Review of our Spring Break cruise on Carnival Legend

[w8ing2cruz]

. . . awesome review!!! I've read a few of your reviews and you should consider writing travel journals in your next life. You have such an incredible outlook on life in general and especially on life while cruising/traveling. Your family looks very cool and it's fun to see how your boys have changed in the past year. Selfishly I can't wait for your Dream cruise next April 3rd as I'm sailing on her April 17th and I might even bring my laptop just so I can read your review in case you actually have to go back to work or something when you return from Dreaming :D Thanks again for spending the time to take us all on your journey!

[crewsweeper]

Paul, Thanks so much for sharing the fun and foibles of your Legend(ary) cruise with all of us. For those of us who have never cruised on theLegend and are due to depart soon, you gave us a wonderful picture of what to expect ( a great time!) and what to watch out for (orange tubers and $1,500 bottles of cognac!)! I thought for sure you'd drive home in that RV! Instead, you buy a dishwasher LOL!!

[KenMo]

Condensed versions of your reviews are not allowed!!

 

Looking forward to the next one and thanks for another wonderful review!

[kjunea]

Paul,

 

Just say NO to condensed versions! Your trip reports are something I look forward to! Thanks for sharing!

[irb33785]

Bravo! Bravo! I feel like I have just watched a wonderful play. I am really looking forward to our first Carnival and visiting the western Carib. with the S&S 5 in October. I'm sure I will revisit this site often. Thanks so much and you do have a wonderful family. Brenda

[mnsawyer]

I remember reading one of your reviews a while back - maybe the Liberty? and couldn't believe how many pages of posts there were but your reviews are wonderful. Appreciate you sharing your family and your experiences. In addition, I think sometimes people want to know how much all of the extras cost and you are willing to share that information. With 5 of you, it can get expensive pretty quickly! Love how you extend your vacations pre and post. My DH is a huge fan of this since airfare from New England can be expensive especially in high season which is when we want to go. We have never extended our vacation two days post but will consider it next time. To me, nothing more depressing than exiting the cruise ship to the airport home. With four ports, everyone in your family looked tired and bet those two days post-cruise were very relaxing!

 

Again, thank you! We really do enjoy your reviews...they are the best!

[Hollybelle]

Fabulous review!!! I must say your pictures of Roatan have me excited to stop there this week instead of Cozumel.

 

Thanks for sharing... you have such a wonderful family!

[gail811]

Another AWESOME review Paul! I too loved the Legend, and I love the spirit class ships. I'm almost afraid the Dream will be overwhelming next year!

[minniem64]

You know...I will be reading this post at least once a week until my cruise week...If I get no work done around the house it may be your fault.;)

[Insel]

Great photos, as always. The boys have grown so much in a year.:eek:

 

Thanks for posting!

[11legend]

I'm so depressed.................I didn't want it to end......................:(:D

[nybumpkin]

Paul, that was a wonderful review. Don't even think about condensing future ones! I loved seeing how much your boys enjoyed themselves - my own "three sons" adventures are about to be reduced to two, with my oldest leaving for college in two months. Where did the time go?:eek:

[seafun]

The reviews of your review seem unanimous... :D

Thanks again for all the great information you've passed along. Obviously, many people have gotten a lot of great suggestions from your tips, and a lot of pleasure in reading of your family's adventures.

Having written one of the "longer reviews" on my trip to Egypt, :o I know that about halfway through posting it all, it's tempting to just quit. But as you have seen -- on this review, as well as your others -- people literally clamor for the ending, all properly laid out and documented.

Happy trails my friend, and good luck settling back into the routines of daily life (spelled "w-o-r-k" :() that allow us to make these wonderful voyages of discovery!

[Shadow3]

Thank you so much for your review. We will be on the Lengend in August 2010. How far is the Holiday Inn Clearwater Beach from the cruise port and how far away from the hotel is the beach? From your pictures the hotel looks nice, how did you like it?

[RAVI360]

awwww Paul Thanx for takin me along with you and your family with this great review....lol

now i can't wait until my cruise

 

its nothing like seeing a close up bottle of louis the VIII

[TravelingTrio]

 

Britt's Grill and Bar;

 

 

 

I'm glad to see that Britt's is still there (with all the construction around it last time, I thought it would be gone). They have this drink called death by chocolate that is delicious! It's one of the things that I'm looking forward to when we go to Clearwater this summer.

 

Thank you so much for your review. I can't wait to be on the Legend. I'm glad I read about your cave tubing experience, I'm definitely booking them.

I'm not a good swimmer and I don't to be with whatever company the orange one is. You have a beautiful family, thanks for sharing them with us!

[PaulMedik]

Thank you so much for your review. We will be on the Lengend in August 2010. How far is the Holiday Inn Clearwater Beach from the cruise port and how far away from the hotel is the beach? From your pictures the hotel looks nice, how did you like it?

