jmss1950 Posted January 9, 2007 #1 Share Posted January 9, 2007 :) Ah the joys of returning to the real world! My DH and I cruised on the Carnival Legend out of Fort Lauderdale 12/18/06 - 12/26/06 for their 8 day Christmas cruise to Colon, Port Limon and Belize. This was our 4th Carnival cruise and our 10th cruise since were were bitten by the cruising bug in 2002, and an extremely positive experience. Over Thanksgiving we cruised on the Carnival Liberty and found it to be lacking, not so this cruise on the Legend. We drove from our home in south Georgia to Fort Lauderdale where we dropped off our bags at 11am, parked at the adjacent parking garage and were having lunch in the Unicorn Cafe complete with complimentary champagne by 11:30am! Fastest embarkation ever for us. We really enjoyed the layout of this Spirit class ship as it seemed easy to find our way around, with great areas for strolling and relaxing. We never really felt crowded and there always seemed to be ample seating in either the eating areas or around the pools. There were also many quiet areas throughout the ship to sit and relax or chat to other cruisers. We had an extended balcony cabin and as usual it was spacious and bright. We spend quite a lot of time on the balcony so we usually chose a balcony for 7+ day cruises. The ship was very clean throughout, except for one small area of carpet we saw in a hallway leading into a crew area, and that was hardly a major issue. We found all the crew members we dealt with to be very helpful and friendly. They always had a smile and a greeting. The ship was decorated nicely for Christmas and many of those on board were extended family groups celebrating Christmas together. We had chosen first seating dining and this was a first for us as we usually go for the late seating. Although it did allow us to attend additional activities in the evening, we found it a little too soon after lunch and sometimes we had to rush to get ourselves organized. Although on one or two occassions we used the buffet (very well laid out and good food in general) I really enjoy being lazy on vacation and have someone else serve the meals, so most times we ate in the dining room. We found the food to be good to excellent on the majority of occassions and the service (either from our regular waiter and assistant) or any of the wait staff, to be fast, efficient and pleasant. I really want to mention Victoria (one of the hostesses) and Kriss (asssitant maitre'd) who were wonderful and went above and beyond their duties to be helpful and pleasant, with never a meal passing without them checking at our table and those around us. They worked tirelssly to make the dining experience even better. Nightly "showtime" was great. As a former theatre teacher, I always make sure to attend all the shows, and I found them to be well staged, costumed, performed and excellent entertainment. Sight lines in the theatre could be difficult at times because of the glass panels (with metal top rails) which can block views for those of us who are vertically challenged! Although I am not sure that using the theatre for the Captain's cocktail party is really conducive to mixing with other guests, it did allow Captain Marchetti to introduce all the ship's officers, which is always interesting. There was plenty of music available in many venues to sit back and listen to, or if you were feeling more energetic, to get up and dance. We attended the craft classes and the dance classes, and although we enjoyed them all, I'm not sure that my Cha Cha will ever improve! Carl and Sarah the dancers who taught the classes were great fun and worked hard. There were the usual activities, art auctions, bingo etc. and the cruise director Brent and his staff did a great job. We chose not to do a tour at Colon, but did go to the shopping area for a few souveniers. At Port Limon, Costa Rica we chose the Caribbean train, bus and boat tour and it was wonderful. Our guide was excellent, being both knowledgable and entertaining and we were delighted with the wildlife we saw and the beautiful scenery:) . After the tour, we wandered around the nearby market/shopping area where there were some great deals on trinkets, wooden items etc. We were an hour late leaving as we had to wait for medical reasons. It seems someone on a horse riding excursion had been injured and an ambulance arrived and she and her family left the ship. Very sad way to end a vacation. At Belize we tendered in and this seemed to go fairly smoothly for us. This brings me to the only negative part of our cruise, but a tour negative only. In Belize we chose the Altun Ha Mayan site and the River Wallace tour. The guide here was considerably less knowledgable, and the tour was not what was listed in the brochure. Beware if you are taking that trip expecting to spend time at Altun Ha (which is very interesting) and cruising down the Wallace River looking at the flora and fauna. The tour company shortened the time at Altun Ha (only there 30 minutes) to take us to a "resort" where we waited for an hour (during which time we were expected to buy lunch there - not mentioned in the brochure!) before loading us onto high speed boats which went as fast as possible down the river. Instead of the stated 1 1/2 hour river trip looking for wildlife, we sped down the river in 45 minutes seeing little or nothing, having an extremely rough ride and getting absolutely soaked! Both of us and many of the other people on the boat were not pleased with this trip as this was nothing like the description in the brochure. I talked to the crew member at the shore excursion desk when we returned and he was very polite and apologetic and said that Carnival would check into why the tour company had made changes. Later