Another Legend Review - Honeymooning First Timers with Pics!

Let me start off by saying how much I enjoy reading reviews here on CC, so I just wanted to share my experience with everyone else. A little background: my husband and I got married on June 20th (the wedding was wonderful) and we decided to go on a cruise for our honeymoon. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise, so it was a first for both of us. After doing a lot of research on CC, we decided on the Carnival Legend, 6/28 – 7/5. The cruise was an absolute blast! So without further ado, here goes nothing!

Day before

We decided not to play with Murphy’s Law and flew down to Tampa the day before the cruise. We flew AirTran and had no problems with them. We live in Nashville, TN, but decided to fly out of Memphis, TN for 2 reasons. First, the plane tickets were cheaper. Second (and more important), we dropped our cat off to stay with my folks for the week (they have no pets of their own, and he is not what you would call a social butterfly). Our flight out of Memphis left at 10am, but we hitched a ride to the airport with my dad, so our honeymoon started bright and early, leaving the house at 7am. Sat around until our flight left, got to Atlanta, and sat around some more. We ended up having a 4 hour layover in Atlanta, so we ate at the TGI Friday in the airport, then waited some more. Finally arrived in Tampa at 6pm. We made reservations with Howard Johnson just south of the airport, mostly because they had a free shuttle from the airport and a $20 shuttle from the hotel to the pier, plus the price was pretty cheap. Well, we got we what paid for. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great either. It was a place to sleep, and it was a couple blocks away from a Walmart, so once we got settled, we walked to Walmart and picked up a 12 pack of diet coke for DH and 2 cans of spray-on sunscreen for me. There was a Subway inside the Walmart, so that’s what we had for dinner. While we were flipping through the channels on the tv back at the hotel, I paused on the the weather channel just in time to see a ‘tropical wave’ forming between Mexico and Cuba. Great, a whole week of rain I thought (this proved not to be the case luckily). We went to bed that night with dreams of tropical waves dancing in our heads.

Day 1 – Embarkation!

We had both been exhausted the night before, so we figured we would sleep until late morning, setting our alarm for 10am to give us just enough time to get ready to catch the 11am shuttle to the pier. Well, we were both wide awake at 8am. We grabbed breakfast at the HoJo’s ‘continental breakfast’, longing for the wonderful breakfasts we would soon experience on the Legend. Watched more weather channel and saw the tropical wave was breaking up (Yay!). After what seemed like a week, 11am finally arrived. Our hotel was the last on the shuttle’s route, so we loaded up our bags and headed towards our new digs for the next week. As we were driving up to the pier, we got our first glimpse of the Legend.

We had printed off our tags online and attached them at the hotel, so we tipped the porter and went onward. Some of our shuttle mates were not as CC savvy, and did not have a fun pass or luggage tags. I watched the porter look their names up on a master list and get them taken care of. After multiple flashings of fun pass and passports, we received our S&S cards and got our group number (14). After about 10 minutes, group 14 was called and we were on the boat. The whole process took about 1 hour and got us on the ship by noon. Not bad, not bad at all. We crossed the gangway and were greeted by the gorgeous atrium. We were also greeted by a nice long line to get an elevator. So, being an ambitious person, I decided climbing the stairs from deck 2 to deck 9 wouldn’t be that bad. Well, it wouldn’t have been, if we hadn’t been lugging our carry-ons. So, we made it up to Lido and collapsed at the first table we saw. It happened to be right next to the grill, so I stayed at the table while DH went and got food.

Waiting for food

DH after eating. You can tell he loves having his picture taken.

We hung around on deck until about 1pm, and went back down to deck 3 and found a nice window to sit in until 1:30, when our rooms would be ready. We went to our room at the appointed hour and found DH’s bag waiting for him at the door. Our room was 5231, an obstructed view balcony room. We were both very happy with the room. The lifeboat didn’t quite come up to the level of the railing, so we could see straight out just fine. DH was surprised at how large the room was. He got unpacked while I sat and read the capers. When he finished unpacking, my bag arrived. After I was unpacked, we headed up to the aft pool bar for a 3pm CC meet. There is an awning over the bar, which was very handy because it started to pour during our get-together. I grabbed a DOD card (as well as my first DOD) before we all met up.

Got to see cdiver, TV Dad, irishsailor7070, and jaimie1957. We chatted until the muster drill started at 3:30. Because it poured for about 10 minutes, they told us to grab our life jackets and head to our alternative muster stations (which ended up being Truffles dining room for us). We sat down at a tablet, put our life jacket on, took our life jacket off, and were dismissed. As Staples would say, “That was easy.” After dropping the life vests off in the room, we headed to the top deck below the funnel for sail away.

Enjoying the start of our vacation.

We met cruisinbanddirectors on deck, who also live in Nashville and who DH knows since he is also a band director. It’s a small world. Pretty soon, we see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the distance.

Still enjoying our vacation.

I was too busy taking pictures to notice if anyone ducked, but it is a pretty tight fit!

