We enjoyed a wonderful cruise on the Carnival Legend sailing during the week squeezed in between two hurricanes.

We flew into Tampa the night before our cruise and met up with my sister and brother-in-law at the Holiday Inn Express in Rocky Point. From the hotel we walked over to the Bahamas Breeze restaurant where we had drinks and appetizers (large portions suitable for sharing) out on the deck while listening to live music - very enjoyable and a good way to start the vacation. The hotel was clean and very convenient and we were able to get the $99 rate which included transportation both to the ship the next day and from the ship back to the airport upon the ship's return to port. I recommend that you book your shuttle trip to the ship as soon as you check in to the hotel as most of the people staying at the hotel were also cruising and there are only so many people that the van can accommodate at one time. We had the 10:00 AM shuttle trip scheduled and arrived at the boat before 10:30 AM. (please note that while the trip from the hotel was very well organized, the return shuttle trip from the boat to the airport was just the opposite as they had no method for who got to go in what van and it seemed to be every man for himself). There were no long lines to get checked in or to get on the boat - I was very impressed with Carnival's approach and we were on the ship within a half hour of our arrival at the port. As our rooms were not available to us until 1:30, we took the opportunity to head up to the Lido deck for some lunch (I had the Rueben which was delicious) and then did some exploring of the ship. My sister and brother-in-law had never cruised before so they were pretty much in awe of the ship. I know that several reviews I had read said that the ship was showing its' age but I did not find that at all to be the case. The "loving cup" dEcor was not what I would call my favorite but the ship seemed to be immaculately clean and we were all very satisfied with the overall appearance. We had booked Extended Balcony rooms at the very aft of the ship (rooms 4241 and 4232 adjoining rooms on the main deck) and were very pleased with the size of the rooms and definitely enjoyed the view of the boats wake as we were sailing. The balcony was less windy then those on the side of the boat as well so that to me was a plus. Rogr was our room steward and he did a great job of keeping our cabin neat and clean without ever being intrusive.

Although there were more than 2,000 passengers on board the ship never felt crowded and everything seemed to be handled efficiently. We had selected "anytime" dining which we greatly enjoyed as it allowed us to dine when we were hungry and not according to the clock. We only had one night where we were given a pager and asked to wait about twenty minutes which did not upset us at all. To our surprise when we returned to our cabin later that evening there was a plate of sweets awaiting us with an apology from the dining staff for our having to wait. The sweets were so good we were hoping they would make us wait for dinner every night but that never happened again. Anytime dining was also nice in that we were able to request table sharing when we wanted to socialize and meet new people or request a table for just the four of us when we wanted some private time. Now as far as the quality and quantity of the food in Truffles dining goes - I don't see how it could have been any better. I even had two nights when I forced myself to order two entrEe's so that I could enjoy the different flavors. We also had dinner one night in the Golden Fleece Steakhouse which was terrific. The only thing I would have done differently knowing what I now know is that I would have gone to the Golden Fleece on Tuesday night rather than Saturday night as Tuesday night's meal in Truffles was our least favorite of the trip (it wasn't bad just not as good as the other night's choices). Although with the anytime dining we did not have the same servers every night I cannot say enough about all the servers that we did have. They tried to make every meal special and they all worked very hard at it. Even though we did not have the same wait staff, several of them remembered us and would greet us by name as we came into the restaurant for breakfast or for dinner on subsequent nights. Their dancing efforts during dinner were excellent and well received as was the Maitre D's singing. I can't imagine how they can stay so pleasant all the time when they are so far away from their homes for such extended stretches. Kudos to them all!!! Read more