Alaska/Carnival Legend Cruise Review w/ Pictures July 2015

[marshhawk]

Did you happen to see any decent restaurants near the hotel in Seattle?

[prmrolltide]

Loving your review. We are going on this cruise next July. Can't wait to read more.

[marshhawk]

Please post more! Come back!

[michelle1836]

Please post more! Come back!

 

I'm not a museum person but absolutely loved Chihuly!! The glass was beautiful

[marshhawk]

Please come back! REally, it's been almost a week!

[KrusII]

Going next year for sure.........

[navybaby1113]

Sorry for the delay everyone! Life has been crazy this past week!

[navybaby1113]

Did you happen to see any decent restaurants near the hotel in Seattle?

 

There wasn't too much. I think there was a Jack in the Box within walking distance. The hotel offered a shuttle to some nearby restaurants though. We did not take advantage of this.

[navybaby1113]

After dinner we headed to the Follies theater. That’s where the majority of the entertainment for tonight was being held.

 

The Intro to Alaska talk started while we were at dinner, so we were only able to catch the tail end of it. The naturalist, Michelle, was very interesting though.

 

We sat through the Bingo show so that we could make sure we had good seats for the Welcome Aboard Show.

 

The Welcome Aboard show was scheduled to start at 10pm. Troy Linton was the cruise director for this cruise. He introduced the entertainment staff and played the spoon game with a few of the guests. They also brought the comedians on the stage to tell jokes for a few minutes. The only thing that I dislike about the Playlist Productions is that they don’t have an actual show for the Welcome Aboard Show anymore. I really loved the one they used to do.

 

After the Welcome Aboard Show we went and say Merl Hobbs R rated comedy show. He was hilarious.

 

I was getting a little hungry, so we went and grabbed a late night snack. They had hot dogs, burgers, fries, cookies, and brownies.

 

We came back to our room to find our towel friend waiting to say goodnight.

 

[navybaby1113]

Day 5: Sea Day

{Wednesday, July 15}

 

Woke up this morning around 8am in hopes of seeing wildlife. Shortly after waking up, Michelle announced a whale breeching on the port side of the ship. Sadly I was still in our room, so I didn’t get to see it.

 

We decided to go the Seaday Brunch for breakfast. There was a really short line and we got a table almost immediately.

 

The brunch starts you off with a basket of pastries. Love the lemon bread!

 

 

DH loves the huevos rancheros, so that’s what he ordered. He said it was delicious as always.

 

 

Since it was still early in the day, I decided to order some breakasty items. I ordered the blueberry pancakes with some bacon and hash browns.

 

 

We went back to the room to relax on our balcony for a little bit. It was starting to get a little chilly out there

 

 

While we were out there, we saw our first whale of the cruise!

 

[navybaby1113]

The cooking demonstration was held today in the steakhouse. I love the food from the steakhouse and I’m not one to turn down free food! I highly recommend getting there early because it does fill up.

 

The chef will stand up at the front of the room, show you how to prepare the dish, and the servers will hand out samples as he is talking. You also get a pamphlet with all the recipes from the cooking demonstration to take home.

 

*Sorry all my pictures have a red tint to them from the funnel*

 

The first item they prepared was a mushroom cappuccino. I don’t like mushrooms, but I actually enjoyed this dish.

 

 

The next item up was baby leaf spinach salad with mushrooms and blue cheese. I did not like this at all. The blue cheese completely overpowers the dish.

 

 

The main dish was broiled supreme of free range chicken with potatoes and mac n cheese. Absolutely delicious. I wish they would add the mac n cheese to the steakhouse menu.

 

 

For dessert they prepared tiramisu. Heaven in a cup.

 

 

They were also doing a watermelon carving

 

[navybaby1113]

We came back to the room and took a short nap.

 

After our nap, we decided to go up and grab lunch before they closed the buffets. Nothing on the buffet really sounded interesting to me, so I grabbed a pizza and ceasar salad. DH got a burger and fries.

 

The second day of the cruise is always my favorite dessert day so I rushed over there about 10 minutes before they closed it out. I grabbed a delicious napolean and then went to get some key lime pie and they ran out right before I got a slice. :-( I ended up with a slice of pumpkin cake instead, which was not near as yummy.

 

 

 

After lunch, we went to the Glacier Talk with Michelle. We learned a lot about glaciers and what we would see during our time in Tracy Arm Fjord tomorrow.

 

 

[navybaby1113]

After the glacier talk, we went out to our balcony to watch for more wildlife. Well boy did we see some wildlife.

 

First, a pod of dolphins swam by the ship. They stayed with us for a good while. It was so cool to watch them jump and play around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

Then we got to see some whales!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

Finally it started drizzling a bit, so we went in to get ready for dinner. Tonight was our first elegant night. Since we were flying, we dressed down more than we normally do. DH’s military dress uniform takes up almost an entire suitcase on its own.

 

We got in line for dinner around 6pm and were given a pager to wait for a table. I decided to walk down to the Taste Bar for a snack while we waited.

 

 

We waited for a few more minutes after I got back and then we got seated at a table for two near the balcony.

