Carnival Legand 1/10-1/17/2010

After Christmas and New Year's holidays, we enjoy taking a cruise,
and that's enhanced when the cruise is with family members.
During the fall, we knew that our daughter couldn't join us
because she was expecting her first child, but our son and his two
girls were happy to join us. Then, in conversation with a former
grade school classmate, we invited her to join us as well. George
Leppla handled the reservations, and it was done perfectly, as
always. The plan initially had been to go to Tampa for a few days
at Busch Gardens before the cruise, with our son and the girls
joining us the evening before embarkation. As luck would have it,
on the 4th, I had a fall down our stairs and broke my collar bone
in a few places. The resulting X-rays, tests, consultations etc.
wasted the better part of the rest of the week, so we dropped the
Busch Gardens part, traveling straight to the Embassy Suites
Downtown in Tampa for the night before embarkation.

Our plans were enhanced a bit by the fact that when we returned,
we planned to disembark the Legend and embark HAL's Ryndam for
another 2-weeks of cruising. There were two BIG surprises on that
segment of the plans, but I'll save that for the Ryndam report.

The Embassy Suites Downtown is a $25 cab ride from TIA, but well
worth the price compared to the hassles of a shuttle. In
addition, with one arm in a sling, tied to my waist, I needed all
the help we could muster. The hotel itself was pleasant and as
expected. We always try to stay at Embassy Suites, and this was a
good way to begin our trip. Our son, Chris, had arrived earlier
with the girls, so we met him in the coffee shop for a sandwich
that evening. Our last arrival didn't get to Tampa until 10:30p,
so she just headed for the room and we saw her in the morning.

Embarkation for the Legend was smooth. The only hassle was the
home printed luggage tags. This was the first experience with
them and while I'd brought tape, we found that a stapler is now a
needed addition to the luggage. The porter had one, thank
goodness, and when the bags arrived in the cabin, all still had
the tags on them. Our friend was at the Purser's Desk, however,
that evening and said she spotted over 25 "untagged" suitcases
waiting to be identified and claimed.

Our cabin consisted of two typical beds, separated by a night
stand, a couch with mattress on it for a third person and a
fold-down bunk for the 4th. While there were 4 adults in our
cabin, it was not crowded and nobody got in anyone's way. Our
son's cabin was also comfortable. Both were very clean, tidy and
well maintained. TOWEL ANIMALS were in evidence every night, which
we enjoyed.

The overall cleanliness, maintenance and appearance of the Legend
was terrific. It felt like a new ship. All the elevators were
working, there was virtually no wait to get one and our rear
quarter cabin was perfect to go right up to the Lido deck or down
to the dining room. All decks were accessible without having to
go "up and over" some feature like we had on the old Westerdam and
now on the Ryndam.

Our cabin steward was invisible, but the cabin was always made up
perfectly while we were at breakfast and freshened up again in the
afternoon and turned down at bedtime. There were plenty of
toiletries in the bath and plenty of towels. The shower was
always cleaned and wiped down each day.

One of the important things, to us, is the food on a cruise.
After the Legend, I worry that other cruises will be able to live
up to the wonderful food we had. Despite what we ordered from the
menu, it was always perfectly prepared, sauces were appropriate
and flavorful, service was rapid and accurate, desserts were
great, portions were perfect for us, food was available for the
grandkids and served promptly while the adult dining was more
leisurely and there was entertainment almost every night.
Everything was tastefully done, fun and the dining room folk
seemed to actually enjoy the songs or dances, compared to the
horrible "God blezz Amelica" cigarette lighter routines from the
past. At the risk of overstating our satisfaction with the dining
room, it was undoubtedly the best food, service and entertainment
we'd encountered in our cruising history, and perhaps the opposite
of what was to come on the Ryndam.

An annoyance on most cruises is the photographers forcing people
to wait in line to be admitted to a function , embarking or going
ashore. On the Legend, photographers were everywhere, but we were
never forced into a line to get our "welcome aboard," "welcome to
Tampa" or similar photos taken. During the formal nights in
particular, there were perhaps a dozen different photographers and
backdrops, but they were peripheral to the flow of the people and
were not obtrusive.

