Very LATE review - Legend of the Seas - January 16, 2015 10 day

[JohnBoy in NC]

Yes this is a very LATE review, but I wanted to get it done before I forgot too much. Plus my reviews are mainly for my benefit as the more we cruise, the places and ships in the Caribbean run together at times, especially for multiple visits!

 

 

 

Legend of the Seas was our first time back on Royal after our very first cruise in 2001 (Monarch of the Seas). Our long-time friends are very recent cruisers (they finally started joining us from time to time a few years ago), and this was their first experience with RCCL. Yes I would have loved to have done a Freedom or Oasis class (coming January 2017) but this itinerary and price was too good to pass up. Boy I LOVE 10 day cruises.

 

 

We did the long drive from NC and stayed in Springhill Suites in Dania Beach…had a government rate (can be hard to find in FLL in January) and the place was pretty nice. My wife wasn’t feeling too well so we just got some take out and chilled for the evening.

 

 

The Legend is an old ship of course but well maintained. Nice to go from one end to the other on each deck without going up/down a floor to get somewhere. During high seas one could really feel the movement but we had outstanding weather. Embarkation was very fast, we literally walked on after checking in around 10:45am. While small we enjoyed the low number of passengers and the overall appearance and feel of the ship. Our large interior cabin was nice, enough room and space for everything.

 

 

We did not dine at any of the specialty restaurants during this cruise. We had the MDR every night with Mitzi and Arnold as our servers. Overall the food was pretty good, I give Princess and Celebrity a leg up in that department and Carnival at times. We enjoyed our wait staff and had lots of fun at dinner. It was great bringing our wine bottles into the MDR (Royal had recently removed the corkage fee before we sailed).

 

 

Paul Rutter was the cruise director on our sailing, I thought he was good and personable. His supporting staff were great as well….lots of young folks who were pretty hilarious. The Quest game was one for the ages, can’t reveal too much detail but one of my friends displayed an old gift he had received (revealed to the world in St. Maarten – Orient Beach – more below)…that made it not only on the Cruise DVD, but Paul showed the clip during the last theater show of the voyage.

 

 

The Centrum areas is quite lovely and quaint, but it is pretty small. We tried a few of the dance classes, but it was too crowded at times. We enjoyed listening to the Inner Soul Duo band throughout the week. The aerial performers were fun to watch as well.

 

 

 

The gym was also small and crowded but ok. The pool was cold! Having a few pool lunch themed buffets on the sea days were a nice change of pace. We did watch a few NFL playoff games as well.

 

 

We met a fabulous bartender in the R Bar - Gurney Fergus. This was before Royal raised the drink prices so much, but to call his pour generous was an understatement. It was usually an 80/20 mix…or 90/10 at times. We were well pleased and we tipped him generously. We still have drink tributes to Mr. Fergus when we are all together. Great gentleman.

 

 

We saw some of the shows – comedian and entertainer Kenny James was great. Magic Rush (world grand –prix dance champions) was very good. The comedian Joey Van was hilarious.

 

 

We did the rock climbing wall and I don’t like heights too much. When I saw the back of the ship and ocean while posing for a photo op while ringing the bell, I was done. Also loved how the big muscle guy would temporarily let the rope go for a second on your way down….yep once was enough for me.

 

 

Ports:

St. Thomas – our friends hadn’t been there before but we decided to take them to St. Johns and Trunk Bay. We did the cab/ferry ourselves and had a nice time snorkeling and beach lounging.

 

 

 

St. Kitts – one of our favorites. We hired a driver from Beulah Mills/Welcome Tours (Kiw Davis was the driver) and met up with her outside security. We decided to go to Shipwreck Bar and take a quick tour of the island before hand. We wanted to get some rum and cokes and Beulah recommended Appleton Silver, so we grabbed a bottle at a bar within the port complex. $7. On the way to our first stop, the ladies in the back had the rum opened and were getting the party started…early. We had the driver stop in a local neighborhood so we could get one more bottle. We were having a good time by the time we even got to Shipwreck. We had a blast there – with the swimming dock and Lorraine the masseuse. We downed both bottles and everyone was having a great time. What we all discovered was that no one experienced any nausea or hangovers from Appleton Silver. It was very smooth and nice. Since we can’t buy it at home, we make it a habit of bringing a ton of it back when we cruise. It just doesn’t last long.

