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LEGENDary Carnival Cruise

tess2cruz

By tess2cruz,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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I have just gotten off the Legend, and have to tell you it was for me a Legendary cruise experience!!! Beautiful ship, friendliest crew, fun ports, terrific food and a great bunch of CC’ers who I hope will be friends for a long time to come and who I hope to sail with again. This will be one of them LONG reviews, because I want to share with you all the details of an amazing trip. AND as my LOOTer friends read this, please put in your own comments, share your great and not so great times too. Yes, there were a couple of downers, but I will chalk them up to learning experiences for all you CC’ers as well as myself.

To set this up, I took my family on their first cruise 2 years ago, Elation, and they all loved it of course. They have been bugging me for quite some time to set up another cruise. I swore last time I would never do all the leg work again for this big group. BUT I did do so in spite of my objections. This group started out as myself, with my Mom, 73, my sister and brother, and my son 17. Over the course of a couple of days, it soon included my BFF from jr high, with her BF (experienced cruisers, thank goodness), and a couple of friends of my sisters from work, and then my niece and her friend from high school. My niece contacted some friends she had made and kept in contact with from the Elation, and soon it was also them, joining us with a wedding planned in Cozumel so there family as well (they did their own arrangements, but we had TA link our group). You are getting the idea here. Most of these people have been on 1 cruise, some never cruised. So, once again, a lot of the planning fell in my lap!! With 4 ports and flights and hotel and whatever else, it got to be crazy, but worked out fine for the most part. I want to put in here my sisters friend, Heidi, has never been on a cruise before, and it was her excitement and enthusiasm throughout the cruise just made it that much better. Everyone did have a great time and I was so happy to be with all these people, but her innocence was an added bonus.

This was a CC group cruise, so a bunch of us had been on the boards here for a long time together, some of them for over a year. I will tell you right now, it was great to know so many people cruising with you, and such a great bunch. Will recommend a CC group cruise anytime!! OK, now on with the good stuff.

We live in Vancouver WA, so we fly out of Portland and into Tampa FL on Sat 10/4. Very long and tiring flight, but we had booked a hotel at the HIEX and they did shuttle service to the hotel, and to the port the next day, as well as post cruise, so it made transportation a lot easier than last time. We met some but not all the Looters booked there, but we were late, so went to Bahama Breeze next door for dinner and drinks and catching up with our friends from Arizona. Many of the LOOTers stayed at the HOJO downtown, and apparently had quite the all day party, so many were in bed long before I even got to town. A few texts, and we just decided we would meet on the ship the next day.

OK, about to board flight so more to come later!!!:D

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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Sunday October 5, 2008

Downer, err sorry, Life Lesson #1: If you are a first time cruiser, first time Carnival cruiser, or maybe cruising with a newbie, make sure they know to fill out the Funpass and know to print it out. If they/you do not know about this, call your TA ASAP. My niece’s BFF has only sailed once before, with RCCL and was not aware of the Funpass and was never informed by our TA to do this. My niece did know as she sailed Carnival last time, but her friend lives across the other side of the country, and they had very little contact with each other before the cruise. My niece tried to print it but of course without her roomie’s info, it wouldn‘t work. We tried at the hotel, but by the time they told me about this it was too late. It did cause problems for them getting on board, even into the terminal was iffy!! I will tell you our TA has been great, made changes and adjustments as requested, and I know she is very busy, but she did drop the ball on this one, she should have informed BFF how to get cruise docs. My niece also lost all her alcohol, cause they had no luggage tags to check it in with the porters, but that was a big DUH for us. We could have given her our extra luggage tags!!! And a BTW, you don’t get your booze back if they take it. L

Other than that, embarkation was a breeze. We were booked on the 1pm shuttle to the port, but Karen of the LOOTers, rescheduled her shuttle for 10, and called us to get her 11am seats, so in spite of the little snafu, we were still on the ship before noon, pretty good. When my sis, mom and I were checking in, I thought the Carnival agent for us was a bit stuffy, no big deal, probably just not as excited as we were to be cruising, (imagine that!! J) Anyway, my brother and son passed us and I mistakenly thought they were already done and heading out to get on the ship, even though we had been in front of them. I said “Oh man, they got done faster than us!!” Our agent perked up, looked around and said “Who is faster then me, no one is faster than me!!” All in fun but got her helper moving his buns to get us our S&S cards as fast as he could, she was not going to be beat LMAO, She had us laughing, wish I would have noticed her name.

So we had all worn LOOTers t shirt, and my brother was whining because I made him wear his, and he didn’t see anyone else wearing one. Well while in line the LOOTers were showing up, most in their shirts. Best of all, my BFF got one for her BF in yellow, (we were all in white or grey) AND she had tried to change the design slightly but goofed and a “d” was on his bottom. LOL Even worse, she had told all us, but never told him, and she got it on him without him seeing it. He thought we were laughing at his canary yellow, but the “d” on the butt was classic.

