Oskial Posted March 7, 2012 #1 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Hi everyone. As promised, here is my review of our first cruise. First a little background. My DW and I are from Ontario Canada and normally we spend a couple of weeks in the Fort Myers/Port Charlotte area of Florida. This year my brother made us an offer of staying with him for a week for free,:D in a condo that he and his wife rent, and then going on a cruise out of Tampa with them for the second week.:D:D It was an offer that we couldn't refuse. We have always flown to Florida in the past but thought it might be nice to drive this time. That way we wouldn't have to worry about how much stuff we could take. We are both notorious for overpacking. So, we left our home on Wednesday afternoon Feb. 15th (we were going to leave on Thursday morning but a freezing rain warning bumped up our departure by a day) and arrived in Florida on Friday. Spent a week thawing out with my brother and his wife (got in 4 rounds of golf:D) and got ready for the cruise. We booked the Holiday Inn Express at Rocky Point the night before we sailed. They had a "cruise special" that included breakfast, a shuttle to and from the port and parking for the week for $155 tax incl. The shuttle picked us up at 11 o'clock and dropped us and our luggage off at the port where a porter took our checked in luggage. From there it was a short walk up to get our sign and sail cards etc. and we were on the Lido deck of the Legend having lunch at 12:15!! My first impression..........WOW!!! Even after reading all the other reviews and thinking that I may have spoiled the first impression of going on the Legend, it still was over the top exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billzilla66 Posted March 7, 2012 #2 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Nice start, looking forward to the rest of it. I'll be on my first Carnival cruise (the Legend) on April 15th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMSACE6 Posted March 7, 2012 #3 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Sounds good! I miss having a place in Florida...soooooo very much. Wish I had a brother or sister or...Anyway, just wanted to say enjoying your revew so far, and since Im from the same place as you:D, I know how much it means to "get away from it all" this time of year. Looking forward to more of your review.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afergvip Posted March 7, 2012 #4 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Looking forward to more. We do not sail until 9/30. Such a long wait we really enjoy reading all the reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinger Posted March 7, 2012 #5 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Dont leave us hanging! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19snapshot Posted March 8, 2012 #6 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I am from Chicago and we are driving as well, because we are visiting my brother in Atlanta on the way. I can"t wait to hear the rest of your review! Subscribing to this one for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted March 8, 2012 After we had lunch, we went to our cabin and again were very surprised at the size of the room. It was a lot bigger than I was lead to believe. Lots of storage, big bed (we opted for a king size) a table and bench seat and even a chair and ottoman. We upgraded ourselves to a balcony and it was a good choice. Well worth the extra in my opinion. We didn't use it all that much, but it gave us a nice area to retreat to if we wanted to get away. Our bags arrived a little bit later except for one. That was the one that my wife put her travel iron in.:eek: It was also the one that we had smuggled on some extra Drambuie in. :eek::eek: Needless to say, they kept the iron and booze with a note telling us where we could pick up these things at the end of the cruise. I put the booze in a plastic flask like everyone said to do, but we figure the iron got spotted and then the flask was found too. We got the flask back at the end of the cruise without the Drambuie. O well. We did, however, order a wine package and 8 drink coupons from Bon Voyage, so all was not lost. Sail-away was neat. We were lucky enough to have our room facing the dock in Tampa and it was kind of neat to watch the people on the dock and wave to them. We were on deck 6 at the pointy end of the ship and the views were great. Prior to us sailing, I read a lot about being on the top deck when going under the Sunshine Bridge so off we went to take it all in. We made it under (obviously) but it sure doesn't make it by a lot. Very interesting to watch everyone's reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dz63 Posted March 8, 2012 #8 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We are also fellow Ontarians! We sail out on the Carnival Legend in August and are looking forward to hear your opinion of the ship and ports. Do you have any photos to share? Enjoying your review so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We are also fellow Ontarians! We sail out on the Carnival Legend in August and are looking forward to hear your opinion of the ship and ports. Do you have any photos to share? Enjoying your review so far! I do have pictures (about 300 or so) but am not that computer savy to load them up into this forum. You'll have