 

For appetizers, I ordered the spaghetti carbonara. It was delicious as always. I also ordered a ceasar salad, but our waitress never brought it out. DH ordered the strawberry bisque.

 

 

 

For an entree, I ordered the lobster and DH ordered the prime rib. Both were yummy.

 

 

 

None of the desserts on the menu interested me, so I ordered WCMC. DH got the cherries jubilee.

 

[navybaby1113]

We came back to the room to change after dinner and then went to the late showing of Studio VIP. It was a good show, but not one of the best I’ve seen.

 

We went back to the room and caught a gorgeous sunset picture at 10:30pm.

 

 

We had an elephant waiting for us tonight.

 

[marshhawk]

I am so glad you are back! Unfortunately I am back at work, and I cant see the pictures, I will visit your posts this evening at 10 when I get home!

[marshhawk]

I am actually at my other job now and oohing and ahhing over the pictures of the critters!.

 

I think your DH and I are cut from the same menu cloth, every thing you say he eats, I order too. Ask him what he thinks about this dessert combination-WCMC with the cherries jubilee? I am going to combine them on my next cruise. By the time I get on the Legend again, it will be the family menu thing going on.

 

What was in that Taste Bar treat?

 

I did notice while I was playing with maps this afternoon, that there is a Dave's Diner near the hotel. Great looking menu. I have never tried a Jack in the Box. I know that is a west coast thing, like we have Chick Fil A-back to being the back up boss, can't wait for your posting tomorrow.

Edited August 19, 2015 by marshhawk

[navybaby1113]

I am actually at my other job now and oohing and ahhing over the pictures of the critters!.

 

I think your DH and I are cut from the same menu cloth, every thing you say he eats, I order too. Ask him what he thinks about this dessert combination-WCMC with the cherries jubilee? I am going to combine them on my next cruise. By the time I get on the Legend again, it will be the family menu thing going on.

 

What was in that Taste Bar treat?

 

I did notice while I was playing with maps this afternoon, that there is a Dave's Diner near the hotel. Great looking menu. I have never tried a Jack in the Box. I know that is a west coast thing, like we have Chick Fil A-back to being the back up boss, can't wait for your posting tomorrow.

 

DH does not eat WCMC. The melting part weirds him out.

 

The Taste Bar was a Short Rib Croquette. It was yummy!

[Stinasmom]

Loving your TR!

 

My best friend is on the Legend right this very minute...

I can sort of feel like I'm there with her from your pictures!

 

How great that you saw the whales and dolphins!

 

Great pictures of Seattle too. I currently live just a 2 hour drive from there but it never gets old. Beautiful City.

 

Keep posting ship pictures!!

 

Thanks!

[navybaby1113]

Day 6: Sea Day/Cruising Tracy Arm Fjord

{Thursday, July 16}

 

We woke up around 7:30am and it gorgeous outside, albeit a little chilly. I wanted to wake up bright and early as we were entering Tracy Arm Fjord since I heard it would be a great place to see whales. Well, I was in luck because as soon as I walked out on my balcony I saw 3 whales breeching near shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

I also got to see the 2 Alaskan pilots boarding the ship. One pilot has be on the bridge at all times while we’re in Alaska waters.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, we did a lot of debating between itineraries. My one stipulation with cruising to Tracy Arm Fjord was that we would have to book the tour that picks you up at your ship and takes you closer to the glaciers. We chose the morning tour and were scheduled to be picked up at 11am.

 

We went to lido to grab breakfast before we had to meet our excursion. I got french toast, bacon, hash browns and eggs benedict. DH got an omelette. One thing I noticed on this cruise was that there were no bacon police. It was lovely being able to grab as much as I wanted.

 

 

 

At 10:30am we got all bundled up and went down to the Firebird Lounge to meet our small boat tour. We sat in there for about 30-45 minutes waiting for the boats to get up beside our ship. Troy and Michelle answered questions about Alaska while we waited.

 

They had so many people interested in the tour that there were 2 boats of 150 going out today. We left the lounge to board the boats around 11:15am.

[navybaby1113]

The boat pulled up right next to the ship and we climbed on board. It was a two story boat with large windows and generous seating on both floors. There’s also an open deck for you to enjoy.

 

 

If you are sailing to Alaska to see wildlife and scenery, this is an absolute must-do excursion. Since we were on a smaller boat, we were able to get up much closer to the shore as well as get closer to the glacier. It’s not a cheap excursion, but definitely worth it.

 

My one complaint about the tour was that people claimed inside seats with their stuff and then went out on the open decks for the majority of the time. So it was near impossible to find a seat if you wanted to go inside to warm up for a bit.

 

The boat moves fast and it’s cold in the fjord, so make sure to bundle up. You will regret it if you don’t.

 

We saw a bunch of waterfalls and cascades on our way into the fjord.

 

 

 

 

 

[NOSaints1]

After this cruise did you wish you booked another line or were you happy with the choice.

[navybaby1113]

After this cruise did you wish you booked another line or were you happy with the choice.

 

I was happy with our choice because we love Carnival. But I'm always open to looking at other lines.