Legend Panama Canal Mini-Review 4/29/15 - 5/14/15

[AZAficionado]

A Year Late and a Few Thousand Photos Short...

 

Preamble

 

Hi everyone! You must be thinking "OK, this is strange." Bear with me and I'll explain. Rewind to two years ago and I had a pretty successful review of the Allure B2B. That made two well-received reviews in a row - officially, that's a streak! Next up (spring 2015) was a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on Legend. I was all set to review the pants off that trip. But I didn't. Here's why:

 

First: Just weeks before sailing, an absolutely outstanding, picture-heavy review of Legend came out covering one of her last trips before doing the canal. I can't remember who did it, but he knocked it out of the park. That was the first nail. Although at the time, I was still going forward with the review. I still had the Panama Canal angle.

 

Second: Also at that time, a few older, but fairly comprehensive reviews of the Panama Canal were floating around. Also, RCCL announced no more Panal Canal cruises for the foreseeable future. Great, I'll review a trip nobody can take. Notice how the Panama Canal angle now has the second nail stuck in it? But, I was determined!

 

Third: About a year ago, the mood on the boards was not in a very good place. Or maybe it was my mood. Who knows? RCCL had just raised drink prices, announced they didn't want to cater to "discount cruisers", and a bunch of other stuff that didn't make people very happy. It takes a while to see the final nail. So, there I am in Ft. Lauderdale, grabbing a late-afternoon snack and drink across the alley from the Ritz-Carlton, and I take a bite of whatever it was. SolsticeAZ asks me "didn't you want a picture of that?" Several explitives and a mini-tantrum later, light dawns on marble brow, and I realize I'm in no place to do a review.

 

Why now, you ask? Well, I'm about to get on the Adventure for a B2B and I'm going to review it. And I know the Legend trip is going to come up. So, I need to get you guys caught up.

 

Introduction

 

Put cruising the Panama Canal on your bucket list. If you don't have a bucket list, make on and put cruising the Panama Canal on it. Seriously. It is that amazing.

 

So here's where we went:

 

 

Notice all the interesting places you normally don't see on cruise itineraries? Can you say bonus?

 

About Me

 

For those of you who don't know me, or have forgotten me in my nearly year-long absence from the boards, I'm a male, 48 year-old, retired Software Engineer (dot-com was good to me). I'm married to SolsticeAZ and I have no kids. I'm a food and wine guy who also likes the ocassional cigar. I like to cruise and I like to cruise with Royal Caribbean.

 

Cabin Selection

 

I've been searching for a Panama Canal cruise for a few years. Every time I saw one, the cabins I wanted (Junior Suite) were sold out. Not this time. I don't know how this happened, but the BOGOHO price for a Grand Suite was cheaper than a Junior Suite. I couldn't click the "Reserve Now" button fast enough. Suite 8514, the San Francisco suite, was ours! Finally, after 22 years and 14 cruises, a Grand Suite and the Panal Canal at the same time!

 

 

Truth be told, I'll probably never book a Grand Suite again unless it is cheaper than a lesser room. There was nothing wrong with it. I just think the added cost doesn't get you enough.

 

However, when doing the Panama Canal, you want a balcony. Trust me on this.

 

Cartegena, Colombia (Day 4)

 

Cartegena is worth seeing some time. It is an amazing city. We decided to take a cab to see a few of the sights - La Popa Monastery & Convent, San Felipe de Barajas Castle, and the Walled City.

 

This place was amazing and situated at the top a hill.

 

This castle was worth the price of admission. You could walk through the inner passages (not for claustrophobics). Totally amazing.

 

This was taken from the monastery. Behind the caste, on the other side of the river, is the Walled City.

[AZAficionado]

The Walled City is the older part of Cartegena and is awesome. We just walked around and saw the amazing sights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the not so great stuff. Not a lot of people in Cartegena speak English. This wasn't a huge problem, but something you should know. The cabbies are borderline criminal in their fares and how they change them mid-trip. If you ever go, be prepared. I think more regular tourism will change this, which the Colombian government is working very hard to achieve.

