Carnival Legend cruise ship review: Outsize fun on a midsize, made-over ship

My first walk through Carnival Legend left me thinking, “Girrrl, 22 looks good on you!”

A well-used ship over 20 years old often begins to show a few wrinkles, not only in minor damage and dated color palettes but also in lagging innovations and improvements. Carnival Cruise Line did a good job of overhauling both visual and functional appeal during Legend’s 2024 dry dock in Marseille, France, which added more accessible features to bring the ship in line with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, expanded the casino by removing the bar, and added modern cabin touches like bedside lamps with USB outlets.

The atmosphere of the ship is a bit exotic, especially in large areas like the lobby at the base of the Colossus Atrium, which features dark decor with an unexpected Egyptian flair. Even with such a grand entrance, cushy seating lining almost every open space creates a welcoming vibe.

Guests on my 15-night transatlantic sailing from Rome to Tampa were primarily North Americans, with a heavy percentage hailing from southern U.S. states. Many had spent time exploring Europe before boarding their slow ride back to the States. Roughly 500 of the 2,000 guests had also sailed on the previous 10-night cruise.

Most of the passengers were adults in the 55-plus category, with quite a few several decades older; a large percentage were repeat Carnival cruisers. I saw a handful of 30-somethings and even a few children and teens, but they were rare enough to cause heads to turn as they passed during the first few days. I cruised with my husband and my 70-something aunt. Hubs and I have previously cruised with Carnival, but it had been more than two decades since our last cruise on the line. My aunt has been a rather frequent Carnival cruiser of late, mostly from Galveston, Texas.

If you prefer a midsize ship decked out with some of the same bells and whistles of newer fleetmates, here’s what to expect from Carnival Legend.

Related: The ultimate guide to Carnival Cruise Line ships and itineraries

Overview of Carnival Legend

The 88,500-ton Carnival Legend stretches 963 feet in length. It carries 2,124 passengers at double occupancy — less than half the capacity of newer Excel Class ships, such as Carnival Jubilee. Legend was launched in 2002 as the third Spirit Class ship in the fleet. Updates through the years have allowed it to keep pace with onboard dining venues and activities. The latest dry dock in the spring of 2024 continued that trend.

Like all Carnival ships, Legend is a mass-market ship, appealing to budget-conscious cruisers of all ages. Passenger composition is somewhat dependent on the itinerary length and home port, but the ship is popular with Carnival regulars, no matter where it sails.

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It has a robust kids program in newly refreshed spaces, two waterslides and a splash park, making it ideal for families traveling with children and teens. For those looking to escape the youngsters, the Serenity sundeck is outfitted with a pool, clamshell daybeds and cushioned loungers, and its own bar — all off-limits to anyone under age 21. The Punchliner Comedy Club, held in the Firebird Lounge on Deck 1, hosts PG-rated shows in the early evening as well as much raunchier late-night shows.

The latest improvements to the ship included converting the Nouveau Restaurant into the line’s fan-favorite steakhouse, Fahrenheit 555, and providing The Chef’s Table with its own venue on Deck 1 next to the galley. The hotel manager told me that no part of the ship went untouched during the refurb, with most of the ship getting refreshed paint, carpets and upholstery.

The ship was not without imperfections, but it certainly had a clean and shiny look to it overall.

What I loved about Carnival Legend

The food

We enjoyed a mix of eateries included in the cruise fare as well as for-fee specialty dining. Both were above average in food taste and presentation.

Dinner in the main dining room (Truffles Restaurant, decks 2 and 3) featured enough variety of meat, poultry, fish and pasta to satisfy the three of us most nights. In fact, we found ourselves checking the menus in the Carnival Hub app well ahead of time to schedule specialty dining options around dishes we wanted to try in the main restaurant.

We also headed to the dining room for breakfast a few times, afternoon tea once and Seaday Brunch twice. The brunch menu is a bit more elaborate than the breakfast menu, featuring 12-hour French toast and a Skillet Cake — sort of a thick pancake. Brunch also included lunch specialties like a chicken-and-waffles combo.

The Lido buffet (named the Unicorn Cafe, Deck 9) was a little skimpy on choices, but things like the best cinnamon swirl pastries at sea, multiple custom egg-cooking stations and hot chocolate machines rather than do-it-yourself packets locked in the Lido as our favorite breakfast spot. Auntie was even able to get her morning latte at the Coffee Bar right there in the middle of the buffet area.

