Legend review 3-8-07

[showe0208]

Just got back from our first Carnival cruise aboard the Legend for an Western Itinerary, 8 nights. Loved it. Was the best cruise ever. I had previously cruised on one Princess and two RCCL. My DH and I traveled alone and even had a table alone, though not requested. We thought about moving to a larger table but thought that we might need the time alone. WE both work 9-10 hours a day and even though we are at home every night we seldom have long conversations. It was nice to talk every evening about our day. The Urns were aplenty but didn't bother us.

There was a doowop group on our cruise and I found this group very friendly and fun. I met some nice people. I even did Karoake. I can cross that off my list of things to do now! I had joined the roll call and about twelve of us planned to meet at the lobby bar but only connected with three others. Some I think showed but noone knew who each other was. I found the age of the fellow passengers was a real mix, more towards the age of over 45 which is fine since we fit in the age category of 45-54. There were not many spring breakers on our cruise and if they were, they were with thier parents.

Our Cabin was a balcony, midship on deck 6. The bathroom was the best I've been on. Spacious. I thought. The cabin was a little larger by square feet compared to other lines but it seemed the same to me but plenty of storage and closet space. Great cabin steward.

Dinner in the dining room was better than I expected. Service was great and most nights my selections were very good. I found the Italian dishes were excellent. I think I was least impressed by the desserts but not to say they were bad but I found myself ordering the chocolate melting cake towards the end. The buffets were good. Some days better than others but plenty to chose from. Service was great throughout the cruise in all areas.

The Casino was larger than I expected and I took full advantage of that.

 

First two days at sea were great. We got to explore the ship and is easy to navigate though I still got lost. I get lost in the mall though and yes I am blonde:p I thought there was an adult pool but there were kids in every pool but they were fine. I don't indulge in the hot tubs but did notice kids in all of them. We learned quickly that if you wanted a prime location, you need to be at the pool by 8:30 to get a chair by the pool. Chair hogs were present but I only had to ask some one once if the chair was going to be used. ( it was saved but empty for three hours).

There were two people sharing one chair on the other side of us so I thought we should move to the saved but empty chair. The couple saving the chair for thier teenage son said to take it.

We enjoyed some on board activities.

 

Panama

We took a Carnival excursion to Gatun Locks and Portabello City and It was pretty bad. We started out towards Portabello but half way there we were re-routed to the Locks. Turns out a family was at the Locks waiting to meet up with us??? Anyway the locks were great. Our tour guide was very nice but boring. On the way to Portabello city I fell asleep during her talks. I woke up and noticed all the people around me were also sleeping. We finally got to Portabello City and there was a triathalon going on that day. The guide didn't want us to wander on our own so we just kind of stood around for two hours. We actually felt uncomfortable. Seemed like the guide was aslo afraid for us? The Panama we saw was filthy. Trash lined the street and beaches. I have traveled to poor destinations but never saw anything quite so dirty. This was a five hour tour and they did'nt give us a lunch break but did give us a dry muffin and a botte of water on the way back. Actually they were short on water so we were asked to share with other passengers. Not the same bottle but if a couple was together, could they share one bottle instead of one each. Of course we did. I had read about bringing room service sandwiched with us but also heard that it is not allowed so we did'nt. I will write Uncle Bob about this excursion becasue they contract our the tours and this was awful.

Other passengers had great tours through off ship excursions.

 

It gets better- more tommorrow...

Susan

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thanks for your review, look forward to reading the rest of it :)

[bkozer1]

THANK YOU

We will be on that ship in 6 days.

[rucruizin]

THANK YOU

We will be on that ship in 6 days.

 

BK, where is that flaming 6!!!:D

[showe0208]

Costa Rica

 

WE chose to zipline with Oscar Brown tours. There were about 22 of us total and 6 of us in one van. One of the couples we found were part of our twelve that were supposed to meet from cruise critics. WE got of to a late start. The time changed during the night and there was confusion at the pier. Oscar went in one van and Denny was our guide.We finally got on our way. The countryside was clean and beautiful. WE stopped by a local man's house and he offered us bannanas and showed us a sloth. I got to hold it and got great pictures.The sloth just kind of hung there and moved slowly. There were also badger type animals. I forget what the name was but one of then jumped on my back.:eek: The man pulled it off me and all was ok. I wish I got some pictures of that. When we arrived at the ziplining location, we were suited up and given brief instruction. After a beer provided by the tour operator, we were nervous but ready. We took tractor type of thing up the mountain and saw some of the most interesting frogs and spider and plants. Truly an amazing rain forest. We saw the cables we would be going down and they were really high. We all just looked at each other and my husband said " what the hell did you get me into". We finally arrived at the top and said our prayers and went for it. We were over 1000 feet high. After the initial shock it was great. There were about 6 platforms and it went fast. It felt very safe and it was the highlight of our trip. When we were done the six of us decided to go to a local restaurant. Denny suggested a great place. We overlooked the village and could see our ship from where we ate. I highly recommend this tour. We saved about $100.00 per person by booking on our own. I was worried about getting back to the ship on time but the tour operators know that their reputations are at stake if they don't get you back on time. I liked Costa Rica and would visit again.

 

Another day at sea and enjoyed the pools, casino, food ect. We also enjoy our afternoon nap.

 

Belize

 

We booked the private island beach break through Carnival.

The cost was 45.oo per person and this included one rum punch drink. We got on the tender at 9:15 and arrived at Bannister Caye fifteen minutes later. It was a beautiful beach. There were chairs, huts , bar and restaurant. There was also two small gift shops. I love the beach so this was a great day for me. You could rent paddle boats or kayaks but I just wanted to soak up the sun. The mats to float on were free. I would suggest going to this island early. We were the first tender to arrive so we had our pick of chairs, mats and locations. Tenders kept coming and some people had no chairs, mats etc. Another great day in paradise!

 

Last sea day and packing up day. Time went so fast. I was not ready to go yet. Had another great day even though we didn't win at bingo.

 

Embarkation was a breeze as was disembarkation. All in all it was a great cruise. Our precruise hotel stay was cancelled due to an error on thier part but they put us at another LaQuinta and I was not impressed.

 

I would definatley cruise Carnival agian. The crew was always smiling and helpful. There were the normal amount of pushy and complaining people but I actually had a better time on this cruise than my previous cruises with RCCL. I'm already researching my next cruise!:)

Susan

[rucruizin]

Thank you so much for your review. This was very helpful information, not too much, not too little. WE will be leaving in just a few days, and you have answered several of our questions.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed Carnival. I've sailed with RCCL, and Princess and I just love Carnival. They have changed the menu's somewhat, and I even commented to my husband, "what the heck happened to the desserts?" They have seriously decreased the # of options. Oh well, I guess that means I will order one, or none instead of 3, or 4:o

[bkozer1]

DESSERT! not just ONE!