A Young at Heart Review; Legend 2/7 -2/14/2010

[Delta Dear]

corrected below.

[Delta Dear]

I am SORRY. I indented for paragraphs, but I see that doesn't work.

 

Next time, I'll skp lines between paragraphs, unless there is something that works better.

[Delta Dear]

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write this review, but better late than never.

 

First, let me sincerely thank all those who have written reviews in the past. Those were SO helpful to me both in planning and while on our cruise. It was our second cruise, first time on Carnival. We LOVED it.

 

To set the background, we are older cruisers than many, but still young at heart. My husband is 71, I am 67. We each have some mobility issues so the things we did were tailored to those considerations. We still had a wonderful time both on the ship and on the excursions we planned.

 

Speaking of planning, I had read cruisecritic for months, and thought I had it all together. We were traveling with a group of 41 made up of a number of online message board friends who love to scrapbook called ScrapShare. We share many different intrests, but for the most part not many of us had ever met in person. We had people in our group from AK, CA, LA, PA, NJ,NY,NE, OH, DE, TN, NC, WA,VA, GA and maybe somewhere I have forgotten. Everyone made the ship, weather issues for many, but we all made it.

 

Our plan was to leave Baltimore on Feb. 6 for Tampa via AirTran. When my husband heard of the snow storm heading for our part of the country, he said, "We better get out of here." So, we changed our flight from the 6th to the 4th. Do you know how much you panic when you have 48 fewer hours to pack ? Whoa ! Pressure for sure. Naturally, I forgot a few incidentals.

 

We enjoyed the two extra days in the Tampa area although we didn't really do anything special. Our Hampton Inn at Rocky Pointe did take us anywhere within 4 miles, so we went to a Mall, PF Changs one night for dinner, Walgreens for forgotten items etc.

 

That Sat. others from our group arrived, we got to know each other a bit by having dinner at Whiskey Joe's near Rocky Pointe. On Sunday, it was off to the port bright and early. We arrived around 11:30, checked in and were on board by 12:15. VERY EASY, and much more efficient than our other cruise on Royal Carribbean from Port Canaveral.

 

We headed along with everyone else, to the Lido deck for lunch. Based on these boards, I headed to the deli for a reuben. It was ok, but I didn't find a need to have another reuben during the week.

 

* A special thanks goes here for those who said, take a travel mug. By the time we ate, we were tired and very thirsty. I am SO glad I had large mugs to fill with icy lemonade. No need to fight the crowd to go back for refills of those tiny glasses, and no need to try to balance multiple glasses of lemonade on a tray. Thank YOU for that suggestion.

 

We went to our cabin 5222, loved the balcony the minute I stepped out on it. No obstructions whatsoever. We then went back for the drill and the sailaway. There we looked for the Roll Call people but didn't know who was who. Since I had told the RC that we were an older African American couple, MyTwoBrads found us. They live in Cleveland where I grew up years ago. We had a wonderful time talking with them. We shared other fun conversations and laughs each time we ran into them during the week. We also met oops, can't remember the CC names, but another couple I'd corresponded with on the RC. They had decided to go on two of the excursions that I had arranged, so it was good to meet them in person. * I don't feel free using real names unless they are displayed on the Roll Call. We also met Seanzie on deck that day. Sailaway was a bit cool, glad I had a jacket.

 

Since we had early dining, we did not get to see the Sunshine Bridge. Thanks to our delay in getting back to Tampa on 2/14/ I was able to experience it after all. As a matter of fact, since we were driving to Pompano Beach to visit our son on our return, I drove OVER the Sunshine Bridge on the way to the Ft. Lauderdale area. The bridge connects Tampa and St. Petersburg, by the way.

 

Dinner was amazing ! The service, the food, the entertainment and who can forget the Chocolate Melting Cake ! Fun, fun, fun. We went to the Follies Lounge for the early show. BAM, lo and behold, who was the FIRST person picked out of the audience to come on stage and play a game ? My husband. LOL. It was FUNNY. He won a bottle of champagne and lots of new friends during the cruise. Interestingly enough, two different couples introduced themselves to us during the cruise by telling us they live within 15 miles of where we live. Delaware is a small state, but that was a real surprise.

