Would we like Carnival Legend?

We're being tempted by a last minute cruise on Carnival Legend - 9 nights to the South Pacific departing 17th November.

So far we've cruised Princess (our favourite), Celebrity (also great) and Royal Caribbean.

What are the good and not-so-good aspects of Carnival? We need to decide quite quickly.

We like Princess because of the Sanctuary. I understand Carnival has a Serenity area that doesn't cost extra so that's a plus from our perspective. How crowded does this area get?

Serenity has never felt overcrowded to us, always able to get a deck chair and sometimes even a pod.

If it's a really cheap deal, I would just book it.

We have been on Carnival cruises 4 times and enjoyed every one.

It is aimed at families so there will be kids and mixed age groups.

OzKiwi, we haven't been on Carnival either, but have booked a 3 nighter next year, mainly to take our 5yr old grandson, but also to see if we like it:p

Look forward to your opinion if you book it:)

We are 'loyal to RC' - it was our first, really by chance, and we loved it & have done 10 since & another one in 10 days.

That said, we did the Melb Cup cruise last year on Spirit & really loved that too. There were some differences, but as I have often read things like "they are all more similar than different" when comparing the different cruise-lines & we found that also. It may not have been a 'typical' Carnival cruise to judge on, but there were no negatives for us - we are glass 3/4 full cruisers!

We have a Carnival Legend 'family cruise' in Dec & then Sun Princess in March, so we will have more basis of comparison soon :)

I say, go for it.

My husband and I are not long off the Legend - we sailed on the 17 night from Hawaii to Sydney. We have cruised numerous times on Princess and have achieved the Elite Level.

We decided to have a change and boy oh boy what a change it was!! After a couple of days you get over the shock of the interior furnishings and stopped seeing so many of the Greek Urns but there was still plenty to see. I was a bit concerned that they contained the ashes of past passengers. The decor was terrible.

One of the positives was the age group on board, many families with young children having a great time. The remainder were youngish the older passengers (us) being in the smallest of the demographic. It was refreshing to have such a large range in ages.

The food in the buffet was quite good - the Lido Buffet is well laid out and you could always find somewhere to sit if you avoided the peak, peak times. The dining room we found to be very big, open and noisy - no atmosphere at all but in saying that the food was very good.

The entertainment for our taste was terrible - I think with Princess we have been spoilt with live bands etc. All shows were performed to prerecorded music and seemed flat - the ships singers and dancers certainly tried but it just didn't work - The acts they bought on were awful - but again this was our opinion but a lot of our fellow passengers agreed.

The crew were very pleasant - I have never known a Cruise Director, Jen, work so hard - she was everywhere day and night - I don't know when she slept.

One big positive was that there are plenty of sitting areas all over the ship if you want to have a quite read or just watch the world go by.

If you have any questions, please ask - would I go Carnival again - only if it went to a port I really wanted to see - I believe carnival compared with Princess or Celebrity sits will down the ladder however they are lot more reasonably priced and it's the old story, you get what you pay for.

Hope this helps

Judy

Thanks, folks, especially judithann423 for the detailed comments. We will mentally prepare ourselves for the shock of the interior of the ship. :eek: :D

We've gone ahead and booked ourselves into a Vista Suite (for a treat) since the price was very reasonable. As long as the food is OK and we can find quiet spots to sit with a drink occasionally we'll be happy - and if all else fails we'll have our suite balcony.

It's a nice simple itinerary, four sea days, four port days - Mare, Lifou, Isle of Pines and Noumea. All places we've been to and enjoy and since I missed snorkelling on our last cruise as I caught the flu onboard I hope to be able to make up for that. And it will be a good pre-Christmas getaway. :)

BTW can anyone give me an idea of drinks prices onboard please - cocktails, bottled wine in MDR, liqueurs, espresso, bottled water.

If you like a bit of party atmosphere in the dining room where they get up onto podiums to do numbers. I found the food, service and cabins to be very good Carnival. I was quite surprised. Depends on how many kids are on board. Also does it fall into schoolies time frame?

We also had a Visa Suite 5266 which was great - the back facing balcony was terrific and so lovely and big - a full sun lounger and 4 individual seats with a couple of small tables.

A beer was about $8, a glass of wine or champagne from about $8, bottles of wine from about $28 or so upwards - cocktails $12-14. Coffee - not sure - what does that say about me!!

Room service is not included any more but from memory charges were fairly reasonable and the movies on the TV were also not included, $5.00 a pop. With a suite they are now giving you 2 x 1 litre bottles of water and also one free bag of laundry. Priority embarkation and also priority for the tender service which worked well.

I am sure you will have a lovely time - like any holiday or experience, it's what you make it.

Enjoy

If you like a bit of party atmosphere in the dining room where they get up onto podiums to do numbers. I found the food, service and cabins to be very good Carnival. I was quite surprised. Depends on how many kids are on board. Also does it fall into schoolies time frame?

Groan! OK, I'll pack earplugs just in case. :eek: Oh well, we survived the MDR on RCI so hopefully we'll survive this one. :rolleyes: :D

It might depart just before schoolies - here's hoping anyway.

We also had a Visa Suite 5266 which was great - the back facing balcony was terrific and so lovely and big - a full sun lounger and 4 individual seats with a couple of small tables.

 

A beer was about $8, a glass of wine or champagne from about $8, bottles of wine from about $28 or so upwards - cocktails $12-14. Coffee - not sure - what does that say about me!!

 

Room service is not included any more but from memory charges were fairly reasonable and the movies on the TV were also not included, $5.00 a pop. With a suite they are now giving you 2 x 1 litre bottles of water and also one free bag of laundry. Priority embarkation and also priority for the tender service which worked well.

