Our Carnival Legend Pictorial Review--August 12-19, 2012

[dz63]

Dessert included warm chocolate melting cake and...

 

...caramelized apples on puff pastry

 

Every evening (starting between 4:30-5:00 until 10:30), photographers are set up on both sides of the Atrium Lobby and on the Atlantic Deck (between the photo gallery and Odyssey Lounge) to take your picture. There are numerous background settings you can choose from or you can get your photo taken on the staircase. Of course, we never miss an opportunity to get photos taken when we are all dressed up—this is about the only time I can get my DS’s to dress up like this!

 

On the staircase in the Legend Atrium.

 

That night, we found a towel stingray on our bed.

(This would have been a good one for Grand Cayman!)

 

 

 

And so a relaxing sea day aboard the Carnival Legend comes to an end. Tomorrow is our first port stop.

 

 

Coming up—Cozumel and Paradise Beach!

 

[rrraydon]

Great so far..can't wait til we get on this Sunday!!!!!!

[moopig]

More please! So glad to see Legend has the pools with the shallow edge. The pools have been a major letdown on my past Carnival cruises but looks like this wont be the case on Legend!

[dz63]

Great review! When I was on the Legend last November, we had the same room as your boys - 1110. I loved the location of the room as it was right by the elevators and from the window you could watch people get on and off the ship while it was in port. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review. I can't wait to see what you did in the ports.

 

The same room--that is really interesting...that is so cool! Actually I will be mentioning in my Cozumel post what we watched from our window while in port.

 

More please! So glad to see Legend has the pools with the shallow edge. The pools have been a major letdown on my past Carnival cruises but looks like this wont be the case on Legend!

 

Your request will be addressed shortly!;)

[dz63]

Day 3—Cozumel

 

 

 

On Tuesday we arrived in Puerta Maya, Cozumel shortly before 9:00 am. Again we were greeted with sunny skies and tropical heat which made spending a day at the beach just the perfect thing to do. Today, we had no private excursions booked; rather we planned to spend a day enjoying the facilities of Paradise Beach. Being this will be our first beach stop, we looked forward to feeling warm, tropical sand between our toes while hearing the peaceful rustle of palm fronds gently swaying in the wind. Add water toys and a cool drink from our collapsible cooler…and we’ve got paradise!

 

We last visited Paradise Beach in 2007 and we were looking forward to being able to spend time here once again.

 

Soon after the ship pulled into port, we watched the activity outside our cabin window unfold. We could see the gangway being set up and ship photographers settle into position. We also saw the arrival of locals dressed up in costume getting ready for photos, as well as the arrival of bicycle rickshaws.

 

 

 

The boys cabin was located directly above one of the ship’s gangways. I asked them if they could hear a lot of noise. They said the only noise they could hear was the unmistakable “ching, ching” echo from the S & S machine.

[dz63]

The Carnival Elation pulled into port approx. 15 minutes later. Carnival Legend closed their gangways and no one could debark from the ship until the Elation completed docking. This process took about 15 minutes. It was around 9:30 before the Legend’s gangways re-opened, allowing its passengers to once again go ashore.

 

On the pier in Puerta Maya.

 

The ship was docked on the end of a long pier. Along the edge and at the end of the pier are air-conditioned duty free shops. In these shops are live, human statues depicting a golden pirate character and even Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. These statues were so still that if it wasn’t for their eyes blinking, you could easily mistake them as real statues. (I guess the donation box gives them away too!)

 

A real life, human gold pirate statue

 

Some photos of Puerta Maya

 

 

Taxi fares are fixed. A taxi cost $19.00 for our family of 5 to get to Paradise Beach.

 

The Taxi rate chart

 

I have read on these boards about some people’s harrowing taxi driver experiences in Cozumel. We did not have this type of experience at all. Both on our way down and on our return trip we had very conscientious and safe taxi drivers.

Edited September 12, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

We arrived at Paradise Beach approx. 15 minutes later and followed our server to the beach. Along the way, we passed the new pool.

 

 

It cost us $12/person for use of the water toys and floats and another $2/person for a chair and umbrella. What makes this beach so special is the abundance of inflatable water toys which are located in the ocean. We noticed there were even more water toys since our last visit. From the giant 14 foot iceberg to the water trampolines and slides, the boys had an blast somersaulting into the water, slipping, sliding and jumping to their hearts content into the warm ocean water below.

 

Scenic beauty of Paradise Beach.

(The boys are eager to get to those water toys!)

Climbing up the giant iceberg,

 

and then sliding down

[dz63]

The inflatable slides.

 

Look out below!

 

The inflatable Rockit.

 

The Rockit was something like a bucking teeter-tooter. The challenge was to stay on and ride it. Even climbing on, was enough for the Rockit to fling its rider right into the sea!

 

 

The water trampoline.

Edited September 12, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

Entering the water was quite rocky with sharp rocks. Wearing water shoes here would have been a good idea.

 

Along the shores of Paradise Beach

 

The use of kayaks is also included in the $12 rate.

 

[dz63]

Our server took our lunch order from the beach and delivered our lunch about 20 minutes later. While we waited, we enjoyed lounging under the shade of tropical palm trees.

 

 

Our lunch was served nice and hot, right to our lounge chaises.

Lunch with tips (as suggested by our server) cost $72 US. Our food was very good and tasty.

 

My DH ordered the Mexican Platter.

 

My two older DS’s ordered the classic hamburger.

 

My youngest DS and I ordered the chicken sandwich.

 

 

And of course, we did spend some time in the pool. This is a new addition to Paradise Beach since we were here 5 years ago. The pool is very nice, complete with a bar and shallow area which allows lounge chairs to sit in the water.

