Legend of the Seas ~ Report

My wife and I did the Panama cruise on board Legend of the Seas on 20th Feb, 2005. I’ll keep this report short but factual.

Legend of the Seas is in excellent condition with very little sign of age/wear. Noticeably smaller than the mega liners but includes all the usual features. No smell of diesel or fumes. No sewerage smell, well maybe a little on the last day.

Food was great, not excellent but certainly plenty of it. If you wanted extra all you had to do was ask and after a few days the wait staff got to know my likes and dislikes and I did not even have to order from the menu.

Wait staff are good fun and certainly add to the cruise experience. There are tables ranging from two to twelve. RCL do well to match the guests on tables by age, interests etc. Half the fun of cruising are the dinner guests and I don’t know why anybody would want a table for two (hard of hearing maybe or a language problem possibly).

5.30pm first sitting too early and although 8.00pm sounds late it turned out to be just right, especially after coming back from shore excursions. It gave time to watch the ship leave port, shower and get ready for dinner in a leisurely manner.

Wine plan a bit disappointing but several good wines available by the glass.

Windjammer is good and quick if you don’t mind doubling with another couple (half the fun of cruising I believe).

Open seating breakfast and lunch in the dining room can take around an hour. Room service breakfast on port days can be extremely late. Add one hour to your requested arrive time.

Entertainment was excellent, especially the production shows. Most shows were in two seatings depending on which dinner seating you are assigned. So because we had second (8.00pm) dinner seating we went to the show first and then dinner. I am told that the second show for first dinner seating was always crowded and to get a seat one had to sit there for an hour before the show. Second dinner seating did not have that problem.

Our cabin (deck seven, balcony) was clean and well serviced regularly throughout each day of the trip. Our attendant was rarely seen but worked his magic well. Plenty of drawer and hanging space with ample coat hangers supplied. Bathroom is quite functional and yes I would even say spacious. Balcony (standard) is small. Glass side on balcony always has sea spray which makes it difficult to see through when sitting. Take a squeegee or ask stateroom attendant to clean it for you.

Too hot for us in the open pool area so we used the solarium pool often. Very few poolside lounges actually used but many “reserved” with towels, caps etc. Tiled floor around solarium pool is very slippery and we saw several guests slip and fall. Walk slowly on the joins of the tiles. Burgers, pizza and fries are available in this area and are good

Spent far too much on photos. My advice is not to buy the photos on a daily basis but wait until the end of the cruise and decide on one or two photos then. I thought the backdrops used were a little amateurish.

Don’t get caught by the hard sell of the spa staff to buy products. Enjoy a massage but be firm and say no to the expensive products.

Roll of the ship and sea was felt most in the theatre and in the hallways leading to cabins. Quite a pleasant roll in our cabin especially in bed. Hardly felt any roll in the dining room.

Embarkation was a breeze and at 12.30pm we were thru to the ship within fifteen minutes. Windjammer open for lunch but you will have to take your carry on with you as staterooms are not ready for occupancy until about 1.30pm.

Disembarkation for us was a problem because of a last minute change to dock at Ensanada Mex and not San Diego so no comment although it went well.

I don’t know how to report on shore excursions, as everyone’s tastes are different. We got one that we did not enjoy and I missed one because I got the flu. I think you should book as you go rather than all up front. There are plenty of taxis at every port so you can do your own thing and if you do it with another couple it spits the cost, makes it safer, easier to communicate and a lot more fun.

Shopping, don’t listen to the shopping guide. Where the ships must tender to shore guests must obtain tender numbers. The line down on the lower decks waiting to tender can be annoying.

Panama transit was amazing. If you have an inside cabin then you will be up on deck all day where it is hot and sunny. Annoyingly guests reserved tables/seats all day in the windjammer which made it difficult for those who just wanted to eat lunch. We found a shaded aft position on deck four. There was nobody there and you could see all the functions on the canal just as well as being at the front of the ship.

As for dolphins they will often be seen when the ship is cruising slowly into port. Once the ship really slows the dolphins lose interest and swim away. So if the ship is expected in port by say 8.00am then you can bank on it arriving about 7.00am. So you need to start looking for dolphins about 6.30am

You would be hard placed to pick fault with anything about this ship or the cruise. We did not hear of any complaints. To the contrary we heard nothing but praise for the ship and it’s crew.:) :) :) :) :)

I hope this has helped. I am happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

Alan & Glenys

Sydney, Australia

Thanks for the wonderful review. I'm going to be taking the Legend on the fall Transatlantic, so it was nice to hear good things.

