Legend OTS-Riviera 8/29/04 Part 5 of 5 - Enough!

[Just_Cruising]

Miscellaneous port and ship notes:

 

 

• I would recommend having a couple of drinks before getting in a Mexican taxi.
  
• Passenger ages ran the gamut from young kids to seniors (probably a lot less kids now with school in session). I think they said there were 360 kids on the ship, I guess not surprising for summer.
  
• Did not see many teenagers (I probably should NOT be surprised by this).
  
• Hope you don’t mind Californians. As one poster before has said, “We met people from California, to as far away as well…California”. I would imagine any Riviera cruise is like that. There are a lot of us that live on the Left Coast and it is really convenient.
  
• Used very few Pesos; only the ones that I had to get from an ATM in Cabo. The widely and conveniently used exchange rate in port is 10:1, however, the real exchange rate hovers in the 11+:1 range. Cash is readily available in the casino by tapping your SeaPass card, thereby eliminating costly ATM fees.
  
• The Cruise Director, John Blair, was hilarious. He was everywhere. While another poster thought he was “full of himself”, well maybe he is, but who cares…he was still funny. This reminds me of a particular event. We were taking part in “TV Tune Bingo” and our seven year old was running our answers up to the desk. When John said, “There is a little girl in a pink dress with braids that has been running up here. If she comes up here and dances on the stage then everybody gets an extra point!” My daughter had to be coaxed on stage but when finally up there had fun dancing a few seconds and enjoyed the applause. While it was a special thing for our family, it is also one example of how a successful cruise director draws the audience into the show. Highly recommend this show. Even if you suck at the game (us), it was hilarious watching the groups and listening to John.
  
• Quest Adult game – have a couple of drinks and go.
  
• Solarium and the kids. This has been the topic of various posts. First, the Solarium is very comfortable. While some might think it would get hot, actually it is cool because it is air-conditioned. That is why they have closed doors leading to it. According to one Solarium pool attendant, it is generally adults only unless there is inclement weather. So basically if it is too cold to use the main pool, then all are welcome. We did get booted out the first day on board (which was absurd because the main pool was drained), however, it appeared the above policy was loosely enforced and I could find no signs about this informal policy.
  
• The rock wall was nice. Four different difficulty levels that went in order from Blue to Green to Red to Yellow/White combo. (Some inconsistent opinions on whether red or green was second easiest). This was very enjoyable for the kids and I. Hours are limited and you have to sign in and wait a little while before your turn. The rock wall was open on the last day for us (some have suggested sometimes it is closed on this day because of the wind).
  
• The last day was cool by the main pool but tolerable. There was a strong breeze during the day and a really strong wind on the upper deck during the evening.
  
• Had a great time at night on the deck 10 bow (forward most area for passengers) with my youngest daughter standing on the deck chairs doing the “Titanic thing”. Awesome feeling; very serene feeling with the wind rushing through our hair and the moonlight shining on the water. Just awesome!!!!!!!!
  
• All right. Having done all the research and bought and packed all the trinkets, what worked? 1) Bungee cords–NO (balcony doors were sliding doors). 2) Clothesline–NO (no easy place to tie it and there was a clothesline in the shower). 3) Suction Cup Hooks–YES (very effective for drying swim suits/ clothes on the balcony.) 4) Clothes pins–NO (we just draped clothes over the shower line. 5) 2 1/2 gallon zip locks–YES (good for enclosing booze bottles to prevent broken bottles from soaking clothes and effective for efficiently packing smaller clothing items – suck/ push the air out). 6) Highlighters–YES (dual colors good for highlighting each other’s Cruise Compass activity preferences). 7) Post-Its (Good for some I suppose. We were always able to find each other easily and our cabin steward was always around so we never used them for messages). 8) Walkie Talkies AGGHH yes…the subject of many rants!!! - MAYBE (we used them once successfully but generally thought they were not worth carrying around. The kids were so happy in Adventure Ocean there was no need. Perhaps if you have a large multi-family group they would be more helpful.). For those that have read about walkie-talkies being annoying on a ship, I found I rarely heard them (with 360 kids on the ship!). Maybe some are more sensitive to this than I. I thought it was no biggie. If you are going to buy some, buy the kind that employ “codes” – more channel combinations so you are less subject to interference. 9) Nightlights–YES (used one by the balcony and kept the bathroom light on and door cracked open at the other end). 10) Power strip and extension cords–NO (I suppose if you have a CD player, iron or other stuff than maybe you need them but we didn’t. 11) Binoculars–YES (didn’t use them a lot but nice to have). 12) Battery powered travel alarm clock–YES (didn’t use the alarm but VERY nice to have the time readily visible to all.
  

 

Writing this review has been post-cruise therapy for me. Additionally, I plan on printing it and putting it in a scrapbook, as I don’t want the detail to escape me.

 

 

Well…adios from the Legend of the Seas. I was sad and a little emotional to drive away from her. Whether you take the Legend to other destinations or take another ship to the Mexican Riviera, you most surely will have an incredible time.

 

 

Best regards from Orange County, California!!

[NiniB]

THANKS so much for your great review,,, i will be on the LOS in Dec. for the Panama, New Years Eve cruise,,, sounds like you had a blast..... I cant wait until its my turn.....:D

[Just_Cruising]

We did have a blast! Now I am envious of you! Enjoy...I know you will!