a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarB58 Posted March 8, 2012 #10 Share Posted March 8, 2012 After we had lunch, we went to our cabin and again were very surprised at the size of the room. It was a lot bigger than I was lead to believe. Lots of storage, big bed (we opted for a king size) a table and bench seat and even a chair and ottoman. We upgraded ourselves to a balcony and it was a good choice. Well worth the extra in my opinion. We didn't use it all that much, but it gave us a nice area to retreat to if we wanted to get away. Our bags arrived a little bit later except for one. That was the one that my wife put her travel iron in.:eek: It was also the one that we had smuggled on some extra Drambuie in. :eek::eek: Needless to say, they kept the iron and booze with a note telling us where we could pick up these things at the end of the cruise. I put the booze in a plastic flask like everyone said to do, but we figure the iron got spotted and then the flask was found too. We got the flask back at the end of the cruise without the Drambuie. O well. We did, however, order a wine package and 8 drink coupons from Bon Voyage, so all was not lost. Sail-away was neat. We were lucky enough to have our room facing the dock in Tampa and it was kind of neat to watch the people on the dock and wave to them. We were on deck 6 at the pointy end of the ship and the views were great. Prior to us sailing, I read a lot about being on the top deck when going under the Sunshine Bridge so off we went to take it all in. We made it under (obviously) but it sure doesn't make it by a lot. Very interesting to watch everyone's reaction. LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one who had alcohol confiscated.... vodka in a mouthwash bottle ... however my 4 little boxes of red and white wine made it through. The balcony is a definate "must" for me. Enjoyed the experience of watching the world go by on both my cruises! It's a great way to end the day!! Looking forward to the rest of your review. Take care! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We booked late dining and for us, it was the best way to go. It was better because it didn't have us rushing to dinner early and then rushing to finish so that we could watch the shows at the Follies lounge. A typical evening would go something like this. Cocktails while getting ready to go to the show, go to the show (cocktail while watching the show), cocktail while waiting for the main dining room to open for us, dining at 8:15. Bottle of wine with dinner from our Bon Voyage coupon (great idea by the way. we bought the middle one with 5 bottles of wine and 8 drink coupons for just under $200. They give you about 8 different wines to choose from) cocktail after dinner, go to Punchliners to see a comic or go to the casino and donate a few dollars, back to our room and sit on the balcony for a few minutes. Oh yes, with a cocktail of course. That first night when we came back to our room and found the bed turned down, towel art on the end of the bed, a couple of chocolates to consume. We've been happily married for 39 years and some things can still get the romantic juices going.;) 'Nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #12 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I had never done room service before, so I thought I would try it out the first morning. I ordered coffee and juice for the two of us and noted on the bottom of the order sheet to have a BLT as well. They delivered the coffee and juice but the BLT wasn't there. No problem. Ten minutes later we got TWO BLT'S :D. Then about a half hour later we got a THIRD BLT. :eek: We turned that one down. After all, we still had to go to breakfast. First day at sea and the weather sure did co-operate. Sunny and about 75 or 80 degrees. I never knew the sea could be so blue. Pictures don't do it justice. You have to be there to experience it first hand to really appreciate it. Spent some time at the Serenity area. Lots of chairs in the open area but none were available when we got there. They did open up once in while, but we aren't sun worshipers so it didn't matter to us. We sat in the shade and had a cocktail. Didn't notice any "chair hogs". All the chairs seem to be occupied. However, there are lots of areas to get a chair and sun if that is what you want to do. Lunch on the Lido deck. The food is plentiful, hot and tastes good. Buffet lines at all the food stations but I can't remember being in line for any more than a minute or two to reach the end. Lots and lots and lots of choices. If the line looks a little too long at one station then go to another one. You can also go to the main dining room (Truffles) and get served a hot meal if you prefer. We did that once and we also had breakfast there a couple of times. Good service, hot food and tasting like it should. Dining on the Legend was more than just a place to have a meal. It really is an experience. If you don't like to be pampered or catered to then you may not like it. We do like to be pampered and catered to when we're on holidays so it worked well for us. Our wait "team" were nothing short of excellent! They were attentive without being "in you face", courteous and just plain fun to be with. The first night we were seated with 2 other couples (remember we are 2 couples ourselves. my brother and sister-in-law). Nice people all. However, they