 

 

Shadow3,

 

The Holiday Inn is about a five minute walk from the end of the beach. You'd need to walk about ten minutes for a nice place on the beach.

 

It is anywhere from 30 to 45 minute drive from the cruise port depending on traffic. I'm sure locals could make the trip much faster.

 

The hotel is nice and well appointed. The pool area is also nice. We liked the hotel, but won't be staying there again simply because it's not on the beach. We like Clearwater Beach for the beach itself and like quick & easy access to the beach; really none of the hotels south of Pier 60 have quick & easy access.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

...

 

The only delay at Customs was for them to fulfill my request to stamp our passports. They had to take the passports to a separate room then return with them stamped. ...

 

Great review, Paul! I am gonna be a pro in October. Just hope they really don't throw saints overboard. ;)

 

I was wondering the reason to have the passport stamped. Can you also get stamps from the countries you visited?

[PaulMedik]

Great review, Paul! I am gonna be a pro in October. Just hope they really don't throw saints overboard. ;)

 

I was wondering the reason to have the passport stamped. Can you also get stamps from the countries you visited?

 

 

Thirsty Cruiser,

 

I just wanna see pics of when all 150 of you get in the hot tub! :D

 

We get our passports stamped each time we return to the USA. No reason other than we like to have reminders for each cruise. The only one we don't have was after the first week of our B2B this past summer. We asked, but the officer stated they don't do that anymore. The funny thing is they did it two months earlier and again the next week. :eek: He was a nut case and I had messed with him quite a bit so I can't fault him for not being cooperative. :p

 

You can get stamped in each country, but it's a time consuming process to locate the proper agency.

 

Passport stamping used to be common. I guess now that they scan the passports into computers, they no longer use them to see where you've been and when.

[bsdmhutch]

Great review, Paul! I am gonna be a pro in October. Just hope they really don't throw saints overboard. ;)

 

I was wondering the reason to have the passport stamped. Can you also get stamps from the countries you visited?

 

I'm a living testament that they don't toss the saints.:D

 

I can't wait....Paul has made me look forward to this even more than I did. Didn't think that was possible.:p

[jbrn]

Thanks for the review, now I'm even more excited than before.:D I'll be on the Legend in Oct for my first S&S experience. It's nice to know the don't throw the saints or the sinners overboard.

[snc421]

Paul,

 

Have you ever been to St. Pete Beach? ~20 miles south of Clearwater Beach.

 

My annual FL vacays started in 06 in Clearwater Beach, at the Quality Inn on the Beach. (Totally agreed that hotels south of Pier 60 are not on the beach.) We ventured beyond Sand Key Park, south on Gulf Boulevard... all the way to the Don CeSar, where I saw signs for Fort DeSoto Park. I had read about that place, so we checked it out and fell in love with it. You cruised by it on the Legend, right after going under the Skyway. Anyway, in 07 when my now-husband wanted to propose, he chose Fort DeSoto. We booked at the Dolphin Beach Resort on SPB, and I highly recommend it. We have been back each year since! That beach is nice, comparable to the Pier 60 area. (Not like Sand Key Park; I was there 2 days before you!)

 

Let me know if you want more info for future reference.

 

P.S. Thank you again for another amazing TR!

[mnsawyer]

We love the Gulf Coast and if you look for hotel south of Clearwater Beach, they are steps away. We love North Redington Beach which would probably be considered half-way down Gulf Blvd north of St. Pete Beach. There is a Doubletree (formerly a Hilton) that is lovely and we have stayed there many time. Paul, with your family, probably a condo-type set-up would be better and there are many, many option along the Gulf Blvd strip that are right on the beach. In my opinion, this area is not so busy and congested as would be St. Pete, etc., little more quiet, etc. Great place called John's Pass that has restaurants and shopping. Again, low-key but still fun. Haven't been there in a few years, but there was a big mini-golf place right before John's Pass that is fun for adults and kids.

 

I would agree about Fort De Soto...absolutely beautiful.

[deeron51]

I agree with everyone else - please don't ever condense your reviews! Your review was amazing and your pictures wonderful. You have such a beautiful family. You are absolutely right when you said that you have created memories that you will all remember forever. I think you have inspired me to bring along a journal with me on my cruise (Legend - Aug 2009) so that I can capture my own memories.

 

Thanks again!

 

Deena

[poptart]

I was out of town for a long weekend...and was thrilled and sad to find the end of your review today.

 

Thank you so much for taking so much time to share your cruise experiences and pictures as so many others have said, never ever condense them. They are wonderful.

 

You brought back many happy memories of our Legend cruise!

 

Like ya'll my dh and I don't get sea sick....so sometimes it is fun when the seas are rough to have the ship to ourselves :D

 

Looking forward to your next cruise!!!!

 

Happy Sails!