long as we sail before July 2014.

 

We both were very impressed with how polite everyone was, crew members and passengers alike. My DW stated of course the other passengers are polite, they are in a good mood because they are having fun like us.

 

We are not high rollers. We are just friendly outgoing people who get to know all of the casino workers and we also tip well when we are playing. We also play quite a bit when we are on the ship.

 

From the looks of things I think I just might take them up on that free cruise.

[Frank12]

Sounds like a great trip! :D

[crusinpsychRN]

Sounds great! Thanks for your review!

[092306]

Sounds like such a great experience, thanks for sharing!