Carnival Legend cruise

After MUCH discussion, we finally booked a cruise through Carnival Cruise lines.  We were always under the impression that the "party ships" were filled with crazy drunks so it took some persuasion for us to agree to try one out. 

Before my birthday in April, Dale had contacted Steve and Dana (some of our cruising buddies) about surprising me with a cruise. He had wanted to do a long weekend and they wanted to do a week.  They never found anything that suited everyone, so it was dropped.  Well, then Dana found a week that we could both go (right after school was out) so we decided to try to book something.  I had a REALLY busy April and May and was so ready for a break.  Especially a 7 day on the seas kind of break!!  We arranged childcare and proceeded with making our decision about which ship. Of course, we always have to find a deal, and we found a great deal!! We ended up booking a balcony guarantee for very cheap and ended up getting rooms with an extended balcony and only one room in between us two couples.  And the really funny thing is that we were the room in between them and their traveling mates. 

We ended up going out of Tampa for the first time ever and it was a really easy drive. We got a great deal (friends and family rate) on the IHG Intercontinental hotel across from the mall (our first time at an Intercontinental) and walked over to the mall across the street for dinner at PF Changs (another first for us). It was yummy and we had a great table outside on the patio. 

There were a lot of things seeming to go against us and this cruise even though we booked last minute.  I got sick the week before we left and couldn't talk one day but I was better by the time of the cruise.  But the main dilemma was that Jackie (their middle daughter) had gone back for a checkup when the doctor revealed shocking news that Jackie's hip was deteriorating.  She may need surgery immediately or very soon and it would be major surgery.  She was in no pain at all and the docs couldn't explain why. She was taken off all activity except for swimming and was to be put on crutches at the first sign of pain.  The Hills were undecided whether to go on the cruise or not with so much up in the air.  But they found out that she was eligible for a surgery that is only performed at Duke and their appt fell after the cruise. So, they decided to go ahead and go on the cruise knowing that they may be in for an out of state major surgery when they got home.  Needless to say, the cruise took a backseat to their new concerns.  Well, after dinner at PF Changs in Tampa, they got a call from Jackie saying that her hip was kind of hurting.  This through them in a panic again where they didn't know if they should get on or not.  They checked air fare from every stop we were stopping at.  They really didn't know whether they would be going until the ship left the dock.

We went over to the port later than usual waiting to hear how Jackie was doing. When we heard that she seemed fine today, we boarded the ship and went to have lunch.  Thankfully, there were no problems while we were gone and they were able to enjoy their cruise as much as possible.  Dana called home everyday to check on everyone, especially Jackie.  I even got some updates on my family through these calls since Jennifer spent a night and day over there with them. 

Going out of Tampa, you actually go under a bridge where there is a road. There is only about 6 foot clearance when the ship goes under it and it is a sight to see!! Everyone goes to the top and they sound the whistle as we go under the bridge.  It was pretty cool!

We had the most RELAXING cruise EVER!!! We went to some shows at the beginning of the week but toward the end of the week, we really didn't make it to any.  We slept and ate and slept and ate and read books and watched TV (Dale). We sat on the balcony for hours at a time.  This was our first side balcony and it was very nice.  I ended up getting sick in the middle of the cruise so I had to go to the doctor unfortunately, but I just wasn't feeling up to par for the last half of the cruise, so we cruised Hill-style for the last half.  We really all just needed the rest.  One day, we met for breakfast in the Windjammer and we ate then sat and talked and finally I went to get my cards. We played UNO for several hours and ended up sitting there from like 9 am until 2:30 when it was time to go for a nap. We ate breakfast/talked/played cards/ and ate lunch all in one sitting. That was another first!!!

Our itinerary was:

May 23   depart Tampa
May 24  fun day at sea
May 25  Grand Cayman
May 26 Cozumel, Mexico
May 27 Isla Roatan, Honduras
May 28 Belize City, Belize
May 29  fun day at sea
May 30 return to Tampa

We didn't get off the ship in Grand Cayman because we had been there several times.  In Cozumel, we got off the ship and just walked around the port area shopping.  In Belize, you actually anchor about 10 miles from shore and have to tender in. I wasn't sure how I would do with the motion on the tender, and we were cautioned about the safety of the area so we stayed on board that day too.  Our one BIG excursion was in Roatan.  We were off the ship all day in Roatan with a day full of fun!!

In Roatan, we did a private excursion where we booked with Victor Bodden tours . We met the tour guide and he stayed with us all day. It was Victor's brother and he took us around the island sightseeing. We had also booked a spa appt at  Spa Baan Suerte . Dana and I got an hours massage in the rain forest and it was awesome. I had mine in this little hut in the middle of the rain forest where you could see out on 3 sides of the hut. It had a thatched roof and a ceiling fan but was mostly open. You could hear all kinds of tropical birds making their noises in the wild while I was getting a massage.  Then toward the end, it started raining. It was so relaxing to hear the rain fall while getting a massage.  The guys just hung out and walked down to the beach and saw some dolphins and got to know our guide. 

We left there and headed for our zip line tour.  This was also SOO much fun. Dana didn't want to do this, of course, so me and the guys had a great time.  They even took our camera for us and took pictures of us doing it.  We even got some video this time.  This zip line course was WAYYY easier than the last one that we did which was more like a ropes course.  This was just zip lines (about 15 of them maybe) and you didn't have to do any work. Our guide clipped and unclipped us and caught us each time.  We were even able to fly upside down when we wanted. 

After that, we had the tour of the monkey farm. They had all kinds of animals and birds but the highlight was going in the monkey cage. The monkeys would just jump on top of you, hold on to you with his tail, and even go down and check your pockets out to see if there was anything interesting in there.  We were shocked that Dana would do this, but she did it the first time without us there to see if she screamed. She did great while we were with her on the second time. I was so proud of her.  It was kinda weird to be jumped on like that. 

Then we went around the island. It is a very poor island for the most part and it is always an eye-opener to see how people live.  We saw some very nice places as well, but they were mostly tourist areas. 

The video is long-a little over 8 minutes but it includes some video and pictures of our trip. 

We did the my time dining again this time and enjoyed the flexibility that it offered again.  Overall we were impressed with the ship and would definitely do it again.  Here is our ship: Carnival legend . The two lines were more alike than different. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The water was the calmest we have EVER experienced in the ocean. Several days it was completely flat with no waves.  This was also the first cruise that I never got in the ocean the whole time. The food was really good and we had the warm melting chocolate cake every night for dessert.  And we didn't see any drunk partiers...of course we were in bed way earlier than normal most nights though. :)  For the price, we decided it couldn't be beat. Especially, if you are there to relax. And that is definitely what we did this cruise!! :)