Carnival Legend Review Oct 21-28 - Very Long

[Ms Belvedere]

We drove to Hyatt in Dulles on Friday, 19 October, they have a park and fly package where you park for free for up to two weeks with a shuttle to and from the airport. The next day we headed to the airport and flew United to Tampa, it was a cattle call, horrible airline, but we were on vacation and didn’t mind too much! Got to Tampa and hailed a cab to the Grand Hyatt Tampa, 26.00 cab ride, tip is extra. We got the Grand Hyatt on Priceline for 66.00 and it was alright, we either had a 3 block walk to the Trolley or had to take a cab anywhere we wanted to go. We did find out later that there is a shuttle at the entrance by the front desk that will take you to Publix for $5.00. The Westin shuttle was in the Publix parking lot, too. Someone else buying beer and wine before the cruise? We bought salads and sandwiches and took them back to the hotel, up to the pool and had dinner, with wine, under the stars. Very different and surprisingly romantic. :)

 

Next day was cruise day and we were ready! Took the shuttle to the port at 10:20 for $7.00, another couple went with us and we talked to them along the way. Turns out they were first time cruisers and we saw them frequently during the cruise. We were on the ship by 11:00 and touring around, a few weddings were taking place and the guests were there along with the usual crowd of Travel Agents wandering around.

 

After snacking on some Asian food we headed to our room, they weren’t finished cleaning them yet but our room was ready and we talked to our steward, Ketut, and dropped our bags. We had an 8A and were bumped to an extended balcony on the Verandah deck, 7200 by our excellent PVP. Very good location, close to stairs, elevators, center of the ship and the laundry was nearby. Ketut was an excellent Room Steward and we tried to make his job easier by keeping things up and out of the way.

 

A few weeks ago I read a review where someone had Remberto for a Head Waiter, I knew it had to be the same Remberto who was our Assistant Waiter 11 years ago on our first cruise, Celebration. I brought a picture of him along and wanted to give it to him so we headed back to Lido to ask if anyone knew him, of course they knew him! A great guy, just like he was back when we first met him, BUT, he got off the ship two weeks ago for his vacation. :( We were very disappointed but it gave the Lido deck staff something to talk about, I told them about how Remberto used to dance the Forbidden Dance and they said they loved to work with him. I really hope that we’re lucky enough to see him on a future cruise and am thankful that someone posted his name, I would never have guessed he was still working for Carnival.

 

I’ll try to cut to the highlights now since we did the things that all cruisers do, looked for our dining room table, went to the casino and walked up and down halls looking into the rooms to see what the suites and aft balconies looked like. We had a drink in the atrium and watched people coming on board, it rained for sail-away and began to rain again as we went under the bridge but we still stood on deck and watched.

 

At dinner we had Donavan, Head Waiter, and Alex, his assistant. Donavan was not much fun and Alex was trying, but over all, we’ve had better servers. Donavan sort of tossed our utensils on the table between courses, like you’d do with a piece of lint you just pulled out of your pocket. DH asked for butter for his baked potato and Donavan just pointed at the little dish we’re given for rolls and without saying a word, walked on to the next table. :eek: Honest to God, we are some of the easiest going people you’ve ever come across and we laughed about it since it’s such a far cry from how servers usually treat you on a cruise. We wondered what the other tables thought about him but let it go and enjoyed our meals.

 

I noticed that either Donavan brought me the smallest lobster he could find in the kitchen or the lobsters are getting smaller, I swear mine was only about 4 oz. It was okay, I always over eat and it was just enough to enjoy without getting too full, but if you want a lot of lobster, be prepared. Maybe ask your waiter to bring you the biggest he/she can find.

 

For the evening entertainment we went to Satchmos to hear Music Network, they were excellent, and many people were up dancing when they played. We saw some officers come in, too. so they must know where the good bands are playing. The officers were drinking Miami Vices. The music all over the ship was very good to excellent, David who plays bass in the orchestra stopped to talk to us one day and said that Carnival is cutting back on their music, others have reported that on Cruise Critic already. He said they’re going to try to go to a 5 piece orchestra, cut out the bass section and use canned music to fill in. The final decision will be made at a Board Meeting in December.

 

The casino didn’t pay squat all week, I asked the singer at the bar to sing Johnny Cash’s "Burning Ring of Fire" in honor of my losses. Even that didn’t change my luck, but towards the end of the cruise I did hit for $200.00 and paid the S&S down, it ended up being $453.00. We had the internet on the bill, about 35.00, along with a 90.00 + tip shave for DH and a 65.00 + tip pedicure for moi. Neither one of us would do it again but it was fun to try the Spa services. DH said for the price he’d rather have a massage next time.

 

On Friday there is an Internet Extravaganza where you bring your receipts from Bingo, the Spa, Shore Excursions or the Gift Shop and they'll double your internet minutes in the internet cafe. So wait until Friday and then do the By-the-Minute and you'll get twice as much time on the net. Keep in mind it's a slow connection, like a dial up. The details will be in the Capers so keep an eye out for it.

 

Deck 10 above the main pool area had seating available both days at sea up until about 10:00 am, then it filled up quickly. Bring clothes pins to hold your towels to your deck chair. We saw kids in the hot tubs, kids occasionally dove into the pools, children ran around other pax with no parent reigning them in. But there were no serious injuries and we ignored it for the most part.

 

The slide looks bigger on this ship but it didn’t work very well, even when I swung around the bar at the top to propel down I still got hung up after about the second turn and had to push myself to keep going. Now I’m not a big person but there’s something wrong with that – LOL. I had to ask one of the kids what the trick is, she said you have to swing around the bar to get going fast, then lean back on your back and pull your knees up to your chin through the first few turns, then stretch out long with your arms above your head for the rest of the ride. I was laughing out loud and she was, too. Good times! :D

 

Hot dogs are always delicious and the fries, deli sandwiches and pizza are just as good as we remembered. The salad bar didn’t have a lot of variety but there is plenty of food to keep everyone happy. They have egg white omelettes in the morning.

 

There were never any long lines anywhere on the ship, the sign on the purser’s desk said the ship was full but it certainly didn’t seem like it. Many, many first time cruisers and it was fun to talk to them and hear what they thought of the cruise. No obnoxious drunks, no running in the halls at night and we liked that there was a very wide range of ages on board. We had breakfast in the dining room twice, once for the Belgian waffles and once for the Eggs Benedict. Guess who our server was the first time? Kheeeee, yep. :rolleyes: We wondered if anyone has ever brought a bottle of Champagne or Asti Spumante to breakfast and asked for a pitcher of orange juice to make Mimosas?

 

One night we went to the Golden Fleece for drinks and to see if they offer any food at the bar, maybe Beluga Caviar, a shrimp cocktail, or some little chef’s delight, anything? But no, the waiter said he’d ask the chef (I guess he has total control up there) if we could have Beluga Caviar but I told him no, we were just asking. I’d be willing to pay for a little bit of something different at the supper club if you could sit at the bar and nibble, the music there is always very good. So DH had a glass of port and I had a glass of wine. The same Officers we saw in Satchmos were having dinner, it was late in the evening and the singer was just swaying back and forth smiling while her partner played the guitar or keyboard. Very civilized.

 

On the last day we stayed on the ship, in the Lido area people watching and just relaxing. No one kicked us out and we stayed until about a quarter till 10:00 before they announced that everyone had to be off the ship. We took a taxi to the Crown Plaza, 25.00, we had a free night and they offer a free shuttle to the airport. They also took us to the Bradentown Town Mall and we walked around there for a while, ate at the Cheesecake Factory then called the shuttle to pick us up.

 

The next day we headed to the airport to begin a long day of sitting around waiting for a delayed flight to take us back to Dulles. Now here’s a tip. If you ever find yourself in the Tampa Airport with a long delay or wait, head to the Airport Marriott right there in the terminal. They have beautiful, comfortable furniture with nice views to sit and read either inside or outside. Walk past the front desk and keep going, it’s a large oval that goes past the Ballrooms and meeting rooms, very nice restrooms and there’s even a pool that you could change in the restroom and go out and use. There was one family using the pool and hot tub. They also have a snack bar with sandwiches for 6.50 and Chicken Caesar salads for 7.00, the best buy was a large container of fruit for 3.00. You can take it out by the pool and eat, for hotel/airport food it was very good. This is a good tip for either the Orlando and Miami airports, too. We always look for the hotel in the airport for comfortable waiting rather than sitting in those hard seats out with the masses. Orlando has big screen TVs and nice sofas, just ride the escalator to the second floor.

 

I won’t get into what we did in port, this is long enough, but overall we’d sail this same itinerary tomorrow if we had the time. The ship is beautiful and clean, nice people working on her, great food we always enjoy, and we had a Fun Relaxing Cruise! Tomorrow is unpacking and laundry day, then restocking the bags for our next vacation. ;)

If anyone has any questions, I’ll gladly try to answer them.

Ms B

[retnav94]

We are sailing on the Legend in December and have heard nothing but good things about her. How were the seas for the cruise? I am retired Navy and am actually looking forward to being at sea again. My wife did get a little ill on the last night of a cruise we did in 1990 out of Los Angeles. We plan on getting some ginger pills just in case. We have a midships balcony cabin booked so I hope that helps. Again thanks for the review.

[Ms Belvedere]

We are sailing on the Legend in December and have heard nothing but good things about her. How were the seas for the cruise? I am retired Navy and am actually looking forward to being at sea again. My wife did get a little ill on the last night of a cruise we did in 1990 out of Los Angeles. We plan on getting some ginger pills just in case. We have a midships balcony cabin booked so I hope that helps. Again thanks for the review.

 

The seas were a little rocky at times, usually when Cpt Roberto kicked up the speed at night. Of course that makes sleeping very easy. During the day it was pretty smooth. On the last day at sea he was moving along at 19 knots and at night, faster. Roatan is farther away than Costa Maya and he wanted to get back to the port in time. At least that's what the staff told us. Overall I never noticed any problems, I wish, just once, that we'd have some rough seas for a change. :D Midship is perfect, you're close to the elevators, Purser's desk, and it's easy to navigate your way around the ship. Have a wonderful cruise, we really enjoyed the Legend!

[stephuney]

Ms Belvedere ... thanks for posting your review ... I want to read it, but I have to wait until I'm not so tired ... will save it for tomorrow! I love reading reviews on the Legend ... I've 239 days before I get sail on her!

[Ms Belvedere]

Ms Belvedere ... thanks for posting your review ... I want to read it, but I have to wait until I'm not so tired ... will save it for tomorrow! I love reading reviews on the Legend ... I've 239 days before I get sail on her!

That will be here before you know it! In the meantime you can pack and repack - LOL

[chitown cruisers]

I'm a big guy myself and also was stuck on the slide(Miracle) in the first turn.....I even yelled up to the guy to turn up the water pressure LOL

 

On the third attempt another guy told me the secret..........lay flat feet first and as you go put pressure on your heels and shoulders arching your back lifting your rear off of the slide................I was like a freaking rocket!! one time I made it on to the stairs.

[Ms Belvedere]

I'm a big guy myself and also was stuck on the slide(Miracle) in the first turn.....I even yelled up to the guy to turn up the water pressure LOL

 

On the third attempt another guy told me the secret..........lay flat feet first and as you go put pressure on your heels and shoulders arching your back lifting your rear off of the slide................I was like a freaking rocket!! one time I made it on to the stairs.

 

I'll keep these instructions for our next cruise - haha! Wonder if the water pressure is the problem?

[Ltvscout]

On the third attempt another guy told me the secret..........lay flat feet first and as you go put pressure on your heels and shoulders arching your back lifting your rear off of the slide................I was like a freaking rocket!! one time I made it on to the stairs.

Thanks for the tip! I never went down the slide on the Miracle because I heard you'd go slow or get stuck. Now I can rocket down the Legend slide in March. :D

 

P.S.- I loved your Miracle review with all the pictures added to it. Great job!

[mafig]

Ms B thank you for your review.

 

I notice that you posted a review of your time in Roatan on the Roatan board and they moved it!:confused: Do you know where I could find it?

[Ltvscout]

Ms B thank you for your review.

 

I notice that you posted a review of your time in Roatan on the Roatan board and they moved it!:confused: Do you know where I could find it?

Here's a copy of the one she had on the Roatan board posted on this board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=652436

 

It appears they moved her post on the Roatan board by merging it into a different thread found here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=621237

[mafig]

thanks:)

[Ms Belvedere]

Here's a copy of the one she had on the Roatan board posted on this board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=652436

It appears they moved her post on the Roatan board by merging it into a different thread found here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=621237

 

Thanks Ltvscout.

I just didn't have time to post a full review after we got back, I started a new job on Tuesday and it's been non-stop work all week. What a way to destroy that post-cruise relaxed feeling! :(

 

In Grand Cayman we just got off the ship and walked through some stores then had lunch at Breezes. They've changed the menu but it's still a nice place to eat, not commercialized like Margaritaville. One of these trips we'll snorkel and swim with the stingrays in GC

 

Cozumel we walked downtown and bought Taquitas from a street vendor, we sat on the sea wall eating them and watching the cruisers walk around. We stopped to see a fisherman selling fresh fish to restaurant owners. The fish were just caught that morning and looked like they'd make a delicious meal. Then we walked up an alleyway and bought some silver earrings and had shots of tequila from a little bar beside a swimming pool. It was really windy and we were debating going to the beach. After about an hour we hailed a cab and went to Paradise Beach to see our favorite waiter, Luis. What a character, he's a nice guy and brought us buckets of Corona.

 

We got off the ship early in Belize and went to the Pharmacy for amoxicillin, 30 for 8.00, and topical penicillin, 2.00 (good for papercuts). Then I mentioned to one of the tour guides that we'd like to find Reggie for cave tubing. A young guy came up to us and led us out the gate to the Xtreme Cave Tubing Hut and we signed up to go with them, 65.00 pp. There were 6 other people waiting to go, they had bought on-line for 100.00 both the cave tubing and zip lining. JD and King David were our guides, it was a long ride up in a van but we were so glad we hadn't gone with a big group. Once we got to the mountain, the other 6 people went with JD to the zip lining and we went with King David to the top of the mountain to the caves.

 

On the way up the mountain he gave us an extensive lesson on the vegetation around us and the history of the local Mayans. The tour guides are tightly regulated and have to take a $600.00/ 3 month training course to be licensed guides. King David was excellent.

 

After walking for 40 mins to the top of the mountain and seeing 2 large groups of fellow tubers we got to the top. This was one of the best excursions we've ever been on due to it being so personalized. As we walked up the mountain and listened to David we noticed people from the other groups slowing down to listen to our tour!

 

David took us through two long caves pointing out the waterfalls and many formations, whirlpools, and other interesting features of the caves. We finally ended up back where we had started and headed back to the van. He had freshly cut pineapple, papaya and watermelon for us along with bananas and water. We munched and talked while waiting for the other 6 to rejoin us. When they finally came back we headed back to the port, stopping along the way at a local restaurant for lunch. Chicken, cole slaw, rice and beans tasted like a feast, we were really hungry after floating through the caves! Then it was back to the port for a few mins of shopping before hopping on the tender back to the Legend.

 

Our last port was Roatan and my review of Zip Lining with Pirates of the Caribbean is in the link above that Ltvscout posted.

Ms B

[Ltvscout]

Thanks Ltvscout.

No problemo. ;)

We got off the ship early in Belize and went to the Pharmacy for amoxicillin, 30 for 8.00, and topical penicillin, 2.00 (good for papercuts).

I'm assuming this pharmacy is in the gated tourist area? Whereabout in that area is it? I'd like to stop by and pick up some of that stuff as well.

 

We used Yhony with cave-tubing.com the last time in Belize and will be using him again this Spring. We had a great time with them. Like the people you used our guide also explained what we were seeing on the walk up to the caves. He would feed us various edible fruits/vegetation along the way that he'd pick. He even dug into a termite mound so we could eat some termites. They taste minty!

[Ms Belvedere]

No problemo. ;)

 

I'm assuming this pharmacy is in the gated tourist area? Whereabout in that area is it? I'd like to stop by and pick up some of that stuff as well.

 

We used Yhony with cave-tubing.com the last time in Belize and will be using him again this Spring. We had a great time with them. Like the people you used our guide also explained what we were seeing on the walk up to the caves. He would feed us various edible fruits/vegetation along the way that he'd pick. He even dug into a termite mound so we could eat some termites. They taste minty!

