Legend of the Seas Review (Absurdly Long)

[kazooie11]

Pre-Cruise

My daughter (14) and I (Dad, 44) flew into Tampa early Friday morning, January 12, 2007. The Tampa airport is an easy pass-through, especially with most car rental agencies in the airport proper. We rented a car for a day (about $40) and drove to our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott in the Westshore hotel district. Westshore is about a 10 minute drive from the airport and is a few blocks from Dale Mabry, the main surface-level road that runs through Tampa and has one of everything, retail-wise. Especially of note is the large wine store near Dale Mabry & Spruce (not that I smuggled or anything).

 

We spent the first half of our day at the Lowry Park Zoo (20 minutes from Westshore). I highly recommend this zoo for kids and adults alike. The grounds are beautiful and the animals plentiful. Lowry Park was named “Best Zoo in America” by Child Magazine. Don’t miss seeing the manatees, feeding the giraffes and the lorikeet aviary. After the zoo, we drove over to Clearwater Beach and dipped our feet in the Gulf. It’s a beautiful beach, and if you’re beach people, it looks like a good bet for a pre-cruise beach day.

 

Embarkation

We had a leisurely morning at the hotel and left for the airport to return the rental car around 10:45 a.m. After a quick stop at the Budget counter, we hopped in a cab and headed to the Tampa Port Authority facility near Channelside. The cab fare between the airport and the seaport is $22 (for 2). We arrived at the port before 11:15, quickly checked in with our passports and Set Sail Pass, had our pictures taken for our SeaPasses and were given numbered slips of paper for boarding as the ship wasn’t ready for boarding yet. My guess is that the Legend must have had a small problem with Noro the cruise before ours and extra cleaning caused the delay. That said, the number calling started right at Noon, and we were on board and eating lunch in the Windjammer by 12:20 p.m.

 

Ship Overview

I had never before sailed RCCL, and my expectations were tempered by many things I had read on Cruise Critic, including some mediocre reviews of the Legend and other Vision-class ships. That said, I was astounded by how well-kept the Legend is. I would never have believed that this is a 10+ year old ship. She’s obviously well cared for by her crew, and although I was later to have the opportunity to compare her, side-by-side, with the Voyager, she wears her age well. The exterior shows its age in terms of styling, but the interior is very nice.

 

Cabin

We were in GS 8510, starboard forward. There was some noise from the Lido deck, above, but it was mostly noticeable on the balcony. The cabin was well appointed and obviously had loads of space. Although I’ve heard some quibble over the amount of space the bar take up, I liked having it there to catch things we carried back to the cabin and to hold the oversized ice bucket that our steward, Daris, kept stocked with bottled water throughout. My DD enjoyed the bathtub, and the double sinks proved useful on more than one occasion. We kept the beds as two singles so we could enjoy the L-shaped sectional couch. The balcony was very large, holding 2 loungers, 2 chairs and two tables comfortably. I spent lots of time on the balcony! The new bedding is very comfortable. The only thing I could find wrong with the cabin was that the towel hooks on the bathroom cabinet doors were poorly designed and fell off once or twice (and took 10 seconds to fix myself).

 

Public Rooms

Contrary to one assertion I overheard on Cruise Critic, the Windjammer is not “dangerous and confusing.” It’s a lot of food in a lot of space coexisting with a lot of people. It’s well appointed and comfortable. The pool deck and solarium are small by modern ship standards, but well maintained and only overcrowded at midday on sea days. The Romeo & Juliet dining room was grand, understated and not as noisy as I thought it would be with 800+ people dining at a time. The theater is large and well designed, with excellent sightlines. The Anchors Aweigh lounge, the largest (think Quest), is comfortable, although the u-shaped seats might be a challenge for large guests. The casino is small, dark and smoky, the latter two just what you’d expect from a casino. The seven-story Centrum is pretty, with many of the other public areas--Lattetudes, Photo Gallery, Shops, Purser, Explorations, etc.--radiating from it.

