Writers John and Sally Macdonald based this independent review on their 10-night transatlantic cruise departing from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Commissioned in 1995, Legend of the Seas shows her age in subtle ways. She’s smaller overall than the newer ships in Royal Caribbean International’s fleet. Cabins and baths have fewer square feet, hallways are narrow, and the fitness area is cramped. There are no specialty restaurants with uber-gourmet fare. That said, Legend features two of Royal Caribbean’s signature fun venues: A rock-climbing wall and a miniature golf spread. She headed into dry dock at the end of our cruise, where her cabins and some public areas were refurbished and the Windjammer Café was remodeled.

Why Legend of the Seas?

• More ways to celebrate: Legend has a package to help you toast most any occasion. Wedding packages may include limos, invitations, entertainment, flowers, videos, and champagne breakfast-in-bed; vow-renewal packages come with wedding cake and champagne. Family reunions are celebrated with door decorations, gift sets, and daily game challenges against other families.
• Smaller ship: Fewer passengers translate into more chances to make new friends. And only two stairwells -- center and aft -- make finding your way around the ship much easier. A modern maritime art theme tells you you’re in the center stairwell; aft stairs are decorated in an ancient mariner theme.
• Type A schedule: Legend has a more expansive program for kids than most ships her size, with a learning/playing program that’s broken down into five age groups. And for the grownups, every hour is packed with trivia matches, bingo marathons, slot tournaments, belly-flop competitions, hairy-leg contests, bridge games, destination lectures, and fitness seminars.

Who should go
Multi-generation families and people who like plenty of planned activities fit right into Legend’s daily schedule. And people who want a more traditional cruise experience -- leisurely meals in an elegant dining room, well-done food, wine seminars, and professional entertainment -- find that too.

Who shouldn’t go
More laid-back cruisers who’d rather not be bothered with pool games, shopping mania in the onboard boutiques, and pressure to fill every minute with an activity might be better off on a different ship. One note: The rock-climbing wall is closed as often as it is open, usually because of windy or wet weather, so don’t let that be the main reason for choosing Legend.

Heard on the deck (from the social director): “I feel like Goldilocks on this ship. It’s not too big, and it’s not too small. It’s just right.”

Hits and misses

• Don’t miss: Attend the captain’s question-and-answer session to find out all you ever wanted to know about a cruise ship. Does the rock-climbing wall have any effect on the aerodynamics of the ship? (No.) How big is the drive shaft? (About three feet in diameter.) How much fuel does she burn? (300,000 gallons for our journey of 4,000 nautical miles.)
• Best part of the ship: Legend’s multi-story atrium -- the spot for food demonstrations, art auctions, dancing around the mezzanines, and being whisked up and down in sparkling brass-and-glass elevators.
• Best experience: The crew farewell on the last night of the cruise had just about every passenger a little teary-eyed as staff members from the dining room to the engine room waved flags from the scores of nations they call home and sang “We Are the World.”
• Best shipboard activities: Passengers on our cruise took to the Ship Shape activity program with a passion, crowding the dance floor for ballroom lessons, racking up running miles at the track, and playing games like Baggo Toss around the pool. For their efforts, they received T-shirts, duffle bags, mugs, and other treasures.
• Needs improvement: Spotty service and a less-than-spotless public restroom earned demerits on our cruise.
• Activities to skip: The lectures by massage therapists, hairdressers, and ship photographers turned out to be little more than sales pitches for miracle creams, haircuts, and digital cameras.

How to meet the captain
He’s at the meet-and-greet session before the first formal dinner, and hosts cocktail parties for repeat passengers. He also stays behind to answer more questions after a casual afternoon tell-all session for passengers.

The number of restaurants may be limited, but that’s made up for by the quality of the food. Legend sticks to tradition in the dining department, with 2 or 3 formal nights per cruise, and leisurely, no-rush multi-course meals.