 

I got a real joy on the way back to the ship. SolsticeAZ and I did our first cruise on the Monarch of the Seas back in 1993 when she was the biggest cruise ship in the world. Guess who was parked along side Legend in Cartegena?

 

Looking good in her Pullmantur colors!

 

Next up is Colon, Panama....

[PCWalton1]

There are never too many reviews of cruises in that part of the world. Thank you for taking the time to do this now. :)

[AZAficionado]

There are never too many reviews of cruises in that part of the world. Thank you for taking the time to do this now. :)

I agree completely and you are most welcome. :)

[SolsticeAZ]

Yay! I get to relive this trip through a mini-review, without doing any work of my own!!!

 

But I'll be sure to chime in later if (when?) AZAficionado gets something wrong...:D

[AZAficionado]

I forgot to give you guys an outline of how I'm going to do this (this is why we don't wait a year to do a review). I'm going to cover all the ports first and then talk about the Legend itself, including our ship-board experience. So, stay tuned until the end! Don't worry, it won't be long. In 5 days I'm off to do a B2B on Adventure. I have to finish by then, no pressure.

 

Normally, I also say that I will monitor the thread, answer all questions, and try to respond to everyone. I'll do that for the next 5 days, I promise. Then I'll be gone for two weeks, and if the thread hasn't completely died, I'll pick up where I left off. I know it isn't optimal, but that's how it goes. Ok, back to the review...

 

Colon, Panama (Day 5)

 

I'm not sure what else there is to see in Colon besides the Canal, but I went on a tour of the Canal and the Expansion. They say you'll see it all from the ship, but I disagree. Seeing the Canal operations from the ground is just as amazing as seeing it from the ship itself.

 

Time for me to share some stuff that I geeked-out over about the Canal:

 

*It is 102 years old and hasn't really been changed.

*It works by gravity-feed. To fill the locks, they drain the man-made, fresh-water lake that spans Panama. They drain each lock into the lower lock and the lowest lock out to sea. 52 million gallons of fresh water per ship is drained into the oceans (half to the Altantic, half to the Pacific) to make one crossing of the Canal! 52 million gallons! All replenished by rain water.

*The most expensive cossing fee was $200,000+ to a cruise ship. They only take cash in advance. No checks, no credit, no joke.

 

 

This is where we got to watch the Canal operations. It also gives you a good sense of how much of a height difference there is for each lock.

 

As soon as they finished building the Canal, they realized is wasn't wide enough or deep enough. The US Navy started an expansion, but abandoned the effort to go fight WWII.

 

 

This is the new expansion (sorry for the panoramic distortion). It will be able to handle much larger ships. The original Canal will continue to operate even after the new one opens.

[AZAficionado]

Panama Canal (Day 6)

 

There was one suite perk that was worth every penny. On Legend, the spa has an aft balcony area that is perfect for viewing the operation of the Canal. The crew turned it into a brunch/viewing area and offered it to suite guests only. It was something like $60 a person and there was limited seating. It was well worth it.

 

The Canal has two lanes. This is the first lock being closed behind us. The one-lane road behind the lock is the only way to cross the Canal on the Atlantic side. I think there are two bridges on the Pacific side. If you look at the other Canal lane, the disturbance in the water is the lock being drained.

 

This is Legend in lock #2 and the lock doors are closing being us. An interesting note, for those of you who used to watch TV in the 70's: That other cruise ship is the Pacific Princess. Yep, the Love Boat! Well, not the actual ship used in the show. They turned that one into scrap. But still, the Love Boat-A, which they will blow up at the end of the next movie. Wait, maybe I'm thinking of Star Trek...

