Carnival Legend Review & Pictures!

[leesy007]

If you don't have photos, it didn't happen. Let's see 'em ;):D

 

Great review, keep it going.

Don't I wish! No, No pictures, next time I will try to sneak a few for the boards!

[leesy007]

Great review! those pictures of Cozumel are amazing.

Thanks for posting.

 

Thanks for reading! I really enjoying taking photots, my hubby's camera is descent so it makes it easy.

 

 

Really nice review. My 22 says she has a really old soul also. Glad you had a great time.

 

Thank you :) We had a wonderful time! I am glad to know I am not the only 22 year old who thinks a little more maturely!

Thank you for posting your review! 6 weeks from today we will be on the Legend!!

 

Plenty of rooms left, maybe you can go again!!!

 

Don't tempt me! You might just see a really tall, slightly awkward woman in a huge hat on board! You will have a great time I am sure of it!

Thank you for the review! I live just north of Tampa and am on the Legend in two weeks. My daughter and I just cruised on the Legend in March. We enjoyed it so much we decided to bring my husband and son along this time! LOL

 

I keep reading that the Legend is a "go again" type ship! Seems like the best kind of compliment to me :). I hope your hubby and son enjoy it as much as you and your daughter did. Have fun!!!!

 

Nice review. 4 months till out Legend trip. :)

 

Thanks for reading! You are almost into the double digits! yay!

 

 

Wow!

 

p.s. Great review

 

I know right?! Thanks for reading!

[leesy007]

Loving your review and your personality!! Where did you get this hat? I love it!

 

 

Awe! Thanks! It is so much fun to write it all down. Well, type it all down... I got the black hat, and the tan one in the first pics from Forever 21. I used to work there, so I would stock up on fun sun hats. I fear the sun :)

[leesy007]

Cozumel!

 

 

We were on our way back…but not before taking a few more pictures! Sorry Hunny! I know your ready for food!

 

 

Yep, it's that picture from Cozumel!

 

 

Finally back on board, we headed to the Lido deck for what was quickly becoming a tradition: mid afternoon snacks! Chicken fingers with cheese sauce and burgers with salsa!

 

We got back to our room and guess what was on TV?!

 

Titanic! Can you believe it?! My little sister laughed so hard when I told her!

 

I just had to take a picture!

 

 

 

My research for Cozumel:

I found a lot of information from this site: http://cozumelmycozumel.com/Pages/ThingsToDoIndex.htm

 

I also made use of google maps. I researched the port location, San Miguel, and the National Park and printed a map of each section. A little overkill in hindsight. I really only used the map of San Miguel.

 

It was important to me to know a little about each place I went. I didn’t want to be the typical cruise tourist. I wanted to know the official language, currency, etc.

 

 

(Can you tell I was still in “school” mode?! :o)

 

 

 

Tomorrow Belize!

[leesy007]

BELIZE!!

 

Now remember when I said we were new to cruising? Well we might have gotten around Cozumel just fine, but honestly I was a little worried about Belize. We booked the ruins tour through Carnival, just to be safe. It cost about $80pp

 

Part of my degree included Archaeology classes so I was pretty excited about seeing the Mayan ruins. Because we had an excursion booked and because it was going to take the entire time we were there, we had to meet in the theater very early, like 7:30. Then we were called, along with the Cave Tubing excursion to be the first people tendered ashore.

 

Because Belize is surrounded by a reef, the ship cannot actually port there, there is a tender boat that you board from the ship that takes you to the port. The ride is about 15 minutes and is pretty choppy. I made sure to take a sea-sickness pill that morning, just in case!

 

The boat looks like this:

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When you get on, try to get a seat towards the back. You might get a little ocean spray but you;ll be able to take excellent pics of the Legend at sea while the tender boat sails towards the port. Obviously, I did not get a seat at the back because I have no cool pics to share :rolleyes:

 

 

Once ashore they shuttled us off pretty quickly. It takes two hours to get to the ruins, two hours back and we were only in Belize for a few hours more than that so we had to be swift.

 

I had about three seconds to take this picture, we were moving so fast!

 

Now I must say that I was nervous about a two hour drive. But the bus they put us on was air conditioned, and had a bathroom. And the tour guides were PHENOMENAL! I enjoyed the ride there as much as I did the actual ruins!