Romeo and Juliet Dining Room
By day, the dining room has a bright and airy feel, thanks to large windows that sweep up through upper and lower levels. At night the room is asparkle with light from a glittering chandelier surrounded by green glass “petals.” It’s all reflected endlessly in a décor that relies heavily on mirrors, brass, and glass. The food is cruise-ship gourmet, with enough entrée choices to satisfy dieters and meat-lovers alike. Some of the best dishes on our cruise were vegetarian, including the Mushroom Vol au Vent appetizer which made a delightful and light main entrée one evening. Service was spotty, though. One big eater at our table was delighted when the waiter served him entrée-sized appetizers at most meals. But one noontime we waited for an hour for fresh-cooked pasta, only to finally be asked by a harried waiter if we’d like to order something else because the pasta chef was so far behind.

Windjammer Café
Legend’s buffet eatery is the ship’s alternative for more casual meals. Mid-afternoon, the cafeteria-style meats and veggies are removed and the steam tables are filled with trays of cookies, sandwiches, and finger foods for afternoon tea. The Windjammer is situated on an upper deck toward the bow for great views while eating.

Other dining options

• Solarium Café: An even more casual alternative, the café at one end of the Solarium Pool (just off the spa and fitness area) offers light and healthy continental fare on a buffet table at breakfast time. At lunch, there are hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, and roasted chicken at the counter.
• Room service: The room service menu includes the usual soups, sandwiches, and country-style or Continental breakfast. But you can also order in duck a l’orange with risotto and tiramisu for dessert. Service is free, though tips are appreciated.

Best dining

• Dish: Who knew chicken could be as fabulous as the succulent pieces swimming in a rich marsala sauce, as served in the dining room one evening.
• Dessert: The white chocolate fondue topped with colorful berries and cherries is as light as cumulus and decadent enough for royalty.
• Restaurant: The Romeo and Juliet Dining Room is elegant enough, the food good enough, and the waiters friendly enough that no one we talked to complained about the lack of a specialty restaurant.
• Food seminar: Executive chef Neill Sharer presides over a lesson in cooking a meat-and-potatoes meal anyone can copy back home. It includes Mushroom Vol au Vent for an appetizer, beef filet with green peppercorn sauce and mashed potatoes for an entrée, and, for dessert, a creamy tiramisu served elegantly in a martini glass.

How to…

• Get a table for two: Ask on booking for one of the few tables for two that are tucked away in corners or beside service stations. Some smaller tables on the upper deck of the two-story dining room have ocean views.
• Celebrate a birthday/anniversary: Ask in advance for a special cake for tablemates to share. The cake we ordered to help a couple celebrate their 50th anniversary cost $8.95.
• Change seating: The maître d’ is available on embarkation day to make changes, if possible. On our cruise, almost everyone wanted the early seating, while many tables were empty during the late seating. So late-diners could be seated in just about any area of the room they chose, while early-diners were discouraged from even asking to change.
• Dress for formal night: Legend is a bit less formal than some ships, so cocktail wear or dressy dresses are perfectly fine for women. Most men wear suits and ties, while a few wear tuxes.
• Dress for casual night: Most women wear casual dresses or pants and matching tops, while men wear slacks and sport shirts. On informal nights, men were encouraged to wear jackets and ties, but on our cruise, some made do with collared shirts and no jacket.

Tips:

• Bare feet or bathing suits are not allowed in the dining room, and shorts aren’t allowed there at dinner. Shorts are OK for casual dinners in the Windjammer Café.
• The chocolate buffet held late one evening on our cruise wasn’t announced in the daily schedule. We felt lucky that our waiter mentioned it at dinner because most passengers never knew it was planned.
• Dishes marked with a heart on the dining-room menu are “Royal Lifestyle” choices, selected because they are lower in calories or carbs.
• A $12 corkage fee is charged for guests bringing their own wine or champagne into the dining room.
• You can save money on wine by purchasing a package early in the voyage and ordering from its list. Packages range from $113 for five bottles that ordinarily would cost $165, to $329 for 12 bottles valued at $456.
• On our 10-night cruise, the all-you-can-drink juice and soft drink (fountain only, no cans) packages were priced at $40 for people under age 17, and $60 for everyone else. A 15 percent gratuity is added to the bill.