 

This is a shot looking forward at Gatun Lake. All those container ships started the day in the Pacific and are waiting to pass through the Atlantic locks. In the morning, traffic flows into the lake. In the afternoon, it flows out to sea. You can "jump the line" by paying more cash. The Panamanians and their obsession with cash money!

 

Because much of the Canal is really a natural valley converted into a man-made lake, they have to constantly dredge the bottom. The 12 feet (yep, I said feet) of annual rainfall doesn't help things. This is where the mud they dredge goes. That pipe leads out to the dredging barge.

 

This is the railroad that runs along the banks of the Canal. There is an excursion to ride the train to the Pacific side and back.

 

This is one of those bridges which allows passage over the Canal, The Continental Bridge. IIRC, this will continue to be the limiting factor for larger cruise ships. The new expansion locks can accommodate their "girth", but they are too tall to fit under the bridges.

[AZAficionado]

They split up the Pacific Locks, so they aren't all together. This is the first set, the Pedro Miguel lock. Everyone wave to Issac!

 

This is the second set, the Miraflores locks. Now waive to Doc and Gopher!

 

Here's the other bridge, the Bridge of the Americas. I think this one has even less clearance. It is right after the Pacific side locks.

 

This was the best shot I could get of Panama City.

 

This is how calm the Pacific was right after we exited the Canal. Like a pond. It was actually kinda freaky.

 

Next, I'll cover our day in Costa Rica.

[Clarea]

Enjoying this, better late than never!:)

[AZAficionado]

Enjoying this, better late than never!:)

Thank you, kindly. I'm glad I decided to finally do it.:)

[emeraldcity]

 

This is how calm the Pacific was right after we exited the Canal. Like a pond. It was actually kinda freaky.

 

Next, I'll cover our day in Costa Rica.

 

How in the world did you manage to get an ocean photo on either side of the canal that isn't peopled with clusters of ships awaiting passage. When we were there, I could see dozens of ships on either side of the canal cooling their heels waiting their turn to go through. Honestly, when we sailed from Colon, I counted over 60 on the Atlantic side.

 

I'm enjoying your review ... and I love the geeky fascination with the engineering details. They fascinated me as well. I can't get over the fact that the doors to the locks are over 100 years old and still working just fine ... at work, we can't seem to keep a copier in good repair for a mere five years.

 

PS. the green spired building I use as my avatar is a condo in Panama City.

Edited April 11, 2016 by emeraldcity

[AZAficionado]

How in the world did you manage to get an ocean photo on either side of the canal that isn't peopled with clusters of ships awaiting passage. When we were there, I could see dozens of ships on either side of the canal cooling their heels waiting their turn to go through. Honestly, when we sailed from Colon, I counted over 60 on the Atlantic side.

 

I'm enjoying your review ... and I love the geeky fascination with the engineering details. They fascinated me as well. I can't get over the fact that the doors to the locks are over 100 years old and still working just fine ... at work, we can't seem to keep a copier in good repair for a mere five years.

 

PS. the green spired building I use as my avatar is a condo in Panama City.

Yeah, both sides of the canal did look like some kind of disorganized container ship convention. I think this photo was a taken a few hours after leaving the canal.

 

What gets me about the canal is that they built it using 1900s technology. Like the pyramids of Egypt, I suspect alien involvement. ;)

 

I'm really glad you're enjoying the review.

[Hoopster95]

There are never too many reviews of cruises in that part of the world. Thank you for taking the time to do this now. :)

 

Yes, Bill hit the nail on the head, especially for a ship that gets very little press on CC. Thank you for doing this.

(Sorry... I think maybe that first "nail" was me :eek::o)

[AZAficionado]

Yes, Bill hit the nail on the head, especially for a ship that gets very little press on CC. Thank you for doing this.

(Sorry... I think maybe that first "nail" was me :eek::o)

You are most welcome. You were the first nail!! Great review and sorry I couldn't remember your forum name.