 

I was completely captivated by their commentary on the city. Belize city is poor. Very poor, but their people are proud of it and it shows. Belize gained their independence in the 80’s I think, and the country as a whole is in a learning phase, but the people have a real sense of national pride.

Our tour guides told us about the city, the history, the food, the people, everything! It was really great.

 

And now the ruins! ...almost...

 

First we had to cross this little river, I kind of wondered why they hadn’t just built a bridge. But probably lack of funds. When we pulled up to the crossing there was a little stand with venders selling their goods. We didn't really see anything that seemed authentic. Also, they are quite... pushy I guess is the right word. It wasn't the same wheelin' and dealin' as in Cozumel. These vendors honestly seemed more desperate, and understandably so, as I said previously the country is quite poor. We just politely declined their offers and hurried onto the little bitty raft.

 

 

I didn't get a picture of it, but there were some Mayan women washing their clothes in the river. It was pretty neat to see that tradition in action. My anthropologist self was freaking out!

[leesy007]

Belize!!

 

After the crossing over the river we had to take another much smaller van about a mile, then we walked up a super steep hill to the site.

 

And then we were there!

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed all the way to the top! Oh my god! It was just a tad bit high at 800 feet above sea level.

 

 

A note: It was really hot. I mean really, really hot. I like to consider myself somewhat in shape, and I was having a hard time climbing everything.

 

After the tour we headed to lunch, it was included in the excursion. It was not enough food! Not for me and definitely not for my husband! Luckily we were at a real restaurant (and it was very clean, even the bathroom- I checked ;) ) so we were able to order a little extra.

 

Then it was back to the ship! Well, after a two hour ride, during which we slept, we were so exhausted from the heat. Once we got back to port we were literally rushed onto one of the last tender boats. So no other information about this port other than the excursion!

 

 

 

 

My Research for Belize:

I didn’t go to far into Belize research. I research enough to know what to expect, but we spent the whole time on the Carnival excursion. I was only able to get some Belizean money because we needed more food at the restaurant, and the guy behind be in line traded me!

 

I was able to research some basic information, language, currency etc. That kind of came in handy, but not as necessary as in Cozumel! Our tour guides in Belize spoke perfect English.

[crusinpsychRN]

Great pictures!

 

I love the one at the beginning with your arms thrown up in excitement.

[KellyJ]

Before you cruise you should make photo copies of your passports and keep your real passport in your cabin safe and carry your copies in a waterproof case on land. We don't always do this but thats how its suppose to be done.

 

I actually covered our passport photocopies in clear contact paper. The copies will fold or roll up to put in a beach safe. You have your passport # in case of emergencies.

 

Did this before our first cruise in 2004, and am still using the same copies. The contact paper keeps them dry and legible.

[rhcpchika1]

Loving the review! :)

[Yankeegirl]

Loving your review!! So glad you had a great time. I almost bought a Sony Cyber Shot yesterday. Your pics are great, I may have to head back to the store! :D

[Billzilla66]

I'll be going on the Legend on April 15th. Great reviews like these make me antsy. I WANNA GO NOW!!!!! Only 8 more months.:D

[leesy007]

Mahogany Bay, Roatan

 

Bright and early that morning we hiked down to be the first off the ship and onto the beach!

 

Roatan was beautiful. Being from Florida we were not used to seeing hills and mountains.

 

 

 

Now the ship does pull up right to the port so you can walk right off, like in Cozumel. The beach is a little hike away from the ship, maybe 10 minutes? We did not do the “Magic Flying Beach Chair”. It was just not worth the $12pp to us. That and after the amount of Warm Chocolate Melting Cake I had had every night, I welcomed the walk!

 

 

 

(Note the “flying chair” in the left of the photo”)

 

We did not book anything special in Roatan. After the busy day in Cozumel and the ruins in Belize, we really needed a “beach day”. In all honesty, I actually scheduled in this relaxing time for the hubby (hehe!). He was very grateful for the chance to lay in the sun!

 

Maybe the fact that we did not book an excursion colored my opinion of Roatan…but it seemed to me that this port was basically and non-official Carnival Island. It was a little …cheesy. And I know cheese. It was very typical cruise port, reminding me of Puerta Maya in Cozumel, but spreading down to the beach. Of course we did just go to the public beach, the closest to the ship so it might be different in other areas.