In the added-fee category, Carnival Legend shines. We enjoyed dinner at Fahrenheit 555, The Chef’s Table and the Seafood Corner.

Related: Carnival cruise food: The ultimate guide to restaurants and dining on board

The abundance and variety of seating

On a ship with so much squeezed into a small footprint, I was pleased to find more than enough seating, both indoors and out. Early in the cruise, we had a few days of inclement weather, forcing everyone to hang out indoors. I never once walked through the ship without seeing a spot to sit.

Once the weather warmed, it was even possible to find seats outdoors in most places. I was thrilled to find vacant clamshell daybeds in unexpected places, particularly on Deck 10 above the pool decks. The exception seemed to be the Serenity sundeck, where chair hogs often descended on the primo spots early in the day and held their ground until late afternoon. With only a few children on board, it was ironic that the area drew such a crowd, making it far less serene than other spots on the ship.

Other interesting sitting areas we took advantage of included the Enchanted Forest inside walkway on Deck 3 forward, which we enjoyed for both indoor walking laps and as a super-quiet spot to sit and stare out the windows. The Odyssey Lounge on Deck 3 aft outside the main dining room became our go-to spot to meet before dinner. Even on crowded evenings, we almost always found seats for the three of us right away.

At mealtime, we especially enjoyed the booth-style seating in the main dining room and the buffet restaurant. It provided a more intimate dining experience, improving our ability to converse over the chatter of a crowded dining space.

The dome roof over the main pool

I love an indoor-outdoor pool because you can enjoy the sea breezes on a warm day and still take a dip when it’s raining. Prior to our stretch of seven sea days, the crew closed the main pool’s dome halfway, providing a somewhat sheltered space.

During an open Q&A session, the hotel manager explained that the roof cannot be moved while the ship is underway, and while it was chilly at that moment in time, the forecast was for warm, sunny days and rising temperatures. By the third day, it was clear that guests would have been roasting around that pool had it been fully closed. As it was, the half roof provided a windbreak, a bit of shade and a lovely solarium feel.

What I didn’t love about Carnival Legend

Pizza, doughnuts and bacations

I know this falls under the heading of first-world problems, but this ship lacked a few of the fun cruise features that make mass-market cruising feel indulgent.

A cruise that does not serve quick slices of pizza, whether during mealtime or as a snack, is a problem for me. Even my optimistic aunt was unhappy about the inability to walk up and get a slice on Carnival Legend.

The pizza counter, located in the buffet area on this ship, was manned by just one crew member. Guests could order a pie from a list on a menu board. Behind the counter, one buffet pan under a heat lamp was supposed to offer slices, but only twice during our entire cruise were any of us able to procure a single slice of premade pizza. And when I say single slice, I mean a single, lonely, dried-up slice was sitting in the metal pan when we passed by. No other pizza existed on the buffet.

We ordered half a pie once and got a snarly look from the pizza maker, who cooked our pie and served us half but clearly felt he was only there for whole-pie orders. Our other half was snapped up by a passerby who clearly could not believe his luck. While I’m thrilled that made-to-order whole pizzas are available, I don’t understand why Carnival wasn’t offering slices of at least pepperoni and cheese pizza in the buffet during lunches on our cruise.

I rarely treat myself to doughnuts, but I love to indulge on a cruise — when the doughnuts are free. Alas, Carnival Legend offered no free doughnuts on any of the 15 days of our cruise. The only doughnuts I found on the ship cost $4 at the Coffee Bar, and they were only available in the afternoon and evening, not in the morning.

Finally, we come to what fellow cruisers (and the onboard comedians) called “bacations.” Bacon was only available on the buffet every other day on our cruise. Southerners love their bacon, so there were complaints.

My aunt and other frequent cruisers assured me alternating bacon days had been standard procedure on their previous cruises with Carnival, but it still came as an unpleasant surprise to many travelers.

On the plus side, when bacon was available on the buffet, it was crispy and delicious. I appreciated that it was served by staff members, which seemed to keep it from rapidly breaking into a pile of crumbles. Bacon was also available on both the standard breakfast menu and the brunch menu in the main dining room, so if you needed a daily fix, you could get one. You just had to sit down and order the breakfast meat whenever it was a bacation day in the buffet.

