Carnival Legend Review 06/12/2018

I just have to say we had the most amazing time in Alaska it was def a check off our bucket list - Now I will admit it is probably the best cruise we have ever gone on as 3 out of 4 of the ports were just amazing and we had a great time and the views well they were just to die for - But if you ask me if I would ever do it again it is not very likely that I will do this cruise again as we travel from Florida and that was a long way to go but I am certainly glad to have that experience

Embarkation Day

Seattle port does allow you to go into the port prior toyour check-in time – You still have to wait till your preassigned zone is calledto get on the boat but at least they let you in the terminal

We got there and the line went rather quickly and we spentabout 15 minutes waiting to embark

First thing we did when we went on the ship is stopped atGuy’s burgers – By far my fave place to eat on the ship and I do it everysingle day – I am not one of those people who needs change when I findsomething I like I stick with it so Guy’s works for me

We were scheduled for Late Dining but a quick trip to theTruffles Dining room at Early dining time and they were able to switch us – we endedup liking our temporary staff for the evening and requested to keep them whichthey were able to do for us – Dinner was great every night

So the hubby and I love the Piano Bar and we go there everynight – On this ship it is Gregg and I will say Gregg is funny and verypersonable but I was not impressed with his singing honestly he was not thatgreat at all but we kept going back because he was fun

Took a quick trip to the Casino as I always budget to play alittle and to my surprise they have an electronic Roulette table which Iabsolutely love – It actually has a wheel that spins the ball so you can seethat spinning so it’s not rigged you just make your bets on the screen in frontof you and what I love is that minimum bet is 25 cents even on the outsideareas which are normally $5 bets on the regular tables – Seriously as long asyou don’t go crazy you can make your money last the entire time and walk awaybreaking even or even a little ahead – For me going to the casino is nothitting it huge and walking away with bucks it is just about having some funand when I can pop $50 in the casino and make it last my entire trip I am ahappy camper considering I normally budget $200 a day

My youngest daughter lost her phone on the ship as it fellout of her pocket – Thankfully someone found it and turned it back in to theguest services so it was retrieved (would have been horrible to lose 2 phonesthis trip my hubby left his phone sitting on a bench in Seattle the day beforeand we had to run out and buy him a new phone)

Day 2 – Sea Day

Did the Seaday Brunch which of course filet and eggs wereamazing – my hubby loved his egg white omelet – I always try and do the brunchat least one of the days I just don’t like the waiting time for it most days Idon’t mind the 90 minute dinners but for breakfast I really just wanna get myfood and move on so I can get to other activities – But like I said brunch isdone at least once per trip for the filet

We normally enjoy doing the games and trivia’s as we love toget our golden ship on a stick with the cruise ship name on it for ourcollection but let me say wowsers I don’t know if it was the clientele on thistrip or because it was a 7 day cruise but I have never seen so many peopleparticipating in games in trivia on other ships I have gone to games andsometimes we barely have enough people to play the game but on the legend theroom areas were completely booked with people spilling outside of the generalplay area – Needless to say after attending a few different ones we realizedquickly that we were not going to get our ship on a stick which was a bummerfor us

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

Day 3 – Tracy Arm Fjord

I just have to say I was a little disappointed in the guy atthe excursion desk as I went to them and asked about excursions for this dayand he told me about the boat that takes you up close but at the $200 pricerange was more than I wanted to spend for this – What disappointed me was thathe was trying to push this boat trip and went as far as telling us that theywere only spending 10 minutes in the Fjord – I was pleasantly happy to find outthat he was in fact not being truthful and we had plenty of time to relax enjoythe scenery and get pictures – There are tons of people crowded around lookingat the glacier and we did manage to get our pics but what was great is that we hada balcony room so we waited until they started spinning the ship around to goback out and we were able to get an unobstructed perfect view of the glacierright from our balcony – In case anyone needs to know we were starboard side

