Live from the Legend 1/5/20

[jimbo5544]

10 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

 

First, let me thank you for the review.  We are doing the Legend Journey cruise in May with our credit from our Sunrise cruise.

 

We tried traditional dining for the first time on a Princess cruise a few years ago.  They also did the switch from 6 to 5:30 and we found it too early (not hungry, rushing excursions), but thought 8:15 would be too late for us (not knowing about the time changes until we boarded).  That convinced us to mostly stick to anytime/your time dining.  I'm glad it works for you, but I would want to know in advance of boarding what the actual times are - not be surprised with a 30 minute swing.

 

5:30 still sounds really early to me, but I can see the times working better for the shows (not sure why shows couldn't adjust though).

 

Is the theatre still a normal theatre like Pride, or removable chairs like Sunrise?  Do lido doors automatically open, or do you need to push a button?  Is there still just the one MDR on two floors, or do you have to navigate around a mid-ship galley? (Do you wish you didn't ask for questions 😉 )

I love the banter here on CC, it is was makes it so special, always ask away in my corner.  The theater is the same as on the Pride (old School Style)...   The doors are a mix, some with buttons and some not, which I found strange.  As I write this I recall most are auto open, but cannot remember where the button ones were. (Know that I really helpful...lol)

[jimbo5544]

Oops. And still one MDR

[jimbo5544]

The debark process was almost as painless as the getting on was.  They were pretty much a half hour ahead of expectation.  We got out the van was waiting took us to our car and on our way home in less than 25 minutes.  We did this with only two customs agents as well.  

[Mutumbojimbo]

Thank you for your review and the beautiful pictures.  

[jimbo5544]

The entertainment:

We are not Hasbro people, so cannot comment on that.  We saw three main shows and two were really good, Motor city and Epic Rock and one (new show, and it showed....) was ok, the Brits.  The violinists were possibly the best we have seen only last 10 cruises, the totally gelled with their audience, the song mix was different and they had a crowd every time we saw them.  The remaining were good, for us, the varied entertainment Carnival has on the ships, help to make it a Carnival cruise.  

 

[jimbo5544]

Just now, Mutumbojimbo said:

Thank you for your review and the beautiful pictures.  

My pleasure, I really enjoy doing reviews.  

[jimbo5544]

The home port of Tampa:

 

It is a great home port, it has limitations (as do they all), but the size ship it handles, the downtown location, the ease of access, all make it a wonderful option, I HIGHLY recommend it.  

[jimbo5544]

The ship:

 

The Legend is a wonderful ship, it is a great size, it has both the best of yesterday and today in many ways.  When we walked on her again at the start of the cruise, I wondered why has it taken so long to sail her (Australia might be the reason....LOL) again.  Coincidentally, counting this cruise, she will be our choice on 3 out of 4 of our next cruises.  During a conversation with the Hotel Director, he mentioned that by next year she will be Carnival’s most traveled ship.

 

It is a wonderful class of ship, and she is a great choice for anyone’s cruise.

[jimbo5544]

The crew:

 

Carnival’s best asset is their people, and they know this, and it shows.  Top to bottom, starboard to port and bow to stern.  They have never disappointed us.  Seeing people who are having fun doin gathering job to make your cruise more enjoyable.  

[pacruise804]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I love the banter here on CC, it is was makes it so special, always ask away in my corner.  The theater is the same as on the Pride (old School Style)...   The doors are a mix, some with buttons and some not, which I found strange.  As I write this I recall most are auto open, but cannot remember where the button ones were. (Know that I really helpful...lol)

 

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

Oops. And still one MDR

 

Thank you so much.  I'm glad she has the old style theatre 🙂 I got used to the doors, but it wasn't always consistent on the Sunrise either - at least now I know 🙂 

Yay for a direct line to MDR! I know it's a small inconvenience, but we really disliked that on both Sunrise and when we sailed Regal Princess.  It seems like a common new/refurb build design though.

 

42 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

The entertainment:

We are not Hasbro people, so cannot comment on that.  We saw three main shows and two were really good, Motor city and Epic Rock and one (new show, and it showed....) was ok, the Brits.  The violinists were possibly the best we have seen only last 10 cruises, the totally gelled with their audience, the song mix was different and they had a crowd every time we saw them.  The remaining were good, for us, the varied entertainment Carnival has on the ships, help to make it a Carnival cruise.  

 

How was the "house" band in RFP?  Piano bar?  I know they might both change by May.

 

Also, did you try any of the coffee shop desserts?  They look really good and I'd be willing to pay an up-charge for a splurge if it tastes good.  The new lido cakes were pretty, but not much better taste for me.  Do you know are they the similar "tasteless" or are they really flavorful like steakhouse desserts (or even room service)?