 

 

Of course my youngest DS couldn’t let the day go by without giving the trampoline a try—my older two DS’s were too big to jump on it.

 

 

 

After spending a day at the beach, it wasn't surprising that we got somewhat sunburned by the hot, Caribbean sun. Aloe Vera Sunburn Gel sure came in handy after this!

 

By 3:30 it was time to say goodbye to our time in Paradise. We had an awesome day. This was certainly the perfect place for us to go with our DS’s.

 

Taxis were lined up and readily available at Paradise Beach. We had no wait to get one. In no time we were on our way back to Puerta Maya and the Carnival Legend.

 

 

 

More to come!

[Love2travel4]

Thank you for the great review and I am loving the pictures....getting so excited, I leave on the Legend in 5 weeks!

[dz63]

By 4:00 we were back in Puerta Maya.

Here are more photos of the Puerta Maya and the terminal shopping area.

 

 

Mexican musicians fill the air with tropical music

(don't you love the first musicians sunglasses?)

 

 

 

Take that Amigo!

 

We walked back through the shopping complex located on the pier. I was surprised to see the live statues were still in position. Could these really be the same statues from this morning? This time I got a photo of Davy Jones.

 

[dz63]

The Carnival Paradise is also in port.

 

The Carnival Legend and Carnival Elation docked in Puerta Maya.

 

 

 

The duty free shopping complex on the side of the pier.

 

Another view of the Carnival Legend and Carnival Elation.

 

We depart from Cozumel about 25 minutes late. The Elation departs shortly after.

 

The Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise in Cozumel--both are Fantasy class ships.

[dz63]

Looking aft over the Serenity area as we depart from Cozumel. Yes, that is the Carnival Paradise in the background.

 

DH and I spent some time watching Cozumel fade away into the distance from the aft of the ship in the Serenity area.

Edited September 13, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

At 7:30 we watched the family friendly comedy of Valarie Storm and Tommy Drake at the Punchliner Comedy Club, located in the Firebird Lounge. We preferred the antics of Tommy Drake because he mixed comedy together with a juggling act. Even though the Firebird Lounge has a low ceiling, he was still able to juggle a bowling ball, a knife and an apple—all the while eating the apple while he juggled. Extraordinary!

 

The Firebird Lounge is the Legend’s second show lounge. Its legendary décor is in a traditional Russian style. Here are a few pictures of the Firebird Lounge.

 

 

 

[dz63]

Some of the dining options for dinner that night included:

 

French Onion Soup

 

Black Bean Soup

 

Braised style short ribs

 

Jerk pork lion

 

...and for dessert:

 

Warm fig, date and cinnamon cake.

 

Of course my DS’s had the warm chocolate melting cake—but you already saw a picture of that!

[dz63]

Photographers were once again set up, ready and eager to take photos. The background scenes change every night, so if you see one you like—go for it, as you may not see that background again. There is no sitting fee and you pay only for the ones you like. These photos are printed on an 8 X 10 sheet and cost $21.99/photo (be warned: the cost of these photos does add up if you buy a lot of them).

 

Tonight the photo stations were set up for casual photos. We saw this neat Mexican set up and got our photo taken there. The photographer was Dragan from Serbia. We thought he was a fantastic photographer and very funny too. He really got into it! We noticed that any night there was a photo setting with props involved, he was the photographer for it!

 

It’s Mexican fiesta time!

It’s not everyday, I can get my DH to dance circles around me! ;)

Edited September 13, 2012 by dz63

[LOVECRUISING100%]

Thanks for posting .. great pic's ... : )

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review and pictures! Thank you for taking us along with you and sharing your experience with us!

[dz63]

I can’t let this day go by without including a few more pics from the ship.

 

Forward elevators.

 

The interior of these elevators are mirrored. In keeping with the Legend's theme of myths and legends, the back wall panel of the elevators display a mythical character. I think the characters portrayed in the elevators are Roman gods and goddesses (but don’t quote me on this!) The portside elevator had a different mythical character than the starboard side. I do not remember which mythical character was on the port side and which one was on the starboard side, but here are the photos of them.

 

Mythical characters inside the forward elevators:

This looks like Venus, the goddess of beauty and love

 

...and with those wings, this must be Cupid.

 

The elevators midship had different mythical characters than the forward elevators. I think this photo was taken from the midship portside elevator.

 

I am guessing this is Hestia—the goddess of hearth and home.

(BTW, the mirrors in these elevators were always very clean and shiny)

Edited September 13, 2012 by dz63

[dz63]

The Fun Shops located on the Atlantic Deck (deck 3)

 

 

And so, another memorable day aboard the Carnival Legend comes to an end. Tonight, as we enter our cabin, we are greeted by another towel creation--a baby elephant!

 

 

 

 

Coming up—Belize and Our Cave Tubing Adventure!

[cdillon23]

Thanks for sharing this. The review is great. Looking forward to more!

[novinha]

I love all the pics. I think I'm gettng excited about a possible Legend cruise. I don't like the idea of flying to the port but I have a sister in Tampa who we haven't seen in over a decade. I think a cruise with her would be awesome. Didn't realize that the Legend was also a Spirit class ship like Baltimore's Pride. So the pics were so fun for me to see. Very familiar, but the decor is changed. And I'm going to say it...I think I like the Legend's decor better, from what I've seen. But I should wait till I see her in person!

[Jenny in TX]

Great review....can't wait to read more!!

[sweet angel]

We will be sailing with Carnival for the first time in November, on Legend. So happy to see your review and looking forward to lots more pictures!