G'day Alan,

I'm on the March 27th Panama Canal cruise. We have been discussing wine and spirits.

Could you tell me please, can you take wine onboard for IN ROOM CONSUMPTION ONLY and not be charged the $12 per bottle corkage ??

Also, do you remember if you can buy Baileys or Jack Daniels from the shop onboard and take it back to your cabin ??

Loved the report by the way

Many thanks

Stu :)

G'day Stu,

Aussie's are a bit of a novelty on the Panama cruise and everybody are friedly towards Aussies. My suggestion is to take a little Aussie gift to share with each couple on your dinner table at the end of the cruise. Wine and spirits from outside the ship are a big NO WAY and if purchased on shore are stored until the last night. Baileys and Jack and anything else are readily available and consumable from the "bottleo" onboard.

Enjoy your cruise.

Alan

Stu,

I forgot to mention, the Cruise Director, Mike Hannerup, on the Legend is an Ausssie from Adelaide. He is keen to stop, say G'day and soak up a refresher of Ausssie accent.

Alan

Thanks Alan for the heads up. We're both looking forward to this trip.

Counting down the days. :)

Look forward to saying hi to Mike.

More questions if you don't mind:

How many formal nights did you have and how many smart casual nights ??

We've already booked to see the Embara Indians, did you hear any comments, good or bad from fellow cruisers about this tour ??

The putt putt course, do you know how many holes there are ??

Stu,

We heard nothing about the Embara Indians, good or bad. There are three formal nights and 99% of guests dress to the nines. I mean in Aussie language a dinner suit and for ladies an evening dress or gown. Whilst most men were seen in the same suit all three formal nights the lasies seem to come out in something different each night. There are about five smart casual nights but only about 20% of men wear a jacket. Most (including me) just wear a nice shirt and trousers. On casual nights maybe trousers and a polo shirt.

Putt Putt, there are seventeen holes. The rock climbing wall has taken over the eighteenth hole. The putting surface is pretty wobbly and best attacked with a umbrella drink in one hand.

Please say G'day to Mike for us. Give him an Aussie, Aussie, Aussie and he will respond. Boy...we wish we were doing it all again.

Regards

Alan & Glenys

Thanks mate oi oi oi :D

You Sound Like You Had A Ball. We Are Also On Los In July 2005 Classic Med Cruise. Its So Hard To Get Info On Small Things. We Wanted To Find Out If You Could Bring A Few Bottles Of Wine On Board For Room Only And Also Trying To Find Duty Free Price List For Wine. We Also Have Booked Js Aft Deck 8. Hope The Balcony Is Great And Was Worth The Extra We Paid. I Hope You Can Help With My Questions As Rccl Dont Seem To Want To Answer!!!!thanks .

Stu,

Come to think of it I think you only get the Indian tour when cruising the canal west to east. We went west to east. I could be wrong on this point but my wife thinks this is correct also and may explain why no mention from other guests.

Alan

ttowers,

Yes we had an absolute ball and would do it all again in a heart beat. I mentioned previously in this thread about RCL policy on booze bought off the ship. Quite simply it is confiscated until the last evening of the cruise. I can't help you with prices from the onboard liquor shop as we did not purchase from it. I do know that if you bought a bottle of wine from the shop and consumed it at your dinner table you are charged a $12.00 corkage fee. The wine plan they offer includes that you can take the bottle(s) back to you room. Come to think of it there was not a cork screw in the room.

A JS has larger balconies anyway but we could only see aft cabins from off the ship and they do look larger but they also look like they have very little protection from the sun. Guests we spoke to mentioned a little collection of soot each morning on the aft balconies and it's furniture but said that the staterrom attendent quickly cleaned it up. Balconies are worth it at any cost. Make sure you order room service breakfast and have it out on the balcony...oh boy, there is nothing better. BTW our room was 7112 which is quite far down the back and we did not get any soot and very little ship movement up there and compared to the front of the ship.

