Legend Review 7/12/09 by a Newbie

[MontTheDonk]

We are just back from a wonderful cruise on the Legend. This was our first cruise, so if the experienced cruisers can forgive me, I am going to cast this review towards people like us – the novices or “Newbies”. We booked this cruise in April, and I religiously read this CC board each day picking up tips from the experts. At the end of the review, again for the Newbies, I will do a bit of myth busting that will hopefully help you plan and be prepared. Of course, the review is based solely on one cruise on one ship – but still, if you are new to Carnival, cruising, or the Legend – it should be of interest.

 

Saturday – 7/11

We drove down from Atlanta and stayed at the Chase Suites. This hotel is about 20 minutes in their shuttle van from the port. There were four of us (Me, DW, DS, and DDIL – daughter-in-law) which I will refer to as “the Clan” from now on where necessary. We stayed in one of their two bedroom king suites – which is more like a town house or condo than a hotel room. Very good accommodations. We were using their “park and cruise” rate. Shuttles leave at 10, 11 and 12 on the Sunday and you have to get your name on the list. We were bumped from the 10am to 11am shuttle due to a booking conflict – but was really no issue in the end. We used the afternoon and evening to tour the Y'bor and Port area and had dinner and drinks there.

[MontTheDonk]

Sunday – 7/12 – Embarkation Day

The 11am shuttle got us to the ship about 11:20. There were no really long lines anywhere. We were given group 11 for boarding and were on the ship and eating lunch on the Lido deck by 12:15pm. Note to the newbies – the later you leave boarding, the less chance you will have to get a table on the Lido for lunch. By 1:15pm people were standing waiting for a table. Lines at the food stations were relatively short and moved fast. At 1:30 we looked for our cabin. It was kind of ready – they still had a couple of things to do but it was open. We took the ship tour at 2:30 with the assistant cruise director – who seemed to wish he was somewhere else – but it gave us a quick overview of the ship in general – probably could have left this out. Went to the muster drill I guess around 3’ish. Note to newbies – don’t rush to muster drill – there is a lot of waiting involved, and the earlier you get there – the closer you are to the back wall and more packed in you are – and it can be hot in July. After muster, we went up on the mini-golf deck (not sure the number, maybe 11?) and selected a spot to view the sail-away. Man, the ship crawls down the Tampa channels so we gave up on that for a while and went and got sushi on the Promenade deck. After a couple of hours, the ship had finally reached the “Sky Bridge?” so we went back up on deck 11 forward and watched as we passed under it. The ship probably misses the bridge by more than we think – but it sure looks close! Went back to cabin and bags were waiting – so we unpacked. Note to Newbies – our DDIL’s bag lost it’s tag (she didn’t use the packing tape method which I did – which worked fine). As they were walking back to their cabin, they saw her bag going passed in a steward’s hand – they were taking it to our cabin – long story. Anyway, no problem in the end. Went shopping and bought some duty free vodka (they had a special going). Note to Newbies – duty free booze bought like this will be delivered in carry boxes to your cabin on the last night of the cruise. Clan decided to have dinner at 7:45pm as we had Any-time dining. I had the flat iron steak – which was great. Went to the Welcome Aboard show at 10:30pm – which, while it was not up to the standard of the other shows through the week, we enjoyed anyway. Piano bar after this. Note to Newbies – the piano bar language definitely gets R rated after midnight – excessively so in my mind.

[MontTheDonk]

