Our "Sweet" Suite Cruise--a Photo Review

[vanislandcruisers]

Great Pics!!!...Enjoying your Review!!!

[Spudder]

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I think I just drooled a lttle over this picture..... great review and pics....thank you

[EMc&DrS]

The weather cleared nicely in time for our departure. There was one other ship in Belize that day:

 

 

 

 

No one could identify the ship, so I looked it up when we got home. Turns out it is a ship that doubles as a college campus called “Explorer: Semester at Sea.” Students are onboard taking classes related to the parts of the world they are visiting. Sounds great until you see the price: upwards of $25,000 for the semester!!! (Which appeared to be about 2 months at sea.)

 

 

 

 

Had to check out their aft:

 

 

 

This is an interesting port to depart from because of the route the captain must follow. Hint--check out the station on the TV that shows the ship’s current location at any given time. The waters around Belize City are so shallow that the ship must navigate a crazy route to depart. If you don’t look at the map on the TV but just sit on your balcony and watch, it looks like the captain is taking the ship in circles! 45 minutes after departing you can still see where you started. There are a lot of nice sites to see as you leave Belize.

 

 

 

 

We did spot our old favorite spot, Goff’s Caye:

 

 

 

but the last island we passed was Rendezvous Caye:

 

[EMc&DrS]

THURSDAY, JUNE 14—Roatan: The sun was rising over Roatan as the Legend began the slow process of backing into the port at Mahogany Bay. With our cabins in the back of the ship, we had the perfect location from which to watch the arrival and departure from this port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

A few more shots:

 

 

(Everyone has to take at least one shot of the shipwreck):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year we did a private excursion through Victor Bodden tours, so this year we decided we would save a lot of money and visit the beach at Mahogany Bay. I’ve read a lot of complaints about this beach, but we had a great experience. There were plenty of chairs, and we had no problem finding 4 in the shade. The water was clear and the beach wasn’t too crowded. We enjoyed using the “flying chairs” and noticed a lot of people rode them over and over just for fun and for the view. The breeze was great from up there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

Here are some of the sights from the "flying chairs":

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GeorgiaMomof4]

 

Last summer my wife and I took a fantastic cruise on the Carnival Dream, so this year we decided to take our kids (18 & 23) along to celebrate our son’s HS graduation. After weeks of research and comparing back in the fall, we finally settled on the Carnival Legend—and then counted down the 258 days until the cruise, which left Tampa on June 10. The biggest difference this time was that we booked an aft-wrap suite for ourselves with an adjoining aft-extended cabin for our kids.

 

 

 

(Those were our rooms--the first deck up from the dining room windows)

 

And so begins a somewhat lengthly photo review of another great week at sea. Please be patient with me--it will take a few days to put this all together. For those who really just want to see the photos, I will highlight important key info in red in case the reader wants to skim through the review.

 

 

We left for the cruise early on Saturday, June 9 making the 8.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Tampa. I booked a room at the Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel using Starwood points, so the room was free!

 

 

 

The hotel only offers valet parking, which was $18 for the night, but the great news was that they would allow us to leave the car in their covered deck while we were on the cruise at an additional cost of only $5 a night. Total cost of the room and parking for a week: $53!! They also offered a free shuttle to the port, so we had no additional cost getting to the port other than a tip for the driver. The hotel is within walking distance to the port (too far to walk with luggage), but I never see it mentioned in people's reviews. When I checked in and asked if there would be a long line for the shuttle, the man said, "No, you might be the only cruise passengers in the hotel tonight. Sometimes we get a lot of passengers, and sometimes we don't." He was right--it was very quiet in the hotel that evening, and the only other person riding the shuttle to the port with us was a Carnival employee returning to her job at the Shore Excursion desk.

 

 

Ed -

 

I am loving your review. We go in October and it can't get here fast enough!

 

We live in Georgia also - Dalton!

 

I am wondering if you have a full length shot of the Legend in any of your pictures (like the first photo here on your review) except full ship length?

 

We are wanting to do t-shirts for our cruise since there will be 13 of us going and would for the ship to be on the front of our shirt. We did them for the Dream last year and they turned out great. I just haven't been able to get a full shot of the ship that isn't fuzzy yet.

 

Please let me know if you have one and you can email it to me.

 

Keep going with your review - you're doing a great job and we appreciate it because I did one on our Dream cruise and I know how time consuming they are!

[DebBrown]

In reference to the Explorer - Semester at Sea.....now we see where the rich kids go to college. :roll eyes:

 

Loving your review! Thank you for all of the VS cabin pics. We'll be on her soon!!

[Mom2JJandJ]

 

I am wondering if you have a full length shot of the Legend in any of your pictures (like the first photo here on your review) except full ship length?

 

We are wanting to do t-shirts for our cruise since there will be 13 of us going and would for the ship to be on the front of our shirt. We did them for the Dream last year and they turned out great. I just haven't been able to get a full shot of the ship that isn't fuzzy yet.

 

I know you didn't ask me, but I have this one that I've used for my "cruise notebooks" front page that may work for you?

