Our Carnival Legend Review 4/13

We took our very first cruise (well, first for me but husband went on a cruise over 20 years ago) on April 13, 2014 on Carnival Legend out of Tampa. I am Kim (45) and husband is Robert (44). My review is going to be a little bit of this, a little bit of that, not a day to day of what we did. One of the main reasons I had thought of NOT doing a review is because we did things, brought things, and bought things that many on here will chastise. For us, it was our first cruise and we were all in. We did not know when or if we would ever cruise again, it was our 10th anniversary, and we wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. Please feel free to cringe, gasp, or scroll if you don’t agree.

We couldn’t wait! We were going to do it all. Get the Cheers package, try every drink available (that was for me, Robert is a Jack and Coke man), party in the nightclub until the wee hours, midnight pizza and walk under the moonlight- this was going to be the best cruise ever. A couple of weeks before the cruise we were grilling out and Robert asked me if I wanted a beer with my steak. Absolutely! He dusted off a bottle of beer that was still with two others that was in the fridge that we bought three months ago. That was my first sign. Drank that one right on down, Robert asked if I wanted another one. Ah, no, one was plenty. Okay well maybe we shouldn’t get the drink package. BUT, we would be up all night dancing the night away and I couldn’t wait!

My husband’s dad and stepmom live about 30 mins from Tampa so we stayed there Friday night. It took us about 9 hours to get there from NC. Had a great evening of catching up with them. The next morning we headed to Tampa. We went to the hotel, Hampton Inn Rocky Point, although it was about 11 am but I wanted to find a restaurant nearby to meet his dad that night and to see about our room. When we got there, people were lined up for the shuttle to their cruises leaving that day. One shuttle did not show up, people were not happy about not getting on, and it was a disaster. We meandered our way around them to get to the front desk. That was not how I wanted my cruise to start the next morning so I suggested we drive to the port and just park there. We asked the front desk and our price went from $150 to $100 if we weren’t doing the cruise and park package. I knew I just needed to find parking for around a $50 price if possible! I wanted to see the port area anyway and wanted Robert to check out some places that Cigar Dude had recommended in Ybor City. Off to the Port and there were guys down there holding up signs for parking. We found one called the Parktologists The Parking Doctors and I cannot recommend them enough. Price $63.92 including tax!

We grabbed lunch at Tropicana’s in Ybor City and it was gross. Next time we will definitely take the time to go to Columbian Restaurant. Robert got the cigars he wanted and we headed back to the hotel to check in.

The Legend was the perfect size for us and had ALMOST everything we could possibly want on it. We wished that it had gotten the Guy’s Burgers upgrade but that did not make or break our cruise. I think for us from now on, what would make or break a cruise is Serenity. Honestly, we never even went to Lido pool area to participate in anything there. I know that some will be aghast by that notion, but we LOVED and I mean LOOOOVVVVEEEEDDD Serenity. Between Serenity and our Balcony, we were in heaven. Well, let me add that between Serenity, our Balcony, Robert the Bartender on Serenity, and Kwame our MDR Waiter, we were in heaven. As much as we loved the excursions we did, I think we would be perfectly happy with a 5-7 day cruise to nowhere. That is how much we just loved being on the ship itself.

After reading several reviews on here, we splurged for an aft-wrap. I have nothing to compare it to but we LOVED our balcony. Some say that we have now been spoiled and won’t be able to get anything but an aft-wrap but our next cruise will definitely have me mid-ship! The last three nights in the cabin we had tons of rocking and rolling, and not in a good way, with the last night being the worse. I had motion sickness patches so never got sick but whew, the ship was rolling in the back. My husband had walked to the casino on the last night said he felt nothing mid-ship.

Check out this great balcony!

Cabin Decorations!

Being plus size, I was worried about the balcony chairs. What good was this spectacular balcony that we would not be comfortable sitting in the chairs? We took our own camp-style chairs and it was perfect! We put them with our check-in luggage and put them out on the balcony. We bagged them up the day they were cleaning the balcony but other than that, we had no problems with the chairs. For plus size travelers with balconies you want to enjoy, take a bagged camp chair with you! There is no point in paying for a balcony you cannot enjoy to the fullest.