Monday – 7/13 – Day at Sea

My wife and I had a balcony cabin (Empress Deck midships), so we ordered breakfast room service the night before. I went to the gym at 8:30am – and it was pretty full – but I got an elliptical for 30 minutes, then went in the steam room and showers. Note to Newbies – the showers in the gym are great. They have the side jets as well as a top jet and are bigger than the cabin showers. The doors to the showers, however, are unmarked so you have to look for them (hint – they are opposite the steam room and sauna). Sat around the aft (adult) pool until about 1:30pm I got there at 10:30am and was able to get a couple of lounge chairs very easily. At 11:30 they were all taken up. Grabbed some calamari at the Lido buffet for lunch then watched the ‘hairy chest” competition near the main pool. Went to the purser’s desk (now called ‘guest services’) and deposited some cash on my S&S card. Carnival was offering a “cash back” special when we booked, and that OBC had already been posted. Had afternoon tea in the Atlantis Lounge at 3:30pm. This was wonderful – they had a great selection of teas, and cucumber sandwiches! Note to Newbies – they only do Afternoon Tea on sea days. Attended the Captain’s Party in the Follies lounge after that. It was great and they had free unlimited cocktails that seemed to come around pretty regularly. This night was the first of the two “elegant dress” nights. I had lobster and shrimp of course, then added a side of duck for luck! Note to Newbies – you can order as many appetizers, main courses, and desserts as you like – or as you feel you can fit in! Went to the 10:30pm Las Vegas style singing and dancing show and thoroughly enjoyed it. Note to Newbies – make sure to sit on the deck 2 level if you want bar service during the shows – there is no service on levels 3 & 4 in the Follies. Also, the bingo sessions often run overtime just before the shows, and it seems the die-hard bingo’ers don’t stay around for the shows – so seats open up during the transition. After the show, we went to Sachmo’s bar and listened to the band there. On this cruise, seemed like very few people went to this bar – I think it was because the band in there was way too loud for most people – judging by the number of people sitting just outside the bar – listening to the music!

[MontTheDonk]

Tuesday – 7/14 – Grand Cayman

Woken up at 6:30am when room service delivered someone else’s breakfast. Called room service and told them to come collect it, left it outside the room and went back to bed. OUR breakfast was delivered at 8:00am as we ordered and we ate on the balcony watching the tenders come and go. Took the elevator straight to deck A around 9am and the tender line was very short – so we basically walked on to a tender and off to the port. Cayman Is. is one hour behind ship time so our excursion (booked through an independent operator) was not scheduled to leave until 10:30am ship time. I had enough time to catch the tender back to the ship, pick up the underwater camera I had left in the cabin, and get back to the port. Still had enough time to sit on the ice cream parlor balcony enjoying a mango ice cream watching the people coming in from the other three cruise ships in port. Our excursion (“Rays and Reefs”) left from a little office behind the English Bakery (out of business) by van to the other side of the island, where we boarded our catamaran to go out to the stingray sandbar. We stopped at the sandbar for about half an hour or more, then up anchored and moved a few hundred yards to the edge of the reef for snorkeling. Note to Newbies – if the water is rough as it was on this day (2-3ft waves) – salt water is going to come down the snorkel! I must have swallowed too much salt water because when I got back on the catamaran, I threw up over the side. After that, I felt fine. Wearing one of their snorkel vests helps a lot in rougher water as you can stay higher on top of the water. There were about 20 of us on the 50ft cat – which was a lot better than the 100 or so stuffed into the other (CCL organized) boats – we were laying out on deck in the sun as the cat lazily sailed back to the departure point. We got back to the cruise port just in time for the “last” tender. Actually there was quite a line of people down the street waiting. The line moved pretty quickly – but the “last” tender definitely was not at 3:00pm. We were back onboard about 3:30. Shipped weighed anchor at exactly 4:00pm so we went back to the cabin for an hours nap. (This became a habit for the rest of the cruise!). Met with our DS and DDIL later for a game of Mexican Train, then had dinner at 8:00pm. Went to the late show at 10:30 which was a juggler and a comedian. I also stayed for the “after hours” R rated show by the same comedian, and found this to be funnier than his family oriented show.

[MontTheDonk]

