Ledend review 12/16/07. Long

[emttl73]

I sent in my review for the cruise we took last month. I wanted to share it because we had such a good time. The only thing I forgot was to write about the entertainment. We went to the comedy shows and the adult comedy shows and enjoyed all of them. If anyone has any questions about the Legend or the cruise feel free to email me at emttl@aol.com.

 

My fiancée and I were on the Legend 12/16-12/23. It was my 7th cruise (5 Carnival, 1 RCCL and 1 Celebrity) and my fiancée’s 1st ( He proposed on the first formal night on the balcony!). We flew into Tampa on Saturday and stayed at the Sheraton Riverview. I had points on my Starwood credit card and paid $16.00 for a suite overlooking the river. We returned the rental car to Alamo and took the shuttle to the cruise terminal. If you rent a car before the cruise you can get the rental car shuttle to the cruise and they will take you to the airport after the cruise.

I smashed my foot two days before leaving and had to use crutches for the first part of the trip. A porter met us at the shuttle and took our bags and right away got a guy with a wheelchair for me. They moved us right through in the VIP line and we were in our room in less than 10 minutes. Then up to the Lido deck for lunch. Lunch was wonderful.

My fiancée was in awe of the ship. He was so surprised how big it was. We both like the décor, we didn’t feel it was too gaudy at all. Our room was great. Plenty of room for the two of us. We were in 6194 with a balcony and have no complaints what so ever about it. We took a nap and went to the lifeboat drill. They let me stand near the door and we were allowed to leave early because of the crutches. I have to say Carnival was very accommodating with me being on crutches. Our bags were delivered and we unpacked and stored our luggage under the bed. We stood on our balcony and enjoyed the ride as we left port. At 6:30 we went up on deck 11 to watch the Skyway bridge as we went underneath. They make us go down a deck because it was so windy. That was really cool. The clearance seems so close to the ship. We went to the dining room and found our table. It was a 6 person but no one else came the first night. Gerson and Oleana were our wait staff.

I think the food on this ship was better than any of the other cruises I’ve been on. My fiancée was also very pleased. The Lido deck breakfast was good. I wished the served the little hash brown things that they serve in the dining room though. The Lido lunches were great. Huge variety, the lines weren’t too long. The only thing I would want is bigger glasses for the tea and lemonade. The hot chocolate in the machine on the Lido deck is the best I have ever had! We ate dinner on the Lido deck on the last formal night. It was the first formal night ever I have skipped but I didn’t feel like getting into my dress and pantyhose. The food was good, not as much variety as lunch but good. We ate breakfast in the dining room once and it was very good. If you like smoked salmon, it’s good from all the food places. We really enjoyed the dining room food and staff. We also got really nice table mates. We had the chocolate melting cake everynight. It’s sooooo good. Not really consistant, some nights it’s runnier than others but the flavor is the same. The prime rib is actually better in the dining room than the Supper club. Plus, they serve it twice. The supper club was amazing. It took about 2 hours and worth every penny and minute. Room service was very good and prompt. I had to order ice for my foot a couple times and they brought it in zip lock bags. I love the shrimp salad sandwich, and I ordered the cookie brownie plate with only chocolate chip cookies. They are my favorite cookies ever!

This was a trip for relaxation and did we relax. We played a little bingo on sea days (Monday and Saturday), took naps, ate, napped, ate, napped…you get the picture. We didn’t use the pools or play pool games. We spent a lot of time with each other on the balcony or in our room. It was very rocky the first day and a half but hey…we are in the ocean.

The spa staff was very friendly and helpful. I booked an appointment on our first formal night to get my hair done. The guy did a wonderful job. He made a flower shape updo in the back. When I got back to the room and got ready my fiancée asked me to come out to the balcony and asked me to marry him and gave me a very nice ring. Of course I said YES! A couple days later my nail polish was chipping and I wanted to remove it so I looked good when I showed people my ring. I ran down to the Spa and asked if they could give me a little nail polish remover. I told them the engagement story and they were all gushing over me. They gave me the remover and I took care of my nails and they didn’t charge me.

