A lengthy Legend review 10/21

[WeatherGeek]

The basics:

Who: My husband (27) and myself (25, turning 26 on the cruise)

What: The lovely Carnival Legend

When: October 21-28, 2007

Where: Tampa, Sea Day, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan Island, Sea Day, Tampa

Why: Because we love to cruise! This was his 4th cruise and my 5th. We've previously sailed on the Valor, Victory, Imagination and I've sailed on the Conquest.

 

Embarkation:

We loved going VIP! It was maybe a whopping 20-25 minutes from the time we pulled up to the port in the taxi to the time we were standing in the lobby bar in the atrium. We were checked in right away as soon as we got to the VIP area and then taken to the VIP waiting area where we waited for about 10 minutes before they started letting people on the ship. It was so smooth and so painless that I thought it was too good to be true.

 

The Ship:

The Legend is hands down the best layout ship that we have ever sailed on. It seems to be designed in such a way that foot traffic flows freely from room to room (minus 2-3 areas where bottlenecks can be created after shows let out) and the only time we ever felt crowded, other than leaving the Follies Lounge after a show, was on the Lido Deck at the buffet after it started raining and everyone came inside to grab a bite to eat. The decor of the ship was usually done in soft colors and is very pleasing to the eye. I enjoyed the different pictures/murals of legends of the past and my husband, being the history buff that he is, was able to tell me some of the stories of the legends that I wasn't overly familiar with.

 

Our room:

We had cabin 4237, a Category 11 suite with a wraparound balcony. We loved the size of the room and the balcony, but the room sure had it's quirks. One of the bedroom doors made a constant knocking sound during the night, unless it was closed all the way. The air conditioner vent rattled all through the night, making it difficult to sleep at times. And this certainly didn't have an impact on our vacation, but we made some observations about the room that weren't the best. The carpet when you walk in is all frayed and pulled back from where it meets the hardwood floor. Our armchair and ottoman were FILTHY. It looked like someone had dumped mud on them and then tried to scrape it off. The coffee-table or whatever you want to call it had been broken into 2 pieces and reglued together and the glue was still sticky and icky. Again, this had no impact on how well we enjoyed our trip because it's trivial, but just some observations we made. Our toilet stopped working twice, but was fixed promptly each time. Not sure if I want to go with an aft room again, because the night between Belize and Roatan Island, we were barely chugging along at 7 knots and waves were slamming into the back of the ship causing it to bounce all over the place and I kept being awakened from the bouncing. This also happened while docked in Cozumel. Lesson learned though! I loved the wraparound balcony, but I love my sleep more :)

 

The food:

I'm pregnant, so my taste buds aren't at 100%. For pete's sake, I haven't been able to eat fruits or vegetables for weeks now because they make me nauseous and pre-pregnancy, I used to live on salads and apples and bananas. So I'll keep my food review short and stress that, like anything else posted on the internet, take it with a grain of salt because I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

I ate a lot of meat and bread, because that's what doesn't make me sick. Over the week, I had NY Strip steak, Filet Mignon, a few bites of prime rib that wasn't the pink/red parts, Chateaubriand and a couple of unmemorable pasta dishes at dinner. Nothing tasted outstanding. I know it's because my taste buds are all wonky. Even the desserts weren't all that great....the warm chocolate melting cake actually upset my stomach. On the night designated as Halloween night, I did eat a fantastic piece of pumpkin cheesecake. In fact, the only desserts I thoroughly enjoyed to the best of my dessert-enjoying capabilities were from the lunch buffet every day! (And the supper club.) The cheesecakes were great and the diet cake that they had to offer every day never tasted diet-y. Not to me, anyway. I wish there would be more variety among the breakfast buffets every day, but I guess breakfast food is kind of limited anyway to a smaller selection of things than lunch or dinner would be. Still, hash brown casserole or french toast casserole (not plain french toast) would be nice. A variety of cream cheese for the bagels would be nice as well. No biggie though, it just got old after a while. The burgers at the grill were alright, though the line moves really slowly because the tongs to scoop up the french fries only grab like 3 at a time. The fries were delicous though. Listen to me! "The Chateaubriand, Filet Mignon, etc. wasn't all that good....but boy the french fries sure were great!" Haha, the joys of pregnancy.