Carnival Legend cabins and suites

Legend has 1,067 cabins, with balcony cabins making up the largest percentage of accommodations on board. The ship also has windowless inside cabins, ocean-view cabins with picture windows that don’t open and four categories of suites.

Interesting categories to look for are rooms designated as inside cabins that have windows with obstructed views. These are often bigger than standard inside rooms and the windows can be quite large. Some natural light will sneak in, but external equipment like lifeboats obstructs all or part of the view.

Families or larger travel groups will also want to look for connecting cabins, which are primarily balcony rooms. But there are a few interesting, mismatched pairs of connecting cabins, like the pairs of balcony rooms with a connected interior, located forward on decks 5, 6 and 7. Deck 4 also has two pairs of aft Vista Suites that connect to balcony cabins.

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Our cabin was an Extended Balcony cabin, category 8K, midship on Deck 7. The room had a pair of twin beds converted into a king (near the balcony door), nightstands on both sides of the bed, a small sofa, a coffee table and a desk, and a bathroom with a shower. The balcony had two chairs and a single footstool.

The lighting was more than adequate, with indirect overhead lighting and lamps on both sides of the bed and at one end of the sofa. A motion-sensitive undercabinet light near the bathroom door was useful if you had to get up in the middle of the night.

The bathroom was a decent size, as was the shower, which had dispensers for a shampoo-conditioner combo and shower gel. Storage throughout the cabin included five drawers, two closets with upper rods, and a third closet with shelves that could be flipped up to reveal more hanging space.

The room’s furnishings did not show obvious wear. The materials and colors weren’t the muted neutrals you’d expect to see on a new ship, but they didn’t shout “early 2000s” either — with the exception of the turquoise bathroom sink and countertop. Online photos of earlier periods in Carnival Legend’s life depict orange carpet and upholstery in the cabins. I’m glad those days are behind us.

There was one European 220-volt outlet and one U.S. 110-volt outlet at the desk, and the bedside lamps featured both USB-A and USB-C outlets on the front of the base, plus a 110-volt electrical outlet on the back of the base.

My aunt stayed in an inside cabin, forward on Deck 7, featuring two twin beds that could be converted to a king bed and two upper Pullman beds, for a total capacity of four. Her room did not have a sofa or chair, but all other amenities were similar to ours.

I was able to visit a few of the aft suites on decks 7 and 8. The Ocean and Vista suites both had large balconies with loungers and upgraded furnishings and materials, including marble countertops, hardwood entryways, tiled bathroom floors and larger televisions.

Accessible cabins include one extra-large ocean-view cabin on Deck 1, seven Extended Balcony rooms (found on decks 6, 7 and 8), and one accessible Grand Suite and two expanded inside cabins on Deck 6.

Related: Everything you want to know about cabins and suites on Carnival Cruise Line ships

Carnival Legend restaurants and bars

For a midsize ship, Carnival Legend has a solid range of restaurant and bar options. It’s possible to skip paying an additional fee to eat at the specialty restaurants and have plenty of great food, but on any itinerary of a week or longer, they add a nice change of atmosphere and menu options. They also offer a step up in presentation, even to the point of spectacle in the case of The Chef’s Table.

Restaurants

Included-in-fare dining

Carnival Legend’s main dining room is Truffles Restaurant. Guests opting for early (5:30 p.m.) or late (7:45 p.m.) set dining times are seated on Deck 2. Those who book Your Time Dining are served on Deck 3 between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and use the Carnival Hub app to check in.

Menus offer a wide range of choices nightly, including an Emeril Selects appetizer and entree with a Cajun flair. The consensus at our table was that the short rib was the best entree of the cruise. Desserts were reason enough to dine in the main dining room. Our favorites were the chocolate melting cake, the Bitter and Blanc bread pudding with dark and white chocolate, and the Grand Marnier souffle.

Breakfast and lunch were served in the main dining room on port days and every other sea day during the Atlantic crossing. On alternate sea days, the ship would host Seaday Brunch from mid-morning to early afternoon.

The Unicorn Cafe on Deck 9 midship is the ship’s pool deck buffet. The space is divided into two main areas, each with a self-serve central drink station surrounded by seating and multipurpose food counters. Hand-washing stations are provided. Some food is plated by servers, while other dishes are self-serve.

