I traveled on the Carnival Legend Western Mediterranean Cruise in May 2011 with my husband, 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son. We have never been on a cruise before but it seemed like a good way to pack a lot of vacation into one week and the price in May was very reasonable. All in all, we were very pleased. The ship was comfortable and the service was quite good. Now that we've had the experience, I think a quieter ship might have been a better fit for us (we're not big drinkers or gamblers), but we always had plenty to do and had a very nice time. Kids programs: We had to travel in May because of my husband's work schedule and there were few other families with kids on board. The staff at the kids programmes seemed excellent, but my kids spent most of their time with us (there weren't enough other kids to make it fun for them). The older teens in the kids programme seemed to be having a great time. Activities: Drinking and gambling were among the more popular activities with the other guests, but the crowd was very friendly and there was no real rowdiness. We went on an excursions at every port, so were out during the day. On sail days, the pools were crowded and it was hard to find a table on the lido deck for lunch (I suggest having an early lunch in the dining room and going to the pool in the afternoon - it's less crowded than in the morning). We were a bit bored on the last day as there were not many activities and the pool closed at 7:00. There was a lot of bingo, shopping talks and art and jewellery sales - not my thing but they seemed popular. We liked the mini-golf on the 10th deck. Decor: Our cabin (extended balcony) was surprisingly functional for such a small space. The pull-down bed was plenty big for my tall 10 year old and the sofa was fine for my 12 year old. The bed was comfortable but I don't know why they call it a king - it's the same size as my queen at home. The decor in the public areas is a little over the top, but fun for a vacation. The main lobby and lounge areas are quite impressive. The whole ship is clean and comfortable. Food: The food in the dining room is very good (comparable to what you would get in a nice hotel) and there is a lot of variety. Outside of the dining room, the food is good and plentiful but not particularly elegant - sandwiches, hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, etc. The deli sandwiches are very good and my kids liked the pizza. During lunch and dinner hours there is more variety at the various food stations. The sushi bar is only open from 5:15 to 8:15 so not much good if you have a 6:00 dinner. Some of the sushi choices seemed strange to me (one night he had only eggplant sushi and a checkerboard sushi with sashimi and tofu). I would have liked to see a few more snack options available during the off hours between meals (like fruit or something to go with a cup of tea), but I certainly didn't go hungry and room service is always available. We bought a wine package (5 bottles for $110) which made our dinner wine quite reasonable - this wine was okay if nothing special. More expensive packages are also available. If you don't finish a bottle, or if you want both a red and a white open, the waiter will put the leftovers away until the next night. Drinks from the bar average $6.5 - $7.00 (including the automatic tip). We brought our own wine (2 bottles) and 2 - 12 packs of pop on board. We we went to shows we bought a glass of wine and the kids brought a can pop from our cabin, which cut down on our bar tab. If you are going on a lot of excursions, I recommend bringing a reusable metal water bottle and filling it with ice and water on the ship before you go. Entertainment: We saw two stage shows, two comedians, a juggler, a motown-style singer and a Legend karaoke show staring other guests. The quality was fair to good (I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5) and the 45 minute length of most shows was just right. There was a wide variety of music in the various lounges (country, blues, rock). Service: I definitely got the feeling that every staff member was working hard to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. I didn't like our first table in the dining room (right by the entrance) but the maitre D asked if we would mind switching with an elderly couple and after that we were very happy. Our waitress was lovely and our cabin was kept clean. Every staff member we met was friendly and polite. Value: There is a fair amount of selling on the cruise (jewellery, the steak house, art, photos, etc.) but I didn't feel pressured. If you can resist the sales pitches and keep your bar bill under control, the cruise itself is a bargain. The cost for the four of us was under $4000 ($2400 for the cruise, $1000 for excursions, $300 for tips and a few hundred on drinks and incidentals). We