My family (four of us) traveled on the Carnival Legend from August 24th to September 1st. We regret contradicting the majority of reviews on this site, but this was our first cruise and we felt you should know that parts of our cruise were terrible. Quite honestly -- it was the trip from hell at times. Please allow me to explain . . .
The experience on the trip can only be described as "spring break tacky." Our "Fun Ship" was filthy in the common areas. (Our two interior rooms were very clean -- we had a great cabin steward!) The ship is stupidly huge, trying to offer something for everyone. However, Carnival's cruise director, Brett, announced on the last day that there were 2,600 guests on board plus 950 crew. There were so many people that you could not really go anywhere except the library and your room for a few relaxing moments of peace and quiet. The ship was too big (and we know it isn't near the size of the new ones!). It has plenty to offer, but be warned that the onboard golf program is nothing more than a cage and an instructor right near the engine room exhaust (noisy). The video arcade was a rip off and expensive. The children's club was a complete bore for my active 7-year-old. He asked not to go back after the first 2-hour session. My 13-year-old said the teen club was "lame."
The Legend has three restaurants. The poolside one is buffet hell with lines at each of the stations guaranteed. The food was OK, but nothing worth waiting for. The 24-hour pizzeria offered fare a step-up from frozen pizza, barely. The full-service restaurant was OK, but good luck with there wine service. We often received our food before our beverages were delivered. There were just too many people. We ate at the supper club one night -- it was good but cost $30 per person extra (plus the wine was expensive).