Currently on the Legend to Hawaii

FYI:

I am on the Carnival Legend to Hawaii and blogging the journey.

If you are interested in following along, click the link in my signature!

Jilly

It sounds like Max may grow up to be a hairdresser :)

Have a fun cruise.

FYI:

I am on the Carnival Legend to Hawaii and blogging the journey.

If you are interested in following along, click the link in my signature!

 

Jilly

Nice photos. Following.

Your pictures are beautiful!!

Love the blog and photos ,outstanding.

Be sure you get to the lectures with Michele, the naturalist--She's truly outstanding!

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks all! Appreciate the comments. I just uploaded a new post. There hasn't really been anything special going on in my world except relaxation. I feel very sloth-like and rested though. I really needed this break from reality!

Expect the posts to be daily when we reach Hawaii. I am there for 3 nights afterward as well.

Jilly

Thanks Jilly for sharing! Your cruise sounds wonderful!

After reading how relaxful the sea days are it makes me wonder if I wouldn't want the 15 day Hawaii cruise. I thought it would be too many sea days, but maybe not..

Enjoy your cruise. I'll be following along!

Took the 11 day cruise last year on the Legend and had an amazing time on the islands! The ship itself was awesome but a lot of the cruisers tended to skew towards the retiree age so it would've been a little more fun to see a bit more youth on the ship to liven things up. Again, enjoyed Hawaii and hope you enjoy your trip!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Any chance you can post the link? You can't see people's signatures when you are using the app (like I am).

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

FYI:

I am on the Carnival Legend to Hawaii and blogging the journey.

If you are interested in following along, click the link in my signature!

 

Jilly

Enjoying your blog.

Following your blog, can't wait to see more!!

Hello Everyone!

Greeting from the Pacific Ocean on the last sea day of this cruise. :(

I will be blogging in more detail later tonight, but wanted to specifically post these observations about the Legend and Carnival in general.

First, I will say, this ship remains my favorite and I have no idea why people would write negative reviews. I would sail on this ship again, anytime.

I'm not posting this on my travel blog--this is really for Carnival cruisers.

So here goes:

A couple of things I noticed on this cruise:

Room Service:

• No more individual cartons of milk. You get your milk in a plastic cup covered in saran wrap

• Same with the cereal

I can see this would be a great savings

• No more cloth napkins—heavy paper napkins wrap the silverware

Buffet

• Same as above for milk and cereal. Chocolate milk is still served too but in an urn type thing

Cabin Steward

• You are given the option of once or twice daily room cleaning.

• No room service menu in the cabin, I had to ask

• No robes in the room, I had to ask

• No ice automatically in room, I had to ask

• Mini bar is empty

Cloth napkins used in the buffet area are smaller than what is used in the MDR.

Drink prices are higher. You can still get a basic drink for $7.95 but overall, I’ve seen higher wine prices and definitely higher prices for ‘specialty’ drinks

• Though they are now offering a 2nd shot in your drink for a couple of bucks more.

Food Selection at the Buffet

• They have a daily buffet station called Chopsticks that serves the popular Chinese cuisine you used to find at the Mongolian Wok. The line is still quite long throughout lunch but it moves quickly. (I thought the food was excellent but would have preferred more vegetables stir-fried into the entrees.)

• They have the normal themed foods from different countries on a rotating basis.

These things seem to be fairly new--I cruised in May and did not notice any of this.

Having mentioned all these things, I still think Carnival offers one of the best products/value but I imagine all of these things combined keeps the profit margin up.

Oh and for the OP that asked, here is the address to my blog:

https://gypsyjilly.blogspot.com

Jilly

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your blog with us.

Thanks Jilly for sharing! Your cruise sounds wonderful!

 

After reading how relaxful the sea days are it makes me wonder if I wouldn't want the 15 day Hawaii cruise. I thought it would be too many sea days, but maybe not..

 

Enjoy your cruise. I'll be following along!

My family and I did the Splendor 15 day cruise to Hawaii. It was amazing. Having sea days to relax coming back from Hawaii were great. I would do the round trip again anytime.

I'm loving your Blog. I will be on the April 19, 2017 sailing to Hawaii on the Legend! I'm reading every word, so keep it coming. I am especially interested in hearing about Kona as we are flying into Kona a couple days early to do the Manta Night Dive before heading to Honolulu to board the ship. Cant wait to hear about your snorkeling excursion! Have a great Day!

Loving your review!!! [emoji4][emoji267][emoji484]☀️

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We did the Hawaii cruise on the Legend in May when she was on her way to Alaska - wish I was there again --:)

jilly08 - did you book Carnival or private excursions?

Hi everyone,

Thanks for following along. I'm going to write a summary of the trip and will include more information about the tour operators. Leaving for the airport in a few. RTFM

Jill

I wrote this summary about my trip. There is more specific info in my blog (link below)

Some Final Thoughts on my Latest Adventure

Seattle: It was so awesome to visit this city for the 1st time and see my cousins. Regarding the actual sites I visited, the Dale Chiluly museum was the highlight for me. To have the opportunity to see all those gorgeous glass works of art was a huge treat for me. If you have the opportunity to see his work, take it. You won’t regret it!