 

I think that was about it for the first night. We found the ship very easy to get around. We went back to our first towel animal and the beginning of a wonderful week. ( I never got ONE on our 4 day RCI cruise.)

 

Now that I have gotten started, I realize I have said very little about the ship. I'll include more details about things of general interest in the next post. I took a a journal, fully indending to write daily. HA, I wish I had taken a few notes daily because some of the details have blurred a little since we've returned.

 

The Legend is a lovely ship, the crew was very friendly, the atmosphere was clearly light and fun. No matter how young or old you are, the Legend IS a great ship.

 

Day 1; Grand Cayman. Since we had busy days planned in the last three ports, we simply tendered to Grand Cayman and walked around a little bit. We'd had breakfast in the Main Dining Room which my husband was disappointed with. He liked his made to order omelets on the Lido deck much more than the omelet in the MDR.

 

Elegant night in the MDR was good. I enjoyed seeing the attire complete from gowns and tux, to nice slacks and fancy tops or slacks and various style shirts for the guys. The deck was busy with the many photo ops and other festivities. I also liked seeing the multigeneration family groups who were having pictures taken. No offense, but sure beat the annual trip we used to take to Olan Mills Studio for our annual family photo.

We did not go to the show that night, but instead just hung out with friends in various lounges of the ship. We continued to meet new people from all over the country and other countries as well. Sure was better than being stuck in Delaware in the snow storm waiting for the next storm to hit on the following day !

 

More about our excursions coming up. Cozumel; The Bar Hop Tour.

[okwriter]

I'm sailing with my husband on the Legend in December. Look forward to your review!

[Name Of The Game]

Glad you had a great cruise on the Legend - so did we! :)

[BooBooMonkey]

Great review so far! sounds like you had a great time.

Thanks for the details.

 

Boo

[Biffer1997]

Anyone know if Legend has keypad safes yet or do they still need a magnetic strip card?

[Delta Dear]

Let me add a couple more random thoughts to the first review.

 

When we walked into the Atrium,it was quite low key compared to our RCI cruise where there were balloons all over, lots of staff encouraging you to buy drinks, long lines at the pursers etc. Walking into the Legend was quite and serene. We sat down to rest for a few minutes. A nice young bartender, Ruther, came over and asked if we wanted to order a drink. We declined. Rather than move on to 'paying customers,' he stood and talked to us for at least 10 minutes. All throughout the cruise Ruther would greet us like we were his long lost friends. Very sincere, not pushy, not over the top, just down right friendly. We made it a point to look for him if we wanted to order a drink.

 

Speaking of drinks, I followed some advice and did purchase two sets of drink coupons. We are not big drinkers so that worked out very well. They delivered the coupons to our table the first night at dinner. When we ordered drinks that were more than $5.75, we were just charged the difference. My yummy, Mocha Chocolate Getaways were something like $2.20. By the way, the tip is included in the $5.75 so you might want to add a little more for the difference.

 

The other thing I did which I will do on future cruises was to add to my OBC account ahead of time. I would 'gift' myself $25.00 each payday so that by the time we sailed, I had a reserve built up. I didn't have the discipline to save that on my own.

 

I won't go into many details about food, but will say that everything we had was very good and I thought quite ample in portions. The BBQ ribs were extremely tender and very ample. The only thing I tried that I wasn't wild about was the pumpkin soup that some have raved about. We never ordered second portions, although I did usually get a 'starter,' and a salad. I truly enjoyed the chocolate taste of the Chocolate Melting Cake. So many 'molten' desserts are so sweet, you miss the richness of the cocoa. This was perfect. I did tease Sandy and Kelly in our group, who are from Nebraska. They ordered every kind of seafood possible. LOL, they live on excellent beef at home and felt no need to eat beef or chicken on the ship.

