lrizit Posted June 15, 2005 #1 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I know a couple others did their reviews but, I thought I'd throw my two cents in also. Day One: This first day started out bad...not Carnival's fault...we went with a group of 6 total, and 4 of us stayed in a hotel, the other 2 went and stayed with a NYC resident friend. We all took a cab to the pier, and the 2 got lost. The cab dropped them off across the street, because he didn't want to drive up with all of the traffic. We got to the pier about 11:30, walked in, found our porter, tipped him and headed down the hallway. We stopped and asked a Carnival Employee where to go, and she went through our stuff, and sent us to a counter right around the corner. We stood in line waiting there, and found out it was for weddings. They sent us to another counter at the other end of the building...we waited there, and then were scurried away because "we weren't the only one's waiting to be checked in. Go sit down" OK. After sitting there for about 25 minutes, we got the call from the lost 2. They were standing in front of the ship. My husband went to go get them. We finally all got together, and then a lady in the pier yelled at my husband and a friend because they were standing with us and not sitting. She tried to send one to the far back of the line to sit, and my husband to the far front. Needless to say, they did not move. Embarking started shortly after that episode, and off we were. Everything else ran very smoothly, which surprised me, considering all of the nightmares I heard. Except some moron sitting at a fold up desk right by the gangway. After they took my photo for my S&S, he refused to let me wait for my husband and screamed at me to keep moving and get on the ship alone. I don't think so. But we were on the ship shortly after that, and all was forgotten. The ship was gorgeous. I did initially notice all of the urns everywhere, just because everyone talks about them, but after a few days, I forgot they were there. Our first stop was the Purser. Two of us had connecting staterooms (7182 & 7184) and we wanted the door opened and the partition on the balcony opened. They put us on a list, and told us they would probably be up the next day. We went to our cabins, dropped off the carryon's and headed up to lido deck. The party started from there. I met with my Roll Call friends after the muster drill for sailaway. It was raining, but it was still fun. Great group of people. We went to dinner at Truffles, enjoyed a great meal. Ended up being a beautiful evening. Day Two: Woke up to the "mechanic" opening the partition on the balcony. It opened up to our side, but it really didn't take up too much space. It was nice having the extra space. First formal night, so we got dolled up and went to dinner, and then saw one of the 3 comedians. He was nothing to write home about really, but he did have his moments. As others have said, the slide was open. The boys on our trip had a great time here. One of them got fussed at a little for "going too fast". Apparantly, he flipped up the side, and then onto his stomach! Yikes! Day Three: Out on Lido for most of the day again. Ran into the Frat Boys, who were standing in the showers, dumping buckets of ice on each other's heads. Silly, but somehow captivating. Went on to dinner, and had a great meal, of course. San Juan: We booked no excursion this day, and just chose to wander around a bit. Ended up walking to Castillo de San Cristobal. Beautiful. Spent a better part of the day there. We left and wandered around town a bit and did some mild shopping. Nothing much to speak of, but the buildings were beautiful. Went back to the ship, ate some dinner and then headed to Senor Frogs. Met our CC buddies there again, and sat back and watched the craziness. Frat Boys and shots of tequila can be highly entertaining. After a "Yard" or so, we danced some. The live band was playing 80's music, and much of the crowd had no idea what any of the songs were, until they recognized the chorus. It was amusing, although, made me feel a little old. :rolleyes: That night was the Lido Deck Party, and it seemed shorter than I remembered. Everything was super quiet by 1. I guess everyone spent too much time at Senor Frogs. We sat and played cards for a little bit and then turned in. St. Thomas: Beautiful, despite the torrential rain the first few hours. We went with Godfrey, and had a great time. He was fantastic. Couldn't get too much shopping in due to the rains. Bought an umbrella that said "It never rains in the Virgin Islands...but just in case" Of course once we bought it, the rain stopped. But if that was all it took, I'll spend the $6.50 again. Finished up the day at Coki Beach feeding schools of fishies Milk Bones. Great time there. Beautiful beach. My husband went Jet Skiing with a friend on the other side of the beach. Had a ball. There were moments on the beach where the seagulls were so bad it was like Hitchcock. One landed on my friend's head. Tortola: We did the dolphin swim at 10:00. Had a blast. My girlfriend was looking forward to that more than the cruise, I think. You spend a few minutes there watching an orientation video, then outside. They take your picture holding two birds, then off to the water. You play with the dolphin for a bit, then they do a belly tow with you across the pool, before it's kissing time. They video tape the whole thing, and sell you a CDR-W for $50. We declined. Got back on board, took a nap, and got up for dinner and celebrated my 30th birthday. Spent the evening on the aft lido (adults only) section having Coronas with my friends. The last two sea days were pretty much carbon copies of the first two. Some of the guys went to the art auction and ended up buying some things. I did not go. We skipped the second formal night. Saw another comedian, who was so bad, the people in front of us and beside us did not laugh once. He spent the better part of his 35-40 minutes on stage talking to other passengers about where they were from and if they knew the street he grew up on. Not the most entertaining guy. He was mostly full of "offensive" Martha Stewart/Michael Jackson jokes. Debarking: We were asked to leave our cabins around 930, and went up to Lido for some coffee. Hurry up and wait. We decided against self assist. Later in the morning, we were kind of regretful we didn't just go ahead. They started calling us off by floors, starting with 6, then moving to 8 and then 7 so on. We were on 7. We were called at about 1030 to go and were in a cab by 11. But it was chaos. We were very sad to see it end. I had a great time on this trip, only my third, but my favorite so far. Going through a little PCD, but I'll get over it sooner or later. Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, I'll do my best to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted June 15, 2005 #2 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Thanks Laura! Enjoyed that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afcgirl Posted June 15, 2005 #3 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Enjoyed your review. We had a great time on the Legend the week before you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreadPirateRobert Posted June 15, 2005 #4 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Laura, Thanks for the review. It sounds like Carnival needs to work on their embarkation staff in NYC too. Isn't Tortola beautiful. I think it's my favorite island down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maraprince Posted June 15, 2005 #5 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Did you like the larger size of the cabins on the ship? Formal night -- are they still using the cutout of the Captain for photos? Did you like the choices at the buffet? How about the pizza? I will be going on the Legend in September 2 followed by the Triumph on 9/10. Looking forward to returning to the Legend and experiencing the Triumph. Glad to hear that overall you enjoyed your trip. Tip for your next trip -- wait until after the initial boarding surge. Lines are shorter and you can get right on the ship. MARAPRINCE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbabe Posted June 15, 2005 #6 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Hi Laura, Thanks for the review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacerzfan Posted June 15, 2005 #7 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Thanks for the review!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyB2 Posted June 16, 2005 #8 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Thanks for the review. Could you please tell me more about your tour with Godfrey? We are thinking of booking him for our December cruise and all details would be appreciated for myself and our Roll Call group. thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrizit Posted June 16, 2005 Author #9 Share Posted June 16, 2005 sorry guys, I kinda fell asleep yesterday! Maraprince: We had a regular sized cabin, but they were connecting, so the doors opened inbetween and they opened the balcony partition outside. The extended balcony was very nice, and it was great having "two". I did not see a cutout of the Captain for photos, but, I didn't look at every station either. The buffet choices were fantastic, although I was not really knocked out by the Indian Food at Taste of the Nations on that day. Very bland and dry. No one in our group particularly cared for it. Pizza was fantastic, as usual. Especially at 1am. :) We are taking a "girls trip" to nowhere in Oct. from NYC. What time do you think would be best to get there? Pirateover40: I didn't get to see too much of Tortola, regretfully...we only did the dolphin tour and then right back on the ship. The parts I saw were beautiful. I'd like to go back and stay a little later than 2. BettyB2: I could not recommend Godfrey enough. He is fantastic. He met us at the pier at 10 holding a piece of paper with our names. We took the safari van, and off we went. He drove us into town and dropped us off for shopping. You can choose either 1, 2, or 3 hours of shopping. This was the part of the tour with the horrible rainfall, so we ended up sitting in a side street diner waiting for the rain to clear. He picks you up right outside a jewelry store, and then takes you up the mountains. Typically he stops for sightseeing and photo-ops, but with the rain and haze, we couldn't see 10 feet in front of us. At the top, he takes you to a little mountain top shopping mall/bar/casino. If you drink alcohol, BANANA DAQUIRI. It was amazing. Best I've ever had. By the time we got from there, the sun cleared, and he stopped several times on the way down the island for photos and history lessons. Then he asks everyone in the group which of the 3 beaches you'd like to go to. Then he picks you up and takes you back to the ship around 4/4:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maraprince Posted June 16, 2005 #10 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Irizit, We are taking a "girls trip" to nowhere in Oct. from NYC. What time do you think would be best to get there? Are you referring to a cruise out of NYC? If so, it would depend on what your boarding time is. If it starts at 2:00PM I would plan to arrive around 1:30PM or so -- less time waiting at the port or even at 2:15-2:30PM -- this way you can almost walk right on after the "big rush" has subsided. MARAPRINCE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrizit Posted June 16, 2005 Author #11 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Cool Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingee Posted June 17, 2005 #12 Share Posted June 17, 2005 No they don't use the cutout of captain. He was real person. He put his hand on my shoulder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted June 17, 2005 #13 Share Posted June 17, 2005 Formal night -- are they still using the cutout of the Captain for photos? I didn't get to greet the capt as I was STILL waiting for my suit to be pressed:mad: , but I did notice that all the pictures had the black and white pic of the captain imposed on all the pics. I guess the pic taking of the greeting of the captain just takes too long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrizit Posted June 18, 2005 Author #14 Share Posted June 18, 2005 You know we didn't meet the Captain either, so I don't have an answer for that one. I didn't even look at the pics. We got our embarking photo and formal night pic, and that was it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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