Carnival Legend Alaska July 21st Review

[Becci]

We just got back from Alaska and I wanted to write a bit about my trip. Hope someone either enjoys or finds helpful my review!

 

We flew into Seattle late Monday night and went directly to the Warwick Seattle Hotel downtown. It was pretty expensive but I wanted to wake up in downtown so we could walk around prior to setting sail Tuesday. So Tuesday morning we got up and walked a few blocks to the Pikes Place Market. The vendors were still setting up and it was a very lovely place. We were lucky enough to see the fish throwing!

 

Then we walked over towards the waterfront to see the first foggy glimpse of our ship. From there we walked to the Space Needle and the took a round about way back to the hotel. In all we probably walked 5 miles or so but it was a lovely day and we enjoyed the excercise.

 

The previous night we had used East Side for Hire to take us to the hotel. So when we were ready to go to the ship I used their app on my phone to order a car. Unfortunately when the driver got there he refused to take us because he said we had too much luggage. The same amount mind you that we had not 12 hours before. So I called the company and they were not interested in sending another car so we took a cab and paid a bit more but we were on the way so we were happy.

 

At the terminal we walked toward the building and there was a man having everyone with luggage line up into this huge line. Along comes a porter with a cart so we have him our luggage and a couple bucks to skip the line. Inside the terminal we proceed to the Platinum line. There is no separate room or anything like that for Platinum, just a different line. Within a few minutes we were walking up the ramp to the ship.

 

We had a drink and relaxed most of the rest of that day. It was wonderful to just kick back and be on the boat.

 

The second day we were at sea. The weather was a bit cooler but the middle of the ship had a glass cover over the lido pool so there was plenty of activity going on. The buffets were open kids were swimming. They had the hairy chest competition. The views were amazing! The naturalist Michelle I think her name was did a talk about what to see and had some great info about the area and the animals. It was also elegant night so we got dressed up and took pics before dinner.

 

[Becci]

[Becci]

I see that my pics may be blurry! Sorry. I'll include a link at the end to my google pics page.

 

So the third day was Tracy Arm Fjord. The weather was terrible. It was COLD! It rained and the wind was sharp! However, the views were breathtaking. I did the sail by of Naapali Coast a few years ago and I think Tracy Arm was better.

 

The naturalist did an amazing job pointing out everything she saw from the bridge. She showed us bald eagles and ice burgs, waterfalls and finally at the end of the route we came to the Glacier. Wow! We normally cruise to tropical places and got a kick out of the Hot drinks the bar was serving.

There was a small boat tour that we could take to get up close to the glacier but we decided to save our money.

The sauna is a nice place to warm up when your fingers get too frozen!

 

[gobben]

Would love a link to the Fun Times. We are a few weeks away from our trip. :)

[Becci]

Skagway was the longest port day. We had reservations to go fishing with Fat Salmon Charters. Capt Joe met us at the boat, we got our licenses filled in and we were off. We fished mostly in the inlet by the two cruise ships that were in port that day. Again the weather was not great but we were optimistic. My 15 year old cousin had two salmon get off. And third one we thought for sure he would land but all of a sudden it was gone. Behind the boat up pops a harbor seal totally eating his fish! Dirty little thief! So of the 4 people fishing we only got two king salmon but it was fun none the less.

 

Now on our fishing boat was a local tour guide who was friends with our boat capt. The mans name is Dyea Dave and he is the nicest person I've ever met. He was disappointed that our kid didn't catch a king so he offered to take us to a local pond after the charter was done. We went and the kid caught so many pink salmon his arm was sore!! Dave is truly an amazing man and very proud of his home. He wanted us to see the area so he took us up to the Dyea Flats to see the salmon spawning after we fished. We had the most wonderful day ever!

[Becci]

Juneau we did the Gold Mine tour with Carnival. We went into a mine and the guide demonstrated how they use the equipment, gave us some history and told us stories about the mine. After the mine part of the tour we went panning for gold. It was fun! We each found a few little flakes and some garnets too. Juneau had plenty of shopping as well so when we got back to town we did all of our souvenir shopping before heading back to the ship.