 

The crew:

This was by far, the friendliest crew we've ever had on a ship. Maybe we only noticed it more because we talked to them more than usual to learn about their home countries and we asked a lot of questions and learned how to say things in new languages. Our cabin steward was Julia from Estonia and she was wonderful. We weren't sure about her at first because she seemed a little bit standoffish, but we all warmed up to each other quickly early in the week and we liked her a lot. We would often chat with her in the hallway for 10-15 minutes at a time, learning about Estonia and her experience living on the ship. Our waiters were Wilmer from Peru and Iputu from Indonesia. We loved them, they were fantastic! We never stuck around to watch them do their song-and-dance routine because quite frankly, it makes us uncomfortable. Hey, if you're into that kind of thing, that's wonderful, but we don't really like it so we try to leave before they start. However, my husband, being the sly guy that he is, managed to order a birthday cake without my knowledge (I'd forgotten to check the portfolio for charges that day) and had them bring it to me the day AFTER my birthday (so that it would be unexpected) and Wilmer, Iputu and the bar waiter sang me a rousing rendition of Hoppy Birsday Too Shoos. I was thoroughly embarassed because I do not like to be the center of attention!

 

Entertainment:

We did not attend any of the comedian shows nor did we attend the juggling/balancing act shows. We did, however, attend Jazz Hot and Take II, which were the production shows performed during the formal nights. I loved Jazz Hot and only the middle part of Take II. I did not care for the beginning or end, but the middle part made up for it. I loved the Wizard of Oz scene!

Entertainment around the ship was the best of all of the cruises I've been on. There was always a trivia game going on somewhere around the ship it seemed and we are trivia hounds. My husband is the trivia king and we ended up leaving the cruise with 4 ships on a stick and a medallion from trivia wins. I always sit with him at the trivia games, but I don't know many of the answers. I am amazed at how much useless knowledge he knows!!!! We did not go to lounges to hang out to listen to music because I did not want to be around cigarette smoke while pregnant. I was usually tired anyway and was in bed by 11 every night. I know, I know....I was probably a stick in the mud, but I am in my first trimester and I am constantly EXHAUSTED!!!!

 

Ports:

Cayman Islands - We rented a Jeep through Avis and drove to Rum Point. Beautiful scenery along the way. Couldn't put the top down on the jeep because it rained. It wasn't raining at the beach, but it rained off and on during the trip there and back. We love Rum Point Beach. It was our 2nd time there and we got there before the crowds did. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I love how the trees lean out over the water. We got back to the ship a couple of hours before the last tender and did not have to wait for a tender, so that was a nice change from last time we were there when we had to wait quite a while for a tender back to the ship.

Cozumel - We did some shopping, then hopped in a cab to Paradise Beach. We had a delicious lunch there and were able to get online with the 15 free minutes of internet you can get there and check e-mail. Not that I had anything pressing going on at home, but I do like to keep my inbox as cleaned out as possible. It wasn't a great beach day anyway. The seas were rough and it was overcast. Still, it was very relaxing to just lay in a beach chair and listen to the ocean. Several people braved the waves, but not I. I'm not a strong swimmer anyway. We got back to the port about 2.5 hours before we were due to set sail and I took a nice long nap.

Belize - Our favorite day! We booked the Bannister Island excursion through Carnival and LOVED every single minute of it. The island was not crowded until about 45 minutes before we left when another ship's excursion came, but even then, you could walk away from the areas of heavy congregation and still feel like you were on your very own private island. No cloudiness or rough seas on this day. It was perfect. It was also my birthday, so I was extra glad to have a great beach day. We spent about 4 hours on the beach grand total before we had to catch the tender back to the ship.

Roatan Island - We went with Victor Bodden tours and landed Tex as our driver. He was great! A wealth of knowledge and kept reminding us that he was ours for the day and we could do whatever we wanted. So we did! We shopped, we got an island tour and nice photo ops and went to the beach. Another not so great day at the beach....rough water and clouds. It's Ok though, it sure beat being at home in the cold at work! Tex took us back to the ship about 2 hours prior to sailing and we got there just in time before a major downpour came!

