Legend Review (12/31/05-01/07/06) XXL

This will read more like a travelogue then like a concise review. As a result, you may want to jump to Day 2 (Embarkation) rather than Day 1, which details our flight and precruise stay in Tampa. Further, because this review is so long, it is divided into the following parts:

Day 1 (San Diego to Tampa), including our precruise stay at the Doubletree Westshore

Day 2 (Embarkation)

Day 3 (At Sea)

Day 4 (Georgetown, Grand Cayman)

Day 5 (Costa Maya, Mexico)

Day 6 (Belize)

Day 7 (Cozumel, Mexico)

Day 8 (At Sea)

Day 9 (Disembarkation)

Concluding Comments

In order to provide a context for this review, it might me helpful to know who "we" are. I am a college psychology professor approaching my mid-30, and my wife, who works in social services, just hit her mid-30s three days ago. We have cruised together seven times, and I have an additional cruise under my belt for cruising with a friend last December.

Our last big cruise was exactly one year ago to Hawaii to celebrate earning my Ph.D. We opted for NCLA and my wife really enjoyed ''freestyle" cruising. In fact, I got to hear this a lot while she was telling her friends about this cruise. For specifics, you can find my review of the Pride of Aloha here on Cruise Critic.

We've also cruised once on Carnival and once on Princess. My review for Princess can be found under Star Princess and is in three parts. In general, we disliked Carnival, put loved Princess. We found Princess to have the best food and service of all our cruises. Production shows were the best on NCL, but the rest did not compare. However, even though we liked Princess, we find RCI to be very similar in most respects.

This is my sixth cruise with RCI, making me a Platinum member. My wife has only been on five RCI cruises. However, she was upgraded to Platinum status with me. Other than the Rhapsody of the Seas, the rest of our cruises with RCI have been short cruises, so this will be our second seven day cruise will RCI.

In all honesty, I was not originally planning to cruise for New Years. However, I ended up teaching sin extra class, hence extra money, and knew I needed a recharge before the spring semester began. And because my wife likes to spend Christmas and her birthday with family, this was the only week we could go.

While I'm a fan of cruising, my wife is less so for fear of becoming sea sick even though it has only happened to her once. As a result, I priced land- based vacations, but they were as much or more without the food or the entertainment. Further, all-inclusives were almost twice the price, so we settled on a cruise.

We were planning to cruise out of Texas, which would have been cheaper both in terms of air fare and cruise fare. My wife's only request was that the ports of call include Grand Cayman and Belize. Thus, Princess was likely going to be our choice until I found out that they were only in Belize until 1:30 PM. As a result, we ended up booking the Legend of the Seas out of Tampa in October.

I had originally booked a Category M (small interior) cabin for more than an ocean view on Princess. However, as luck would have it, the price of D1 (balcony) cabins dropped after booking. As a result, I was able to move us from an M to a D1 for $110 per person. While I would have been satisfied with an interior, the price was reasonable and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Having sailed on the Rhapsody and reading Cruise Critic I believe I was well equipped for what I was about to experience. Read on to see if those expectations were met.

Feel free to ask questions; I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. Also, I do realize there are likely many spelling and grammatical errors as I am writing this review ''on the fly'' while on the trip to keep the details fresh. As a result, I am doing this on my PDA which isn't always the best at transcribing my writing. Further, the length of this review prevents me from proof reading it before posting. Thus, your understanding is appreciated.

Today began with a 4:00 AM alarm in order to be ready for our 4:45 AM ride the airport. Unfortunately, our ride--my darling mother--was unusually late, so we didn't get off to the airport until a little after 5:00 AM. Fortunately, there was no traffic until we got to the airport. And even then, it was just a matter of getting around all the drop off traffic. However, being a Friday before a holiday weekend, I had feared the worse.

Having checked in online yesterday, all we had to do was show our IDs and hand over our bags, which took maybe 5 minute at the most. However, they did have us place our heaviest bag on the scale to make sure that it wasn't over weight; of course, I knew that none of the bags were over weight as I had weighed them at home. In all, our three bags came in at just under 100 pounds combined in part because I didn't want to pay additional fees and in part because I didn't want to lug more than I had to.

While the line looked long at the security checkpoint, it only took about to minutes to get through. I’ve also learned to take off my shoes as they set off the metal detector and to keep everything else in a fanny pack so that I don't have anything in my pockets when I go through. The biggest delay, in fact, was waiting for people to collect their things after being x-rayed. This was usually the result of haring too many loose items to gather or because they didn't move to the end, causing a backup for others.

Making it through security, we stopped at McDonald's for some fruit and yogurt to take on the plane for breakfast. Then, going to the gate, we were pleased to see plane already at the gate. Settling in at the gate area, Continental began boarding 45 minutes before departure. By 6:40 AM, the plane was fully loaded and ready to go. Unfortunately, at 7:00 AM --our departure time--the captain informed us of a mechanical difficulty with the cabin's thermostat. Once a temporary fix was made, we were airborne about a half an hour later.

Fortunately, we knew the delay not be a problem as the schedule had 45 minutes of padding and the fact that we had about an hour and a half between our flight arriving in Houston and the flight leaving for Tampa.

While I have flown most of the major airlines, this was my first time flying Continental. What I really liked was that they had the cheapest fare, a good website for managing the reservation, and web check in. They also provide a coupon for a free headset to keep when you check in online and also allow you to use your own headset onboard without a charge. What I didn't like about Continental was the fact that they changed our flight times (up to 40 minutes) and flight numbers numerous times since we made our reservation in October. And while the seats provided sufficient leg room, I found the seats just a bit too narrow for my liking.

Our flight ended up arriving in Houston about 20 late, giving us one hour to catch our connecting plane to Tampa. However, by the time we reached the gate and hit the restrooms, they were already boarding our flight. So after a quick purchase of a muffin for a snack onboard, we opted to board early, skipping my chance to get a Frappucino at Starbucks. Oh, well!

The flight to Tampa was uneventful and we ended up arriving about 20 minutes early. After taking the train to the main terminal, I used the courtesy phone to call the Doubletree Westshore Airport for pickup and then picked clip our bags at baggage claim. While there, I did note the presence of the Royal Caribbean representative.

While it did take some time for the luggage to arrive, I can't complain since all my baggage made it. However, my bag with our formal clothes was the last to arrive, so I was fearful I might have to go to dinner in flip flops and jeans. We then proceeded to the shuttle pickup area where the Doubletree shuttle arrived shortly thereafter.

Although it was only a short ride to the hotel, traffic was heavy leaving the airport and horrendous for those coming to the airport. Nevertheless, we made it to the Doubletree in 10 minutes and proceeded into the hotel to check in and make transportation arrangements to the port. Unfortunately, the shuttles only run every half hour beginning at 11 AM and the first shuttle was already full because of one large party, so we ended up getting space on the 11:30 AM shuttle. While this was later than I wanted, I knew I'd still arrive by noon and further the shuttle was complimentary, saving me $20 that the cab would cost me.

Overall, the Doubletree proved to be a good value. I booked the hotel for $68 plus tax and fees on Hotwire, saving me $40 over booking directly. Further with the complimentary transportation, I saved another $50 or so; thus, the hotel was a great value. In addition, the Doubletree now has upgraded mattresses and bedding, which made the stay worthwhile. In addition, each room has a radio-alarm clock preprogrammed with several radio stations and an MP3 jack to use as an external speaker.

The only downside is that the hotel is slightly older, but well kept for its age. My only real disappointment is that they did not promptly fix a broken door knob to one of the stairwells by our room. While there were other exits in case of fire, this stairwell led directly to and from the lobby, which was sometimes faster as the hotel was full due to the Outback Bowl.

After taking our luggage to the room and using the facilities, we returned to the lobby to catch the shuttle to International Plaza, a large shopping and dining venue offering a couple dozen dining choices along with shops such as Nordstrom’s, Tiffany, Coach, and the like. The hotel also offered shuttles to Westshore Mall and to Walgreen’s every half hour.

While we were given a card to call for pickup, we opted to walk back for some exercise. This also gave us the opportunity to stop by a convenience store to buy a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi and a large bottle of water for the ship. Then, returning to the room, we prepared for bed and watched a movie on one of the TV channels. I also prepared our bags for tomorrow and put on our luggage tags for the ship on our bags.

To our surprise, we acclimated well to the time change, going to bed and waking at the same time as we would back home. I can only assume that the early flight and the short night's sleep the night before helped.