[SERK]

The Legend will always have a special spot in my heart being my first cruise ship.  We love the violinists on cruises.  Our last cruise on the Dream they played the theme to Game of Thrones and did an amazing job with it.  Glad ya'll had a great trip!

 

Geaux Tigers!!

[2wheelin]

On 1/10/2020 at 5:46 PM, jimbo5544 said:

As we were pulling out I saw this,  antone have an idea what it is?

I was on a dive boat and told these are barges used to transport between the Cayman Islands since there is only one airport. They also bring a type of rock from Cayman Brac to GC.

I did not have internet on the cruise so just catching up with your great review.

A couple of comments without going back to look up and quote specific posts:

We were a large group with YTD and were always able to get a table for 8-12 at around 5:45 in Voldymer’s area except the last night when we were a smaller group and came a little later. The new wait team was quite a step down. We brought a bottle of champagne which they ignored for a while. We then asked to have it opened and still did not receive service. We ended up taking it out with us for later. They tried to place baked Alaska in front of everyone as “this is the dessert tonight”. Other tables were given menus which a couple of us asked for. Waiters seemed stunned that we would turn down baked Alaska.

I was told the gal in the “violin trio” was actually playing an electronic cello. I had never heard of one before.

Piano bar with Craig was bad. Alchemy bar was a little quiet but good.

We thought the production shows were good but not great. They crank up the volume so high that it is hard to understand the words.

Jimbo, did you miss the downpours in Mahogany Bay? Made for fun people watching from the bar while I waited it out.

Great review.

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

 

Thank you so much.  I'm glad she has the old style theatre 🙂 I got used to the doors, but it wasn't always consistent on the Sunrise either - at least now I know 🙂 

Yay for a direct line to MDR! I know it's a small inconvenience, but we really disliked that on both Sunrise and when we sailed Regal Princess.  It seems like a common new/refurb build design though.

 

How was the "house" band in RFP?  Piano bar?  I know they might both change by May.

 

Also, did you try any of the coffee shop desserts?  They look really good and I'd be willing to pay an up-charge for a splurge if it tastes good.  The new lido cakes were pretty, but not much better taste for me.  Do you know are they the similar "tasteless" or are they really flavorful like steakhouse desserts (or even room service)?

Funny you should ask about those, these were two areas that we spent almost no time in (and usually do).  The location of the RFP is pretty out of the way (these two are close to each other btw).  I cannot really add much more than that.  I also did not try any of the desserts, but have in the past and they are really good.  

[jimbo5544]

25 minutes ago, 2wheelin said:

I was on a dive boat and told these are barges used to transport between the Cayman Islands since there is only one airport. They also bring a type of rock from Cayman Brac to GC.

I did not have internet on the cruise so just catching up with your great review.

A couple of comments without going back to look up and quote specific posts:

We were a large group with YTD and were always able to get a table for 8-12 at around 5:45 in Voldymer’s area except the last night when we were a smaller group and came a little later. The new wait team was quite a step down. We brought a bottle of champagne which they ignored for a while. We then asked to have it opened and still did not receive service. We ended up taking it out with us for later. They tried to place baked Alaska in front of everyone as “this is the dessert tonight”. Other tables were given menus which a couple of us asked for. Waiters seemed stunned that we would turn down baked Alaska.

I was told the gal in the “violin trio” was actually playing an electronic cello. I had never heard of one before.

Piano bar with Craig was bad. Alchemy bar was a little quiet but good.

We thought the production shows were good but not great. They crank up the volume so high that it is hard to understand the words.

Jimbo, did you miss the downpours in Mahogany Bay? Made for fun people watching from the bar while I waited it out.

Great review.

Thanks for that info, when I first saw these, it made me think of the water landing on the Hudson.  You are correct, it is an electronic cello.  We went back just before the downpours, they actually started right after we walked on the ship.  Thanks for the kind words on the review.   

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, SERK said:

The Legend will always have a special spot in my heart being my first cruise ship.  We love the violinists on cruises.  Our last cruise on the Dream they played the theme to Game of Thrones and did an amazing job with it.  Glad ya'll had a great trip!

 

Geaux Tigers!!

Thanks, they are having their issues so far....

[thesmiths]

Looks and Sounds like you guys had a good time!

Glad to hear!

 

Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

45 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

Looks and Sounds like you guys had a good time!

Glad to hear!

 

Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did, thanks for following along.

[pacruise804]

13 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

I was on a dive boat and told these are barges used to transport between the Cayman Islands since there is only one airport. They also bring a type of rock from Cayman Brac to GC.