Oh the ship before noon, we dropped our carry on’s in our cabins, and headed up to the Lido Deck for lunch before the LOOTers M&G, Lido Deck Aft. I had been craving a Carnival cheeseburger for weeks, and enjoyed every bite. Then we headed aft, where LOOTers were gathering and we got our first chance to start putting faces to CC names. Everyone was friendly and fun and ready to party. I had forgotten the banner so headed down to my cabin to retrieve it, (funny story behind that banner!!) As I was heading down the stairs I met Walter, from Peru. He was a waiter in the DR but today’s duty was helping us lost cruisers. He was so friendly, asked lots of questions. And over the next few days saw him at breakfast, called me by name, met my son talked to him many times. I knew then this crew was going to be awesome. Met our room steward, Francisco, he was so funny and VERY helpful, can’t tell you how many times he helped me find my cabin!!!

We had to break for Muster but it was pretty short and painless, but we were sailing by the time we headed back up to the Lido Aft, but we popped the champagne anyway. Lots more getting to know everyone and lots more drinkingJ. It started raining, pretty hard too, but we still carried the party up to the funnel deck for sailing under the bridge. My camera decided to run out of steam about then, but I got a good picture on my phone. The rain got even harder, (it was a warm rain, unlike the one we left in WA, though) Jimmy says take the weather with you and we were afraid we did!!

A tad wet, we hit the buffet for dinner, because we missed our dining room time for the going under the bridge party. We all got different things, but were not real impressed with our choices, and were sorry we missed the dining room. But what the hey, we had many nights ahead of us.

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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***Sorry about the delay, but as you will read later in the review, a number of my group got sick on the ship, and I am just now recovering enough to sit here and type. Please if you are about to get on her load up on the airborne, now and during the cruise, and take hand sanitizer with you. I almost always do, and did not this time, and will never forget again. Fortunately I got sick Sat night, so I have lots of fun still to share.*****

Finishing off the first night, I spent it at Billie’s Piano Bar, with Bryan Roper. He is a great piano player, loved most of the music he played, but that first night he seemed to have an attitude, bothered me and I left. There were other issues after I left,(almost fight) and I did hear he was sick the last two nights of the prior cruise, so I did go back the third night, and enjoyed it for the most part. He did quit at midnight every night would have enjoyed longer. It was a fun crowd most of the time, so go say hi and enjoy him. He does not play songs from Grease though, so don’t ask!!:eek:

Left there and went to Medusa’s Lair, where I danced, ok, :rolleyes: ATTEMPTED to dance, but fortunately there were some LOOTer’s there, the New York peeps, that were GREAT dancers, And they were good sports letting my clumsy two left feet join them. The music was good, but I am not a hip hop or rap fan so I left when that started.

Thought maybe I needed rehydrating, (yes, mass quantities of alcohol had been consumed by this point:D ) so made my way up to the Lido deck for water. Met some LOOTer friends and they joined me for my very first piece of Carnival pizza!! Yes, it is true, 7 carnival cruises, and this was my first. But thanks to some CC comments I had read about the anchovy and capers pizza, I indulged and gladly, it was quite good!! After that it was off to bed.

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marci4tony

marci4tony

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...A tad wet, we hit the buffet for dinner, because we missed our dining room time for the going under the bridge party. We all got different things, but were not real impressed with our choices, and were sorry we missed the dining room. But what the hey, we had many nights ahead of us.

 

We are sailing 11/2 and I was worried about the Bridge and Early Dinner...

Do you recall about what time you went under the bridge...??? We have the 6:15 I believe, and I'm hoping to catch BOTH.

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djo631

djo631

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We are sailing 11/2 and I was worried about the Bridge and Early Dinner...

Do you recall about what time you went under the bridge...??? We have the 6:15 I believe, and I'm hoping to catch BOTH.

 

We left the dock right at 4pm and hit the bridge right about 6:20pm.

 

Mark

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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Monday Oct 6, 2008, Fun Day at Sea

Let me point out now, I LOVE eating breakfast in the dining room, but the rest of my family does not, they prefer the buffet. I was looking forward to my first eggs benedict, and had no problem going alone, but along the way everyone decided to join me, so while waiting for the others, I missed the first morning in the dining room L by minutes. So buffet it was, but was actually very pleased to note that this ship had both grits and oatmeal, (had both everyday too) On prior cruises my experience has been one or the other on alternate mornings, and I do love grits so that made me happy. Some of the food was only slightly warm though, by the time we found tables etc, (why I prefer dining room!) But for the most part pretty good. Had an omelet one morning, but it fell apart when the guy flipped it. He was so funny and entertaining about it, I had to laugh and tell him no problem, all goes down the same, and it was really good anyway.

