I just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Legend.  I have not cruised for 12 - 13 years, and the last cruise was on the Carnival Sensation.  There were 16 in our group ranging in age from 8 - 73.  We travelled with 2 young children (8 and 9...one with special needs), 3 teenagers (17 - 19), 4 twenty-somethings, and the rest were parents, aunts, uncles, and Grandma!  We had 7 cabins total.  The cabins were roomy.  There were 3 adults in my cabin (my husband, my 22 yr. old son, and myself).  The balcony was definitely worth the extra price as it enlarged the room and the private views were fabulous.  5 cabins were side by side with balconies.  We LOVED the balconies!  Per a tip from a previous reviewer, we asked the steward to open the dividers between our balconies.  Most days at 4:30 pm we would gather on the long balcony for "happy hour" before dinner.  We brought a portable speaker for the MP3 players and would play music and have contraband drinks.  We are not big drinkers, but my husband packed the ingredients for the Carnival Fun Ship drink.  He got the recipe online.  It added to the festive atmosphere of being on vacation.The service was great.  Our room steward, Aldo, was always around.  The dining room staff was attentive.  The casino staff were mostly pleasant....no negative experience, just some were more friendly than others.I would only rate the food as average and sometimes disappointing.  The buffets on the Lido deck were quite varied and provided a great option, but dinner was NOT the event that I had expected.  Service and the nightly entertainment by the staff was good and fun, but don't expect much in the food quality area.  We ate at the Golden Fleece Supper Club one night, and it was excellent!!!  The dinner and service was first class.  I would recommend a dinner there at least one night of the cruise.  It was my husband's birthday, so we asked them to have a cake for him.  The cake was delicious.  For $30, you get to order appetizer, salad, entree, side dishes, and desert.  They encouraged you to order everything, which is opposite of what I would have expected.  After we had birthday cake, they wanted to take our desert orders and a few people did :-)We lost a port due to Swine Flu, but after visiting the other ports I would say the days at sea were more relaxing and could be more enjoyable.We enjoyed the shows in the evening.  They had a great comedian/juggler, Max Winfrey.  I would pay to see him again.