 

Supper club:

We loved the Golden Fleece. They just kept bringing us food! We waddled out of there and was afraid the ship might sink under all of the weight we gained. The service was magnificent, the food was outstanding and the dessert was the best. I got a chocolate platter that had something that may have been tiramisu, chocolate pate and flourless chocolate cake. It was to die for! I don't eat seafood, so I did not get an appetizer, but did manage to choke down a salad, then I had NY Strip steak for the main course. It was so much better than the NY Strip steak in Truffles. I highly recommend one night at the Golden Fleece if you cruise on the Legend.

 

Disembarkation:

It was easy as pie. We self-disembarked and grabbed a cab to the airport - we were there by 8:15am. We rented a car and spent our day at Downtown Disney before catching an evening flight from Orlando back to St. Louis. Where it was cold.....a whopping 59 degrees, or so the pilot said. It felt more like 45 to me!

 

Final thoughts:

We loved just about everything about this trip. It was truly enjoyable and we took away some fantastic memories. It was so nice to meet everyone from our roll-call thread - Mitch, Maxine, Renee, Dawn, Ann, Tate, Dan.....is there someone I am leaving out??? If so, I don't mean to! If any of you are reading this, I hope you had as wonderful of a trip as we did.

If you are thinking about going on the Legend, do it! Spirit class ships are the way to go. I've sailed on all classes but the Holiday class and the Spirit class layout was hands down the best one of all of them.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything specific. I'll be happy to answer any of them.

 

A funny:

We got home and were looking at our pictures we got from the formal nights. I put them on the kitchen table and walked through our living room to do something else. On my way back into the kitchen, I glanced over at our wall of pictures that we have from formal nights on past cruises and I had to do a double take. I thought to myself "What the heck? We haven't put that picture in a frame yet...how did it get on the wall already?"

We had bought a picture on this cruise that was the exact same background....exact same pose....that I am wearing a VERY similar dress in....with the exact same necklace....with my hair done in the exact same style....and my husband has on the same outfit because he never wears anything but his Air Force Dress Blues for formal night....as one we purchased on our Imagination cruise from over the summer.

What can you do but laugh?! Now we are going to have 2 nearly identical pictures hanging on our wall. Maybe we'll put one in another room ;)

[Seydlitz]

Very nice reveiw. I loved the Legend. had a great time.

[Drew B]

Having sailed both Legend and Valor, could you do a quick comparison of the pros and cons of each? I'm having a very hard time deciding between those two ships...

 

Thanks!

[WeatherGeek]

Having sailed both Legend and Valor, could you do a quick comparison of the pros and cons of each? I'm having a very hard time deciding between those two ships...

 

Thanks!

 

I'd be happy to. One question first though, which itinerary are you looking at for the Valor? I would assume western, but I don't want to assume incorrectly (we did eastern, but it doesn't matter since I'vebeen to all of the same ports).

[Drew B]

I'd be happy to. One question first though, which itinerary are you looking at for the Valor? I would assume western, but I don't want to assume incorrectly (we did eastern, but it doesn't matter since I'vebeen to all of the same ports).

 

I'm actually looking at back-to-backs. Either a Western/Western on Legend (repeating the same ports, but we've never been to any of them, and it seems like there is a lot to do) or a Western/Eastern on Valor.

[WeatherGeek]

I'm actually looking at back-to-backs. Either a Western/Western on Legend (repeating the same ports, but we've never been to any of them, and it seems like there is a lot to do) or a Western/Eastern on Valor.

 

My memory is a tad sketchy since my Valor cruise was nearly 3 years ago, but here goes:

 

Itinerary: For a back-to-back, I would say the Valor wins because you'll get 7 different ports. However, my preference is for western Caribbean ports so I see nothing wrong with doing a back-to-back on the Legend. I've done western itineraries 4 times and have never run out of things to do.

 

Ship decor: The Valor is themed with lots of reds, whites and blues, a sort of Americana theme. The Legend is themed with depictions/murals of legends from the past - I got good history lessons from my husband about the murals. I had a slight preference for the Legend decor over the Valor's.

 

Layout: I can't re-iterate enough that the Spirit class ships have the best layout, period. We NEVER felt crowded other than the one time at the buffet and after leaving the production shows. I felt crowded constantly on every other ship I have been on, especially the Conquest style ships like the Valor & Conquest. Also, on the Valor, there are a few decks that you can't walk through from end to end because the galley is in the way. That was one of the most annoying things about the Conquest style ships. One part of the Valor's layout I did like was that all the way forward on Deck 6 and 7 and possibly Deck 8? I can't remember. Anyway, there is a very quiet public deck area that few people know about. The Legend did not have that area. The only thing I didn't care for on the Legend was having to walk through the smoky casino to walk from end-to-end on Deck 2. The walkway through the casino on the Valor is away from the machines, thus away from the smoke.