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

Day 4 – Skagway

For this day we chose to do the tour thru Carnival they hada Gold Panning, 40 Below, and Sled Puppy tour which I could not find outside ofCarnival. It was so funny because we got there and we all boarded the bus andwe were waiting and waiting to leave. One of the drivers finally came on andsaid they were just waiting on a few people to show up. About 10 minutes laterwe guessed they finally showed and during this time the people around usincluding ourselves were saying they should have just left them it’s one thingto wait a few minutes but to wait nearly 20-25 minutes for people who were notconsiderate enough to get there on time was ridiculous. So we get to the placeand the tour leader reminds us to hold on to our black coins as they wereneeded for the gold panning. I raised my hand and was like we don’t have blackcoins and she was like did I take your ticket and I was like no we still havethem. Once we got off the bus and got together with her to get the coins itturns out the people they were waiting on was us LOL … We did not see anyonecollecting tickets but we were the only ones missing tokens so I guess we wereoblivious to it LOL

Anyhow – the tour was amazing we loved holding the 3 weekold Alaskan Huskies – We got to hold 2 different ones it was interestinglearning about the mushing and to actually see the dogs in action – It’s sofunny they were just normal dogs looking for attention but as soon as they werehooked to the sled all of a sudden they were jumping and barking like crazythey just knew it was time to go and they were ready to haul their butts aroundthe track

The 40 below room really is negative 40 degrees – They dogive you additional parkas to wear over your clothes but it seriously is cold –The lady said we can stay until the first person is ready to go – Thank Godsomeone was ready to go after like 2-3 minutes as it was freaking cold in there– The lady brought in boiling hot water and threw it on the wall and before ithit the wall it was rock solid

The gold panning was very cool but you have to be verycareful to not lose your gold – Yes they do let you keep it they also weigh itfor you – We ended up going home with about $50 in gold for the 4 of us.

Cool tidbit was talking about the schooling system there asthis town is super small and they have a k-12 school and graduating class theyear before was 3

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

Day 5 – Juneau

We booked our whale watching, glacier visit, and city tourthru Juneau Shore Tours was about $650 for all 4 of us which was a great price and I just have to say their staff and this tour wasamazing – It was a short 5 minute walk from the ship to meet them and hop on abus – The driver actually gave us a really informative talking tour as we tookour 25 minute trek to get to the whale watching boat – he even slowed downalong this one little area and told us to look down this creek type bed andthere it was about 25 – 30 eagles along this bed it was beautiful I wish hewould have told us a little bit sooner as I would have loved to snap a pictureof that

The naturalist on the boat was amazing and they really knewthere stuff gave us all kinds of info about maritime laws and info about whales– They ended up finding us 4 different whales to view

A bus was waiting for us when we got back and took us to theglacier – FYI tip and wish I would have known bring your passport they willstamp it for you – saw the glacier and nugget fall then went to the littletrail off to the side and was able to see a mama bear and her 3 cubs – it’s a shamea bunch of trees were blocking the way as we were not able to get great picsfrom the angle we were at

Back to the stop we had to wait a few minutes for a bus tocome back as they came every 30 minutes – hopped on the bus just in time for alady to stop us in the middle of the road and we were trying to figure out whyand low and behold here comes this bear just strolling across the road

If you’re looking for some good cheap souvenirs rightoutside the dock is a company called Alaska T-shirt Company and they had a tonof items and super cheap prices – we initially saw a hat/shirt combo for 9.99which is what grabbed our attention but when I went in the prices were so greatwe ended up buying a ton of stuff magnets and shot glasses $1.99 – shirts for6.99 – you get the picture great prices

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

Day 6 – Ketchikan

This city was kind of small and was easy to do a walkingtour if you go to the visitor center when you get off the ship you walk pastall the people trying to sell excursions and there is a desk and it will have awalking tour map – Def visit Creek street a lot of history there and they havesome pretty amazing views

Downside to this trip - So my daughter was in Circle C – a boyin a pair of socks was running past her and knocked her from her chair and whenshe fell on the floor she ended up breaking her collar bone – So a visit to themedical floor in which they took an x-ray and confirmed it was broken – They puther in a sling and gave her some 400 mg ibuprofen – The doctor was very niceand surprisingly I was expecting some huge bill but the visit plus x-rays andmeds and sling was only $279 – She is okay already visited her normal doctorand treatment is underway

