Legend? What do I need to know?

[WillWorkToCruise]

Hi, all.

 

I am sailing on the Legend next weekend. First time on that ship. Anything in particular I need to know? Best poolside bar? Best place to sit outside? I know they don't have the 2.0 upgrades yet, but any particularly good food?

 

Our last 2 cruises were on the Dream, which was great but I know it is a much larger ship than the Legend. We were on the Elation a few years ago, which I think is similar in size.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Robin

[wrigley80]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1715648

 

Here is my link to my photo review from the Carnival Legend

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Legend is a great ship. Just got back from our cruise on the Legend 2 weeks ago. Best bar is the aft serenity area bar. The ship does need updating badly. Carpet in our cabin was really worn. Furniture pretty beat up. No flat screen TV's. Tho I think the suites and aft balconies have flat screens. Lots of rust spots thru out the ship. But we had a great time and love the spirit class.

[Swayde]

Serenity deck is nice for outside sitting. The Enchanted Forest is nice if you want a quiet, neat place to kick back and read with large portholes to see out of. The atrium lobby is a nice place to people watch and in the evenings the guitar player is good to listen to.

 

The Deli is a great place to eat and Chopsticks is very popular too. I loved the french fries with nacho cheese sauce from the grill, the hot dogs were real good too.

[WillWorkToCruise]

Thanks for the info, everyone.

 

Wrigley80, your review was great. I will have to through it again to make some notes on things we may want to do.

[debee1015]

If the Serenity deck is full of Chogs go to your left or right and up the stairs and there should be plenty of open loungers on the Sun deck.

 

1 lap around the sun deck is 1/4 so if you walk or jog in the mornings 4 laps is your mile.

 

Here are my pictures that I took last week:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/debee1015/collections/72157637440801085/

 

My review is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1938693

[dulcimergirl]

For an extra special meal, the Golden Fleece Steakhouse is absolutely the best! I have it booked for our first night aboard, when they give you a free bottle of wine. Behind the Fun Tour is amazing. It will be the last sea day, price is 95. No matter what, you will enjoy the Legend, its my favorite ship. I will see you aboard in 38 days.

[ss75511]

The Legend was unbelievable! The best Carnival ship out there, I truly believe. It's so easy to navigate---It usually takes me 1-2 days to get my bearings on any ship that is new to me but we had this one figured out in a matter of a couple of hours.

 

We spent most of our time on the serenity deck--we never had experience with chair hoggers like I read everywhere and was afraid of before we left. I did see a giant (albeit entertaining) fight break out over chair STEALING...but the attendants were very good about removing towels/items of people who left their chairs unattended for too long, especially if you bring it to their attention. We never had a hard time finding a place to sit and found this our favorite part of the ship. Not to mention the best bar, the best towel attendant (Jessrill from the Phillipines--don't know if she is still there but she's the sweetest person I've ever encountered on ANY cruise), and super close to some great food options for snacks.

 

The enchanted forest is another great aspect of this ship...if you ever get to a place where you feel overcrowded or claustrophobic, go to the forest. We never saw another soul there the couple of times we visited. It's tucked in the very front (or back--at this point I can't remember) of the ship where nothing else is really going on. GREAT location and VERY peaceful. Great photo op too!!

 

Some other great tips of things not to miss: The midnight Mexican buffet, cooking demonstration, High Tea, The taste bar & sushi, Lunch in the MDR (try to do it at least twice--its so worth it), THE MARTINI TASTING (if that's your thing they have certain nights where they have 4 martinis for $17 in the explorer's lounge, try it during karaoke time--makes for a lot of fun!), the piano bar (one of my favorite parts of this ship!...especially if you're lucky enough to have Jordan as your pianist..we often skipped shows we really wanted to see because we didn't want to leave the fun of the piano bar!), love and marriage show, the salad bar on the lido (a lot of lido food was just plain not good--SKIP THE PIZZA, I REPEAT: SKIP THE PIZZA ALTOGETHER---and the Chinese made me very sick, etc---but the salad bar was SO FRESH and DELICIOUS!)

 

Finally I am a Foodie, don't know if you are but here are some tips on plates in the MDR to skip and ones not to miss!!

 

Don't miss it!!: Prime Rib was amazing (if you like medium rare, order it rare...if you like medium order it medium rare & so on and so forth), LASAGNA WAS SOME OF THE BEST I’VE EVER HAD & I CONSIDER MYSELF A FOOD SNOB (with Italian being my favorite type of food), Lobster & Shrimp was good but honestly the shrimp was way better than the lobster, Fried shrimp, Short Ribs/Filet duo, Stuffed mushrooms, Spare Ribs (I didn’t love the sauce…a little too smoky for me but my boyfriend wouldn’t stop talking about them so I have to include them), TOM KA GAI SOUP (Do yourself a favor and order this! It sounds too intense on the menu but it was one of the most flavorful and delicious soups I’ve ever tasted in my life! Seriously! Do it! You won’t be disappointed), chicken noodle soup was also pretty good, Crabcake, Beef Stroganoff (I know this has overwhelmingly bad reviews but the Legend is different…this guy takes great pride in this dish, trust it!) Oysters Rockefeller (SURPRISINGLY GOOD & I’ve eaten oysters all over the world---they aren’t the best in the world but again surprisingly good for what I was expecting), Frog Legs (Not joking…they were actually delicious and I’ve had them before & not liked them. They were prepared with garlic & butter (both of which I love) and they were fall-0ff-the bone tender. If you ever wanted to try frog legs just to say you’ve tried them this is the place to do it!), and last but not least: Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp (fried shimp is good and served many days as an appetizer but this dish is served on the last day with this awesome horseradishy cream sauce and it’s just delicious!)