Vancouver: The Amtrak train ride up the coast was a really nice way to travel—very relaxing. They do offer baggage check so you don't have to schlep your luggage aboard. It’s very reasonably priced—even when you upgrade to the business class. And I do recommend you do that.

Only having part of 1 day to explore this city did not really allow me to do a whole lot. But I always like to get the ‘vibe’ for any city I visit. Walking around is the best way to do this. The area I stayed in – downtown – had a very young and hip feeling. There were tons of local restaurants and shops.

Carnival Legend: This is one of my favorite ships in the fleet. I’ve sailed on her 5 or 6 times over the years. To me this class of ship is the perfect size and the Serenity area is the best one on all the ships I’ve been on. The décor is not over the top either. There are beautiful public areas with tasteful art all around.

The Cabins are pure Carnival. They are pretty much the same on every ship I’ve been on. This trip I stayed in a 4K cabin, which is considered an inside. However, these cabins do have Juliette balconies allowing you to get some fresh air and if you are lucky, even a view of the ocean. They are a great value for the money.

The service on this ship was excellent as was the food.

In addition to the shows, comedians, the casino, bar entertainment, there were plenty of activities to choose from as well as lectures to attend. And there was plenty of space to lounge if you just wanted to chill. I love that this ship has 3 pools—one in the Serenity area as well as a hot tub!

Speaking of lounging, the ‘clam shell’ loungers are brilliant! I spend many hours gazing out at the sea.

Oh and Carnival listened when they saw how popular the Mongolian Wok’s were and made a much more efficient process to enjoy the Chinese food. It’s called Noodles and they have a wonderful selection of food to choose from every day!

Hilo: An excellent excursion here is by MaryLou’s Big Island Tours. I found them via Google. Her husband, Ken, handled the correspondence and was very responsive to my emails. They are local folks and very trusting. They did NOT require payment up front! Both MaryLou and Ken do tours and although they don’t advertise it, they will also do tours in Kona.

Their son has a business in Kona too, and from what I read does snorkeling tours.

Kona: I did a ship tour here. Captain Zodiac. It was a competitively priced tour. I highly recommend the snorkeling location – The Captain Cook Monument.

If I return to Hawaii someday, I would go back to the big Island and spend most of my time there. I love that it is still unspoiled by development.

Kauai: I saw a You Tube video a couple of years ago called “Tubing the Ditch” and that started all of the research into visiting Hawaii actually! The actual excursion was booked through the ship due to the distance from the port and transportation not being great there. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Most definitely. This was such a unique and fun day. It’s suitable for all ages. It’s not a bit strenuous. Wear your bug repellent though—lots of biting bugs around.

Maui: If you read the blog, you know I wasn’t impressed with my day in Maui. If I go back, I would opt to go to Hana or Up Country and see what that is like. Maui is very commercialized and appears to be getting worse with all the construction I saw.

Honolulu: A place I’m glad I visited. It’s a shopper’s Mecca, if that’s your thing. And it has the famous Waikiki Beach, which is a must see. I did enjoy some of the beachside dining. You also must see Pearl Harbor. Tours leave from all over Honolulu. It’s a moving experience and puts all of your daily ‘struggles’ into perspective.

However, I think you MUST leave the city and explore the other side of the island. It was just beautiful and unspoiled. Plus, there were Mom and Pop fruit stands and little family owned shops selling unique gifts and edible items.

If I go back again, I am renting a car and avoiding Honolulu altogether and heading to the other side of the island!

In conclusion, am I glad I went? Yes, I am. Will I go back? Probably not. There are too many other places in the world I want to see. Having said that, it’s time to start planning my next great adventure!!

That's all for now. TTYAL!

jilly

What? No visiting Walmart & Kmart on these Islands? C'mon now. :)

What? No visiting Walmart & Kmart on these Islands? C'mon now. :)

LOL. Not me--but there were free shuttles and people on them... I don't get that but to each his own.

Jilly

Nicely, done, really enjoyed your blog. DH and I love Hawaii and are planning another trip for 2017.

We also did Tubing the Ditch. I remember lunch was included and we stopped by this little waterfall and were served fresh sandwiches, and our guide went over and pulled a few fresh avocados off a tree to add to our sandwich. oh em gee :)

It is sad the Arizona Memorial has to remind people how to act. I was sitting behind someone during the movie who pulled out his phone...I leaned over and told him not so nicely to turn it off. :mad: Absolutely no respect.

I know you said you probably won't go back, but you definitely did not get the whole vibe of Maui. Just a trip to Haleakala is amazing. We went for the sunrise and words can't describe it - watching the sun rise above the clouds is breathtaking, but cold. lol

We also stayed at Paradise Bay in Kaneohe, which is right down the road from the Tropical Farm/Mac Nut place. Did you happen to pass a roadside stand where they were grilling chickens on a rotisserie? Amazing huli huli chicken and has been visited twice by Diners Drive-ins & Dives. :)