 

My husband especially enjoyed walking around the decks hearing the different kinds of music being played. The sea was so calming we slept like babies. My husband has a c-pap machine which we had an extension cord for, BUT we didn't know the outlet would be across the room from the bed. DUCK TAPE to the rescue ! We taped the cord down so that we wouldn' trip over it and break our necks. We simply left it taped all week which did not cause any problems in terms of vacuuming.

 

Most mornings, I woke up before sunrise and sat on the balcony to see the faint light on the horizon. It was nice that there was a light on the balcony, too so I could turn that on, sit and write or sit and read without turning on the light in the cabin. Toward the end of the week, it was a bit too chilly in the early hours to sit out, though. It was our first balcony. I will always spring for one from now on.

 

For any of you with walking challenges, there were plenty of places where you could sit and relax to break up the trip from one end of the ship to the other. From all that I've read, the layout of the Legend is one of the reasons people love it so. We met so many people each time we parked ourselves for a rest.

 

One more general observation; the age mix on the ship ran from babies in strollers, to more mature folks in wheelchairs and scooters. There were 500 children on our ship, but you never would have known it. As we sat in the Follies Lounge for tender tickets on the Belize Day, I noticed gray heads, bald heads ( no longer related to one's age,) young and old, the whole gamet. So, if you are older and afraid you will be out of place on the FUN SHIP, you will not be. Our group ranged from late 20's to our age and we all had a ball.

 

Traveling with a group was fun. Our travel agent, who is part of our online group, was great. We had blue and white t-shirts that said ScrapShare Cruisers, we had bags, we had sparking apple cider waiting in our room, and we had a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and chocolates delivered to our cabin shortly after we arrived. We had some things we did together, like photo ops, but otherwise we all did our own thing which made it perfect for everyone.

 

I'll be back in a little while with the Bar Hop Tour, I promise.

[boaterette]

Thank you for taking the time to post. I am enjoying the review. I look forward to reading the rest.

[woostercruise]

My husband has a c-pap machine which we had an extension cord for, BUT we didn't know the outlet would be across the room from the bed. DUCK TAPE to the rescue ! We taped the cord down so that we wouldn' trip over it and break our necks. We simply left it taped all week which did not cause any problems in terms of vacuuming.

 

My husband also uses a CPAP, and I am wondering how long an extension cord I need to pack?

[Grannycb]

Excellent review. I'm looking forward to reading more. Thanks!

[Delta Dear]

The Legend does use the swipe card type of safe. Follow the red arrows, don't try to go in reverse. What to know how I know that ?

 

Day 3 Cozumel, Bar Hope Day

 

I found it a little bit of a challenge to find excursions for us because of our mobility issues. We are not animal people so we had no desire to swim with anything, pet anything or bond with anything other than humans. We are not beach/sand, try to get up from low beach chair people either. That meant finding tours of the ports with someone else moving us from place to place.

 

I read about the Cozumel Bar Hop Tour on the Ports threads. As I mentioned earlier, we do not drink much, but the reviews of the tour touted the beautiful beaches and scenery that you would enjoy. I wrote to Tom many times with many questions. We decided this tour was just what we were looking for.

 

The tour is a 5 hour tour that goes to the side of the island that is undeveloped and usually missed by tourists. The side of the island you visit does not even have electricity. You stop at 4-5 bars with 45 minutes at each stop. At each stop, you are given a 'shot,' of a special drink. No, they are not straight shots of liquour. You can order food and/or more to drink if you wish, or you can simply enjoy the beauty of the settings and relax, take pictures, whatever.

 

Tom needs 6-8 people to take the tour in order to offer it. When I first wrote, we were the only two. I quickly promoted it to my group and it turned out that we had close to 20 in our tour by the time others signed on. Again, all ages, all had a ball. They did tease me at one stop because I was 'sipping' my shooter. They gave me a lesson in 'shooting' the drink down. The favorite seemed to be the Iguana at the Rasta Bar, our last stop. It was bright green.