Check-In was a breeze! The porters were incredibly friendly, especially being newbies and having no idea where to go or what to do. Security was friendly, helpful, and we had no problems at all. We also had FTTF which I loved being able to board early so I could put down our carry-ons. My husband had a dozen white roses for me that he had picked up the afternoon before because Carnival does not have white roses they can deliver but gave him the name of a florist they recommended. We had those, a carry-on with his CPAP, a small fan, extension cord, and meds, and another carry-on with soda, champagne, and water. They never opened the beverage bag, but wanted to check the battery that showed up on the screen which was for the CPAP.

Side Note on FTTF- I also loved FTTF for debarkation. There was a line wrapped around to the casino but when they called Zone 1 and 2, there was another line set up and we zoomed right off. We got a chance to see Willie as we stepped off (and he is the one that pointed us to where to go since we had FTTF), thank him for the strawberries and for being a good host throughout the cruise (we enjoyed their morning and afternoon shows on TV), and to say goodbye. Mike was probably long gone by now since he was heading home for a two month vacation before he boards Carnival Breeze for 6 months.

We found out three days before our cruise that my husband was going to need knee surgery and was to use stairs on a limited basis and should not walk long distances. Um, yea. We are going on a cruise! He wore his knee brace and was a trooper! For muster drill, we sat in the lounge near where it was located outside. It did not take long for muster drill, maybe 30 mins? We went back to our cabin for our own sail-a-way party! We had ordered a large fruit and cheese platter, and a small pastry party. We had brought a bottle of champagne with us. LOVED this special time with my husband. I felt like we were on a vacation by ourselves! I am sure we missed tons of fun and excitement in other areas during Sail Away but this was perfect for us. Afterwards, we took a nap on the balcony and woke just before we went under the bridge!

Goodbye Tampa!

After naps, we got dressed and headed to Truffles Aft Deck 3, one floor below us. We had gone when we first got onboard and picked out a perfect table for 2. Fortunately, when we got there, it was not available. Why fortunately? Because we were put at the exact table on the opposite side with a waiter who became like family to us. We actually only ate in the MDR 3 nights, but LOVED Kwame. Our last night, he gave us his email and said to stay in touch. We definitely will!

Kwame! My husband's brother from another mother as we lovingly called him! :)

I had shrimp the first night-

Robert had flank steak and loved it!

My first warm chocolate melting cake with butter pecan ice cream-

Afterwards, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show, played Bingo, and stayed for the show that night. We were ordering drinks and missed the announcement to not take pics, so someone had to come tell me to stop taking pics. Opps! Drink at dinner, two drinks during the shows. Okay I will go to the night club tomorrow night. Tonight, I think we will head back to the cabin and sit on the balcony for a bit before turning in. It’s been a long day!

I got my fun times, highlighted everything I wanted to do, which was A LOT, and we went to sleep.

Let me throw in here that Benni was our room steward and was great. He filled our cooler every day for us, always straightened things out for us, and was extremely friendly. I swear he had a tracking device and knew when we left our cabin because it didn’t matter if we were gone 30 mins or 5 hours, our room was always straightened when we got back.

Sunrise!

1st Sea Day- My husband loved putting the card out each evening. Unfortunately, he thought since we woke up during the week between 5:30-6:00, he would get up that early on the cruise. When you don’t answer, they call. I was not happy about being on vacation and my husband having us get up that early. By the 4th day, I put my foot down. I should have done it on day 2. On the morning we called, it only took 15-20 mins for him to get his beloved coffee. He loved having coffee each morning on the balcony!

Sea Day brunch was good!

Mimosa-

Dessert at breakfast? Yes, we are on vacation!

Today we meandered around the ship but my favorite spot was Serenity. I finished a book on my iPad and enjoyed a few beverages. It became my goal to get the cup of the day each day while on Serenity. I ended up with the Blue cup fish, blow fish, monkey, whale tail, and hurricane cup.