The hubby and the daughter did the Chef’s table – For myselfand our 12 year old it’s not worth the money as we are so picky with our eatingbut the oldest daughter and hubby absolutely loved the food and the wholeexperience – They got to try foods they have not had before and they learnedhow to make the melting chocolate cake – my husband said if you decide toexperience this and he feels every good foodie should do it at least once tomake sure you go hungry as they make so much food he was still stuffed atbreakfast time the next day – They ended up giving them a special menu that hadtheir name on it and also gave each of them a group photo with the chef includedfor free

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

Day 7 – Victoria BC

We booked the Fun Tour for the ship as we had never done itbefore - The tour took about 3 1/2 hours when we visited the Galley they gave usa free chocolate covered dessert - in 2 different locations they had beveragesand snacks like cookies and croissants for us - They took a picture in thegalley with the chef that makes all the cute fruit arrangements - we also got agroup picture and individual picture with the captain - So alltogether we ended up we 3 different pictures and they gave each person in ourparty a set of the three for free - so the hubby and i walked away with 6pictures - At the end the tour leader gave us a drawstring bag, abracelet, a hat, and a free lanyard - as well as free champagne or mimosas -

So really even though the price was slightly high we did geta ton of freebies included and the tour was cool as we learned a lot not onlyabout the ship but also about the staff life on the ship

So it’s the last day on the boat and we were walking by anda Fact or Fiction game was about to start so hubby and I decided to stop andplay managed to scrounge up 2 empty chairs and low and behold my hubby tiedwith another player and we got our coveted ship on a stick – Really made my day

I would normally tell you I visited the Piano Bar along withthe Casino again but the Casino shuts down at 3 pm on this day and does notreopen for the remainder of the trip something about sailing in Canadian watersand apparently the Piano Bar guy gets this night off – Although considering heplays for only 3 ½ hours a day and that is it I don’t understand why he doesnot play each night as he has plenty of down time the only other time he doessomething else is on embarkation day he wears a red how can I help you shirt –I guess you can say his loss as we always bring money to the piano bar and sendsome his way when he plays our song

This was the first time ever that on the last day I wished Icould just get off the ship already as they barely had any activities plannedand with areas being closed off it made for an extremely boring day

We did not book anything ahead of time thought we would justget off the ship and find something but that did not work out so well the linesfor taxi’s were way too long to wait for as they did not have many taxi’s at atime and the shuttle was more expensive then I wanted to pay for the 4 of us –So we thought why not do a horse trolley tour but nope they were sold out buttold us we could book an entire buggy and they could get one there it was only$300 yah so no that was not about to happen either – Same thing with privatetour drivers they wanted like $150 for a hour tour – Needless to say we justdecided to get back on the ship – Not that I think we will ever go back to thisarea but if we do I will plan better and ahead of time

Day 8 – Debarkation

So we waited until about 845 to get off the ship – Decided towait in the room until about 815 then headed on up to the Lido deck forbreakfast – Our flight was not until 230 so we had plenty of time

Getting off the boat was quick and all that was left was tograb our 3 bags we set out the night before – Went to luggage and it was nowhereto be found – I had already gone thru all the luggage in the entire area twiceand the helpers kept saying well some came off in different sections – I wasvery polite but I was not sure what part of I have already gone thru the entirearea twice they were not understanding – I asked the one guy if he could callthe ship as we had 3 out of 3 pieces missing and one was different than theother 2 so it was not likely that someone took all 3 of our luggage’s – He literallytold me that was impossible and we again had to wait for nearly all the luggageto be gone there was maybe 20 pieces left and then the guy finally gets thebright idea well maybe we should call the ship I don’t think someone walked offwith your luggage since one of your pieces was different – Thanks guys that iswhat I been saying for 45 minutes – about 10 minutes later my luggage shows upwhere it was located in the crew luggage section on the ship – So an hour laterwe were finally on our way – If you’re looking for a way to get from the Portto the airport the taxi companies have a deal with the port that it is $40 flatfee for up to 4 people which was far better than the $76 uber price or the $28per person shuttle price

Was a great trip if you have any questions please ask I will try my best to answer them

Awesome review. I printed it off for my friend as she is sailing this trip on July 3rd. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the review I’m looking at Alaska next year about that same time too. Can’t remember if it will still be the Legend or miracle next year though

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You have to buy the national park passport. You can usually stamp the national park passport yourself.