I have never bought photos on a cruise before but this time we spent a ton of money in the photo shop. We bought 10 pictures from the formal night. We loved the pictures! It’s very pricy but they did a good job.

The first stop was Grand Cayman. We book our Stingray and reef tour with Carnival. It was so choppy it was very hard to snorkel. My finacee had never been snorkeling before and hated the trip. But I asked him to keep an open mind because I have never seen waves like that at Stingray city and I really think he would have loved it. We went back to the ship after the tour to put my foot up and didn’t get to see the island.

Cozumel was the second stop. We didn’t plan anything. We got off the ship and took a taxi to downtown. I love Pancho’s Backyard for lunch so we ate there. Wonderful food, the wait staff is so friendly and there is a Mariachi band for the music. We walked around downtown and bought some souvenirs. We took the taxi back to the ship. I think the taxi is $6 each way. You really need to take the taxi because it’s too long of a walk if you dock at the docking pier.

Belize was beautiful. We booked the river boat and Mayan ruins tour with carnival. We saw Crocs, Monkeys, Iguana, different birds on the river. We ate lunch at a local resort. They served traditional Belizean food and it was very good. The bus picked us up and took us to the ruins. The ruins were really neat. My fiancée got to climb to the top of one of them. He was so excited. By the time we got back to the dock it was time for the last tender. The tender is a long one but it really didn’t bother me.

When I found out they changed Costa Maya to Roatan I really expected Roatan to be a dump and hate it. It had it’s poor sections but the island is so beautiful! The ship docks at a small pier and all the buses were very close. We scheduled a beach day at Tabyana beach. We took a bus there, a guy met us at the entrance and explained where everything was, we bought a camera and headed to the beach. A security guy met us at the beach and asked if we wanted chairs. He grabbed two chairs, put them where we wanted and wiped them off. They had vendors at one end of the beach and they weren’t pushy at all and stayed in their spot. We got in the water and decided to rent one set of snorkel gear because my fiancée thought he hated snorkeling. I got him to try it in the calm water and he loved it. We rented a second set and went out onto the reef. It was the most beautiful I have ever snorkeled! We had such a great time there. We didn’t want to go. The bus ride there and back are amazing. Next time we want to see more of the island.

We booked all the tours through Carnival. You pay more but if something happens like a breakdown or accident during the trip and you are late getting back to the ship they will wait for you. If you book on your own and you are late…well we’ll see you in the next port. I almost missed a ship one year because of a breakdown. The gangway was pulled and they didn’t want to let us on. I got on but it was close. In Belize this trip we met a family from a RCCL cruise that hired a tour guide and the van broke down at the ruins. They were late and had no ride to get to the ship. We squeezed them in our bus and we aren’t sure if they got on their ship or not. I will pay more for the peace of mind.

I forgot about our room steward. Ketut was our room steward. He was so nice. Every night on our way to dinner he would say hi. Our room was made up twice a day, a towel animal each night and the ice bucket was always full. I tipped him at the beginning and the end of the cruise.

Getting off the ship was so easy. We were off the ship, had our luggage and on our shuttle in 15 minutes after our color was called.

Overall this was the best cruise I have ever been on. I had vowed after a horrible cruise out of Miami on (I think) the Fascination I would never cruise Carnival again. They won me back and we are going on another this October for our Honeymoon. Just remember, no cruise will be “perfect” and roll with the punches.

[NCTribeFan]

Congratulations!

 

And thanks for the review. I'm since having my internal debate between Legend and Victory for next December.

[pacerzfan]

Congratulations, emttl73! And thank you for the review.

[CBussey64]

Great, thanks for the review. We sail Legend (First Cruise) in 34 days. :D

[NIKIcruiser]

I sent in my review for the cruise we took last month. I wanted to share it because we had such a good time. The only thing I forgot was to write about the entertainment. We went to the comedy shows and the adult comedy shows and enjoyed all of them. If anyone has any questions about the Legend or the cruise feel free to email me at emttl@aol.com.

