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Carnival Legend Review 6/28-7/5 (Lots of Pics!)

PinkJellyFish06

By PinkJellyFish06,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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PinkJellyFish06

PinkJellyFish06

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Just got back last Sunday from our cruise on the Carnival Legend. It was the best vacation we have ever had!! I am going to try to give you a very detailed review with pictures, it just may take awhile.

 

Just a little BASIC info :

On this cruise was myself (20), my dad (49), & my mom (50). This was our first cruise. This was also my & my mom's first trip out of the the country. We decided to go on a cruise to celebrate a few things happening in September. My parent's 25th anniversary, my dad's 50th birthday, & my 21st birthday. We would have waited untill September but I am in school and I wouldn't be able to take a vacation. We picked Carnival because quite a few people that we know have been on their cruises and had nothing but good things to say.

 

Driving to Tampa :

We live in Atoka, Tennessee, which is about 30 minutes outside of Memphis. We chose to drive to Tampa because when we returned from our cruise we were wanting to spend some time in different parts of Florida. We left home around 6AM. The plan was to drive untill we were about 4-5 hours away from Tampa and stay the night somewhere, since it was a 14 hour drive. My dad was doing all of the driving, and he ended up driving all the way. We arrived in Tampa around 9:30. Since we had never been there before, we were not familiar with where to go. We ended up staying in a Howard Johnson hotel, which I think might have been downtown. The Howard Johnson was a very nice place. Clean, comfortable, & well decorated. It was getting late by the time we got unpacked, so we decided to order pizza. There had been an advertisement slipped under our door for a pizza place that delivered. I can't remember the name, I want to say it was called Christy's or something, but I am not sure. It took over an hour for them to deliver it and then it was the nastiest pizza we have ever had. The pizza box was dripping grease, that's how GROSS it was.

 

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*Tom-Tom* if it wasn't for our trusty Tom-Tom we would have never made it to Tampa and back. Thanks Tom-Tom : )

 

Embarkation :

We woke up around 7. Got ready, got packed, and went to find somewhere for breakfast. Went to Denny's, then to Target and Wal-Mart to pick up a few extra things. We finally made it to the cruise terminal around noon. We drove around for a few times, because we were a little confused about where to go. When we pulled up to where you drop your luggage off we had to put our tags on. (Do like everyone says and put yours on BEFORE you leave home.) The guy that helped us was very nice and helped us put on all our tags. Mom and I waited on Dad to park in the parking garage. Before you enter the building you have to show the person at the door your passport. After your inside, you wait in line to go upstairs. There was a lady at the bottom of the escalator looking at your passport again and giving you some papers. When you get upstairs you go through security, which was a lot faster than I thought it would be. After that, you get in another line. Mom & I had to sit and wait because Dad forgot he had his pocketknife. So he had to go ALL the way back to the car and put it up. (NOTE : Make sure you do not have anything like that, because you can not bring it on the boat.) Once he got back we got in line, filled out a small health form while waiting, then got to the desk where the lady gives you your room keys and explains the Sail and Sign process. After that you head to the ship. They took a picture of everybody in front of a back drop right before you crossed over to the ship.

As soon as we got on the ship we were wanting to find the matride so that we could try and change our dining time. We asked the first person in line where to go and she told us to wait in line. Turns out we were in line for the Coke Card. Which we needed to get one for my dad anyways, so we went ahead and did that. Then we headed to the Truffles dining room. After that we went to find our room so that we could put our stuff down and check the room out. Finally found some room with a little help. We were on the 8th floor in room 8229. I knew the room was going to be small, but it was a nice room. I wasn't too happy about sleeping on the couch bed, but it was very comfortable. After that we went one deck up to the Lido deck to grab some pizza. The muster drill was a bit different because it was raining when we left Tampa. They had everyone go into the dining room. It didn't take long at all. Afterwards we walked around a little and then went back up to the room to unpack the rest of our luggage.

