eggy5404 Posted September 15, 2004 #1 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi All, Just wanted to give my personal experience regarding my first Carnival Legend cruise from NY on 8/27 returning 9/4. I've cruised previously on RCCL and noticed that the pricing keep going up so it was time for me to try something new. Getting to the port was a bit hectic but I expected that especially when leaving out of NY. Once inside, the lines did move quickly so I can't complain. The ship itself is nice. Unlike many others, I don't pay that much attention to details and I did notice the urns around the ship but I don't think anyone else in my party noticed. We dined in the dining room every night and there were items that I tried and didn't like so I sent it back and got steak and potatoes. I can't imagine anyone complianing about food b/c there is so much. Especially for picky eaters like myself and my daughter. Our waiter and asst waiter were both very pleasant and usually stayed behind to ask how our days were going. The steward was also good and kept our room nice and clean with new towels everyday. All were given extra cash tips in addition to the tips put on the S&S card. I did pretty well playing black jack and was up to $500 on night. Slots were kind of tight and I saw few winners. The shows started out okay and got better each night. My 5 year old daughter loved all the singing and dancing so she was quite entertained. Son loved the teen dance clubs and spent most of his time hanging out with other kids on the ship. The majority of the kids aboard were controlled and would spend most of there time out of the adults way. Pools were small and crowded but hubby and daughter did find the time and space to get in. I sat at the bar and drink my pinacoloda while watching them splash around. We were in cabin # 7276 on the verandah deck and rarely felt the ship move. The weather was great consider Francine was brewing. We didn't end up at our scheduled port of San Juan, St. Thomas and Tortola. Instead we ended up in the bahamas for 2 days and Port Canaveral for the 3rd. Made the best out of ports knowing it was not the cruise lines fault, just mother nature doing it's thing. Getting off the ship was hectic but once again, the line moved along quickly. The family members picking us up was not happy about the traffic and had a hard time coming up the ramp to the upper level. We couldn't get down to the main street b/c we had too much luggage.. Personal Gripes: I noticed (compared to RCCL), there was hardly any calypso music playing around the ship and the live band that I did notice around the pool was not that good. At one point, they put rap/reggae music on which I thought was tacky (plus I hear enough of it being around my teen) The people aboard were pushy, rude and inconsiderate and saw some people putting their hands on food instead of using the tongs. Think I will fly out to Florida for my next cruise. All in all I had a great time. Not sure if RCCL is worth the extra money they are charging for their cruises as I felt Carnival was just as good and a better deal for the price I paid. I'm currently planning my cruise for next year and it's a toss up between RCCL Mariner of the Seas (love the itenary but expensive) or Carnivals Miracle. Hope my review helps other considering trying Carnival or the Legend and thanks for all the opinons and help giving from others on the board. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzndeb Posted September 15, 2004 #2 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Great review Michelle. and people wonder why they get sick on the ships. It's because of the clueless that have to have their hands all over the food. Good luck deciding on your next cruise... Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JrzyGirl Posted September 15, 2004 #3 Share Posted September 15, 2004 We were also on the 8/27 sailing. We also sailed the Legend last August, so we knew a bit of what to expect. There was some good, but also some bad. The good: We met some really nice people, we really enjoyed the singer in the casino, he was very friendly and would sing anything we asked him to. The casino was very good to my husband, both the slots and the tables. The shows were good, the cruise director and his staff, very friendly. Our room attendant was excellent. The bad: having to go to the Bahamas. We're not complaining, as it isn't Carnival's fault there was a hurricane, but you couldn't walk two feet without someone coming up to you trying to sell you everything from drugs to singing you a song for money. It was very discouraging. We tried to make the best of it. Our service in the dining room was beyond bad. We complained the first day when it took over a half hour to get a cup of coffee, and my husband had to ask four times for his dinner while others were getting their second main course. The maitre'd promised better service, which we got for one day and that was it. He never once came over during the week to see if things had improved. On past cruises, the waiters would know our names, ask how our day went and enjoyed socializing. This time it was so different. It was diasppointing. I think the automatic tipping keeps some people from going out of their way to please. We normally tip above the guidelines, but not this year. Next year, we won't be sailing Carnival. Carnival Legend - 8/04 Carnival Sensation - 10/03 Carnival Legend - 8/03 RCL Nordic Empress - 8/02 Pacific Princess - 8/01 Carnival Fascination - 4/98 Home Lines Oceanic - 7/85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggy5404 Posted September 15, 2004 Author #4 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi, I have to agree that I was not happy with our subsituted ports and I did try to make the best of it. I'm with you as far the Bahamas. We did the Blue Lagoon which was disorganized. It probably took longer getting to the place than the amount of time spent there. The only food being served was hamburger with rice (they ran out of fries...) and hot dogs... Port Canaveral - I went to the mall which is something I could of done at home but once again tried to make the best of it. There was no way I was going to pay $650 for Universal and Disney especially after I've already been to both.. I wish they would of found more interesting excursions but I guess it was the last min planning which was not there fault. I'm glad you met nice people as I did but while people watching, I noticed that the east coast cruisers are not as considerate as the ones I've encountered when flying out of Florida and San Juan. I will be trying