Today, I awoke to spend about an hour on this review. Then, after getting ready, I walked about six blocks to the local Starbucks for breakfast. Had we wanted something heavier, we could have done the breakfast buffet at the Doubletree for $6.95, including coffee and typical hot and cold breakfast items.

Upon returning to the hotel, my wife and I enjoyed breakfast on our balcony overlooking the pool. Then, we caught up on the news and weather on TV.

At about 11 AM, we headed to the lobby to checkout and await our shuttle. Fortunately, we were the only ones on the hotel shuttle, so it left early for the port. Along the way, the driver was kind enough to give us the history of Tampa and to point out various landmarks.

Upon arriving at the port, we first saw the Grandeur before the Legend came into view. A porter promptly greeted us, took our bags, and we headed up the escalator to check-in. Passing through security with some scrutiny because of a bottle of water we had in our carry-on, we were allowed to pass and headed to the priority check-in line.

After receiving our Sea Passes and receiving our priority boarding card, we were put into the line with boarding groups one and two. Including Sea Pass and Welcome Aboard photos, I'd say the whole process from hotel to getting onboard was just slightly more than 30 minutes.

Upon stepping onboard, our first stop was the dining room to check our dining arrangements. I was quite excited to find that our request for a table for two was met. Then after snapping some photos of the dining room, we stopped by the Explorations Desk for a tour order form before parking ourselves in the library to read through some tour options and brochures along with the Compass.

At just after 1 PM, the fire doors were opened and we proceeded to our room. While I tried to show my wife our original room, the door was already closed, so I had to show her one in the same category elsewhere. She said the interior cabin would have been fine even though we ended up with a D1 balcony cabin.

The cabin was about what I expected from previous cruises and from what I had researched on the internet. What I really liked was the wood-like floor at the entry and storage space. The bathroom had shelves in the shower, one above the toilet, another under the sink, and a full-size medicine cabinet. In the closet, there were plenty of hangers and hanging space along with four were shelves; however, we could have used more shelves and less hanging space. The desk had seven additional drawers, which we did not end up using. There were also two large open shelves and a linen-like closet with extra pillows and blankets.

The bed looked extremely low to the ground, but wasn't too bad once I sat on it. The couch was one of the largest I had ever seen in a cabin, even suites, but looked a bit saggy and wasn't the most comfortable. Perhaps this is because it is a futon-like sleeper sofa.

The balcony was a bit small, but sufficient. There was enough room for two chairs and a table. Further, the front was glass, so one could see while seated.

Before heading to the Windjammer for a light lunch, I skimmed the TV channels and discovered that the room service menu and other information appeared on channel 41 and that the movies of the day were Dukes of Hazards and Christmas with the Kranks.

On the way to the Windjammer, we stopped by the Explorations desk to book a couple of excursions. While I had looked online, my wife couldn't decide what to do in Georgetown until we got onboard. Further, Nativeways was not offering the tour I wanted because there was a lack of demand on Mondays with only two ships in port. In Belize, I could have hired a taxi, but it would have only saved us $5 per person, and would have been a shorter tour.

The Windjammer provided the typical lunch, with Honey Stung fried chicken, pasta, burgers, fruit, and desserts. Upon entering the Windjammer, everyone was instructed to use the hand sanitizing station, although this was not always a consistent requirement because the door staff was sometimes inattentive or they simply ran out of the hand sanitizer. We also learned later in the cruise not to sit by the hand sanitizing station because it reeked of rubbing alcohol. Hand sanitizing was done more consistently upon boarding the ship.

After our light lunch, we returned to our cabin via the forward stairs and saw two of our three bags there being sorted for delivery. I asked if I could take them, and they said I could, so I did. Our last bag arrived by 3 PM and we were fully unpacked by the muster drill.

At 3PM, we headed to the Solarium, which was very nice, to meet with some Cruise Critic members. Waiting about 15 minutes with no one in attendance, we headed off to the ship's tour, which was worthwhile even though I had to help the tour leader with a couple of facts when he had a brain freeze during the tour.

The afternoon also consisted of exploring the outdoor spaces of the ship, which included the rock wall and mini golf course. Despite previous reports to the contrary, I thought the golf course was in good shape and much better than the one we had experienced on the Rhapsody. I did find out, however, that score cards could be obtained from the rock wall staff.

The muster drill was relatively painless except for trying to navigate around those still boarding. We also discovered that our muster station captain was the dance captain for the production show. Afterwards, we stowed our life vests in our cabin and decided to go to the Solarium for a sail away snack since we still had about four hours before dinner. Unfortunately, the line was extremely long--nearly two-thirds the width of the ship, so we opted for room service so that we could enjoy sail away from our balcony.

Room service was good, and we opted for the cheese and crackers and the fruit plate. The only downside was that it took 45 minutes to arrive. Shortly after the order's arrival, the chocolate covered strawberries I had ordered arrived.

While we also met our cabin steward, Henry, I must say that I wasn't overly impressed. While he did a fine job, he wasn't the most personable and seemed confused. For example, while we were preparing for dinner, he knocked to ask which seating we had dinner. While we were at the show and dinner, he delivered our C&A coupon books, but also the robes which had already been delivered. Further, while he removed the room service dishes, he failed to replace our dirty glasses or to replace the spare roll of toilet paper.

There was only one show tonight and the primary performer was comedian Al Romas, who was quite funny and made us eager to see his "adult only" show later in the cruise. The theater itself is one of the nicest I have seen at sea with only a few seats at the rear sides having obstructed views. And while the seats were comfortable, be careful of the cup holders. My wife ended up spilling our drink while trying to use the cup holder as did a couple in front of us. And while I informed the wait staff of this, the best they offered was a napkin. Later in the cruise we witnessed several others spill their drinks while trying to use the cup holders.

As a side note, the drink of the day was the Tampa Mama for $3.95 in a regular glass and $5.95 in a glass you can keep. Tax was also charged, presumably because we were not far enough out to sea.

Because it was New Years, a special menu was served. Getting into the dining room was difficult because of the line, but this is a typical first night affair. While waiting, my wife did hear one older couple complain that it should be formal night. She also pointed out someone wearing jean shorts to dinner.

Finding our table was easy as we had found it earlier in the day. Waiting for us was the dinner menu, streamers, noise makers, and party hats. Unfortunately, some of the diners chose to make use of the noise makers throughout dinner, which was infectious.

Our waiter was Samih from Turkey and our assistant waiter was Lana from Croatia. They were sufficient waiters and quite nice, but service was only fair, in part because it was the first night. We were only offered bread once, even though I would have taken a second piece, and my water glass remained empty longer than I would have liked. I also had to request coffee with dessert as none was offered. However, I must give credit to the head waiter for helping out and for the speed of service. We were done with dinner in just over an hour after being seated and were the first to leave as we were at a table for two.

For us, dinner consisted of the lobster and avocado salad, which was excellent and highly recommended. I also tried the Royal Escargots, which were sautéed snails in a crispy pastry net. Sadly, it was only fair and I'd recommend waiting for the regular escargot. For the main course, my wife had the Atlantic Sea Bass, which was excellent, and I had the Surf and Turf, which was tenderloin (good) with jumbo shrimp (excellent). My wife also had some shrimp as she had requested them with her fish. I must also recommend the Bermuda onion tart as it came with my meal and it was excellent.

For dessert, we had the Praline Indulgence, which was a chocolate mouse with praline nougat. It was good, but not excellent. We also received our menus to keep as a souvenir as they were printed just for New Years Eve and dated.

After dinner, we explored the shops onboard and I tasted many of the various types of alcohol they were selling. While the samples were small, yon could sample as many as you wanted. We also explored to determine where he wanted to welcome in the New Year. While doing so, we came across a couple of parents trying to find the teen New Years party. Unfortunately, the officer they asked had no clue, so I was able to suggest the teen club on Deck 10. When I mentioned the name of the club, they knew it was the right place.

After grabbing some complimentary Champaign, we opted to welcome New Years from our balcony with our chocolate covered strawberries. We could hear the captain's countdown from there as well as the fog horn signaling that the New Year had arrived.

Going to bed, I watched the first half of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before calling it a night. As is tradition when we have a balcony, we slept with the door open to hear the sea.

I awoke today at about 9:30, while my wife slept in to 11:30. I started the day on the balcony to check the weather. While the sky was a little hazy, it was nice and warm outside.