We went back to the room to get ready for our 8:15 dinner seating. We head to the dining room at 8:10ish and are met with a very very long line. We see cruisinbanddirectors again and chat with them until they opened the doors. There was a line to get into the dining room every night, but as soon as the doors opened, it went very quickly. We were seated at table 148, which was on deck 2 at the very back of the ship, next to a window. We had great wake views and got to see sunset every night. The table was set for 8, but only 2 other people showed up. They were also on their honeymoon and were wonderful tablemates! Our waiter was Carlos from Guatemala, and his assistant was Adam from Hungary. They were both great, and brought us so much food! DH lived in Mexico for 2 years, so he chatted with Carlos in Spanish and loved it. For dinner, I had the flatiron steak and DH had the tilapia, both were really good. I had the brulee for dessert and DH only wanted a cappuccino, however, Carlos brought him a chocolate melting cake as well. Carlos and Adam never let us leave the table until we were completely stuffed. After dinner, we had planned to go to the Welcome Aboard show, but we were too tired and went to the room and crashed instead.

WOW! Great news. It looks like it is possible to have a successful honeymoon cruise on the Legend! Congrats! :D

Nobody trying to overthrow the captain this time. Thank goodness.

Love reading the story so far. I had to laugh at the HoJo you stayed in though. You would have had better accomodations sleeping in the car at the rest stop though. The last time I stayed at a Hojo I opened my eyes and there was someone in my room who I didn't know!!!!!! I was taking a nap and apparently they gave the key to someone else by mistake. Good thing I didn't have a gun under my pillow. It would have been a mess. Sorry for digressing but the HoJo think made me flashback. HAHA!

Keep up the story. Sounds like it is gonna be a great review!

Lucky me! I've never been the 1st one to reply to anything. So, I must be the 1st to say CONGRATS on your wedding...and so glad to hear what seems to have been a wonderful honeymoon. We're on Legend in Dec and I cannot wait. Would love to hear what you loved about the ship and what surprised you...good or bad.

Lucky me! I've never been the 1st one to reply to anything. So, I must be the 1st to say CONGRATS on your wedding...and so glad to hear what seems to have been a wonderful honeymoon. We're on Legend in Dec and I cannot wait. Would love to hear what you loved about the ship and what surprised you...good or bad.

It was a photo finish but I won. HAHA! :D

Great start! Keep it going... I'm counting days!

Day 2 – Fun Day at Sea

We ended up sleeping in until 10am, but we are on vacation, so whatever! They were still serving breakfast on Lido, so we headed up and ate. We ate a lot on this cruise, but I guess that is why everyone says you will gain weight on a cruise. After breakfast, I decided to go lay out by the aft pool. Chairs were slightly limited by the pool, but there were tons of empty chairs on the deck above the pool (sun deck). Since I was by myself, I found a free chair and settled in with a book. After an hour or so, DH came to tell me he had donated to the casino and was ready for lunch. We went back to Lido for lunch. After lunch, I took some pictures of the room.

We both had no problem with the 'obstructed' view balcony.

I decided to go back out to the aft pool and read some more. Let me take a moment to say that I am blue eyed, freckled, and have very fair skin. Therefore, I should have known better than to go back outside in the sun. Also, let me take a moment to say that spray on sunscreen is obviously beyond me. I ended up splotchy and red on the first day of our vacation. Brilliant. I went back to the room and DH and I took a nap before dinner. He was smart and read on our balcony, in the shade. Tonight was the first formal night in the dining room and I had packed a really nice long dress to wear. As I am getting ready, I have a hard time getting the zipper to go up, so after fighting with it for 5 – 10 mins (which is a really long time to fight with your clothes), DH gets me zipped in. With about 3 mins until the captain’s party, I go to put on my shoes and the zipper completely breaks. If we thought it was hard to get the zipper up, it was twice as hard to get it back down after if broke. I am finally freed from the zipper from hell, and I grab the dress I had brought for the 2nd formal night, a short blue dress. I get that one on, and I quickly ascertained that I can’t get this one zipped either!! After much cursing and a few tears of frustration, we finally get me zipped in and shod. We make it to the captain’s party 30 mins late. We must have been the last couple to meet Captain Vito Giacalone and his crew because as soon as we sat down in Follies, Jenn the CD was introducing him. We got a free cocktail, something with LOTS of sour in it, and clapped for Captain Giacalone and his crew. Then it was on to dinner. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with a mental lapse as our tablemates were also sunburned. I had the Strawberry Bisque, which was like melted strawberry ice cream, very delicious. Everyone at our table had the lobster tonight. I’m not much of a lobster fan, so I thought it was okay, for lobster. Had to try the melting cake for dessert and it was very good. Again, we wanted to go to the show tonight, but ended up crashing in the room again. We had to get up early for Grand Cayman in the morning.

Our friend for the evening.

Towel animal from the first night.

Congratulations on your wedding! I am loving your review and pictures. You two don't look like you are old enough to be married! May you have a long and happy life together.

Great review - keep it coming. Just over two months until we get back onboard the Legend!