Wednesday – 7/15 – Cozumel

Had breakfast in the dining room with the Clan since we did not have an excursion booked. Disembarked about 10:30 and did a little shopping at the shops attached to the pier. We were at the northern-most pier, and the Holiday and Imagination (?) were docked there at the same time. Took a cab to Paradise Beach ($13 for 4 of us) and paid the $10 pp for the beach lounges, umbrellas, and use of non-motorized equipment. Our DS had great fun seeing how many “tricks” he could pull on the floating water slide. As our DDIL said, he is a 10 year old trapped in a 30 year old body! He paid for it next day with a stiff neck. Food - $9 for a good pizza Drinks – about $4-6 each. We actually had a 20 minute deep tissue massage each in their beach cabana ($1 per minute). Returned to the ship about 3:00pm for our usual nap – which was good timing as it started to rain not long after. After nap, went up on deck 11 for sail-away, then to Legend Cafe for coffee and sushi. Dinner at around 8:00 – had fried shrimp and snapper – great! Went to the “Married” quiz in the Follies, run by Jen the Cruise Director. I have to digress here for a moment. Jen has to be the hardest working, most flamboyant cruise director in the fleet. I can’t imagine someone being more involved. I saw some previous posts that criticized her for being too “loud”, even obnoxious – but for me, she was great. Loud, very funny, and very playful. Joins in a lot of the activities all over the ship and even plays Dolly Parton in the Legend’s Show on the last night. She was hilarious in the “married” game as the “host”! Attended the main show again at 10:30 – a comedian/juggler who was very funny and a good juggler as well. Another aside here – my wife had to use the ship’s infirmary after we got back from the beach. Snorkeling the day before had dislodged some wax in her ear up against her ear drum. We tried some OTC remedies without success to she visited the ship’s doctor. The whole medical staff were really wonderful people – the doctor (from Texas) was so funny – made her feel very comfortable, and quickly syringed out her ear. Cost about $105 for the visit – but well worth it from her point of view. We had taken out trip medical insurance – so we might get some of that back.

[MontTheDonk]

Thursday – 7/16 – Belize

Breakfast on the balcony again. Ship actually anchors about 6 miles out from the port as the water is very shallow. You can see the propellers digging up the sand as we make our way to where it can drop anchor. Today was quite windy and the water was fairly rough. The tender boats tried to get in on the starboard side but could not do it, so the ship moved a little and anchored so it acted as a wind-break port side tendering. We went down to the Follies to get our tender number. They were running about 40 minutes late due to the tender/weather problem. Note to Newbies – they will call tendering for people who have booked an excursion through CCL before most others – however, some CCL excursions do not leave until later. We were given #5 as our tender group number, so we had to wait about 30 minutes in the lounge before our number was called. We had an independent tour again (to Atun Ha) so soon as we got on shore, we found the rep and followed her to their office (in the port area). The tour was not leaving for about an hour still, so we wandered around the port shops. When ready, we left with the tour guide (Jenny) and walked a few blocks to where their van was parked. There were 10 of us on the tour. Travelled about 30 miles to the ruins going through the city on the way. The ruins were very interesting and Jenny did a great job of commentating. Stopped at a plantation on the way back for lunch (included) which consisted of rice/beans/chicken, fruit and avocado, plus lemonade. Was a very nice place run by a guy retired from a “small town in southern Texas”. He had monkeys, butterflies and a Toucan for us to see. I think the place was called the Butterfly House. By the way, the roads in Belize are really rough – especially the side road that leads to the ruins (14 miles) – so if you at all get car sick, book a tour that uses the large tour busses. You won’t get the personal attention (and perhaps lunch), but the ride there and back might be smoother. We got back to the pier about 3:45pm (last tender was at 4:00) and walked straight onto a tender boat for the (long) ride back to the ship. Napped again (of course) then met for dinner around 7:30pm. I had the Rack of Lamb AND the Seafood Medley (too much). The lamb was excellent! The show was at 9:00pm on this night, and was a Motown singer with the big band. I was OK – other shows were better though. After the show, we donned our bathrobes and went up on the Lido deck to the main pool area for the Deck Party. This was OK while Jen and the other activities directors were involved (on stage) but died pretty quickly after midnight. I guess every one was worn out!

[MontTheDonk]