Movies today, starting at midnight, were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Cinderella Man, which played continuously throughout the day on channels 20 and 21. I was hoping to catch the rest of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this morning, but got confused on the times. I now know to check channel 42 for the times, but liked it better when they were printed in the Compass like they use to be.

With nothing on the agenda before lunch, I worked on this review and watched the second half of Cinderella Man, finishing both it and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the afternoon and early evening.

This afternoon, we took advantage of our complimentary wine tasting, which provided for the tasting of three white wines and two reds. We ended up liking two of the whites, and even bought two of the whites using one of our C&A coupons. However, the coupon only amounted to 15% off the second bottle. Fortunately, our waiter gave us the discount off both bottles, which covered the tip. Later, we found out that they ran out of the wine we had purchased, which is weird as one would think they'd stock extra of the wines used in the tasting.

The wine tasting lasted an hour and a good amount of information was provided. The only thing that cheapened the experience was the fact that extremely small cheese plates were provided and couples were expected to share. Also, packaged saltines on the table didn't provide much class either. Further, the same glass was used for all the whites and another was used for the reds; however, there cures no means of rinsing out the glasses between wines, potentially affecting the flavor.

During the wine tasting, my wife pointed out a ship off our port side. While I could tell it was a Celebrity ship at a distance, I couldn't tell which one. Tomorrow, I would discover that it was the Zenith. We also decided to use our C&A 15% off coupon to buy the Riesling we had enjoyed during the wine tasting. While it would arrive tonight properly chilled, this would be the only night that it would. On succeeding nights, it would arrive warm and we would have to add ice to it to adequately chill it. This was a great disappointment in terms of wine service, especially considering the added expense of buying wine onboard. For example, one of the $26 bottles of wine can be purchased in a half case (six bottles) at Costco for $19.99 or $3.33 per bottle.

After a walk on the promenade, we headed to the Windjammer for afternoon tea. While it was good the first day, it got old very fast as the selection never changed from day to day, except for a couple of left over selections from breakfast and lunch. The only other option, besides room service, was the Solarium Grill, which offered descent hotdogs and burgers, excellent fries, but terrible pizza.

Returning to our cabin, we got ready for the first of two formal nights. Leaving our cabin well before dinner, we went to deck 8 to check email and then into the Centrum for formal portraits. This was also the night of the captain's cocktail party. Drinks were readily available and quickly replenished. Although we did try the coconut champagne, which was quite good, we stuck to the rum punch for the most part.

Tonight’s dinner consisted of the Vidalia Onion Tart that I had last night, which was very good. My wife also had a smoked fish appetizer that was very good, and I had had the spinach salad, which was good. We also shared the stuffed chicken breast, which was very good, and the Atlantic cod with an herb crust, which was very good as well. As we would do on most nights, we swapped plates halfway through. When the waiter came by to fill our water glasses and noticed that we had switched entrees, he became seriously concerned thinking that one of us didn’t like something. When we assured him that everything was fine and that we just liked to share, he offered to get us each our own full entrée. However, we politely declined as we informed him that it would be too much food.

Tonight's show was after dinner because of the cocktail party. While Footlights to Broadway was the advertised show, it was replaced by a variety show consisting of a dancing duo and a former Olympic gymnast. All three performers were quite good, and the duo performed a variety of costume changes while on stage, which was quite amazing. The duo was followed by of former Olympic gold medalist who performed a number of acrobatic feats. I just wish I had brought my camera as he invited photography, even flash, of his performance.

After the show, we headed to bed as we had an early port call tomorrow morning.

After getting ready and packing a backpack with beach towels, sun screen, and the like, we headed to the breakfast buffet in the Windjammer knowing that we would utilize room service for breakfast in Belize and Cozumel.

The Windjammer provided a typical breakfast offering. The consistently good items consisted of the freshly carved ham, hash browns in various forms, French toast, oatmeal, grits, fruit, and the omelet station, which also offered fried eggs made to order. I found the scrambled eggs to be watery and lacking in flavor, the pancakes to be inconsistent and sometimes dried out, and the breakfast potatoes to be lacking. Further, eat the biscuits and gravy at your own risk as they are consistently bad throughout the fleet. Even so, we didn't starve.

A nice selection of boxed cereals was also offered. Today, and when in Belize, we each took a box of granola for a snack, which was nice to have. We avoided anything else like fruit as we didn't want to violate any local laws.

Stopping briefly by our cabin after breakfast before our tour, I spent some time on the balcony and saw the Zenith anchored off our starboard side. Then it was off to the theater to meet for our tour.

We were instructed to be in the theater by 9:30 for tendering purposes. The tour itself--the Cayman Highlights and Turtle Farm--was suppose to leave shore side at 10 AM, but did not leave until 10:30 because we had to wait for people who missed our tender. Then, it was probably a six block walk to the mini buses.

The tour itself was mostly a waste and could be had for $20 at the pier. In addition, the tour guide while nice did not appear too knowledgeable as he only pointed out things with signs and only announced them after reading the signs himself. I assume that others felt the same way as I did not see one person tip the tour guide.

While I would definitely do the Turtle Farm again as it was the highlight of the tour, I would skip the rum cake factory as more flavors of the cakes could actually be sampled in town than at the factory. However, if you are interested in sampling liquor, than the factory might be worthwhile. Hell itself was interesting, but only worthy of a five minute stop.

What really annoyed me about this tour is that it left late and thus ran late. As a result, we missed our afternoon tour of Stingray City. While RCI tried to accommodate us and did refund our money, they bad no other tours to Stingray City. Thus, we missed our chance to snorkel with the stingrays. While there was one independent offering an afternoon tour, it would have pushed as too close to the final tender.

With few tour options available, we ended up shopping a little, mostly at the Del Sol store. While the color changing shirts were expensive at $18 a piece, we thought our nieces would get a kick out of them. My wife also got a bottle of color changing nail polish. The sales people were quite nice and there was no pressure to buy. In addition, the plastic bags they give you also change colors in the sun and they also give out free plastic rings for kids. The sales person was also kind enough to give us an extra bag knowing we had two nieces.

While we had a Jamaican Chicken Tastee at the Tortuga rum cake factory, which was quite interesting and consisted of a flaky crust with a spicy chicken mixture inside, it didn't last long since we split it. As a result, we ended up breaking into our stash of granola, which we had gotten onboard.

Since we didn't buy any rum cakes at the factory, we ended up walking to the Tortuga store down by Eden Rock. However, I wanted a picture of the ship from shore, so I end up crossing the street near a restaurant, Paradise (Reef?) something or other. My wife followed and ended up going down some steps there to put her feet in the water. While doing so, she ended up talking to a lady vacationing in Grand Cayman with her children dole suggested the dive center at Eden Rock.

Walking down the road about two minutes, we ended up at the Eden Rock Dive Center. For $12 each, we were able to rent full snorkel gear with floatation vest. While I thought the charge was reasonable, I thought $5 for a locker was a bit much.

For shore-side snorkeling, we thought it was quite good and we saw close to a dozen varieties of fish. Because the water was clear, my pictures of the fish came out very well as the light could easily penetrate through the water. While I had a flash on my underwater camera, I decided not to use it, which worked out fine. The only snorkeling catastrophe of the whole trip is that the lid to my RCI water wallet broke this morning, so I was using my wife’s water wallet, which failed. Fortunately, nothing was ruined as it just had our driver’s licenses, credit cards, etc. However, I money was literally soaked to the point that we had to wring it out.

After snorkeling, we headed back towards the tender pier, stopping at the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory. This factory, by the previously mentioned Paradise Reef restaurant, actually had more flavors to sample than the factory on the tour. However, there were no samples of liquor. The prices were the same, they eagerly took my wet money, and gave use $2 off as we had a coupon from the ship. Make sure you pick up the coupon from Jennifer, the shopping consultant, when boarding the tenders. Two bucks off is better than nothing.

We ended up buying the sample pack that had six cakes in it: Key Lime, Chocolate, Banana, Coconut, and two of the Golden Original. Just a word of caution: the cakes are much smaller than the boxes make them appear to be. They are roughly the size of a bunt cake style muffin, probably big enough for two, but that’s all. We ended up cutting them all up to sample for eight people and we had more than enough, but we expected them to be bigger. In addition, they taste a lot more “rummy” and are moister than the samples at the stores, so be forewarned. Also, keep in mind that Jennifer, the shopping consultant, will have samples on Sunday night if you’re not sure if it’s worth going to the store to try or buy.

