Would we like Carnival Legend?

[mrs and mrs]

Just when we all thought it was safe to go out, anyways thanks Julie, one day we will all find that great coffee.

And I'm guessing these self-serve machines are coming in. Maybe that's why they are giving us such crap coffee.

Same as auto bar-machines.

All equals staff cut-backs and services, and from reading other threads one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that this is the way they are going.

Wonder who will be the first to report a vending machine on a ship, far-fetched, mmmh, lets see.:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just when we all thought it was safe to go out, anyways thanks Julie, one day we will all find that great coffee.

And I'm guessing these self-serve machines are coming in. Maybe that's why they are giving us such crap coffee.

Same as auto bar-machines.

All equals staff cut-backs and services, and from reading other threads one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that this is the way they are going.

Wonder who will be the first to report a vending machine on a ship, far-fetched, mmmh, lets see.:)

 

OK, the machine coffee wasn't quite as good as a good barista makes, but better than some barista-made coffee on some cruise ships - and remember I'm only talking about short blacks, not milky coffees. The machines were similar to those found in some airline lounges. The main point I was trying to make was that the reasonable quality espresso from those machines was FREE! Up until now the only free coffee I've ever seen on a cruise ship is the brewed muck.

[GUT2407]

Just when we all thought it was safe to go out, anyways thanks Julie, one day we will all find that great coffee.

And I'm guessing these self-serve machines are coming in. Maybe that's why they are giving us such crap coffee.

Same as auto bar-machines.

All equals staff cut-backs and services, and from reading other threads one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that this is the way they are going.

Wonder who will be the first to report a vending machine on a ship, far-fetched, mmmh, lets see.:)

 

I've often wondered why they don't have a vending machine on each cabin deck with some nibbles, chips, chocolate nuts, maybe cans of drink. Strewth some 3 star hotels have them.

[OzKiwiJJ]

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

 

No, we had a good look at it, and the menu looked very enticing, but the place was full of smokers and we couldn't find a smoke-free table that wasn't under drips from the awning. We tried another one in that area, O Boucher, and it was dreadful. The escargot were overcooked and rubbery, and the duck I ordered must have been cooked in beef fat, or among steaks also being cooked on the grill, as all it tasted of was beef fat not duck. It was horrible!

 

We'll try La Barca another time, when the weather is better so the side awnings are up to let the smoke out.

[GUT2407]

No, we had a good look at it, and the menu looked very enticing, but the place was full of smokers and we couldn't find a smoke-free table that wasn't under drips from the awning. We tried another one in that area, O Boucher, and it was dreadful. The escargot were overcooked and rubbery, and the duck I ordered must have been cooked in beef fat, or among steaks also being cooked on the grill, as all it tasted of was beef fat not duck. It was horrible!

 

We'll try La Barca another time, when the weather is better so the side awnings are up to let the smoke out.

 

A pity.

[OzKiwiJJ]

OzKiwi, we haven't been on Carnival either, but have booked a 3 nighter next year, mainly to take our 5yr old grandson, but also to see if we like it:p

 

Look forward to your opinion if you book it:)

 

The kids we saw seemed to be having a ball so hopefully your grandson will like it. It's a busy, buzzy ship with a wide variety of entertainment to suit all tastes. The buffet area seating is much nicer than Princess, it felt more like a restaurant than Princess (which feels like a cafeteria). The food was good but is separated into various stations so a bit more awkward to get what you want sometimes.

 

The buffet had two areas. The smaller one with the espresso machines had two food stations: one serving the 8-9 hot selections - these changed each day and each meal I think (breakfast, lunch, and dinner although we never went there for dinner); the other served pies and snags at lunch, and some breakfast items.

 

The larger one had five food stations plus a cafe for barista-made coffees. One station was a duplicate of the hot selection station in the other section, one served salads, one was a deli serving sandwiches and rolls with some self-serve condiments and garnishes, one had eggs and omelets cooked to order in the morning then switched to pizza for the rest of the day and this was the only place that stayed open all day. The pizza was quite decent. The final section had desserts - fruit, jelly, and three other selections one of which was diet. This area also had "afternoon tea" - scones, cream, jam if you were lucky, and one type of cake - they were nice but ... my afternoon tea taste buds wept in despair after having experienced Princess afternoon tea selections. :rolleyes: My waistband was happy though. :D

 

Anyway the selections were always nice and we happily ate there most days for lunch, and also for breakfast when we slept in.

 

On the last sea day they had a chocolate decadence area at lunch - if you (or your grandson) wants to try it be prepared for long queues.

 

One thing I liked was the brunch they had on a couple of the sea days in the MDR. It was on until 1pm so late risers could enjoy breakfast in the MDR and early risers could have lunchy selections.

 

We only tried the MDR once for lunch, on the cancelled port day, and I had the best battered fish I have ever had on a cruise ship. In fact better than some I've had recently on land. Crisp, crunchy batter and perfectly cooked fish. The waiter said it was tilapia.

 

We ate in the MDR most evenings and the starters and mains were very good to excellent most nights, but the desserts were a bit hit and miss.

