Dan Mealey

Age: 47
Occupation: IT - Project Manager
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Legend
Sailing Date: July 26th, 2004
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

Embarkation
We were scheduled to sail out of NY at 4PM on Monday, July 26 to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Tortola. On Sunday, July 25, when calling to confirm, we learned that the ship had sailed to Bermuda to drop off a sick passenger, and that there would be an 8 hour delay. We were told that each passenger would receive a $20 credit as compensation for the delay. I called Carnival to express my outrage at a measly $20 credit for 8 hours of lost sailing time, lunch and a show. I spoke to 3 different employees and was told there was nothing they could do and that I must speak to the purser on board which I never did.

When we arrived in NY the Legend was still letting passengers off from the return trip from Bermuda so we were routed to a different terminal. This was not the normal procedure and as a result check-in was a complete nightmare. There were 2500 people, half of us standing, in the terminal waiting for their number to be called so they could walk about 200 yards to the terminal where the ship was docked. We waited about an hour to an hour and a half in this terminal. Once at the other terminal there were more long lines resulting in about another hour of waiting to board the ship.

Once on board, dinner was being served buffet style in the Unicorn Café on the Lido deck. It was about 11 PM at this point. Picture for yourself 2500 starving people in buffet lines all at once. It was chaotic to say the least.

The ship finally sailed at 1:45 AM, a full 9 hours and 45 minutes late. Of course, we all stayed up to watch the ship sail past the Statue of Liberty.

I must have fallen asleep sometime between 2 and 2:30 AM. I remember waking up at exactly 5:30 AM to some pretty serious rocking. Being the nervous traveler that I am, I could not get back to sleep, so I got dressed and wandered the ship. We learned on Tuesday that the Captain – Marco Nagura – was attempting to make up for the 10 hour delay by traveling faster than normal so we could arrive at Puerto Rico on time. We sailed for almost 3 full days at 24 knots into a 20 – 25 MPH headwind. As we walked through the casino on the Promenade deck you could see the ocean through the windows. It looked and felt like we were on a Navy destroyer en route to the Persian Gulf! As a result, the ship rocked the entire time making many people very uncomfortable and setting the tone for the entire trip. I seriously considered flying home from Puerto Rico as I could not stand the rocking any longer.

The Islands -- Excursions
We arrived in Puerto Rico at 6 PM which was still 2 hours later than scheduled. By the time we exited the ship it was getting dark – Puerto Rico does not observe daylight savings time. What a bust! We planned on just walking around a bit at this point since it was dark and there seemed to be no point in doing much else. This is when we came across a wonderful tour guide named Angelo who offered us a 2 hour tour for $10 per person and no charge for kids. We took him up on it and we were happy that we did. Angelo gave us a 2 hour narrated tour of Old San Juan, the airport, capital building, and many other sights. It was well worth the $70 paid for 11 people. If you take this cruise, make sure you ask for Angelo at the terminal when you arrive in Puerto Rico. For the first time in 3 days, I felt good about the trip.

The next stop was St. Thomas. We wanted to take a tour of the island as well as go to the beach for a couple of hours. We exited the ship and spoke to the taxi drivers to see what they were offering. (Let me say here that if you want to take an excursion, you would be wise not to book it through the ship unless you want to pay 3-4 times more than if you book it directly.) We spoke to a wonderful tour guide name Godfrey of Godfrey’s Island Tours (www.godfreytoursvi.com) who offered us 2 hours of shopping, 2 hours at the beach of our choice, and a 2 hour tour of St. Thomas all for $20 per person. He was great and this excursion was one of the highlights of our trip.

On Saturday we arrived in Totola. We wanted to take an excursion to Virgin Gorda to see the Baths (http://www.b-v-i.com/baths.htm). Carnival was charging $89 per person. I got off the ship early and asked the locals about other excursions. They directed me to Speedy’s. It was about a 10 minute walk (or $2/person by taxi). For $25 per adult and $17 per child they provided a round trip in a 215 person catamaran with air conditioning and color TV plus round trip taxi fair to and from the Baths once on Virgin Gorda. So instead of the $450 it would have cost me through Carnival, I spent $107 with Speedy for the same trip. (http://www.speedysbvi.com/) The Baths are a natural wonder and I highly recommend this excursion.

