Legend Med Travel Logue!

[mef38]

Time for me and my wife to bring everyone up-to-date on our trip. I promised to give an update as the cruise progressed but I am not as efficient as Host Dan. So here's my version (so far...)

We boarded the Legend on August 5 in Monte Carlo for a two week cruise. Boarding was easily done. We arrived in Monte Carlo by Helicopter from Nice at 11:00AM and had our shuttle (provided by Heli Air Monaco) drive us straight to the ship. Upon arrival we knew it was too early to board, however, the staff at the pier accepted our luggage and enabled us to travel around Monte Carlo unhindered. It may not sound like a great event, but we were not travelling light and this was very useful.

We wandered around Monte Carlo looking at the shops and ended up having a small lunch at the Zebra Square café overlooking the harbour. We finally walked back to the ship and boarded about 2:30PM (we really got our exercise that day!).

Boarding was exceptional as we had expected. By 3:00PM we were escorted to our suite. It was nice to see some familiar faces again and many new ones. After cleaning up we went up to the Sky Bar, order some Champagne and enjoyed the sailaway party. We were glad that supper was not black tie. We still had to unpack.

For the Captain’s dinner, we were invited to eat with the Hotel Manger J. Grossman. He is really a nice guy and very friendly. He also invited us again for dinner yesterday.

During the first week of the cruise, we have had dinner with Joerg Grossman (Hotel Manger), Henryk Szlemp (Doctor), Claire (Spa Manger) & Dereck & Ania (Everest, Club Musicians). So far this week we’ve already had dinner with Joerg again.

We have yet to actually meet the Captain (Karlo Buer), but we’ve seen him around and we know he is very busy so we haven’t pushed the issue.

As for the meals, well, every meal we’ve had was excellent (except yesterday’s lunch when my wife had a bug in her Salmon). Our executive chef (Michael Batoux) has been doing an excellent job.

It was nice to see Casey again and as usual she is doing an outstanding job. We even brought her a gift….a bell. Now she can’t say that she doesn’t have a bell for the reception. I did promise not to ring it until our final day. Then what has she done? She went and fell ill. She was taken ashore to recuperate but we’ve heard that she is doing better and should hopefully be rejoining the ship later this week. We’ll keep you posted.

It is quite a challenge to get people to stop calling me Mr. …. And start calling me by my first name (Mark). I think I’m finally succeeding with some. J

In the Veranda Café (also known as 2) we have been getting great service. Kudos go out to Arek (who saved me by loaning me a jacket for the Restaurant, since I forgot mine at home), Dali who has been really cool and super efficient, Sikho with extreme politeness and that nice deep voice and Bronson who is stealing my wife away from me every time we go down to the Restaurant for dinner.

Out of all the excursions, so far, I could have stayed longer in Portofino and shorter in La Goulette, Tunisia (today). The museum in Tunisia was nice to visit but the market trip (Medina) was not as enjoyable. To quote another passenger, he didn’t know that we were going on a commission trip. When we got to the market, the guide invited those who wish to learn about carpet making to proceed inside a building and those who were not interested to wait outside and he would send them on their way for free time shopping. My wife and I were not in the market for a carpet so we thought that instead we would like to see how they are made and pass our time this way. Well, the learning part was about 10 seconds as he showed us a loom with two workers (who wanted money if you take their picture) and then 20-25 minutes of sales pitches on carpets. We should have known better. Hence the commission portion of the excursion for the guide.

Shopping has been a part of this trip. Almost a major part. But the prices have been pretty good. I was able to get a pair of all leather (uppers and soles) dress shoes for 40 euros. (So I bought 3 pairs, black, brown and burgundy.) We also picked up some leather coats in Florence at great prices. If you go to Florence, look for savings in leather and gold.

As for the guests, we have met very nice people from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and all over the U.S. We have also met a few who are memorable and can’t help but talk about their money. It doesn’t take long to pick and choose your travel companions.

The entertainment has also been outstanding on the ship.While they sure could use to add a stand-up comic or comedian to the show, the musicals have been enjoyable. Michelle, Bonnie and Eric have all been excellent (and I can’t believe Eric hit all the right notes in his rendition of Maria from West Side Story). “Everest” have also done a great job at entertaining during the Rock & Roll night and in the Club as well.

Reviewing the first week of the cruise and there is not a lot to complain about. Other than the bug in Wendy’s meal, I can’t pinpoint anything in particular. The cruise has been really well done. Even the weather has cooperated (for the first week).

This has been a long review (so far) and I’ll try and give more information about the next week of the cruise as we progress. We don’t have any invitations for supper tonight so we’ll just get ourselves added to a table of strangers, so we can become friends.

More to come….

Mark onboard the Legend as we prepare to leave Tunisia.

[DisneyJen]

Sounds like a lovely trip so far Mark (except for the bug part:eek: ).

 

Thanks for your report ... looking forward to hearing more.

[Host Dan]

Great first installment Mark!! Be sure to give Casey my best when (if) she returns. Your review has brought back many a pleasant memory!

 

Host Dan

[mef38]

Our cruise is almost through (man has it gone fast) and I need to add some more thoughts.

Host Dan commented earlier in this thread about Gerhard’s Famous Margaritas. When we boarded I decided that I just had to try these. Well he’s right. Gerhard makes the best Margaritas. In fact, when he was on break or unavailable, I was always ordering, not Margaritas, but “Gerhard’s Famous Margariata’s”. Gerhard will be leaving Legend for the Pride, but he will return in a couple of months back to Legend. So, if you are looking for him, either go to Pride or wait about 4 months and he’ll be back on Legend. (Wendy and I are looking at coming back on Legend so we hope to see him again.)

