Just off the Legend: 8/16 - 8/24

[judester]

We also had a great time on this cruise. We traveled w/ our in-laws and had 3 adjacent balcony cabins on the 8th deck. On the 2nd day we called the pursers deck and asked for the bacony dividers to be opened up. A few hours later, they were opened for us. It was great. We enjoyed the long balcony all week and had many drinks out there.

 

Our cabin was spacious enough and cabin steward let us empty out the mini-fridge and use it for our own drinks that we bought on board. (The fridge wasn't very cold, though) We brought a soft-sided cooler and the cabin steward filled it up every day for us.

 

We were assigned late dinner, but we had requested early, so after embarking we went to the dining room and spoke w/ the Maitre'd. He told us to eat at the late sitting for the 1st night and then he would change it to early sitting for the remainder of the cruise. That worked out well since we were able to stay outside on the top deck and enjoy the view as we sailed out of NY harbor.

 

Dinners were overall good. Some meals were better than others. It seemed to take forever to eat......sometimes over 1 1/2 hours. We sometimes waited 1/2 hour between courses. Waiters were very accomodating and brought us everything we requested- it just took a long time. Our waiter said that there were long lines in the kitchen.

 

Dress was very casual most nights. We saw alot of shorts in the dining room, eventhough they weren't "permitted". The late sitting people seemed to dress up more.

 

I agree that the ship was somewhat smokey. The casino was especially bad in the evening. You had to walk through cigar bar and the casino often and they both reeked of smoke. We also smelled smoke out on our balcony from adjacent cabins. (I know we can't really complain about that though, since people have a right to smoke outside) It was just annoying to me, as I am a non-smoker.

 

The tv played Denver shows/news all week, even when we arrived back in NY?

 

Sports bar was a dissapointment. One night the Boston/Yankee game was on. On all other days there were soap operas playing. My husband and father were annoyed at that.

 

The staff was very friendly and always seemed to smile and say hello.

 

Barely saw the cruise director-Trevor. Seemed to see the asst Jen more. I personally found her to be somewhat annoying. She was on the loud side, especially when calling the Bingo games that my mother insisted that I go to.

 

I agree that the Kolorz (lido deck) band was horrible. They played the same songs over and over and weren't good at all.

 

Breakfast and lunch buffets on the lido decks were crowded at peak times. The women in my party ate most b'fast and lunches in Truffles restaurant. It was open sitting and you were escorted to the next available seat. The food was good, but we felt rushed at times. We definitely didn't receive the great service that we had at dinner w/ our regular waiter.

 

The welcome aboard show wasn't that good.The 2nd night show-Take 2 show was great, very professional scenery, costumes, singing and dancing. The Legend show was fabulous, especially Elvis!

Didn't go to the big band show, but my mother and mother in law enjoyed it.

 

Walked around San Juan shops and stopped in Senor Frogs for a drink. My husband and father went back in the evening and enjoyed themselves. In St. Thomas, took a "dollar" safari ride to Sapphire beach and enjoyed it. Somewhat of an ordeal getting there,though. Walked around town in Tortola. Definitely would like more time in St. Thomas. It is beautiful.

 

Overall, we had a nice time.

 

It was fun meeting up w/ other cruise critic friends and ran into them all week long. Shirley is a ball of fire!!

[MrPete]

The tv played Denver shows/news all week, even when we arrived back in NY?

 

Appreciate what you get!

 

They don't play ANY of the network channels on RCCL!

[SnowWhiteNYC]

Hey Judy and family!

 

It was great getting to meet you guys and running into you all week long! Glad you guys had a great time too!

 

Dinner was long but for someone who usually rushes through every meal it was nice that it was more of an event. We also enjoyed the company of our table mates.

[chuckyb]

The tv played Denver shows/news all week, even when we arrived back in NY?

 

I was getting sick of hearing about the "Trex" project and the Karr story. When I took the Glory, they had NY affialiates of ABC,NBC,CBS.