 

Food

The only real negative point you’ll find in this review is that my room service omelet was burned and the pancakes weren’t ready at 7:00 when our breakfast arrived. On the other hand, the room service attendant offered to bring the pancakes when they were ready. The pastries were good and the coffee was hot and welcomed. We never ate dinner at the Windjammer, but the breakfasts were underwhelming, although the custom omelets and eggs were excellent. The Windjammer lunch was much better, with great variety and quantity. Dinners in the dining room were very good. It’s not gourmet food, folks, so as long as your expectations are set properly, you won’t be disappointed. The filet of beef and the lobster/shrimp were stand outs. I also enjoyed my nightly Caesar salad. Our waiter Carmello was attentive, if a bit over the top for my tastes, and our assistant waiter, Angelica, was terrific. I ordered 2 bottles of wine over the course of 7 dinners, and the $20 Merlot was okay. I brought a bottle of champagne to dinner one night and it was served without any question (or corkage fee). Especially noteworthy were our dining companions, John & Suzanne, Mark & Sherry and Janelle and Valerie. Thanks, guys, for making dining fun each and every night (except for the one where nobody showed up but us).

 

Activities/Entertainment

The activities staff on the Legend was terrific. From Gavin Brown, our Cruise Director (gone now to the Radiance OTS) to Shaun our Activities Director and his staff, Mark, Matilda, Martin and Susan, each and every activities staff member was outstanding. After the second day (when my DD won at bingo), we were greeted by name at every activity. These folks made our cruise a wonderful one. We participated in many activities and especially enjoyed Majority Rules and Tri-Bond Trivia (which we won, thanks to our teammate Margie). We collected a bunch of Ship Shape dollars and were rewarded with a t-shirt and towel at the end of our cruise.

 

Some of our entertainment included the RC singers and dancers in Absolutely Fab, Tribute, a Temptations review, and assorted jugglers, magicians and comedians. The shows were enjoyable, with fewer “pitches” for shopping, etc., than I remember from our Disney cruise.

 

Ports of Call

Georgetown, Grand Cayman: A pretty little Caribbean island into which too many cruise ships disgorge too many passengers. The downtown area was crowded and unremarkable. However, we boarded Captain Bryan’s catamaran and sailed to Stingray City, and got away from it all. I highly recommend a catamaran tour here as skimming over the crystal blue water in a cat is exhilarating. Stingray City is amazing, with literally dozens of the beautiful creatures sharing their home with you. We did two snorkel stops on the way back from Stingray City, the first was okay, but the second benefited from the crew feeding the fish and creating swarming schools of beautiful fish (and a couple of moray eels).

 

Costa Maya, Mexico: The best part of Costa Maya is leaving Costa Maya. I mean getting outside of the tourist village at the port. We took the Chacchoban Ruins tour with David & Ivan, and were very pleased with the tour and the wonderful knowledge and hospitality of David. He’s clearly passionate about the history and culture of the Mayan people, and it shows in his tours. The ruins themselves are astounding. I found especially amazing the symmetry with which the city was built. The residential district and main temple are fascinating. The climb to the main temple is moderately demanding, but it’s worth it! We took the Mayan Experience Tour, which included lunch with a Mayan family in David’s neighborhood. The food was very good and the people were warm and welcoming. The experience was humbling, though, given how much we have and how little many others have.

 

Belize City, Belize: We tendered into Belize City and took the Cave Tubing and Aerial Trek excursion. The cave tubing is fun, although with the water running so fast from recent rains, it ended too quickly. The zip lining was an incredible experience—especially for someone who’s afraid of heights! The nearly 2-hour wait in the intermittent rain and sunshine was a bit much for 20 minutes of zip lining, but I’m glad we did it. Wear old sneakers and throw them away after this tour. We caught a tender right back to the ship after the excursion. I don’t need to go back to Belize.

 

Cozumel, Mexico: This is a port that craves cruise ships. It’s large enough to accommodate the 6 ships that were in port that day, and has enough to keep a;; of their passengers busy. We tendered to the International Pier first thing in the morning and the Captain docked later in the evening after the Voyager left the IP. We did the Segway Tour, which was a lot of fun. My DD was disappointed that she didn’t get to “open it up” but still had fun. We skipped the snorkeling portion of the tour and took a $6 taxi to the shopping district afterward. The merchants were very friendly and we bought a few things and headed back to the ship for lunch. If you’re docked or tendered at the International Pier, you’ll need to taxi to the main shopping area. If you’re docked at the main pier, it’s walking distance.

 

Disembarkation

We had white luggage tags, but didn’t want to rush off the ship, so we ate breakfast in the Windjammer and left the ship around 8:45. After a 10-15 minute wait to get through immigration and customs, we found our luggage and walked right outside to grab a taxi to the airport. Disembarkation was just as easy as embarkation, except for the getting off the ship part.

