Libby Child

Age: 46 to 55
Number of Cruises: 11 to 20 Cruises
Legend of the Seas:
Departure Dare:  November 21, 1998
Itinerary: Panama Canal

This was our 12th cruise, and 4th one with Royal Caribbean International. And it was our best overall cruise experience to date. Our travel agent was able to upgrade us to a cabin with a verandah at the last minute - which certainly enhanced the cruise experience overall. This was a 14-day cruise, which my husband thought might be too long - but neither one of us wanted to get off at the end of the two weeks. The staff was delightful, the service outstanding, and our Captain - in a word, charming.

Embarkation, even with handling our cabin upgrade at the last minute took less than 30 minutes - and the best surprise - our luggage was in our new cabin - even though they had been tagged with our first cabin number. What a delight! Our cabin steward was always there for us ... though we rarely saw him unless we needed to. The dining room staff was always helpful and friendly - they knew us all by our first names (table of 10) after the first dinner. The service was good, but the biggest disappointment of the whole cruise was the food quality, selection and presentation. It was just a little above average and certainly not what we'd gotten to expect from our other RCI cruises or Celebrity Cruises (now owned by RCI).

We really enjoy sea days - so with 9 of those and 5 ports of call, we were in heaven. We thoroughly enjoyed Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica, the Canal transit, and Aruba, but I could go the rest of my life without returning to Acapulco or Columbia. Both were dirty, crowded and unattractive. We had ideal weather so the end of Nov. and beginning of Dec. seems to be an ideal time to do this cruise.

Our disembarkation was quick and painless. We had an early flight and were with the first group to get off.

I would be remiss in this review if I didn't single out two people for special recognition. One was Christine, our shore shopping advisor. AFTER leaving Aruba, I decided I HAD to have a ring I had seen there. I talked to Christine, and she managed to purchase the ring and have it sent to me then next time she was in Aruba. That is truly service 'above and beyond.' The other person that deserves special recognition was the Master of the Legend of the Seas, our Captain, Thomas Wildung. He was personable, pleasant and charming throughout the cruise. His updates on the PA system as to whale sightings and dolphins swimming with our ship were always a delight, along with his commentary on different sights we were seeing along the Mexican Riviera as we headed for the canal. He obviously enjoyed his profession, was very proud of his ship, and wanted everyone to have a good time. In 12 cruises - this is the first time I've left with even remembering who the captain was ... much less thinking he had been a decisive factor in making our cruise so pleasant.

This was a great cruise experience for us, and other than the food quality and a couple of the ports of call - it's our best experience so far.

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