[Leo Jay]

Thanks for the reviews, chuckyb and judester. I'm looking forward to my sailaway on Friday! :)

[POPPA_DADDYO]

Here is my review of the 8/16 to 8/24 Carnival Legend. Pictures will be uploaded and I will post links when I get that done.

 

The carnival legend was my 8th cruise on carnival cruise lines. I have also taken one cruise on celebrity cruise lines to Alaska. I went with my family and we chose the Legend because the ship sailed out of New York, we were tired of taking cruises from Miami. Our sailing date was 8/16/06 and the cruise was 8 days in length. The cruise was pretty full as far as we could tell.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the cruise terminal by taxi at 12:15. We gave our luggage to the porters outside and they took care of them for us (after I told my dad we don’t bring the luggage with us on the ship). The carnival representatives in the terminal told us to sit down and make sure that all of the necessary paperwork was filled out prior to embarkation. A few minutes later, we proceeded to the ticket agents and received our sign-and-sail cards, which include our room keys and our form of payment. We then had a picture taken and were on the ship by 12:50pm. Our room was not ready so we ate lunch at the unicorn café. The rooms are not typically ready until at least 2:00pm.

 

Breakfast: Breakfast is served in the unicorn café, which is on the lido deck from about 6:45 to noon. There are five stations that are serving breakfast. Each station has the same food as the other stations do. By the 4th day, I was sick of the breakfast food that was being served. The stations on the lido deck all serve the food buffet style, you pick and choose what you want to eat. The choices are oatmeal, grits, eggs, hash brown potato circles, bacon, bagel and toast, or French toast and pancakes (they would alternate every other day). They also had cereal and fresh fruit available. The breakfast was the same everyday and it can get real old after a few days. We ate breakfast in the truffles dining room on debarkation day. It’s the same food that you will find on the lido deck, but someone serves it too you instead.

 

Lunch: Lunch is also served in the unicorn café on the lido deck. There are five or six stations open for lunch. The grill outside has hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken sandwich, and garden burgers. French fries and other fast food selections are available at the grill. I usually ate the chicken sandwich and they were pretty good. On the inside of the unicorn café, there are four stations each serving different food. The taste of the nation, would have food from a specific nation. The Chinese station had Chinese food. There also was a deli station that had both hot and cold deli sandwiches. The deli sandwiches are good, but don’t expect Carnegie deli sandwiches. There also was another station that had American food. A salad bar and desert area are also open for lunch.

The lunch on the lido deck has changed a lot since some of the earlier cruises we took. When we took the Jubilee the only thing available for lunch was cheeseburgers. The variety of food available during lunch should be able to subdue most appetites. I will admit that the different stations can be confusing, but if each station served the same thing people would be complaining.

 

Dinner: Dinner is primarily served in the Truffles Restaurant. The dining room is in the back of the ship on decks two and three. There is only one dining room on this cruise ship. When we were at sea, the dining room had a tendency to vibrate and shake. I think this might be caused by the fact that we were a few floors above the engines.

Our head waiter was Achmad and our assistant waiter was Chandra. They both were from Indonesia. Achmad asked us for our names during the first night and then would address us by our names during dinner each night.

The food in dining room is unique to say the least. You are given a menu, with many choices on it. The menu is separated into 3 different sections. The first section is called “starters”, which includes soups and appetizers. There are some strange appetizers, but I’m a picky eater so some people might find them to be normal. You can typically find a fruit/vegetable plate and a seafood plate on the appetizer section. On some days they had some chicken dishes. The second session is called “salads”. There were always mixed green salad and a different salad each day. The salads were pretty good, but some of the lettuce looked old. The final section of the menu is “Entrées”. There is always a meat choice and fish choice available every night. Some nights there were chicken dinners. There is usually a unique meal every night such as rabbit or duck.

