Carnival Legend after HAL's Noordam - are we for big disappointment?

[newcruiser08820]

We are planning to sail Carnival Legend next April. We went to Eastern Caribbean on Noordam just few week go (yes, the one with 440 kids). That was out first cruise and we really enjoyed it. Since we can take time off only during specific time in April, there are not many choices. Carnival Legend does have a lot of positive reviews. However, after HAL’s Noordam are we set up for disappointment? Should we not consider Carnival, skip cruising next April and wait what itineraries will be available in 2009?

[daybreakbds]

we were one the legend about two years ago. it was okay. this was our second carnival and i have done five all together. truely believe that you make a cruise what you want it to be. the staff were okay, some a little rude. but we took it stride and enjoyed everyday we had on the islands and on the ship. after all we were in warm weather surround by beautiful water and no work. can't beat that :D

we will be on the noordam in november so i can't say anything about that. so having said that enjoy your cruise!

[hammybee]

I sail most mass marketed cruise lines, including Carnival. I always come home to HAL because of the warmth and sincerity of the crew. They are very different products and tend to appeal to different people. It is not necessarily a better or worse experiences.

I enjoy the evening entertainment on Carnival, more so than HAL. That's just me and this may or may not be your own experience.

Sometimes we don't know what we really like till we try something else. So give Carnival a try. You might be surprised at the things you discover to your liking. And as daybreak said, you will be in warm temps, on a blue sea and away from the day to day. How bad can that be?

[babyher]

Take each cruise, and each ship ,and each cruise line you go on in and of itself.

Even though its hard not to make comparisons. Be open to everything you see and experience on the Legend and judeg it on its own merits.

Whether its your cabin, or the food, or the service, or the decor, whatever. Judge it on how you enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it. Not how it measures up to HAL , or any other line.

Recently one of the members here Cruznon , wrote a beautiful review about her recent Princess cruise. She is a big HAL fan, but went on the Princess ship with an open mind and found a great many things she liked about Princess and ended up having a great time.

She admits in her review that she missed HAL and thought overall HAL is a better "fit" for her , but still enjoyed her cruise and found a lot of things on Princess she really enjoyed.

Like anything else in life , a cruise is what you make out of it, and a good attitude going in is very helpful.

I have never been on the Legend, but have done several Carnival cruises. They are a lot of fun. On the cruises I have bene on with them, the food has always been very good, the service has always been excellent , and there was plenty to do to keep entertained. And NO I never saw the "party til you puke" atmosphere everyone loves to warn about.

Have a great cruise and ENJOY:)

[Sea King]

if you've flown first class, will you be happy in coach?

depends on your expectations and as importantly the itinerary

IMO, consider something else

then again, HAL is part of the "Carnival Family";)

[caviargal]

if you've flown first class, will you be happy in coach?

depends on your expectations and as importantly the itinerary

IMO, consider something else



I agree. I am not one of those "a cruise is what you make it" people; to waste vacation time and money on a product that does not appeal for many reasons make no sense to me.

For me, the basics need to be there. Carnival, like Vegas, is not a good fit for me and not a choice I would make after trying the line 3x over 20 years, including a new ship.

Different strokes....

[mountainmare]

I agree with babyher--take each cruise for the joy of what it offers you. HAL is our first choice--period--but last winter we went on the Celebrity Galaxy. I loved the ship, but missed HAL's crew. My traveling companions (including DH) spent the entire 12 days complaining that this just wasn't HAL. We were swimming in bright blue seas while back home they had single digit temps--and they were moaning.
You will be fine on Carnival--its a ship--its different from HAL--but you will be on vacation and not home. As I will be fine on Costa (gasp!!!) in Feb. Its a ship, it goes to Egypt, I will be on it.

[steveww48]

Based on my experience, I think you'll enjoy the Carnival Legend.

We just sailed the Noordam (4/11/07 sailing) and had a great time. The cruise wasn't perfect, but no cruise is, and I'd certainly recommend the Noordam enthusiastically.