Friday – 7/17 – Roatan

Unfortunately, this part of the review will be minimal as we did not have an excursion booked. Let me just say – we should have had one booked. After reading this board, I had decided we could “do our own thing” and catch a local bus to West End, then maybe a water taxi to Half Moon Bay. No way. After walking 100 yards toward town through the myriad of peddlers, my Clan decided they had had enough of this and wanted to return to the ship. I at least got them to sit in one of the waterside bars and have a couple of drinks, and they bought some trinkets on the roadside stalls – but the constant “peddling” made the experience overwhelming for the ladies. So, my advice for the Newbies, book either a CCL or independent tour ahead of time if you are at all queasy about wandering through a third-world situation. Many have said, and I believe them, that Roatan is the most beautiful stop on the cruise – unfortunately, the town is not that! We did buy the services of a “guide” for our short walk – but even he was reluctant to help us get on a bus – he wanted us to buy a tour. We did stop at an internet cafe where I was able to check my email ($1.25 for 30 minutes). Got back on the ship and had pizza on the Lido deck after sitting around the pool – which was almost deserted. After that, DW had a nap while I went to the Firebird Lounge and watched a movie. Met up in the Legend Cafe for the usual sushi, coffee, and to read. Dinner was at 7:30 tonight then on to the big Las Vegas show in the Follies. The show was great (singing, dancing, stage sets, pyro, lasers, the lot) and the band was great! Jen said later that this was only the third time they had performed this particular show – so I guess they do make some changes between dry dock appointments. After the show, went to the piano bar for a while, then wandered the casino until about 1:00am.

[MontTheDonk]

Saturday – 7/18 – Sea Day

Ocean started out a bit rough today (5-8ft swells) but we hardly felt it on the ship. Breakfast on the balcony, then to the gym for hot-tub, sauna, steam room, and shower. Oh you noticed – I didn’t use the gym for exercising even though I regularly go to a gym, I didn’t want to spoil my whole vacation! Watched the ping pong tournament on the Lido deck, then attended the disembarkation talk in the Follies. OK, so your thinking, that’s got to be the most boring use of an hour yet. No way. Again, Jen made the whole thing so funny with a top ten most stupid questions segment, even the captain, when he came up on stage was quite funny. They brought up a lot of the servers and crew and gave out some crew awards. Ended up being a great way to spend an hour, as well as gaining useful information about disembarkation procedures. Had a sandwich on the Lido for lunch, then watched my DS in an adult dodge ball tournament up on deck 11. Nap (of course) then dinner at 7:45. This did not go quite as well (see my notes later about Any-Time Dining). Went to the “Legend’s Talent Show” in the Follies after dinner, where the guests are the performers. Of course, some were quite good – SOME. Piano Bar to close the day (Braxton sang again – you’ll know him if you were there). Packed our bags then crawled into bed about midnight knowing tomorrow was going to be one of the saddest days of our lives.

[MontTheDonk]

Sunday – 7/19 – Tampa

It’s over. Got up about 6:20am – we were already docked. We were doing self-assist debarkation so they had said we could leave after about 8:15am. Went up and met the Clan on the Lido for breakfast, then back to the cabin to get our bags around 8:15. Note to Newbies – you will NOT be able to get an elevator down to deck 2 with your bags after about 7:30 due to the crowds. Either take your bags down to level 3 earlier, or be prepared to hump them down the stairs like we ended up doing. The line to leave the ship was not long and we were off by about 8:30am. Note to Newbies – if you have a free hand while carrying/pulling your bags, you can use the escalator inside the terminal, otherwise you have to wait in a long line for the one (1) elevator. They won’t let you on the escalator without a “free hand”. This way – you know you are back in the USA (there’s a trial lawyer waiting at the bottom if you need him). We crossed the road and into the parking deck where we were to be picked up by the Chaise Suites shuttle van. We called them from there and it took about half an hour until they showed up.

[MontTheDonk]

General Observations

Ship –

I liked the Legend. The size was just right. Not too small – not too big. Lots of balconies. Easy to get around even though I still had to check out a window to see which way we were going so I knew the bow from the stern. The ship is in great shape – I did not see or hear of any maintenance issues – no funny smells etc.

 

Cabin Stuff

We had a balcony cabin, starboard, midship, Empress deck (6). My DS and DDIL had an inside cabin, same deck, forward. I don’t care what the specs say, the inside cabins are definitely smaller that the balcony cabins. My wife says she will never cruise without a balcony now. We found it to be more than adequate for the two of us. Plenty of storage. People have said there is no counter space in the bathroom – there is on this ship, and even shelves going up each side of the mirror. We did not need the over-the-door shoe holder. We did take a collapsible over-the-door laundry bag which was useful. I did take a bungee cord for the balcony door which was needed. Now some people say they sleep with the door open – for us in July – it was much too humid for that. Shower was fine and the shower curtain did not need weights on the bottom like some said. Post-it Notes were useful as was a marker. TV had an AV input on the back – but I could not see a way of getting it to switch over to the AV input.