 

 

Dominica – we did Levi’s Bumpiing tours (Roseau Valley Treasures) and actually had Levi himself, which was GREAT. We had such a fun time with him and the various sights on the tour. The snorkeling at Champagne was really nice, the water was a little cold but it was a very nice snorkeling experience. The highlight of course was Titou Gorge. Levi demonstrated jumping off the small cliff – he insisted that is the best way to get acclimated to the cold water. Yes it is pretty darn cold. I wasn’t going to do it until my friend and then his wife did the cliff jump. Arrrgghgh, I would never hear the end of it if I did not jump. It is a pretty narrow opening, you just have to step off and it is around 10 feet high I guess. Wow the water is freezing but Levi was right – it is better to get it over with in a hurry. Next we swam 75 yards or so to the cave-like ledge in Pirates of the Carribean 2. Next we went to the Trafalgar Falls and took pictures. What was really cool was hiking down to the hot springs and just soaking in them.

Very fun experience and highly recommend Bumpiing Tours.

 

 

Antigua – my wife was sick with a bad cold (been lingering for a few days, and the cold water in Dominica probably didn’t help). We had planned a cab ride to Long Bay for snorkeling and beach bumming. However first I had to find my wife some medicine. If you have been to Antigua before, you know about the gauntlet of cab/tour operators you have to navigate through. Aggressive yes but friendly. While waiting for my friends to tell them about the quick detour (to find some medicine) a taxi guy named Curtis Joseph struck up a conversation. He was friendly and told him about my need. He told me about the local pharmacy and then insisted to take me there. I told him I had some friends coming and we were still planning on going to Long Bay, and he was ok with waiting around until I took care of business. The local pharmacist was great since my wife is highly sensitive to medicines in general, and gave me a local liquid cough suppressant. He gave me two different kinds just in case and they really did help her…in fact she slept till about 2pm that day. Anyhow we went to Long Bay – and there was a nice restaurant/bar area right there in the lagoon area. The snorkeling was pretty good and the views/water was very nice. We brought some rum again and also partook of some fancy drinks at the bar. Great day overall.

 

 

St. Maarten – we had been before but again all of these islands were our friends first time. We choose Diederick Tours for our whole island tour (did Bernard’s on our last visit) and had Deuce was our driver. What a fun guy, very laid back and funny….he sings and does entertainment on the side as well as drive. The rum punch he provided was pretty potent. We hit all of the usual tour stops and photo ops. Now one of my friends had joked leading up to the cruise that he was bringing an old gift with him – a blue elephant speedo. Get the picture? Well lo and behold when we got to Orient Beach he decided to drop his trousers and take the stroll on the clothing optional side. Good thing we had some rum punch in us because that was an adventure. One of the ladies was brave enough to walk with us, kind of fun to see the naked people shake their heads at my buddy. Well as I mentioned earlier, he decided to wear it underneath his pants for the Quest game – and when the opportunity arose at the end of the event (we came in 3rd I think) he gave the cheering audience an encore performance of the blue elephant. His wife has vowed a divorce if it shows up on another cruise...so no worries folks.

 

 

Overall the ports, friends, weather made this a wonderful cruise…we had the best time and hope to repeat a 10 day (or 14 day) sometime in the winter again.

 

 

Happy Cruising

JohnBoy in NC

[Poorplaya]

Great Review, thanks for the information from it. Better late than never, and its always a good time for a cruise review! Happy Cruising! :)

[Yorkvillain]

Never too late! Very nice review, I enjoyed it.

[Surfguyxxx]

Great read. We had done the Legend on a TA and absolutely loved it. Yes, she was small but it didn't matter. We had a blast each and every night. We met some great folks, staff and was one of our best experiences on a cruise. Thanks for bringing back the memories!!

[cincicruisers]

Never too late to post a review. Thanks, for sharing.

[Clarea]

Nicely written, worth the wait.:)

[Maksim]

Thank you for your review. We are booked for next year Suez Canal. A quick question regarding the spa (that is if you used it). Is there a sauna / steam inside the women's and men's locker rooms? What else is there? Some ships have spa areas that you pay extra for located by the adult pool. Since this is an old ship, perhaps they don't have it. Any feedback is appreciated.