Something I've commented upon in the past is the sincerity and
attitude of the crew on a cruise line. There are happy ships,
indifferent ships and unhappy, mismanaged, ships. The Legend was
a Happy Ship in the fullest implication of the term. From the
young person wiping the railings of salt spray to the head waiter,
to the bus boy to the cabin steward, the people seemed to be
genuinely happy and appreciative of our business. The ship
arrived in ports on time, access for handicapped people to tenders
or gangways was terrific and there was never a sense of being
rushed. Everything worked as it should.

Our Legend cruise ended back in Tampa on schedule, but since we
planned to just transfer to the Ryndam, we disembarked very late
to give other passengers more time and knowing that we'd just be
waiting for the Ryndam to begin embarkation. We asked our porter
if he'd take the luggage to the other terminal: just around the
other side of the Aquarium, which he did. It sure saved having to
drag the cases ourselves, and particularly since I had the broken,
strapped-down shoulder. As it was, the transfer was just a short,
enjoyable walk and we soon were in the other terminal. I'll
continue with a separate Ryndam post later on.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

Hi Nonny, I am so glad you were able to enjoy your cruises, esp with
your collar bone.

I know what you mean about a "happy ship", we just got off the Granduer
of the Seas last thursday and the crew was fantastic. The Grandeur was
our 2nd sailing out of Tampa and we find the port and the airport to be
very easy to deal with.

Thanks for the review and say Hi to Mrs Nonny for me!!

sue - who hopes you will be on the Oasis!!

Nonny wrote:
After Christmas and New Year's holidays, we enjoy taking a cruise, and
that's enhanced when the cruise is with family members. During the fall,
we knew that our daughter couldn't join us because she was expecting her
first child, but our son and his two girls were happy to join us. Then,
in conversation with a former grade school classmate, we invited her to
join us as well. George Leppla handled the reservations, and it was
done perfectly, as always. The plan initially had been to go to Tampa
for a few days at Busch Gardens before the cruise, with our son and the
girls joining us the evening before embarkation. As luck would have it,
on the 4th, I had a fall down our stairs and broke my collar bone in a
few places. The resulting X-rays, tests, consultations etc. wasted the
better part of the rest of the week, so we dropped the Busch Gardens
part, traveling straight to the Embassy Suites Downtown in Tampa for the
night before embarkation.

Our plans were enhanced a bit by the fact that when we returned, we
planned to disembark the Legend and embark HAL's Ryndam for another
2-weeks of cruising. There were two BIG surprises on that segment of
the plans, but I'll save that for the Ryndam report.

The Embassy Suites Downtown is a $25 cab ride from TIA, but well worth
the price compared to the hassles of a shuttle. In addition, with one
arm in a sling, tied to my waist, I needed all the help we could
muster. The hotel itself was pleasant and as expected. We always try
to stay at Embassy Suites, and this was a good way to begin our trip.
Our son, Chris, had arrived earlier with the girls, so we met him in the
coffee shop for a sandwich that evening. Our last arrival didn't get to
Tampa until 10:30p, so she just headed for the room and we saw her in
the morning.

Embarkation for the Legend was smooth. The only hassle was the home
printed luggage tags. This was the first experience with them and while
I'd brought tape, we found that a stapler is now a needed addition to
the luggage. The porter had one, thank goodness, and when the bags
arrived in the cabin, all still had the tags on them. Our friend was at
the Purser's Desk, however, that evening and said she spotted over 25
"untagged" suitcases waiting to be identified and claimed.

Our cabin consisted of two typical beds, separated by a night stand, a
couch with mattress on it for a third person and a fold-down bunk for
the 4th. While there were 4 adults in our cabin, it was not crowded and
nobody got in anyone's way. Our son's cabin was also comfortable. Both
were very clean, tidy and well maintained. TOWEL ANIMALS were in
evidence every night, which we enjoyed.