I did not have internet on the cruise so just catching up with your great review.

A couple of comments without going back to look up and quote specific posts:

We were a large group with YTD and were always able to get a table for 8-12 at around 5:45 in Voldymer’s area except the last night when we were a smaller group and came a little later. The new wait team was quite a step down. We brought a bottle of champagne which they ignored for a while. We then asked to have it opened and still did not receive service. We ended up taking it out with us for later. They tried to place baked Alaska in front of everyone as “this is the dessert tonight”. Other tables were given menus which a couple of us asked for. Waiters seemed stunned that we would turn down baked Alaska.

I was told the gal in the “violin trio” was actually playing an electronic cello. I had never heard of one before.

Piano bar with Craig was bad. Alchemy bar was a little quiet but good.

We thought the production shows were good but not great. They crank up the volume so high that it is hard to understand the words.

Jimbo, did you miss the downpours in Mahogany Bay? Made for fun people watching from the bar while I waited it out.

Great review.

 

Sorry you had poor service the last night, it really does affect the meal 😞 Thanks for the heads up about piano bar, they do seem hit or miss.  I found a similar production issue on the Sunrise that the music volume drowned out the vocals, very disappointing.

 

12 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Funny you should ask about those, these were two areas that we spent almost no time in (and usually do).  The location of the RFP is pretty out of the way (these two are close to each other btw).  I cannot really add much more than that.  I also did not try any of the desserts, but have in the past and they are really good.  

Thanks for the feedback.  We will probably try to find Red Frog Pub - out of the way is kind of our vibe😂

 

I'll give the cafe a try if I'm not too full from the other meals, especially since I plan to skip most of the other desserts. 

[JaniceB]

Thank you for doing a review of your Legend cruise.  Did you notice what bars had a daily happy hour?

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, JaniceB said:

Thank you for doing a review of your Legend cruise.  Did you notice what bars had a daily happy hour?

Sorry Janice, I did not.  We either were at Alchemy or lobby bar during those times.  

[Hogladyrider]

Late to the party here....but Spirit class is our favorite class of ship!

 

While we loved Vista the only way I'd be interested in cruising her again would be in a Havanna cabin, way too many people for our tastes.

 

We are Floridians wintering in Yuma, Arizona.  We have learned how spoiled we are as Floridians with all the options of cruising out of various ports in Florida.  I've searched for a cruise for us out of San Diego for this winter and nada, only HAL at this point in time.  Well, we are giving it a try.  We've never been to the Mexican Riviera so we'll give it a shot.

 

We have found that as we have "aged" into seniors we prefer spending more time on our balcony away from the crowds, our party days are in the rear view mirror.

 

Aside from limited cruise selections out of San Diego, which is a 2-1/2 hour drive for us, we are really enjoying the weather here in Yuma for the winter.....but I digress.

 

We sure wish Carnival built more Spirit class ships, we are not really big fans of the supersized cruise ships....lots to be said for the smaller ships.

 

Great review looks like there were not too many kiddos on the cruise.

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Late to the party here....but Spirit class is our favorite class of ship!

 

While we loved Vista the only way I'd be interested in cruising her again would be in a Havanna cabin, way too many people for our tastes.

 

We are Floridians wintering in Yuma, Arizona.  We have learned how spoiled we are as Floridians with all the options of cruising out of various ports in Florida.  I've searched for a cruise for us out of San Diego for this winter and nada, only HAL at this point in time.  Well, we are giving it a try.  We've never been to the Mexican Riviera so we'll give it a shot.

 

We have found that as we have "aged" into seniors we prefer spending more time on our balcony away from the crowds, our party days are in the rear view mirror.

 

Aside from limited cruise selections out of San Diego, which is a 2-1/2 hour drive for us, we are really enjoying the weather here in Yuma for the winter.....but I digress.

 

We sure wish Carnival built more Spirit class ships, we are not really big fans of the supersized cruise ships....lots to be said for the smaller ships.

 

Great review looks like there were not too many kiddos on the cruise.

There were not a lot but still more than I expected (maybe 150?), thanks reading along.  

[Grillfish]

Thanks, Jimbo.  My wife and I are cruising on the Legend out of Dover at the end of June.  Your reviews and pics were much appreciated.

[2wheelin]

FYI. Apparently many people on this cruise came down with the flu since Fri. My husband woke up with it today. Got the flu shot but not from the same place I did so hopefully I won’t get it.

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, Grillfish said:

Thanks, Jimbo.  My wife and I are cruising on the Legend out of Dover at the end of June.  Your reviews and pics were much appreciated.

Happy to do it, you will not be disappointed