zremove - Legend of the Seas

First I must say that the cruise is deigned for oriental guests and I would say that over 75% were from China and Korea. In recommending the cruise interested parties should be aware of this fact as obviously we are talking about different cultures. Oriental clients do not seem to enjoy normal formalities and do not tend to enjoy formal dress. They also seem to prefer informal dining and the Windjammer self service restaurant tended to be extremely busy which meant that the other restaurants were not necessarily fully subscribed. There were no problems about booking into "my time dining" and if you like flexibility it is worth while paying the service charge in advance. Obviously the mix of clients meant that the entertainment programme was limited and I would suggest not up to the standards of western destinations where English is the norm and there are more possibilities of varied entertainment- comedy for example.
We were disappointed with the cabin. No fridge - drinks cans etc cluttering up the table top. Tea making facilities but no coffee - wooden stirrers provided instead of spoons. No dressing gowns.
We did not book shore excursions as we thought these were expensive. It is quite possible to arrange your own excursions with a little bit of research and public transport is relatively cheap. In Nagasaki, for example it was easy and cheap to visit the Memorial gardens, the epicentre and bomb museum by the local tram with only one change.
In Busan, Korea, a shuttle bus is provided which drops you off at the observation tower free and there is also
a sight seeing city bus which operates from the central bus station. There are normally other independent clients so it is quite easy to share taxis.It is quite expensive in Kawajima to get a taxi to the bus station
in order to pick up the city tour bus but not if you can find another couple to share the costs. Do be aware that this part of Japan is not very westernised so it is not easy to find your way around and english is not widely understood so asking directions is a lot more difficult that most cruise destinations and there are few english road signs to help. Do bear in mind that this cruise destination is completely different from most, so you must expect some problems!
Not all doom and gloom however, The Legend is a little dated but is still in reasonable condition. Quite a nice theatre and quite comfortable seating- plenty of leg room. All the staff we came in touch with were very courteous and helpful and is was quite easy to get off the ship at the ports. Probably more formalities and more paperwork than a normal cruise. Don*t forget to take copies of your passports as you will need them!
As long as you accept that you are on a different type of cruise and are forewarned of the cultural differences
there is no reason why you should not enjoy this cruise but don*t expect Queen Mary standards when it comes to the 2 formal evenings
Baz