We booked this cruise very quickly after the disappointment of our long booked cruise from Dubai to Barcelone on Brilliance of the Seas being cancelled due to the ash cloud. We found out definitely at lunch time on the 17 April that we weren't going the following day and so spent all afternoon trawling the Internet for a replacement holiday and by evening we had booked with Virgin for a flight to Orlando with four nights in Clearwater Beach and a seven night cruise out of Tampa. It wasn't just a case of re-booking the same cruise for a few weeks later as it only went once a year!
We had a lovely relaxing time in Clearwater staying at the Holiday Inn and Suites and then arrived at Tampa about 11 am. Embarkation went smoothly and we were soon exploring the ship. Our previous cruises have been with Royal Caribbean so we were keen to check out out a different cruise ship. The first thing that hit us was Greek urns! They were everywhere! Pedastals of stools, tables, ballistrudes on stair cases, all the way up the Atrium with an enormous painting of the Collosos of Rhodes. We later discovered that the Carnival Legend was themed on Ancient Greece.
Our cabin was lovely, very similar to Royal Caribbean. Food was very good, possibly better than Royal Carribean. Particularly liked the boothes in both the main dining room and lido self service. This made you feel you were in a more intimate setting than a huge room.