We grabbed some lunch and ate at Serenity which is what we did most days and some evenings. We went to Trivia and absolutely loved Mike, the Asst Cruise Director! We loved his banter with everyone playing. Everything Mike hosted was great, including the cooking demonstration in the Steakhouse which was on the first sea day as well. It was fun!

The lighting from the whale tail above the steakhouse made all my pics from the demonstration come out pink!

More Cooking Demonstration Pictures!

1st Elegant Night-The lines for pictures were incredibly long and overly crowded which I hate so we skipped pictures. We asked for Kwame’s section and he continued to make us laugh. He kept saying he had a plan throughout the meal and turns out the plan was that our PVP let them know it was our anniversary and Kwame brought us out a piece of cake with candles. He moved Robert to sit beside me and said we had to kiss the entire time while they sang Happy Anniversary or they would start over. It was easy to kiss that long ;)

We changed then went to the casino, some shows, including the comedian show. Sun, drinking, comedy show ending after midnight- okay, no dance club tonight but TOMORROW! Definitely!

Okay let me just cut to the chase. I woke up Tuesday morning waving the white flag. I couldn’t hang any more. It was impossible to see everything and do everything on this cruise. I could not try every drink since I hardly drink at all, although being a teacher and having raised a teenager who is now a US Marine, you would think I drink a lot more than I actually do. I could not stay up until the wee hours of the morning because my normal bedtime is between 9:30-10:00 pm , and since my darling precious husband wanted to wake to brewing coffee every morning, I was usually up at 6 am. Even if they were not knocking on the door, I was up by 6:30-7:00 am at the latest. I never even saw the Night Club, or Night Clubs, I am not even sure if there was one or two or how many there were on the ship. But from this day forward, it was very relaxing. I didn’t feel the pressure I had put on myself to try every drink or to try to go to everything or see everything. This was our cruise and if we wanted to sit on our balcony and take a nap, we did. If we wanted to sit in one of the lounges and just chat, we did. If we wanted to play cards (ask at Guest Services, they are free), we sat and played cards. If we wanted to order room service at 10 pm for milk and cookies, (this is a must do!) we did. If we wanted to miss the shows, or miss dinner in MDR, or just do nothing, we did. This was our cruise to do or not do whatever we wanted. And we did, and we loved it!

Our Ports- Grand Cayman- We did an excursion with Carnival- Stingray Swim. LOVED IT! I cannot recommend this enough. Yes, there were other boats there, but it was perfect for us. Easy to get in and out of the boat, tender was easy to get on and off, guides were wonderful. It was all a wonderful experience. Everyone was very friendly and helpful on this excursion!

Trolley you ride on-

The Boat-

Wonderful Guides-

And yes, I kissed the stingray!

Cozumel- Swam with Manatees. Took a taxi to Chankanaab Park and had a great time! My husband’s knee was really hurting on this day but we did what we could. We had a great time. We had originally booked Mr. Sanchos but changed it after seeing Wrigley’s review about the Manatees. There were only 5 of us in the group. We had plenty of time with the Manatees. Robert loved the fish that were in there with us, me, not so much. At one point, I felt this nudging on my butt and I slapped my hand around and told him to stop doing that in public. Turns out it wasn’t Robert but our manatee. We continue to laugh about that! Restaurant overlooking the dolphin and manatee swim was expensive but we shared a plate of nachos. Lockers were free there and we bought the pictures because when else are you going to have pictures of you swimming with manatees?

Let me also add that there is a TON to do here. I think my favorite activity apart from swimming with the manatees was the sea lion show!

We enjoyed Nachos while there-

Our pics with the Manatees! What an incredibly fun day!

And for that long walk back to the ship, these wonderful guys are well worth it! They only wanted tip money so we tipped them well because we were exhausted.

Belize- Stayed on the ship. I sent Robert to go get a Christmas ornament and refrigerator magnet though! This is the day we discovered we could really do a cruise to no where because we loved being on the ship, he in the casino or sitting with me out at Serenity. In the morning there were probably only about 10 or so people out there. Actually, except for Elegant Night picture area, the ship NEVER seemed crowded, but then again, we never went out to the Lido pools.

