Review: Family Panama Canal Legend of the Seas 10/3-10/17

[VikkiGarcia]

We just returned from our first 14 day cruise. 7 days will never feel long enough again. We did the transcanal cruise with our 13 and 9 year old. We had warned them for a year that they would be the only kids aboard. We were surprised to find that there were 24 kids between 3-17 on our ship. My 9 year old made 2 great friends. My 13 year old only had 2 other kids in his age group but the staff still did ther best to entertain them in the evenings.

 

The Legend seemed in great shape. We had 14 nice dinners in the dining room. The staff was good as always. The crew seemed to be very happy. The passengers were a bit older than other cruises we have taken. But much more active and lively than the 2 HAL ship we seemed to dock with at each stop. People were milling around the casino and lounges at night. We didn't stay out super late but the ship did not go right to bed after dinner like we thought it might.

 

We loved the extra days to sit around the pool or just relax. We enjoyed doing the Academy at Sea classes. My daughter and I did the show production class (3 days). My son and I did Hospitality and Beverage (4 days). Both run well. I was surprised by how many free drinks you got at the hospitality classes. This one was great to try out different cocktails. Each class took up an hour of each of our last sea days. I would highly recommened signing up.

 

We did not do too much in each port. Here is a rundown.

 

Cabo: Walked around and shopped. Prices were very high. Did not buy much.

 

Acapulco: Hired a driver for the day. Gave us a 4 hour tour and saw the 1pm cliff divers. Prices for trinkets still unreasonably high.

 

Huatulco: Beautiful port. Very nice surprise. Walked around , shopped. More handicraft items, nicer quality. prices a bit more reasonable. Beautiful beach right next to ship. Swam, had drinks. very nice day.

 

Puntarenas: Had booked tour indendently with a canopy tour company. We were supposed to wait behind the security gate for our driver. Made the mistake of exiting the peir and got mobbed by tour operators and taxi drivers. These were the most aggessive people we ran into the whole trip. We quickly flashed our seapass to get back inside the gate. If you book any tour, Ship or independent they pick you up behind the gate. If you just want to shop wait a few hours until all these guys disappear. When we returned from zipling they were all gone. Zipling was AMAZING. The rainforest was unbelievable. Shopping right along the peirside was great. Great prices, really nice stuff.

 

Panama Canal: Got up at 5 am to get a spot on the rail at the front of the ship. It was very neat and very hot. We each got a certificate that night in our cabin saying we went through the canal.

 

Cristobal Pier Panama: Nice enclosed shopping peir we stopped at for 4 hours in the evening. Very nice handicrafts. Great prices. lots of shopping, music and dancing. festive, nice stop.

 

Aruba: Rented a car, not jeep, for the day. We went around the whole island , went to natural bridge and everywhere on the far side of the island even without 4 wheel drive. Did some shopping, prices higher. At night we walked to the casino across from the ship. Gambled a little bit but actually prefered the tables on the boat so we went back.

 

We loved this trip and now are planning a back to back on Navigator for next fall. 14 days flew by and my kids would have sailed back to San Diego if they did not have to head back to school.

 

I will try to answer all questions you have regarding the ship or itinerary. I know I tried to gather as much information from all of you before we did this trip and would like to return the favor.

[Qualicum]

Thank-you for the info! We are booked on the Legend to do the Canal on Feb. 20/2005 and can't wait. We have booked a balcony stateroom - not sure which one yet. Is there enough room on the balcony for 4 people. We have friends coming with us and this is where we planned to sit when we went through the canal. Also, how was the food - we keep hearing varying reports. Many thanks again.

[VikkiGarcia]

The food seemed good to us! We are not real foodies but everything was cooked the way we ordered it. Our server Lystra made sure we got seconds on lobster. She also encourgaged my son to try anything and everything he wanted to. Lunch in the dining room was also a nice break from 14 days of buffet.

The canal was interesting but going through the locks is a VERY slow process. I would stay on my balcony for the first set, because it is REALLY crouded up at the rail. Most people gave up after the first set. The second set was only one deep at the front rail. By the third you could stand upfront, clear view. Then run to the back to see them close behind you., still maybe one person deep. The sun was just so hot. People could not handle it up on deck. But the view from right up front, standing on a deck chair(if your short like me) was awesome. I tried deck 4 since it was covered, but nothing compared to right up front. IMHO.