Regards

Alan

Hey Stu......we were on the cruise with A& G .....Loved everything about the cruise...wish we could go again tomorrow!! You can purchase Bailey's and Jack in the liquor store on board. The cost of Bailey's I think were 2 (liter) bottles for around $28. If you get the chance have a sample of Ambruloa(sp?) It's on the shelf to the right of the cashier. Was introduced to it by fellow CCer's Qualium from B C and it is much better than Bailey's!!!! They will give you taste samples in the shop if you ask. They do charge the $9.50 to take back to the room. There is no wine that I saw for purchase in the liquor store. Qualium and friends did bring their own wine on board and purchased the wine package also. They did not say anything about having problems bringing wine onboard during embarkation. Also, ttowers, Qualium had an aft balcony on 6 and we really enjoyed going to their cabin to watch the opening and closing of the locks!! The aft balconys were much deeper than the balcony's on the side.

Nora

thank you Alan, we are so excited about our cruise.We were also thinking of another one (havent even been on any cruise yet and thinking of another).The Classic Med cruise we are going on in July, but we were thinking of another at the end of October for a week on my daughters Halloween break. We had thought about Egypt, but so many ships were not sure which to go for, any suggestions, or Caribbean or Alaska. Our daughter is nine.

thanks regards

sharon (from cold wet Ireland!)

Thank you Nora,

Paid a fortune for my JS Aft deck 8 cabin, looking so forward to relaxing for 2 weeks gonna get breakie sent and enjoy it on the balcony. Poor porter he's gonna get a fright seeing me with no make-up on and scary hair do! Just love Baileys on the rock will look out for the other one you mentioned.Might just bring my own red wine!

regards sharon (its cold and wet here in Ireland hope you weather is better!!)

A & G , since you did the West to East and started in San Diego.....Are there any good restaurants in downtown S.D. that you know of or can remember. Or anyone else for that matter. Thanks. :)

Sailed on LOS last April to Hawaii, and it's a beautiful ship. My only complaint was that we had a lower inside cabin (I believe on deck 2). And there was quite a bit of creaking at night as we sailed along. It was quite noticeable and if you have problems sleeping (I don't) you might want to be wary of these cabins.

Never noticed any creaking in any of the public rooms or atrium though. Just wanted to pass this along, depending on your cabin...

Have fun.

Nora, thanks for that post. I think I'll try to get wine onboard. Will look at the US stock and see what it's like.

Do you remember how much the wine package was ??

East, whatbday sre you arriving in SD ??

4 more nights sleep before we leave Sydney :)

A & G , since you did the West to East and started in San Diego.....Are there any good restaurants in downtown S.D. that you know of or can remember. Or anyone else for that matter. Thanks. :)

Fabulous restaurant in Gas Lamp area - "Asti's" - 728 5th. Ave. s., 1-619-232-8844. It is our favourite and we go every time we go to San Diego. Italian cuisine ( not Italian food ) that is out of this world. Go on-line and you will see that they are one of the top rated restaurants in the city.

Finally caught up with work so I can send an e-mail to all of you that we met on the Panama cruise. It was a blast and the M & M was well worth it. I'm going to do a short review but just wanted to let you all know that it was a pleasure meeting you. For all of you that are planning a Panama cruise - you'll have a ball! It is the cruise of a lifetime.

EasternLIersSorry, my mistake, we travelled East to West and not as previously mentioned. For some strange reason whenever we stick our head up from Downunder we seem to get our east/west, north/south completely reversed. I am glad that somebody answered your SD restaurant query.

Stu, I am gald you got your wine questiion answered, I was obviously the wrong person to ask. The beauty of a BB is that there will always be somebody that has the correct answer.

Alan

Thanks A&G anyhow. Thanks Qualicum for the info.

Stu , will be there several days ahead staying in several different hotels. You know....the ones with the broom closets. :D

Alan, you've been a great help so thanks very much.

Now if I just get that last bit of info from anyone who purchased the wine package I'll be set.

Thanks all and Bon voyage.

Panama Canal here we come........ :)

East, will we get to meet up in SD before the cruise ?????

Stu, thats a definate possibility ! :)

Stu, it is possible you might see me in San Diego. Just look for a portly bald guy with a patch over the right eye, slight scare on left cheek, missing 2 left fingers and walk with slight limp. I answer to the name Lucky !! :D

East, It'll be easy to pick me.

I'll be the one looking at the anchor seeing if the room attendant is cleaning it for me :p

I think we're meeting Patti on saturday night for drinks at the hotel, will your friends be with you ( Rich ? ) or am I thinking of someone else ???

Old age, ya just gotta love it 45 going on 95 :D