 

[EMc&DrS]

I hate to say it, but the best part of Mahogany Bay over the excursion last year to West Bay Beach (besides the cost) was there were no people walking up and down the beach trying to sell things. Last year we couldn’t go 5 minutes without men, women, and small children approaching us on West Bay Beach asking us to buy things. This year’s beach visit was much more relaxing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Texarribean Chick]

Emc - I must ask more about Roatan. We are traveling on the Magic in a couple of weeks and we chose this cruise primarily because of the stop in Roatan (we've never been there) and because the Magic is the "new" ship AND close to home departure. In Roatan - everyone keeps saying to venture out to West Bay Beach instead of staying at MB. What are your thoughts?

 

I have checked into Bananarama - we are beach goers - NOT tour in a bus type folks. We really do not even like to snorkel; but we do like to be together on the beach and ENJOY!

 

I started a thread a while ago to Crewsweeper and Cap'n Dinghy; but never got a response. I think both of them have experience with Roatan and wanted their opinions.

 

Should we venture out? Should we book an excursion directly with Bananarama (and hope their transportation is NOT a bus that we have to wait to fill up) or should we just stay at MB and enjoy what is available there?

 

Any thoughts or info you might have would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[EMc&DrS]

I took a few photos of the family riding the flying chairs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

We took a walk over to the pier at the far end of the beach and took some additional pics:

 

 

 

Check out the water color:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

Another thing to consider is that the Legend is only in Roatan for a short visit. We had to be back on board by 2:30! The drive to West Bay Beach takes about 90 minutes round trip, so you lose a lot of time in transit. We stayed at the beach until almost 2 PM before getting back on the ski lift for the ride back.

 

Heading back:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hint—this stop seemed to be very popular with everyone, so it appeared that everyone waited until the last minute to get back on the ship. This meant a fairly long wait in the hot sun to get back onboard. It helped that our last stop before getting in the line was at Fat Tuesday’s!

 

[EMc&DrS]

Back onboard, we enjoyed watching all of the preparations for departure from the SHADE of our balcony:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SooZ1138]

Heading back:

 

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I was terrified of my flip flops coming off on the flying beach chair! lol... you are braver than I (even though I brought 5 more pairs) :p

[EMc&DrS]

And then it was time to leave. As I said before, this is a beautiful port to depart from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruiserguy11]

Lovin' it. Great pics.

 

We have the Rendezvous Caye excursion booked for our upcoming cruise. But I'm having second thoughts since they don't appear to supply food or even water.

 

Is there somewhere to buy something to drink/eat on the tiny island? Water? Beer? Any food at all?

 

Thanks.

[EMc&DrS]

As I see it, there are two ways to leave Roatan. This way:

 

 

 

 

Or this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I choose this way:

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

Lovin' it. Great pics.

 

We have the Rendezvous Caye excursion booked for our upcoming cruise. But I'm having second thoughts since they don't appear to supply food or even water.

 

Is there somewhere to buy something to drink/eat on the tiny island? Water? Beer? Any food at all?

 

Thanks.

 

Oh yes, they were selling food and drinks--we just didn't buy anything. I think they were grilling hotdogs or burgers, and I know there were soft drinks and beer. We were given some Sprite on the tender ride back. We had packed water bottles in our bag, so we we never felt the need to buy anything.

[EMc&DrS]

The departure from Roatan is always beautiful, but the route is different on the Legend versus the Dream because of each ship’s next port. The Legend traveled east away from Roatan and passed by another island, the Isla de Guanaja:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After watching the passing scenery from our deck, it was time to get ready for the 2nd Elegant Night.

 

 

[EMc&DrS]

Ed,

Carnival B.V. now owns you a free canape tray on your next cruise! You just raised their canape sales 1000%!:D

Still leading the way to great cruising!

 

HA! Ain't that the truth. How about a free cruise?!? And I think Maya Chan owes me a free stay after last year's review. (Somebody actually said they thought I worked for MC and was writing the review to get more business. I wish I worked on a beach in the Caribbean!)

[EMc&DrS]

Emc - I must ask more about Roatan. We are traveling on the Magic in a couple of weeks and we chose this cruise primarily because of the stop in Roatan (we've never been there) and because the Magic is the "new" ship AND close to home departure. In Roatan - everyone keeps saying to venture out to West Bay Beach instead of staying at MB. What are your thoughts?

 

I have checked into Bananarama - we are beach goers - NOT tour in a bus type folks. We really do not even like to snorkel; but we do like to be together on the beach and ENJOY!

 

I started a thread a while ago to Crewsweeper and Cap'n Dinghy; but never got a response. I think both of them have experience with Roatan and wanted their opinions.

 

Should we venture out? Should we book an excursion directly with Bananarama (and hope their transportation is NOT a bus that we have to wait to fill up) or should we just stay at MB and enjoy what is available there?

 

Any thoughts or info you might have would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

We enjoyed our day at West Bay last year very much. It was expensive, but I'm glad we did it. That said, I'm glad we stayed at Mahogany Bay this year. I would say it just depends on how much time you have in port. We were there all day on the Dream, but a 2:30 departure on Legend seemed too early to invest all that money again to go back to the beach we saw last year--especially when the drive is about 45 minutes each way.

[aprilcruisers]

Loving your review!

 

We're sailing on the Triumph, so loved seeing those pictures.

 

Yor photography is exceptional! What camera do you use?

:):)

[teamkern]

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I think I just drooled a lttle over this picture..... great review and pics....thank you

 

I agree. I had to call my wife over earlier to show her the pics of the balcony, but just called her over again to show her this pic. We may have to have a shot tonight in honor of your great review!