Once we were done with the rum cake factory, we walked along the waterfront to the tender pier. Fortunately, they were running very frequently and we timed it just right, and were able to get on a tender immediately. Upon the tender return, we did hear one woman mentioning how sea sick she got on the Stingray City tour, but I didn’t find out why (e.g., if the water was rough, the boat bogged while there, etc.).

Returning to the ship about 3:30 PM, we went up to the Windjammer for afternoon tea since we had already missed lunch. Unfortunately, the selection today was the same as the previous day, with a few added leftovers from breakfast and lunch off to the side. A disappointment compared to the “teas” offered on the Monarch and monotonous. Simply snacking on a couple of items, we stopped by the ice cream machines by the drink dispenser by the pool, and then headed to the dinning room to preview tonight’s menu.

Choosing to relax the rest of the afternoon, I watched Almost Like Heaven on the TV, while my wife napped. The other movie option today was Polar Express. I then headed out to the balcony to enjoy our sail away from Grand Cayman.

Tonight, we had no interest in the main show featuring Glenn Smith, so we opted to skip the predinner show. Instead, we used the internet to check in with family and to get some postal addresses we had forgotten for postcards. While the internet fees are high on the ship (50 cents per minute), we each had a free 15 minute coupon for being C&A members.

After using the internet café, we moved to the starboard side of deck 8 to speak to the loyalty ambassador. Since we hadn't yet received our gift, I asked when that would be distributed, discovering that it would be tomorrow night. I also found out that the C&A cocktail party would be on Belize night and that the Platinum/Diamond party would be on the last sea day (Friday). I also expressed some interest in doing a cruise tour of Alaska and Sonia was kind enough to provide me with the specials, each offering a $4OO onboard credit per cabin.

We then headed to deck 5 to get our refund for the missed tour. While the refund was prompt, the line took some time to get through. In addition, the couple in front of us booked a tour that I didn't think was being offered currently or listed on the torn offerings for Cozumel. I then cashed some traveler's checks at the Purser's desk.

With half an hour to kill, we ended up in the casino to each get our $2 of slot play using our C&A coupons. Even if you don't gamble, turn in the coupons as they simply give you the cash. Since it was their money initially, we opted to return it. My wife lost hers, but I ended up winning $60 without spending a dime of my money.

Still having some time before dinner, we headed up to the shops to buy a postcard of the ship to send to our niece. While in the shop, I observed a woman speaking to the clerk about being overcharged for a shirt she had purchased the previous day. However, it ended up that she was charged correctly, because the price tag was in British Pounds. As a result, she misread the tag and thought the shirt was actually cheaper than it was. While a refund was offered and accepted, I wouldn't be surprised if such confusion happens a lot as many of the items in the gift shop that I looked at were still priced in British Pounds and the price could be easily misread if one did not notice the symbols used with price.

Stopping briefly in the Centrum for a casual portrait, we headed to dinner. Tonight's dinner consisted of a Caprese (a tomato and mozzarella) salad which was good, minestrone soup (good), Tiger Garlic Shrimp (excellent), and chicken marsala (very good). Since the shrimp were served shelled, the head waiter promptly came over to remove them from the shell. My wife enjoyed the shrimp so much, and since there were only four, she ordered more shrimp. Unfortunately, she only wanted the shrimp, but the served her an entire entrée instead, even though it was requested.

At this point, I should also mention that our head waiter, whose name escapes me at the moment, was the best head waiter we’ve ever had. He greeted us every evening upon entering the dining room, helped with the meal service, and would even take our dessert order if the waiter was preoccupied with another table as we usually finished early as we were dining by ourselves. And being next to a bussing station, he would discretely motion to the waiters at the station to be quiet if he thought they were being too loud, although they never were. Essentially, he was the head waiter that every head waiter should be and was the first head waiter we’ve had who actually earned his tip.

For dessert, I had the tiramisu and my wife had a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. During the dinner, the children from the kid’s club marched down the stairs in the pirate makeup and demanded our dessert, repeating what their leader said like they were in boot camp. It was actually quite cute and the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves tonight and every time we walked by the kid’s center on Deck 10.

After dinner, we headed to the theater to watch The Love and Marriage show, which was good as always. Afterwards, we walked on deck and enjoyed the warm Caribbean air while we got some exercise. Along our various laps, we stopped to play a game of shuffleboard, and later a game of miniature golf. We also stopped to view the festivities of the late night poolside party, although we did not take part in the festivities ourselves.

Returning to our cabin after midnight, we were pleased to find that the egg crate pad we had requested had been placed on the bed. In addition, we found a preprinted card with our chocolates reminding us to set our clocks back one hour.

Since we were docked in Costa Maya, we chose to sleep in since we had a busy day yesterday and busy days the next two days. After rising and enjoying a late breakfast in the Windjammer, we headed into the port area. Although a tram was available, we opted to walk both for exercise and as an opportunity to take pictures along the way. Sharing the dock with us today was the Carnival Valor.

The port area was quite nice, and the weather was fabulous, if not even a little hot. It was probably 81 degrees today, and humid. A little hot, but I’m not complaining, and perfect weather for all of those enjoying the pool and the beach.

Just for fun, we walked through Diamonds International and my wife tried on a 20 carat diamond tennis bracelet. It was nice, but the diamonds were obviously cloudy and I didn’t think the bracelet was worth the price. Further, we had no intention of buying, just having some fun. And surprisingly, when the sales person asked and was told where we were from, he wanted to know our opinion on the border fence project. I wasn’t about to get in a political debate, so I just said I didn’t know much about the issue and brushed it off.

The port area is definitely pricey, especially the restaurants. While we had every intention of going to Majuala (sp?), we never made it down there, although we did hear that a lot of the crew go there while in port. Thus, this is a good sign. I learned a long time ago to ask the crew where they go and you usually can’t go wrong if you follow their advice. We’ve found this to be true in Hawaii and Mexico without exception. Even our assistant waiter headed there today and said she enjoyed herself and the food.

Since we weren’t hungry and weren’t planning to drink or use the beach, we passed on the fishing village and headed back to the ship. Instead, we partook in the movie presentation in the theater, In Her Shoes. On the way, I stopped by the Schooner Bar for a cocktail just to indulge. This would be the last of two cocktails I would purchase on the ship. The movie was enjoyable and comfortable to watch in the theater.

After the movie, we headed up to the Windjammer for afternoon tea, which again was the same as the previous two days. A bit monotonous, so I actually opted for a burger and fries from the Solarium Grill. While I tried the pizza, it was arguably the worst pizza I have ever had.

After my wife got some ice cream, I partook in a game of Baggo (bean bag toss game). Unfortunately, I did poorly and didn’t make it past the first round. While I planned to play again later in the cruise, the timing just didn’t work out. And while we were planning to play TV Tune Trivia, we ended up missing it.

Returning to the cabin, we watched Perfect Man on the cabin TV. The other option today was Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Other than the movie, we spent a lazy afternoon in our cabin until sail away.

The main show tonight was predinner and was the production show, Film to Footlights. The show was good and the singers really demonstrated their talent.

Tonight's dinner consisted of crab cakes, which were good, clam chowder, which was very good, and the fruit, which was somewhere between fair and good. The pasta tonight was a sun-dried tomato ravioli. However, I didn't want it as a main dish, so I asked for it on the side. Unfortunately, our waiter could not accommodate my request, so I ended up with a full entree of the pasta, which was fair at best, along with the always available steak, which was good and served with a baked potato. My wife had the salmon, which was very good.

Taking a brief walk out on deck, we headed to our cabin and called it a night.

With an early, 7:45 AM, departure for the Old Belize and Animal Sanctuary tour, we used room service for breakfast today. While the preorder form has you select delivery times in half hour blocks starting at 7 AM (e.g., 7:00-7:30). However, since we needed to meet in the theater at 7:30 for our tour, I circled 7:00 AM and asked that they call if the could not accommodate our request.

Breakfast actually arrived 5 minutes early with a call first to let us know it was on the way. Today’s breakfast consisted of a ham omelet for me, a cheese omelet for my wife, fruit, juice and milk. Breakfast also comes with a danish/bread basket, but you have to request jams, jellies, butler, etc. separately.

Other choices included cereals, coffee, etc. Once we had finished with breakfast, we finished getting ready for our day in Belize. We then headed to the theater by way of the Windjammer so that we could each grab a box of granola for a snack while ashore.

Arriving at the theater, we found the most organized tour setup ever. After checking in, we were affixed with a number to indicate which tour we were on. We were then instructed to sit in a section of the theater that was marked by a sign with our tour's title. Promptly at 7:45, we were escorted to the tender area with our tour group and another group.