Some of the appetizers were good and some were okay. Looking back, I remember ordering the same appetizers on previous cruises that I took with carnival. They still taste the same. The salads are okay. They haven’t changed too much since the previous cruise we took. The only difference I noticed is that sometimes our waiter would serve us fresh salad from a bowl, rather than it being prepared in the galley. The main entrees were okay. I was trying not to order meat every day. On the days that I did order meat it did come the way I ordered it. I agree with the other reviews as the main entrees were warm, but not really hot. I tried to order different meals on this cruise, but I found myself ordering the same things that I ordered on previous cruises.

Desert was also served in the main dining room. I usually ordered vanilla ice cream because I am not a desert fan. My sister said that most of the cakes were pretty good. Usually the same deserts that were available for dinner can also be found on the lido deck during sea view bistro (dinner on the lido deck, buffet style).

 

Cabin: Our cabin number was 8139. We were on the front starboard side of the Legend. Our room included an extended length balcony (not sure what is extended about it). The room includes all your standard amenities found on other carnival cruises. Our room still had a regular TV, I read on some reviews that carnival is adding flat screen TV’s in each room. The cabin also had a queen size bed, one couch bed, and an upper (pullman bed). Compared to some of the other cruises I took, the beds and pillows were extremely comfortable. The bathroom is small, which is what to be expected on a cruise ship. There is a decent amount of closet space for clothes. The room was pretty quiet. If people were outside your room screaming you can probably hear that. The only complaint I have about noise was that you could hear people (I would assume children), running on the lido deck all night long. The noise wasn’t too bad, but who lets their kids run around the ship at 2:00am on the day we arrive in New York? Also, our neighbors were constantly slamming their door.

 

Entertainment: The cruise had a different show each night in the Follies Lounge. We have sailed on Carnival before and have seen the same types of shows several times before. Even though the “Las Vegas Style Shows” have different names, they all feel the same. I watched the first one titled “take 2” and decided to skip the next Las Vegas show. The variety shows were not too good either. There used to be some comedy shows during the early evening, but there were not any on this cruise ship. We didn’t see any of the midnight comedy shows, so I have no comments on that. There were two talent shows on the cruise. The first talent show was titled “Carnival Legends”, which involved people singing songs from famous singers (Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Madonna, etc). The second talent show was called “Carnival’s Got Talent”, which is similar to “American Idol”. Both shows were good and were extremely crowded. It was standing room only for both talent shows. There were people standing on the stairs and in the every open space.

There was nobody in the Piano Bar for this 8 day cruise. The band that played on the Lido Deck (Kolorz) played the same songs everyday. They played music before we left New York and played the same songs all 8 days. There were a few other singers throughout the ship. I didn’t listen to them that much, but they all sounded pretty good.

 

Casino: The casino was located on Deck 2 in the middle of the ship. I didn’t really do too much gambling, but my dad played a lot of craps during our cruise. I played a version of blackjack called, “fun 21”. My winnings were about $50. I found the staff in the casino to be friendly. My Dad won a lot of money playing craps. The only problem was that a lot of people didn’t start playing until the 2nd to last day or real late at night. The casino had a lot of smokers.

 

Internet/Internet Café: I brought my laptop with me on this cruise (gray dell laptop). You can sign up for internet access in the Internet Café, or by using your laptop, anywhere you can find a hotspot on the ship (I got a better signal during embarkation, outside the ship). There are three plans to choose from. You can pay $.75 per minute, pay $55 for 100 minutes, or $100 for 240 minutes. If you sign up during the first day of the cruise you get an additional 20 minutes for free. The internet speeds are not too fast. Websites take awhile to load and I noticed that they load faster on my laptop than the desktop computers in the cafe. I’m not complaining about speed, because you’re supposed to be on vacation. You can now use your laptop or use the computers in the café, the minutes are transferable to both. One thing that really surprised me was how long people were using the computers in the café. I’d spend 5 minutes checking my e-mail, and there would be people in the café for at least two hours.

