My Legend Review 4-20th to 4-27th

My DH (48) and myself (50) went on the Legend during Easter Week. April 20th – April 27th

This was our 17th cruise and 11th with Carnival. It was our first cruise from Tampa.

We flew in the day before and stayed downtown at the Waterside Marina Marriott. We took a taxi, and paid a flat fee of $ 25.00 plus a tip. We paid extra and had a balcony room which was worth it for us. We asked if we could have the view of the ships, and boy did we get it. We were on the 15th floor with a corner room so we had a great view of the Port, which was about 4 blocks away. We were surprised to see the Paradise in port so had the added bonus of watching them sail away.

After sail away we walked down the Riverwalk and over a bridge to go to the Grocery Store. It was probably about a 10 to 15 minute walk. We picked up snacks and breakfast for the morning, because the hotel buffet breakfast is $18.00 per person. This way we could help offset the high cost of the room. After that we went down to Channel side, which is the outdoor mall and the port is right next door. There seems to be a lot of activities in the area. In addition to a bowling alley, The Florida Aquarium, a Museum and shops, there are lots of Restaurants within a few blocks. We chose Precinct Pizza, after having heard good reviews about them. We were not disappointed, the pizza was amazing. I highly recommend them; they are about 3 or 4 blocks from the hotel right next to Hooters. The only down side of our stay in Tampa was the temperature. It was around 50 at night and in the morning also and so it made sitting on our balcony really uncomfortable, we did it anyway to watch the Legend come in on Easter morning.

Our Hotel

This is the Riverwalk that stretches out on both sides of the hotel.

This was our fantastic view from our balcony.

Really good pizza from Precinct Pizza.

We had an amazing Easter morning sunrise.

We had a corner room so we were able to watch the Legend come in from the other direction.

The port was so close and right at Channelside. There was only a small space here but loading and unloading was pretty organized.

Embarkation

We left the hotel around 10:40 and took a taxi the few blocks to the port. I suppose it is possible to walk with your luggage but our luggage was fairly heavy and there are blocks for a sidewalk instead of smooth concrete so we weren’t even interested in doing that. We paid a total of $ 10.00 for the taxi, which included the tip. Being Platinum we were whisked right in and through security. We were sent to the VIP lounge where they checked us in. There was no seating in here for us though and so were sent out to general seating. Luckily it was really early or we wouldn’t have gotten a seat. By 11:15 they called us to board, which I think is the earliest we have ever been on a ship; it was a very smooth process.

Once on board we left our carry-on bags in the room and then explored the ship. We love the Spirit class ships and so enjoyed looking around. The only small complaint I would have about embarkation if I had one, would be that our luggage did not arrive. As platinum it should have been at our door really early, which is so nice to get everything unpacked before sail-away. Instead we kept watching for it and finally at 2:30 my DH went snooping around and found it on a cart by the elevators unattended. So he helped himself and rolled it down the hall to our room. So I really don’t know when it would have finally arrived, which isn’t really a huge issue.

Great start, enjoying the review so far!

Entertainment

On Sea Days there weren’t a lot of activities going on as others have said. There is a lot of trivia, which we love to go to so that didn’t bother us but if we didn’t like the particular trivia, such as Harry Potter or Sports, there wasn’t anything else to do. I would like to see more activities going on. It seems like the older I get the less I want to suntan on the Lido deck, so it would be nice to have other things to do.

The entertainment staff was good. Most of them were British or Australian, with a few exceptions and the Cruise Director Willie Lee and assistant Cruise Director Adam had great chemistry together. I enjoyed watching their morning show on the TV. There was the usual shows like the Love and Marriage Show, The Hasbro Game Show, and Welcome Aboard Show, which I didn’t go to but watched later on TV throughout the week. We did see Epic Rock for the second time, it is a really good show and worth seeing again. We also went to a new show called “Justin Illusion”; this was the best show we have ever seen on any line or ship we have been on. It was incredible with magic tricks but put to really great music and choreography, and lighting effects, it was much more than just a magic show.