Belize is a tender port, but the ships tenders are not used. Instead, a type of speed boat is used since the ship has to anchor so far from the port. If your sit near the back, expect some sea spray. And if you sit up front, expect a bit of an incline as the boat planes at full speed. In all, the ride took 10 to 15 minutes.

Upon arrival at the port, we noticed what looked like rain off in the distance as we hadn't brought our rain ponchos from the ship as the Compass stated the weather would be sunny. Later in the day we would regret relying on the Compass when we got rained on.

The port area was quite nice. We arrived at one end of the tourist village, while NCL tendered into the other end. Making our way into the port building, we saw a woman holding a sign for our tour. Later, we came to realize that this was our tour guide, Elise.

After a few minute wait as other tour buses cleared the area, we were ushered to our bus, which was quite comfortable, well air conditioned, and offered ample leg room. Heading out of Belize City along its outskirts, our tour guide stated that we would do the city tour on our way back in order to avoid traffic.

Along the way to the Belize Zoo, Elise provided us with the history of Belize, pointed out various landmarks, and provided us with some Mayan folklore.

Then after about 45 minutes, we arrived at the Belize Zoo, which cares for orphaned animals, injured animals, and the like. The point is that none of the animals are taken from the wild.

Because smoking is not allowed within the zoo grounds, a short break was provided here. In addition, bathroom facilities were available and bottled water was provided.

While the zoo was primitive, it provided a good opportunity to see a number of native animals, some of which I had never seen before. Elise was our guide in the zoo as well, and she obviously knew the animals quite well. Even when the animals could not be readily seen, Elise knew where to look. Further, she knew each animal by name and each of their histories.

The zoo portion of the tour ended in the zoo's gift shop. While we were encouraged to buy merchandise to support the zoo, Elise also told us that she could tell us where to get similar items in town if we so desired.

The ride back to the port provided us with the tour of Old Belize. Along the way, Elise pointed out the deep water port for cargo ships and stated that Carnival had plans to build their own pier near there. It was also obvious that Belizeans are quite poor judging from many of the homes we saw.

After the tour, we were dropped off at a restaurant about two blocks away from the port area for a complimentary rum punch. We decided to pass and instead followed Elise back to the port area. Along the way, we asked Elise about were to get some fruit and if it was safe to eat. She said in season fruit should be available on the street and that it was safe to eat because all food venders, even those on the street, were licensed. She also pointed out some shopping that was separate from the port area.

We did shop a bit in the port area, and even sampled some cashew wine. In general, the port area/tourist village was quite nice and offered clean bathrooms, a good selection of merchandise is various stores at reasonable prices, and a few eateries.

Not quite finding what we were looking for, we left the tourist village, turned left, and walked about a block. At no point did I feel unsafe; however, be prepared to be approached by people selling tours. For the most part, a ''no thank you" or ‘‘I’ve already taken a tour" was sufficient. And in almost every case, we were thanked for visiting Belize. In fact, I've never been thanked for visiting a port like this before.

Where we ended up shopping was at a flee market like setting about one to two blocks to the left of the main entrance to the port area. Wooden bowls, wooden bracelets, and a variety of other items were available. There war even a guy selling fresh coconuts that he would pour rum into for a cocktail.

While we were shopping, one of the venders suggested that we go look at the artisan shop and then to come back and she'd show us where to buy it for less. When we did return, she took us to a vendor selling wooden bowls, but none of them had lids. When we told her this, she pointed us to the only person selling wooden bowls with lids, whom we had discovered earlier on our own.

Having located a bowl we liked, we had also seen one in the port area we liked, so we decided to go look at that one again. At this point, we also realized that merchants do not barter in Belize as he did not lower his price as we left.

Liking the bowl outside of the port better, we returned to the flee market area and bought the wooden bowl for $30. The one in the port area was smaller for $40, and the one in the artisan store was $70. There were also a number of other wood crafts available, including very nice wooden vases and cutting boards. If you’re looking for wood products, Belize is the place to shop for them.

Before returning to the port area, my wife ended up buying some wooden bracelets that ran $1 each or six for $5. She ended up buying six thinking her sister and mom might enjoy them as well. She also ended up wearing the bracelets to dinner the rest of the nights we were onboard.

Doing a little more shopping at the port, we ended up buying a wooden spoon for $3 that had Belize engraved on it. Then we headed to the tender at about 2 PM to return to the ship for lunch. Fortunately, we were the last onto the departing tender, so there was no wait.

After a decent lunch in the Windjammer, we returned to our cabin to watch Flight Plan. The other movie choice today was

Returned to ship @ 2 and headed to windjammer for lunch

Returned to cabin and watched Flight Plan; the other movie today was The Brothers Grimm, which we chose not to watch.

Today we also received our Crown & Anchor gift (the toiletry bag), postcards, and an invitation to the cocktail party being held tonight. We would later receive C&A lapel pins for reaching Platinum status.

Since we had second seating dinner, the cocktail party was predinner for us. Beyond the tray passed cocktails, you could also go up to the bar and order drinks. I opted for rum punch, while my wife stuck with regular punch. In addition, they provided a nice buffet of predinner snacks including fried shrimp. There was even a nice ice sculpture of the RCI crown and anchor logo.

Tonight's dinner consisted of a pastry with creamed mushrooms as an appetizer. It was only fair, as it has been every time I've tried it on previous RCI cruises, but I keep on hoping that it'll be better as I like mushrooms. My wife opted for the pineapple with apricot ricotta, which was good.

This was lobster night, but prime rib was also an option that sounded good. As a result, I asked if I could get the prime rib with a single lobster tail on the side. However, to my surprise, our waiter stated that he'd have to put the order in as two separate orders and that he'd have to order the lobster first as they do not allow seconds on lobster night. Further, while our headed waiter was shelling the lobster, he had to excuse himself as waiters kept coming up to him for tickets. He later explained that he had to give tickets to the waiters giving them permission to pick up the entrees for each table so that they were not picked up too early before the individual tables were ready for them.

Both the prime rib and lobster were good, although my lobster was a bit mushy in texture. This was also the first cruise where we were not asked if we wanted seconds on the lobster. And from our previous conversation with our waiter, it didn't seem to be a possibility even if we wanted seconds.

Tonight's dessert consisted of bananas foster, which was very good. However, as we lingered over dessert, my wife looked over to the bussing station just to look and caught the eye of our waiter. Not wanting him to think we needed anything, she waved him off--big mistake!

Although I'm not sure if this was the causal event, shortly thereafter our assistant waiter came over to our table and stated that our waiter wanted to know what he did to upset us. We assured her that we were not upset and as our waiter walked by our assistant waiter said, "See, I told you they weren't upset." However, I think this upset our waiter more as I don't think he meant to have his assistant ask us directly.

When I later asked our assistant waiter why our waiter thought we were upset, she said she didn't know. She then went on to say that perhaps she misunderstood because his English isn't so good. Whatever the case, it was a very weird incident.

Tonight's show was after dinner and consisted of the comedy of Norm Crosby. He was moderately funny, but night quite our style. As a result, we left halfway through to get ready for our early departure tomorrow. Thus, we called it a day and off to bed we went.

With an 8 AM departure for our cooking class at Playa Mia, we ordered room service for breakfast, same as yesterday. However, since it wasn't raining today, toe enjoyed breakfast on our balcony and watched the various ships arrive. By the end of the day, there were at least seven ships in port with the Voyager of the Seas off our starboard side. We then got ready, packed a bag for the beach, and headed to the theater.

There was no organization to the tours today and we were simply ushered down to the tenders at our departure time mingling with other passengers going ashore on their own. Thus, if I had it to do over again, I'd bypass the theater and just head to the tender at the time printed on our tickets.

In Cozumel, they use large ferries for tenders. However, ship-side you board on the second level, whereas you board on the first level pier-side. Thus, if you want to get off promptly at the pier, go down to the first level when boarding from the ship. When returning to the ship, go up to the top level and you'll be ensured to be one of the first ones off.

We were fortunate and tendered to the downtown pier along with the Voyager of the Seas. Upon doing so, it was clearly evident how much damage the piers sustained due to the hurricane. However, once in town you'd never guess Cozumel was hit by a hurricane only two and a half months ago, although there were still signs of damage outside of town.