We were back in Tampa when Robert took this pic but I wanted one of where we spent so much of our time on the cruise!

On our Belize day, we had steak reservations that we had made well in advance but honestly, they were not needed. We even changed our reservations from 6:00 to 5:30 because when we were there for the steak house demonstration we checked on our reservations and they said if we wanted a table by the window, they couldn’t guarantee it at 6 pm. But at 7:00 pm, there were still tables by the window. It was a great fine dining experience, but for us, we have had a better steak. We were incredibly full and could not eat the cheesecake so we took it to go. We did split the chocolate sampler and it was divine! When people tell you the cheesecake is huge, they aren’t kidding. It is HUGE!

Chef's Sample- Mushroom Soup

Chef's Sample- Baked Shrimp

Steakhouse Pics

Rosemary Bread- DELICIOUS!

More Steakhouse pics!

Husband and I got the same steak!

Roatan- I was concerned about going to Roatan because of the warnings and then the Captain gives a letter the night before about safety concerns in Roatan. We had a private tour booked and decided to go ahead with it. It was hands down, our favorite port. We took the $2 a person taxi ride over the steep hill to meet Tex, our tour guide with Bodden Tours. He was WONDERFUL! He is actually coming to either NC or SC to work for the summer, and we exchanged information at the end of our tour. I hope he calls us so we can be his tour guide for a weekend! He took us to show us his beautiful island. He also took us to two grocery stores and said that it was cheaper to buy vanilla and coffee there instead of buying it at the local stands. Roatan is gorgeous and I hope to return there some day.

It is going to be extremely hard for me to narrow down my pictures for Roatan for you.

At Victor's House. This is where the monkeys are and where you pay for your excursion. We LOVED the monkeys! They were so fun to play with and we had no problems with them trying to take anything from us but we had put our sunglasses in our pockets. Our tour guide (different than Tex) was a young guy and he kept them eating sunflower seeds the whole time.

Victor had other birds and animals too!

Bananas-

Cashews!

Great review! Serenity is my favorite place as well!!! :D

Before we left for our cruise, Robert had asked John Heald about a Cigar Under the Stars Night. I read about it from Cigar Dude (really, I think I had stalked his reviews too) and told Robert he should ask John Heald about it. Heald contacted our CD, Willie, and they had arranged it. Mike, the Asst CD that we loved, hosted it. They had it at Serenity, played Jazz music, and Robert said everyone had a great time! Willie sent us a plate of strawberries the next day and a note to Robert thanking him for suggesting it. This was his favorite evening of the cruise, I think. We also got another plate of strawberries and a bottle of champagne in our room another day but there was no note.

The last sea day we once again enjoyed Serenity, went to Trivia, ate in MDR one more time to see Kwame and yes I teared up when they sang goodbye to everyone, and then back out to Serenity to see our favorite bartender, Robert. I gave Robert a bag of goodies and snacks the night before and he told us he had already eaten part of it all by the next night.

Our last Sunset picture...

The trip was fantastic. I never felt crowded, I didn’t see people fighting, only one time three 20-somethings were trying to get on the elevator before anyone could get off and unfortunately, it would not normally bother me but I had one too many fruity drinks (must have been Monday night!) and I said, “Why anyone would try to get ON an elevator while people are trying to get OFF the elevator is beyond me.” My apologies to whomever I spouted that off to! Then one day at the buffet a boy about 14-15 was grabbing food without using the tongs and Robert asked him to please use the utensils. The kid grabbed a roll and walked away. We were just pleasantly surprised at how friendly every single person, both staff and passengers, were on this cruise.

The Legend was the perfect size for us. I am not sure I would want to do a larger ship and I also know that we absolutely loved Serenity and would want to be on another ship with that area, too. Now, if I could have Kwame, Robert the bartender, and Benni, our room steward, it would be perfect!