I had a port balcony back in May 2017. We went to Endicott Arm since we couldn't get into Tracy Arm. Port balconies were never facing the glacier itself, only the left and right walls. The ship spun counterclockwise. I had to go up top for pictures.

There was port day lunch in the MDR that day. It was okay, but my mom and I weren't thrilled with the limited choices.

We were in Juneau from 7:00am-4:00pm. My mom and I took the white bus to Mendenhall. It was $66 for the two of us. They now charge $45 per adult. I booked it ahead of time. We took the first trip which was at 7:30am. Unless things have changed, Carnival's excursions use the blue bus, so the blue bus is more crowded than the white bus. We were leaving the glacier just as the first excursion got there.

I spent 20 nights in Juneau on a land trip in July/August 2012. When the group went to Mendenhall, we saw a black bear and her cub eating salmon. We were supposed to be quiet, but I couldn't help reacting to the smell. It smelled horrible.

The shop right next to the ship sells Jelly Belly jelly beans. They had an amazing strawberry jam flavor which is a jelly bean flavor I haven't been able to find elsewhere.

We were in Victoria for 12 hours from 10:00am-10:00pm. This doesn't happen often. It only happens on sailings that are 8 days or longer. We were the only ship there. We were the first ship of the their season. The taxi line wasn't long. We took a taxi to the Fairmont Empress Hotel. It was $11.40 CAD/$8.42 USD after tip. We walked around downtown and ate at Fatburger(no apologies). We walked around some more and bought souvenirs. We then walked to Fisherman's Wharf. I had some delicious ice cream. It was $6.50 CAD/$4.77 USD after tip for a waffle cone with two scoops. My mom couldn't walk any further, so we took a pedicab back to the port. It was $21.85 CAD/$16.05 USD after tip. We looked in the gift shop at the port, but I don't remember if we bought anything. I did buy a bag of Lays ketchup chips and a can of Diet Dr Pepper from the snack stand at the port. My mom bought a can of Diet Dr Pepper too. We love Diet Dr Pepper, but the ship didn't have it.

Thank you for the review! We will be on Legend next Summer and the info was quite valuable. Interesting that the casino shut down at 3PM on the day you were to arrive in Victoria - I'll be sure to let DW know get her gambling done early on that last day! ;)

Thank you for posting your review. We are taking the Legend in about a month. I cannot wait!

Question - On disembarkation day, did the Carnival allow you to utilize the Port Authority Luggage Valet?

Thanks for the review.

Another Thanks! We are heading out on her the 10th of July. Can you tell me what the weather was like? I'm still back and forth on what to pack.

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. We were on the same cruise this time last year and reading this brought back great memories. Definitely a bucket list cruise! :)

Sorry to hear about your daughter’s collarbone. It is such a scary experience when something happens like that at sea. Our Alaska cruise was incident- free but we were not so lucky a couple months ago on our Spring Break cruise on the Conquest. My 12 year old stepped on a large piece of glass, in the hot tub, and had to be carried to the infirmary with his foot gushing blood. Of course Carnival apologized and comped the infirmary bill, but it damper the week because he had a hard time walking on it.

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Thank you for the review! We did an Alaskan cruise last year on the Legend before the upgrades. Loved the ship then and now I really want to go again. Having a balcony is well worth it with scenery and all the whales, porpoise, eagles and other wildlife we saw. We even saw a mountain goat on one of the steep hills.

Another Thanks! We are heading out on her the 10th of July. Can you tell me what the weather was like? I'm still back and forth on what to pack.