 

I agree that the Legend doesn't get much press and she really should. She is a fine ship that often goes to very interesting places. I suppose it is because she is small. The big girls seem to get all the attention.

[AZAficionado]

Puntarenas, Costa Rica (Day 8)

 

There isn't a beach in Puntarenas, at least not one near the port. SolsticeAZ and I looked at every excursion and read what others had posted on the boards to figure out what to do. In Cost Rica, you're going to take a two-hour bus ride to do just about anything. Not how we'd like to spend our vacation, but that's life. I figured if we have to spend half the day in a bus, we should see something amazing. So, we picked the Poas Volcano Tour, and we chose well.

 

I should explain a little about the volcano, because when I tell other people about this trip, they are often confused. Poas Volcano is the most active volcano in the world - it is erupting nearly all the time. That's right, you pay good money to get covered in lava! No. This is a mud volcano. It doesn't spit out lava or molten rock. That part is way below the surface. Sitting on top of that is a muddy lake bed that gets heated up and vents a bunch of steam. Since it is constantly erupting, the eruption is not explosive like Mt. St. Helens, Krakatoa, or Mt. Vesuvius.

 

I have no words that do justice to how amazing it was to stand at the crater of a volcano. Hopefully, the pictures will do it justice.

 

 

 

 

We got to see the Costa Rica countryside, which is simply gorgeous. Sorry, no pictures. Pictures though the window of a moving bus often don't come out that great.

[AZAficionado]

Huatulco, Mexico (Day 10)

 

Finally, our first beach day! I'm a big fan of Mexican beaches and I'm pretty pissed (can I say pissed on the internet?) at the drug cartels for turning their country into a giant drug war zone that nobody wants to visit. What a waste. Anyway, our plan for the day was to head to Playa La Entrega, which was a quick 10 minute cab ride away.

 

What a fantastic beach! There were a number of restaurant/beach bar places, which have arrangements with the cabbies. So, when it was time to leave, we told our waiter/attendant and he called the cabbie to pick us up. Nice.

 

I got a bit of a chuckle watching other "gringos" (I can say that, 'cause I am one, right?) from the ship. As with most places in Mexico, if you order food, they bring out some chips and salsa. Well, the salsa here was clearly made with habaneros and was awesomely spicy (I'm a fan of spicy food), yet amazingly flavorful. It was exactly what you'd expect to get from a locale that is roasting hot with 300% humidity. Let's just say that the other folks from the cruise didn't feel the same way.

 

Huatulco is a very nice port. It is pretty much isolated, being so far south, which means the drug war hasn't ruined the place. The locals are very friendly, tourism-savvy, but many don't speak English. Again, not a big deal, just lots of pantomiming with raised voices. Why do so many of us confuse "I don't understand you" with "I'm hard of hearing, please yell"? Louder, slower English isn't any easier to understand. And yet, I find myself doing it too...

 

Later on today will be my favorite, Cabo!

[AZAficionado]

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Day 13)

 

Ah, Cabo. Probably my favorite place to visit. I love this town. It had been several years and one massive hurricane since my last visit. A few things had changed, but Cabo was still Cabo.

 

In the port area, they had a show that was simply amazing. These guys climbed up a really tall pole and one of them stars doing a native dance while the others are slowly spinning the platform on top.

 

Notice the lack of safety wires.

 

Then the four guys jump out, which starts the whole thing spinning while they descend.

 

Fantastic to watch, but totally nuts. Especially since they work only for tips. Granted, from what I could see, they made out pretty well.

 

We hit the beach (sorry no pics). Then ate lunch at the Shrimp Factory (relocated thanks to the hurricane), which is still one of the best places to get great shrimp.

 

When you are in Cabo, you have to get a drink at Slims Elbow Room, one of the smallest bar in the world.

 

We were not alone in port - Celebrity and Holland America were there too. You know, two out of three ships in that picture have Norovirus? More on that later...