that evening I received a letter of apology and the address to contact customer service if I wished to. I was not expecting any refund etc. I just wanted Carnival to be aware of the changes made by the tour company. The only other thing which really surprised us was the lack of hand sanitizers. Having just returned from the Liberty after doing the shortened cruise owing to the Norovirus outbreak where everyone was almost paranoid about hand cleaning and food serving, there was nothing available near any dining area on the Legend. It seems a little odd to wait until an outbreak occurrs before setting out sanitizers. In all, we enjoyed this ship and crew. It never seemed crowded and there was always something to keep you busy if that was what you wanted. Or plenty of places to relax, listen to music, take afternoon tea and people watch. We felt it was excellent value for money and a great way to spend the holidays. For disembarkation we chose to put our luggage out the night before and relax in one of the lounges talking to new friends until our color was called. A very painless way to spend the last morning aboard. We really enjoyed this ship and would not hesitate to cruise on the Legend again. Looking forward to the Star Princess 3/31/07 and Disney Magic 9/15/07. Happy cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Is it just a Legend? Posted January 9, 2007 #2 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I was on this cruise with you and agree: great cruise!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rucruizin Posted January 9, 2007 #3 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. I always have great plans fo sharing my experience's with other CC memebers, but when the time actually comes.... That re-entry, and post cruise blue's always gets the best of me and I don't get it done. Looking forward to sailing the Legend in March/April. Just wondering on your thoughts of how you would feel after 8 days. Instead of sitting in the lounge waiting for your color to be called? Would you have been ready to turn around and do another 8, or were you ready to go home? This is a serious question. I wonder how I'll feel sitting in Ft Lauderdale wondering about my dog's, kid, house, etc. Am I going to be ready to head home with the finality of all my new friends leaving? Or, will I be frantically rushing to get off the ship to go restock??? Ready for the next one. It 's different if you are still out at sea, you don't think...gosh I'm ready to go home. What type cabin did you have, where was it located, was the balcony the bigger/smaller one? Now that it's closer, I'm starting to get excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Is it just a Legend? Posted January 9, 2007 #4 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Not the original poster, but for me, I didn't want to get off the boat. I had an inside cabin on deck 7. (The cabin never matters for me on a cruise - I sleep, shower and change there...that's it...) I'm seriously considering booking back to back voyages on the Legend in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeMeAway1001 Posted January 9, 2007 #5 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Thanks for the review :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pianogrl Posted January 9, 2007 #6 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Thank you for your review. We're also leaving on the Legend in April, 07 & very excited to be on this ship. This will be our first time on a Spirit class ship; but our 4th/5th Carnival cruise. Thanks again for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earl_m Posted January 9, 2007 #7 Share Posted January 9, 2007 congrats on your cruise, glad you enjoy it. Its always a bummer on the last day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45014 Posted January 9, 2007 #8 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I am sad to get off the ship, but, i too, miss my own home and of course my fur baby. I miss her so very much when we travel, but she likes to go to "puppy camp", thye treat her like the queen she is. and since "camp" is at her vet's I know she is well taken care of. But, still I hate to leave the ship and having to get back into the daily grind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45014 Posted January 9, 2007 #9 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I am sad to get off the ship, but, i too, miss my own home and of course my fur baby. I miss her so very much when we travel, but she likes to go to "puppy camp", thye treat her like the queen she is. and since "camp" is at her vet's I know she is well taken care of. But, still I hate to leave the ship and having to get back into the daily grind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45014 Posted January 9, 2007 #10 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Sorry for the double post, my computer is have brain farks all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmss1950 Posted January 10, 2007 Author #11 Share Posted January 10, 2007 From my point of view, if we could have stayed on board, we would have been happy to go right back to the cabin and set sail again. Apart from work we have no real ties to worry about. The kids are long since grown up, married and settled. No furry responsibilities at home. Just the two of us these days. We love to travel, see new places and meet new people. Perhaps when we retire we'll live on a cruise ship! Or be like the couple who did the craft classes and spend several weeks onboard working two hours a day on sea days. That sounded like fun. Oh well back to reality and work. Happy cruising.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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