It was for sure cold but not as cold as I expected it to be and will be a little warmer by the time you go - For sure bring pants and I just had a regular jacket I did not bring crazy winter wear from super cold climants I also did not need gloves or scarfs or anything like that

Now our weather was beautiful no rain whatsoever but they mentioned several times that the week before it had poured down rain so be prepared for rain we had umbrellas and raincoats just in case if your lucky you won't have to use them

Thank you for posting your review. We are taking the Legend in about a month. I cannot wait!

 

Question - On disembarkation day, did the Carnival allow you to utilize the Port Authority Luggage Valet?

It is not available for Carnival at this port we wished it was as we could have taken a little more time getting to the airport but instead we had to go straight there as we had 5 suitcases and 3 bags

Thank you for your review. We leave in 24 days.

Thank you for the review.

I just have to say we had the most amazing time in Alaska it was def a check off our bucket list - Now I will admit it is probably the best cruise we have ever gone on as 3 out of 4 of the ports were just amazing and we had a great time and the views well they were just to die for - But if you ask me if I would ever do it again it is not very likely that I will do this cruise again as we travel from Florida and that was a long way to go but I am certainly glad to have that experience

 

 

Embarkation Day

 

 

Seattle port does allow you to go into the port prior toyour check-in time – You still have to wait till your preassigned zone is calledto get on the boat but at least they let you in the terminal

We got there and the line went rather quickly and we spentabout 15 minutes waiting to embark

First thing we did when we went on the ship is stopped atGuy’s burgers – By far my fave place to eat on the ship and I do it everysingle day – I am not one of those people who needs change when I findsomething I like I stick with it so Guy’s works for me

 

 

We were scheduled for Late Dining but a quick trip to theTruffles Dining room at Early dining time and they were able to switch us – we endedup liking our temporary staff for the evening and requested to keep them whichthey were able to do for us – Dinner was great every night

 

 

So the hubby and I love the Piano Bar and we go there everynight – On this ship it is Gregg and I will say Gregg is funny and verypersonable but I was not impressed with his singing honestly he was not thatgreat at all but we kept going back because he was fun

 

 

Took a quick trip to the Casino as I always budget to play alittle and to my surprise they have an electronic Roulette table which Iabsolutely love – It actually has a wheel that spins the ball so you can seethat spinning so it’s not rigged you just make your bets on the screen in frontof you and what I love is that minimum bet is 25 cents even on the outsideareas which are normally $5 bets on the regular tables – Seriously as long asyou don’t go crazy you can make your money last the entire time and walk awaybreaking even or even a little ahead – For me going to the casino is nothitting it huge and walking away with bucks it is just about having some funand when I can pop $50 in the casino and make it last my entire trip I am ahappy camper considering I normally budget $200 a day

 

 

My youngest daughter lost her phone on the ship as it fellout of her pocket – Thankfully someone found it and turned it back in to theguest services so it was retrieved (would have been horrible to lose 2 phonesthis trip my hubby left his phone sitting on a bench in Seattle the day beforeand we had to run out and buy him a new phone)

 

 

Day 2 – Sea Day

 

 

Did the Seaday Brunch which of course filet and eggs wereamazing – my hubby loved his egg white omelet – I always try and do the brunchat least one of the days I just don’t like the waiting time for it most days Idon’t mind the 90 minute dinners but for breakfast I really just wanna get myfood and move on so I can get to other activities – But like I said brunch isdone at least once per trip for the filet

 

 

We normally enjoy doing the games and trivia’s as we love toget our golden ship on a stick with the cruise ship name on it for ourcollection but let me say wowsers I don’t know if it was the clientele on thistrip or because it was a 7 day cruise but I have never seen so many peopleparticipating in games in trivia on other ships I have gone to games andsometimes we barely have enough people to play the game but on the legend theroom areas were completely booked with people spilling outside of the generalplay area – Needless to say after attending a few different ones we realizedquickly that we were not going to get our ship on a stick which was a bummerfor us

 

 

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

 

 

Day 3 – Tracy Arm Fjord

 

 

