April 3, 2011 Carnival LegendBackground:I am an avid fan of Carnival Cruise Lines. This was my 11th Carnival Cruise, so I feel I have a good sense of the product and quality they strive for. Carnival is simply the line that offers the best bang for an inexpensive buck. They do not pressure you in to buying things like other lines do. It is offered, but not over killed. Their rooms are larger than most. The product is consistent. If a situation arises - they always do at some point - no matter the cruise line - Carnival seems to work things out. Why this cruise? Price, ship, and Itinerary! Tampa, FLWe arrived at the port a day ahead of schedule. We ended up staying at the West Shore Embassy Suites. Excellent choice. We took a cab for about $20.00 with tip to the hotel. We had four of us together in the vehicle. We walked over to the mall across the street and ate lunch at P.F. Changs. Always a favorite. For dinner, we were blown away with outstanding seafood at Mitchell's Fish Market. Sean Wetherington is a fantastic manager there and was very personable. Try the Halibut! It comes from Skagway, and it tasted exactly like it did when I was in Skagway. The restaurant was also part of the mall along with Maggianos. Breakfast was included with the hotel costs. We left the hotel at 11:00 and took a cab from the hotel. The cost was about $30.00 with tip. They can arrange drivers for $10.00 a person too. The Port at TampaI like this port. It is simple, and it is located in the downtown area. If you are their early, feel free to see the Florida Aquarium which is next door. The Rydam was in port also. The process was standard. We got their at 11:30a.m. We were on the ship before noon. The rooms do not open up until 1:30, which is standard. We ate lunch at the back of the ship - Serenity section - recently added in January. The ShipIf you like the Miracle, Pride, or Spirit, you will like the Legend. It is much different than the "everything goes through the Casino on deck five" concept that was started with the Destiny. The decor is a little over the top on the Sprit Class ships, but this one was a little tamer. The ship was recently in Dry Dock, so you can tell that things have been taken care of. Legend (Spirit Class) is essentially, floors 2 and 3 are the main activity parts of the inner ship while the 9-11 th levels contained all of the outside pools. One of the mid pools is the covered type, but it stayed open due to the wonderful weather the entire trip. Layout was easy to get around, and the elevators were plentiful. We had room 8272 - great back room. First time with a room on the back. View was great at ports. Kept finding myself looking at the wake and not the scenery. Less light at night makes it great for star gazers. There is a constant shimmy that might bother some due to the engines. My family had 8235 - awesome - I think it is a mini suite for the price of a standard balcony!!!! Get it!Since this was Spring Break for GA, Indiana, and Michigan (lots of people from there!), there were several kids of course. These kids were very mild mannered and did not create any issue for us. We spent most of the time at the back of the ship in the adult only section. It was extremely well policed. One of the Carnival Team members was amazing at making sure it stayed that way. Dinning I am a traditionalist with this. As much as cruise lines like to play with the idea of "Anytime dining," it is not my style. I like the connection we have with the staff. For this cruise we did see an issue with the bar staff in the main dining, but it was addressed quickly. Our assistant waiter at table 308 was almost non-existent. We give all of the credit to Natalia. She was wonderful! The food was a little different than past cruises, but the main staples were there. Lobster night was the first formal night. The staff had fun with their standard songs and routines. The service was great. The food was great. A well done job Carnival Style. (Non-Carnival folks who travel with Celebrity and Holland - please understand that this is not at that level. It is wonderful, but please go into it knowing that.)Shout out to the Lido on the Legend!A sore spot for me on other cruises. Not the Legend - I am not a huge fan of any Lido decks, but this one has to be my best. The food and crew are amazing. Everything was fresh and hot. Items were picked up and food was plentiful! Way to go Lido crew!Casino One downside to this class of ship is that the Casino seems to capture and retain smoke more than any ship I have been on. It must be due to location, but it seemed to me to reek of smoke in the Casino more than other ships. Several others I talked to mentioned that. The casino seems smaller than its smaller 70k ton counterpart ships, but that may be just my perception.ShowsIt is carnival. The opening night show, seen it many times, was lackluster. The performers really seems bored and not happy to be there. Come on Carnival - 8 years now - let's make a new one. The Motown Show with Marcus Anthony was the biggest hit. I have seen him before, and he was amazing. The Jazz Hot show was pretty good. The Big Easy show is a fun one, but the performers did not really make it happen for me. It was flat until the Graveyard/scare house set. Carnival - let's move on to some new shows... First time cruisers will not notice this stuff. You will enjoy it!The ports of callGrand Cayman - Great port for shopping. It is all about the Stingrays. Lots of options here. Safe! We booked the Tiki Beach through the ship - avoid it big time. Get a cab and go to seven mile on your own. The area we were at was covered in old rock coral. It hurt your feel to walk on it. We spoke to the cruise excursion folks about this. We have never asked for a refund or partial refund for an excursion, but we did this time. The shore excursion office and customer service desk got around to it with the wonder help of Assistant Cruise director "weezy." They took care of us with this small, but frustrating issue. Cozumel - Wow - as always - a great variety of things to do here. The excursions are all fun. Go swim with the Dolphins here! We did that last year and loved it. Great sporting excursions too! Shopping is wonderful here too. Belize - Cave Tubing is the best thing going here. Snorkel and diving are a close second. This port is really being built up better and better. Keep it up Belize. The whole tender issues was no problem. I could tell the tender staff still have some issues to resolve with themselves. They were vocalizing their complaints to the people on the tender. They were safe - most important thing! Rotan - WOW!!!!! Love this port! Top three ports for me in the Caribbean. We went to Tabyana beach - oh my gosh!!!! Wow! The snorkeling costs 10$ at the beach and boy was it worth it. The best seaside snorkeling since St. John. Beautiful water. Wonderful beach club. The port was brand new and they were willing to deal with the Jewelry! The port in town that the Grandeur was at was in no way as good as ours. Simply Beautiful!!!!!Getting off the ship....Simple process. We like to do the Self assist. It works well with us. We were off in no time. If you have more than one piece of rolly luggage, you will have to wait for the elevator. They will make you take it when you get inside the terminal to go down to the street level. Customs was standard with no delay. We took the cab for $25.00 to the airport. We were at the airport before 9:00 am. Overall:This was not our favorite Carnival experience. It was in no way bad though. It was a fun cruise! The itinerary was wonderful. It is the best way to see the Western Caribbean. Experienced cruisers and new cruisers will like it, keeping in mind that this is a Carnival - not Seaborne. Enjoy it, relax, take in the excursions, and enjoy the food. Great job Carnival!