were a little older and were trying to change to early seating because they really had a problem with eating that late. They were able to change for the rest of the week so we ended up just the 4 of us for dinner. Too bad too because we had a good time with them. We did see them around the ship a few times and stopped to have a few laughs with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommyg74 Posted March 8, 2012 #13 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Keep going!! I am going on this ship on Apr 8th, I have never done Carnival, been on Royal Caribbean which I love and Norwegian, which I'm fine not going on another one of their cruises. So your story is making me look forward to it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruise_pirate Posted March 8, 2012 #14 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Great review so far!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarB58 Posted March 8, 2012 #15 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Okial, You're doing a fantastic job!!! I'm "this" close to booking again. I loved the Legendary experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newdestination Posted March 8, 2012 #16 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Nice review and glad you had a good time. My daughter and I had a very good week on the Feb 5th sailing of the Legend. Going under that bridge is quite an experience! People gasped, laughed, clapped, and cheered. Legendary moment:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familyfuncruise ! Posted March 8, 2012 #17 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Keep going!! I am going on this ship on Apr 8th, I have never done Carnival, been on Royal Caribbean which I love and Norwegian, which I'm fine not going on another one of their cruises. So your story is making me look forward to it more. We will be on this ship on April 8th too ! Im so excited Thanks for the review ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #18 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We booked our excusions thru Carnival. I know, I know. More expensive than booking on line, but the others felt more comfortable booking with Carnival and the majority rules so that's what we did. No complaints. Our first port of call was Grand Cayman Island. I found it neat to wake up in the morning to find we were where we were. My wife coined the phrase "We slept our way to the ports of call". Again the weather was perfect. 80 to 85 and sunny. We did the island tour thing where you go to the Rum factory then off to see the Turtles and then to Hell and back to the port. Informative tour. The guide was good and answered all of our questions. The Turtles were interesting. I would have liked to have spent more time there. Grand Cayman is a tendered port of call, so we had to make sure we were back in time to catch the last tender to the Legend. Lots of time left over to have a couple of beers. Back on board for another night of food, entertainment and fun. The waiters do a song and dance routine on some of the nights. I enjoyed it. I have read where others didn't. I thought it added to an even more fun evening. Alcohol may have been a factor. The comedians were good. Some better than others, but all pretty good. I don't remember the names off hand. I have that information at home and will post their names later. The Follies shows were all great. The band is very tight and the dancers and singers are pretty good. We saw all the shows and enjoyed them all. One night they had a magician who was absolutely histerical. He wasn't so much of a good magician, but his routine was very funny. I'll post his name later too. We had Kirk for a cruise director and he did a very good job. Funny, friendly and always there to help. We didn't need his help but he was available if we needed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarB58 Posted March 8, 2012 #19 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We booked our excusions thru Carnival. I know, I know. More expensive than booking on line, but the others felt more comfortable booking with Carnival and the majority rules so that's what we did. No complaints. Our first port of call was Grand Cayman Island. I found it neat to wake up in the morning to find we were where we were. My wife coined the phrase "We slept our way to the ports of call". Again the weather was perfect. 80 to 85 and sunny. We did the island tour thing where you go to the Rum factory then off to see the Turtles and then to Hell and back to the port. Informative tour. The guide was good and answered all of our questions. The Turtles were interesting. I would have liked to have spent more time there. Grand Cayman is a tendered port of call, so we had to make sure we were back in time to catch the last tender to the Legend. Lots of time left over to have a couple of beers. Back on board for another night of food, entertainment and fun. The waiters do a song and dance routine on some of the nights. I enjoyed it. I have read where others didn't. I thought it added to an even more fun evening. Alcohol may have been a factor. The comedians were good. Some better than others, but all pretty good. I don't remember the names off hand. I have that information at home and will post their names later. The Follies shows were all great. The band is very tight and the dancers and singers are pretty good. We saw all the shows and enjoyed them all. One night they had a magician who was absolutely histerical. He wasn't so much of a good magician, but his routine was very funny. I'll post his name later too. We had Kirk for a cruise director and he did a very good job. Funny, friendly and always there to help. We didn't need his help but he was available if we needed him. It appears that your ports of call were reverse to what we did the week of Nov. 6th - interesting. I found the entertainment to be good, although I have read some negative comments over the months. I wonder what happened to Wee Jimmy - he was our cruise director and quite the entertainer himself ?