The overall cleanliness, maintenance and appearance of the Legend was
terrific. It felt like a new ship. All the elevators were working,
there was virtually no wait to get one and our rear quarter cabin was
perfect to go right up to the Lido deck or down to the dining room. All
decks were accessible without having to go "up and over" some feature
like we had on the old Westerdam and now on the Ryndam.

Our cabin steward was invisible, but the cabin was always made up
perfectly while we were at breakfast and freshened up again in the
afternoon and turned down at bedtime. There were plenty of toiletries
in the bath and plenty of towels. The shower was always cleaned and
wiped down each day.

One of the important things, to us, is the food on a cruise. After the
Legend, I worry that other cruises will be able to live up to the
wonderful food we had. Despite what we ordered from the menu, it was
always perfectly prepared, sauces were appropriate and flavorful,
service was rapid and accurate, desserts were great, portions were
perfect for us, food was available for the grandkids and served promptly
while the adult dining was more leisurely and there was entertainment
almost every night. Everything was tastefully done, fun and the dining
room folk seemed to actually enjoy the songs or dances, compared to the
horrible "God blezz Amelica" cigarette lighter routines from the past.
At the risk of overstating our satisfaction with the dining room, it was
undoubtedly the best food, service and entertainment we'd encountered in
our cruising history, and perhaps the opposite of what was to come on
the Ryndam.

An annoyance on most cruises is the photographers forcing people to
wait in line to be admitted to a function , embarking or going ashore.
On the Legend, photographers were everywhere, but we were never forced
into a line to get our "welcome aboard," "welcome to Tampa" or similar
photos taken. During the formal nights in particular, there were
perhaps a dozen different photographers and backdrops, but they were
peripheral to the flow of the people and were not obtrusive.

Something I've commented upon in the past is the sincerity and attitude
of the crew on a cruise line. There are happy ships, indifferent ships
and unhappy, mismanaged, ships. The Legend was a Happy Ship in the
fullest implication of the term. From the young person wiping the
railings of salt spray to the head waiter, to the bus boy to the cabin
steward, the people seemed to be genuinely happy and appreciative of our
business. The ship arrived in ports on time, access for handicapped
people to tenders or gangways was terrific and there was never a sense
of being rushed. Everything worked as it should.

Our Legend cruise ended back in Tampa on schedule, but since we planned
to just transfer to the Ryndam, we disembarked very late to give other
passengers more time and knowing that we'd just be waiting for the
Ryndam to begin embarkation. We asked our porter if he'd take the
luggage to the other terminal: just around the other side of the
Aquarium, which he did. It sure saved having to drag the cases
ourselves, and particularly since I had the broken, strapped-down
shoulder. As it was, the transfer was just a short, enjoyable walk and
we soon were in the other terminal. I'll continue with a separate
Ryndam post later on.

"Sue Mullen" wrote in message
...
Hi Nonny, I am so glad you were able to enjoy your cruises, esp
with your collar bone.

I know what you mean about a "happy ship", we just got off the
Granduer of the Seas last thursday and the crew was fantastic.
The Grandeur was our 2nd sailing out of Tampa and we find the
port and the airport to be very easy to deal with.

Thanks for the review and say Hi to Mrs Nonny for me!!

sue - who hopes you will be on the Oasis!!


Yup, we're planning on being there.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

Nonny wrote:

"Sue Mullen" wrote in message
...
Hi Nonny, I am so glad you were able to enjoy your cruises, esp with
your collar bone.

I know what you mean about a "happy ship", we just got off the
Granduer of the Seas last thursday and the crew was fantastic. The
Grandeur was our 2nd sailing out of Tampa and we find the port and the
airport to be very easy to deal with.

Thanks for the review and say Hi to Mrs Nonny for me!!

sue - who hopes you will be on the Oasis!!


Yup, we're planning on being there.

