This 7 night cruise departed and returned from Tampa FL. We flew in the day the cruise departed and were onboard by 2:30 PM after taking RCI provided transfers from Tampa airport. Transfers were $18 PP, but were well worth it. The ride to the pier is in an air-conditioned bus and luggage is removed and taken directly onto the ship.

We were assigned cabin 6022, an oceanview on Deck 6 forward. We found our cabin easily and it was great.

After dropping our luggage off, we set out to find some lunch. The Windjammer on Deck 9 was open and a wonderful lunch buffet was available. Carved fruit and an ice sculpture adorned the entrance to the Windjammer. After lunch, we embarked on a tour of the ship on our own. Our first stop was the pool deck. Legend has two pools here; one is the Solarium, a nice retreat with comfy lounge chairs and a retractable roof. Hot tubs are also on this deck.

There is no specialty restaurant onboard, but other dining venues include a snack bar in the Solarium (hot dogs, burgers, pizza), treats at the Latte-tudes (ice cream provided by Ben and Jerry's and coffee and sweets provided by Seattle's Best) and the two story Romeo & Juliet dining room on Decks 3 and 4.

Sailaway was at 5 PM and everyone was on the pool deck  to view the sights as we left. Sailaway from Tampa requires nearly 3 hours of slow cruising through Tampa Bay before arriving in open waters in the Gulf of Mexico. The spectacular Skyway Bridge is at the mouth of Tampa Bay and what a sight as the ship passes under it. 

Before dinner, we attended a cocktail party in the Viking Crown Lounge with members of NACTA. The signature Viking Crown Lounge, high atop the ship on Deck 10, is one of my favorite cocktail locations as it provides beautiful views any time of day or night.

Late seating dinner was at 8:30, so we had time to spend some money in the casino and do some shopping at the logo store. Dinner was, as expected, excellent, as were all meals in the Romeo & Juliet dining room during the week. 

Sunday was our first day at sea. The trip from Tampa to Grand Cayman, our first stop, was unusually rough. Saturday evening and Sunday found cloudy skies, a little rain and choppy seas. We spent the day browsing around the ship, spending more money in the casino and imbibing in the drink of the day. We found that although there is no Boleros lounge on this ship, Roberto in the Schooner Bar, was happy to make us a Mojito or two and we stopped in at the Schooner Bar nearly every day.

By Monday morning in Grand Cayman, the seas had calmed just a bit and we were able to tender ashore. We had a shore excursion with Captain Bryan to Stingray City and easily found the pick up location a few blocks from the tender pier. We sailed on a small catamaran to the sand bar known as Stingray City and spent 30 minutes in the water with the creatures. The water is clear and beautiful here and fairly shallow. There were two snorkel stops on this tour also, and the fish and coral in the clear, turquoise water was phenomenal. Despite cloudy skies, we managed to get our first sunburn. After our tour, we walked around Georgetown for awhile before returning to the ship. By mid afternoon, the seas were very calm and tendering was a breeze.

Tuesday, we docked in Costa Maya, Mexico. Costa Maya is a tourist area specifically designed for cruise ship calls. The pier is very new and large enough for two ships to dock. A tourist area is at the end of the pier and passengers can find lots of shopping (silver is the specialty here) and a restaurant/bar/beach area.

Wednesday was our stop in Belize. This is also a tender stop and we were on one of the first tenders of the morning. I had a great tour of the city and the Belize zoo while my cruise partner went cave tubing in the Mayan Mountains about 45 minutes from Belize City. Cave tubing was provided by XStream and is highly recommended by everyone who has purchased a tour from this company. It was awesome! Belize is the only English speaking country in Central America and was formerly known as British Honduras when it was a British colony. Getting around is fairly easy.

On Thursday, we docked in Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is one of the top cruise ship ports and there are two docks. One was nearly completely destroyed by a hurricane in 2005 and is under repair. The port call at Cozumel was a long day as the ship didn't depart until 11 PM allowing for lots of shopping and touring. We took a ferry to the mainland landing in Playa del Carmen, about 60 miles south of Cancun. This stretch of the Mexico coast on the Yucatan peninsula is well known for spectacular beaches, crystal clear and warm water and numerous resorts. Our organized tour was to the Mayan ruins at Tulum, about 45 minutes south of Playa del Carmen, by bus. The ruins site at Tulum is one of the best on the peninsula and we toured the site for about 2 hours before returning by bus to Playa del Carmen. Tip: if you're going to Tulum, take your swimsuit. The beach at Tulum is open to visitors and is one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. Our ferry dropped us in downtown Cozumel where we shopped and stopped for authentic Mexican food and beer in a local eatery before returning to the ship.

Our second day at sea was Friday and we were treated to beautiful weather; clear, sunny skies, calm seas with a very light breeze and warm temperatures. We enjoyed the crew's parade of nations on the pool deck while sipping a cocktail and attended the art auction onboard. The rest of the day was spent meandering around the ship, spending and winning in the casino and sipping our favorite cocktails in the Schooner Bar and the Viking Crown Lounge.

The entertainment onboard was great. We attended one of the production shows early in the week and saw one of the comedians mid week. I also attended "The Quest", an adults-only scavenger hunt and laughed for nearly an hour as participants tried to gain points by doing silly things. If you sail Legend. or any other RCI ship, I highly recommend this for an evening's entertainment. 

We were treated to a cocktail party by the Crown and Anchor Society one evening and , of course, the Captain's gala cocktail party another evening. There are two formal nights.

Legend has been upgraded with Royal Caribbean's new bedding and it is a real treat to climb into bed every evening (or for an afternoon nap). Staterooms have TV, phone and shower-only bathrooms which are typical cruise ship sized. Tip: showers don't have doors, just curtains, so take your chip clips to weight down the curtain and avoid water all over the floor of your bathroom.

There is no Royal Promenade on this older ship, but the boutiques had a variety of wares. There is a logo shop, a sundry shop that sells liquor, a perfumery and two jewelry stores. There are sales all week long on something or another. Tip: the logo gear is reduced in price on the last day (Friday), so buy your logo gear then for the best deal.

Although Legend is one of the smaller, older ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet, I found her in good shape. The crew was great and we particularly enjoyed our waiter in the dining room. We found food nearly any time of the day in the Windjammer and even found coffee on the pool deck as early as 5:30 AM. There was one midnight buffet, but with late dinner ending at around 10 PM, we didn't attend. There is an internet cafe with numerous computers and I never had to wait for one regardless of the time of day. The beautiful atrium on Deck 4 has a band every evening and is co-located with the Champagne bar. There is also live music in the Schooner Bar every evening, the Anchors Aweigh lounge every evening and the pool deck most afternoons and early evenings.

All in all, this was great cruise! The Western Caribbean itinerary was super; we really enjoyed all of the ports and the weather was great.