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 8, 2012 Author #20 Share Posted March 8, 2012 It appears that your ports of call were reverse to what we did the week of Nov. 6th - interesting. I found the entertainment to be good, although I have read some negative comments over the months. I wonder what happened to Wee Jimmy - he was our cruise director and quite the entertainer himself ?????? My understanding is that they change them up every few months. Kirk was pretty funny too. The first night he did 30 minutes that was pretty funny. The shows were fine. It wasn't Las Vegas but it was as good as you might see at a "Stage West" in Mississauga or the Oakville theatre. We enjoyed them all. I don't know why some people had negative comments. Just their opinion I guess. Just like my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travellover39 Posted March 8, 2012 #21 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Enjoying your review, can't wait for more. We will be on the Legend in October and I love reading the reviews. Gets you all excited for the cruise. Thanks for sharing:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 9, 2012 Author #22 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Next up is Cozumel. We were able to dock in Puerto Maya here. Again the weather gods smiled on us. Sunny and 80 to 85 degrees. A lot easier than a tender but the tender isn't that bad. Here is where we booked the Salsa and Salsa excursion. Lots of fun. We were met at the pier and taken by taxi to a nearby resort. There we met a lot of other people from other ships. Interesting to hear some of their stories. The idea of salsa and salsa is to make 7 different types of salsa while drinking as many margarita's as you can or want. A group of 3 very energetic young chefs teach you and lead you on to make the salsa's and 2 types of margarita's. You work in teams of 2 or on your own sometimes. The dips are great, the drinks are non-stop and the chefs are very entertaining. Great time for a pretty good price. After making the salsa's, they then try to teach you how to salsa dance. This all takes about 3 hours or so and then you have the option of staying at the resort to use the pool or their beach area. We went to the pool and chilled out for a couple of hours and then went back to the port. I highly recommend this one. Had a couple of beers at the port, did a little shopping and back to more stuff on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 9, 2012 Author #23 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Enjoying your review, can't wait for more. We will be on the Legend in October and I love reading the reviews. Gets you all excited for the cruise. Thanks for sharing:) No problem. I'm having fun re-living the whole thing. I see you are from New York. We briefly met some people from New York city when we were on the ship. Nice folks. Stereo-typical accents from Brooklyn and having just a great fun time. Would like to have spent more time with them but don't know if we could have kept up with them. lol You will have a great time on this ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshhawk Posted March 9, 2012 #24 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Really enjoying your review-keep it going! THanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oskial Posted March 9, 2012 Author #25 Share Posted March 9, 2012 We ate in the main dining room every night but one. The food was well presented, hot and delicious. I heard so much about the warm chocolate melting cake that I tried it on the first night. I had it 5 more nights. Everything good that was said about it was true. My favorite dish of the week (in Truffles) had to be the prime rib. Had that twice. My sister-in-law said (and I agree) it was the best she had ever tasted. She's an excellent cook so that says a lot. The other night that we didn't spend in Truffles was the night we went to the Golden Fleece steakhouse. This is not to be missed. An elegant setting with a great choice of meat and fish. More than well worth the price of admission. I had the new york cut steak and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not to be predictable, I didn't have the warm chocolate melting cake for desert. Instead I opted for the chocolate sampler. (I'm sensing a theme here:rolleyes:) We had wine with our meals every night. If you don't finish the wine at dinner they will re-cork it for you, store it in their cellar and then you can have it brought to your table for lunch or dinner the next day. (or whenever) Nice touch. It's just one more thing that gets done for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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