Carnival again but this time I will be flying out of Florida. I don't think my cruise was that bad to make me run back to RCCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judyf Posted September 15, 2004 #5 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Thanks for the review I will be sailing the Legend out of Ft. Lauderdale in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseFever Posted September 16, 2004 #6 Share Posted September 16, 2004 The people aboard were pushy, rude and inconsiderate and saw some people putting their hands on food instead of using the tongs. Think I will fly out to Florida for my next cruise. Yuk! Thanks for your frank review. We sailed this ship twice, not sure if the port of embarkation made a difference but we found the passengers on our cruise pretty darn nice (sailed from Fort Lauderdale) Interesting observation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaiT34 Posted September 17, 2004 #7 Share Posted September 17, 2004 Hi All,Just wanted to give my personal experience regarding my first Carnival Legend cruise from NY on 8/27 returning 9/4. I've cruised previously on RCCL and noticed that the pricing keep going up so it was time for me to try something new. Getting to the port was a bit hectic but I expected that especially when leaving out of NY. Once inside, the lines did move quickly so I can't complain. The ship itself is nice. Unlike many others, I don't pay that much attention to details and I did notice the urns around the ship but I don't think anyone else in my party noticed. We dined in the dining room every night and there were items that I tried and didn't like so I sent it back and got steak and potatoes. I can't imagine anyone complianing about food b/c there is so much. Especially for picky eaters like myself and my daughter. Our waiter and asst waiter were both very pleasant and usually stayed behind to ask how our days were going. The steward was also good and kept our room nice and clean with new towels everyday. All were given extra cash tips in addition to the tips put on the S&S card. I did pretty well playing black jack and was up to $500 on night. Slots were kind of tight and I saw few winners. The shows started out okay and got better each night. My 5 year old daughter loved all the singing and dancing so she was quite entertained. Son loved the teen dance clubs and spent most of his time hanging out with other kids on the ship. The majority of the kids aboard were controlled and would spend most of there time out of the adults way. Pools were small and crowded but hubby and daughter did find the time and space to get in. I sat at the bar and drink my pinacoloda while watching them splash around. We were in cabin # 7276 on the verandah deck and rarely felt the ship move. The weather was great consider Francine was brewing. We didn't end up at our scheduled port of San Juan, St. Thomas and Tortola. Instead we ended up in the bahamas for 2 days and Port Canaveral for the 3rd. Made the best out of ports knowing it was not the cruise lines fault, just mother nature doing it's thing. Getting off the ship was hectic but once again, the line moved along quickly. The family members picking us up was not happy about the traffic and had a hard time coming up the ramp to the upper level. We couldn't get down to the main street b/c we had too much luggage.. Personal Gripes: I noticed (compared to RCCL), there was hardly any calypso music playing around the ship and the live band that I did notice around the pool was not that good. At one point, they put rap/reggae music on which I thought was tacky (plus I hear enough of it being around my teen) The people aboard were pushy, rude and inconsiderate and saw some people putting their hands on food instead of using the tongs. Think I will fly out to Florida for my next cruise. All in all I had a great time. Not sure if RCCL is worth the extra money they are charging for their cruises as I felt Carnival was just as good and a better deal for the price I paid. I'm currently planning my cruise for next year and it's a toss up between RCCL Mariner of the Seas (love the itenary but expensive) or Carnivals Miracle. Hope my review helps other considering trying Carnival or the Legend and thanks for all the opinons and help giving from others on the board. Michelle i think i also stayed in room 7276 when i went on carnival legend in 2003 ...too bad you couldnt go to the original ports i think you would of liked them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristolracefans Posted September 17, 2004 #8 Share Posted September 17, 2004 That is interesting that you found the some of the people to be rude and pushy. My wife and I sailed on the Legend 7/10/04 and found the same type of behavior. We both commented that we probobly would opt to fly to Fla. to cruise next time. We also thought that they were more apt to complain just to hear themselves. I overheard one woman saying that the Bath's in Virgin Gorda were nice but TOO SANDY. Go figure. All in all we still had a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenVII Posted September 17, 2004 #9 Share Posted September 17, 2004 Good review, but you might wanna spell Legend correctly so when people search for it they will get a match;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNcruisers Posted October 5, 2004 #10 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Returned from the sept. 12-20 Legend cruise out of NYC. It was my first departure from that port. Loved touring the city beforehand. Different lines attract different crowds. This one just happened to be very loud and very hungry...Would not hesitate to recommend her out of Fort Lauderdale. She is a beautiful ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hstrybuf Posted October 5, 2004 #11 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Nicely done, Michelle! :) We cruised the Legend in April and really enjoyed it too. Funny thing about the port of embarkation. We embarked in Ft. Lauderdale and didn't have hardly any pushy people. That seems to make a difference in the type of crowd you get! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CinWin Posted October 6, 2004 #12 Share Posted October 6, 2004 As a resident of Ft. Lauderdale, thank you for the compliments about how nice it is to cruise from here - mainly because the people aren't as pushy as the New York crowds. In January, my DH and I will be sailing on the Legend for the 3rd time. Obviously, we like that ship a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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