I just have to say I was a little disappointed in the guy atthe excursion desk as I went to them and asked about excursions for this dayand he told me about the boat that takes you up close but at the $200 pricerange was more than I wanted to spend for this – What disappointed me was thathe was trying to push this boat trip and went as far as telling us that theywere only spending 10 minutes in the Fjord – I was pleasantly happy to find outthat he was in fact not being truthful and we had plenty of time to relax enjoythe scenery and get pictures – There are tons of people crowded around lookingat the glacier and we did manage to get our pics but what was great is that we hada balcony room so we waited until they started spinning the ship around to goback out and we were able to get an unobstructed perfect view of the glacierright from our balcony – In case anyone needs to know we were starboard side

 

 

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

 

 

Day 4 – Skagway

 

 

For this day we chose to do the tour thru Carnival they hada Gold Panning, 40 Below, and Sled Puppy tour which I could not find outside ofCarnival. It was so funny because we got there and we all boarded the bus andwe were waiting and waiting to leave. One of the drivers finally came on andsaid they were just waiting on a few people to show up. About 10 minutes laterwe guessed they finally showed and during this time the people around usincluding ourselves were saying they should have just left them it’s one thingto wait a few minutes but to wait nearly 20-25 minutes for people who were notconsiderate enough to get there on time was ridiculous. So we get to the placeand the tour leader reminds us to hold on to our black coins as they wereneeded for the gold panning. I raised my hand and was like we don’t have blackcoins and she was like did I take your ticket and I was like no we still havethem. Once we got off the bus and got together with her to get the coins itturns out the people they were waiting on was us LOL … We did not see anyonecollecting tickets but we were the only ones missing tokens so I guess we wereoblivious to it LOL

 

 

Anyhow – the tour was amazing we loved holding the 3 weekold Alaskan Huskies – We got to hold 2 different ones it was interestinglearning about the mushing and to actually see the dogs in action – It’s sofunny they were just normal dogs looking for attention but as soon as they werehooked to the sled all of a sudden they were jumping and barking like crazythey just knew it was time to go and they were ready to haul their butts aroundthe track

 

 

The 40 below room really is negative 40 degrees – They dogive you additional parkas to wear over your clothes but it seriously is cold –The lady said we can stay until the first person is ready to go – Thank Godsomeone was ready to go after like 2-3 minutes as it was freaking cold in there– The lady brought in boiling hot water and threw it on the wall and before ithit the wall it was rock solid

 

 

The gold panning was very cool but you have to be verycareful to not lose your gold – Yes they do let you keep it they also weigh itfor you – We ended up going home with about $50 in gold for the 4 of us.

 

 

Cool tidbit was talking about the schooling system there asthis town is super small and they have a k-12 school and graduating class theyear before was 3

 

 

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

 

 

Day 5 – Juneau

 

 

We booked our whale watching, glacier visit, and city tourthru Juneau Shore Tours was about $650 for all 4 of us which was a great price and I just have to say their staff and this tour wasamazing – It was a short 5 minute walk from the ship to meet them and hop on abus – The driver actually gave us a really informative talking tour as we tookour 25 minute trek to get to the whale watching boat – he even slowed downalong this one little area and told us to look down this creek type bed andthere it was about 25 – 30 eagles along this bed it was beautiful I wish hewould have told us a little bit sooner as I would have loved to snap a pictureof that

 

 

The naturalist on the boat was amazing and they really knewthere stuff gave us all kinds of info about maritime laws and info about whales– They ended up finding us 4 different whales to view

 

 

A bus was waiting for us when we got back and took us to theglacier – FYI tip and wish I would have known bring your passport they willstamp it for you – saw the glacier and nugget fall then went to the littletrail off to the side and was able to see a mama bear and her 3 cubs – it’s a shamea bunch of trees were blocking the way as we were not able to get great picsfrom the angle we were at

 

 

Back to the stop we had to wait a few minutes for a bus tocome back as they came every 30 minutes – hopped on the bus just in time for alady to stop us in the middle of the road and we were trying to figure out whyand low and behold here comes this bear just strolling across the road

 

 