 

Cruise Director: Our cruise director was Trevor Block. We saw him during the welcome aboard show, and past gust party, and then we rarely saw him again. We would hear his announcements on the P.A. system everyday, but almost never see him at the shows or throughout the ship. I can remember seeing previous cruise directors talking with guests near the casino and other areas. This was Trevor’s last cruise prior to leaving for a vacation. I think his vacation started midway through our voyage. During the final show, I was expecting Trevor to at least thank us for sailing on Carnival. At the conclusion of the show, he just went in the back.

Trevor’s assistants did most of the interaction with the crowd. They were decent, just not spectacular. One of our assistant cruise directors somehow missed the ship in New York and boarded in San Juan.

 

Ports – We didn’t really do a lot in the three ports except get off the ship and look around. It was hot when we were at the 3 ports, but not too bad.

San Juan (3:00pm to Midnight): We arrived at San Juan at 2:00pm, which is an hour early. The cruise ship docks in Old San Juan. We got off the ship and walked to the nearby shops. We spent a few hours looking at the different shops. My other family members did most of the shopping. Personally, I just wanted to walk around and then get back on the ship. I’m not a big fan of shopping.

St. Thomas (7:00am to 6:00pm): The ship docks in a shopping area called Havensight. When we took the paradise, we took a taxi and went downtown for shipping. This time we decided just to shop near the ship. Since we were in St. Thomas on Sunday, all the shops closed at 1:00pm. This meant that we had to do our shopping before the shops closed. There were some deals at the stores near the ship, but the “super shopper” said to go downtown for the best deals.

Tortola (7:00am to 2:00pm): This is a small little island, which is part of British, Virgin Islands. We got off the ship and walked around for an hour. There really isn’t any shopping to do in Tortola, except for a few stores. We should have taken a tour, but none of us could agree on a tour to take.

 

Debarkation: The cruise arrived at the cruise terminal at 8:15am. This is normal for the Legend. Since my parents were part of the Carnival Platinum club, we were able to get off early. We waited in the Dream team sports bar and a staff member came and escorted us off the ship. They were also doing the self-assist debarkation at the same time. It wasn’t too hard getting of the ship. If don’t feel like taking all of your luggage with you, you will be debarked according to color (luggage tags). I’m not sure how that process went, but I’m sure someone else can comment on it. My Dad wanted to get off the cruise as early as possible because there is usually a long line for taxis and we had an early flight (1:55pm). We stood in line for about 10 minutes and waited for a taxi. We were on our way to LaGuardia. I took one last look at the people standing in line and then one last look at the cruise ship.

There were massive flight delays at O’hare, so our flight back home was not too fun. We had to fly standby on an earlier flight, which almost landed at the same time as our scheduled flight.

 

What I liked:

• The 24hour pizzeria. If I didn’t like the selection at dinner, I could take the elevators to the lido deck and grab a slice of pizza. Caesar salads and breadsticks are also available. You must ask for them.
  
• The deli is open to 11:00pm. If I didn’t feel like pizza after dinner, I could always get a sandwich.
  
• The sports bar had HDTV. They actually showed sports and not wheel of fortune, like the Glory.
  
• The size of the ship. The Carnival Legend is part of the spirit class of cruise ships. The ship has a tonnage of 88,000 pounds. Even though this ship is not as big as the Carnival Glory, which I took in August of 2003. I found the layout on this cruise to be better. The ship is big, but not too big. You can actually see the same people more than once.
  
• The friendliness of the cruise ship staff. Whenever I would walk around the ship the crew would often say, “Hi”. It’s a nice touch that made the cruise more enjoyable.

What I didn’t like

• During the life boat drill, the speaker near our section wasn’t working (muster station A, life boat 3). The crew did nothing about it. In fact one person said “There is nothing I can do right now”. I knew what to expect since I have cruised before, but first time cruisers need to hear this information. This was probably the only, “bad” experience I had on the cruise.
  
• Our cabin door was extremely hard to open. It seemed like the door was stuck or something. We probably should have had the cabin steward look at it.
  
• The door to the balcony sometimes would not close all the way. If you didn’t slam the balcony door, it would sound like a tornado was coming.
  