 

The famous Los Arcos rock formation.

[AZAficionado]

Where the 1% stays when in Cabo.

 

A parting shot.

 

Ensenada, Mexico (Day 15)

 

Welcome to South Los Angeles! Ensenada is very Americanized and yet retains plenty of Mexican culture. We just wandered about, but there are a few places worth mentioning.

 

First, is Hussong's. A very old bar that I believe is rumored to have invented the margarita, or something like that. If you go, beware of the pidgeons.

 

If you like authentic Mexican street tacos, go to Taqueria Mexico Lindo, near Hussong's. It is a hole-in-the-wall place, but the food is awesome. They offered us roasted whole jalapenos, yum!

 

San Diego, California (Day 16)

 

My experience with all my years of cruising finally did me wrong (almost). Every other cruise I've taken starts letting folks off the ship around 7:00 am. The San Diego airport and port share a common property line and the listed arrival time was 2:00 am, so I booked a 9:30 am flight. Then I see in the cruise documents that disembarkation will begin at 9:00 am. Uh oh. Rather than make all kinds of changes, we kept our flight knowing we'd just get a rental car and drive if we missed the flight. As it turned out, we had no problem making the flight. However, I would not recommend that anyone book such a close connection. It would have been very helpful for RCCL to note that while the ship would arrive at 2:00 am, the passenger arrival time was 9:00 am.

 

I felt for the passengers coming on board. There is this piece of legislation that I think is called the Jones Act. It basically says that if a foreign flagged ship leaves one US port and arrives at a different US port without visiting a distant foreign port, they face a punitive fine. The idea being that we don't want foreign ships ferrying people from Manhattan to Hoboken and driving American ferries out of business. It makes sense. A distant foreign port is any port NOT in central america or the caribbean. Hence our stop in Catagena, it was the only foreign distant port. Yay! No fines!

 

Legend's next leg is San Diego to Hawaii. Can you say massive fines? I thought you could. But wait, there is an easy solution. Why not leave from Ensenada, Mexico? Sure it means a miserable bus ride from San Diego to Ensenada, but people won't mind starting their vacation that way. The next set of passengers reported to San Diego and were bused to Ensenada, while the Legend sailed there. I wish I could start a vacation like that - NOT!

 

Later, I'll cover the Legend of the Seas and our experience on board.

[SolsticeAZ]

I’ll chime in here to add my "Breaking Bad in Ensenada" story. After we’d seen all the things we had on our list for that port, AZAficionado and I still weren’t eager to head back to the ship (much as I enjoyed my time on the Legend, after 14 days I’d had about enough). So, we ended up stopping at a vaguely seedy-looking bar for a beer. Sitting at the table next to ours was a youngish Mexican gentleman, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, muddy boots, and an obscenely expensive watch. Everyone at the bar seemed to know him, and they kissed up to him and catered to his every whim – more beers, tacos from a place down the street, even a shoe shine for those muddy boots – while he sat and periodically checked not one but two cell phones.

 

Who was this guy, I wondered? Someone famous? Maybe a politician? Halfway through my beer, light dawned. I was sitting next to a real, honest-to-God Mexican drug jefe. Well…probably just a low-level dealer of cheap pot and meth, but still! I kept wondering if those texts he was sending from his flip phone (a total burner if I’ve ever seen one) were to various underlings, telling them to knock off rival cartel members. Such drama!

 

These are the kinds of things that I think make fun and interesting vacation stories, but make my mother worry that I’m reckless in my choice of vacations, and possibly insane. I think we may both be right. :rolleyes:

[AZAficionado]

Legend of the Seas

 

The Legend is a fine ship and it was quite refreshing to sail on a Vision class ship again. As I mentioned earlier, the Grand Suite was nice. The layout of the cabin was a bit wasteful, but she is an older ship. As I said earlier, I won't be getting a full suite again unless it is with a stupidly priced deal (in my favor), like this one.