 

Crew / Cruise Director

All the ships crew and staff were very friendly – all the time. CCL has to be congratulated on instilling this philosophy into their employees. Guests are onboard to have fun and enjoy themselves and a “happy” staff just accentuates that enjoyment. Our room steward was very good. He emptied the fridge on the first day at my request, and kept our cooler filled with ice each day. At the end of the cruise, he refilled the fridge, and packed our unused drinks into our cooler along with ice. I have already indicated how much we liked Jen the cruise director. She does a great job and has to be the “hardest working cruise director in the fleet” (their words). We agree. The ships doctor was very friendly and funny (we had occasion to use his services).

[MontTheDonk]

General Observations

Alcohol

We took two bottles of wine and three Rum Runner flasks (scotch and rum) on board. RR’s were in our checked baggage, wine in our carry on. I carried a small(ish) cooler with the wine and 12 pack of juice cartons. DS had two 1.5L bottles of wine in carry-on. Honestly, we probably could have bought a whole bar onboard – no-one seemed to care at all. We still bought drinks onboard (I think I ended up with 5 souvenir cups from the DOD). If you drink beer and have to buy it onboard, the Foster’s Oil Can is the best deal.

 

Any-Time Dining

Not sure about this now. We did it but it has some drawbacks. You don’t get to know your waiters or fellow cruisers this way, and the service seems a little less “controlled” than the fixed dining – although we saw fixed diners wait about the same time for their service as we did. Also, the AT dining area is limited in size, so you will have to wait for a specific table (e.g. window or waiter), and may even have a short wait (on elegant nights) for any table. The positive things of course are that you can go any time between 5::45 and 9:00pm; you won’t have to wait in a line to enter the dining room (if you have to wait they give you a pager); you can have different table companions each night if you like.

 

Pools

Adult pool never seemed to have kids – yet I never saw any “enforcement” either – handled very well. The adult pool does not have as big a lounge chair area so can fill up on sea days. On port days, you can virtually do laps in the pool by yourself. Never tried the outdoor hot-tub (are you kidding – hot-tub in the sun in July – we need a “cold-tub”!). The other two pools were more heavily populated and did not seem to get the breeze that you could get at the adult pool – however the “eye candy” was better there.

[MontTheDonk]

General Observations

Food

Food anywhere on the ship was absolutely fine. We sometimes eat at upscale restaurants in Atlanta, but decided, given the overall quality of the food in the general dining areas (Lido and Main) that there really was no need to go to the “specialty” restaurant (the Golden Fleece) and spend the extra bucks (who can eat a 24oz Porterhouse anyway?). True, the Lido deck is more “cafeteria” style, but the quality and variety of the food is definitely better than any cafeteria I have been into. Some have said that CCL is cutting back on the quality/quantity of food to economize – if this is true, I can’t imagine what it must have been like before! You can order as much food as you can eat in the main dining room – either from the chef’s selection or classics menu, or both – which we did on a couple of occasions. We actually purchased specialty coffee cards (5 of any size/type for $11.95) which we used every day – got to know the Baristas.

 

Excursions

You can book independent excursions. You don’t have to use the CCL ones. They say that you cannot be guaranteed getting back on the ship in time with an independent operator. This is probably true but if you want to book independent – go with a big operator that has a reputation at stake, that may have back-up vehicles if needed etc. You will save money and could possibly get a better, less crowded excursion. Book ahead online either way. Excursions, particularly CCL ones, do fill up. The exception may be in Cozumel. Here you can easily get to and from the resorts by taxi – so you can “wing” it if you like. I would book ahead on Roatan, even though it is a pier docking. The locals are just too desperate.

 

Smoking

We don’t, and fortunately only about 20% of the population do. Unfortunately, that 20% were on the balcony upwind of ours – and they seemed to spend most of the cruise there. Other parts of the ship were relatively smoke-free, with the exception of the casino (it’s amazing that most gamblers are smokers as well isn’t it) and the sports bar. Never went in the sports bar – passing the door was enough to flag that area as a health hazard. There is an area of the casino (the unused section it seemed) for non-smokers.