 

I am sure you will have a lovely time - like any holiday or experience, it's what you make it.

 

Enjoy

Thanks again. We cruising, that's all that counts. :D

Do you recall what time boarding starts? I assume we have priority boarding with the suite but the earliest time online checkin is showing is 3-3:30pm. We like to board earlier if possible.

Yes you do get priority boarding being in a suite and 3.30 does dound very late. We boarded in Honolulu so not sure of the times in Sydney.

Perhaps give Carnival a call.

Thanks, I'll call them if the option doesn't change after our payment goes through to Carnival to confirm the suite booking.

How dressy are the Elegant nights? Do many men wear tuxedos? We do like to dress up to the nines when we get the opportunity so DH is wondering whether to pack his tux, or just a suit.

We're being tempted by a last minute cruise on Carnival Legend - 9 nights to the South Pacific departing 17th November.

 

So far we've cruised Princess (our favourite), Celebrity (also great) and Royal Caribbean.

 

What are the good and not-so-good aspects of Carnival? We need to decide quite quickly.

 

We like Princess because of the Sanctuary. I understand Carnival has a Serenity area that doesn't cost extra so that's a plus from our perspective. How crowded does this area get?

I didn't like Carnival personally, I found it very similar to Smorgys restaurant - very themed and a little tacky.

Great for families, food was okay but definitely not Celebrity / RCI food standard.

Would I cruise again with them (I'm 29, partner 32)? No unless it was a ridiculous cheap price and we would cruise knowing not to expect the same standard as our favourite cruise lines.

Would I recommend adults / couples cruise with Carnival? Each to their own and especially if it comes down a bargain price. Just do be prepared to have a themed ship, different to what you've cruised before,, and potential for a large child crowd.

Thanks, LuckiePuris. Hopefully there won't be too many kids mid-November, anyway we're fairly adept at avoiding kids. Hopefully the Serenity area really is adult-only, and we prefer the late dining option which helps.

The timing works for us as a friend is wanting to "camp" at place over that period so can cat-sit for us. The dates matched exactly so we've taken the risk. It's only 9 nights and we've booked a suite.

Priority boarding is usually from 11.30am.

Priority boarding is usually from 11.30am.

Great, thanks.

We have cruised with Princess and Royal Caribbean. In fact we were on the Golden Princess with you for the Hong Kong cruise in April. I have also done two cruises on the Carnival Spirit with some girlfriends.

Carnival has a slightly younger demographic than Princess, but there will be other things that remind you of Princess, presumably due to the same parent company. Fairly relaxed for formal night. Drinks prices are eminently reasonable, but there are no alcoholic drinks packages. The waiters and the vocalist in the MDR may well be quite good, but it will just be one or two songs each night.

I read a recent post on that well known social media site that said the pub band on the Legend was now good. Previously that was the Spirit's claim to fame. On the Spirit cruise I did in August, there was a violin duo that was part of Lado Strings Quartet. Eastern European and very much the sort of thing you expect on Princes.

If you have a mind to enjoy yourself, it will be a pleasant relaxing cruise. I like Carnival and will happily cruise with them again.

Thanks, Blue Elephant. Yes, I remember you from the Golden cruise.

We're always in a mind to enjoy ourselves on a cruise. I can't think of one we haven't enjoyed, even the last one where we both caught the flu. We just enjoy some cruises more than others. ;) A cruise is a cruise is a cruise ... :D

We are boarding the Legend on 7th November and have a 12 noon boarding time. I think priority boarding starts at 11.30. Bags can be dropped at OPT from about 8.30 onwards if you need to do any last minute running around before boarding.

Serenity is a pleasant area with lots of pods and sun lounges and a child free pool. It can get quite busy there. Unfortunately your departure on the 17th is after most year 12s finish their exams, so be prepared for the schoolies. I have deliberately not cruised at that time, so not sure how many there might be onboard.

Regarding the elegant nights, you won't see many men in a tux. Most people do make an effort to dress up, and there will be many in the MDR in suits, but also many in good pants and long sleeved shirt without a tie.

JJJ I think you will find that Carnival is quite enjoyable if the price is a bargain, this is what eased some of the things for us.

Carnival, as you will find out, is in some areas quite different to Princess. The food is almost as good, the drinks especially bottled wine are more expensive, the evening entertainment is aimed at kids on most nights. Some of the staff seem not very happy to be there.

As I said at the start, if the price is right it is enjoyable, but don't expect it to be up to Princess standards.

We are boarding the Legend on 7th November and have a 12 noon boarding time. I think priority boarding starts at 11.30. Bags can be dropped at OPT from about 8.30 onwards if you need to do any last minute running around before boarding.

Serenity is a pleasant area with lots of pods and sun lounges and a child free pool. It can get quite busy there. Unfortunately your departure on the 17th is after most year 12s finish their exams, so be prepared for the schoolies. I have deliberately not cruised at that time, so not sure how many there might be onboard.

We are also on 7th Nov cruise and have a 12.30 time but as our train gets there earlier or very very much later we will arrive and hope for the best.

I( do remember the last cruise we were on the Legend the evening shows music was horendously loud and even with ear plugs unbearable and we thought (INMO) there was no actual choreography for the 'dancers' they just marched around throwing their arms about

However when waiting for the dining room to open for late sitting we had an amazing duo of violins that I could have listened to for hours

The adventure, and fun (?), is about to begin. Just waiting for the taxi to take us to the OPT.

I shall report back in ten days or so.

:D

The adventure, and fun (?), is about to begin. Just waiting for the taxi to take us to the OPT.

 

I shall report back in ten days or so.

 

:D

Bon Voyage.:):):)