If you’re looking for some good cheap souvenirs rightoutside the dock is a company called Alaska T-shirt Company and they had a tonof items and super cheap prices – we initially saw a hat/shirt combo for 9.99which is what grabbed our attention but when I went in the prices were so greatwe ended up buying a ton of stuff magnets and shot glasses $1.99 – shirts for6.99 – you get the picture great prices

 

 

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

 

 

Day 6 – Ketchikan

 

 

This city was kind of small and was easy to do a walkingtour if you go to the visitor center when you get off the ship you walk pastall the people trying to sell excursions and there is a desk and it will have awalking tour map – Def visit Creek street a lot of history there and they havesome pretty amazing views

 

 

Downside to this trip - So my daughter was in Circle C – a boyin a pair of socks was running past her and knocked her from her chair and whenshe fell on the floor she ended up breaking her collar bone – So a visit to themedical floor in which they took an x-ray and confirmed it was broken – They puther in a sling and gave her some 400 mg ibuprofen – The doctor was very niceand surprisingly I was expecting some huge bill but the visit plus x-rays andmeds and sling was only $279 – She is okay already visited her normal doctorand treatment is underway

 

 

The hubby and the daughter did the Chef’s table – For myselfand our 12 year old it’s not worth the money as we are so picky with our eatingbut the oldest daughter and hubby absolutely loved the food and the wholeexperience – They got to try foods they have not had before and they learnedhow to make the melting chocolate cake – my husband said if you decide toexperience this and he feels every good foodie should do it at least once tomake sure you go hungry as they make so much food he was still stuffed atbreakfast time the next day – They ended up giving them a special menu that hadtheir name on it and also gave each of them a group photo with the chef includedfor free

 

 

Piano Bar visit again along with more casino time

 

 

Day 7 – Victoria BC

 

 

We booked the Fun Tour for the ship as we had never done itbefore - The tour took about 3 1/2 hours when we visited the Galley they gave usa free chocolate covered dessert - in 2 different locations they had beveragesand snacks like cookies and croissants for us - They took a picture in thegalley with the chef that makes all the cute fruit arrangements - we also got agroup picture and individual picture with the captain - So alltogether we ended up we 3 different pictures and they gave each person in ourparty a set of the three for free - so the hubby and i walked away with 6pictures - At the end the tour leader gave us a drawstring bag, abracelet, a hat, and a free lanyard - as well as free champagne or mimosas -

 

So really even though the price was slightly high we did geta ton of freebies included and the tour was cool as we learned a lot not onlyabout the ship but also about the staff life on the ship

 

 

So it’s the last day on the boat and we were walking by anda Fact or Fiction game was about to start so hubby and I decided to stop andplay managed to scrounge up 2 empty chairs and low and behold my hubby tiedwith another player and we got our coveted ship on a stick – Really made my day

 

 

I would normally tell you I visited the Piano Bar along withthe Casino again but the Casino shuts down at 3 pm on this day and does notreopen for the remainder of the trip something about sailing in Canadian watersand apparently the Piano Bar guy gets this night off – Although considering heplays for only 3 ½ hours a day and that is it I don’t understand why he doesnot play each night as he has plenty of down time the only other time he doessomething else is on embarkation day he wears a red how can I help you shirt –I guess you can say his loss as we always bring money to the piano bar and sendsome his way when he plays our song

 

 

This was the first time ever that on the last day I wished Icould just get off the ship already as they barely had any activities plannedand with areas being closed off it made for an extremely boring day

 

 

We did not book anything ahead of time thought we would justget off the ship and find something but that did not work out so well the linesfor taxi’s were way too long to wait for as they did not have many taxi’s at atime and the shuttle was more expensive then I wanted to pay for the 4 of us –So we thought why not do a horse trolley tour but nope they were sold out buttold us we could book an entire buggy and they could get one there it was only$300 yah so no that was not about to happen either – Same thing with privatetour drivers they wanted like $150 for a hour tour – Needless to say we justdecided to get back on the ship – Not that I think we will ever go back to thisarea but if we do I will plan better and ahead of time

 

 

Day 8 – Debarkation

 

 

So we waited until about 845 to get off the ship – Decided towait in the room until about 815 then headed on up to the Lido deck forbreakfast – Our flight was not until 230 so we had plenty of time