 

Norovirus

 

A week or so before the cruise, we got a letter saying that Legend has Noro and that boarding will be delayed. What this meant was that the cruise before ours (one of several Canal crossings Legend did in a row), enough people had Norovirus for it to be considered a reportable event, which means contacting the CDC, special procedures, constantly scrubbing everything, etc. Let me say that Legend was one of the cleanest places I'd ever been when we boarded. Also, almost every surface was covered in what appeared to be soapy water, but was sticky and did not wash off easily. I learned to not touch the handrails and other surfaces, but only after they stopped coating them with the cleanser, many days into the cruise. Apparently, I'm a slow learner. But, I bet my hands will never contract a virus of any kind!

 

For the first few days, we had no coffee maker and a number of other items that get taken away from passengers when Noro stirkes. It took a few days for them to deliver the soda cups that came with drink package. And we all learned the "elbow bump" that is used in place of shaking hands. But other than that, you'd never know that cruise before was full of sick passengers.

 

When we reached Cabo, we were told that both of the other ships in port were experiencing an outbreak of Norovirus (they had a reportable event), and to shun their passengers as if they were lepers. No, wait. They said to take the necessary precautions.

 

Service

 

The service on Legend was outstanding. The crew did a fantastic job, especially when you consider what they had to go through. Take our wait staff in the MDR. Each time they left the floor of the MDR, they have to wash their hands - thanks Noro. And not a "splash and go". They have to use soap and scrub long enough to sing "Happy Birthday to You", twice. Every, single, time, they went in or out (yep, you have to wash going both ways). When our waiter told us this about half-way through the cruise, I was totally surprised because I hadn't noticed at all. Making it even more impressive was some of our table-mates. We were, once again, blessed with fantastic table-mates. Anyway, one couple liked to taste many of the menu items and made a few substitutions. I would have expected that to slow the service a bit. But, no. Not this crew, even with their dish-pan hands.

 

The Big Con

 

This is serious spoiler territory. But after a year, I think I can spill the beans. First the players: Christopher, our suite concierge. A tall handsome young man, who did an outstanding job, and I'm pretty sure he is gay - which doesn't matter, but bear with me for a moment. The other player is the cocktail waitress (I've forgotten her name) from the R-Bar, who also works the concierge lounge at happy hour. She is a very pretty young woman with a sassy personality (in a good way). She is very serious about her work, but also likes to joke around. I'm pretty sure she had a boyfriend back home. Anyway, I wasn't there for how it got started, but a few days into the cruise, there is suddenly a formal photo of the two of them, looking like lovers, on Christopher's desk. When I gave the picture a confused look (5 minutes talking to them told me: he's gay, she's got a BF), Christopher confided in us and explained that one of the suite guests had asked about them being a couple and they decided to play it up and try to fool as many people as possible that they were madly in love.

 

The rumors started circulating while I quietly chuckled to myself: They are engaged. When's the wedding? How wonderful that two crew members found love on the same ship. Of course, Christopher and the waitress played it up at every opportunity. They went on "dates", complete with pictures on their phones. A romantic "dinner" at Chops. Walks under the stars. They even changed outfits to make it appear like several "dates". And it worked. Many of the suite guests were completely fooled, including one of our table-mates in the MDR. Probably to this day, they are wondering if those two got married...

 

Food

 

Everyone wants to know about the food. Sorry, I have no "food porn" from this cruise. Overall, the food was fine. There wasn't much that was really spectacular and nothing terrible.

 

The MDR was pretty good. It stuck the closest to average with the best meal and worst meal being about the same. They did have escargo many nights, which was a pleasant sight.

 

Chops was a step above the MDR (duh). But if it wasn't, they'd need to close it.

 

Izumi was good, but it was very disappointing to learn that no sake was covered by the drink package. RCCL is going to have to change something if they want the drink package and Izumi to both work out. I say this because Izumi has been the most expensive place to eat (out of pocket) on every cruise I've been on. With no teppan "show", it gets hard to justify the cost.