Wonderful and I hope we will get to see each other more then last time.
On the Legend you weren't feeling well and Kevin was also having health
problems.

sue

sue

"Nonny" wrote in message
...
..
snipped
The overall cleanliness, maintenance and appearance of the Legend was
terrific. It felt like a new ship. All the elevators were working, there
was virtually no wait to get one and our rear quarter cabin was perfect to
go right up to the Lido deck or down to the dining room. All decks were
accessible without having to go "up and over" some feature like we had on
the old Westerdam and now on the Ryndam.

Our cabin steward was invisible, but the cabin was always made up
perfectly while we were at breakfast and freshened up again in the
afternoon and turned down at bedtime. There were plenty of toiletries in
the bath and plenty of towels. The shower was always cleaned and wiped
down each day.

One of the important things, to us, is the food on a cruise. After the
Legend, I worry that other cruises will be able to live up to the
wonderful food we had. Despite what we ordered from the menu, it was
always perfectly prepared, sauces were appropriate and flavorful, service
was rapid and accurate, desserts were great, portions were perfect for us,
food was available for the grandkids and served promptly while the adult
dining was more leisurely and there was entertainment almost every night.
Everything was tastefully done, fun and the dining room folk seemed to
actually enjoy the songs or dances, compared to the horrible "God blezz
Amelica" cigarette lighter routines from the past. At the risk of
overstating our satisfaction with the dining room, it was undoubtedly the
best food, service and entertainment we'd encountered in our cruising
history, and perhaps the opposite of what was to come on the Ryndam.

snipped

Something I've commented upon in the past is the sincerity and attitude of
the crew on a cruise line. There are happy ships, indifferent ships and
unhappy, mismanaged, ships. The Legend was a Happy Ship in the fullest
implication of the term. From the young person wiping the railings of
salt spray to the head waiter, to the bus boy to the cabin steward, the
people seemed to be genuinely happy and appreciative of our business. The
ship arrived in ports on time, access for handicapped people to tenders or
gangways was terrific and there was never a sense of being rushed.
Everything worked as it should.
--
Nonny

Very interesting, Nonny! It looks like we must take a Carnival ship real
soon with such a glowing review!
It is good to hear that they still have such good food. Guess they took to
heart all the complaints they got many years ago and did something about
it.. Sure sounded like a happy ship and you and Vicki had such a good time!
Sadly, I think the Conquest is the only Carnival ship going out of Galveston
and having been on her twice, I don't like her configuration.

--Jean

On Wed, 3 Feb 2010 10:04:17 -0600, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:


"Nonny" wrote in message
...
.
snipped
The overall cleanliness, maintenance and appearance of the Legend was
terrific. It felt like a new ship. All the elevators were working, there
was virtually no wait to get one and our rear quarter cabin was perfect to
go right up to the Lido deck or down to the dining room. All decks were
accessible without having to go "up and over" some feature like we had on
the old Westerdam and now on the Ryndam.

Our cabin steward was invisible, but the cabin was always made up
perfectly while we were at breakfast and freshened up again in the
afternoon and turned down at bedtime. There were plenty of toiletries in
the bath and plenty of towels. The shower was always cleaned and wiped
down each day.

One of the important things, to us, is the food on a cruise. After the
Legend, I worry that other cruises will be able to live up to the
wonderful food we had. Despite what we ordered from the menu, it was
always perfectly prepared, sauces were appropriate and flavorful, service
was rapid and accurate, desserts were great, portions were perfect for us,
food was available for the grandkids and served promptly while the adult
dining was more leisurely and there was entertainment almost every night.
Everything was tastefully done, fun and the dining room folk seemed to
actually enjoy the songs or dances, compared to the horrible "God blezz
Amelica" cigarette lighter routines from the past. At the risk of
overstating our satisfaction with the dining room, it was undoubtedly the
best food, service and entertainment we'd encountered in our cruising
history, and perhaps the opposite of what was to come on the Ryndam.

snipped

Something I've commented upon in the past is the sincerity and attitude of
the crew on a cruise line. There are happy ships, indifferent ships and
unhappy, mismanaged, ships. The Legend was a Happy Ship in the fullest
implication of the term. From the young person wiping the railings of
salt spray to the head waiter, to the bus boy to the cabin steward, the
people seemed to be genuinely happy and appreciative of our business. The
ship arrived in ports on time, access for handicapped people to tenders or
gangways was terrific and there was never a sense of being rushed.
Everything worked as it should.
--
Nonny