 

 

Getting off the boat was quick and all that was left was tograb our 3 bags we set out the night before – Went to luggage and it was nowhereto be found – I had already gone thru all the luggage in the entire area twiceand the helpers kept saying well some came off in different sections – I wasvery polite but I was not sure what part of I have already gone thru the entirearea twice they were not understanding – I asked the one guy if he could callthe ship as we had 3 out of 3 pieces missing and one was different than theother 2 so it was not likely that someone took all 3 of our luggage’s – He literallytold me that was impossible and we again had to wait for nearly all the luggageto be gone there was maybe 20 pieces left and then the guy finally gets thebright idea well maybe we should call the ship I don’t think someone walked offwith your luggage since one of your pieces was different – Thanks guys that iswhat I been saying for 45 minutes – about 10 minutes later my luggage shows upwhere it was located in the crew luggage section on the ship – So an hour laterwe were finally on our way – If you’re looking for a way to get from the Portto the airport the taxi companies have a deal with the port that it is $40 flatfee for up to 4 people which was far better than the $76 uber price or the $28per person shuttle price

 

 

Was a great trip if you have any questions please ask I will try my best to answer them

We are going on 8/21--I have a 12 yr dd...how was the kids club on board?

How is does the ship look after dry dock?

Are there any deck/dance parties at night (we really like those on our carribean cruises)

Do they have the comedy shows too?

How big is the pool area? Is it covered all the time?

Thanks in advance :):)

We are going on 8/21--I have a 12 yr dd...how was the kids club on board?

:)

My daughter absolutely loved it - other than her breaking her collar bone which was an accident she had a fabulous time and pretty much was there from noon til midnight with the exception of dinner at 6 with the family - Tons of activities for the kids and she walked away with a bunch of new friends

How is does the ship look after dry dock?

:)

I never saw it before dry dock but I have been on an older ship before and have to say I enjoy this new 2.0 upgrades much better

Are there any deck/dance parties at night (we really like those on our carribean cruises)

:)

Yes but to be honest each time I saw the parties it was just kids dancing around hardly any adults at all

Do they have the comedy shows too?

:)

yes they have comedy shows pretty much every night - I don't attend them but a few people we talked to enjoyed them

How big is the pool area? Is it covered all the time?

 

Thanks in advance :):)

It is the normal size for carnival - there are actually 2 pool areas one is covered all the time and the other is not

It was for sure cold but not as cold as I expected it to be and will be a little warmer by the time you go - For sure bring pants and I just had a regular jacket I did not bring crazy winter wear from super cold climants I also did not need gloves or scarfs or anything like that

 

Now our weather was beautiful no rain whatsoever but they mentioned several times that the week before it had poured down rain so be prepared for rain we had umbrellas and raincoats just in case if your lucky you won't have to use them

We were there last year last week of June to the 4th of July and it rained everyday and was cold. I wore a hat and scarf most days, especially the glaciers and whale watching.

We were there last year last week of June to the 4th of July and it rained everyday and was cold. I wore a hat and scarf most days, especially the glaciers and whale watching.

Curious...are you from the south or north?

I ask because I am from Wisconsin and we wear shorts when it hits 40 around here :):)

I am really trying to figure out a good mix of packing for our cruise 8/21. Hoping to be able to wear shorts with a sweatshirt if its a bit chilly

Thanks for your review. we are doing the same cruise next summer and are excited about it.

I am surprised your daughter's medical care was not covered by the ship since she was at their activity and under their care.

Curious...are you from the south or north?

 

I ask because I am from Wisconsin and we wear shorts when it hits 40 around here :):)

 

I am really trying to figure out a good mix of packing for our cruise 8/21. Hoping to be able to wear shorts with a sweatshirt if its a bit chilly

I definately would not wear shorts in 40 degree weather, lol! My idea of warm is 75 degrees and up. I think because it rained a lot it seemed colder. I dressed in layers and wore long pants/jeans everyday and a cami, long sleeved shirt, hoodie and rain jacket. It was warmer in Seattle....I wore just a t shirt. HTH.