In the evenings there were a lot of activities going on and so we moved from place to place and did a lot of different things. The Teaples Peoples Band was really good and had a chance to sit and listen to them a few times. The singers, James & Angie who were mainly in the Red Frog Pub were really talented also. I didn’t care for the Piano Lounge much, he was rather vulgar and his music quickly changed from PG to R rated by 10:00. I would rather sing along to the original songs and have entertainment in between. The disco was okay, we only went one evening and it was pretty early, I have no idea how it was later in the night.

One thing about this cruise being a Holiday week, there were lots of families. We always try to cruise in off seasons to avoid a lot of kids but didn’t even think about Easter week to be a big draw for families. There were a lot of teens on board also, most of the time kids were pretty well behaved but we did have nightly running in the halls and knocking on doors after we were in bed, which got annoying but I kept reminding myself, I was young once too.

Assistant Cruise Director Adam did all the evening "Name That Tune" Trivia. He was fun.

They had a large group dancing with them at the past guest party.

Food

Food is so subjective so I will just say that we liked most of what we ate. Just the fact that I don’t have to cook it or clean up makes it delicious. The one thing we really did not like was the Steakhouse steaks. For the $100 we spent on Food and drinks it really wasn’t a good piece of meat. That being said, we do own a meat processing plant and we eat really good steaks regularly so I don’t know if we are picky from that, but they seemed tough, although cooked correctly and my NY Strip had quite a bit of fat and gristle. Other than that the salads, crab cakes, accompaniments were wonderful as well as the service. They did take really good care of us. Also the steakhouses in the Spirit Class ships inside the funnel have the most wonderful ambiance and elegance to them, so I am still glad we went.

Breakfast was okay, the omelet stations were slow so didn’t choose to have one very often.

I was able to find something most days but it was pretty much the same every other day. Lunch on Lido deck was good. I chose the Grill, the Wok, and the Pizza and Salad Bar on different days. I don’t really like the buffet food so much. My DH always had Burgers or Pizza and salad or the Deli. I thought all of those choices were good.

Okay so I like the dancing in the MDR, its fun!

Service

I thought the service was really good. Our room steward and team always did a good job of cleaning our room. We had an ice bucket filled twice a day without even asking, which hasn’t been the case for the last few cruises we have taken. As a platinum guest I did notice we got really good treatment. We even had an officer come to our room one afternoon to thank us for cruising with them. We chose anytime dining and had pretty service for that. Only the first night was there any issues. The head waiter didn’t write any of our order down, which always makes us a little nervous. He ended up coming back and asking me what my main dish was, and my DH ended up with the wrong dish and he was brought a second entrée soon after. I really don’t get that, if you are trying to impress us with your great memory, you better get the order right or carry a pen and paper.

Love the towel animals!

Cozumel

This was our 5th time in Cozumel. I would love it if we could just once skip it on a Western Itinerary. We have found a good activity for Cozumel though, so we will keep going back. We like to go the Nachi Cocom, which is a beach day resort. It is open from 9 to 5 and they only allow 100 people so the atmosphere is nice and relaxed, which is always what we are looking for. It costs $55 per person and you get a beach chair, Palapa for shade, and all the drinks you want plus a really nice 3 course dinner. The food is amazing and the service is awesome. It was $20 by taxi each way including the tip.

Nachi Cocom has a nice beach

We never have gotten in the pool but it looks refreshing.

Delicious Lunch!

The resident Pelican was a lot of entertainment.