 

My fiancée and I were on the Legend 12/16-12/23. It was my 7th cruise (5 Carnival, 1 RCCL and 1 Celebrity) and my fiancée’s 1st ( He proposed on the first formal night on the balcony!). We flew into Tampa on Saturday and stayed at the Sheraton Riverview. I had points on my Starwood credit card and paid $16.00 for a suite overlooking the river. We returned the rental car to Alamo and took the shuttle to the cruise terminal. If you rent a car before the cruise you can get the rental car shuttle to the cruise and they will take you to the airport after the cruise.

I smashed my foot two days before leaving and had to use crutches for the first part of the trip. A porter met us at the shuttle and took our bags and right away got a guy with a wheelchair for me. They moved us right through in the VIP line and we were in our room in less than 10 minutes. Then up to the Lido deck for lunch. Lunch was wonderful.

 

My fiancée was in awe of the ship. He was so surprised how big it was. We both like the décor, we didn’t feel it was too gaudy at all. Our room was great. Plenty of room for the two of us. We were in 6194 with a balcony and have no complaints what so ever about it. We took a nap and went to the lifeboat drill. They let me stand near the door and we were allowed to leave early because of the crutches. I have to say Carnival was very accommodating with me being on crutches. Our bags were delivered and we unpacked and stored our luggage under the bed. We stood on our balcony and enjoyed the ride as we left port. At 6:30 we went up on deck 11 to watch the Skyway bridge as we went underneath. They make us go down a deck because it was so windy. That was really cool. The clearance seems so close to the ship. We went to the dining room and found our table. It was a 6 person but no one else came the first night. Gerson and Oleana were our wait staff.

 

I think the food on this ship was better than any of the other cruises I’ve been on. My fiancée was also very pleased. The Lido deck breakfast was good. I wished the served the little hash brown things that they serve in the dining room though. The Lido lunches were great. Huge variety, the lines weren’t too long. The only thing I would want is bigger glasses for the tea and lemonade. The hot chocolate in the machine on the Lido deck is the best I have ever had! We ate dinner on the Lido deck on the last formal night. It was the first formal night ever I have skipped but I didn’t feel like getting into my dress and pantyhose. The food was good, not as much variety as lunch but good. We ate breakfast in the dining room once and it was very good. If you like smoked salmon, it’s good from all the food places. We really enjoyed the dining room food and staff. We also got really nice table mates. We had the chocolate melting cake everynight. It’s sooooo good. Not really consistant, some nights it’s runnier than others but the flavor is the same. The prime rib is actually better in the dining room than the Supper club. Plus, they serve it twice. The supper club was amazing. It took about 2 hours and worth every penny and minute. Room service was very good and prompt. I had to order ice for my foot a couple times and they brought it in zip lock bags. I love the shrimp salad sandwich, and I ordered the cookie brownie plate with only chocolate chip cookies. They are my favorite cookies ever!

 

This was a trip for relaxation and did we relax. We played a little bingo on sea days (Monday and Saturday), took naps, ate, napped, ate, napped…you get the picture. We didn’t use the pools or play pool games. We spent a lot of time with each other on the balcony or in our room. It was very rocky the first day and a half but hey…we are in the ocean.

 

The spa staff was very friendly and helpful. I booked an appointment on our first formal night to get my hair done. The guy did a wonderful job. He made a flower shape updo in the back. When I got back to the room and got ready my fiancée asked me to come out to the balcony and asked me to marry him and gave me a very nice ring. Of course I said YES! A couple days later my nail polish was chipping and I wanted to remove it so I looked good when I showed people my ring. I ran down to the Spa and asked if they could give me a little nail polish remover. I told them the engagement story and they were all gushing over me. They gave me the remover and I took care of my nails and they didn’t charge me.

