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Would we like Carnival Legend?

OzKiwiJJ

By OzKiwiJJ,
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers

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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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Off to a good start! That was the fastest embarkation we've ever had. We pulled up at the OPT where there seemed to be hoards waiting. Dropped off our bags, flashed our priority boarding passes and went straight through the whole boarding process without having to wait anywhere. Our cabin isn't ready until 1:30pm so we headed to the buffet for lunch. The selection of food isn't as good as Princess and the variius food stations are quite spread out - it's quite a long walk to check out all the options. The food was tasty enough and the buffet restaurant has less of a cafeteria feel than Princess. It's also right next to the Serenity area so we took our food out there to enjoy in the fresh air.

 

More later ...

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cheznandy Holiday Sharing Rare

cheznandy

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Off to a good start! That was the fastest embarkation we've ever had. We pulled up at the OPT where there seemed to be hoards waiting. Dropped off our bags, flashed our priority boarding passes and went straight through the whole boarding process without having to wait anywhere. Our cabin isn't ready until 1:30pm so we headed to the buffet for lunch. The selection of food isn't as good as Princess and the variius food stations are quite spread out - it's quite a long walk to check out all the options. The food was tasty enough and the buffet restaurant has less of a cafeteria feel than Princess. It's also right next to the Serenity area so we took our food out there to enjoy in the fresh air.

 

More later ...

 

Looking forward to more......have a great cruise!!

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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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Oh dear! The decor! It's so bad it's a joke! There is no way to describe it other than ugly. Really, really ugly!

 

On the bright side our Vista suite is amazing. Sitting room, bedroom, dressing room, large walk-in wardrobe, decent sized bathroom with twin hand basins and shower over bath, and a huge wrap around balcony so we have aft and port side views. Two sun loungers, two chairs, two tables. Very nice indeed. Oh dear, we could easily get used to the suite life.;)

 

The ship is filling up rapidly. Lots of people in the Serenity area including kids.:eek:

 

Sailaway isn't until 6:30pm. Think we'll sit out on our balcony for that.

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mrs and mrs

mrs and mrs

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Oh dear! The decor! It's so bad it's a joke! There is no way to describe it other than ugly. Really, really ugly!

 

On the bright side our Vista suite is amazing. Sitting room, bedroom, dressing room, large walk-in wardrobe, decent sized bathroom with twin hand basins and shower over bath, and a huge wrap around balcony so we have aft and port side views. Two sun loungers, two chairs, two tables. Very nice indeed. Oh dear, we could easily get used to the suite life.;)

 

The ship is filling up rapidly. Lots of people in the Serenity area including kids.:eek:

 

Sailaway isn't until 6:30pm. Think we'll sit out on our balcony for that.

 

You go Girly, Hey Jules looking forward to the comparison, and remember kids keep ya young and are future cruisers, its a chore for sure, teach them well. Its a new world.:):)

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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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Sitting on our balcony now waiting for sailaway.

 

Muster drill was a pain. Outside on the promenade deck, standing in formation in lines for what seemed like ages. No scanning of cruise cards so the have no idea whether everyone attended or not. Quite different to Princess or Celebrity.

 

Can't wait to get out to sea though. We have clear skies so the moonlight should look amazing on the wake. Our bedroom has windows on two sides so we shoukd ba able to enjoy the moonlit sea until we fall asleep. Awesome!

 

Well, that's probably about all from me fir a while, unless I find free WiFi in Noumea.

 

Mic, we're thinking of trying that tapas restaurant for lunch in Noumea. La Barca?

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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Sitting on our balcony now waiting for sailaway.

 

Muster drill was a pain. Outside on the promenade deck, standing in formation in lines for what seemed like ages. No scanning of cruise cards so the have no idea whether everyone attended or not. Quite different to Princess or Celebrity.

 

Can't wait to get out to sea though. We have clear skies so the moonlight should look amazing on the wake. Our bedroom has windows on two sides so we shoukd ba able to enjoy the moonlit sea until we fall asleep. Awesome!

 

Well, that's probably about all from me fir a while, unless I find free WiFi in Noumea.

 

Mic, we're thinking of trying that tapas restaurant for lunch in Noumea. La Barca?

 

Good stuff, that is the one, nice food and if you get the HOHO bus, they offered a discount for a drink at several of the bars there.

Shame about the muster being old school, such an antiquated way of doing things.

I wish you smooth sailing.

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6666oz

6666oz

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We were on her just on a year ago, Dont forget free 24 hour pizza, and ice cream, you should enjoy the crew singing in the MDR, one tip if you like sweet drinks they change over the self serve cold drinks very quickly after breakfast in the buffet restaurant, you will find out what I mean

Edited by 6666oz
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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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So far so good. Food is good in both MDR and buffet. Went to a show the other night and it was great. Very high energy - almost as good as Princess. We also like the piano bar with Jade entertaining us.

 

The atrium bar is giving me the creeps - there are so many urns I feel like I'm sitting in a mausoleum!

 

Our cabin is wonderful except when the ship is going full tilt. Then we get really bad vibrations which set off lots of rattles and sqeaks.

 

We're in Noumea today - a change of itinerary due to bad weather. It's hosing down.:( Much to our annoyance the HoHo bus has a different route today and the Anse Vatu stop is a couple of blocks from the shops. Grrrr!:mad: We got soaked. Unfortunately we have to walk vack there to catch it again.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

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So far so good. Food is good in both MDR and buffet. Went to a show the other night and it was great. Very high energy - almost as good as Princess. We also like the piano bar with Jade entertaining us.

