Thought I would give all of you some info from my recent cruise. I read many of the posts here prior to our cruise and they were helpful.
Our room was "obstructed view" #5184. The life boat was just below the railing of the balcony, so it was not bad at all. In fact I got some wonderful moon and sunset shots from the balcony. The first port Grand Cayman was cancelled due to high seas and inability to get tenders up to the ship. The other ports: Cozumel- we did the jeep/snorkel tour. It was great even if a couple of the jeeps got stuck in the sand. (Some people do not know how to drive 4-wheel drive vehicles (we live in a snow belt so were are used to using 4 wheel drive). The lunch on this excursion was mexican, but we were not that thrilled with it. Could be that we are just not mexican food eaters. Belize- we did the Altun Ha tour, it was very interesting. Be sure to find the "Allspice" tree. (I always thought that "Allspice" was a mixture of spices....not true. Roatan-definitely the highlight of the excursions! It is beautiful and so uncommericalized. We rented scooters from Captain Van's. He is located in the West Bay area and you are picked up at the dock. There is a beautiful spot on the top of a hill for a fabulous scenic view. With little time on this island, we only visited the Iguana Farm and the Cameo factory. The Iguana Farm is difficult to find, but is well worth it. There is a doantion to enter because it is run by a guy and his sister who are tring to perserve the iguanas. They are a food for the residents of the island. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at the Cameo Factory, and it was not worth the stop. Very little to purchase that is reasonable, and there is really nothing to see as far as someone carving them. As soon as we walked in 2 doors closed as if there were things that we were not supposed to see.
As far as the onship experience itself.....I have been on Norwegian, Holland America and Dolphin (so long ago that it is no longer in business). The Food in the dining room of the Legend was good, but not excellent. I was a bit disappointed in that there was no big celebrative shows by the waiters towards the end of the cruise. (I have been on some with flaming dessert parades by the waiters and wine stewards.) There was a parade of waiters on the last night, but it was pretty unfestive.) The best breakfasts were in the Unicorn Cafe. There were very good burgers in the Unicorn Cafe for lunch also. Don't miss the Ice cream parlor on the Unicorn deck on "at Sea" days.
Entertainment-DON"T MISS PUCK!! This is a hypmotist that performs 2 shows, one adult and one for all ages. Don't miss him. I never laughed so hard in my life. Disappointing for me was late night entertainment other than the Casino. My other enjoys the casino, I don't. While he was in the Casino late, I could find no place to go to listen to music after 11:00 during the first part of the cruise. There were places towards the end of the cruise. Once after an early show, we went to the Sports bar, only to find American Idol on all of the TV's. The bartender could not change the stations on the tv's. No sports to find here.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy my cruise. In a nutshell.....The rooms are fantastic and larger than any other ship I have crusied. The room staffing is as great as any other cruise I have experienced. The waiters and bartenders are just as great as any other crusie I have been on. The ports are better that any other ships I have sailed, because I like Tampa as a port. (This is my first time in Cozumel, Belize and Roatan, but I have been to Grand Caymen before.) The ship itself is great, I like the abundance of the balconies. This is the first cruise that I have been on that spending time in the room or on the balcony was not a problem.