Cruise Ship: Carnival Legend
Cruise Destination: New York - Bermuda - Rhode Island
Cruise Dates: April 23 - April 29, 2004
Guest Contributor: Bill
Walden15@yahoo.com
Here is my review of the Carnival Legend, April 23rd, 2004 sailing to Bermuda and Newport, RI.
EMBARKATION:
My first cruise! Carnival said that embarkation started at 1pm, but I arrived at 11am and was on the boat by 12:30pm. The line wasn’t too bad, but it seemed to be a little disorganized and the Carnival staff on the pier was nasty, with the exception of the man who gave us our S&S cards right before boarding.
THE CABIN:
Well, we had booked the cheapest room available, an inside cabin, so imagine our surprise when we discovered we had been upgraded to a room with a window, on Deck 1. Since we had been expecting the worst, this pleasant surprise put us in a wonderful mood to begin with. The room was wonderful and clean, with a King size bed, couch and table, TV, counter, mini-bar, and a good sized bathroom. Our cabin steward Maceij, was a great guy too!
We had booked the cheapest, but considering the amount of time we spent in our room just watching the Atlantic go by, I would highly recommend spending the extra $100 a person to get a window. Don’t count on getting lucky like I did. I saw the room we had originally booked, and it’s about the size of a shoebox.
THE SHIP:
Let me say this: The Carnival Legend is a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL ship. The Colossus Lobby and Atrium is the first thing I saw, and I was blown away. Titanic has nothing on this ship. The décor is luxurious and not gaudy, imagine a step up from a Holiday Inn, but a step down from the Ritz Carlton.
THE FOOD:
As a first time cruiser, I had been deluged with other peoples opinions about every aspect of cruising. One thing they were unanimous about was the food: “The food is great,” “The food is amazing,” “You won’t believe your eyes!”
In my opinion, the food SUCKED!!
You have a few choices when you’re hungry. The first is Room Service. I was expecting to be able to order filet mignon at 2am if that’s what I wanted, so I was surprised to see that there weren’t many choices at all. There are roast beef sandwiches, BLT’s, Turkey, Shrimp salad and things like that. Conspicuously absent are things like hamburgers, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, etc. So, Room Service wasn’t great.
Throughout the day, you can eat in the Unicorn Café, which I also thought was a disappointment. They have a place for burgers and dogs (I’m on a cruise ship?) and an Asian Corner (Bland), a cold Deli (Can’t I get this stuff from room service?), and an “Ice Cream Station” (Where are the sprinkles, chocolate chips, butterscotch, etc? This is just bowls or cones of frozen ice cream or yogurt.) All in all, Unicorn Café is like a Sizzler in Hell.
For Dinner, there is the Truffles Main Dining Room, and we had the late seating. We had a nice table for two by the door on the top floor. Our waiter was nice and remembered certain things about us, but the menu was uninspired at best. Every night there is a seafood dish, a chicken dish, a meat dish, and a veggie dish. The fish was usually salmon, although one night they had lobster. Their beef was usually fatty and small, the pasta not cooked enough, and the deserts all tasted store bought. While I know that it’s hard to prepare a meal for 2500 people at once, I still think they could have done a better job.
For alternative dining, there is also the Golden Fleece Supper Club. But, you have to pay extra for this (A so-called “nominal fee” of $25 per person). If on the Legend, I highly recommend eating here. It’s not only the best meal I had on board the ship, it’s also one of the best I’ve had in my life. Intimate seating and lighting, as well as tables by the window with impeccable service and a knowledgeable sommelier. I cannot recommend this place enough. It’s the only place I saw Surf and Turf on the menu (And it was fantastic) But still, with a bottle of wine for two people, you spend $80 for dinner. And you’re on a cruise!!
Now you want to know about the Midnight Buffet. You know that daily occurrence that everyone talks about? Not at Carnival. There was only one midnight buffet, which was insanely crowded (On line for a half hour, and I was lucky) and the food wasn’t up to par at all, most of it was cold.
The only other place I ate was during the Captains Cocktail Party, the second day of the cruise. Free drinks and free snacks, and they were very tasty.
All in all though, if you’re cruising to eat – Cruise on another cruise line.
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