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The Legend is doing fine

EscapeFromConnecticut

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EscapeFromConnecticut

EscapeFromConnecticut

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Onboard now.

Absolutely top-notch cabin, dining and deck crews. These folks are excellent at their jobs AND cheerful. What a delight.

Ship is in magnificent condition, especially the interior ... and the public places look factory-fresh.

Pursers desk also first rate. MDR dinners excellent, MDR lunch and breakfast are - sad to say - shaky.

 

Library staff, Internet staff & the Steiner/spa people all are their usual unhelpful, snide, bored-and-you-should-know-it selves. I've long thought that Carnival (and RCI) should demand higher standards for these folks - screen them as tightly as they screen their own staff. If that happened, the 'sullen attitude' crowd would never make it through the first cut.

 

Quite old, staid bunch of cruisers on this cruise. Security and Camp Carnival staff can rest up ... the bingo callers must be putting in some long hours, though. Way, way too much country & western in the main lobby for my taste, but a lot of people are enjoying it, so I understand why it's there.

 

Key point for future Legend cruisers: the ship was doing 19 knots at some point, and appears on target to make all ports as scheduled. No indication that the engine repairs were anything other than fully successful.

 

Shows have been superb. John and Calvyn as entertaining as you'd expect.

Smooth sailing, glorious weather. Embarkation was one of the smoothest we've ever seen, and Nassau went fairly well (slowdown on disembark, but incredibly efficient processing of folks coming back to the ship. I believe we were in motion seven minutes ahead of scheduled departure).

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MrPete

MrPete

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Onboard now.

Absolutely top-notch cabin, dining and deck crews. These folks are excellent at their jobs AND cheerful. What a delight.

Ship is in magnificent condition, especially the interior ... and the public places look factory-fresh.

Pursers desk also first rate. MDR dinners excellent, MDR lunch and breakfast are - sad to say - shaky.

 

Library staff, Internet staff & the Steiner/spa people all are their usual unhelpful, snide, bored-and-you-should-know-it selves. I've long thought that Carnival (and RCI) should demand higher standards for these folks - screen them as tightly as they screen their own staff. If that happened, the 'sullen attitude' crowd would never make it through the first cut.

 

Quite old, staid bunch of cruisers on this cruise. Security and Camp Carnival staff can rest up ... the bingo callers must be putting in some long hours, though. Way, way too much country & western in the main lobby for my taste, but a lot of people are enjoying it, so I understand why it's there.

 

Key point for future Legend cruisers: the ship was doing 19 knots at some point, and appears on target to make all ports as scheduled. No indication that the engine repairs were anything other than fully successful.

 

Shows have been superb. John and Calvyn as entertaining as you'd expect.

Smooth sailing, glorious weather. Embarkation was one of the smoothest we've ever seen, and Nassau went fairly well (slowdown on disembark, but incredibly efficient processing of folks coming back to the ship. I believe we were in motion seven minutes ahead of scheduled departure).

__________________

 

Yeah, those longer cruises attract an older crowd, way older than I expected.

 

But you're on my favorite Carnival ship. Enjoy!

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EscapeFromConnecticut

EscapeFromConnecticut

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A few highlights so far:

 

Behind the Scenes is without doubt the best bargain on Carnival. Absolutely first-rate.

 

As usual, a key part of MDR dinners is the staff; a knowledgeable waiter/waitress will ensure you don't go astray when ordering. Ours has been fantastic. (And the story on Carnival's dining quality seems to be twofold: First, what's good is still truly good. The Thai soup, the redfish, the creme brulee, the beef carpaccio, the salmon ... all were extraordinary. But no question, there are some shaky entrees and appetizers .... and breakfast and lunch can be a crapshoot. A chicken tetrazini today at lunch was splendid; the "build your own burger" in the MDR was awfully weak. The "assorted greens" at lunch in the MDR amounted to cheap iceberg lettuce with a little decoration.)

 

Some of the Unicorn Cafe (lido deck buffet) items have been way better than anticipated: teriyaki veal at Chopsticks, seared grouper in a light white sauce, and the simple but delightful toasted turkey-on-a-country-roll at the deli. Some other choices were ,.... forgettable.

 

Small library but excellent Internet cafe, outstanding slide, all 4 hot tubs working along with both pools, and truly meticulous cleaning throughout the ship every day.

 

The return boarding at Bermuda was a mini-cluster; a 20-minute line in the sun. For many minutes, it simply didn't move at all. Too many rumrunners and perhaps some over-zealous security .... sigh.

 

Absolutely love the Spirit class for general balance, amenities, and appearance. Bonus: No jumbotron!!!!! (if I wanted that atmosphere, I'd go to a ballpark)

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EscapeFromConnecticut

EscapeFromConnecticut

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Sold on the steakhouse as a value. I don't like cruise upsells, and try faithfully to stay far from the casino, art auction, tanzanite sales and other $$-removal operations on board.

But the steakhouse meal tonight was utterly magnificent, start to finish. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

 

If I heard John Heald's talk correctly, tomorrow is Carnival's first visit to the Azores. Looking forward to it.

 

Best of the TA so far: Outstanding staff, some excellent meals.

Also, kudos to Carnival for getting us a network news feed last night for updates on the Boston nightmare.

 

Less-than-ideal: Although the orchestra is superb, the rest of the music mostly has been ... ah ... missable. And while there surely are some fun people on board, there's a sort of grayness (not the hair as much as the personalities) about many of the passengers.

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TravelingDiva1

TravelingDiva1

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Sold on the steakhouse as a value. I don't like cruise upsells, and try faithfully to stay far from the casino, art auction, tanzanite sales and other $$-removal operations on board.

But the steakhouse meal tonight was utterly magnificent, start to finish. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

 

If I heard John Heald's talk correctly, tomorrow is Carnival's first visit to the Azores. Looking forward to it.

 

Best of the TA so far: Outstanding staff, some excellent meals.

Also, kudos to Carnival for getting us a network news feed last night for updates on the Boston nightmare.

 

Less-than-ideal: Although the orchestra is superb, the rest of the music mostly has been ... ah ... missable. And while there surely are some fun people on board, there's a sort of grayness (not the hair as much as the personalities) about many of the passengers.

 

I'm enjoying your live update, between you and John I almost feel like I'm there. :p

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