Very interesting, Nonny! It looks like we must take a Carnival ship real
soon with such a glowing review!
It is good to hear that they still have such good food. Guess they took to
heart all the complaints they got many years ago and did something about
it.. Sure sounded like a happy ship and you and Vicki had such a good time!
Sadly, I think the Conquest is the only Carnival ship going out of Galveston
and having been on her twice, I don't like her configuration.

--Jean



We sailed out of Miami on both our Carnival cruises. The First was the
Valor, the second the Freedom, if we go again next year it will be on
the Valor which we liked very much.
Everything Nonny mentioned in her review was the same for us as well
on both ships, obviously they are doing something right as the
Carnival experience seems to be same for everyone.


Remove "yo" from email address to reply

Foodforu.ca, more than your average recipe website

"Stu" wrote in message
...


We sailed out of Miami on both our Carnival cruises. The First was the
Valor, the second the Freedom, if we go again next year it will be on
the Valor which we liked very much.
Everything Nonny mentioned in her review was the same for us as well
on both ships, obviously they are doing something right as the
Carnival experience seems to be same for everyone.


Hmmmm.... not for everyone... : )

Having gone on around 40 cruises overall, my one cruise on Carnival was more
than enough...

Just not my cup of tea. I much prefer the likes of Cunard and Celebrity.

--Tom

On Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:16:13 -0500, "Tom K"
wrote:


"Stu" wrote in message
.. .


We sailed out of Miami on both our Carnival cruises. The First was the
Valor, the second the Freedom, if we go again next year it will be on
the Valor which we liked very much.
Everything Nonny mentioned in her review was the same for us as well
on both ships, obviously they are doing something right as the
Carnival experience seems to be same for everyone.


Hmmmm.... not for everyone... : )

Having gone on around 40 cruises overall, my one cruise on Carnival was more
than enough...

Just not my cup of tea. I much prefer the likes of Cunard and Celebrity.

--Tom


Why, what happened? When was the cruise?

On Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:38:49 -0600, Stu wrote:


Why, what happened? When was the cruise?

Hi Stu,

Many folks love the Carnival experience and some do not care for it at
all. This is why there are a diversity of cruise lines & travel
agents to assist in finding the correct cruise line experience. :+)
--
Ray Goldenberg 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
Lighthouse Travel http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lighthousetravl
Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ray.goldenberg

"Ray Goldenberg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:38:49 -0600, Stu
wrote:


Why, what happened? When was the cruise?

Hi Stu,

Many folks love the Carnival experience and some do not care for
it at
all. This is why there are a diversity of cruise lines & travel
agents to assist in finding the correct cruise line experience.
:+)
--
Ray Goldenberg 800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
Lighthouse Travel http://www.lighthousetravel.com
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/lighthousetravl
Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ray.goldenberg


Let me add my strong "AMEN" to your comment, Ray. We've had many
cruises upon a number of lines and there have been good and bad
experiences. Most were independent of the actual cruise line and
seemed, IMHO, more related to the management of the particular
ship at the time. In the case of our Ryndam B2B, many of our
complaints seemed to stem from weak management, poor maintenance
and just plain stupidity. For instance, having one out of the 8
elevators permanently "down" for the two weeks aboard the ship was
pretty poor, but was compounded by stupid management permitting
the cleaning crews to take over multiple elevators at 8:00a for
cleaning. This was at perhaps the peak time for demand to go up
to the Lido deck. Oh yes. . . they tested the emergency
generators one day at Noon: stopping all elevator use for a half
hour.

Even after a fairly bad cruise on the Veendam, followed by the
disappointing features of the Ryndam and past multiple experiences
on the old Westerdam, we're probably not going to book more HAL
cruises. However, I'd never use a single bad experience on any
ship or line to make that decision.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.