We sailed the Carnival Legend two years ago and we had a terrific time on that cruise too. The decor on the Legend is drastically different from the Noordam's: lots of glitz and neon on the Legend, while the Noordam is very refined. Although the Legend decor is not our style, it wasn't a big deal to us. The Legend has some very nice architectural features, such as a 10-story central atrium that helps the entire ship come alive. We thought the food, service, and entertainment were all very good to excellent on the Legend (also true on the Noordam, although the specific high points were different on the two ships).

At least on our sailing of the Legend, the frequently cited "crazy party atmosphere on Carnival" was not present. We saw a wide range of ages and it looked to us like a typical cruise crowd having a great time-- no wild or crazy behavior. (As a point of reference, we are in our 50's and are the antithesis of party animals.)

Things may have changed in two years, so there may be aspects of the Legend that are different now. And different people assess ships (and even the same cruise) differently. But my wife and I wouldn't be at all reluctant to sail either the Noordam or the Carnival Legend again, based on our personal experiences.

[mmp13]

I have not sailed on HAL yet but regularly sail with Celebrity. We sailed on the Legend a few years ago. I was really reluctant to try carnival because I heard I would be dissappointed etc. I actually enjoyed it very much. Would not hesitate to cruise carnival's newer ships. The food is not quite as good as Celebrity but certainly adequate and there was plenty to do. We found that passengers really dressed up for formal nites. I think If you approach each cruise with a positive attitude and realize each line has it's plusses and minuses you will be fine. We are looking forward to our first HAL cruise this fall and I can't wait!

[Lynne Myrna]

We were very disappointed with Carnival, that's why we wanted to try HAL, we read the reviews, 98% of c/c reviews were wonderful. We experienced our first cruise on the Noordam, this past Christmas, the ship, the exceptional service, the food, entertainment, were the best yet.....& we have been on many other lines. We are repeating the same cruise in Nov. We have never been on the Legend, so I have to be honest, we were on the Glory, & you cannot compare it to the Noordam....not in any way.

Lynne

[sab490]

We had one horrible Carnival cruise many years ago. We have avoided Carnival ever since. We were close to booking one out of New Orleans, but then along came Katrina. We also had always avoided HAL because of it's "floating retirement home" reputation (even though we are rapidly approaching that age), but after reading so many wonderful reviews of Noordam, because the date was right, and the New York departure (no flying) we decided to take a chance. Driving to NYC we were very aprehensive. Well, it turned out to be our best cruise ever and we are doing it again in December.

I guess what I am saying is you will never know unless you try it. The reviews of the newer Carnival ships are generally pretty favorable and if my choice was booking one of these or not cruising for another year I would definitely give Carnival another shot.

- Steve

[SUMMERDIGGER]

We are planning to sail Carnival Legend next April. We went to Eastern Caribbean on Noordam just few week go (yes, the one with 440 kids). That was out first cruise and we really enjoyed it. Since we can take time off only during specific time in April, there are not many choices. Carnival Legend does have a lot of positive reviews. However, after HAL’s Noordam are we set up for disappointment? Should we not consider Carnival, skip cruising next April and wait what itineraries will be available in 2009?[quote]


Go with Carnival . Its a lot of fun . You will have a great time . Carnival knows how to to keep you entertained and having a good time.

I just got off of the Noordam this saturday 4/21/07. The predominant age group on this cruise was older than 75
The old people went to bed early , so by midnight the all ship was dead .I believe everything closed either at 12.30 am or at 1.00 am.

I also cruised on the Carnival Triumph , and the Carnival Liberty in 2005 , and 2006 and if I remember well the bars and casino on the fifth deck closed at 3.00am and by this time they were still packed. After 3.00am you could go to the bar on the tenth deck until 5.00 am.
The predominant age group on Carnival was 25 to 45

[TBear416]

The Legend was my favorite cruise until I went on the Noordam. Personally I won't sail with Carnival again after having tried other cruise lines. But I will say the Legend was a beautiful ship and the entertainment was great. Carnival is better then alot of the other cruise lines when it comes to entertainment. However, they really lack when it comes to service and food quality. If I was you I would give the Legend a try. I think everyone should try Carnival at least once to see if it's right for them.

['The Bear']

We sailed the 'Legend' in 2005, and thoroughly enjoyed the cruise; it was our best Carnival cruise (3 others!)