[Becci]

Ketchican is the shortest port day. It's a cool little town and keep in mind that if you do an excursion you will miss seeing the town. We did the Saxman Village/ Lumberjack Show combo tour. The village had some really cool totem poles with very interesting stories behind them. The local tribe did a presentation with singing and dancing in tribal regalia. It was interesting to learn that theirs is a matriarchal society. Everything is passed down according to the female descendants.

 

The lumberjack show was pretty cool. The guys are obviously actors who are also good at chopping wood. The crowd cheered and axes flew. It was a good way to spend the afternoon.

 

[Becci]

The last day was a full day at sea with a couple of night time hours in Victoria. We were so drained that we didn't really go into Victoria other than to take a few pics of our ship all lit up at night from the pier.

 

 

Some things about the cruise I really enjoyed was the relaxed atmosphere and the friendliness of the crew. Legend is a smaller ship and the crew seems more personal. Our waiter Edsel in the dining room was the best. He knew our names and made sure we had everything we wanted. He even brought extra stuff to the table for us to try. There was a waiter named Himmler who invited us to the comedy at night. He told us which ones were funniest and which ones he enjoyed the most. The housekeeping boss stopped by our room to see if we needed anything. He said he liked to talk to the platinum guests and get their opinions.

 

The comedies were better than the main shows with the dancers in my opinion. Not that they didn't do a great job just not anything special.

 

The crowd was much different than you would find on a Caribbean cruise. It seemed like the majority of guests were either much older or families with small kids. I assume that is the reason there was not a lot of music on the lido like we are used to. It was a very quiet and not very crowded cruise for sure.

 

Club O2 must have been fabulous. I can only assume since we only seen my 15 year old cousin during excursions and dinner. He was seriously MIA the whole time we were on the ship. We would see him in a group of teens walking around occasionally. He would pretend not to see us. LOL

 

It was chilly most days but the pools and stuff were open. Don't bother to try getting in the hot tubs they were packed with kids and closed often due to bathroom accidents. There is a hidden pool in the spa that is a nice to find on a sea day.

 

Overall Alaska was beautiful. Of course so is the Caribbean. I'm not into being cold so I don't know that I would do it again but I'm so glad to have gone!

 

[Becci]

https://goo.gl/photos/7dQ1QLUCRKhjxDu58

 

I hope this works. It's a link to all our pics. There are a lot more of the ship and the fjord. And of course some of us being silly too. You will have to overlook those. [emoji5]️

 

I didn't get many pics of the funtimes. I should have I just spaced it. Sorry! Don't worry though, there is plenty to do.

[gobben]

Thanks for sharing, looks like you had a great time.

[debbyruss]

Thank you for sharing! We leave in 3 days on the Aug 4 cruise - just finishing up the packing!

[loxley]

Now that is my kind of review. Good job.

 

We are going in Sept.

[webzila]

I see that my pics may be blurry! Sorry. I'll include a link at the end to my google pics page.

 

So the third day was Tracy Arm Fjord. The weather was terrible. It was COLD! It rained and the wind was sharp! However, the views were breathtaking. I did the sail by of Naapali Coast a few years ago and I think Tracy Arm was better.

 

The naturalist did an amazing job pointing out everything she saw from the bridge. She showed us bald eagles and ice burgs, waterfalls and finally at the end of the route we came to the Glacier. Wow! We normally cruise to tropical places and got a kick out of the Hot drinks the bar was serving.

There was a small boat tour that we could take to get up close to the glacier but we decided to save our money.

The sauna is a nice place to warm up when your fingers get too frozen!

 

The excursion where you get on the boat which goes ahead of the ship is well worth the money for anyone considering. It is the best excursion we had.

[Vagabond Knight]

So, the second night (day at sea) was the first elegant night. Was there a second elegant night later in the week?

[cruiseonthebrain]

Terrific review!! Thank you for sharing!

 

Did you use the pool in the spa area? Did you have to book a treatment in order to get access?

[Becci]

We did use the hot tub in the spa. It is open to anyone without the need to buy anything. Also, don't forget the sauna for the really cold days to warm up!

[frn4411]

Thank you for all the great pics. Went to Alaska on Princess in 2013 and going on Carnival in May 2016. Your pictures brought a lot of great memories back and now looking forward to new ones.

[denikena]

I'll include a link at the end to my google pics page.