Legend’s cabins range from 138 square feet for the smallest insides to 1,020 square feet for the Royal Suites. Some rooms are small, but they’re well planned, and a floor-to-ceiling mirror makes them seem more spacious. The largest suites come with king-size beds, whirlpool bathtubs, and baby grand pianos. Royal Family Suites sleep a small army in 526 square feet, with two bedrooms with twin beds that convert to queen-size, two bathrooms, a living area with a sofa bed, and a fold-down Pullman bed. All cabins come equipped with small TVs, reasonably large closets with bifold doors, safes, hair dryers, beach towels (one for each occupant), and more drawer space than you’d think possible. Even the smallest have sitting areas with small coffee tables. Bathroom clutter is kept down with good-sized medicine cabinets and shelves under the sink. Don’t dream of long, hot showers though. Ours was as small as a ship could get away with, with a skimpy curtain that gaped when we turned around, trickling water out onto the floor. For some reason, it was stocked only with shampoo; no hair conditioner, body lotion, or bath gel.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
Cabins designed to accommodate wheelchairs range from 154 to 298 square feet. Three are less-expensive inside cabins and two are pricier junior suites. Each has extra-wide doors; lowered sink, vanity, and closet bars; a hand-held shower head; and a five-foot turning radius in the bathroom and main cabin. Raised toilet seats are available. For the hard-of-hearing, cabins can be furnished with a vibrating alarm clock and light monitors for the doorbell, telephone, and other alarms; telephones can be amplified; and with a 60-day notice, sign-language interpreters can be furnished. Guests are given deck plans showing accessible areas. Automatic doors make many decks accessible, and public areas have inclines at entry. Corridors are wide enough to accommodate a turning wheelchair. Braille and large-print menus are available, and elevator buttons are in Braille.

Tips:

• There are no ashtrays in the cabins. If you must smoke, the room attendant will fetch one for you.
• If you decide to take the hair dryer home with you, Royal Caribbean will charge you $25. The price for a beach towel is $20.
• Suggested gratuities are $9.75 per person, per day for your cabin attendant and dining room staff. (More if you stay in a suite.) They can be added to your shipboard account.
• Oxygen devices and dialysis equipment and solutions are permitted in cabins.

Click to view a virtual tour

Legend’s centerpiece and favorite gathering spot is the atrium, sweeping up through six decks to the Viking Crown Lounge. The lobby features a babbling pool with tropical plants, white marble staircase, and grand piano. Wide mezzanines on the upper floors provide a dizzying view down on the action. The Internet area on one of the upper mezzanines holds four kiosks with 16 computer stations. Shops meander down a hallway off another upper deck. There’s a card room for bridge and parlor games and a library with huge overstuffed chairs and signs warning that this is a “quiet zone.”

Bars, lounges, and casino
A stylized steel sculpture of the bow of a Viking ship dominates the Viking Crown Lounge, the scene of late-night partying on the topmost deck. There’s a large dance floor (plenty of room for line dancing) with flashing disco lights. During the day it serves as the observation lounge and reading room, with a view overlooking the main pool. One corner is designated a cigar bar. Nearer the center of the ship is the Schooner piano bar, with nautical lines and lots of brass, and the Champagne Bar, the place for hors d’oeuvres and sparkling cocktails before dinner. There’s plenty of glitzy action at Casino Royale, though it’s a bit crowded with 170 slots and 10 gaming tables. The casino is usually open shortly after the ship leaves port, although some ports allow the gaming to go on when the ship is docked. To gamble, guests must be 18 or older.

Heard on the deck: “I won’t tell you the bad thing I did after the show last night. Oh, okay, I will. I went to the casino and lost another five bucks. So shoot me.”

Swimming pools
Legend has two pools, each with two whirlpools. Kids are welcome at the main open-air pool, which has a shallow shelf for cool sunning and a mesh metal gate to separate the deep end from the shallows. The Solarium pool, an elegant covered pool with Grecian columns, travertine tiles, and faux marble statuary, is for adults only, unless the weather turns too foul to swim outdoors. Sun filters through a latticed metal roof. Games (horse racing, trivia, and baggo toss) are played poolside in the sun, while the solarium is reserved for quieter pastimes.

Heard on the deck (from an English passenger after she won the poolside horse race with a cardboard horse named Yankee Doodle): “You might know I’d get a rebel horse.”