 

We had a delay at one of the bars so we did not go to Paradise beach as we were scheduled to do. Gregg, our guide was great. He asked if we wanted a 'non touristy bar for the last one, or Paradise Beach since we didn't have time for both, the group chose the non-touristy one.

 

Cozumel was hit very badly by a hurricane several years ago. Several of the bars we went to had been almost destroyed, but they had been rebuild.

 

The bars seem to be frequented by surfers, those in jeeps and those on the island who want to enjoy beaches and beauty unobstructed by the 'touristy' traps. It was a very relaxing day. We had time when we returned to port to shop or hang out for a while if we wanted to.

 

We went on back because we had reservations for the Steak House that night.

 

Oh, yes. Cozumel is a docked port. There are a number of bicycle rickshaw type drivers who will take you from the ship to the port village. That was perfect for us, although I was afraid we would tip over or something. But then again, I never liked to ride a bike for the same reason. There is no set fee, you simply tip the driver.

 

We returned to our cabin, ordered some fruit from room service and just relaxed until time to change for dinner. The Steak House was a special experience. It was incredible, as a matter of fact. I'll post more about that tomorrow.

[poptart]

Loving your review and I'm looking forward to the rest!

 

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Legend too. My favorite ship to date.

 

We also did the Bar Hop Bus in Cozumel last November. I too would highly reccomend this excursion to anyone. A wonderful way to enjoy the other side of Coz.

 

I wish you many more happy cruises. I think you made so many friends on the ship due to your sun-shiny attitudes!

[Delta Dear]

Ok, back to the review but a few random thoughts, first.

 

We had a 12 ft. extension cord. My husband would have preferred an even longer cord so that he could have slept on the side of the bed closer to the wall. Next time I think I will take several cords so that we have the option of using more than one if we need to to reach his desired side of the bed.

 

Some other tips from CC that I am glad I followed. Taking plenty of one dollar bills for tips was helpful. Next time, I will take more five dollar bills as well. I found there were times when I had ones, but wanted to tip larger amounts. (Rickshaw drivers, tour drivers etc.) Either I stood there and counted out singles or managed to get change for a twenty so that I had some fives.

 

The travel size Frebreeze, found at Target, did keep the cabin smelling fresh. I guess I didn't use Downey Wrinkle Release correctly because it didn't seem to do anything for our wrinkles. Oh, take a few hangers. Trying to use their hangers for hanging things to be dewrinkled may have been the problem.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that even though smoking is allowed in many parts of the ship, I barely even caught a whiff of smoke. I do have asthma, smoke doesn't really bother me, I just don't care for the smell. The only time I noticed it was when walking past the sports bar.

 

The silent majestry of the ships amazes me. I was thrilled each time another ship pulled beside us. They seemed to appear out of nowhere. Each time I saw one, I was like a kid watching an airplane take off, I wanted to say, " OH, lookie, lookie ! A ship ! A ship !" Just ask my husband, he will attest to my excitement. At least this time I didn't awaken him at 5 or 6 a.m. to share the experience with me.

 

The Steak House Experience

 

I made our reservations online months before the cruise thinking that they might be totally booked if I waited. I did not need to worry. We arrived for our 6:00 reservation and were seated right by a window so we could enjoy the waves as we dined.There were people at maybe six to to ten other tables scattered throughout the dining room which surprised me. Later, there were more but the dining room never seemed to be more than one quarter full.

 

Talk about service and ambiance. It seemed as if we had at least three or four servers right at our fingertips. It was a new experience for me to have servers remove various pieces of silverware, then replace those pieces depending on what you ordered. It seemed to be the silverware shuffle for a while. LOL, I was ready to use the utensils in the order of placement, outside to inside, but they removed and replaced as we went along. That may sound confusing to read, hope you understand.

 

As someone who is allergic to shellfish, it did seem the appetizers were pretty heavily shellfish. I enjoyed the French Onion Soup but would have liked other options. I must say the shell fiish offerings in both there and the MDR looked delicious and quite generous in size. Oh, yes, on the first Elegant Night, my husband did order two lobster tails.