[MontTheDonk]

General Observations

Casino

Slots don’t seem to pay much at all – never really saw anyone win much of anything wit them. Most popular seemed to be the “coin pusher(?)” games. I watched a blackjack dealer win about 20 hands in a row to close out all the people at his table. Amazing luck (for CCL). I wouldn’t say the casino was that well attended – never seemed to be full.

 

Crowds

Only time you notice the 2600+ onboard is on embarkation day – when everyone tries to get into the Lido Unicorn Cafe for lunch, and disembarkation day when everyone is trying to get off the ship. The rest of the time, I was amazed how relatively empty the ship seemed. People sure spread out pretty evenly. The main pool area would get crowded on sea days, along with the Lido deck cafe, but we were in port for four of the days. Even the gym thinned out as the cruise progressed.

 

Shows / Activities

We loved the shows. We went every night. There was always something different to see. I guess you have to be a “hardened” cruiser to take a cruise like this and not go to any of the shows. Sure, some of them were better than others, but they were all entertaining and the best thing going at the time. We did some of the other minor activities – but we certainly did not try and do everything – after all, while this was our first, we plan to cruise again!

[Perfect Stranger]

Great review! Thanks for writing!

[SJChaput]

Can you give more detail on "on-ship" activities aside from shows?

 

Games, events, mini golf?

 

Wondering what kind of cheesy stuff there is to do on board ;)

 

Going in September on my Honeymoon.

[MontTheDonk]

I brought all the Capers home to refresh my mind.

We did not do many of the onboard activities - not because we didn't like them, because we were in port four of the days. They have things like quizs, trivia games, ping pong tournaments, dodge ball tournaments, golf chipping, putting contests, bean bag toss, basket ball free throw contest, "marrieds" game, line dance classes, famous faces contest, ring toss contest, galley tour, ice carving, towel folding, and bingo, bingo, bingo ....

[deeron51]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review - I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.

 

 

Thanks,

Deena

[Purplesaurus]

Thanks for the review. For a first timer it was very through and interesting.

We will be staying at Chase Suites as well. do you get on the shuttle list when you check in?

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, again great review!

[gman0119]

Just a quick reply in case you go back to Roatan. Even though there are many "vendors" at the gate that want you to buy everything from them, Roatan has something that other places don't. They respect the word "NO".

 

I lived on Roatan for a while, and know the local people well. A large majority of them, when told "No", will just look for the next bait. They don't follow you and keep trying. Roatan is a very laid back island. The last time I was there, I actually stayed at the road, right outside the gate and just talked and joked with some of the locals while we waited for our ride. After the initial, "NO", they were just willing to talk and joke.

 

Don't let them push you around. If you give them a firm "NO", they won't stay on you.

[lindseesmom]

We are going on the Legend in a few weeks and from what I have heard and read both Belize and Roatan are very poor!! I have a private tour for Roatan but Belize, not sure what to do and we are varied in age in our group and some with walking problems. So that leaves Belize up in the air. Oh well I guess time will tell.

[myacuna]

Thanks for the awesome review!! I am also a Newbie cruiser and will be on the Legend on Sunday!

[MontTheDonk]

On the question of Chase Suites shuttle - the desk will ask you when you check in which shuttle you would like -- 10,11,or 12. each shuttle can take about 8 people so some may already be filled. Apparently, he offered the 10 am one to too many people. I am glad we got the 11am one - ship was ready for boarding by the time we arrived at the port.

 

I don't think I would do Belize on my own - book an excursion or stay on the ship.

 

The peddlers in Roatan did follow us down the street - I had to ask a couple of them to stop following us. I think maybe their new angle is to follow you and make out like they are "with" you or you are "with" them - hoping they can convince you to buy from them.

[cjkumbaya]

What a great and thorough review, we were on the Legend last November and really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks so much for taking the time to sharing your trip. I know that the newbie cruisers will appreciate your insight.:)

[pcvtmom]

What an informative review! Thanks so much for taking the time to post. We are leaving on the Legend this Sunday. We've also booked a 2 bedroom suite at Chase, so I'm relieved to know that was a good experience...and to know how the shuttle booking works. Again...thanks!

[TabithaK]

Thanks for the great review! Which restaurant has anytime dining? We're going on the Legend in January.:)