Shows
The That’s Entertainment Theatre, the main showroom, seats 800 in graduated rows of comfortable seats with handy drink holders in their padded arms. A few seats at the side and in the rear are blocked by brass columns. Legend’s troupe of singers and dancers fill the stage in three multimedia variety shows, with choreography leaning heavily on the shimmy-ability of the dancers. The orchestra works overtime on this ship, playing for the productions, backing individual acts, providing live music for dancing, and lending professional support to the guest talent show. Anchors Aweigh, the secondary show lounge, features an art deco ambience, with stylized posters of cruise ships and crisply uniformed stewards.

Shore excursions
Legend’s shore jaunts run the gamut, from pricy dolphin encounters and helicopter adventures to city walking tours. Some are priced lower for children ages 4-12. All are marked by activity level (mild to strenuous). Passengers are urged to make second and third choices in case first-choice tours sell out, but that’s not always necessary. Some ports of call are as easily seen on your own as with a tour guide.

Weddings and vow renewals
Weddings onboard or on shore can be arranged through Royal Caribbean International. Shipboard weddings range from $1,095 in Florida to $1,395 in Bermuda. (Beach weddings start at $1,695 in Florida and $1,995 in Bermuda). In mostly Catholic Italy, a symbolic blessing service costs $1,950. Cruise representatives arrange everything from marriage licenses to champagne breakfast in bed, depending on what package is chosen. Tuxes and wedding gowns (“formal satin with a sweeping train,” starting at $400) can be rented during cruises sailing out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. When couples renew vows, a crew member presides over a ceremony, complete with flowers, photographs, wedding cake, and champagne.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: The library is designated a no-talking zone. When the pool action gets to be too much, book lovers disappear into its soft leather chairs.
• Liveliest spot: The Viking Crown Lounge gets kicking in earnest after the last floor show, when the spotlights go Technicolor, the DJ cranks up the sound, and the beer goes on special for $4 a pint. If you can’t do the Electric Slide or the Texas Two-Step, wait a while and a conga line will come your way.
• Most popular activity: Even the old folks get in line to climb the rock wall. It’s non-threatening, with sturdy harnesses and two strong staffers who never let climbers go into free-fall.
• Best view: The top of the 33-foot-high rock-climbing wall, which leans out over Legend’s stern, provides a dizzying view of the ship’s wake. If you’re too acrophobic to go there, head for the Viking Crown Lounge, where you can watch the sunbathers gathered around the pool below.
• Best show: Jump Jivin’ Swing, a ’40s revival, is a romp down memory lane for the older set and an energetic lesson in jive and jitterbug for the under-50 crowd.
• Best drink: The Royal Caribbean, a blush-pink mixture of champagne and rose syrup, is like drinking a romantic floral bouquet.

Heard on the deck (from the caller at bingo): “You wonder why everyone who wins gets called Lorraine, whether they’re male or female? That’s because everyone who plays bingo seems to be a Lorraine Something-or-Other from Ohio.”

Tips:

• Caviar Dreams, a specialty hors d’oeuvre service at the Champagne Bar, includes a choice of caviars served by the ounce at market price, or foie gras for $30. You don’t need to order in advance.
• Bring your sheet music along on this cruise. The passenger talent show draws some very good acts. And in the mornings the piano in the smoking area off the Viking Crown Lounge is turned over to talented passengers.
• Post a note on the community bulletin board in the library to connect with passengers with like interests. On our cruise people wanted to hook up with “low-limit poker players” for a “friendly and inexpensive game,” and with fellow football fans from Texas.
• There’s a paperback book swap in the library.
• Reserving seats is not allowed in the That’s Entertainment Theatre.
• E-mail and surfing the Internet costs 50¢ per minute. For 95¢ a minute, you can e-mail a video postcard to friends or family.
• Digests of newspaper articles from Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Britain, and the U.S. are available each day in the library.
• Clergy are brought onboard for religious holidays.

Heard on the deck (from a crew member about to lead a trivia game): “I’d like to tell you ladies and gentlemen, if you feel like cheating, don’t bother. The prizes aren’t that great. This isn’t for the free cruise.”