 

Food: Again, my taste buds were off on this trip because of pregnancy, so I won't comment further on food taste. But I will talk about the buffet set-up on the Lido Deck. I much preferred the Valor's setup. It was very irritating every morning on the Legend at breakfast because the omelet station is the very first thing on the buffet line. I actually got some dirty looks for going around the omelet people to get food off of the buffet line, like I was cutting in line! On the Valor, the omelet station is at the end of the buffet line, which can back up the buffet line, but it generally wasn't a problem to get food and leave the buffet area while everyone else waited for omelets. Also, at lunch and dinner, the dessert station was set up on the Valor away from the main buffet line to help keep foot traffic flowing through the buffet. On the Legend, it was at the end of the main buffet line and it was always a tight squeeze to navigate (with a tray of food) through the group of people waiting to get dessert to get to the water/juice station because they are right there next to each other. I definitely prefer the Valor's buffet setup. I believe the Legend had more ice cream stations though....not positive about that, but it felt like there were more. The supper clubs were on par with each other.

 

Service: The service on both ships was on par with the other. The crew seemed friendlier on the Legend, but I'm not sure we spoke to the crew as much on the Valor anyway, so that may have created more of a bias for my crew preference.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: I haven't been in Miami's new terminal so I can't compare the terminals, but I much preferred Tampa's terminal over Miami's old terminal. Miami's old terminal was confusing and a bit of a mess to me, but I hear the new one is great. Plus it was soooooo cool to pass under the Skyway bridge on the way out of Tampa. I got it on video and it was really neat!

 

Entertainment: It felt like the Legend had better entertainment, but this is where my memory gets really sketchy. It seems like there weren't as many trivia games on the Valor and I don't remember a galley tour or backstage tour being offered on the Valor at the time we sailed, but we attended both on the Legend and they were informative and interesting.

 

If you have questions about anything more specific, just let me know.

[Drew B]

So it sounds like Legend wins for layout/lack of crowding and decor, while Valor wins for itinterary and buffet. Hmmm. That's pretty much what I had determined already (not that I don't appreciate your help -- I really do), and why I'm finding it hard to make a choice.

 

One thing that may sway me is that Miami seems like a much more fun city to visit than Tampa on the pre-cruise night, as well as on the changeover day between the back-to-back segments. Would you agree?

[Cigar Dude]

We're looking at this exact cruise for our next one. Sounds like you had a really sucky time! :D That's what I would expect. ;)

 

Gee thanks, now you've got me anxious to go! (like I needed any help there!) :D

[WeatherGeek]

One thing that may sway me is that Miami seems like a much more fun city to visit than Tampa on the pre-cruise night, as well as on the changeover day between the back-to-back segments. Would you agree?

 

I am honestly not sure. We've done 2 overnight pre-cruise stays in Miami, but got into town so late that we were exhausted and went to bed. We spent the pre-cruise day in Tampa checking out Channelside and Ybor city, but I wasn't too impressed by either. I will say that in Miami, there was not a whole lot to do by the port besides Bayside Marketplace but South Beach is only a cab ride away. In Tampa, our hotel was very close to Channelside so we walked there and spent the afternoon and rode on the Trolly to Ybor City for the evening.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Glad you had a great trip and thanks for the review. We sailed out the day after you on the Inspiration and actually watched you all do Muster Drill while we sat at Bennigan's in total envy.

 

Good luck with your pregnancy!:)

[CaribbeanBride2007]

We too were on this cruise, we were married on embarktion day.

Our room was also an aft corner/balcony wrap. We were in 8268. From your review, sounds like our room was in better shape, and cleaner.

 

The food was typical for Carnival. Although I love Carnival, the food leaves some to be desired. The presentation is usually very nice, but the taste leaves alot to be desired. Especially the desserts, they are often much more bland than they appear.