 

Yes, there are three pharmacies on the dock in Belize, all owned by the same woman. Her name is Laura, she's an American licensed in Louisiana. She also sells tubes of topical tetracycline for 3.00 that are good to keep in a medicine kit. I used to buy my birth control pills there and they worked fine. ;) She sells all kinds of drugs over the counter that you need a prescrip for in the US.

 

We may try Yhonny next time, we like to spread the wealth when we go to the ports. :)

[Ltvscout]

Yes, there are three pharmacies on the dock in Belize, all owned by the same woman. Her name is Laura, she's an American licensed in Louisiana. She also sells tubes of topical tetracycline for 3.00 that are good to keep in a medicine kit. I used to buy my birth control pills there and they worked fine. ;) She sells all kinds of drugs over the counter that you need a prescrip for in the US.

Thanks for the info.

[keishashadow]

thanks for the review!:)

 

no fun to have a waiter just going thru the motions though.:mad: I told DH he could ask for 2 or 3 lobsters as long as he ate them...hope it's still okay?

[Ms Belvedere]

Thanks for the info.

 

The one we went to was right off the dock down a short hallway and on the left. It's the original and the woman at the counter told us there were two more. We saw one more as we walked around a little so they won't be hard to find.

HTH!

[Ms Belvedere]

thanks for the review!:)

 

no fun to have a waiter just going thru the motions though.:mad: I told DH he could ask for 2 or 3 lobsters as long as he ate them...hope it's still okay?

Yes, he should order as many as he wants, it never hurts to have more! I'm still debating writing a letter, it depends on how much energy I feel like putting into it. :)

[stephuney]

Well Ms B ... I finally read it ... and thanks so much for sharing that with us! I enjoyed your review!

[Ms Belvedere]

Well Ms B ... I finally read it ... and thanks so much for sharing that with us! I enjoyed your review!

 

Thank you for reading it, I just finished going through the pictures and will try to post them either here or on Webshots. I'm surprised at how well the Ziplining pics turned out since it was pouring down rain a lot of the time. :D

Ms B

[45014]

Ms. Belvedere,

How did you enjoy the Enchanted Forest? What a waste of space, in my opinion. I could think of alot better use for that area.

We were on the Legend in Feb. of this year and absolutly loved it.

[Ms Belvedere]

Ms. Belvedere,

How did you enjoy the Enchanted Forest? What a waste of space, in my opinion. I could think of alot better use for that area.

We were on the Legend in Feb. of this year and absolutly loved it.

 

I have to agree, it'a a cute space but oddly located,they have something similar on the Miracle. We did find the crew entrance to the front of the ship in the Enchanted Forest, the door was open and says CREW ONLY, you go through the door and up a little two-step stool and out the door!

[Guest Mary49]

For the evening entertainment we went to Satchmos to hear Music Network, they were excellent, and many people were up dancing when they played. We saw some officers come in, too. so they must know where the good bands are playing. The officers were drinking Miami Vices. The music all over the ship was very good to excellent, David who plays bass in the orchestra stopped to talk to us one day and said that Carnival is cutting back on their music, others have reported that on Cruise Critic already. He said they’re going to try to go to a 5 piece orchestra, cut out the bass section and use canned music to fill in. The final decision will be made at a Board Meeting in December.

Ms B

 

 

Oh I hope not. Would that mean all those Music Groups like Music Network, Music Boardwalk, etc. would not be working for Carnival anymore??? I hope that dosen't happen. Thanks Mary49

[Ms Belvedere]

Oh I hope not. Would that mean all those Music Groups like Music Network, Music Boardwalk, etc. would not be working for Carnival anymore??? I hope that dosen't happen. Thanks Mary49

 

David was only talking about the orchestra but it could mean other music venues, too. I really don't think they can cut out the music in the evenings too much, they don't have all that many places now, maybe 5, to hear live music. The Casino Keyboardist, Jazz Band, Sing Along Piano player, 3 Piece Classical....

 

We've noticed that the Reggae bands by the pools don't play as much as they used to. They would play in the morning beginning at about 10:00 when we first started cruising.

[LHP]

Great review...I don't know where my brain was. I wish I had realized you were headed out on the Legend. Michael was in the piano bar on your cruise. He is a truly nice guy. I am jealous!!!

 

BTW, here is a blog where you can keep up with what is going on with John!

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2007/11/02/miami-nice/#more-1853