 

I have never bought photos on a cruise before but this time we spent a ton of money in the photo shop. We bought 10 pictures from the formal night. We loved the pictures! It’s very pricy but they did a good job.

 

The first stop was Grand Cayman. We book our Stingray and reef tour with Carnival. It was so choppy it was very hard to snorkel. My finacee had never been snorkeling before and hated the trip. But I asked him to keep an open mind because I have never seen waves like that at Stingray city and I really think he would have loved it. We went back to the ship after the tour to put my foot up and didn’t get to see the island.

 

Cozumel was the second stop. We didn’t plan anything. We got off the ship and took a taxi to downtown. I love Pancho’s Backyard for lunch so we ate there. Wonderful food, the wait staff is so friendly and there is a Mariachi band for the music. We walked around downtown and bought some souvenirs. We took the taxi back to the ship. I think the taxi is $6 each way. You really need to take the taxi because it’s too long of a walk if you dock at the docking pier.

 

Belize was beautiful. We booked the river boat and Mayan ruins tour with carnival. We saw Crocs, Monkeys, Iguana, different birds on the river. We ate lunch at a local resort. They served traditional Belizean food and it was very good. The bus picked us up and took us to the ruins. The ruins were really neat. My fiancée got to climb to the top of one of them. He was so excited. By the time we got back to the dock it was time for the last tender. The tender is a long one but it really didn’t bother me.

 

When I found out they changed Costa Maya to Roatan I really expected Roatan to be a dump and hate it. It had it’s poor sections but the island is so beautiful! The ship docks at a small pier and all the buses were very close. We scheduled a beach day at Tabyana beach. We took a bus there, a guy met us at the entrance and explained where everything was, we bought a camera and headed to the beach. A security guy met us at the beach and asked if we wanted chairs. He grabbed two chairs, put them where we wanted and wiped them off. They had vendors at one end of the beach and they weren’t pushy at all and stayed in their spot. We got in the water and decided to rent one set of snorkel gear because my fiancée thought he hated snorkeling. I got him to try it in the calm water and he loved it. We rented a second set and went out onto the reef. It was the most beautiful I have ever snorkeled! We had such a great time there. We didn’t want to go. The bus ride there and back are amazing. Next time we want to see more of the island.

 

We booked all the tours through Carnival. You pay more but if something happens like a breakdown or accident during the trip and you are late getting back to the ship they will wait for you. If you book on your own and you are late…well we’ll see you in the next port. I almost missed a ship one year because of a breakdown. The gangway was pulled and they didn’t want to let us on. I got on but it was close. In Belize this trip we met a family from a RCCL cruise that hired a tour guide and the van broke down at the ruins. They were late and had no ride to get to the ship. We squeezed them in our bus and we aren’t sure if they got on their ship or not. I will pay more for the peace of mind.

 

I forgot about our room steward. Ketut was our room steward. He was so nice. Every night on our way to dinner he would say hi. Our room was made up twice a day, a towel animal each night and the ice bucket was always full. I tipped him at the beginning and the end of the cruise.

 

Getting off the ship was so easy. We were off the ship, had our luggage and on our shuttle in 15 minutes after our color was called.

 

Overall this was the best cruise I have ever been on. I had vowed after a horrible cruise out of Miami on (I think) the Fascination I would never cruise Carnival again. They won me back and we are going on another this October for our Honeymoon. Just remember, no cruise will be “perfect” and roll with the punches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wow, congrats.

i was on the legend 12/16-12/23 07 aswell

deffinitly my favorite out of 10 cruises (9carnival&1RC)

great jod on the review.

[eclipsethecat]

Congratulations on the engagment! It sounds like you had a wonderful tour!

 

Can you tell me how much it was to rent the snorkel at Roatan and what you did with your camera/ other things while you were swimming and snorkeling- are there lockers or did it seem "safe," to leave stuff on the chair? Thanks!

[emttl73]

I think it was $5-10 to rent snorkel equipment. It was clean and fairly new. Very safe to leave stuff on your chair at that beach. I highly recommend Tabyana.