All tours today met pier-side and there were two going to Playa Mia. One was the Beach Break and the other was ours, the Mexican Cuisine Workshop. Upon handing in our tickets, we were promptly adorned with a wrist bracelet and told to wait. About 15 minutes later and after all the Beach Break individuals were carted off by bus, we were gathered to be transported by taxi. It was at this point that Lori, a Cruise Critic member I had met on the boards, introduced herself and her husband, Ron.

We hit it off right away with Ron and Lori. Along the way, the entire taxi van got into a discussion of their cruise histories, with two recently having cruised with Carnival and disagreeing about whether RCI or Carnival had better food. In addition, we mentioned our experience with NCL's freestyle concept. It appeared unanimous that everyone in the taxi van preferred the freestyle concept over that of traditional fixed dining.

The ride to Playa Mia was relatively short. Upon arrival at Playa Mia, we were promptly introduced to the open bar and then ushered over to the cooking stations.

The class started at approximately 9 AM and took about two hours to complete. Then, we were given two hours to eat the meal we had prepared and to enjoy the beach facilities.

In general, the beach facilities were quite nice and the bathrooms were well maintained, although a bit slow in replenishing the toilet paper. And although we had planned on using the beach facilities, the water was a bit cold for our liking. In addition, the beach was very crowded, and it was quite difficult to even get to the water as we had to weave through countless beach loungers and umbrellas. In the end, we decided it simply wasn't worth the effort.

The cooking class itself was excellent, although a bit pricey. There were probably 24 people in the class with four people per cook station, which consisted of two burners--one on either end--and a grill in the center. Partners worked across from one another and we chose to share a station with Ron and Lori.

We started by preparing dessert first, which consisted of rice pudding that would be later made into a tower. We then prepared a grouper filet with a spicy mango sauce. We finished by creating potato and chorizo sopes.

In addition to using a tortilla press for the cookies used in the rice pudding tower and the sopes, we were taught how to decorate our plates so that we would get our own plates back at lunch. Essentially, eve used a colored potato paste for the entree plate and a strawberry puree and heavy cream for the dessert plate.

The dishes were quite good and paired with a couple of wines that weren't very good. However, we still had access to the bar, so getting something to drink was not difficult.

We left Playa Mia at 1 PM by taxi and returned to the downtown area. Although we shopped for a bit, we didn't buy anything and decided to head back to the ship. Fortunately, we hit the tender at the right time and had no wait at all, which was good as it was quite hot.

Movies today consisted of Proof of Life and In Her Shoes. Other TV options included CBS' Eye on Royal Caribbean. This channel showed reruns of CBS sitcoms, dips from the CBS Early Show, and clips from the Late Late Show. The only problem with this channel is that they showed the same clips for two or three days in a row; thus, it got a bit redundant.

Tonight's show was predinner and consisted of the production show, Swing City. The show was good and the singers were quite talented. However, upon leaving the show, we noticed that the port side fire door leading to the promenade was closed with a note indicating that it was closed because of the wind.

Tonight's dinner consisted of Thai Spring Rolls, which were very good. They were so good, in fact, that my wife had a second order after completing her entree. We also had the seafood salad, which was very good as well, and a very good crab and shrimp bisque that was very clam chowder like. A tropical fruit salad was also offered, which was good. For our entrees, I had the real parimigian, which was good and similar in quality and flavor as an Olive Garden. My wife had the red snapper, which was only fair and surprising as all the other fish dishes during the week were very good to excellent. I finished with a coffee crème brulee and my wife had the banana crème pie, both crème pie; both of which were good.

After dinner, we headed to the Anchors Aweigh lounge for The Quest. While it was hilarious as usual, it was a bit disappointing to see some teams prepared for the stunts even before they were announced.

By the time The Quest was over, the ship was really rocking and rolling, so we retreated to the cabin for some comfort as we had a midship cabin. We also lost an hour tonight as we switched back to Eastern Time.

Today, we awoke to a lot of motion of the ship. The captain would later announce that we were experiencing 35 knot winds and eight foot swells. As a result, the main pool was closed and they were talking about draining the pools to help limit the motion of the ship. The port side exterior fire doors were also closed, which was actually done the night before, with a sign indicating that it was due to the high winds. The captain also requested that passengers use the hand rails when moving about the ship.

It was easy to awake today as the closet door was opening and closing because of the ships motion. Although we were both hungry, my wife didn't want to venture out of the cabin for fear of sea sickness. I also opted to take Meclazine (generic non-drowsy Dramamine) for the first time in eight cruises just to be safe.

After getting ready, I headed to the Windjammer to get breakfast for my wife to bring back to the cabin. On the way to the Windjammer, I noticed that barf bags had been strategically placed at the landings of each of the stair wells.

The Windjammer provided a Consistent breakfast offering as usual, ranging from pastries, dry cereals, hot cereals, eggs, pancakes, French toast, breakfast meat, and made to order omelets. After taking my wife's breakfast to the cabin, I returned to get my breakfast, enjoying a very good made to order omelet. Others in line were simply ordering fried eggs as they were available too.

After breakfast over the movie, Sky High, I went to the first part of the backstage tour, which featured a Q&A with two of the dancers and one of the lead singers. However, I didn't stay for the actual tour portion as it conflicted with the Platinum/Diamond C&A cocktail party.

The cocktail party was quite nice and was held in the Viking Crown Lounge. Besides free flowing drinks, a number of food items were offered, including fried shrimp, spring rolls, California rolls, fruit, and chocolate covered strawberries. While mimosas, screw drivers, bloody maries, and the like were offered, I stuck to fruit punch because of the motion of the ship.

Overall, the party was quite nice and offered an opportunity to talk to a number of the officers And other cruisers. Unfortunately, the timing (11 AM) could have been better since it conflicted with at least two other activities I wanted to attend that were being held at the same time. Further, these were the only three activities of interest to me today; thus, it was a shame that they were all scheduled at the same time.

Bringing a care package of fruit punch and chocolate covered strawberries back to my wife, we spent a lazy afternoon watching movies--Sky High and Red Eye--and packing. Later in the day, I did go up to the Solarium to get a burger and fries for my wife as she did not want to leave our midship cabin and risk sea sickness. While she did want a couple of things from the Windjammer as well, they had shut the buffet down early, so I was unable to get those things for her.

The late afternoon/early evening consisted of packing our bags as they had to be out kg 11 PM this evening. With my wife still unwilling to leave the cabin, I set out to check My email one last and to cash a personal check so that I'd have enough cash to pay off our Sea Pass account in full. Upon doing so, I had a very interesting conversation about restaurants in North Western Mexico.

On my way to tonight's predinner show, I stopped by Latitudes for a specialty coffee using one of my C&A coupons. Unfortunately, the menu is quite limited compared to other RCI ships. Then it was off to the show by way of the shops onboard in order to avoid the casino as it's a bit crowded and somewhat smoky. Along the way, I noted several shirts that were on sale with an interest to return to shops later.

Tonight's show consisted of the dancing duo from earlier in the week. In addition, the RCI singers and dancers performed a couple of numbers and several staff members from around the ship paraded through the theater to thank the guests.

Returning to the cabin, I found my wife feeling but not wanting to press our luck, so we opted out of dinner in the dining room. As a result, I went down to the dining room by myself to tip our waiter, assistant waiter, and head waiter. They seemed genuinely disappointed that we were met dining there tonight. I also discovered that many missed first seating because of the movement.

After returning to the cabin, my wife and I headed to the Windjammer to pickup something for dinner. Most of the same items available for dinner in the dining room were available at the buffet. While the same items were also available through room service, we didn't want to wait.

Knowing that movement would be severe in the Windjammer, we returned to our cabin to eat. Along the way, we saw numerous dirty dishes cluttering the hallway. And unfortunately, they remained there most of the evening.

I don't recall exactly what we had, but I do remember the French Onion soup was quite good. Because the dessert selection was lacking in the Windjammer, I headed back to the dining room to get dessert to go. Our waiter promptly accommodated my request, and although I only ordered a scoop of ice cream and a slice of frozen custard pie, he returned with two scoops of ice cream, the frozen custard pie, and chocolate chip cookies for my wife.

Upon returning to the cabin, I found a startled wife as she had heard a crash of dishes just prior to my arrival and was concerned that I was the one involved. Fortunately, I was not involved, but a crew member pushing a cart of dirty dishes had dropped some by our cabin's door. And while prone of the dishes broke, several bits of food littered the corridor and were not promptly picked up.