Next on the agenda for the fun day at sea was the aft deck bar, where I found my LG friend Kelly, happily sipping on a Kiss on the Lips. It was yummy so ordered up one for myself. We were soon joined by more LOOTer’s, Linda, Art and Albert to name a few. So, most of the next couple of hours was spent sipping drinks and enjoying the sun. I had volunteered our cabin for the cabin crawl, which I really had no idea what that was, so met up with my sis, changed clothes at the last minute and headed for the Dream Team Bar for the cabin crawl.

At the bar, I found out I was supposed to have a deck of cards which I never got. ?? So we had to wait for someone to go get an extra deck for me. The purpose was to visit as many types of cabins possible, picking a card at each one and best hand at end wins the money, ($5 entry fee) We did get to see a lot of different cats of cabins, 1A to an Aft wrap suite. Gave me lots of ideas for future cruises. I really liked the balcony cabins that had connecting cabins. Have to apologize to my LOOTer friends; our cabin was still a mess. Didn’t have enough space or hangers for three women in a 4A!! The message our cabin left was no more than two women to an inside cabin! J And my BFF won with 4 tens. :D

After that, it was quickly off to the lobby for group pictures, then rush, rush, rush to get ready for Captains Cocktail party and formal night dinner. Wasn’t about to miss another dinner in the dinning room especially one that offers Lobster and Shrimp!!

Little late for the Captains Cocktail party I did get a glass or two of wine before dinner, and off to our first night in the dinning room. I love this part of the day when I with a large group of family because it is the only time we all seem to meet up and catch up with each others activities. We had requested our group be linked with my BFF and her BF and the wedding party group of friends. When we all were seated we were at 4 different tables, with quite a few empty seats. We were going to move around a bit, but the waiters asked us not to. Not sure why, but first night we just went with it, then changed up ourselves the rest of the week. One night the one waiter made it quite clear he wasn’t happy about it. I should have gone to the Matre‘d the first night and arranged it the way we liked then.

As for the dining room food, it was fantastic. During the week I had the Lobster & Shrimp dinner, (2), so yummy!! One night was Filet Mignon, so tender, I had mine rare, melted in my mouth. Third night on the ship I had beef ribs, they were amazing. I tried a variety of appetizers, and always good. Escargot was MUCH better this time, on the Elation it was nasty :eek: L I normally only eat seafood, but I branched out this time and was very pleased. I had the salmon one night, cooked to perfection, very moist. And I had another first on this ship, Chocolate Melting Cake!! I know, how could I have gone this long with trying it??? Well, in spite of being female, I truly am not a big chocolate person, but heard so much about it on the boards, had to go for it. It was quite good, but once was enough.

Our dining staff was OK, good at serving for the most part, sometimes a bit slow, but not a whole lot of fun like we have experienced in the past. The really entertaining wait staff will spoil you for other cruises. However, I must mention Arthur, our bar waiter for dinner. He was just 22, from Belarus. He was so funny, attentive, and entertaining. I don’t usually buy a lot of drinks at dinner, but I just loved how he said Vodka so couldn’t resist ordering more than usual.

I did miss my dinner time on the second formal night, due to a party that kept me pre occupied. :rolleyes: So I joined a friend at late dining and was very pleased with her waiter, he was from Jamaica, and sang to me and joked with me. Much more like the Carnival wait staff I am used to.

Since I am on the subject of the dining room, I will mention the Matre’d. This is one of the first times I can remember getting a friendly visit from one at the table. He was very nice and chatty. That night my son, a self proclaimed chef & connoisseur of pork chops, had ordered them for dinner, and between bites he proclaimed them to be the BEST he had ever eaten. When the Matre’d came by, I asked if my son could get the recipe from the chef. He told us he would try, copyright stuff may prevent it.. The next night he personally brought a copy of the recipe to my son. Only problem is the recipe is for 100, so we will have to make a few recalculations, or just invite everyone we know over for dinner some night..

HMM, now to remember what we did that night????

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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OK, now I remember why I can’t remember LOL We changed after dinner and al went together to the show. I don’t know if it was that I was just so tired, or the show was kind of boring to me, but I kept dozing off during the show. Apparently, I must have been enjoying it somewhat , even in my sleep, because my friend said I kept waking up to clap. When the show was over I decided to call it a night, VERY unusual for me, but didn’t want to sleep through any more performances. My brother later told me the comedian that night was hilarious, so make sure you catch his show. I went to the second guy later in the week, and he wasn’t all that funny. Anyway, did have an 8:30am excursion to Snuba in Grand Cayman the next day, so an early bed time was a good idea.

