| Overview
Legend of the Seas is packed with an endless supply of entertainment and relaxation options. Close to 70,000 tons of fun and adventure for up to 1,800 guests cruise the ports of Alaska, the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii and Australia.
Legend of the Seas, with her sister Splendour of the Seas are the first two, in a series of six, modern newbuilds debuting in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
Public Rooms
Legend lives up to her name with gorgeous colors, rich woods, and shiny marble gracing her public rooms in muted soft tones. Not to mention the floor to ceiling glass panels that highlight the Centrum with spectacular views of the sea on sunny days.
The most recognizable public room on Legend of the Seas is the signature Viking Crown Lounge, which sits atop the ship and is popular with the late night crowd and a great place to watch the ship come in to port.
At the foot of the nine-deck Centrum, is the surprisingly warm and inviting Champagne Bar. I am not usually fond of atrium bars, finding them too open and overly trafficked. Here, though, the largeness of the lounge is carved up by the insertion of curving partitions, the separation accentuated by ample placement of plants.
The art-deco Anchor's Aweigh Lounge, located at the stern, is the ship's secondary performance venue offering up live music and dancing most nights of the cruise. Another favorite public space is RCI's "Royal Caribbean Online" Internet lounge, which offers real-time access to the Web 24/7 for fifty cents a minute. It's easy to email; computers are outfitted with software from the best known ISPs, from AOL to Hotmail to Yahoo, among others. The room is beautifully designed with three "stations" of four terminals apiece and bordered by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean and the top-most part of the Centrum (which means you can hear the pianist playing below).
There are no self-serve laundry rooms.
Gratuity
Royal Caribbean recommends $3.50 per person per day to the dining room waiter, the same amount to the cabin steward and $2 per person, per day to the assistant waiter. Tipping of maitre d' is at passenger's discretion. A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to bar tabs.
Family
Legend has an extensive children's program called "Adventure Ocean," for kids from three (or when toilet trained) through seventeen. The children are broken up into four age groups: Aquanauts (3-5), Explorers (6-8), Voyagers (9-12), and Navigators (13-17).
Group baby sitting is available from the youth staff from 10 p.m through 1 a.m. nightly, and, on port days, from noon till departure. The rate is $4 per hour per child (who must be at least three years old and potty-trained). In-cabin sitting is available through the purser's desk and must be booked at least 24 hours in advance, based on availability. Minimum age is one year; the charge is $8 per hour, in cash, for up to two children within the same family, $10 per hour for a maximum of three children in the same family.
RCI will not accept pregnant guests in their third trimester .
Dress Code
There are two formal nights per seven-day cruise. Generally, about half the men opt for dark suits instead of tuxedoes.
Entertainment
Legend's That's Entertainment Theater with 802-seats is one of the most functional and intelligently designed we've experienced. Sightlines from either the main floor or balcony are excellent. Seating is on fixed banquettes, which guarantees adequate space to enter and exit rows, and space is maximized by eliminating tables in favor of drink holders on armrests. On a one-week cruise expect one show featuring a name entertainer, two production shows, three evenings of variety acts, and a farewell show.
The casino has slots, dice and all the requisite card tables. We found the casino staff unusually friendly and helpful. I've never had so much fun losing money.
The intra-ship television channel features numerous channels of professionally produced promotional videos and a rather scrawny selection of movies (that never seemed to play on schedule).
Fitness and Recreation
The main open central outdoor area has a large, heated pool surrounded by four hot tubs. Toward the stern is the Solarium with the secondary pool and another two hot tubs. This area is covered by a retractable glass dome. There is an additional small sunning area in the bow. Legend has a perfectly adequate gym for a ship this size, with eight treadmills and exercise bikes, step machines, etc. A second room offers aerobics and free weights. Steiner's of London has the usual spa installation aboard. Besides fitness pursuits, the cruise staff conducts a large number of games, competitions and other activities both on sea days and in port. As on other RCI ships, this cruise staff seemed to truly enjoy the activities they supervised and participated in. Legend of the Links, an 18-hole miniature golf course has the look and feel of a real course with all the benefits of being on a ship, including a retractable roof for rainy days and lights for after-dinner games.
Cabins
Though the bottom-end cabins, at about 150 square feet, are hardly palatial, they are comfortable and practical, and even the smallest cabins feature a small sitting area. Storage space is generous. Cabins feature televisions, phones, hairdryers, safes and toiletries. Robes are only available to those who have booked suites. Nearly 40% of the outside cabins have balconies. Cabin service was exceptional, unobtrusive and thorough.
Dining
Service and cuisine exceeded my expectations. Having said that let me add a caveat: Royal Caribbean is not a "foodie" line like its sister cruise line Celebrity. When you order a burger or duck you are rarely offered an option in how it's prepared (i.e. medium rare, medium well, whatever). Still, I found the food to be hearty, good, plentiful if not innovative. Service at dinner was unobtrusive and thoughtful; the assistant waiter, for instance, remembered from the first night that I like diet Coke and the drink's steward is as speedy with a single glass of wine as he is with a bottle.
RCI makes up a "Ship Shape" selection list each night from the regular menu, but fails to include nutritional information. There are vegetarian options on every lunch and dinner menu.
Breakfast and lunch buffets are served in the Windjammer Cafe, and lacked variety. The Windjammer also serves as an alternate, casual dinner venue, for which no reservations are necessary. Twenty-four hour room service from a limited menu and selections from the dining room menu during mealtimes are available through room service. Offerings are just fair but service is generally prompt.
There's a hot dog and hamburger grill in the Solarium.
Royal Caribbean has introduced a somewhat complex drinks-package on board. Adults and children can buy an unlimited soda card for $33 and $21 respectively (plus 15 percent tip). Adults can buy, for $29.95, twelve 16 oz. non alcoholic drinks (works out to about $2.50 apiece) or $44.85 for 12 alcoholic drinks (about $3.75 per). You buy the cards (or, in the case of soda, stickers) at any ship's bar.
Fellow Passengers
Royal Caribbean typically appeals to couples and singles in their 30's to 50's as well as families of all ages. The median age is in the low 40's on seven-night cruises and in the 30's on three-and four-night cruises, passengers 50-55 and over tend to dominate ten day and longer cruises. Royal Caribbean attracts passengers that are looking for an affordable, active vacation.
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