Enjoying our dessert, we finished the evening by putting our luggage outside the door for pickup. Then it was off to bed to prepare for a long travel day tomorrow.

Today was your typical disembarkation day of hurrying up and waiting. Unfortunately, we did not receive the final Compass, so we didn't know the breakfast dining times. However, we did know that cue had to be out of our room by 8 AM, so we made sure we were out of the cabin by this time.

After dropping off our survey in the box at Guest Relations, we headed to the dining room only to find that it was already closed. As a result, we headed to the only place serving breakfast onboard, the Windjammer.

The biggest problem with the Windjammer is that the selection never changes. Further, they did not have the omelet station running, so nothing of quality was to be had other than the French toast and the boxed cereals. In addition, it was extremely difficult to find seating as many passengers were camped out with some even sleeping with their heads resting on the tables.

While in the Windjammer, my wife heard an older couple talking about the soda card. Although they stated that the program was good in theory, they stated that they had a hard time getting soda in the theater and lounges. I even witnessed one couple get blown off when ordering Diet Cokes with their card in the theater. An hour later when the show was over, the couple still had not received their Diet Cokes.

After breakfast, we headed to the Platinum/Diamond C&A departure lounge. Unfortunately, the space, the Card Room, was much too small for the number of people, so we moved on.

Finding a bathroom was difficult and we end up on deck three as the men's toilet on deck six was out of service. We finally ended up finding a spot at the Champagne bar, only to be called to disembark a few minutes later at 9 AM.

While this sounds somewhat negative, let me say that the passengers did an excellent job following directions. There was never a bottleneck nor did I find anyone bundled in the stairwells. However, that being said, RCI should allow passengers to stay in their cabins longer and/or extend the dining room service. Princess allows passengers to stay in their cabins longer and NCL allows you to stay in your cabin until you disembark. Further, neither terminates TV service like RCI does.

Getting through Customs was relatively painless and we had our luggage and were out by the curb by 9:15. However, be advised that there is no place to sit and there are no pay phones, so I had to call the Doubletree on my cell phone for pickup.

Fortunately, the Doubletree offered return shuttle service to the airport from the port free of charge, saving us the $20 the taxi would have cost. The shuttle only took 10 to 15 minutes to arrive, and we were at the airport shortly before 10 for our 1:55 flight, which was originally a 1:15 flight. And by the time the schedule had changed, the 12:15 flight was already full and remained that way.

While I did inquire about the earlier flight, I was told that it was full, so we checked our bags using the self- check kiosk. The only good thing was that we were able to get better seats on the second leg of our flight and would have time for lunch. In addition, the connection on the earlier flight was a bit tight.

Of all airports to wait in, Tampa is one of the best. There is plenty of shopping, plenty of eateries, and free WiFi internet access throughout the airport. As a result, I was able to check the seating on our flight before making a change to our seat assignments.

While the flight from Tampa to Houston was fine, the boarding of the aircraft was asinine. The gate agent failed to call the first three rows economy, so we didn't board until the final call was announced. As a result, our feet area was cramped as everyone else was allowed and took cup all of the overhead bin space. And unfortunately, the flight attendants made no effort to help me find space or to deal with the loose articles of clothing had decided to stow up there. The moral of the story is to not abide by the rules as all of the seats in the uncalled rows were already occupied when we boarded.

Fortunately, the flight was uneventful even if my foot space was a little cramped. We arrived early into Houston, which really didn't matter since we had nearly three hours before our flight. While I would have preferred a shorter connection, at least the Houston International Airport provides ample shopping and dining venues to help pass the time. In addition, the gate areas had large plasma TVs, allowing us to watch the Tampa Bay/Washington game. Of course, it was a little weird to watch knowing we were just in Tampa where the game was taking place.

Fortunately, the second leg of our flight was uneventful and me arrived on time and had good onboard entertainment (Must Love Dogs) during the flight. After collecting our bags, one headed home picking up our dog from his grandparents along the way. The only thing amiss upon our arrival home was that our letter carrier forgot to deliver our accumulated mail. However, it arrived Monday with a little note apologizing for the oversight. Who wanted to see all those bills and junk mail upon returning home anyway?

I was a little hesitant to have three of our four ports as tender ports as there’s an added convenience of being docked. However, we really lucked out and never had to wait for a tender. In all ports that utilized tenders, tender service was prompt. We never ended up waiting for a tender and they promptly left after we boarded.

Overall, the cruise was about what I expected. Sadly, none of my expectations were exceeded; but then again, none of my expectations failed to be reached either. In general, the food was good, but not great, and I do believe that food quality has diminished onboard RCI ships over the past few years. The selection and quality has diminished, especially in the buffets. This was readily apparent last year when I cruised aboard the Monarch of the Seas in January, April, and December of 2004. During each cruise, the quality became a little less, especially in the buffet.

The ship itself was very nice and well laid out. It was easy to get just about everywhere we wanted to be and the windows were fabulous as were the Card Room and Library, which were used quite regularly by others on the ship. The only real drawbacks were the fact that one had to go through the casino to get to/from the theater—thus, we often went up to deck 5 to avoid the congestion—and the location of the public bathrooms. There are no public bathrooms on deck 4, which is surprising since you have both the casino and main theater there. One either has to go down to deck 3, or up to deck 5. Further, there was usually a wait, especially for my wife, as the bathrooms were inadequately small to handle the demand. Other than that, the ship was beautiful and in wonderful shape and still decorated for the holidays.

This isn’t to say that RCI’s food is bad; it’s just not what it use to be. In the past and aboard Princess, it was extremely hard to make a decision as numerous entrees were appealing. On this cruise, as on my last RCI cruise, it was relatively simply as the choices were limited to essentially one beef, one chicken, one fish, and one pasta/vegetarian entrée. And in the buffet, too many things were repeated day after day. The breakfast selection never changed, except sometimes the pancakes had bananas or the switched the type of breakfast potato offered. Eggs benedict, for instance, was never offered on the buffet, which would have been easy enough to do. Granted, eggs benedict was offered in the dining room, however.

Desserts in general were the most lackluster, although sufficient. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t cruise with RCI again; in fact, this was my sixth cruise with them. The food was more than adequate, but not much more than so. I personally believe the food on Princess was considerably better the last time we cruised them, but RCI won out on the nightly entertainment department.

While RCI has a very good nightly activity program and an excellent repeat cruisers program, I was disappointed in their daytime activities. For the most part, afternoon activities were absent, with the majority of activities occurring in the late morning. For instance, on the last cruise day, there were only three things that I wanted to do. Sadly, they were all scheduled for 11 AM that day. In addition, when a movie was shown in the theater, it was simply one that was also shown on the cabin television rather than something new.

I will give credit to RCI for greatly improving their television programming. While I know no one cruises to watch TV, there is something to be said for spending a lazy afternoon in the cabin, watching TV, with the balcony door open. We did this several times after returning for port and it made for a relaxing afternoon. The only downside was CBS’ Eye on Royal Caribbean. While I truly enjoyed the programming, they repeated the same material day after day, rather than new material each day. As a result, I saw the same program three or four times while getting ready throughout the day.

Cruising is still an excellent value and this is why we chose to cruise this time of year. It was the most affordable option of all the options I priced. However, the last 36 hours of the cruise were dreadful in terms of motion. And although my wife did not experience sea sickness this trip, I’m not sure I’ll be getting her on a cruise anytime soon. Thus, we may end up trying an all-inclusive again next year.

Overall, RCI is a very good cruise line. However, I wouldn’t necessarily say better than the other cruise lines we’ve tried. In fact, if my wife were to choose, she’d probably opt for NCL as she feels all the cruise lines and ships are virtually the same. Thus, she would choose NCL solely based on their freestyle program. She really liked being able to eat when one chooses to eat, rather than at an assigned time. And while we had a table for two this trip, which was excellent, she knows she can always get a table for two on NCL. And to date, I have not seen a better production show on any other cruise line than NCL, although service was hit or miss.

Should we cruise again, I’ll let itinerary dictate the cruise line. I still want to do Bermuda, the Panama Canal, New England Coastal, and Alaska. However, those will not likely occur in the near future as we’ll likely be taking a hiatus from cruising for awhile.

jkrislc,

Though we will be on the Enchantment later this month, we will be visiting Cozumel and Belize. Thank you for your detailed review regarding the ports, the tenders and the condition of Cozumel.

By chance, did you hear anyone comment on the Beach Break in Cozumel?

Cindy

WOW!!!

