As we entered the ship, our first impressions were of the décor. It was downright gaudy, designer gone mad, whimsical on steroids. Luckily enough we found our cabin to be a plain and of normal cabin décor. A quick view of the port from our balcony and it was off to the Lido Deck in search of food.
Our stateroom was located on the Empress Deck at the stern of the ship on the port side. It turned out to be a wonderful location. The room had more than adequate storage, a mini-bar that never got used, and a safe tucked away in a cabinet under the TV (no flat screens yet). Our bags greeted us, piled in front of and around our door. We unpacked, put our toiletries on the glass railed shelves in the small but useable water closet, hung up our clothes, and was quickly moved in with plenty of space for everything. We slid the empty bags under the bed, and grabbed the Carnival Caper and plotted out our activities for the evening.
Our room stewards were wonderful, knew when we were out and seemed to keep our room clean in between our comings and goings. How do they know? We had towel creatures to welcome us home each evening, some kept us guessing, some were found hanging around, but all cute.
The entertainment was good but not over the top like I have experienced on other cruises. We enjoyed Wee Jimmy, our cruise director. We ran into him several times throughout the cruise and he would just stop and talk to us. My wife and I got sucked into the marriage/newlywed show as the middle aged couple. All fun and yes we got a plastic ship on a stick for our embarrassment. We found the shows to be too loud and we are ones that turn up the TV at home. Loud does not make for better music. The stage band was very good. Dancers had a lot of energy and stamina.
Up on the Lido deck, is the Unicorn Café. This is where most of the breakfast and lunches were consumed. The food was a step or two above the cafeteria style with all the conveniences of trays and plastic glasses. The food venues were set up in stations in three different areas incorporating the aft section of the ship. At first it was overwhelming, so many selections, and so little stomach. This afforded opportunities to hunt for your favorite dishes and discover new stations several days later. I loved the deli sandwiches. There were salad stations, desert stations, daily themed entries stations, Asian based stations, grill station with hamburgers, fries, etc., pizza station, and don’t forget the soft ice cream stations.
Our main dining was in Truffles and the first night our group of eight was split up. We could not be further apart and be in the same dining room. We talked to the matrinée about moving and amazingly they worked out a set of tables that were next to each other for the next evening. The rest of the cruise we were together and as luck has it, we also got the best wait staff, Ronaldo and Reuben from the Philippines. They were a hoot, entertained us with dance, fun, and some great humor. I had my beloved Chocolate Melting Cake every night topped with ice cream, Yum!!
As a final note, Carnival Legend afforded us a wonderful cruise, great ports of call, good service, wonderful food, clean and well-kept accommodations, all in the gaudiest of surroundings. What a lot of the décor lacked in beauty was NOT made up for in theme, style, or consistently. Carnival if you could tone it down a few notches when the Legend goes to be refurbished, she could be a very nice ship. She has a good layout; the size felt right, ample public spaces, a balance of shops, lounges, and eating venues, and nice pools, sport options, and spa areas.