 

The meal itself was totally scrumptious. We both had the New York Strip which melted in our mouths. They were cooked perfectly. Unfortunately, we were too full to finish them. Oh, to have had a microwave for later. One tip on the side dishes. The sides are in serving bowls from which the server serves your plate. If you want more than they serve, ask for it then. I assumed they would put the serving dish on the table so you could have more mashed potatoes, for example. Once they serve you, they remove the dish. I supposed we could have asked for a little more if we wanted to, but I'll share that tip with you.

 

The meal did take about two hours. It was well worth the money from the meal stand point and also that extra sense of being pampered. I said to my husband, " Just think, this may be how the other half lives. There are people out here who are catered to like this all of the time; the Rich and the Famous lifestyle, for just one meal. Priceless. Or, should we say, $60.00 + tip"

 

Once again, after the meal, we wandered the Deck 2 , meeting and talking to others as we went along. We struck up conversations all along the way. It pays to just sit. You'd be amazed at the conversations you have and the interesting people you meet. We found that as the week went on, we'd run into some of the people again and it was as though you were seeing long lost friends. You actually felt a bond with those you've spent some time with. You may not know their names, but you remember their stories.

 

Going to bed that night, we were full of anticipation for our next port; Belize. There, my husband and his first cousin, who moved to Belize seventeen years ago, would be reunited after a twenty year gap in seeing one another. More on that in the next post.

[crewsweeper]

Delta Dear...Love the review. Glad you had a great time. And glad you showed all us "ol folks" that the Bar Hop tour is indeed a great thing to do. Just curious if you remember which "non-tourist " bar you ended up at?

 

DW and I love the Legend and Tampa is a great port to get in and out of. Sounds like you weren't too bothered by the ship's delay. Good call on skipping town and starting your vacation 2 days early. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

crew

[woostercruise]

What a great review! We have 10 days left and I can't wait. Thanks for the extension cord length, I will look for one longer than 12 feet. I would hate for us to have to switch sides of the bed :).

[crewsweeper]

What a great review! We have 10 days left and I can't wait. Thanks for the extension cord length, I will look for one longer than 12 feet. I would hate for us to have to switch sides of the bed :).

wooster...bring a small power strip too. Otherwise only 2 things can be plugged in at a time. You can get the 3 pronged 3 outlet strips at any office supply or hardware store for around $7. With the collapsible plug, these fit in any nook and cranny on the suitcase., and have a usb plug as well for cameras and ipods.

 

Sorry for the hijack...Back to Delta Dear's wonderful review.

[nvcruise]

We had a delay at one of the bars so we did not go to Paradise beach as we were scheduled to do. Gregg, our guide was great. He asked if we wanted a 'non touristy bar for the last one, or Paradise Beach since we didn't have time for both, the group chose the non-touristy one.

 

 

Just curious...what caused your delay at one of the bars?

[silvercrikhix]

Thank you, Delta Dear, for your time and consideration in posting your review. I am really enjoying it, especially since my first cruise is in 16 days on the Legend!! You have about convinced me to cancel my Isla Pasion by Twister excursion in Cozumel to the Bar Hop....it sounds fabulous!!! :D

 

Can't wait to hear more of your review....Thanks again for sharing your trip!!

[clearwatergirl]

My husband also uses a CPAP, and I am wondering how long an extension cord I need to pack?

 

My Mom was on the Legend the week after this poster's cruise. She also uses a C-Pap. She slept on the "couch" bed as her two granddaughters were in the bed. There's an outlet right there. I would imagine you would need 10' or so if you're in the bed. The duct tape sounded like a good idea or you could just plug and un plug each day. The main thing is that you use the C-pap! :D Have a wonderful cruise.

[Delta Dear]

Bar Hop Clarification.

 

First, the delay was caused because there was a miscount of heads on the bus. One of the people who was supposed to go on the tour, did not. The guide had the numbers but not the list of people as they boarded. When it was time to leave the first bar, we reboarded the bus and appeared to be one person short. Greg went back to the bar, we drove slowly up and down the road , checking the beach in both directions. There was a strong rip tide that day so saftey was a concern if someone had gone swimming.