At breakfast, there are five stations serving cooked-to-order omelets and eggs. Other counters serve breads and pastries (but no doughnuts), fruit, hot and cold cereals, meats, potatoes, pancakes, French toast and sometimes waffles, and precooked eggs (scrambled and varieties of Benedict). Food quality was good except for the sausages, pancakes and waffles, which all needed an upgrade. The big hits for us were the cinnamon swirl Danishes, sticky buns, the hot chocolate machine (which could be used to add a splash of mocha to a regular cup of coffee) and fresh omelets.

During lunch and dinner, look for hot dishes, vegetables, cheeses, cold cuts, salads and carved meats. The evening fare mirrors some of the menu choices being served in the main dining room.

Chopsticks, open for lunch, is a self-serve Asian hot-food counter on the port side within the buffet near the midship elevators. The options vary daily but always include a soup, fried and white rice, egg or spring rolls, and multiple meat and vegetable choices.

The Pizza Pirate counter is within the buffet area on the starboard side, nearest the midship elevators. During our cruise there was no ready-made pizza buffet allowing you to walk up and grab a slice. All pizza was cooked to order in roughly 10-inch pies. The menu board lists four pizzas, but you can mix and match ingredients if you want and request extra sauce, cheese or toppings. Extended hours made this a hot spot late into the night, assuming you had the time to wait for pizza to be cooked.

Carnival announced following our cruise that Pizza Pirate hours across the fleet would end at midnight, replaced by a late-night snack buffet with a totally different square pizza served by the slice. We did not experience that pizza on our cruise but did see a snack buffet that included chips and salsa, which were also mentioned as part of the new late-night snack lineup.

The deli counter was my favorite lunch spot throughout the cruise. As at any deli, you stand in line, give your order to the counter staff, and they make your sandwich to order. The menu board features 11 sandwiches, hot dogs, a veggie burger and a wrap, but guests use those as a starting place to build any sandwich they want. For example, the turkey and Swiss on a pretzel bun is listed as a cold sandwich, but trust me when I tell you to have it toasted for a gooey delight. I learned things from other guests every time I stood in line, like having anything you want made into a wrap, or asking for a side scoop of the chicken salad sans bread.

Guy’s Burger Joint is just outside the Unicorn Cafe buffet on the starboard side of the Avalon pool deck. There’s a reason this counter-service hamburger joint is famous across Carnival’s fleet: It has one of the best burgers at sea. The menu consists of four burger options, including the Plain Jane, which allows you to build your burger your way using the topping and sauce bar. The burgers were thick, juicy and definitely better than your average cruise ship hamburger.

BlueIguana Cantina is opposite Guy’s on the Avalon pool deck. Breakfast options include burritos, arepas and huevos rancheros. The burritos come with your choice of cheese, bacon, sausage, potatoes and either regular or Mexican scrambled eggs, wrapped in a plain flour tortilla or a jalapeno version. The lunch menu is a choice between burritos and street-style tacos. With either, you choose your filling, then dress it up at the nearby topping and salsa bar.

Whether you prefer frozen yogurt or ice cream, cups or cones, a single flavor or a mix, you’ll find your treat with two pairs of soft-serve machines, one next to Guy’s Burgers and another just beyond BlueIguana on the pool deck. Both offer a choice of frozen yogurt or ice cream. We grabbed cones at all hours of the day and night.

Room service offers a continental breakfast of fruit, bread, pastries, yogurt and beverages at no charge from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. You can place your order over the phone or in the Carnival Hub app. Breakfast sandwiches are available for $5-$6 (plus an 18% gratuity).

Between 10 a.m. and 6 a.m., the in-room-dining menu includes salads, sandwiches, desserts, pizzas, burgers and various chicken finger foods (wings, quesadillas and tenders), all with a la carte pricing from $3-$8. Some of the room service menu items can be delivered to your location anywhere on the ship through the app.

Added-fee dining

During dinner, the Chopsticks counter at the buffet becomes the Seafood Corner, featuring counter service and a la carte menu pricing. We enjoyed a spread of steamed snow crab legs, huge peel-and-eat boiled shrimp, and the kind of crabcakes dreams are made of. Every bite was delicious. Other options include fried calamari, oysters and fish-and-chips. Each meal is cooked to order. You’ll be given a pager to return to the counter when your food is ready.

The Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse is the ship’s date night restaurant. The experience begins with its location under a red glass dome, just forward of the familiar Carnival red, white and blue whale-tale smokestack.

