First the positives: This repositioning itinerary was fabulous from Singapore to Rome by way of Dubai and India and many other countries. This was a unique cruise at a reasonable price with great opportunities to see Asia and the Middle East. The housekeeping department did an outstanding job. We had two great stewards. The public areas, including the ladies' rest rooms, were clean and well-kept. Some of the entertainment was top rate: Australia's Black Tie quartet, UK vocalists Lee Bradley and Stephen Bayliss, and the Supreme Dream Girls were my favorites along with violinist Gary Lovisi. Low level crew was hard working and friendly, doing their individual jobs well. Our waiters and assistant waiters were excellent. The Park Cafe was delightful and the solarium pool enjoyable.

The onboard experience on the Legend was unique but not in a good way. We've cruised a number of ships on four different lines and have never encountered anything like the disorganization on this ship. It seemed as if the different departments did not communicate with each other. For example, on a day that excursions left quite early, the buffet opened less than an hour prior to the reporting time for the excursion. Special meals were served on the pool deck but not mentioned in the daily Compass. On a night when most people were returning late, tired, and dirty from Luxor (9:30 p.m.), someone was at the gangway inviting everyone to the dining room which would remain open late while they closed the buffet at 10 p.m. The food quality improved from the first 14 days to the second 14 days. Apparently the kitchen staff was used to using an Asian specific menu, not the fleet wide menus (which are apparently not really fleet wide). The buffet selection was the most limited of any ship we've sailed. As in the main dining room, the quality improved during the last 14 days.

Another unique experience was not having the ship time the same as local time in Jordan. This resulted in shorter tours as the local providers had been waiting an hour before the ship docked. We've never experienced this with any other ship. When questioned at the roundtable discussion, the hotel director said this happens frequently. Not on any ship I've sailed. Read more