Thanks to everyone for your reviews and advice on helping us plan our trip! I keep calling my husband’s cell phone about 10 pm each evening and ask for milk and cookies. So far he hasn’t delivered anything worth tipping!

Random Pics-

Our zoo

Just had to try it. Frosted Flakes encrusted on French Toast. One piece was more than enough!

Cigar Rolling. Roatan I think!

Great review! Serenity is my favorite place as well!!! :D

Thank you! I am not sure anything else can compare to Serenity and we will definitely have to plan our next cruise based on if there is a Serenity area or not.

Thank you! I am not sure anything else can compare to Serenity and we will definitely have to plan our next cruise based on if there is a Serenity area or not.

Thanks for the review...looks like you two had a great time!

Just an FYI, the Serenity area on Conquest class ships are different. They are all the way forward and there is no pool, only hot tubs. Still a relaxing place, but not all Serenity areas are created equal.

Thanks for the review...looks like you two had a great time!

 

Just an FYI, the Serenity area on Conquest class ships are different. They are all the way forward and there is no pool, only hot tubs. Still a relaxing place, but not all Serenity areas are created equal.

Thank you for the info! I think we need to find cruises on the Spirit Class if we want the Serenity area like on the Legend, right?

Thank you for the review! Loved it.

Thanks for the great review!! My hubby and I did exactly what you two did on our first cruise...trying to do EVERYTHING! :) Then we realized it is ok to do nothing too! We are going on Legend in two weeks and I am even more excited now after reading your review!! :D

Thank you for the info! I think we need to find cruises on the Spirit Class if we want the Serenity area like on the Legend, right?

Yep.

The Spirit class have the open area aft with the pool.

That was a totally charming review. You sound like the type of teacher that I would fight to have my child in YOUR classroom.

the pictures were great. One thing about the cornflakes on French Toast. I was not a cereal eater. I was a toast...eggs...cheese on toast and oatmeal sometimes. then a medical issue demanded that I lose weight or else...

And what a struggle. I picked up a box of Special K's extra protein, which says...fights hunger long..and yeah. We all know that is a lie. but still, I bought it.

For me, it has been totally amazing. I do eat one and half cups in the morning...and it sticks. For a long time.

So...that cereal on French Toast looked sort of Special K flaky. I also started eating the dark German Whole Wheat Bread. it sticks too. And I have cornered the market on fruit.

I have lost 40 pounds so far, and I have not starved. Unusual for me. NOW I will try that French Toast idea...the next goal I reach and I treat myself.

And Tampa is about three hours from us...............A cruise before it is gone forever from Florida...........Your review makes it so tempting.

Next time......I would have said sail Dream..but it is gone to Galveston. the Freedom, another of my favorites has gone or is going to Galveston.

The Fascination is closer to you and it is a very nice ship. It is five days, but NOT a party ship. Mostly people from N.C., S.C. GA. AL. TN.KY.FL. We had doubts about it, but after reading glowing review after review.we went. it is a good cruise. Very, very laid back atmosphere. Very Southern. All races. All Genders. But southern and slow. I loved it.

Love the Review....and I love you Attitude. :) So happy to hear that you guys swam with the manatees and enjoyed it....I knew you would. I totally forgot about the Sea Lion show last time....oh well now it gives me another reason to go back to Cozumel again :p

How did you like the Stingrays in Grand Cayman?? In December we are back on the Carnival Dream and I just booked Bodden Tours for our day in Roatan. Should I request as my guide for the day??

shoppingfever, you two are JUST the kind of wonderful cruisers I like to meet when I am at sea -- happy and glad to be on the glorious ocean on a glorious ship. Unfortunately a lot of people just want to complain because everything isn't perfect!

I'll be on the Legend in two weeks also, and I thank you for the great photos.

A question: Do you know if the Legend had a passenger coin laundry? Some people criticize anyone for even thinking about laundry on a cruise, but it enables me to pack lighter. In addition, I don't mind one bit, as I am not a sun worshipper.

Also, do they absolutely keep kids out of the Serenity area?

Hope you get to cruise many times in your life ...