I want to thank you sooo very much for this detailed and fabulous review of Legend. I am sailing in March, and this review helped me with TONS of questions, and gave wonderful tips and advice.

I have actually never read a review quite so well thought out and candid. Your time and efforts in providing this review are greatly appreciated on my part.

I really enjoyed reading this on my boring day at work!!

jkrislc,

By chance, did you hear anyone comment on the Beach Break in Cozumel?

Cindy

We went to the same beach as the "Beach Break" group, Playa Mia. The facilities were very nice (e.g., clean bathrooms, nice beach, etc.) and the beach was very nice. However, it was a little crowded for out tastes. Keep in mind that we only had about an hour to enjoy the beach, so it just wasn't worth the effort of changing into beach wear and then changing again. There was room on the beach, you just had to look for it. There was nothing cheap about the experience and the drinks were very strong.

I didn't hear any specific comments, but I don't think you'll be disappointed in the facilities.

I have actually never read a review quite so well thought out and candid. Your time and efforts in providing this review are greatly appreciated on my part.

You're welcome and thank you. They're actually fun to write, although they may be a bit monotonous for some. Some people just want the nitty gritty, and that's why I stated it's more of a travelogue than a review. It's not only my way to give back to the boards, but also serves as a memoir of the trip. It's actually fun to go back and read about the trips a year or two later to refresh the memories of the trip. Before this trip, for instance, I reread my Rhapsody review as it is in the same class as the Legend.

This review was about 20 pages single spaced. If you want to see a long review, check out my Alaska review aboard the Star Princess in 2003.

I'm with Oliver. Best review I have read. I am also going on the legend in march on the 18th. Thanks for the tip about the tenders in cozumel. What a time saver.

I'm with Oliver. Best review I have read. I am also going on the legend in march on the 18th. Thanks for the tip about the tenders in cozumel. What a time saver.

I figured that tip would be useful. I was actually annoyed when we boarded the tender on the top level only to be told to go all the way to the back stairs to go down to the first level. While I wouldn't have minded ordinarily, it was hard to navigate through all the people who were already seated there. In the end, though, we were the first ones off, so it paid off.

P.S. Thanks for the compliment!

"I thought the golf course was in good shape and much better than the one we had experienced on the Rhapsody. "

I would hope it would be in better shape, but then any ships golf course would be in better shape then the one on the Rhapsody, since it doesn't have one! :D Was on the Legend last year over New years, I find the service to be better on the Larger Voyager and Radiance Class RCCL Ships.

"I thought the golf course was in good shape and much better than the one we had experienced on the Rhapsody. "

 

I would hope it would be in better shape, but then any ships golf course would be in better shape then the one on the Rhapsody, since it doesn't have one!

Actually, when we were aboard the Rhapsody, they did have a rudimentary miniature golf course. It wasn't a designated golf course like the Legend of the Links, but they had maybe six holes. They were crafted in boxes as if they were built after the fact and simply placed in the walkways around the shuffleboard courts. Perhaps they're gone now, but they were ratty at the time we were onboard in 2001. BTW, we played the first day onboard before any drinking began, so I know it isn't faulty memory.

Sounds like you did lots of eating.... My husband and I will be taking our 1st cruise February 11 on the Legend. I have just a few questions, if you don't mind?

1. Do you need to lock your luggage when you place it in the hall?

2. Did you hear anyone say anything about tubing in Belize? I am just wondering if the water temperature is warm enough.

3. When leaving the ship, do you need to bring your passport or just your Sea Pass and credit cards?

Thanks again for the review... I felt like I was on the cruise with you. ha ha

Sounds like you did lots of eating....

1. Do you need to lock your luggage when you place it in the hall?

I would as they don't always pick it up right away and it may sit in the hall for awhile or at the dock. I use zip ties which can only be removed by cutting them off as the TSA can cut them off if they need to and so that I know if anyone has been in my luggage at all. I'd also lock them before giving them to the porters when you arrive.

2. Did you hear anyone say anything about tubing in Belize? I am just wondering if the water temperature is warm enough.

It was warm, even though it rained, so I wouldn't think the water would be all that cold. I'd suggest asking this on the Belize board to be sure. If I go back to Belize, this is the tour I'll do. The zoo was my wife's pick.

3. When leaving the ship, do you need to bring your passport or just your Sea Pass and credit cards?

Technically, just your SeaPass and credit cards. However, I took a picture ID to be safe (license) and a photocopy of my passport. Keep in mind that you wont have these if you miss the ship and get stranded. I wouldn't carry the passports though.

Thanks again for the review... I felt like I was on the cruise with you. ha ha

Your welcome!

Enjoyed your daily reports on the Legend. We leave on Feb.4th-11th. Thanks for all the info. In Belize, we're doing a private tour of the zipline adventure. In Costa Maya, we're going to take the bus to Mahahual and relax , eat, & drink. In Cozumel, we usually rent a jeep and go to the farside (Eastside) and enjoy the cantinas and the less crowded areas. Is the road OK around the Island? In GrandCayman, I think we're just going to relax and enjoy the less crowded ship. We've been there many times, and the last few times, we asked ourselves why we even got off the ship. You lucked out with catching the shuttles. Thanks again..Chuck

Enjoyed your daily reports on the Legend. We leave on Feb.4th-11th. Thanks for all the info. In Belize, we're doing a private tour of the zipline adventure. In Costa Maya, we're going to take the bus to Mahahual and relax , eat, & drink. In Cozumel, we usually rent a jeep and go to the farside (Eastside) and enjoy the cantinas and the less crowded areas. Is the road OK around the Island? In GrandCayman, I think we're just going to relax and enjoy the less crowded ship. We've been there many times, and the last few times, we asked ourselves why we even got off the ship. You lucked out with catching the shuttles. Thanks again..Chuck

Sounds like a good plan to me. As for the roads in Cozumel, we only went a short distance by taxi, but what we experienced were clear and easily navigated. You might be able to find out more information in the ports of call section of the boards.

For Belize, ziplining and cave tubing tended to be the highlights that most people talked about; it's what I want to do the next time I'm there. As for enjoying the ship, that's what we ended up doing in Costa Maya just by chance. I had actually planned on leaving the port area, but it just never happened. However, the crew enjoys Mahahual a lot and I've learned to go where the crew goes in ports. After all, they're there every week.

If you want a quick, easy snorkel excursion, you could walk to where we snorkeled from the tender pier. It's probably only a half mile walk and snorkel gear is relatively inexpensive to rent. We only did it for about a half hour, but enjoyed it tremendously and the photos came out quite well. Further, if you go in the middle of the day, tenders wont be a problem. In general, as long as you don't want until the last tender, you should be fine. We always tried to make sure we were back at least 1 hour before the last tender and never had a problem. In fact, we often got back even earlier as we were trying to do port activities, but also trying to save time for relaxation as we've returned from too many vacations exhausted. This trip was just the right balance. Not too much relaxation that you felt that the cruise was wasted, but not too litltle that we were exhausted either.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.

On your embarkation day you said "Passing through security with some scrutiny because of a bottle of water we had in our carry-on, we were allowed to pass and headed to the priority check-in line." RCCL doesn't even let you bring your own water on board? I always have a bottle water on me, especially when we may have to wait in line.

I was also planning on bringing a couple water bottles in my luggage. Do you think I will have problems with this?

. . .RCCL doesn't even let you bring your own water on board? . . .I was also planning on bringing a couple water bottles in my luggage. Do you think I will have problems with this?

They do let you bring water and soda onboard without a problem. For example, I had a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi that went unquestionned on my carry-on. However, the screener mentioned with a tone, "You have a bottle in there?" And when I said, "Yes, water," she sort of rolled her eyes like "yeah, right!" It was more of an attitude on the screener's part than anything else. When I asked if she wanted to see it, however, she declined.

You'll never be hassled with non-alcoholic items. And if you take a case of water, I really doubt they'll think you've filled every bottle with liquor. In your case, however, I'd just put it in the checked luggage or put a luggage tag on it and let the porters take it onboard with you. Why lug it?

Hope that clarifies matters.

jkrislc

Just to add to that great review.

In Mahajual you won't be for relaxing and eating. They hound you to buy everything and it does not seem safe to eat there.

We also were on LOS a week later. The waters were rough a couple days so take precaution.

Cave Tubing is fun, but over an hour bumpy bus ride on a school bus. My dad hated the bus. The town is not for shopping, so stay on the ship if you don't have an excursion planned.

A cruise is what you make it- so have fun! :)