 

Park Cafe was an awesome addition and I hope they put one on every ship. It was in the Solarium and made for a great lunch spot. Overall, the food was good. They were serving the famous roast beef sandwich, which was every bit as awesome as on Allure. However, the real star was a roast pork sandwich that replaced the roast beef some of the days.

 

The Windjammer was the Windjammer. As I think back over the years, the Windjammer has fared better than the MDR and other venues that have "declined" with cost cuts. If anything, the Windjammer may have improved over the last 20 years. I was very pleased to see traditional ethnic dishes out from time to time. I love it when the chefs serve up some of their home recipes.

 

Drinks, Booze, and other Libations

 

With 15 nights and only 6 opportunities to go ashore, the drink package looked like a good prospect, and it was. I was a little concerned that it made bottles of wine a poor choice (only 20% off) and we'd be missing out by doing wine by the glass. The change (downgrade, IMO) in the wine bottle list in the past few years alleviated my concern. I wasn't going to be missing out by not getting bottles of wine - there wasn't anything all that spectacular on the list. For those concerned that you have to pay the extra for drinks more than $12, don't worry. Every time I had to pay extra (maybe two or three times), the bartender had to get out his ladder (I'm being serious) to get the bottle down. Otherwise, everything was covered.

 

A quick note on the less-than positive side. The "mood" I perceived on the boards was visible in many of the passengers at the bars. I heard many negative comments about drink prices and the like. To be fair, RCCL did not help the problem. For example, on the drinks menu is a Rum and Coke (1 shot rum) for $6-ish. Also on the menu is a Cuba Libre (2 shots rum) for $10-ish. I get that they are technically two different drinks that are going to taste different (different ratios of rum to coke), but having both only encourages confusion. Enough about that.

 

R-Bar

 

With the various dry docks, RCCL has been replacing my beloved Champagne Bar with R-Bar fleet-wide. What the heck is R-Bar? Well, I'll tell you. It is a return to old-school (and modern) mixology. Let's face it, you don't need to go to bartender's school to twist the top off a beer bottle or pour some rum and some coke in a rocks glass. Any of us can do that. Other cocktails aren't that easy, especially if muddling is involved. R-Bar is all about fresh ingredients (no flavored syrups) and taking time to make a "proper" drink. I'm sure the bartenders are that wild about it: fast drinks = more drinks served = more tips. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is my new favorite.

 

I have no idea what drink this is. It is the kind of thing you can get at R-Bar. It was delicious.

 

Cigars and Such

 

I knew there wasn't going to be a cigar lounge on Legend or a nice smoking area like on Allure. But I did find a true gem. On either side of the Viking Crown, which now includes Izumi forward and Chops starboard aft, is a small balcony with a set of stairs leading down to the deck below. The starboard balcony off Chops is a designated smoking area and has a few tables and chairs. It became my own private cigar lounge, that I sometimes had to share with the crew who would head out there on break to smoke.

 

This should be up in the Service section, but one night we stepped out onto the balcony to find a group of off-duty crew having a Chops dinner. Right away, one of them stood up asking if they can get us anything. Seriously?!? Sit down and eat your steak! They were all smoking, so I was able to enjoy a cigar and had a wonderful conversation with them. What a group of great folks.

 

I took this from the "Cigar Lounge" one night. I've never seen the moon that dark of a shade of red. Kinda scary.

 

In Transition

 

It didn't take but a few days to figure out that many of the crew were getting off the ship with us. This was Legend's last lap through the Canal and she was headed for Hawaii, in route to Asia. Some of the crew were clearly new on board. It was also pretty clear that the ship was being prepared for a very different market and very different customers. From my understanding, Asian cruisers tend to up the gamble, smoke, shop, and tea factor than Westerners. The changes to support that were visible on board. The shops (not that I cared) didn't have as much merchandise, in preparation for more "premium" shopping which would replace t-shirts with Michael Kors handbags. I bet the next two cruises (San Diego to Hawaii and Hawaii to Asia) saw more of this.