Belize

My DH and I love Mayan ruins so we wanted to see some again on our 2nd trip to Belize. As we were looking at tours, we decided to see Altun Ha, since it was a little closer to the ship than the others being offered. The only downside to the tour that I had heard was the poor condition of the roads. The thought of taking the ship tour and spending 90 minutes in a huge bus bouncing around seemed like a really poor idea, so instead we opted for an independent tour. We looked at many and finally decided on “Shore Trips” which we booked for $54 per person. Our tour was for 9:30 and the instructions said to make sure and be on the first tender. We knew that Belize is on central time and so we would not have to worry so much about being on time. What we failed to realize is that Belize doesn’t recognize Daylight Savings Time and so were 2 hours behind the ship time. We got to the Pier and it is 7:40 am. Nothing was even open yet. Luckily a representative of VIV tours was there and came to us and told us we should go ahead and check in. VIV tours were the actual company that “Shore Trips” were using for this tour. He led us to the check in area and we gave them our information and we were in luck. We were the only ones on our tour today and our guide was ready, so we left 11/2 hours earlier than the planned departure. This turned out to be a really good deal once we found out there were 13 tour buses going to Altun Ha that day. Our guide was Luis, who was a doing tours to support himself through College. He was very knowledgeable; giving us info and answering all of our questions. I feel this would not have been possible on a large bus tour. We had a small van and Luis knew all the pot holes and speed bumps along the way. I can’t even imagine this road in a bus. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to go 30 miles, but we were the first ones to the site and had it to ourselves for about 15 minutes. It was a fairly hot day but with a hat, and some water, it is okay. There is some breeze and a small amount of shade here and there. We would recommend using VIV tours for this excursion; they were very professional and helpful.

Altun Ha wasn't the largest site we have been to but some really nice buildings.

You are able to walk in and around all the ruins.

Roatan

We have not been to Roatan since Carnival built the Mahogany Bay Beach. We were very impressed with it. It is set up similar to Grand Turk with different shops and restaurants to choose from right off the pier. Then you can either take the ski lift at a price or walk through a beautiful park like setting for about 5 minutes and then cross the bridge to the beach. At the beach is a gift shop, bar and restaurant. There were lots of lounge chairs and shade everywhere, so no need to hurry off the ship to find a prime spot. There was a swimming area and then right next to the main beach is the private beach for Cabana rental. The sand is nice and the water is fairly clear, but there is a little seaweed growing in spots that you have to dodge as you are in the water, but at least there aren’t rocks. We enjoyed the day here and really didn’t spend that much money. It was set up that you had to pay cash or credit instead of your sail & sign card. We would love to return here again if we ever come back to Roatan.

Grand Cayman

We were just in Grand Cayman on our last Caribbean cruise so we decided to stay on the ship and just relax. We had the ship mostly to ourselves with the exception of the Serenity deck, where there were quite a few other couples with the same idea as us.

The Ship

We love the “Spirit” class of ships. That is why we chose this cruise, before it leaves for Australia. We love that there is so much extra space on these ships compared to the “Conquest” class. The Lido deck and the decks above are so spacious and the 3 pools are so nice, you never feel crowded anywhere on the ship, with the exception of the Lido Restaurant.

The little nooks around the ship are nice for reading or playing cards if you want a quiet space. The Punchliners Club and Karaoke were done in the lounge below the Theater, and the Red Frog Pub was a wonderful addition to the ship. We loved the Serenity Deck, which was at the back of the Lido Deck. It had a really nice pool and hot tub and some shade and being at the back there isn’t a lot of wind like on the Conquest class, where it is on the side above Lido with no pool. It is quieter, calmer, and there is food and bar handy. We had an extended balcony room (7168) on Panorama deck, which was located about middle forward. The room was pretty standard to what we are used to but the balcony was really nice and spacious. The extra room made a big difference and we spent a lot of time out there. There was adequate storage and I was so glad to have a refrigerator again, our last 3 cruises were on ships that didn’t have them.

The Serenity Pool

We were some of the first on the ship. I didn't mind the atrium decor it had more subdued colors than some.

Debarkation

Debarkation went pretty smooth. This is the only ship we can ever remember being allowed to stay in your room until 9:00 am. This made a huge difference to us, and we were able to have a leisurely coffee on the balcony and take our time at breakfast. We had Priority tags to get off the ship at 9:30 but we chose to use our Deck 7 tags and get off at 10:15 since we didn’t have a flight out until 3:00. We did choose to use the VIP lounge which was empty since they got off at 9:30. The line to get off was long but it moved along quickly. Once we got off the ship, we got a taxi to the airport for $25.00 not including a tip.