 

The atrium bar is giving me the creeps - there are so many urns I feel like I'm sitting in a mausoleum!

 

Our cabin is wonderful except when the ship is going full tilt. Then we get really bad vibrations which set off lots of rattles and sqeaks.

 

We're in Noumea today - a change of itinerary due to bad weather. It's hosing down.:( Much to our annoyance the HoHo bus has a different route today and the Anse Vatu stop is a couple of blocks from the shops. Grrrr!:mad: We got soaked. Unfortunately we have to walk vack there to catch it again.

 

Shame about the weather for you. Did you get to La Barca?

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6666oz

6666oz

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Thanks KK thats a good link

 

Inside Carnival Legend is ornately decorated and often refers

back to ancient civilisations. The interior design theme for Legend

is appropriately enough - - legends. Joseph Farcus who designed

the ship has explained: "You will see represented aboard the

Legend many different legends. The legend could be a story, it

could be a person, it could be a legendary place. It is always

interpreted in very different ways."

 

When you read the comments it all makes sense.

http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalLegend-Tour-1.html

Edited by 6666oz
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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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Thanks KK thats a good link

 

 

When you read the comments it all makes sense.

http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalLegend-Tour-1.html

 

It might make sense but it still looks dreadful. :eek: Although it's so bad you just can't help laughing at it. :D We nicknamed the Lobby Bar "The Mausoleum". Sitting at the bar itself was OK, with minimal urns in view, but if sitting on either side of the lobby it looked too depressing - urns in niches right up to deck 10. :rolleyes:

 

And, unfortunately, most of the legend paintings look dark, dingy and depressing. Actually I thought some of them might be quite scary for small children.

 

However, despite the decor and the lousy weather, we had a great cruise. We were seriously impressed by the quality of the food. The starters and mains were as good as Princess, and often better. When the menu says spicy, it is! I had an awesome spicy pork dish from the Island Night menu. However Princess does better desserts and afternoon tea treats. We ran into one of the senior F&B officers while waiting for our table in the Nouveau Restaurant. Apparently Legend switches over to a completely different set of menus when in our region than those they use when she's in the US.

 

Also in one part of the Unicorn Cafe (buffet restaurant), the section nearest midships, there are three self-serve espresso machines, which use freshly ground beans - there are large hoppers above the machines. DH said the espresso was quite good and he liked that he could get it in a ordinary cup, not the paper cups which the regular cafes serve it in. The machines also make lattes and cappuchinos but I'm not sure how good they are. I'm not sure many people knew about them though, we didn't find them until the second to last day. Rats! At $2.95 per espresso from the regular cafes we could have saved heaps. The machines looked brand new and it maybe something they are trialling for the Aussie market. It probably costs too much to have extra staff churning out variations of espressos, lattes, etc at the regular cafes, although I would imagine they will still have those for people who want more than just a plain coffee.

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Brisbane41

Brisbane41

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I never take last minute cheap cruises on cruise lines I have never tried just because of the price. It would be wasted money if I did not like the cruise line and money that could have been otherwise spent on a cruise line that I know I do like.

 

No one can tell anyone on here if they will like a cruise line or not just as much as I do not take any notice of reviews when I book my cruises because I know people who post on here are downright liars when it comes to certain experiences that supposedly happened on board.

 

It is best to research the cruise lines demographics and see if you fit the profile of their passengers.

 

Personally I think all passenger reviews of cruise ships should be phased out and it should be a paid employment job of an impartial judge to review and score cruise ships.

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OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

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We figured that we could survive nine nights in a Vista Suite without much trouble so it was worth it to try out Carnival, especially at the price we paid. :D :D :D Also a nine night cruise is a relatively short one compared with some we've done. I had heard some positive comments ahead of time so it was worth the risk, and we had a very enjoyable cruise. We were among the older set on the ship but that didn't bother us. Having the suite meant we could get peace and quiet when we wanted it, and Legend has a very nice adults-only outdoor area.

 

We were also lucky to be on one of the few cruises where Jade Leonard was the artist in the Piano Bar. She is such an amazing entertainer and winding up the evenings at that bar was one of the highlights of our cruise.

 

We've been on enough cruises to know that even ships within the same fleet can vary. Some Princess cruises we've been on have been much better than others, for example, at least to our tastes.

 

This cruise also gave us the opportunity to try out an aft-facing cabin. Usually we book midships. Despite the extra motion, and the strong vibrations when the ship was going at 19+ knots, we enjoyed looking out over the wake.

 

I guess we must be a bit more adventurous than you, Brisbane41, or maybe we just have the ability to find things we enjoy on every cruise ship we've been on.

 

Edit - Actually perhaps I should put this cruise into context. We had a 9-10 day timeslot where we were able to take advantage of booking a last minute cruise because a friend wanted to stay at our place while doing some work in Sydney and therefore could catsit for us. The Legend cruise fitted in perfectly, and the suite price was exceptionally cheap - less per diem than balcony cabins we have booked in the past. We were curious to experience Carnival so we took the risk and it paid off, we had a wonderful time. We now have three cruise lines we enjoy cruising on.

Edited by OzKiwiJJ
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