 

Unfortunately I can't really comment on things that a 5yo would like. The water slides seemed popular, and there are two main pools plus the small one in the adults-only Serenity area. However if there is anything else you want to know, just ask.

Edited November 26, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

If you like a bit of party atmosphere in the dining room where they get up onto podiums to do numbers. I found the food, service and cabins to be very good Carnival. I was quite surprised. Depends on how many kids are on board. Also does it fall into schoolies time frame?

 

The song of the evening in the MDR was a hoot! We actually enjoyed it immensely, it made for a very happy atmosphere. Although I suspect it could get a bit tedious if you were doing a B2B.

 

We didn't notice any schoolies, but there was a couple of raucous groups - one was a wedding. The wedding was on the last sea day but they partied all through the cruise.

 

There were more kids than I expected but we were able to keep out of their way most of the time. We did notice a few brats unfortunately. One kid in the buffet restaurant was climbing and jumping all over the section of tables where his family were sitting, and nobody stopped him. But most of the kids looked like they were having fun and were very good.

 

I agree - the food, service, and especially our cabin, were very good.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The entertainment for our taste was terrible - I think with Princess we have been spoilt with live bands etc. All shows were performed to prerecorded music and seemed flat - the ships singers and dancers certainly tried but it just didn't work - The acts they bought on were awful - but again this was our opinion but a lot of our fellow passengers agreed.

 

The crew were very pleasant - I have never known a Cruise Director, Jen, work so hard - she was everywhere day and night - I don't know when she slept.

 

One big positive was that there are plenty of sitting areas all over the ship if you want to have a quite read or just watch the world go by.

 

 

We though the shows that we saw were quite good, lots of energy, and they did very well given there was only eight of them against the Princess troupe of at least 10 plus orchestra. Maybe the entertainers changed between your cruise and ours.

 

Jen drove us nuts, she was always making announcements over the PA system, and her pre-show "entertainment" made us cringe at times.

 

We found it very hard to find quiet areas, especially on wet sea days. The Legend cafe area always seemed to be being used for trivia, bingo and whatever, and the other lounges were noisy - mainly because they seemed very echoey. We were so relieved to have the suite so we had somewhere to escape to. I doubt I would book on Carnival unless I could afford a balcony or a suite.

[MicCanberra]

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.

I don't agree.

Using that logic, I would have to question how impartial the review would be for someone being paid to do it. Secondly, what makes their review suit me any better than anyone else's.

I prefer to research myself, take what is a general consensus from all reviews and then test it myself if it warrants it.

[MicCanberra]

Just when we all thought it was safe to go out, anyways thanks Julie, one day we will all find that great coffee.

And I'm guessing these self-serve machines are coming in. Maybe that's why they are giving us such crap coffee.

Same as auto bar-machines.

All equals staff cut-backs and services, and from reading other threads one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that this is the way they are going.

Wonder who will be the first to report a vending machine on a ship, far-fetched, mmmh, lets see.:)

 

Some ships even have self service laundry's, what is next, I certainly don't want to be making my own bed while cruising.:p

[MicCanberra]

I've often wondered why they don't have a vending machine on each cabin deck with some nibbles, chips, chocolate nuts, maybe cans of drink. Strewth some 3 star hotels have them.

 

They do in the USA hotels, they also have the ice machines.

[Blue Elephant]

All equals staff cut-backs and services, and from reading other threads one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that this is the way they are going.

Wonder who will be the first to report a vending machine on a ship, far-fetched, mmmh, lets see.:)

 

COsta have introduced little humanoid robots on their Mediterranean cruises, with the first being rolled out on Costa Diadema. As I remember, they can provide you with directions for places on the ship and some port information. I think you can also order a drink from the robot, but not entirely sure. They speak English, Italian and Spanis?

 

What do you think of that for cost saving?

[MicCanberra]

No, we had a good look at it, and the menu looked very enticing, but the place was full of smokers and we couldn't find a smoke-free table that wasn't under drips from the awning. We tried another one in that area, O Boucher, and it was dreadful. The escargot were overcooked and rubbery, and the duck I ordered must have been cooked in beef fat, or among steaks also being cooked on the grill, as all it tasted of was beef fat not duck. It was horrible!

 

We'll try La Barca another time, when the weather is better so the side awnings are up to let the smoke out.

 

Shame, perhaps everyone on the cruise had gone to La Barca. rotten luck about the food elsewhere as well.:(

[OzKiwiJJ]

JJJ I think you will find that Carnival is quite enjoyable if the price is a bargain, this is what eased some of the things for us.

Carnival, as you will find out, is in some areas quite different to Princess. The food is almost as good, the drinks especially bottled wine are more expensive, the evening entertainment is aimed at kids on most nights. Some of the staff seem not very happy to be there.

As I said at the start, if the price is right it is enjoyable, but don't expect it to be up to Princess standards.