had a lot of fun and new experiences for the money we spent. By way of comparison, air fare for 4 from Toronto to Tampa was almost $2000 and was absolutely bare bones. Next time, I would like to try a slightly more upscale cruise, but Carnival is a lot of fun for a good price. Cozumel excursion: we went on the Talum ruins excursion sold through Carnival. The trip to and from the ruins is long (1/2 hour boat ride plus 1 hour bus ride), but I was glad I saw them. The ruins are fascinating and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. The little beach at Tulum is beautiful. The only downside to this excursion is that it isn't long enough. After the boat ride, bus ride and 1/2 hour shopping break disguised as a rest stop, we had less than 3 hours at the ruins. The guided talk took 45 minutes, we swam for 45 minutes (we were ready to drop from the heat at that point), then had less than an hour to see the ruins and run back to the bus. We would have liked to buy something to eat, but there was no time (we did get peanuts and water on the bus). All and all, Talum is nice to see, but it is a lot of travelling for a short time there. Belize excursion: we took the Cave Tubing, A Fun Adventure excursion, sold through Carnival. I have wanted to see Belize for a long time and chose cave tubing so I could see the caves as well as some of the countryside. I must say, I was disappointed. Belize is terribly poor and the drive to the cave tubing was depressing. Belize City itself is in bad shape and I didn't feel very safe there (although the tourist area is patrolled and I'm sure it is safe during the day). The cave tubing itself was interesting and I liked the experience, but the bus ride is an hour and a half each way for an hour spent in the caves. Added to the cost of the excursion is locker rental - $7, food - $2 for a small taco or bottle of water, and a good tip for the guide (tip big, these guys work hard to make the experience fun). I also tipped our guides on the bus even though they weren't particularly knowledgeable - after seeing the way people live in Belize I was feeling more than a little guilty. In Belize, I recommend buying excursions through the cruise ship - this isn't a place where you want to be left on your own. Roatan excursion: we took the Maya Key excursion sold through Carnival. This was my favourite excursion of the trip. Maya Key is a private island and very well maintained. There is a wild life sanctuary with jaguars and exotic birds and a lovely little museum and replica of a Mayan ruin. The beach is small but quite nice and there is also a fresh water pool. Snorkeling equipment is available to rent for $25. Lunch was a buffet with chicken, fish, rice and beans, salad and plantain chips. You can only go through once, but they gave us plenty of food and it was very tasty. There is free water and iced tea and a cash bar for other drinks. This excursion was very relaxing and my children loved seeing the animals. Grand Cayman excursion: we took the Discover Cayman - Stingrays, Hell and Turtle Farm excursion sold through Carnival. Tendering on Grand Cayman takes a long time and we lined up at 9:45 for our 10:45 excursion. We got to the port at 10:15 and stood in the sun until 11:00 before our tour was called (the tour operator is Kelly's tours). Then, we sat on a bus for another 15 minutes while they tried to round up stragglers. Once the tour started, our guide was funny and knowledgeable. We spent 10 minutes in Hell, and drove by a few landmarks on the way to the Turtle Farm. We stopped at the rum factory and bought some snacks ($2.25 for a beef patty and $3.50 for a small rum cake - both were good). We had a 20 minute guided tour at the turtle farm and the chance to hold turtles. It was interesting but rushed. The guide gave us 20 minutes to buy lunch, but we chose to see more of the turtle farm on our own (we were glad we'd bought the snacks earlier). We then drove 10 or 15 minutes and caught the boat to Stingray City. Our stingray guides were great. They went out of their way to be sure that everyone got to hold and kiss a stingray (kissing its snout is supposed to bring good luck) and were very entertaining. The scenery on the boat ride was beautiful. The guides apologized that we only had an hour, but it seemed like plenty of time. This excursion was nice in that we saw a lot of Grand Cayman, but the Hell and Turtle Farm segments were rushed. The turtle farm has other areas that we didn't see (a lagoon and snorkeling, I believe). If I were to do excursions on Grand Cayman again, I would either do the long tour at the Turtle Farm or the combo Snorkeling and Stingray excursion. Grand Cayman itself seems very safe and I think it would be fine to buy a private excursion here, the only caveat is that the last tender to the ship is at 5:00, so you would have to watch the clock.