We followed this up with a 'Maasdam' cruise this year, and will be sailing a B2B on the Maasdam next year. For our particular demographics HAL is superior, (we are late 50's and early 60's).

Some of the differences --1 The service everywhere was better & more attentive on the Maasdam, but the service was certainly adequate on the Legend ---2 The evening entertainment was better on all Carnival ships. ----3. There was far less smell from smoking on the Maasdam (only the Piano Bar, smelled of tobacco, and that is a confined area); whereas most lounges on the Legend smelled of smoke (IMHO), but that isn't a deal breaker for me , I smoked for 25 - 30 years. :eek: ----4. There was no evidence of chair hogging on the Maasdam; versus that being an issue on all our previous Carnival Cruises; again no deal breaker, I didn't need to be that close to the pool, especially with all the children around, anyway ;) ; but I fell in love with the aft pool on the Maasdam!! :D

But, like most others have posted, it's hard to find a poor cruise; it will be what you make of it !! Cruise the Legend with an open mind & I'm sure that you'll enjoy the experience. :)

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

if you've flown first class, will you be happy in coach?

depends on your expectations and as importantly the itinerary

IMO, consider something else

then again, HAL is part of the "Carnival Family";)


What does first class have to do with Holland America? I could understand comparing a first-class flight to Crystal or Regent, et cetera, but the comparison of first-class to Holland America, which is a premium line and not a luxury line, does not seem to make too much sense to me.

We have only been on one HAL cruise, and while the service was outstanding, the cruise itself was boring, boring, boring. When we got to the terminal, nothing but walkers, wheelchairs, and white hair as far as the eye could see. The average age of the passenger seemed to be around 75 years old, and the activities, music, and atmosphere on the ship reflected this. I have to say the service was outstanding. Best staff we ever encountered. There was a difference in the service on HAL compared to Carnival or RCI. Much better staff and service in general. The service on Carnival and RCI was fine, but it was outstanding on HAL. And our SS was wonderful. Thank god we had a balcony, because that is where I spent most of my time on that dull cruise. We did not enjoy the cruise at all, which was our fault for not doing our research before we went. If I had, I NEVER would have booked a HAL cruise. I have nothing against seniors, and in about 40 years, I am sure a HAL cruise will appeal to me.

We had fun on our Carnival and RCI cruises. Much livelier atmosphere, much more to do, and the ships did not shut down early like Holland America.

[grannynurse]

You are right, HAL isn't for everybody, but the question the OP asked was would he be disappointed on Carnival.
That is so subjective. I don't like the Carnival atmosphere so it isn't for me.
When I board a HAL ship, even one I've never been on before, I feel at home.
It depends on what the OP is looking for. If it's good entertainment, a party ship, etc. then Carnival would probably suit him.
It's like comparing apples to oranges, they are 2 distinctly different products.
That's why I feel that doing your homework is so important, which the OP is doing, BUT I don't think personal opinions don't answer the question for him.
The only way to find out is to do it.
GN

[Lynne Myrna]

That is so true, find out for yourself.....that's exactly what we did:)

GO FOR IT!!!!!!

[SUMMERDIGGER]

We have only been on one HAL cruise, and while the service was outstanding, the cruise itself was boring, boring, boring. When we got to the terminal, nothing but walkers, wheelchairs, and white hair as far as the eye could see. The average age of the passenger seemed to be around 75 years old, and the activities, music, and atmosphere on the ship reflected this. I have to say the service was outstanding. Best staff we ever encountered.

We had fun on our Carnival and RCI cruises. Much livelier atmosphere, much more to do, and the ships did not shut down early like Holland America.[/quote]

I just got off the Noordam this past Saturday 11/21/07 and I agree with you. The service was outstanding , but the cruise was boring. Nothing to do after the 10:30 pm show.
While the food on the buffet was very good , the food on the dining room was average. The frutti di mari was horrible with the french onion soup playing a close second on the lousy scale. The braised ribs were nothing but fat and the oxtail soup was just liquid.
On the good side I enjoyed the surf and turf , the shrimp provencal ,the parmegen crusted chicken and the salmon dishes.
It was a good cruise , but a boring one.I will not travel will Hal soon.