Better than we expected, very successful

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 45

Review summary

Although we have done several small ship cruises, we have not been on a large ship cruise before, though we did cross the Atlantic on the QEII 20 years ago, so we were not sure what to expect when we booked a western Caribbean week on the Carnival Legend. Yes, there are a lot of people aboard, and not all of them are polite, but on the whole the passengers were pleasant, friendly, & helpful. We heard there were 600 children under 18 on board but they were well behaved and must have been enjoying their own activities, as we rarely saw them. The crew keeps a spotless ship, even in the constantly-in-use cafeteria and around the other public spaces. The food is quite good, not gourmet but with lots of variety, and when one tires of what is being served there is even more choice in the self serve areas, including pretty good ice cream (custard). The shows, which I had expected to be mediocre, were quite fabulous, with excellent dancers and gorgeous costumes. As I mentioned above, the singing was miked too loud for our ears (a modern phenomenon I suspect). The specialty shows, magician, juggler, etc. were top notch. Our veranda suite was roomy, attractive and except for the constant engine/a/c noise very quiet. Watch out for occasional soot on the chairs if you get a rear suite; the steward will give you towels to sit on to protect your clothes. If you don't like walking take note of how far your cabin choice is from the elevators. The ship's decor, what can I say? Really kitchy, but it grows on you after a few days. It is kept in immaculate condition, however, for we frequently observed crew cleaning the molding, the decks, the windows, everything. There is a lot of emphasis on shopping, on board and in every port, so brace yourself and decide ahead of time what items you might really need or want--all those diamonds make for a heady atmosphere! We took two of the Carnival planned tours and particularly enjoyed the Goff Caye snorkeling expedition with great fish and lovely beach. The Roatan sail and snorkel trip was less successful as the snorkeling area was quite riled up. Watch for big changes in Roatan as they are building a whole new Carnival docking area there. The other two stops we built our own trips, being very careful to get back to the ship on time. Yes, I'd go again, and I think I would choose the Legend.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Belize City, Belize