Getting back to my summer vacation (see Part 1 here), on the last day of May we ditched the adult stepson and boarded the Carnival Legend in the Port of Tampa.Although we'd been on Norwegian and Celebrity before, this was our first Carnival cruise and we had visions of a giant frat party hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford.
Fortunately, though, that wasn't the case.
EMBARKATION
Getting on the ship the first time was surprisingly easy.
We were booked in a suite, so we were able to make use of Carnival's "VIP" check-in.
(The VIP waiting to check in.)
We arrived at the port with passports in hand at about 11 a.m. and after about 20 minutes at the check-in area we were escorted directly onboard. (See all those people waiting behind The Midge? Those people didn't have VIP check-in and had to wait to get on the ship. I'm not sure how long they waited, but I know we beat them all to the first buffet...)
After we got onboard, we wandered around the ship checking things out.
(We let a stowaway out of the bag for some fresh air and almost lost her...)
INSIDE THE SHIP
Walking onto the ship the first time was like walking onto the Vegas Strip -- big and glitzy, but minus all the hawkers flipping strip-club cards at you (plus much cleaner).
(The view from the main atrium/lobby/elevator area)
(Art inside the big red funnel, which holds the ship's supper club.)
(The chandelier in the main dining room)
(A light fixture in the Unicorn Cafe on the Lido Deck)
(The Enchanted Forest that led to the Camp Carnival area for kids.)
(A light fixture in Camp Carnival)
ACCOMMODATIONS
We initially booked a basic balcony room, but a few weeks before the cruise we got a call from the Upgrade Fairy. For $600 more, we decided to take her up on her offer to move to Suite 6164.
Our tastefully decorated suite (i.e. there was no Vegas glitz, although there might have been some nudity) featured two twin beds pushed together to make a queen-sized bed.
(The remote-control wielding man was not included in the price of the room...)
At the foot of the bed, there was a small table, a chair and a couch that was made into a twin bed for The Midge and all of the stowaways she brought onboard. Above the couch/twin bed, there was also another bunk that dropped out of the ceiling, but we never made use of it (even though I was obsessed with how it worked).
Our one complaint about the room was that the beds weren't particularly comfortable. Our mattress at home is an antique, but the ones on the ship didn't seem much better. Even The Midge complained about being uncomfortable -- and this is a kid who sleeps on the floor regularly.
The balcony with its three lounge chairs and small table made up for the crappy beds, though. I made a point of commandeering two of the chairs for myself, and left DialogDog and The Midge to share the other one. See...
Unlike the basic balcony room, suites on the Legend feature a double sink and a jetted tub. Plus there was a separate dressing area and way more storage than the three of us needed. We easily could have fit another person in the room -- or at least in a closet.
ENTERTAINMENT
In addition to three ports of call, our cruise featured three days at sea (thanks to the swine flu scare, the third sea day was added after Carnival canceled the Cozumel stop).
There was much to do onboard, though, so we were never bored.
The pools were the main gathering spots during sea days. We initially staked out a spot near the stage, thinking it would make for prime viewing.
Instead it turned out to be too loud and crowded -- and on the verge of turning into a frat party with Kathie Lee. (Not to mention there were too many adults in the pool for The Midge to swim comfortably and you were taking your life into your own hands trying to get poolside seating. The chairhogs were out in force early each day.)
There was also a miniature golf course, which would have been fun if it hadn't been two zillion degrees out on the day we decided to use it.
The Midge enjoyed the arcade until she realized her allotted $20 wasn't going to last long when the games cost a minimum of $1 each to play. She quickly wised up and waited to play video games at Camp Carnival.
Unfortunately, DialogDog and I weren't as smart. We lost $60 in less than 20 minutes playing slots in the smoky casino one night before we went elsewhere for our entertainment (and our oxygen).
That elsewhere included three of the nightly shows. Carnival's 7-night cruise includes two big production numbers and then various comedians on the other nights. We managed to stay awake for the big production numbers and one of the comedians, and were pleasantly surprised.
We also hit the spa three times. We each got Swedish massages and then DialogDog went back for a man's facial. All the treatments were good, but would have been much better if the staff hadn't put the hard sale on us afterwards for products we weren't interested in buying. Subtle they were not... (Not to mention, they tried to double bill us each time we visited the spa. Thankfully, the purser's desk was quick to rectify the problem when we brought it to their attention.)
