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Asia Cruise, Legend of the Seas
 
Reviewed By: GEE, Glossop on 16th May 2009
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruises Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: Legend of the Seas Sailed: February, 2008
Destination: Far East Age: 46-55
Cabin: Inside Occasion: Annual/regular holiday
Having travelled with Royal Caribbean Cruise lines before and being very impressed, I invited my sister and her husband to join us on this cruise to the Far East. The Itinerary was incredible. To see so many sights in two weeks, places we never thought of visiting before, was quite amazing. We thought this was the best way to do the Far East. However, we did feel rather let down (unexpectedly)by some things which rather spoiled the experience for us, particularly as we had recommended this cruise line to others. I can only call the check in procedure a fiasco at the Shanghai terminal - I had described the check in procedure to our guests as slick and streamline and this was definitely not the case here. We had done our preparations - booked in online, got our Setsail Pass. We were transported from our lovely Hotel in Shanghai to the terminal and found bedlam when we got to the terminal. This I understood to be because a number of people had neglected to get their visas and instead of the staff directing these people to one check-in desk, they held up nearly all the desks. We eventually got to a check-in desk and my own Sea Pass card had been lost and we had to wait for another to be processed. All this meant that we boarded the ship nearly last, we had had nothing to eat or drink since lunchtime and the restaurant was closed. I had described a completely different scenario for the usual "welcome aboard". We had travelled aboard this particular ship in September 2007 and my husband and I felt that it definitely looked really rather tired this time, and we would not choose this again. Cut backs were evident. The niceties previously offered by RCI had disappeared - no coffee was offered in the rooms, (only tea), no toiletries, the drinks were extremely expensive, and the shuttle bus and trips were expensive also. The entertainment was OK some nights but poor others. Can't say what the activities team were like really because we were off the ship most days but the staff generally seemed to be somewhat lacking their usual vitality. The hotel in Bangkok was excellent. I can say that these factors were quite a disappontment to us and to our guests and they were not impressed, which isn't good as this was their first cruise experience. We did hear a few cruisers complaining, and this again was unusual in our experience. We have had such a different holiday experience previously, that I think we may have been unlucky with this one and we may try another cruise sometime - not sure.
Quality of Food4
Entertainment2
female singer soloist - least enjoyable
Shore Excursions2
very expensive
Staff2
Children's Facilitiesn/a
Onboard Activitiesn/a
Cabins1
Overall Rating2
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Opinion: Agree Comment by Hill, Doncaster (20 May 09 13:40) about this REVIEW
We did the cruise in January and it was awful . The embarkation was a farce in Singapore [we did in reverse] 122 passengers including my husband and myself we misinformed about chinese visas by RCi after three telephone calls each time to be told we did'nt need one .The only good thing about the cruise were the places we saw .We did second sitting so after dinner we could see a show wrong!! the show was at seven for second sitting so after 10 pm there was not much to do !! ITwas like the marie celeste .This was our first time with RCI and our last WE have just booked our next cruise this time trying Princess
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Opinion: Agree Comment by Anderton, Wirral (17 May 09 12:00) about this REVIEW
We did the follow-on cruise to this one - Singapore to Shanghai - and would agree with this review except that embarkation at Singapore went a little more smoothly. It was not, however, as smooth as other cruise-lines that we have been with and staff dealing with embarkation were less than welcoming, bordering on hostile at times. RCI security staff on board were blase just pointing us in the direction of our cabin - again not the welcome we would expect. We had a junior suite but it was not that much better than balcony cabins on other cruise lines. Having said that I really enjoyed the cruise and the ports of call were excellent (although few of the ports were) and we had some amazing experiences and met some of the nicest people. I too am unsure whether I would try RCI again - we've got two cruises booked with Celebrity which are apparently the up-market sister company so we'll see how we get on with them. Just to add that the hotels that we were booked in by RCI at Singapore and Shanghai were excellent.
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Question by Robinson, Rochdale (29 Oct 09 15:32) about a COMMENT by Anderton (17 May 09 12:00)
Hi, If you are still monitoring this site can you please tell me what the disembarkation was like at Shanghai? We are on a cruise next April and our return flight times are a bit tight. Are you free to go your own way once ashore or is there a lengthy immigration process to go through?
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Answer by Anderton, Wirral (30 Oct 09 18:59) to a QUESTION by Robinson (29 Oct 09 15:32)
Hi Mr/s Robinson, We were booked into a day-room at a nice hotel by RCI prior to our flight home in the evening so the disembarkation wasn't problematic as we didn't have a deadline. I do seem to remember that it was quite shambolic and it was a bit of a scrum for the coaches. We had to leave our luggage at the airport and we spent a couple of anxious hours at the hotel waiting for it to appear. I don't know where the airport is located in relation to the cruise terminal, but it took about 90 minutes from the centre of Shanghai. It might be nearer perhaps you could check it out on google earth. The immigration process seemed to be quite painless, many of the people we spoke to were staying in China and didn't seem to encounter problems. You will visit some excellent countries. We went on the excursion to the vietcong tunnels in Vietnam and it was an amazing experience although it was quite a lengthy drive to get there, this trip also included a lovely lunch. By the way, if you can get to Manchester the Chinese Embassy issues visas but you have to go personally and pay in cash but you do save a lot of money by not paying the visa agencies and not having to pay registered postage. Hope you have a fantastic cruise. Brigit.
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Comment by Robinson, Rochdale (31 Oct 09 16:11) about an ANSWER by Anderton (30 Oct 09 18:59)
Hi Brigit. Thanks for your reply. We are spending a week in Shanghai before the cruise to Japan and back to Shanghai via S.korea. Our hotel is walking distance from the port so no problem there. On return we dock at 6am and our flight is at 0940 so as long as we can jump straight into a taxi without too much delay we should be ok especially as it's a Sunday. Should have done the cruise first really but we should be able to prebook the taxi while in Shangai. Thats a good tip about the Embassy. Thanks again. John & Julie
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