 

But that’s not to say it wasn’t B-E-A-U-tiful.

 

 

Being the early-birds we are, we were alone on the beach for a few hours, but by 10ish it was pretty busy!

 

 

 

There are a few shops on the walk to the beach, they do not really have anything spectacular in my opinion. Same caribbean good as in the other ports, nothing that stood out. However, towards the... I guess it would be call the back of the port (opposite the way you walk for the beach) is a little covered market with vendors. Their fares seemed a tad more authentic and cheaper.

 

Also, there is a place for food right on the beach, but since the ship was just a walk away we decided to be a little more frugal. There are covered "clam shells" for rent as well, I do not remember the price but I can tell you it was way more than we were willing to pay, we just picked a spot under a tree... it worked fine

[leesy007]

Mohogany Bay, Roatan ! (Well, the spa actually).

 

After a few hours, we were kind of over the crowds. So we packed it in and headed back to the ship. After some lunch (Chicken fingers!) we headed to our secret Jacuzzi.

 

I decided the make use of our down time and use the Sauna and Steam room:

 

 

Steamy!

 

 

Here is another secret: Shhh! I found out that along with the Jacuzzi, sauna, and steam room, you can also use the showers in the spa without booking spa services. And the showers in the spa are significantly bigger and nicer than the small ones in the regular rooms. In the hallway picture above, the shower “stalls” (they are actually rooms with locks and a place to put your items on a bench, and a sliding door into the actual shower) are on the right hand side.

 

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It's not weird to take pictures of showers right?! right?! I didn't think so either. I just took pictures of everything I thought I would like to see before cruising... and I love showers! :D

[leesy007]

Great pictures!

 

I love the one at the beginning with your arms thrown up in excitement.

 

Thanks for reading! :)

 

We had a really amazing time, I am glad it shows in our picture!

[leesy007]

Loving the review! :)

 

Thank you so much :)

 

Loving your review!! So glad you had a great time. I almost bought a Sony Cyber Shot yesterday. Your pics are great, I may have to head back to the store! :D

 

Hehe! It is not a bad camera at all, and very reasonably priced. I like it because it is nice and small, it fits easily in the back pocket of my jeans, which is kinda a must if I am actually going to use it.

[leesy007]

I'll be going on the Legend on April 15th. Great reviews like these make me antsy. I WANNA GO NOW!!!!! Only 8 more months.:D

 

Yay! you are going to have so much fun :D. There seem to be a lot of Legend reviews so you will have plenty of reading to pass the time!

[onthecobb]

I am really enjoying your review and the great pictures. We leave in 10 days (I can hardly believe it) and am getting so excited.

 

Laurie

[RenoNanaOz]

Love your style and I am enjoying your review. Ware going on the Legend next May and it can't get here soon enough!! thanks for sharing.

[nasa1974]

Great review. Looking forward to the rest. We sail on the Legend in September. Like the idea of the waterproof pouch. Will have to pass that on to the DW. Someone else mentioned photocoping your passport. Might do that because in Roatan I am going snuba. Be nice to keep all that stuff dry and have a copy of the passport.

[KRW71]

Love your review and pictures:) I have 309 days to go before I get to experience it all.

[paladinpride]

Awesome review. My fiance and I will be on the Legend for our honeymoon next summer. I was already excited but now I am even more excited :D. Our honeymoon will be my 5th cruise but 1st on Carnival and I can't wait!!!

[silygirl77]

I love your review. Thanks so much for writing it. We're going on the legend soon. You have great pics! I think you two are a really cute couple! The best to both of you!

[mystone99]

Maybe the fact that we did not book an excursion colored my opinion of Roatan…but it seemed to me that this port was basically and non-official Carnival Island. It was a little …cheesy.

 

Love the review, but you are wrong about Roatan. It is the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. Mahogany Bay was made by Carnival and the beach there is man-made. Next time you go get out of the port area and go to the West End, see the beaches and you will really enjoy your time there.

[crissreid]

these pics are awesome... :)

[psbaldi]

Love the review, but you are wrong about Roatan. It is the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. Mahogany Bay was made by Carnival and the beach there is man-made. Next time you go get out of the port area and go to the West End, see the beaches and you will really enjoy your time there.

 

You are so right...I booked Victor Bodden to tour the island and hang out at West Bay...it was the best decision I made and Roatan is my favorite port I have visited...