The meal includes a choice of starter, entree, sauce, sides and dessert. The chef surprised us with an amuse-bouche of a half-dollar-size, fully decked-out hamburger. It was a decadent start to the meal. My aunt and I chose the filet mignon, while my husband ordered the surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail). The meal can be ordered with a chef-selected wine pairing for each course for an extra charge, which we did, of course.

The only thing likely to outshine the steakhouse for food and presentation is The Chef’s Table. The newly created space on Deck 1 next to the galley provided a quiet and elegant escape from the rest of the ship. The space accommodates 14 guests who are treated to a seemingly never-ending array of small gourmet courses.

After a brief introduction of the chefs and sous-chefs who were serving us, and a few quick bites to get us started, we were ushered through an access door straight into the bustling galley. I have been on galley tours on other ships in the past, but never during the crush of the dinner hour. It was eye-opening. Our tour ended with a demonstration of how to make the line’s famous chocolate melting cake by the dessert chef. The tour, the meal and its presentation surpassed expectations and similar experiences on other cruise lines — right down to the last sip of port wine.

The only specialty dining venue we did not sample was Bonsai Sushi. It is found right outside the casino on Deck 2. The menu features a la carte choices of sushi, sashimi, saki and Japanese beer. Our cruise did not feature a Green Eggs and Ham Dr. Seuss Breakfast, most likely because there were so few youngsters onboard. When it is available, there is a nominal per-person charge to attend.

Related: Why you should treat yourself to a cruise ship specialty restaurant

Bars and lounges

Whether you are looking for an herbal-infused cocktail for what ails you, a chocolatini shaken and drizzled just right, or an Irish spiked coffee, you will find a bar serving it on Carnival Legend.

The Coffee Bar on Deck 2 between the casino and the Follies Main Lounge offers specialty and spiked coffees, specialty teas, milkshakes (the Black and White Chocolate shake is delish, complete with a chocolate candy straw), bottled water, sports drinks and canned Coke products.

The coffee counter also serves as the Legend Cafe snack counter, featuring free croissants and cinnamon swirl pastries during the main breakfast hours. Snacks — doughnuts, cupcakes and yummy soft-baked large cookies — are sold for an extra fee in the afternoon and evening. A second Coffee Bar location is inside the Unicorn Cafe, serving specialty and spiked coffees until late evening.

The RedFrog Pub (Deck 3) on Carnival Legend has a casual Caribbean atmosphere with game tables, a private-label house beer called ThirstyFrog Red and a rum-laced drink menu to make the rolling of the ship indistinguishable from the roll in your step. During daytime hours, the pub is the spot for trivia and guess-that-song competitions, while nighttime fun ranges from live music to karaoke. The scaled-down version is the RedFrog Rum Bar on the main pool deck, which is exactly where you should look for a fruity, frozen rum drink on a hot afternoon in the sun.

Other pool bars are the BlueIguana Tequila Bar, for your drink-all-the-margaritas sea days, and the Serenity Bar, for a mango Kiss on the Lips and other thirst-quenching concoctions.

The Legend Lobby Bar is the rocking, swaying, swooning spot to dance, laugh and drink most evenings. Live performers and DJs bring the tunes from the stage perched above and behind the bar. It’s the place to be after dark until the late-night crowd shifts to Billie’s Piano Bar and Medusa’s Lair Dance Club. Daytime activities like dance lessons keep sea days hopping around the bar as well.

The bar team at the Firebird Lounge keeps the juices flowing for the Punchliner Comedy Club performances and adult games like Liars Club (which was a belly-aching hilarious show on our cruise).

The two most interesting bars on Carnival Legend proved to be the Alchemy Bar and Heroes Tribute Bar. Alchemy features potions and remedies handcrafted by an entertaining duo of mixologists. Alchemy fits nicely into an open space on the way to the main dining room entrance on Deck 2, making it an evening hot spot, often with soft live music. We also noticed it provided a fun day-drinking and dice hangout for those so inclined.

Besides its designed purpose as a hangout for veterans and service members when they sail on the ship, Heroes is the go-to sports bar, with screens tuned to football, Formula One racing and tennis during our cruise. The decor features genuine military mementos, including the Army boots of Deshauna Barber, godmother of Carnival Vista and a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. It was the one bar we visited where the atmosphere got rowdy, but that was on the only Sunday of the cruise when we were in a time zone that made NFL games viewable — and the Cowboys were playing.

