Legend 7/11 Review

[D4]

We were on the Legend 7/11-7/18. I want to thank everyone who answered my questions - especially Suziehmkr, Cruisldy, and Alansfreed.

 

We have 2 girls (16 & 19). This was our 10th cruise. We've been on Carnival, Norwegian, & Celebrity. This was our first on RCCL.

 

Embarkation - The smoothest we've ever had. We got there about 11:45 and were in our cabins in 15 minutes.

 

Ship - We loved the Legend. It is 9 years old and in fabulous shape. It has the mini-put course and the rock wall, but no specialty restaurants or skating rink. To me, it is the perfect size of ship. I wouldn't hesitate to go on this ship again or to recommend it to others. The ship is one of my favorites.

 

Cabins - We had two outside cabins on deck 2. The cabins had the best use of space we've ever had and there were mirrors all over the room and bathroom. We were very pleased.

 

Food - I had worries on the food based on lots of negative posts. We found the food to be very good -- better than Carnival, comparable to Norwegian, and not as good as Celebrity (which is our family's favorite line.) We got a table for 4 which was what we requested.

 

Crew - The service was excellent. The whole crew was very friendly and eager to serve us.

 

Clothing - The ship is kept very cold, so sweatshirts are useful. The first night was very cold outside and the last day was 68 during the day. The ports were hot and humid. We had overcast days at Mazatlan and PV so that helped keep the heat down.

 

Tropical Storm Blas - We had very rough seas on Tuesday when we were supposed to go to Cabo. There were a lot of seasick passengers and crew because of the storm. We were right in front of the arch at 9:10am when the captain announced that we'd have to skip Cabo because of the danger and we'd try to come back on Friday. We were supposed to start tendering at 10am. He also said they'd have open bars from noon to 1pm as a nice gesture. We don't drink alcohol, so we weren't thrilled with that --- just what we needed - a bunch of seasick drunk people. But it didn't turn out that way. The people that were seasick probably stayed in bed. Our cabin steward said he couldn't clean most of his rooms because people were sick and staying in bed. We saw something we've never seen before -- airport style vomit bags opened and inserted into every stairway railing on all the floor landings. We talked to a lot of crew members that said they were sick that morning and that it had rarely ever happened to them. My family was fine. About 10 minutes after the captain announced the cancellation, he announced that the port was officially closed, so going there wouldn't have been an option anyway. The seas remained rough until later that day when the captain took us out of the storm into the Sea of Cortez for the day and night. It was still sort of rough, but not like in the open ocean. The next morning, my dh and one of my daughters were awakened by the brightness of lightening from a storm through the closed drapes. DH went upstairs and said there was lightening all around the ship. He said it was spectacular. I wish he would have woken me up because I would have taken some pictures.

 

Mazatlan - My girls and I rode with Randi's Happy Horses. It was as fabulous as all of you described. It was the highlight of our trip. We had not ridden horses before, but as Randi said, it didn't matter because her horses knew what to do. Some other riders cancelled out, so it was just the 3 of us. Antonio was going to be our guide, but when Randi found out we like to speak Spanish, she had his sister "the lovely Maria" go along because she is learning English. My 19 year old is in college to be a Spanish teacher, my 16 year old has it in high school, and I remember quite a bit from high school and college. It was great that Maria went with because she rode with me at a slower pace than my kids and Antonio. We had fun speaking Spanish as we rode and Maria practiced English. (Antonio speaks English very well.) We rode through a palm tree grove and then on the beach. They were the friendliest people you could ever hope to meet. Lunch at Victor's was great.

 

Puerta Vallarta - We decided just to walk around. There is a WalMart and a Sam's Club by the dock. We had fun in WalMart reading all the Spanish labels and of course bought some things. We left PV early (6pm) so that we could get to Cabo the next day.

 

Cabo - We were able to go there on Friday which was great. The Carnival Pride was there too. We took the glass bottom boat tour by the arch.

 

San Diego - We always fly in 2 days before to allow time for problems. We flew to Chicago and then San Diego. Chicago had bad storms so everything going in and out was delayed. Instead of having part of Friday to enjoy, we finally got in at 11pm. We loved the zoo and enjoyed the USS Midway aircraft carrier tour. We also stayed an extra night to give us more time to enjoy this wonderful city.

 

Passengers - This was the most laid back group of passengers we've ever seen. Even though every cabin was sold, there was never a line (except small lines during that hour of open bar). We've always hated tendering because of the line to get off, but we never saw one. For the first couple hours of tendering, they kept announcing that there was no line and no need for tender tickets. That was unheard of for us.

 

GPS - Alansfreed, I used my new Etrex Legend GPS to track the whole trip starting with our flights in Illinois. It was tons of fun. I especially found it interesting to see us serpentining around in the Sea of Cortez that day to avoid the storm. The GPS worked fine on the window sill in my outside cabin. Thanks for your help and tips. You are my hero.

 

I'll be glad to answer questions.

[NiniB]

Thanks for the great review,, I will be on the Legend for the 1st time this Dec. We will be going through the Canal.. Sorry about the bad weather you guys had I hope we have some better luck........:( ,,;) ...

[Cruzor]

wow! - too bad you had the tropical storm! Any idea how big the swells were? How was the weather Saturday on the way back up the Baja to San Diego?

 

Great review!

[bobnsandi]

Thanks for the great review,, I will be on the Legend for the 1st time this Dec. We will be going through the Canal.. Sorry about the bad weather you guys had I hope we have some better luck........:( ,,;) ...

 

Hate to be redundant, but are you taking the December 12th

cruise? Haven't seen too many cc'ers on that cruise.

 

Bob Swanson

[cruisldy]

D4, so sorry you had the storm. Seems like if ever on hits down there, Cabo is the target. Twice we have had to miss Cabo because of hurricanes.

 

Heh, heh, we saw those bags in the hallways on one of our Mexican Riviera cruises back in 1992 but my trusty Dramamine worked for me.

 

Glad to hear that it didn't disturb your cruise too much and that you finally got to Cabo.

 

We wouldn't hesitate to cruise the Legend once again and am sorry to hear she won't be doing the Mexican Riviera next year, but Europe as I would have booked again in a heartbeat.

 

Glad I could help in making your cruise more informed.

[D4]

Cruzor: The swells were up to 30 feet! The last sea day was picture perfect with very calm waters but a little chilly for sunbathers.

 

NiniB: The Legend will be great for a Panama Canal cruise. I'm sure you'll love it.

 

We really didn't mind the storms. Since it was our 10th cruise and we'd done this itinerary before, it added a little excitement and something unexpected to the trip. I felt bad for the first time cruisers and the people that got seasick.

 

Today the post-cruise rocking hit me. I rarely ever feel the ship's movement while we're on it except during really rough times. But then it always hits me 2 or 3 days after we return. I was at my desk and everything was slowly moving a little down on the left, then a little down on the right, while going up and down from back to front. It's such a weird sensation. I did have to stop trying to look at some huge spreadsheets. My eyes couldn't follow the rows across the screen or paper! I'm still feeling it. It usually lasts a day or so for me. It's not bothersome enough for me to do anything about. I think it's my body telling me I belong on a cruise ship!

[Carol C]

I just wanted to express my thanks for your review of the Legend, we will be sailing October 17th for the Trans Canal trip. FFL to SAN and it was so very nice to hear positive statements about your trip.

 

We have been on the Grandeur, Splendour, Vision and Radiance and have to agree we like the Vision Class series of ships.

 

I would have loved to see your storm, it sounds great, and I like you would have went to seen it. We are not prone to seasickness and when others are suffering we usually prowl the ship.

 

Thanks again:

Carol