 

SKIP IT:The shark & langoustine firecracker roll, alligator fritters (these tasted basically the same---no meat, just breading) bacon macaroni & cheese (I don’t eat bacon but my boyfriend said this was terrible, cold, & desperately needed salt&pepper), arugula and mint salad (just wasn’t good at all…tasted like mint leaves with olive oil on them), baked eggplant (tough & underseasoned), chilled asparagus soup (just eww. I had high expectations and man was it bad!), Smoked Duck & carmelized oranges(inedible. Tasted like raw bacon. My boyfriend couldn’t even finish it & made me try it JUST to taste how awful it was…he was right), assorted seafood entrée Newberg style (it was SO fishy. Smelled to high heavens…the whole dining room smelled like rotten fish because of the number of people that had ordered it. The sauce was even fishy because the fish was so fishy), greek salad (underseasoned minus the REALLY salty feta), Fried Chicken (dry & underseasoned…the potatoes were pasty & c’mon I’m from North Carolina, I know my Fried chicken & this just isn’t good.) Tomato soup (tasted like campbells), Braised Beef Brisket (just not good at all.), linguini with Italian sausage (the sausage was the only good thing in this entrée, the pasta was overcooked, the sauce was underseasoned and the vegetables were undercooked. NOT good), and the chicken a la grecque (just not good at all. Dry, poor seasoning, pretty inedible)

 

 

If you want anything explained in more detail...feel free to check out my review at length here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1728115

[crusinpsychRN]

Just sailed Legend for Halloween! Had a great time. The chef is new from the last time I sailed and a 100% improvement. Food was hot, even on buffet. Lasagna, which had been inedible before was delicious! Didn't care for the lamb shank or Australian lam chop--couldn't cut it. The night they had the Austrailian lamb in MDR they had leg of lamb in Lido which was really good.

 

I wish Serenity had umbrellas. I can't sit in the direct sun. Under the shade the seating is sofa style.

 

Trivia was a lot of fun. Didn't care for Brent, the CD. No personaility. His asst., Michael, was much better.

 

I had a nice bain with extended balcony. No flat screen but room was in good condition. Staff were always cleaning. Even ashtrays on Lido got cleaned quickly.

 

No chair hogs on my trip. 9:30am on the first and second sea days and NO ONE was on the Lido!

 

Justin did what was billed as a magic show which was an extravaganza! The staff enjoyed being part of this show as much as Justin did doing some of the best magic you'll ever see.

 

Any questions, ask away. I had a great time!

[Ocean Dancer]

I totally disagree with some of above, I make my own pizza, and thought the pizza was amazing!! We had it often, just order one fresh to your liking.

The braised beef was one of the best meals we had all cruise, very tender.

The mac and cheese was very good. ALL food was way TOO SALTY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do not giggle and trip upon returning to the ship, as I was cut off from alcohol as they thought I was drunk. I demanded a test, they said NO, security came to our room, locked the mini bar and my drinking priveleges were taken away for 24 hours. I have a heel spur that was acting up, and my sister and I were giggling, even walked with a cane for four days. So watch your alcohol on the Legend...............Cheers would not be worth it if they cut you off after a drink or two!!! Trust me!!!!!!:confused: We noticed security following us around for the rest of the cruise. I'm not an alkie, nor a troublemaker, respect property, etc. I am a grandmother, just having fun on a FUN ship, which is NOT allowed!!:eek:

 

 

We NEVER found a place in Serenity, it was always packed, or just towels on the chairs, no one in the pool, so where were these people, no one removing towels. :(

 

We had to walk through the casino to get to dinner and it was very smoky, finally found a way to avoid it even though we had to climb a set of steps.

 

Just our experience.

[myangel]

We have been on 19 cruises, 14 with carnival and 5 with princess. of all the ships we have been on............. the legend is my favorite. 4 times and hoping to do a 5th before she goes to Australia. Also loved the dream (2) times and the caribbean princess (3) times........but the legend is like our lake house hahah.

[pungo3]

I've been on the Legend 3 times, and will sail her again in a couple of weeks. I LOVE the Legend and consider her crew to be one of the best I've sailed with. Relax and enjoy your cruise. I hope it will be fabulous for you.:D

[Phlybice]

Just want to say the Legend is my favorite ship to date. Love the look, the feel, and the layout/decor.

[dulcimergirl]

Oh, my favorite part, one evening, a 3 or 4 piece band came and played in the evening in the Serenity area. It was awesome. This was back in January, when I cruised. I hope they still do it.

[deepdish1082]

does anybody have copies of funtimes will be on her in:) jan

[N.FL Cruisers]

does anybody have copies of funtimes will be on her in:) jan

 

I would like to see the funtimes also and a copy of the Circle C activities if someone has them. Got back from Liberty in February and my son met some great kids. I am hoping Circle C is run about the same.

 

Thanks.

[tinykygal]

Just returned from the Legend. We could not write a good review.

Our food was horrible most days. I really tried to give it a 'tomorrow will be better.' Did not happen. Our first CCL trip and many folks who had cruised CCL, and the Legend more than once, were complaining as well.

It took over 45 minutes in the MDR first night to have a waiter acknowledge us and bring our water.

Seasoned Carnival cruisers repeatedly stated that 'something is wrong with this cruise.' We were wondering if it was due to upcoming dry dock or something else.

The Serenity deck is nice and sure there were chair hogs but the other areas weren't quite crowded.

I noticed food and glasses not being cleaned from tables as on previous cruises.

I wish I could be more positive

We don't cruise to eat but there were a lot of people eating burgers because they had such poor food & service in MDR

Asian band was very good and shows good as well.

I think you will enjoy the extra private spaces on the Legend.

Met some wonderful folks on this trip!