The Ship
The decor is quite gaudy with annoying urns everywhere. I couldn’t help but think that there was one reserved for each of our ashes as we sped to Puerto Rico at warp speed. These are the kinds of things one thinks of at 2 AM when sleep deprivation kicks in. For a new ship it was quite noisy. It creaked badly, it vibrated constantly even on the return trip when sailing at a normal pace. The beds vibrated. Everything vibrated. Truffles Restaurant vibrated so badly that the dishes rattled.

There is no escape from cigarette smoke. In this day and age, with all the information about cancer, I am amazed at the number of people who still smoke. The Promenade Deck (deck 2) is a smoker’s paradise. This is where all the clubs, lounges, and casino reside. The Lido Deck (deck 9) is the other main hangout. This is where the pools and 24 hour food is as well as the buffet. Smoking is permitted on the starboard side. However, seating is limited and often this is the only place you can find a seat.

There is a wonderful gym on deck 9 fully stocked with aerobic equipment and weight machines. I made good use of the elliptical machine as well as all the weight machines. It’s a shame that more guests did not use these facilities given that about 80% of all passengers on this ship were obese – men, women, and children alike. I was somewhat embarrassed of this as the entire crew (900 +) were all quite thin and in shape. They also happened to be non-American. I couldn’t help but imagine what they thought of us fat, gluttonous Americans.

The casino was ample with 1 craps table, several blackjack tables, Caribbean poker, and a very large number of slot machines.

Drinks
I rarely drink alcohol and therefore will not comment on these beverages, except to say that there were a large number served.

Unless you are hopelessly addicted to soda, DO NOT BUY the beverage card. Lemonade, iced tea, hot chocolate and coffee are available 24 hours a day for free!

You may want to bring bottled water on board as the water on the ship is heavily chlorinated. I brought about 18 bottles on board and drank most of them.

Food
Despite all the negative reviews about the food, I thought the food was very good! The crew served 10,000 meals per day and to their credit did a superb job at it. We ate at the breakfast and lunch buffet daily. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, toast, cereal, pancakes, French toast, and fresh fruit. Lunch was a little different each day due to the ethnic station and the daily menu variation in the Asian corner (my personal favorite). Each day, pizza and burgers are available. The deli served up a great selection of sandwiches and wraps. There is a salad bar and magnificent lineup of cold salads each day. What amazed me is the number of people eating burgers each day. Why would you eat a burger that you can get at any McDonald’s any day of the week when all these fine foods were available?

We ate dinner most nights at Truffles restaurant. Our table was in a small room outside the main restaurant. While we benefited from not having the extreme engine vibrations, the service was mediocre at best. Without exception, we were the last ones out of the restaurant each night. The young lady who served our drinks also served the other 10 tables in the room and needless to say drink service was very poor. Our waiter, a nice fellow from Jamaica, was as slow as molasses. Enough said. The food was good but not great.

Service
Except for Truffles, service elsewhere was top-notch! The cabin stewards were fabulous and the staff at the Unicorn Café (buffet restaurant) worked their tails off. Kudos to all of them!

Entertainment
Each night there was a different show in the Follies Theater. The shows were excellent. “Jazz Hot” was a superb song and dance performance by the Legend singers and dancers. “Take II” was even better as the Legend singers and dancers performed songs from Hollywood movies including James Bond, the Blues Brothers, Rocky Horror, and more. The kids loved the Village Idiot’s comedic juggling act. The cruise director doubles as a magician and did a nice job. Even karaoke night, while sometimes painful, was a lot of fun.

There were bands and performers throughout the ship. Each was entertaining. We particularly enjoyed the Spanish band in Satchmo’s Lounge when they played their rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” called “Stairway to Heaben”.

Disembarking
The return trip was uneventful until we got the news that Hurricane Alex had formed off the coat of South Carolina and the terror alert was elevated in New York. Of course, we were on a collision course with both! Needless to say I slept only 2 hours that night. Fortunately we stayed ahead of Alex as it didn’t begin to pick up speed until we docked. Getting out of NY was the usual mess with 2500 people squeezed into a small space in the street.

Conclusion
If not for the 10 hour delay that led to the warp speed journey of Captain Nagura to Puerto Rico, the threat of Hurricane Alex, and the heightened terror alert in New York, this would have been a great trip; instead it was just a good trip.

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