 

Greg called Tom, who had the actual list. Tom called and let us know the missing person had called to say he missed the bus at the port. Greg felt terrible about the mix up and the time lost in looking. Greg said it had never happened before. We totally understood and felt Greg demonstated he would not leave someone behind. The day overall was so great, we did not feel cheated by missing one bar.

 

I forgot to note that several in our group enjoyed having a massage there on the beach at Punto Morena. The neck and shoulder + massage was $10.00, I think.

 

We went to Punto Morena, Coconuts, El Galeon. The choice at the end of the day was to go to The Rasta Bar or Paradise Beach. The original plan was to go to all five. The group wholeheartedly chose go to the Rasta Bar.

 

Now, on to Day 4, Belize

 

My husband's cousin married a woman from Belize 40 years ago. When they went home to meet her family, he fell in love with it and vowed to move there some day. Seventeen years ago when he retired, they did move to Belize. They own a hotel and restaurant about 75 miles northwest of Belize City.

 

My husband Morgan is 5 years older than his cousin, Bill. Growing up, they spent time together in the summers helping their grandfather on the farm. As they grew older and their grandfather died, they did not see each other very muchsince they lived in different parts of the state. They last saw one another about twenty years ago. It has just been in the last few years that they have reconnected via email. both have had a few serious health problems so when I saw the cruise was going to Belize, it seemed to be a perfect opportunity for them to see one another again.

 

Bill and his wife decided to drive to Belize City to meet us when we docked so that we could spend the day together. We would have loved to visit their home, but distance, time and a ship that will not wait, were the deciding factors not to try that.

 

That morning, we had breakfast via room service in our cabin which was delicious. I'd heard the BLT's were really good, so that was breakfast ! Hey, bacon, tomato is a fruit, right, lettuce, potato chips instead of hash browns, just think about it that way before you think we are totally nuts. LOL

 

The tender process for Belize requires that you go to the Follies Lounge to get a number. I'd heard that they let the Carnival Excursion people leave first, but they seemed to alternate. They were running behind so it was late when we were finally called. I'm sorry, I am blank on what time it was. They kept reassuring people that they would not miss the excursions they had booked.

 

The tenders. Well, let me say, some are large, some are smaller. They shuttle back and forth frequently. The ships are anchored quite a way out. You can barely see the shoreline, if at all, from the ship. The ride was about 15 minutes. We went in on the smaller size. Hmmm, thrilling ! I will say no more. We returned on the larger variety. Much better.

 

We arrived and the port and went out the wrong exit so we had to walk a short distance where we spotted Bill watching for us at the other exit. The reunion was touching. Bill told Morgan he had always been his hero; his big cousin. Morgan was the first in the family to go to college and Bill said he used to brag to his friends that his Big Cousin, Morgan went to college and played on the football team. To hear Bill tell it, Morgan should have worn a S on his shirt and had a cape. Bill followed 5 years later and received his degree from the same college. Role models are powerful.

 

Bill and Cathie drove us all around the Belize City area ,which as many have posted, shows high levels of poverty. It is not very attractive near the port area. We then went to a place called Old Belize which is has a restaurant, cultural center, water play area,and gift shop. Some of the tender boats are docked there when not in service. There was a large pool as well as the natural beach. It was very nice, relaxing and a perfect spot for old tales to be told, and new bonds to be formed. It was a wonderful reunion. Of course, Bill and his wife were disappointed that our visit had been so short. They want us to come back to spend a couple of weeks with them, which we plan to do.

 

The ScrapShare members who booked excursions in Belize had a good time doing whatever they did. Some went to the ruins, some went tubing, and I think some did some beach activity, another couple went to the zoo. Belize seems to get some shaky reviews, but I'm sure there are things there that you will enjoy.