 

Where it was most obvious to me was in the Aerial Centrum Show. Our cabin happened to be on the same deck as the "top" of the aerial show. So, I got to watch the practices during the day, close up and personal (just a handrail between me and the performers). I'm no expert, but day 1 of rehearsal (several days into the cruise) looked more like a safety briefing and instruction on how to put on a harness. The following days seemed to support my conclusion that these performers were brand-spanking new. Don't get me wrong. They did a great job and put on a couple of different shows.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Time to wrap this thing up. I have to pack and catch a 5:10 am flight to Adventure in a few days. I'm sure I'll complain about that in the next review.

 

I was initially concerned about the itinerary of this cruise, but I think most of the ports were fantastic. My favorite port (not counting the Canal) was a tie between Cartagena and Costa Rica. Yes, I said Cabo San Lucas is my favorite, but I meant as a place to visit, in general. My least favorite port was Ensenada.

 

Legend and her crew were fantastic. They did all seem to be "happy to see us". I got to enjoy "small ship" cruising again where you have table-mates and at the end of 15 days, you know way too much about your fellow passengers.

 

The Grand Suite was nice, but to me it isn't worth the extra cost over a Junior Suite. Glad I finally stayed in one and got to see what all the excitement is about.

 

In Summary

 

Panama Canal: Just do it. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Drop mic. Feedback. Walk away. :cool:

[niksmom630]

What a great review and thank you for sharing your photos--brought back wonderful memories of our partial canal transit sailing on the Brilliance years ago.:)

 

And I completely agree with you--Panama Canal is definitely a bucket list cruise. One of the most memorable I have taken thus far! Enjoy your next sailing(s)...hopefully you'll consider doing another trip report when you return?

 

Chris

[AZAficionado]

What a great review and thank you for sharing your photos--brought back wonderful memories of our partial canal transit sailing on the Brilliance years ago.:)

 

And I completely agree with you--Panama Canal is definitely a bucket list cruise. One of the most memorable I have taken thus far! Enjoy your next sailing(s)...hopefully you'll consider doing another trip report when you return?

 

Chris

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the kind words.

 

The Canal is certainly something I'll never forget.

 

I will be doing a full (photo bomb) review of the Adventure in a few weeks. Although, most of it will likely focus on the 9 (10 if you count Puerto Rico) different islands we'll be visiting. My first cruise stopped at many of these islands and I haven't been back to them since. I'm excited for it. :D

[niksmom630]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the kind words.

 

The Canal is certainly something I'll never forget.

 

I will be doing a full (photo bomb) review of the Adventure in a few weeks. Although, most of it will likely focus on the 9 (10 if you count Puerto Rico) different islands we'll be visiting. My first cruise stopped at many of these islands and I haven't been back to them since. I'm excited for it. :D

 

 

I will look forward to this. [emoji4] We have cruise on Freedom scheduled next February with stops in San Juan and St. Kitts. Loved San Juan when we did Adventure years ago, but this will be our first sailing with it as a port stop. And St. Kitts was not a port stop on our Adventure sailing years ago, so this will be a new port for us as well. I think I share your excitement!

[AZAficionado]

I will look forward to this. [emoji4] We have cruise on Freedom scheduled next February with stops in San Juan and St. Kitts. Loved San Juan when we did Adventure years ago, but this will be our first sailing with it as a port stop. And St. Kitts was not a port stop on our Adventure sailing years ago, so this will be a new port for us as well. I think I share your excitement!

Freedom is probably my favorite ship. Since we'll be doing a B2B on Adventure, we get San Juan as a port day between the cruises. I'm looking forward to it. You'll get to see the whole thing in a few weeks. :)