 

I had to chuckle in agreement when WeatherGeek said she got a tummy ache from the warm chocolate melting cake....I am 44 y.o., and have never had indigestion in my life. But after a dessert of warm chocolate melting cake one night, my stomach hurt so bad, I thought I'd have to leave the show. It finally went away after a few hours, but I didn't eat it again! I think the chocolate is just too rich.

 

And what was up with that Grand Gala Buffett??!! I'd say 90% of the food on it was just plain weird. THe desserts were good, though. There was a crumb type cake that was the best thing I ate the entire week.

 

We also did Paradise Beach in Cozumel (got a great Henna Tattoo). The weather was VERY windy, but we had a good time.

 

We also went with Victor Bodden in Roatan. We got Victor himself, and he was great--even though the weather again did not cooperate. THe zip lining was awesome!

 

In Belize we booked with Margaret Tillman for the Baboon Sanctuary, It was great!

 

In Grand Cayman, we went with NativeWay--rays, reef, and Rum Point. It was awesome.

 

We are in total agreement that the crew of the Legend were the most friendly and caring of all our cruises. We also have fallen in love with the Spirit class of ships. Not too large, or too small. Seemed less crowded than the Liberty--and easier to get around. The Legend was absolutely beautiful, and I am so happy we chose this ship for our wedding.

 

WeatherGeek--good luck with your pregnancy--you are brave for cruising while pregnant! I usually get sick at least once every cruise--this time it was on land--when spending most of the day in a van in Belize.

[WeatherGeek]

Hey, CaribbeanBride! Were you in the newlywed show? I remember the couple being from Kentucky and I see you are also from there. If that was you, I can't quite remember which question it was, but you looked absolutely horrified at your husband's answer. I think it may have been the question about your first kiss being in a standing, sitting or laying down position. Congrats on your wedding and I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Thanks to all for the pregnancy well wishes :)

[Leighpast]

Congrats on your pregnancy! You said you came back to St. Louis, where? We lived there for 16 years, South County then Imperial. We relocated about a year ago and sure miss it!:o

[stephuney]

thanks for the Legend review!:p

[pacerzfan]

thanks for the review, WeatherGeek!

[Chigirlcruzin]

WeatherGeek, great review! I was on a cruise last week with my pregnant sister (12.5 weeks), and she could have written the exact same things you did! She's going nuts that she has zero appetite for salads. Good luck with your pregnancy.

 

Drew B, I just got off the Valor, and I sailed on the Miracle out of Tampa last year. I'd go with the Valor for B2B, mainly because it's two different itineraries. Yes, the Spirit class ships are easier to navigate (and I LOVED the Miracle), but the Conquest class ships aren't hard to navigate. The buffet is set up better on the Valor. The biggest drawback to the Valor is sailing out of Miami IMO. Getting off the ship is such a PITA in Miami, even with the new terminal.

[WeatherGeek]

Congrats on your pregnancy! You said you came back to St. Louis, where? We lived there for 16 years, South County then Imperial. We relocated about a year ago and sure miss it!:o

 

We're actually over on the east side, at Scott AFB by Belleville. We have our own airport by the base that flies to and from Orlando so we actually flew to that airport instead of Lambert - it saves so much hassle for us!

[Drew B]

Drew B, I just got off the Valor, and I sailed on the Miracle out of Tampa last year. I'd go with the Valor for B2B, mainly because it's two different itineraries. Yes, the Spirit class ships are easier to navigate (and I LOVED the Miracle), but the Conquest class ships aren't hard to navigate. The buffet is set up better on the Valor. The biggest drawback to the Valor is sailing out of Miami IMO. Getting off the ship is such a PITA in Miami, even with the new terminal.

 

Thank you so much. I'm not concerned about embarking/disembarking. With 5 cruises and 5 different embarkation/disembarkation ports, I've never been upset by the process. I don't think that its that I've had such good luck - I think I just have a high tolerance for that sort of thing, and if it took me hours to embark or disembark, I'd just suck it up and be fine. I'm no saint, though. My tolerance isn't nearly as high for some other things. :p

[reno3]

 

We also did Paradise Beach in Cozumel (got a great Henna Tattoo). The weather was VERY windy, but we had a good time.

 

What is a Henna Tattoo:confused:

I have wanted a tattoo for years but can't get up the guts to do it. I figure the Henna Tattoo is not permanent:rolleyes: