Legend 7/5-7/12 Mega review with lots of pictures!

[scraphappylady]

 

 

 

Ooooh, so tempting, but what would we tell the grandparents when we returned?

 

 

Tired already? Maybe it WAS a little too early!

 

[sailingawaysoon]

Loving your review! Can't wait to read the rest. It looks like you guys made the most of your vacation. Thanks for sharing.

[Senoj84]

Excellent review!!!!! One of the best!!

[scraphappylady]

Since our excursion - Carnival's dolphin encounter and Tabyana beach day - would take most of the day, we decided to do a little quick shopping on the dock before meeting up for our tour. The ship was two hours ahead of local time, so it was only around 6:30 am in Roatan, when we got off, but most of the shops were already open. Just another indication of how much the arrival of the cruise ships must mean to this island's economy.

 

 

 

 

 

View of our ship from the shop area.

 

 

[cespo]

Can not wait to see the beach pictures....LOVE the review

[scraphappylady]

Sorry, guys!! Gotta pause the review here - hate to leave you hanging.:( It's taking forever to attach my pictures online right now. Either Photobucket or Verizon must be having problems or are getting swamped. I'm going to give it an hour or two and then come back to the review.

-Cathy

[whendoweleave?]

 

 

 

 

 

We were underwater for about 25 minutes.

 

Then when Jon was buying the photo cd - it included movie footage of us and I'm never one to take chances with photos - I snuck over to shop Margaritaville Cozumel right next door. (3 down and counting!) never even thought to snap my own pictures of the outside of the building, so I'm using the one Mandy took with her camera. Good thinking, kid! (Got 'em brainwashed when it comes to Jimmy)

 

Wow! These are the coolest pictures of "SeaTrek" I've ever seen! Really makes me want to do it! These are better than any I've seen in advertising! They should use your pics! They really give a good idea of what it's like!

[scraphappylady]

Alright. The computer seems back to normal. I'll see how it goes.

 

We took a bus to the site and then a boat over to Anthony's Key, where we would meet our dolphins.

 

 

 

 

 

I think the site is also home to a resort. Might have to Google that for a future vacation!

 

[scraphappylady]

Our tour group was divided into smaller groups and assigned a particular dolphin, trainer, and of course, photographer. We had the four of us and two other couples in our group, for a total of eight. We were told to stand shoulder to shoulder in a tight line, so our dolphin wouldn't get it into his head to play tricks and try to swim between us.

 

 

Our trainer gave a brief background on our particular dolphin, Anthony, (he's 3 years old, 200 lb., and kind of the bully of the other dolphins) and a more detailed explanation of dolphins in general. We had a chance as a group to touch him as he swam by us many times. Then it was time for our individual interactions with Anthony. We got to "hold" him and let him give us each a kiss. While we were allowed to use our cameras during the last part of our encounter, mine fogged up due to the high humidity and didn't completely clear up until we were back on the bus. We decided to play it safe and buy their pictures, and as you can see, it was worth it.

 

Holding 200 lb of wet, rubbery dolphin is . . . interesting, to say the least!

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

From there, we were bussed to Tabyana Beach, about 15 min away, where we could stay until we had to catch the last bus back to the ship. If we hadn't wanted to have the chance to play with the dolphins, I would have been content to spend the whole day there.

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

We had forgotten to bring our snorkels with us this time, so we ended up renting some - $15 for a complete set, including fins and vest. They also offered locker rentals for a $5 deposit, and you got $2 back when you returned the key.

 

I found I liked snorkeling much better here. We literally walked into the water from the beach and within 20 feet were over reefs teeming with fish. They seemed to be much friendly here, as well, with one even nibbling at my finger in hopes of food.

 

Me in my element

 

 

 

 

There's the one that tried to eat me . . . just look at that expression!

 

 

[scraphappylady]

Unfortunately, we only ended up getting to spend about two hours here, but it was enough time to give Mandy a new "do." She wasn't sure at first if she was going to like it.

 

 

In the end, she was happy with it.

 

 

Showers

 

 

Tim is sure the bus will leave without us.

 

 

More luxury coach transportation, back to the ship.

 

[TITISSA]

Thank you for such a lovely review. I'll celebrate my birthday on the Legend in December. Your pictures made me even more excited.

[scraphappylady]

On our trip back to the ship, the bus driver stopped several times to give us the chance to take pictures, including a stop at a local roadside "gift shop."

 

 

 

 

Fun to see our ship in the distance.

 

 

Even though the kids were sure we'd end up missing the boat with all the stopping we did on the way back, we didn't have to worry. We arrived around the time last boarding should be, and we still encountered yet another long line.

 

[scraphappylady]

We watched sailaway again, a little sadder this time, knowing that the next time we saw land we would be back in Tampa.

 

 

 

This was the other elegant dress night of our cruise, and while we weren't as fancy as our first one, I thought the pink and purple beads in Mandy's hair matched her dress nicely.

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

Supper was a little more adventurous this night. I had heard a lot about escargot from friends, and seeing as how they were offered this night, I decided to finally try them. They were presented nicely, with plenty of butter and garlic, and as long as I didn't actually THINK about what I was eating, they were very tasty. In reality, I don't know that I actually tasted much of the snails themselves, but if given the chance I would certainly eat them again. (with plenty of garlic and butter!)

 

Escargot bourguignonne (ie snails)

 

 

Chilled creamy bing cherry soup

 

 

Tim's tiger shrimp dinner (can't remember the official name on that one)

 

 

Chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce

 

 

I think this was the amaretto cake.

 

[scraphappylady]

Our waiters tonight gave us the YMCA dance for entertainment, and Mandy and Jon really got into the spirit of things.

 

 

 

After supper, the kids has yet more club activities planned. This was Tim's special late night party (10pm-3am) and it's just a good thing we ALL had a nap ahead of time. We hurried back to the room to get a towel animal picture, had the kids get changed and then sent them on their way. :D

 

 

Then Jon and I uncorked the bottle of wine we had brought on board (yep . . . I brought the corkscrew, too.), grabbed two glasses from the room and headed over to Follies to watch "The Big Easy," the only show we saw during the trip. It was based loosely on songs from the New Orleans region, and while there were a few songs I didn't like, overall we enjoyed the show.

 

Next up . . . our last sea day and then back to reality.

[babymaxie]

Excellent review!!!!! One of the best!!

 

 

I totally agree with you, one of the best reviews. I am cruising on the Legend on 25 Oct 2009 and I have learned so much about this ship and ports through this wonderful writer. The pictures are great. I feel like I am reading a book and cannot wait until the next write-up or chapter.

 

Thanks! :D

[babymaxie]

Supper was a little more adventurous this night. I had heard a lot about escargot from friends, and seeing as how they were offered this night, I decided to finally try them. They were presented nicely, with plenty of butter and garlic, and as long as I didn't actually THINK about what I was eating, they were very tasty. In reality, I don't know that I actually tasted much of the snails themselves, but if given the chance I would certainly eat them again. (with plenty of garlic and butter!)

 

Escargot bourguignonne (ie snails)

 

 

Chilled creamy bing cherry soup

 

 

Tim's tiger shrimp dinner (can't remember the official name on that one)

 

 

Chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce

 

 

I think this was the amaretto cake.

 

 

You took such terrific pictures. Thank you for sharing your cruise with all of us. Like they say, "Pictures are worth a thousand words." Thank you!

[whendoweleave?]

So refreshing to see your kids and what appears to be a great, loving relationship. I would think it would be a rare thing to be able to get sibling to pose for the shots they do. They seem to really be happy to be around each other! So cute! :)

 

And, as everyone else says, AWESOME REVIEW! Nice job, really!

[gypsygirl]

Supper was a little more adventurous this night. I had heard a lot about escargot from friends, and seeing as how they were offered this night, I decided to finally try them. They were presented nicely, with plenty of butter and garlic, and as long as I didn't actually THINK about what I was eating, they were very tasty. In reality, I don't know that I actually tasted much of the snails themselves, but if given the chance I would certainly eat them again. (with plenty of garlic and butter!)

 

Escargot bourguignonne (ie snails)

 

 

Chilled creamy bing cherry soup

 

 

Tim's tiger shrimp dinner (can't remember the official name on that one)

.

 

 

 

 

 

Chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce

 

 

I think this was the amaretto cake.

 

 

I loved your review and pics. We're going on the Legend in November. Can't wait to go back to Roatan. My favorite port. And maybe this time I'll try escargot........................maybe

[scraphappylady]

Our last day at sea was much the same as the first. The kids spent time in the pool and the hot tub and generally had a blast.

 

 

Probably spent more time in this than his at home!

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

Since no one was interested in the afternoon tea, I let that one slide, but I wasn't going to miss the galley tour and went by myself. We met up in Truffles, and it was my first chance to get a good look at the dining room in the daytime. Since we never ate breakfast or lunch here, and at night sat under one of the lower parts, I didn't realize the middle of the dining room opened up so much.

 

 

 

While people were still coming in for the tour, we were entertained by one of the waiters showing us how to fold napkins. And to think they have to do this so many times, for each place setting, each night, for two seatings plus anytime dining. No wonder they were so good at it. If I could have only remembered how they did it once I was back home!

 

 

Before touring the kitchen area, we got a 15 min talk from Dessie, our maitre d', on such things as how waiters work their way up in the ranks, from serving the crew to finally working in the main dining room. She also touched on how much food had been consumed on just this one cruise alone so far (40,000 eggs . . . one chicken!) and told us that the kitchen area was probably the most expensive part of the ship - it's entirely stainless steel. Then we got a brief 5 min behind the scenes tour of the kitchen, including the escalators.

 

 

 

 

I tried to reconcile what we saw with what I had read in the book "Cruise Confidential," but for the most part we were only allowed in a very small area of the kitchen. I'd love to see a more extended tour in the future!

[scraphappylady]

Before supper, while Tim was still in his club, Mandy, Jon and I wandered around the upper parts of the ship around Decks 11 and 12. We had to fight our way through the crowds.

 

Looking down into the Golden Fleece.

 

 

 

 

On his way back from getting Tim from his club and getting changed in our room, Jon took a picture of our only sunset on the trip. If it hadn't been so cloudy near the horizon, I'm not sure we would even have that.

 

 

My "kids" were a little sad to be eating for the last time in the dining room.

 

 

[scraphappylady]

I'm not sure why I didn't take as many dinner pictures this night, but the food was just as good. Among the things we chose were New England lobster and crab cake, lobster bisque, grand marnier souffle and mango soup, the one thing Mandy didn't care for.

 

 

As this was our last night, we took pictures with our waiters, Antonyia and Ikatut, and also with Dessie, our maitre d'.

 

 

 

It was hard to believe this was only Dessie's second week as maitre d', after being promoted to the position. She was one of the most likable and most visible people that I have ever seen in such a position. She was always happy to greet the kids as we came into the dining room each night, and the kids still imitate her trademark "haaallllloooooooo," with which she would greet us every night before the waiters' show. The maitre d' was not included in our prepaid tips, but we had no problem giving her a nice tip at the end of the cruise. She certainly deserved it.