 

Overall Impressions

The Legend of the Seas is a beautiful, smaller ship. I would not hesitate to sail a Vision Class ship again. However, given how much we enjoyed our time onboard, I’m guessing that our next cruise will be on a Radiance or Voyage class, with more onboard dining and activity options. We saw RCCL’s “Gold Anchor Service” all over the ship. The staff members—from the Captain and officers through the Windjammer, Dining Room, bar and lounge and activities staff to our room steward--were great. We’ll sail RCCL again soon. It was a great way to spend a vacation week that needed to be satisfying and enjoyable to both of us.

 

If you have any questions about the LoS, drop me an e-mail.

 

Jim (jcborland at comcast dot net)

[cbtravel1]

Thanks for the great review. We'll be sailing on the Legend in March and we can't wait.

[derrick22]

Did your DD do any of the teen activities?

Thanks

[cbtravel1]

Where is Latte-tudes, I'm looking at deck 6 and it is not shown?

[kazooie11]

Derrick--She did. While she may review the cruise from her perspective (she had a blast), I'll say that given the small number of teens on the ship, there were lots of activities and lots of participation by the teens. I know there were several scavenger hunts, several game show type activities, a poker tourney (she finished third!) and a few late-night parties. From looking at her teen activities cards, they also did a group dinner and group show. If you have specific questions, let me know and I'll ask her.

 

CB--Lattetudes is on deck 6 starboard, opposite the Photo Studio. They have Seattles Best coffee and specialty drinks, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a selection of desserts and sweets not available elsewhere on the ship. I'd go up to the Windjammer and get a cup of coffee, then stop by Lattetudes for a double chocolate peanut butter fudge brownie :)

 

Jim

[everyotheryear]

Kazooie- Thank you for the great and informative review.

I have 2 questions: Does the desserts at Lattedudes cost extra ( yummm brownies ) and We have a flight out of Tampa post cruise at 11 am do you think we will have any trouble making it? (airlines changed flight time it was at 1:30 when we booked)

Glad you and your DD had a nice cruise.

As we were shoveling our 6 inches of snow yesterday, we were looking very foward to ours in March.

[cruiser_carol]

Thanks Kazooie...for the wonderful review on Legend. It was great reading.. and brought back lots of memories. I am so pleased that you enjoyed the ship as much as we did...and found her as lovely. We have sailed twice on Legend to the Med from southampton...and had an absolutely fantastic time. Returning with our adult children this past August...for their first cruise. They absolutely loved the ship...and The crew were just wonderful...couldn't do enough for us. Regards, Carol

 

CB travel..regarding Lattetudes in your brochure..It was only added in April 2005...after a refit in Lisbon.. so it may not be printed on all the deck plans. As has been stated..it is opposite the photographers on deck 6. A space shared with Ben & Jerry's ice cream. We found several offers at Lattetudes..where a cake or muffin was included with your coffee purchase. Otherwise cakes did cost extra.

 

The windjammer was also redesigned at that same time..adding the central food stations...instead of one long line. Which we felt worked really well. Have a fantastic cruise on legend in March...I look forward to reading your review. Regards, Carol

[kazooie11]

Everyotheryear--The desserts at Lattetudes don't cost extra and you don't have to buy anything to get them. In addition to the aforementioned brownies, they had doughnuts, pastries and muffins in the morning and a larger selection of cakes and pies in the afternoon and evenings. Late Thursday night, right after leaving Cozumel, I was accosted by two women who wanted to know where I had gotten the brownies I was carrying. Apparently, they'd just gotten back on the ship and the Windjammer was closed. I shared my secret & they were very greatful.

 

As for making an 11:00 a.m. flight, it depends on your luggage tag color. I don't have the disembarcation sheet here with me, but if you have priority disembarkation (Diamond and up, I think, and suites), you can disembark between 7:30 and 8:30, so you'd easily make an 11:00 flight. You'd probably be okay in the next group, but it would be closer. If you were in the third group or beyond, I wouldn't chance it. As I mentioned, we were in no rush and made it to the airport by 9:15 after disembarking at about 8:30.

 

Finally, I was scraping a dusting of snow off my car windows this morning. From sunburn to scraping in 36 hours. Almost doesn't seem fair, but then again, I did get to spend 7 days in paradise.

 

Carol--The Legend was everything we'd hoped she'd be. Your reviews here were very encouraging and most helpful, and I'm happy to say she fulfilled your promise. I'm guessing they've changed the policy at Lattetudes since you sailed on her last, because the desserts there were always provided without an additional charge. There are now two Legend cheerleaders on CC. Although I think we're ready for a bigger ship, at the right price and itinerary, I'd sail her again in an instant.

 

Jim

[cruiser_carol]

Hi Jim...Our fellow Legend cheerleader..Great news to hear that the cakes are now all free in Lattetudes...with no coffee purchase necessary.It Also appears a much bigger selection. I think lots of changes are taking place. And all for the better!! Free Seattles' Best..and danishes...were mentioned in a review of a voyager cruise recently. I thought that was a big bonus..as the only food complaint I had on Legend...was the very strong coffee. It really was very, very hard to drink. In the dining room... the waiter kindly added water to weaken it for us at dinner. which helped a lot.

 

Despite being of a smaller size...and not as new...Legend is a lovely ship. She is constantly being cleaned ...polished....and made to sparkle. Everyone works so hard to constantly improve what is available. We found the selection and quality of food on our second cruise....both in the dining room and the windjammer...was far superior to the first. Even the pizzas and burgers in the solarium..had an overhaul. Adding salads..and garnishes..and using better quality burgers.

 

It would be great to try the Radiance or voyager class...I think RC is hard to beat. All their ships are just beautiful. We do have Navigator of the Seas coming to the Uk this summer. Taking over from Legend..which will be sailing out of rome. However..at present..there is a big difference in the prices...Navigator is very much more expensive. Heres' to Happy Sailing...Regards, carol

[DC2OC]

Thanks for the reveiw.We will be sailing her on 2/24.Will be visiting family and heading to Clearwater Beach either b4 or after the cruise or both.When there we will go to Frechy's for a Grouper Sandwich and Conch Fritters.....................Frank:)

[psygist]

Are the cabin safes the old type where a credit card with a magnetic strip is used to open them, or are they of the new type where a code is punched in?

 

Thanks.

[referee]

Hey Kazooie We're Sailing On The Legend This Saturday....thanks So Much For The Positive Reviews...you Really Made Our Day!!!!!!!

[kazooie11]

Psygist--Yes, they're magnetic stripe safes. I used an old (credit card sized) hotel key that I had at home. They're about as big as a breadbox, so don't plan on being able to store lots in them, but for cash, travel documents and the like, they're perfect.

 

Frank--Assume from your screen name that you're a Washington to OC MD kind of guy. I'm in Ellicott City and spent 15 years commuting to DC from this area. I'm much closer to work now, and love the much shorter commute. Enjoy the Legend and Clearwater Beach. Both are beautiful.

 

Carol--I don't know if the regular coffee at Lattetudes was included as the one time I got coffee there, my DD brought it to me and I didn't ask her. I love strong coffee, so even the stuff in the Windjammer was drinkable. I have to say that the pizza in the Solarium left quite a bit to be desired, but I woke up hungry from a nap one day and it was pizza and fries there. The fries (chips to you) were good. As for the Voyager, I'm looking at her repo in the Fall as a possible next cruise (unless I can get a really good, last-minute deal on Grandeur out of Baltimore (my home port) this Summer).

 

Jim

[wolfcathorse]

kazooie11 - who was your captain? I'll be on Legend in 12 days!

[OliverTheCat]

Thanks for this great detailed review!

 

We sailed Legend March 11 2006 and had a good time too. While I think I prefer the voyager class ships more when I saile RCI, Legend is a great getaway and I would do the cruise again in a heartbeat. I am glad to see Matilda is stil there. I really thought she was good at what she does.

 

I liked the layout of Windjammer on Legend. We even at there for dinner. They had bar stool seats that faced the ocean that were super views while we ate. I was surprised that you had read bad reviews on Windjammer. I boarded right after the refurb. on Windjammer, so maybe it was different before I was on.

[kazooie11]

Wolfcathorse--The Captain is Nikolaos Antalis. He was quite accessible on the ship. We'd see him most every day and of course at the Captain's reception and formal events. I really enjoyed his Q&A session on Friday in the Centrum. Check out the pictures link in my signature for a few of the ship, ports and the Captain too. Enjoy the cruise and tell Matilda, Mark and Susan that Jim & Tori say "hi."

 

OliverTheCat--Matilda totally rocks! I hope that she gets to be Activities Director when Shaun retires in a few weeks. That was my suggestion on my comment card. As for those stools in the Windjammer that face the windows, we ate lunch there after embarkation. The view of the Tampa shipyard wasn't exactly picturesque, but in the following days, it got a lot better!

 

Jim

[marklynpa]

Thanks for the great review Jim! Sailing LOS Feb 3

 

Is Capt Bryan an RCI excursion? Your opinion on if it would be a good one for my 10yr old niece and 6yr old nephew?

 

Any signs/talk of noro? Or are the extra precautions and cleaning keeping it away? Buffets still not self-serve?

 

Thanks!....Mark

[marklynpa]

duplicate

[kazooie11]

Mark--I booked Captain Bryan's independently, not through RCCL. There's info about their excursions here, but e-mail them as they adjust the starting time to the ship's arrival. I chose them because of this as we wanted to maximize our time in and on the water. The tour was also more reasonable than through the ship. I'm guessing that your neice would love it. The little guy might be a little hesitant, but there certainly were young kids in the water with us at Stingray City (albeit in Mom or Dad's arms).

 

There were signs that "Noro was here" but I didn't hear of a single person on our cruise who got sick. Our boarding was a bit delayed, I'm guessing because of extra cleaning as I noticed bleach residue on both the pool deck railings and on our balcony railing. As I mentioned in my review, staff served us in the Windjammer until about Wednesday, and the Captain was very straightforward about the fact that doing so was precautionary. He said that if there were no problems, they would discontinue the practice later in the week, which they did. Oh, and there was clear antibacterial gel stuff everywhere--every entrance to every dining venue. The staff was reasonably insistent that it be used.

 

Jim

[Fury1995]

Fantastic review! Very level and balanced. I have been contemplating a cruise on the Legend for quite a while and your input has been very helpful. I've also done the Ariel Trek/Cave Tubing in Belize and had a blast as well. I think we may have differing opinions about Costa Maya though as that has been one of my favorite ports in the Western Caribbean to date. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

[Kathyfm1]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. Read every word.

 

We are sailing Spring Break 4-14-07 on the Legend.

 

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt after the cruise and do not have any transportation arrangements. Do you recall if their were cabs that can take you to the hotels at the Port. I did not make my hotel reservations through RCCL.

[Ohunion Cruzers]

We will be sailing on 02/03. Can you tell us which nights were formal?

 

Did you have to pitch your sneekers because of the mud or was there another reason?

 

Great review.

 

Thanks.

[kazooie11]

Kathy--There will be cabs right outside the TPA port facility to take you back to your hotel after the cruise. Exit the port building and walk to your left. The cab stand is at the end of the sidewalk. Also, check out the recent Legend review by NYC Cruiser as she stayed at the Grand Hyatt and mentions transportation options. Enjoy Spring Break. I think you'll like the Legend.

 

Ohunion Cruzers--Formal nights were Sunday and Wednesday. Sunday is an "at sea" day and Wednesday is Belize. We were going to skip the Wednesday formal night because we figured we'd get back too late from cave tubing/aerial trek, but we had plenty of time as there was little to do at the port in Belize City. As for the sneakers, we'd both brought old pairs of sneakers with the intent of ditching them after that tour. There was a lot of mud and we just didn't want to be bothered having to clean them. Also, I would recommend sneakers over water shoes because I saw many people slipping in the mud in water shoes (and flip flops, but that's another story). Have fun!

 

Jim

[WeLoveOurVacations]

Jim -

Thanks for the review of your Legend trip. We leave on February 10th! We also have arranged a tour with David and Ivan - I was reading that they are meeting people at the pier - was that your experience? Still need to pay $3pp "taxi" fee eventhough you don't take it?

 

You mentioned in GC that you went snorkeling at a particular site that you really enjoyed - do you know which one it was? We are going to Sting Ray City with Capt. Marvin with one snorkeling stop.

 

Looking forward to our trip - all our excursions were planned using CC recommendations!

[kazooie11]

WeLoveOurVacations--Yep, everyone pays the $3 extortion to the local bus/taxi Don. If it's any consolation, you don't have to pay on your way back :) David or Ivan will meet you right behind the tourist village. Follow it around to the right until you get just past the big red building. There's an opening to where your tour will meet. If you can't find it, ask anyone and they'll point the way. Better yet, just look for David...

 

I don't remember the name of the second stop, but the one I was less impressed by was very close to the barrier reef. The tide was very low and it was easy to get hung up on the coral. Also, the current was a lot stronger there, so snorkling required quite a bit of exertion. The stop further inside the "bay" way much more enjoyable.

 

We too planned all of our excursions with the help of our CC colleagues and were very happy with all of them. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Jim