Congrats on your wedding! You two make a very nice looking couple. The review is off to a good start and I'm looking forward to more installments.

Congrats on your wedding and great Honeymoon ! We are sailing on the Legend on the 26th. Maybe you can answer a few questions (or anyone for that matter) My wife is wondering if the rooms are furnished with Hair Blow dryers? This seems to be important to her, being almost bald - not really an issue with me. However, being the good husband I am; I am on a quest to answer the question. LOL

Also, during the casual nights was it normal to see a significant amount of people dressed in "dress shorts" ? I also noticed that Carnival defined dressing for their "Elegant Nights" for men was dress slacks & dress shirts - not necessarily with a jacket and tie. Did you see many men without jacket and tie ?

Thanks and congrats again !

Our family will be first time cruisers on the Legend's July 26th sailing. I have really enjoyed reading your review and the looking at the photos as well. I'm looking forward to reading more of your review and hope that you will include info. on your excursions as well :)

P.S. Congratulations to you and your DH on your wedding!

I was on the same cruise and I agree that it was great! Love reading about another crusiers experience!

There are hair dryers in the rooms. It worked fine - so not worth packing my own if one is provided - even if it is "weaker" than mine at home.

There were some shorts in the dining room - DH wore his a couple of nights and did not stick out. It made packing much easier and made him much happier - so win, win!

Ally

Thanks so much, did you happen to notice anyone not wearing jackets on elegant nights ? Also, EVERYONE seems to know what DH stands for except me. I'm sure the "H" is husband but not sure of the "D" :confused:(it's not Dumb is it? LOL) Anyway, I really would appreciate any information about the legend cruise I'm about to take from anyone who would be kind enough to give it. Thanks:cool:

I'm on the Legend 9/26/10, but am excited as can be. I just love the review. I'm sitting here waiting for day in the Caymen Island to appear, can't wait. You are making this such a fun read.

Congratulations on the marriage. I'm worried about the cat at your folks, I know he was missing you.

Also, EVERYONE seems to know what DH stands for except me. I'm sure the "H" is husband but not sure of the "D" :confused:(it's not Dumb is it? LOL) Anyway, I really would appreciate any information about the legend cruise I'm about to take from anyone who would be kind enough to give it. Thanks:cool:

LOL! It ranges from Dear to Damn depending on mood. :D

On a more serious note - how is the crowd & decor on legend?

Old, outdated, rowdy?

Thanks

be on my honeymoon on the valor in October...I can't wait!!

I'll be on the Legend this fall too and am especially interested in what you did in the ports. Hope you write some more after you finish dinner. :cool:

Congratulations on you wedding and wonderful honeymoon. You guys, make a cute couple. Many good wishes in the years to come. Wonderful review.

Loving your review, and congrads on your marriage

Hi! Congrats on the wedding!

DH and I are sailing on the 26th and I think we're booked in your room!! Small world! I was worried about the obstructed view... so thanks for saying it wasn't a problem. :) I was worried.

Keep the story going! Were there any theme nights? Did you take any awesome tours? How were the shows (If you ever got to one... :p)?

I love your review. :)

Wow, thank you so much for the replies and congratulations!

There are blow dryers in the room, they are just hidden in the top drawer of the vanity. It worked fine, but you have to constantly hold a button on the dryer or it shuts off. Kinda weird, but not hard to get used to. Also, it does not take up the single outlet plug, it is wired through the drawer (again, weird).

As far as dress in the dining room, every night is a range of everything. I personally could care less what everyone else is wearing; it doesn't change the way the food tastes, which was good/great. That said, I did feel a little 'dressed down' when I wore jeans on the first night. On elegant nights, both DH and our tablemate wore button down shirts with ties. On the gals, I saw quite a few prom dresses, slacks, cocktail dresses, skirts....like I said, quite a range. We did go to the supper club (more in review) and I felt fine in a nice sundress.

And Marshhawk, the cat did not miss us at all. My parents totally spoiled him (even though he is spoiled rotten to begin with...)

Am almost done with Grand Cayman, so I promise I'll have that posted in an hour or so!

Day 3 – Grand Cayman

Our day started off bright and early at 6:30am! We had left the little room service card outside our door the night before with delivery to be between 6:30 and 6:45. So, alarm goes off at 6:30, and 2 seconds later, there is a knock on our door. Gotta love the free room service! We ate our food out on our balcony as we watched the ship pull into Grand Cayman.

We could see the Valor coming up in the distance.

Sunset House

DH and I are both certified SCUBA divers, so we specifically chose a western Caribbean itinerary because there is some great diving. For Grand Cayman, we decided to go off on our own and go shore diving from Sunset House. We own our own scuba gear, so we got it all together, grabbed some cash and our passports and wandered around to find where the tenders were located. We made it to deck 2, then walked around until we found a line going down the forward stairs. DH was surprised at how un-organized this was compared to getting on the ship. I just kind of go with the flow, especially on vacation, so it didn’t really bother me. We made it off the ship and onto a tender in about 20 mins. It is literally a 5 min trip to the port.

The Valor from the tender

Our lovely vessel