At around 5:15 we went to the Welcome Aboard Talk. We met Jen, the cruise director, who was great. You could tell she realllllly loves what she does. She told us a little about the ship and then talked about shore excursions, mostly about Grand Cayman ones. After that we explored the ship a little more.

We had late dining, which was at 8:15. We went down a little early and found a LONG line that was all the way past one lounge and past the main area ( the longest line ive ever seen !) We couldn't believe how long it was, but then all of a sudden it was gone and we were going into the dining room. The dining room was great, even though we were never offered anything but water. That didn't really bother me, but I thought they would ask you if you wanted anything else. More about the dining room later.

Went to the room so I could see if we got a towel animal. We did! I looked foward to them every night. At 10:30 we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. The Legend dancers performed and sang. Jen talked some, and then she introduced Thomas Brown. This guy was hilarious. He brought a few people on stage and made them lip sync some songs, it was really funny. After that we went to the room and relaxed.

 

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*View from our Balcony before the ship left port*

 

 

 

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*Our Room*

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*The Bed*

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*My couch/bed*

 

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*Going under the Skyway Bridge*

 

More to come : )

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falkcor

falkcor

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yay, you figured out the pictures (you'll know what i mean!) :D

 

i was gonna post something when i saw the html codes but then i saw you edited the first pic and it worked.

 

i'll be the first to say thanks for your review - i'm sure you had a blast :)

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ADL3

ADL3

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Looking forward to seeing the rest of your review! We're going in a little under two weeks, and similarly, we are driving from the Memphis area. (We live in northeast AR, but will spend our first night of our vacation in Tunica and drive on from there, spending one night on the road and one night in Tampa).

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Iluvek

Iluvek

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Leaving in 13 days on the Legend,, can't wait,,, great pictures so far,,, question,, how were the "formal" nites... I am going with my 16 yo son, and I know he won't want to get too dressed up... I told him at least dockers!

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smc0320

smc0320

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I can't wait to hear more too....your review sounds fun so far. We're on Legend in Dec 09. But I'm kinda freaked out that you live in TN and your drive was 14 hours....because I'm in Columbus, Ohio and my drive is only supposed to be 14 hours...anway, can't wait for more....

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Cruising'51

Cruising'51

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Watched the ship/you leave from Tampa. I had wondered how they did the muster drill as it was raining when you left. I wanted to get on board too, in fact, I walked around to the Cruise passengers entrance hoping someone would say "HEY COME ON":D. Love your pictures. Hoped you enjoyed yourself!:)

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PinkJellyFish06

PinkJellyFish06

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Thanks for all the comments : )

Here are a few more pictures from our first day on board the Carnival Legend! Ill post more of my review, hopefully, later on tonight.

 

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*View from our Balcony.*

 

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*You can see a little bit of Tampa.*

 

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*Part of the Casino.*

 

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*Basketball court & Miniature golf.*

 

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*The back of the boat. Pool, lounge area, & bar.*

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winakork

winakork

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I can't wait to hear more too....your review sounds fun so far. We're on Legend in about 30 days. The 3 kids are driving us crazy with their excitement. Pics are great!! Almost feel like we are already there.

 

By the way Happy 21st. Sounds like we are in for a great trip. Can't wait.

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LORBO

LORBO

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we just got off the legend (7/5 cruise) and i have to admit, i loved it!. i had heard some negative things about carnival in general but we were in the tampa area for a family reunion and this cruise just fit into our plans...

 

tampa is a very nice place and an easy port to leave from from. great cruising down the channel to the ocean and going under the bridge was cool....

 

the boat is exactly the same as costa mediteranea which we were on twice, the food was great (warm chocolate melting cake!!!!) and the service was very good (dessi...HELLOOOOOO!)....

 

ports were okay (we were at many before) but if you go to roatan, make sure you spend the time on anthony key resort. look them up online...its 20 bucks and its the best place to snorkle and swim. great beach and pool and wild monkeys!!!!!

 

all-in-all i was completely pleased with this cruise. nothing like the stories i heard of concerning carnival. if anyone wants more info, you can contact me here of directly at lorbo@aol.com

 

we had room 6141. balcony cabin.

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