Sail Date: 05/22/11

This was DH's and my first cruise ever, and Carnival Legend did not disappoint! We are late 40's / early 50's and had no idea what to expect. There were much older couples (one celebrating their 53 anniversary!) and very, very newlyweds, and everything in between on this cruise. Not a whole lot of kids but many schools were still in session at the end of May. Embarkation was a breeze. My sister dropped us off at the Port Terminal, we tipped a bag porter $5 to relieve us of our bags, we made our way through the Port Authority at Tampa. Didn't realize pictures were not allowed in this building for security reasons until one of the authorities asked us not to take pictures. We didn't see any obvious signage to this effect, so we didn't know. We headed down the gangway toward the entrance to the ship and were met with the first group of photographers. We had our picture taken with the likeness of the Legend as the backdrop and it turned out GREAT! Yes, there are LOTS of photo ops during the cruise, and some might get irritated by this, but it takes literally as long as it takes a flash on a camera and you're on your way. You can view, purchase or dispose of the photos at your leisure. We ended up with some really fantastic photos of us on our first cruise and are glad we stopped to pose for them. Upon arriving on the ship on deck level 2, the Promenade, we were directed to Guest Services directly across the atrium to deposit our cash onto our Sail & Sign account. We chose to do cash to keep us honest and on somewhat of a budget, and it worked for us. As soon as they gave us our Sail & Sign cards, we were informed that our rooms were ready and our luggage was at our room already! It was only 1:30! We did end up bringing a credit card to Guest Services for the last day at sea just to be on the safe side and we didn't spend much, but it allowed us to have a little extra fun. One very convenient feature is that you can view your Sail & Sign account on the t.v. in your stateroom so you always have a running tally of the day's expenditures. We really appreciated that feature and used it a lot...because you'd be surprised what you lose track of after a pina colada or two,... or 8.

We had an extended balcony stateroom and I think that means it is deeper, not wider than standard balcony's. Plenty of room for two adults, the two lounge chairs and a small table out there. Don't leave your balcondy door open or even ajar because it shuts off the A/C in your room. We had a king bed, very comfortable. The room is about as big as a regular hotel room, just not as wide. Plenty of room for moving around. We unpacked all of our things as soon as we entered our room, hung things up, sprayed Downey Wrinkle Release on some things, put other things in drawers and in the bathroom, and then we slid our empty suit cases under the bed on the mat that was provided. Worked out beautifully! The bathroom is small, there is enough counter and shelf space to put toiletries and such, the shower is a small corner stall, but perfectly adequate for the purpose. We didn't go on a cruise expecting to soak in a tub, so this suited us perfectly. You have the option of hanging up your towels after using them which alerts the steward that you don't need your towel replaced. If the towel is on the floor, it will be replaced. This saves laundering water and energy, it's what we do at home, so it seemed natural for us to hang up our towels. The ship provides you with a clean Carnival logo beach towel (x2) each day, but there are also towel exchanges at the pool decks where you can exchange a wet and/or sandy towel for a clean dry towel. Very handy perk. The stateroom was well lit, especially when the sun shone in. I brought my own travel blow dryer but found the stateroom hair dryer that is provided to be perfectly adequate. It is hardwired into the electrical system and stored in a drawer at the vanity table. It operates by holding the power button down with your thumb, and when your thumb releases the button, it turns off. It's a safety and power conservation feature. As a former hairdresser, the power of the dryer suited my needs just fine. I let my hair go curly most of the cruise because the hot humid tropical conditions negated beating my hair into submission on a daily basis. DH and I didn't watch ANY regular programming on the t.v., we tuned into channel 11 or whatever onboard ship channel had the info for the day, or the pre-recorded Wee Jimmy show of the day, or even just the music channels. It was pure HEAVEN not being bombarded with all the bad news in the world either on paper, on t.v. or on a web news feed....even having limited access to cell phone or email and not driving for 7 full days was a welcome escape from the daily grind. The only news we read all week came from our daily Fun Times which listed the next day's events, and was left on our bed every evening with our towel animal and a couple of chocolates. Read more