 

We discovered a couple of very good wine packages which worked out giving us a discount of around 20% on bottled wine, so the prices ended up being similar to Princess but for better quality wine. The deluxe package was around $185 which is $37 per bottle for wines priced between $45-$49. The other package was more expensive, about $45 per bottle for wines in the $50-$60 price range. Although we liked the sound of some of the whites in the dearer package that didn't include a pinot noir so we stuck with the cheaper package, and were very happy with the wines we chose from that selection.

 

Surprisingly I thought Carnival was more like Princess than I expected and the staff seemed very happy. Always friendly, and after a couple of days the bartenders at the bars we regularly went to remembered our favourite drinks.

 

The shows we saw were similar to those on Princess and almost as good. certainly much better than those on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

[mrs and mrs]

I've often wondered why they don't have a vending machine on each cabin deck with some nibbles, chips, chocolate nuts, maybe cans of drink. Strewth some 3 star hotels have them.

 

I guess they don't need tipping, or are grats built in.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Shame, perhaps everyone on the cruise had gone to La Barca. rotten luck about the food elsewhere as well.:(

 

No, I think they were locals. Most of the cruise passengers had the sense to stay on the ship that day I think. We probably should have done that too! ;)

[Thorpe]

I also have been on the Legend about 18 months ago , and had previously only been on Princess (and HAL once). The price was also right for an aft suite for 10 days to the Islands, what a balcony !!

 

I was a bit apprehensive about Carnival because I also travel solo but I had a great cruise. The others at the table in the MDR were lovely and 2 I keep in contact with (on FB).

I agree that the MDR song after dinner was actually fun.

 

Of course it's different to Princess but it's a cruise and a holiday and it expanded my choices for the future.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lagoon380]

 

 

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.

 

The espresso coffee machines have always been there on all our carnival cruises in Oz, they put them away when the Legend heads over to the US but bring them back out for the aussie season.

It can be hit and miss with the coffee quality but try each machine to see which is better suited to your taste.

[MicCanberra]

We discovered a couple of very good wine packages which worked out giving us a discount of around 20% on bottled wine, so the prices ended up being similar to Princess but for better quality wine. The deluxe package was around $185 which is $37 per bottle for wines priced between $45-$49. The other package was more expensive, about $45 per bottle for wines in the $50-$60 price range. Although we liked the sound of some of the whites in the dearer package that didn't include a pinot noir so we stuck with the cheaper package, and were very happy with the wines we chose from that selection.

 

Surprisingly I thought Carnival was more like Princess than I expected and the staff seemed very happy. Always friendly, and after a couple of days the bartenders at the bars we regularly went to remembered our favourite drinks.

 

The shows we saw were similar to those on Princess and almost as good. certainly much better than those on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

 

Thanks for the info, we often buy a bottle or two during a cruise.:D

[MicCanberra]

No, I think they were locals. Most of the cruise passengers had the sense to stay on the ship that day I think. We probably should have done that too! ;)

 

Of course, I suppose the clue was that they were all smoking, it is not that popular in Australia anymore (thank goodness).

[6666oz]

I've often wondered why they don't have a vending machine on each cabin deck with some nibbles, chips, chocolate nuts, maybe cans of drink. Strewth some 3 star hotels have them.

 

Thats what I crave after a few days good old junk food, all ships should have them.

Edited November 26, 2016 by 6666oz

[OzKiwiJJ]

 

Thats what I crave after a few days good old junk food, all ships should have them.

 

I did have a craving for cheese and biscuits late one afternoon, about halfway through the cruise. Nothing like that was available, but a quattro formaggi pizza was an adequate substitute. ;)

[6666oz]

I did have a craving for cheese and biscuits late one afternoon, about halfway through the cruise. Nothing like that was available, but a quattro formaggi pizza was an adequate substitute. ;)

 

What we do for a midnight snack is put a few cheese and biccies in the cabin fridge, you can usually find them in the buffet's .

 

I am glad you had a good time aboard Legend, if you are still seeing the urns around the bar you are not drinking enough :D

tell me how did you find the up and down rocking at the end of the ship were your cabin was ? did you try the green water slide ?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Luckily I didn't need a midnight snack on the Legend cruise. However we did do that on our last Princess cruise.

 

I'd be too scared to drink too much in case I saw double urns. Arrrgh! :eek: Actually we soon learned to sit at the bar in the Lobby, that minimised the urn views and there was an amazing duo playing there most nights. After dinner we usually went to the Piano Bar - I don't think there were any urns there at all. :D

 

The rocking was very pleasant, it rocked me to sleep. The vibration was a bit of an issue at first but it wasn't every day, just when going full tilt in moderate to heavy seas.

 

No, I didn't go on any of the water slides. My knee was acting up a bit and didn't like climbing stairs. They seemed to have a problem with the green slide one day. I'm not sure what happened but the water stopped and it appeared someone was in it, near the top. They called for a response team and there were people running around for a short while. They eventually got it working again and I think the person was OK.

[MicCanberra]

I have never needed to get a midnight snack but I have gotten cheese and crackers from the buffet for an afternoon nibble when having drinks on the balcony.