• The carpet was stained on our hallway. Walking back to the cabin I noticed that the carpet needed to be replaced. Maybe the next time the Legend is in dry dock they can replace the carpet on the 8th floor.
  
• During the night, the cruise ship had a tendency to shake, rattle, and roll. I’m not really sure what the cause of this was, but it actually made sleeping easier.
  
• The elevator doors were dirty. There were stains and dings and dents on most of the elevator doors.
  
• The TV stations were from Denver. It’s great if you are from Denver.
  
• There was nobody in the piano bar.

What extra things should you bring on your cruise?

• Hair Dryer – My mom said the hard dryer in the room was bad. If you have room bring your own
  
• Powerpack– There is only one 120v plug in the room. If you are going to charge or plug in a lot of things at once maybe you should bring one. A cheap trip-lite should be fine. If you have a lot of extra room in your luggage, consider brining this.
  
• Soft drinks – The prices of drinks are not cheap onboard. Expect to pay $1.75 for can of coke or sprite. If you have room and are near a convince store, purchase a 12 pack.
  
• Sea Sick medication – I haven’t been sea sick for awhile on a cruise. But, there are some people that can get really sea sick. The purser’s desk has some medication available.

Conclusion: I wasn’t really intending for this review to be this long. I started to write this review during the 2nd formal night. I really enjoyed this cruise, it was neat to go out of a different port besides Florida. The staff, crew members, waiters, were all very nice. They made this cruise a little bit more enjoyable. Our next cruise maybe the “fall foliage” cruise in Sept of 2007. This cruise leaves from New York and goes to Boston, and Portland, with two stops in Canada. I hope you enjoyed my review. You can e-mail me at jmbocke@gmail.com

I wish I would have posted on this message board prior to leaving for New York. Instead I spent time reading bad reviews.

How was the smoking? I am trying to prove my encounter with rude smokers wasn't an isolated incident.

[chuckyb]

It didn't notice too many smokers except for the lido deck and the casino. I did see a few people walking around the ship with cigarettes. I also think a few of our neighbors smoked.

 

If someone was smoking and I didn't like it, I would just move to a different area. I figured starting a fight probably would not be a good idea.

[vincenzo0506]

How was the smoking? I am trying to prove my encounter with rude smokers wasn't an isolated incident.

 

First off, let me say I am a non-smoker(cigarettes), always have been, always will be. In my life I have experienced rudeness in all aspects of life. It is not limited to smokers. I know several smokers that are very considerate of non-smokers and do all they can to limit the exposure.

 

I also know some that are rude.

 

It is a much smaller number.

 

Poppa, you keep riding this issue. Yes, some smokers are rude and inconsiderate. SOME, not all.

 

At this point, I think I would rather sail with some rude smoker, than someone that just won't let it go.

 

Do I like smoke?? NO, I hate it. But I wouldn't let the actions of a few people bother me.

 

Now, I do smoke cigars on rare occasion, and I know that as far as some people are concerned, there are no polite cigar smokers and we should all be keel-hauled.

 

I know it's offensive to many , including my wife and kids. So I make certain to only smoke in the allowed areas, and even then, I make certain to keep the smoke away from others.

 

 

peace

 

vincenzo:)

[Crazy about cruising]

Vincenzo- Well Said!!! Can't wait to meet everyone on Friday.

[vincenzo0506]

Vincenzo- Well Said!!! Can't wait to meet everyone on Friday.

 

Thank you.

 

3 days and 1 night

 

vincenzo:)

[nybumpkin]

Now, I do smoke cigars on rare occasion, and I know that as far as some people are concerned, there are no polite cigar smokers and we should all be keel-hauled.vincenzo:)

Vincenzo - Just like my DH! However, since his bout with pneumonia just before our Legend cruise, he's stayed away from them (despite the temptation of "Cubanos" while cruising - or last weekend in Niagara Falls:D ). Hope you have a great cruise - we'll be setting sail on Victory the day before you!