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karenw

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***Sorry about the delay, but as you will read later in the review, a number of my group got sick on the ship, and I am just now recovering enough to sit here and type. Please if you are about to get on her load up on the airborne, now and during the cruise, and take hand sanitizer with you. I almost always do, and did not this time, and will never forget again. Fortunately I got sick Sat night, so I have lots of fun still to share.*****

 

 

Finishing off the first night, I spent it at Billie’s Piano Bar, with Bryan Roper. He is a great piano player, loved most of the music he played, but that first night he seemed to have an attitude, bothered me and I left. There were other issues after I left,(almost fight) and I did hear he was sick the last two nights of the prior cruise, so I did go back the third night, and enjoyed it for the most part. He did quit at midnight every night would have enjoyed longer. It was a fun crowd most of the time, so go say hi and enjoy him. He does not play songs from Grease though, so don’t ask!!:eek:

 

Left there and went to Medusa’s Lair, where I danced, ok, :rolleyes: ATTEMPTED to dance, but fortunately there were some LOOTer’s there, the New York peeps, that were GREAT dancers, And they were good sports letting my clumsy two left feet join them. The music was good, but I am not a hip hop or rap fan so I left when that started.

 

Thought maybe I needed rehydrating, (yes, mass quantities of alcohol had been consumed by this point:D ) so made my way up to the Lido deck for water. Met some LOOTer friends and they joined me for my very first piece of Carnival pizza!! Yes, it is true, 7 carnival cruises, and this was my first. But thanks to some CC comments I had read about the anchovy and capers pizza, I indulged and gladly, it was quite good!! After that it was off to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what I remember you danced just fine. Keep these coming, I'm having flashbacks now. And there was stuff I missed.

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tess2cruz

tess2cruz

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Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Grand Caymen

Bright and early I had to get up to catch an early tender. My DB, DS and I had booked an 8:30am Carnival excursion, Snuba. The rest of our group was just beaching it at 7 mile and we were going to meet them their later. I have been to 7 mile beach a couple of times, it is beautiful and can be pretty decent snorkeling right off the beach. A big bunsh of the LOOTer’s went together on some stingray beach thingy, hopefully one of them will pipe in here and tell you about it. From there pictures and talk I will do it next time in GC. Anyway, the Snuba was GREAT. If you ever thought about scuba, then try this for sure. We don’t usually book through Carnival for excursions but couldn’t find this through private company. We actually walked to the site from the port, very close. The guides were friendly and a lot of fun. The young man, Warren, my diver guide, J, was from South Africa and VERY HOT!!! Oh, sorry. Anyway, they give you instructions, fit you in your gear and lead you to the shore, hook you up to air tanks that float on the water, and then put weights on you. WOW. It was amazing. They take you through a shipwreck; point out all kinds of things you may not find on your own. They did a great job. The pointed to this one fish swimming next to us and I recognized it as a barracuda. I tried to get a picture but it swam off, A few minutes later I saw it coming back and without thinking started swimming toward it to get a picture. Well, I guess he was as interested in me as I was in him, for a different reason though, and the diver guide had swim up and block the cuda’s approach, shoo him off.!! I was thinking great picture, he was thinking BREAKFAST, I guess. We saw a sting ray in the sand, a lobster in a cave, and lots more. Towards the end I noticed the diver had attached an air hose to his own tank, a pair had run out of air. We were heading back and I could hear this weird tapping noise, but couldn’t see anything around me making the noise. Running out of air we surfaced, and it was raining, hard. That was the noise I heard, That was pretty cool. Highly recommend this excursion. I will post some pictures as soon as I get the underwater camera developed.

Then it was off to 7 mile beach to meet with family. The weather on GC wasn’t the best, cloudy, bits of rain, so we ended up heading to Margarittaville. I have been to the one in Grand Turk, and this one wasn’t quite as fun, but bought some souvenirs and had some drinks before heading back to the ship.

Back to the ship, cleaned up for dinner. As soon as we set sail, and the Casino opened mom, sis and I decided to go make our usual $20 donation. I finally figured out how to use my S&S card to put money on a slot and hit the max bet 3 times, $20 bye bye, BUT some bonus thingy came up, (you can tell I don’t do this often??) so I push buttons, pick some thingy’s and get 10 free spins, 2x winning and a wild card. Spins begin, and I just sit there watching and next thing I know I get a message “Call attendant winnings: $417.67” OK, I am excited, but can’t find a stupid call button on the machine!!! I asked the guy next to me, and he ignores me. No way in heck I am moving!! Finally see my mom, yell for her to get me help LMAO!!! I never win, I was so excited.

Later that night, a group of us enjoyed the piano bar for awhile then Medusa Lair again for dancing, where Chris gave Vicky lap dances and Micheal tried to dance on the table but security told him nono before we could get pictures.

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