The Tampa Airport was a pleasant place, with lots of windows it was open and light and not crowded at all which is so much better than most other places we have flown. We were in the Delta Hub and we ate lunch at the Columbia Café. This was a wonderful surprise. The food was amazing and you received so much for the price.

Overall this was a great cruise; we couldn’t ask for better weather and we really loved Tampa. We wish there were more options to cruise from there. The legend, even though an older ship, had some great upgrades in drydock. We would sail on her again, hopefully in Australia.

Tampa Airport Terminal E

Thanks for the great review -- I will be on her in one week.

Thanks for the review! Love the Legend, that was our first ship and that picture of the atrium makes me think of how wowed I was by it. Good memories! Glad you had a great cruise!

Thanks for sharing!

Grand Cayman

We had an extended balcony room (7168) on Panorama deck, which was located about middle forward. The room was pretty standard to what we are used to but the balcony was really nice and spacious. The extra room made a big difference and we spent a lot of time out there. There was adequate storage and I was so glad to have a refrigerator again, our last 3 cruises were on ships that didn’t have them.

 

Just curious do you happen to have any pictures of the room or balcony? We are staying in the same section and I am curious about the size.

This wasn't a good photo because it was taken from a movie but its all I have.

I don't have any photos of the balcony, sorry. It seemed at least twice as deep as normal, really nice to have the extra room. It could have held a lounge chair I think.

Roatan

We have not been to Roatan since Carnival built the Mahogany Bay Beach. We were very impressed with it. It is set up similar to Grand Turk with different shops and restaurants to choose from right off the pier. Then you can either take the ski lift at a price or walk through a beautiful park like setting for about 5 minutes and then cross the bridge to the beach. At the beach is a gift shop, bar and restaurant. There were lots of lounge chairs and shade everywhere, so no need to hurry off the ship to find a prime spot. There was a swimming area and then right next to the main beach is the private beach for Cabana rental. The sand is nice and the water is fairly clear, but there is a little seaweed growing in spots that you have to dodge as you are in the water, but at least there aren’t rocks. We enjoyed the day here and really didn’t spend that much money. It was set up that you had to pay cash or credit instead of your sail & sign card. We would love to return here again if we ever come back to Roatan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last picture has my wife and son in it! We were at one of the cabanas at that beach and it was wonderful.

 

This wasn't a good photo because it was taken from a movie but its all I have.

I don't have any photos of the balcony, sorry. It seemed at least twice as deep as normal, really nice to have the extra room. It could have held a lounge chair I think.

Thanks for the insight. Looking forward to a little extra room.

Hey, indiaksue. We were also at Nachi Cocom the same day as you,the picture you took of the pool with the pool bar in the background. My son is the one on the steps with the blue life vest on, our crew was back by the hot tub. I can see my bald head. Small world!

Wow I am surprised that anyone from cruise critic would be in my pictures. It is a small world, hope you all had a great cruise!

The Tampa Airport was a pleasant place, with lots of windows it was open and light and not crowded at all which is so much better than most other places we have flown. We were in the Delta Hub and we ate lunch at the Columbia Café. This was a wonderful surprise. The food was amazing and you received so much for the price.

You should have taken the streetcar from the marriott to Ybor city and went to the Columbia restaurant. :D

Really informative and well written cruise review! Thank you!!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to review.

We're on the Legend to Australia at the end of August. We've not sailed the Legend, so your insight was nice.

Glad you had a good cruise. Love your laid back attitude!

Susan

Thank you for your review. We're on the Legend for the first time next month. Really looking forward to it after reading your review.

We all had a great time, we all really liked Nachi Cocom. In the past, when we went to Cozumel, we would always go to Paradise Beach. We had a bad experience last time there, we all wanted to try something different. I believe we found that at Nachi,only allowing 100 guest is the way to go. At Paradise, they pack as many as they can get. This was our first time on the Dream,Very nice ship.This was the first time while in the Dining room that our entire meal averaged about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs total time from all 3 meal courses. Before that, on previous ships it took an average of at least 2hrs.