[happy40th]

I know you said there was quite a range babies-adults. Is there enough to do for the teen crowd on LEGEND? I am travelling with 2 teens, myself 42, my DH 47, and my parents 68,69. Will all our needs be met?

[Delta Dear]

I'm sorry I can't answer that about teens. You might want to pose that question as a new post. The timing of your trip might influence the number of teens onboard. Check on your roll call to see if other teens will be aboard.

 

Day 5 Roatan

 

Once again, excursion planning was a challenge. After reading the posts on the Ports of Call board about private excursions, I chose to do a tour with Rony's Tours. His tours and those by Victor B. (can't recall the last name) seem to be the ones most posters wrote about. Victor seems to include a visit to his house to see the monkeys. Not being animal people, I had no desire to go where monkeys climb around on your shoulders and head etc.no desire to visit an iguana farm, either, so I contacted Rony.

 

Rony, a native of Roatan, had many favorable reviews, and offered a 'free style' tour where you decided on what you wanted to see, where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do. Once again, it was going to be just my husband and I, but mentioning it to others in our group and on the roll call, it turned out that there were ten of us for the tour.

 

Roatan is a beautiful setting. Approaching it during the early morning hours was refreshingly serene. I felt as though we were arriving at our own little Paradise Island. It turned out we were the only ship in port that day, it seems as though you getting ready to dock at your own private home. Perhaps that is because you approach Mahogany Bay, built by Carnival. The only sight is that, unlike the other ports where there are various types of buildings in the landscape. Roatan is hilly, so the hills in the background give a different dimension than the other ports. That's the good.

 

Now the bad. As soon as we left the ship, it was clear that the distance we would have to walk to get to the port was well beyond what my husband would be capable of doing. There was a sense of , " Oh, no. There's no way he can get from here to there, we'll have to scrap our plans for the day and stay on the ship." I went back onto the ship to ask if there was a wheel chair available we could use to get to the Carnival buildings, a shopping village. Yes, one was available, so I pushed Morgan the long distance. We reached an area of a pretty long incline and by then my arthritic knee was really hurting. A couple was passing by and the gentleman offered to push the rest of the way. Thank God for him.

 

Without going through a lot of detail, the ugly, is that Carnival does not allow private tour operators to come into their transportation area. There was still a very long distance involved to get to the transportation area. One of our group members had come looking for us because they had all arrived earlier and realized we must have been delayed. There was a long, uphill walk yet to be made. Private transportation is allowed to drop people there, so our friend walked up the hill, got a ride back with Rony, who was then allowed to pick us up. If we had not had 8 people, plus Rony and the driver waiting for us, we would have turned back to the ship and given up on the day.

 

Roatan is a beautiful island. Our tour covered almost the entire island. Once again, we went to areas that most tourist don't go to. The hills, the water, the sights were beautiful. Rony was terrific. All of us enjoyed the day that we spent there. Right now, it seemed to be a lovely, undeveloped, natural area. Rony pointed out some new construction; the first Applebees and Wendy's being built. I thought to myself, 'There goes the nice healthy lifestyle most islanders probably live.' The beginning of commercialization will no doubt lead to even more in future years.

 

Many people who post on these boards have said that Roatan has been their favorite port because of its untapped beauty. I would agree.

 

Getting back to the ship was less tramatic. We had been told we could just leave the wheelchair at one of the gift shops on Mahogany Bay. A young man who worked for Carnival at the shop, pushed Morgan all the way back to the ship, so that a much easier end to our day.

 

It was the second, 'Elegant night,' once again we enjoyed our dinner in the MDR, enjoyed the sights of folks in their various degrees of formal and not so formal wear.