[Martin 5]

I know you're excited, leaving in just 3 days. I can hardly sit still and I have 4 weeks left. I just can't wait !!!!!!!!:eek: Please let me know how everything was on board. Have a WONDERFUL time.:)

[POPPA_DADDYO]

It didn't notice too many smokers except for the lido deck and the casino. I did see a few people walking around the ship with cigarettes. I also think a few of our neighbors smoked.

 

If someone was smoking and I didn't like it, I would just move to a different area. I figured starting a fight probably would not be a good idea.

Thank you for the response chuckyb. Most miss my point. On my cruise I experienced smokers in non smoking areas. Their is no way I am going to move to accommodate a rude smoker thinking he or she can smoke wherever or whenever he or she wants. I pay for a cruise and follow the rules, I expect the same for everyone. I don't drink, so I do not hang at the bars. But if I sat at an empty non smoking bar to enjoy some other beverage, it is not right for a smoker to come along and try to make me leave by smoking. If they chose to drink that would be fine. Drinking does not affect the person next to you unless they drink many and act up later. All I ask is for is for everyone to follow the rules, but most of all, we need Carnival to enforce the rules if they are going to make the rules! Still waiting for the non smoking cruise to come back. I would pay double for that.

[Rgtouro]

Sue, Lorraine, Lisa, Laura, Susan, Judi, Sea, Edsirishrose, and those whose names have slipped my mind, [brain fart] you were all great. We enjoyed meeting you and your families. A couple of you even saved my azz during the Legends show.

__________________

Hmmmm....Are we forgetting anyone else Shirl?

[SnowWhiteNYC]

How could Shirl forget you?

 

I don't have your email. When you get the pix from Tortola developed I want to exchange. I have some great ones of you and Lauren and Capt. Joe on the boat.

 

Reality stinks.

 

Back to work for me tomorrow! Yuck!

[thecripcruiser]

goodness!!! How could I forget Roseann???

I'm so sorry. I beg forgiveness, Ro. You saved me a couple of times on the ship. It was so nice to meet ya.

I really want to see the pics you took of the Legend show

Now, that sad. Further proof that i'm getting old.:o

It's been a week since the cruise, and the more I think about it , the more I wish I were back on a cruise, Waaa

Went to the doctor and I have to have some surgery on the knee. Cracked, chipped, or something to the knee cap.

I want to cruise again in Feb but DH wants to wait till spring.

I want everyone to know, I loved the Legend, it was a beautiful ship.

Our room, balcony, service, most food and shows were outstanding.

Carnival has treated us very well over the last 4 cruises. I just happen to be an accident waiting for a place to happen.:rolleyes:

Snow, I've got a pic of you and DH that I'd love to send ya. You both look good. You in your 17 dollar dress. :D E-mail me so I know where to send it.

Ya, reality does suck

Hope everyone is doing well

Shirl

[DelEaglesFan]

We cruised on the Carnival Miracle last year, and I had no problems whatsoever with smokers.

[Rgtouro]

Here is my review of the 8/16 to 8/24 Carnival Legend. Pictures will be uploaded and I will post links when I get that done.

 

Hey Chuckb, where are your photos????

[rada628]

I'm going on the Legend 09-25. I bought a floor length gown, but am afraid that I will be the most formal person there...Were there many people who got really dressed up for the formal nights? :confused:

[chuckyb]

I will post my photos when I finally upload them.

 

My Internet has been unstable since I got back from the cruise. Comcast fixed the issues, so I will be uploading the photos soon.

[MrPete]

I'm going on the Legend 09-25. I bought a floor length gown, but am afraid that I will be the most formal person there...Were there many people who got really dressed up for the formal nights? :confused:

 

You will be surprised to find just about everybody dresses for formal nights.

[LizaMM]

I'm going on the Legend 09-25. I bought a floor length gown, but am afraid that I will be the most formal person there...Were there many people who got really dressed up for the formal nights? :confused:

 

 

I always wear a gown on Formal Nights. I've seen many people who do the same....ENJOY!!!!