Back from 7/26 Legend sailing

[Jett456]

OK I'm home and semi-unpacked. The cruise turned out very nice despite having starting out so poorly. We didn't get on the ship till 10:30. What do you think everyone wanted to do first? Right, eat! Picture 2000 people on the Lido deck. It was chaos. Carnival should have foreseen this would happen and opened the dining room. They could have had a buffet going down there and announced it. They could have split us all up by deck. The lines were so long and after standing on lines all afternoon many people were unhappy to say the least. I only waited in the Terminal from 8:00pm Some people were there from the afternoon. A few said they didn't even get a phone call telling them about the delay. The next day we had a muster drill at 9:30am. Where do you think everyone went after that? Right, to breakfast. The lines and chaos all over again. Of course the dining room was closed. Pretty dumb in my opinion. The gala buffet in the dining room had a 45min line. At 1:30 am there was still a long line. Is it like that on other Carnival cruises? My DH was pissed I made him wait on it. The food wasn't anything special. Just more of the same and what was special they ran out of before I got there. Lots of grumbling all around and much displeasure with the measly $20pp we were allowed for our day and lunch. I was lead to believe on the phone beforehand that Carnival was going to do something extra but they decided not to. We lost out on three hours in San Juan so it was a waste. We got to walk around in the dark and shop then we went to Senor Frogs for drinking. That was fun. Carnival made a big deal out of saying they were extending our stay in St. Thomas by two hours. So instead of leaving at 6 we left at 8. I would have been happier if we stayed in Tortola for a few more hours and got back a little later to NY. But of course this would delay the next cruise so that didn't happen. Everyone was sympathetic to the heart attack victim but things were not handled well by Carnival. They should be better prepared for delays like this and find a way to keep everyone happy. An open bar upon arrival would have made all the difference.

 

We had terrific weather and smooth sailing so I'm happy about that. Would I do this particular itinerary again? Probably not, the sea days were too long for me. Some others on the ship felt the same way. Would I sail Carnival again? Probably but not for awhile. I thought the food was just ok, dinner service was great (Earl and Shawn were terrific), the dancing shows near to excellent. They work really hard. The activities were good, lots to do if you wanted to. I did use the gym and took some aerobic classes. The instructors were very good. The inroom movies were lousy and they don't have a theatre either. There were lots of kids onboard and most were well-behaved. The Legend is a beautiful ship with lots of positives but I agree with the thread about the cigar bar. I am a sometime social smoker so I can see both sides and I feel that the cigar bar should be in a room with a door. Why should non-smokers even have to walk through it. They even have arts and crafts in there in the morning. Whose bright idea was that? They could use Satchmos or the Fireside Lounge as a smoking club with cigars. I didn't notice a lot of smoking elsewhere. There are restricted areas and most people followed the rules. Those that didn't were spoken to by security. I was glad to see the kids asked the leave the adult pool and hot tub. They could have had a band or louder music back there. It was a little too quiet. The worst vibrations I felt was all the way Aft in the Truffles restaurant and the entry way to the Fireside Lounge (down the stairs) That was some serious vibrations. Anyway that's it until my next cruise.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Thanks for the review!

 

We went to the GALA BUFFET only ONCE... that was enough... same as you encountered.. long slow lines, only to finally get there and find everything picked over...! Never again...

 

Can't wait until THANKSGIVING - on the Legend!

 

 

Tom

[Jett456]

I don't think I'l do a midnight buffet again either. The TexMex one was ok and fun but the food was a bit soggy and cold by the time we got to it. I guess it depends on how hungry you are whether or not you think the food is good.

[MissLil]

I was also on the 7/26 cruise and you said it beautifully. I was very unhappy with the cruise for many reasons . This was my 5 cruise, 1st with CCL and the LAST. Everything is better on the other cruise lines. ( we were returning to San Juan for our 40 annv. but could not return to the beach we visited on our honeymoon)

[Tropicalconcrete]

I'm glad to see that it wasn't just me and my cruise on the Triumph. Seems like there is a common song being sung lately about Carnival quality. Hum?

[dolfinmusic]

I don't think I would ever do the Gala Buffet again either - I remember starting out in line but was like - forget it! I actually ended up on the second level and was able to observe from there - which was fine with me!