We had dinner with Michelle McErlean (Cruise Director) and with Eric James Hadley (Assistant Cruise Director) and had a wonderful evening on both occasions. Still no sign of the Captain but we have had drinks with the Chief Officer at the Sky Bar (he was off-duty),

Last night was the “Rock-the-boat” Show and it was just fabulous. The on-deck BBQ put together by Michael Batoux was spectacular with all sorts of culinary delights. Then after they cleared the tables away, a good time was had by all (who weren’t in the Casino) as the Navigators and Everest, along with Michelle, Eric and Bonnie Kilroe sang until about 10:15PM. Great songs too. All 50’s, 60’s & 70’s dance tunes. They started with Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” and went through their renditions of Beatles tunes, Elvis, Connie Francis, Village People (of course “Y.M.C.A”), Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bonnie’s knockout impersonation of Cher, and for the life of me I can’t remember what the last song of the night was (too many Scotches perhaps ;) ).

Overall the Excursions have been OK but I have to say that the first week of the cruise had a better itinerary than the second week. (And remember that these are my own opinions.)

After we left Civitavecchia (Rome) we went to Poltu Quatu, Sardinia. We didn’t take an excursion just the shuttle from Poltu Quatu (a small village) to the exclusive town of Porto Cuervo (perhaps spelled incorrectly). Now unless your in Bill Gates territory, expect to shell out some big $$$ in this place. All of the usual suspects were there, Gucci, Ferragamo, Prada, Zegna, etc. I have difficulty parting with $1000Euros for a cashmere sweater with fox trim for my wife. And there is no typo, the sweater was one-thousand-Euros. In all honesty, some of the prices were what I would expect to pay back home for shirts from Zegna, and other items. The main point is that there were no real savings here. It is a nice, exclusive area and a must to visit to at least say you’ve “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt”.

Then from Sardinia (where we spent too little time) we headed for La Goulette, Tunisia (where we spent too much time). For those who don’t know, La Goulette is a subburb of Tunis. Since I know very little of Tunisia, we took a guided tour of the Bardo Museum and the Medina (or market). The tour of the museum was well organised and the guide was very knowledgeable. But the carpet selling was over the top and I believe I’ve spoken about that above so I wont go into more detail. (Today is Marina day so I have more time to write…)

On from Tunisia to Palermo Sicily. Well I wish we could have somehow reversed the itinerary somewhat. It would seem that August 15 is a national holiday in Italy and all shops were closed in Palermo. We didn’t take any tours but decided we’d walk the town. Unfortunately, we were not prepared for the holiday. After walking for about an hour, we headed back to the ship and stayed on board until we sailed. A great loss for my wife as she spied a pair of shoes that she just “had to have” but the shop was closed for the holiday (thank you, thank you, thank you…)! Seriously, we should have taken a tour or something. There was absolutly nothing to do. The horse and carriage “barkers” did not interest us, neither did the two storey tour bus. One important note that we did not like, was that we found this town filthy. We just came from Tunisia that was among one of the cleanest cities we’ve ever seen and in Palermo, the town was unbelievably dirty. Many of the statues were covered in graffiti and garbage lined the streets. This alone would disuade me from coming back here. Again, “been there, done that, didn’t buy the T-shirt”.

From Palermo, we sailed on to Sorrento, Italy. Sorrento is a nice smaller town with plenty of shopping. If you are not certain that you want to take an excursion, just walk the town for a couple of hours. Believe me that it is easily done and there is much to see. But, we took an excursion to Pompeii. The guide on this trip was the best we’ve had on the two week trip so far. His knowledge was outstanding and he was also very friendly. We toured Pompeii and saw some spectacular sights. If you have never been to Pompeii and like history, you must get there at least once in your life. Very impressive. After our return back to the ship, we had hired a car and driver for the afternon to take us along the Amalfi Coast to Positano to sightsee and shop. Here we were disappointed with our driver. We had requested an English speaking driver but the driver spoke hardly any English. On more than one occasion he had to stop and ask a passerby to translate for us. For the price we paid for the car and driver, we had expected a more fluent person. Oh well, live and learn. If you hire a car, make certain that you request a driver fluent in your language. In spite of that, we did get to Positano and Wendy bought a linen top.

Today is Marina day and we’re catching our breath from all the running. Tomorrow we are in Nice and on to our final destination, Monte Carlo. So my next segment may only come when we get back to Montreal. That will be when I’ll give my overall opinion. But if you are going to board the ship in Monte Carlo for a trip to Spain, I can say that the crew do an outstanding job. It shows that Seabourn place Customer Service high on their priorities.

I’ll keep you posted as the cruise continues….

Mark, on board the Seabourn Legend, somewhere on the west coast of Italy.

BTW, Casey is suppose to come back on board in Nice. She's out of the hospital but couldn't get a plane to join us in Serrento so she'll meet us in Nice. I'll pass on your greetings when I see her tomorrow.

[Seabourn-nail]

Thank you Mark for your great update from the Legend!

I'm one of the lucky ones who will board in Monte Carlo for a week.

I am SO looking forward to it!

Marja

[lord of the seas]

Thanks Mark for a well written insight into the Legend.

I am joining the Legend in Monte Carlo on the 19th for three weeks and will also take the Helicopter from Nice.Have an uneventful disembark and a safe journey to Montreal.