Carnival Legend activities

Outdoor fun on Carnival Legend includes pickleball (free play and tournaments), basketball, table tennis, a new minigolf course, pools, waterslides and a splash park. On our cruise, the water attractions were fun to look at, but few people used them until the final sea day when we were back in warm Bahamian waters.

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We gave the minigolf a try on a calm sea day and would rank it as an average cruise ship course. It is a good excuse to enjoy the view from Deck 12. Movies at the newly installed seaside theater were a nightly attraction for the handful of teens onboard.

We also enjoyed walking and viewing sailaways on the wraparound promenade on Deck 3. It has been a long time since I sailed on a ship with a midship promenade that encircled the ship. The bow portion on Carnival Legend is enclosed by the Enchanted Forest. Exterior doors lead into the forest directly from the promenade, but they were closed throughout our cruise. The workaround is to step inside at the most forward set of doors, walk the forest loop and come out on the opposite side where you can step back outside.

Indoors, the go-to fun on our long cruise seemed to be daily dance classes and trivia of all kinds. The ship had a resident caricature artist providing his drawings for tips. We also attended a couple of nature lectures in the main theater, and my aunt watched a cooking demonstration.

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The Cloud 9 Spa, salon and fitness room on Deck 9 were refreshed and rebranded to match the rest of the fleet during the dry dock. My aunt enjoyed a Fire and Ice pedicure, which involved a cooling gel and a hot stone massage. Carnival Legend does not have a full thermal suite in the spa, and while there’s no charge for entering the spa, all services come with a fee. The fitness center is available for use at no cost, aside from classes and individual training services.

Related: The best cruise ship spas

Carnival’s casino, on Deck 2, gained floor space and new slot machines during the ship’s recent dry dock when the casino bar was removed. No worries, though: Bar servers are available throughout the casino for service at the machines and tables.

Carnival has a healthy Players Club program, and Legend had casino hosts on duty for most hours of operation during our cruise. They held nightly games and drawings for prizes and could exchange club points for gift cards for specialty dining, photo packages or the Cherry on Top candy store. I particularly appreciated that there were nonsmoking game tables and slot machines and plenty of staff members who kept busy cleaning all surfaces.

Carnival Legend shows

Carnival Legend puts on a lot of big song-and-dance productions. While those are not my favorite type of entertainment, we attended a few. My aunt loved the homage to the ’50s. Hubs was decidedly not a fan of the hard rock performance — but honestly, any attempt by any production cast to hit Freddie Mercury’s high notes is somewhat futile. We applaud the production team for its fantastic sets and costumes. A magician, a juggler and “Family Feud Live” provided nice breaks from the musical shows.

We found entertainment that suited us better in the smaller, divey, underground-feeling Firebird Lounge on Deck 1, which doubles as the Punchliner Comedy Club. Even though we had the same three comedians for all seven sea days crossing the Atlantic, the shows were rarely repeated and always full of laughs. The club became our go-to spot following a bit of after-dinner fun in the casino.

Carnival Legend itineraries and pricing

While Carnival Legend doesn’t home port in any one place for very long, it’s a regular in the Caribbean (alternating between departures from Tampa and from Galveston) most winters and offers European sailings in season. The upcoming schedule includes the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Europe and Mexico.

Sailing from Tampa, Miami and Galveston, the ship offers four- to 14-night cruises to Mexico, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. From San Francisco, Legend visits Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii and transits the Panama Canal. European sailings include Northern Europe as well as the Mediterranean.

At the time of writing, fares for four-night cruises from Galveston to Cozumel, Mexico, start as low as $539 per person for an inside cabin and $739 for a balcony room. Seven-night Caribbean cruises from Tampa start at $734 for inside cabins and $999 for balcony cabins. Twelve-night Mediterranean cruises from Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome), start at $1,384 for an inside cabin or $1,924 for a balcony.

What to know before you go

Required documents

U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises that begin and end in a U.S. port need a current passport or birth certificate (the official kind from the state) plus a driver’s license or other government-issued photo identification. Passport cards are also acceptable.

When cruising from a non-U.S. port, U.S. citizens must have a passport that does not expire within six months of your travel dates. Some countries may impose additional entry requirements. It’s best to always check the Carnival website for up-to-date information.

Gratuities

Daily gratuities that cover cabin attendants and dining room staff can be paid in advance online. The amount ranges from $16 to $18 per person, per day, depending on your cabin category. If you have not paid in advance, the amount will be added daily to your cabin’s onboard account. You are free to tip additional amounts; envelopes are provided at the Guest Services counter.

Bar orders, room service orders, spa and salon services, and meals at The Chef’s Table have an automatic 18% service charge added. You may adjust it at your discretion, either on the charge slip when you sign it or in cash.

Wi-Fi

After adding Starlink Internet, Carnival Legend has all-new Premium Wi-Fi available at the price of $23.80 per person, per day for a single device. I tested the Premium service and found it faster and more reliable than what we were used to on most cruise ships, particularly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where many past cruisers have reported a total lack of service. I was not, however, able to make Wi-Fi calls as expected.

Slower and lower bandwidth packages are also available, including a Social plan with access to social media channels and messaging services. The Value plan provides a bit more access, including the ability to surf the Internet and receive emails. Only the Premium plan is suitable for streaming and Wi-Fi calling, and then only where signal strength is available.

Carry-on drinks policy

On most cruises, Carnival allows passengers to bring one bottle of wine or Champagne in their carry-on luggage on embarkation day only. At all other ports of call, beer, wine or liquor will be confiscated and returned on the final day of the cruise.

On our transatlantic sailing, the crew did not limit beer, wine or alcohol brought on board in European ports as long as we consumed the beverages in our cabins (or at least poured it there). Bringing a bottle to any restaurant incurs a corkage fee.

Carnival does not allow any water, sports drinks or soft drinks to be brought on board in plastic bottles at any time. You may bring up to one dozen standard-size cans or cartons of nonalcoholic drinks on embarkation day. You will be asked to dispose of plastic bottles at security before you board.

Smoking policy

Smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes and vape devices, is allowed only in designated areas of Carnival Legend. Smoking is allowed on the starboard-side outdoor promenade on Deck 3 and on the starboard-side main pool area on Deck 9. Smoking is allowed at designated game tables and slot machines in the casino, but only for active players. The casino is not a smoking lounge where anyone can sit and smoke without playing. (I’m quoting from the frequent overhead announcements.) Smoking is not allowed in cabins or balconies.

Related: Is smoking allowed on cruise ships? A line-by-line guide

Laundry

Self-service laundry facilities are available on cabin decks, each with a pair of washers, a pair of dryers, a vending machine with detergent, and an iron and ironing board. Self-serve laundry on our cruise cost $3.50 for each load of washing or drying and $2.50 for detergent.

Send-out laundry service is priced by the piece unless you have Platinum or Diamond VIFP status, which comes with complimentary wash-and-fold services.

Electrical outlets

The latest updates on Carnival Legend included adding USB and 110-volt outlets on the bedside lamps. Bathrooms have low-voltage outlets for shavers only. The dressing table has a 110-volt outlet and a European two-prong outlet.

Currency

Carnival Legend uses the U.S. dollar as its currency. The ship uses a cashless system where charges to your Sail & Sign card (also your cabin key) go directly to your cabin’s account, which can be settled either with a credit card on file or cash.

Drinking age

Only guests age 21 or older may consume alcohol on board.

Dress code

Carnival has a relaxed dress code, but with suggested attire for each evening’s meal and activities. Shirts and shoes are required in all indoor eating establishments. Swimsuits without coverups are not allowed in indoor eateries.

Acceptable attire for the main dining room and specialty restaurants is primarily casual, but not sloppy or offensive. The evening’s suggested attire is available in the Hub app and on the front of the daily FunTimes schedule. On our cruise, most nights were listed as cruise casual, with three nights listed as cruise elegant. We saw shorts, flip-flops and T-shirts in the evenings, even in the main dining room and even on elegant nights.

Bottom line

Our trip on Carnival Legend proved to be a surprisingly sophisticated cruise. I went expecting to have fun because that’s what the Carnival brand promises. What I did not expect was the level of service we encountered in all areas.

Staff members were not only friendly and helpful but worked hard to be part of the fun atmosphere. The food was better overall than I’ve experienced recently on competing lines, with flavors and presentations that were memorable. Even the public restrooms impressed me. They were plentiful and always clean and functional, with extra little towels for touch-free opening of the door.

The ship’s 2024 makeover gave it the updated look of a far newer ship while improving accessibility and adding popular features like a new Chef’s Table venue and the Heroes Tribute Bar. I would look forward to sailing on Carnival Legend again.

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