DINING EXPERIENCE
A cruise wouldn't be a cruise without all the food -- and there was plenty to be had on the Legend.
We ate in all the ship's venues, usually visiting the Unicorn Cafe for breakfast and lunch on sea days and then eating in the main dining room for dinner. (We made use of the ship's "anytime" dining and enjoyed not having to be at dinner at a set time each night.)
We even stopped by the sushi bar once or twice for appetizers and might have been seen nibbling on carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies at the coffee/pastry shop.
But, by far the best dining venue was the ship's supper club. It may have cost $30 per person extra, but was well worth it.
We had lobster bisque that reminded of us our wedding reception.
And escargot that was made even better by the shadows cast from the setting sun.
But the real work of art -- and treat for our tummies -- was the post-steak and lobster dessert.
At its worst (certain days in the Unicorn Cafe), the ship's food was like eating in a mall food court. Not great, but far from inedible. At it's best, though, WOW!CAMP CARNIVAL
Do you see that happy face up there? That all but sums up what The Midge thought of Camp Carnival, the ship's children's program.
At 8, we figured The Midge might want to go to the camp for an hour or two each day, but would still want to spend the bulk of her time with us. Instead, she dumped us as soon as we boarded and except for days in port and two dinners, we rarely saw her. Whenever we went to check on her, we were told to go away unless we had something better than scavenger hunts, new friends and homemade goo making (witness the blue hands).
As the parent of another camp-obsessed kid said, "I don't know what they're offering the kids in there; but whatever it is, it's better than what I can provide..."
PORTS OF CALL
Our first port of call was Grand Cayman. We tendered off the ship (a logistical nightmare) and boarded a city "bus" (otherwise known as a van to the rest of the world).
For $4 per person, the bus took us to Seven Mile Beach, where we joined hordes of other tourists.
The snorkeling was disappointing and we were hungry so we trekked down the road a bit and ate at Hemingway's, which was your basic mediocre hotel food. (However, the conch fritters were out of this world.) Then we trekked back down the road a bit and caught another "bus" back to port, where we tendered back to the ship (another logistical nightmare). Despite first impressions, we're giving Grand Cayman another try next February, so I'm hoping it was just an off day. The only thing I liked about the day was hearing the accents of the people who lived on the island. It was like listening to beautiful songbirds.
Our next port of call was Belize -- or, in our case, the barrier reef off the coast of Belize.
We signed up for a ship excursion that included taking a catamaran from the ship out to the reef, where we snorkeled for about an hour. The reef was among the healthiest we've visited; and despite having to dodge wayward flippers from our fellow passengers, we were able to get in some good snorkeling, which made The Midge extra happy.
On the way back to the ship, the catamaran stopped at Bannister Island, a private cay off the coast of Belize.
The Midge and DialogDog used the brief beach break to get in some playtime. Then we made our way back to the ship, where we had the pool to ourselves the rest of the day since most of the other passengers were still off doing whatever wherever.
Our final -- and favorite -- port was Roatan, just off the mainland of Honduras. Roatan has a new port area so we were actually able to dock and avoid Carnival's tendering nightmare (yes, it was just Carnival. We've tendered with Celebrity and Norwegian and they did a much better job at it...).
For $36 per person, we boarded buses and were driven over the hills and through the jungle for about 30 minutes to Tabayna Beach , a private beach area.
Lounge chairs were included in the price of the excursion, but we spent very little time in ours. Instead, we took advantage of the incredibly clear water and had the best snorkeling of our entire cruise. (We saw an eel just slithering along and a giant lobster, which was just begging to become dinner.)
We had lunch on the beach before reluctantly heading back to the ship and we all agreed that Roatan was an island to come back to one day.
DEBARKATION
We opted to carry our own bags off the ship, so we went to breakfast on the last day while the ship was docking and then hung out in our cabin for a while afterward. Then, we made our way to the exit just as Carnival announced that self-assist passengers could make their way off the ship. We were through customs and waiting for our ride within 30 minutes of the ship docking.
All good things must come to an end -- and in our case, the end was as good as the rest of the trip.
Found creative ways to stay cool...
Posts