Legend has a full program for kids, from infants to 17-year-olds. You’ll find playgroups for babies and toddlers and their parents; story times and crafts for pre-schoolers (starting with potty-trained 3-year-olds); age-appropriate science classes and games for older kids; and dances, talent shows, and pool parties for teens (plus Optix, the high-tech teen nightclub, with a dance floor and throbbing disco lights). There are also places to play foosball or just hang, plus a video arcade with eight games. Staff in the kids’ programs have college degrees in education, recreation, or related fields, or equivalent experience working with young people.

Tips:

• Adventure Ocean, the kids’ playroom, and the arcade are designated alcohol-free zones, even for parents.
• Drinking age for beer and wine is 18, but you have to be 21 to order mixed drinks.
• Pick-up time for the little ones is 10 PM, but night-owl parents can leave their kids at the Late-Night Party Zone until 1 AM, for $5 per child, per hour.

Spa and salon
Legend’s day spa is not as elegant as some, but it features complimentary steam rooms and a comfortable waiting area that looks like a sun room with statuary and greenery (it doubles as a seminar room for sales lectures on spa therapies and beauty services). Besides the usual facials and massages, Legend’s therapists offer teeth whitening (40 minutes for $199) and a relaxation package ($90) that uses aromatherapy, heat, music, and a vibrating bed to release tension. The “original little black dress treatment” guarantees you’ll lose one to eight inches in one session, with electrodes placed under a mud pack vibrating every few seconds for a half hour or so, causing your torso to contract. When you’re done, your waist and abs have indeed retreated slightly but, alas, only temporarily. The good feeling goes away when the therapist launches into a sales pitch for more than $2,000 worth of lotions, potions, and vitamins to finish what you just started.

Fitness areas
Legend’s fitness area is fully equipped with workout equipment and free weights. It’s not fancy, though, and it’s really too small. People with weights have to step over people on mats, creating what looks like an accident waiting to happen. But there are a full range of fitness classes including aerobics, yoga, Pilates and kickboxing. The climbing wall, with three “routes” for beginners to experts, and an 18-hole miniature golf course are among the ship’s most popular attractions. Both are free.

Heard on the deck (after the kickboxing class): “The instructor kept saying you have to make that ‘hook, hook’ noise to get it right. I can’t do that. It’s too weird.”

Tips:

• Make hair, nail and spa appointments the first day for special prices. The Ionithermie treatment, normally $132, was $99 if you signed up right away.
• Cancel spa reservations or fitness classes 24 hours in advance to avoid a 50 percent cancellation penalty.
• Kids under 18 have to be accompanied by a parent to try the climbing wall.

Heard on the deck (from a passenger who’d just scaled the climbing wall): “Going up, I was a little shaky, but coming down was a breeze.”

Legend’s shops (the “Boutiques of Centrum”) offer the usual cruise logo souvenirs, T-shirts, gold-by-the-inch jewelry, and crystal ships in a bottle. For the in-depth cruiser, there’s also a DVD on how the big ocean liners are built. And the art auction always draws a crowd. This time, the peanut gallery got to see a bidder walk away with a Salvador Dali creation for $9,000.

Heard on the deck: “Look at that amber on her. I told her she’d better buy that necklace. It looks fabulous on her. Yipes, her husband’ll kill me if he hears me say that.”

Tip: For a $9.50 fee, alcohol purchased in the onboard liquor store can be taken to your cabin. Otherwise, it’s delivered on the last day of the voyage.

Heard on the deck: “We’re going to need more than that extra carry-on to get all the stuff we bought home. We’re going to need a darn train.”

Legend of the Seas cruises from Southampton, England along Europe’s west coast through the summer and early fall, moving back to the Caribbean in October.

Heard on the deck (from a passenger finishing her first cruise): “I love this ship. We didn’t have to think about one thing. All we had to do was forage for our food.”

• Cruise line - Royal Caribbean
• Ship name - Legend of the Seas
• Type of cruise - Casual
• Total cabins - 902
• Private balcony cabins - 231
• Decks - 11
• Total crew - 720
• Passenger capacity - 1800
• Ship size - Large
• Officers nationality - Norwegian
• Year entered service - 1995
• Registry - Bahamas
• Ship length - 867
• Tonnage - 69,130