 

Now our tale of bridging the generation gap. I have to admit that although we have heard of Karoke, we had never been to nor seen Karoke in action so we decide to go to Satchmo's for Karoke time. Well, what fun we had. It turned out that several of our ScrapShare group were going, too because one of our group members had been chosen to be Madonna in the Legends Show on Sat. night. She was going to try out her song at Satchmo's so we were there to hear her. Once she sang, the MC started playing some songs as the audience sang along. Then the MC put on a Lou Rawls song and who was the first to jump up on the stage, but my husband ! He did pretty well, even if he did occasionally fall behind when trying to keep up with the words. LOL

 

Before the night ended, several others from our group volunteered to share their voices as well. We had such a good time, I can't wait to have another Karoke experience. The fun is watching those 'wanna be singers,' who THINK they are the next American Idol. Bridging the gap; can't beat it. We'd never go to a Karoke bar if we were here at home, but on a cruise? Absolutely a must from now on.

 

Another full day, new experiences, new memories and another night of going to sleep with a smile on your face that you've enjoyed the day you've had.

[blessedwith12]

Absolutely love your review and your "young at heart" attitude. We were on the Legend in November and at ages 49 and 51, my husband and I were often the youngest people in different lounges, etc. It was a wonderful experience. Staring the big 5-0 in the face, I think I've been having somewhat of a mid-life crisis, feeling like my best years were behind me. After watching some of the older cruisers on this cruise - it showed me what fun I still have ahead of me. So glad you were able to go and have such a good time - and thanks for sharing your review with us.

[Delta Dear]

Blessed with 12; how is your family and how is your son? Your review of the Legend had to be one of my all time favorites. Thank you for your kind words. Yes, live is just beginning when you hit 50 ! So don't think you are even approaching the hill, much less over it.

 

Day 6 A Day at Sea

 

I'm going to try to wrap this up by the end of the week-end. I have enjoyed posting what is somewhat a different thread than most. I guess it is all about perspective.

 

The sea was rough on Saturday. When I woke up, it was way too cool and rocky to sit on the deck. I noticed we didn't seem to be moving as quickly as some days. Later there was an announcement that the ship had been slowed down to make the passangers more comfortable on the rough sea. That was the beginning of the slow down, I guess.

 

We had our usual breakfast on the Lido deck, then just relaxed in various lounges. I had signed up for the On Deck for the Cure in the afternoon, so Morgan want back to take a nap while I went off to do that.

 

Because of the winds, the walk was moved to Deck 3 instead of being on the track of the upper deck, 10, I believe. By the time I found the group, they were already looping around Deck 3. I spotted some of my ScrapShare members, one of whom is a breast cancer survivor. I tried to open the door to the deck to join them but the wind was too strong. I ended up going to the other side and waiting for them to approach, there I was able to go out and walk with them. The wind was very, very strong.

 

At one point, the walk went back inside the ship to the Enchanted Forest. When we reached that point, I knew that my knee would not allow me to continue on, so I sat and cheered others on as they went through. There are small tables and chairs where you can sit and look out at the water. You MUST find the Enchanted Forest when you are on the Legend. It is a nice hide away, a quiet retreat, perfect to meditate or read.

 

It was an emotional experience for me that day as participants walked by. You see, four years ago in May, our daughter, Cindy, died of breast cancer at age 36. I sat there reflecting on her life, her joy and knowing she would love cruising and would love that we were on a cruise having such a good time. She'd recall how we'd watch the Love Boat each Sat. night when she was growing up and how we'd enjoy the scene they always showed of the waves that never changed.

 

I was so grateful to the many who continue in the fight to find a cure for breast cancer. As woman, young and old, men, young and old walked by, I wanted to grab each and say, 'Thank you.' I appauld Carnival for doing this on each ship. I have read, but cannot remember just how much is raised each year for the Susan G. Komen Foundation each year. The $10.00 fee to participate makes a huge difference.

 

The rest of the day was spent moving around the ship, stopping to talk, visiting with old friends and new. We began to hear the reports about the mechanical problems and knew our return would be delayed. Fortunately, we had no flights to rearrange etc. since we were renting a car in Tampa to drive to Pompano Beach to visit our son for a few days. The mood on the ship was still very upbeat, very few people seemed to be annoyed at the projected delay. Hey, what were your options ? Enjoy more time on the Legend ! Everything would work out.

 

I have to run for now, but I'll continue with the rest later on.