Review of Legend, Lisbon to Barcelona

[Bearsparents]

Review of the Legend after dry dock, Lisbon to Barcelona. Let me start by saying this was my first Seabourn cruise and my husband and I are not the typical passengers. We are considerably younger than the normal crowd. I would like to say I loved the Seabourn cruise. I am planning on another one. That being said we did have some challenging moments on our cruise.

 

First off the Legend had no hot water on Saturday of embarkation. Let me tell you that my husband and I had spent all morning touring around Lisbon with our back packs on. We looked rather disgusting when we got on board. All I wanted was a bottle of water and a shower. I got the water but then found out about the hot water situation. I think Seabourn handled the situation well. The passengers were given the choice of staying on ship with cold water or going to the Ritz Four Seasons Hotel. Turns out about half the passengers chose to stay on the ship. I of course needed a shower badly and went to the Four Seasons. Now this is my first Seabourn experience and I was not entirely upset that we went to the Four Seasons. They did have a cocktail reception and a buffet dinner for us at the Ritz. We could have eaten on the ship but we chose to just stay at the hotel. While the buffet was good, I will admit the food on the ship was better and in hindsight I missed not having the first meal on the ship.

 

Sunday we had another breakfast buffet and headed to the ship. We were supposed to set sail at noon but we were delayed while they continued to work on the boiler. Around 2 pm we set sail. Well the boiler may have started to work but the rooms were not getting hot water. This was supposed to be formal night but thankfully they went to casual since there was not hot water in the rooms. Unfortunately, I would have liked to have known that before I went for a run on the treadmill, so I took my first cold shower, and yes I took another one which did not make me happy. Monday morning we had hot water but with so many people taking showers the water would be hot, cold, and warm. Monday night and Tuesday morning I had hot showers but for some reason on Tuesday night I had another cold shower, but that was the last one, and yes I told someone about it. Seabourn did compensate us for our lack of hot water and while that did help my decision to take another cruise with Seabourn, I would have taken another any way because I really did enjoy it.

 

Let’s talk about something other than the hot water, like the FOOD. It was amazing. I loved it. I did eat most of my meals in the Veranda Café/2. I enjoyed the Restaurant food but I was not as fond of the atmosphere. I actually enjoyed lunch at the Restaurant more because there were a lot less people there. I had dinner 2 nights in the Restaurant and ate the rest of the time at 2. Chef Andre is amazing. I am trying to think of what was my favorite. I really enjoyed Asiate night, but everything he did was great. The osso bucco was excellent as well. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in 2, because it was intimate yet casual.

 

This brings me to the next hot button, the dress code. I was extremely concerned before the trip about the dress code. I really don’t like to dress up and love my sweat pants, but I did not want to offend, so I did some shopping before the trip. I found some knit pants at Eddie Bauer that were as comfy as sweats but looked a bit nicer. As for dinner I just brought work clothes. Since I ate dinner mostly at 2, I was probably more dressed up than I needed to be but that is all I brought with. For my next Seabourn cruise I will probably bring less dressy clothes and jeans. Based on what I saw other people wearing, it is not as strict as I expected. Now I never saw anyone offensive but people were not dressed up as much as I thought.

 

The service was great. Now I expected people would know our names and for the people who saw us often they did. I thought the service was great. Our room was fantastic. Isabelle was awesome and so cute. She found us Coke Zero for our fridge, which was something we had a hard time getting at the bar (Chris please make a note, you need Coke Zero and Vitamin Water on ship). The servers were great. We made friends with most of the people at 2. I love every one of you. My shout out to Arek, Ryan, Michael (hope you are enjoying your time off), Christaan, Christian, and of course my favorite Chef Andre. I loved getting to talk to you guys. It kept me sane. Ryan, I am getting close to using all 10,000 words just in this review. Also want to mention that I loved afternoon tea. It is just so calming especially when you are a little seasick, but Radoslaw took good care of me with ginger ale and ginger tea.

 

One more hot button topic, the smoking policy. I realize I am a non smoker, but I could not believe how many people still smoke. Now when I first got on the ship I did not think my cabin smelled like smoke, however after a few days I thought I could smell it. Needless to say my opinion no smoking on the ship but that is because I am a non smoker. I will just stop there.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise. I loved the size of the ship, I had only been on a big ship before this cruise and was not sure if I would like the size but I loved it. The reason we tried Seabourn was because I was not fond of the food on the big ship. Well by far, the food surpassed all expectations. I will be honest I was concerned about the age of our fellow passengers, but it was fine. If you are younger but want an all inclusive cruise with great food I would recommend Seabourn. However if you are younger and just interested in a party I would stick to one of the big lines.

 

Kris and Bert Garnes

[Host Dan]

Thanks Kris and Bert for your honest opinion of your first cruise on Seabourn!! I hope to meet you on board someday!

 

Host Dan

[norm2002]

Thanks for the excellent review.

 

First off the Legend had no hot water on Saturday of embarkation. ... I think Seabourn handled the situation well. The passengers were given the choice of staying on ship with cold water or going to the Ritz Four Seasons Hotel.

 

This is where Seabourn excels. When there is a problem, their first concern is the comfort of the passengers and they will go to almost any lengths to ensure it. Fortunately, such problems are few and far between but when they do happen, it is made as easy to bear as possible. I wonder how many other cruise lines would have arranged facilities at a top quality hotel in these circumstances.

 

Best wishes

 

Norm

 

[GrannyLorr]

What a shame your very first impressions were spoilt by the lack of hot water, but great that after that problem, you had such a good time! The smell of smoke in your suite was probably coming from the hallway, we found the hallways smelt bad at times as some people leave the door of their suites open while they smoke, therefore "sharing" with everyone else!! :mad: I also agree wholeheartedly about your views on the dress code.....for my first cruise I had no idea either what I should buy, and was concerned I wouldnt be dressed properly as often talk in here makes the whole Seabourn experience sound a lot more "formal" than what it really is...I have actually read in here "oh no one would wear jeans on Seabourn" (shock...horror) well of course they do.....people just dress the same as they do every day! Great review.