Carnival Legend 8/25-9/1 Alaska Review!

[bkerber]

Did you need passports on your drive? Were there places to stop along the way to take pictures, or did you just snap them as you drove. I think when we go next year we are there from 7 am to 1 pm. Is that enough time to do the drive? Your pictures are amazing by the way

[maileehawj]

Did you need passports on your drive? Were there places to stop along the way to take pictures, or did you just snap them as you drove. I think when we go next year we are there from 7 am to 1 pm. Is that enough time to do the drive? Your pictures are amazing by the way

 

Yes you do need passports, remember to bring them. There are many many places to make stops along the way!! Then there are tons of beautiful spots that you cannot stop in due to them being avalanche areas.

 

Yes 6 hours should be good time! I believe from Ketchikan to Emerald Lake is 75miles each way. We had a lot of time to spare but even with us stopping at multiple spots, we made it back to Ketchkian in 6hours. Thank you for the compliment :)

Edited September 10, 2015 by maileehawj

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi great pictures & reviews. Will be headed to Seattle on Friday, to board the Rcl Jewel Ots to Alaska. Sure can't wait to go. That is if the good Lord is willin the creeks don't rise!!!

[maileehawj]

Hi great pictures & reviews. Will be headed to Seattle on Friday, to board the Rcl Jewel Ots to Alaska. Sure can't wait to go. That is if the good Lord is willin the creeks don't rise!!!

 

Yay! So excited for you!! Wish I could go to Alaska again tomorrow!

[maileehawj]

JUNEAU

 

Today was the day we were all most looking forward to! And it did not disappoint! We booked a whale watching excursion with Harv and Marv's. It was the only day that we needed to be up early, ended up being the only day we woke up the latest. Figures! We quickly ate our breakfast and left the ship.

 

We got off the ship and met up with two young ladies from H&M and a couple who would be on the same trip as us. They let us know that they were still waiting for an okay to let us get on the bus as the water conditions were questionable. By 10 minutes, I was starting to get really worried. I asked how many trips had been canceled due to bad weather. She responded not many but this summer, 3-5 had been canceled already. They also let us know that due to the water condition, if we were going out, instead of a 6 person boat we would be riding a 12 person boat as it was safer. Finally after about 20 minutes we got an okay! We got onto a bus and headed towards the whales! As we were heading there, two bald eagles were sitting on the highway street lights. Up until now, I realized, we hadn't even seen bald eagles this entire trip yet. Shocking! Everywhere I read said there would be bald eagles everywhere. But bad luck, I didn't see these ones either :/

 

We, sisters & the other couple, met up with Captain Shel and headed out. The water was very calm where we boarded the boat but once we got out into the waters, it was rough. I mean really rough. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride with all the drops we were making as the boat went up and down. It was looking like it would be impossible to find the whales as the waves were so strong and everything kind of looked like mist shooting up in the air.

 

We finally spotted a whale! As we all raced to the windows..

Or..

Not.

 

Not a whale but a Steller Sea Lion!!! It swam alongside us for a while until we moved along in search of whales.

 

We saw many whales from a distance. Could only tell tell when we saw the mist from the whale blowing air. Gotta say, the wife of the couple with should be a professional whale watcher! She pointed out soo many whales!! Without her, we would have missed many whales.

 

Finally I felt like we hit gold! We had 3-4 whales surrounding us!! We were so excited!! It was freezing but we decided to step out to the back to get better views of the whales! One came within 15 feet of us! So cool!

 

 

I really had to use the bathroom but didn't want to miss out on anything. Finally, succumbed, and rushed into their little bathroom in the back. As I was just finishing, I heart a loud "WOAH!!! WWWWWOOOOOOOOW!!!!" What was I missing? I basically just ran out of the bathroom,

 

These two whales were literally touchable!! They came within (not us going to them), I swear almost 6ft of us! It was just incredible!! My camera couldn't even get them in frame because of how close they were. Now, our captain was doing an amazing job but one of my complaint was that instead of stopping or just slowly cruising in a straight line to try to see the whales resurface, we raced ahead. I think he was trying to get ahead of them but by doing this, we basically lost the whales :/

 

We left this spot and headed for a section where whales were known to feed.

Edited September 12, 2015 by maileehawj

[maileehawj]

You know when you go somewhere and there's just that ONE lucky boat...Well...we were that one lucky boat!

We jokingly called this whale the "stalker" whale! With 5-6 boats surrounding us, this whale followed our boat! I'm pretty sure I show up in other people's whale watching photos!

 

Couldn't believe it, but it was now time to head back, we had been out in the water for almost 3hours by now. We headed back to the dock. But before that, Shel took us to a spot that was known to have Steller Sea Lions.

 

 

Are they cute or are they cute? *Getting side-eyed here! lol

Very cute! No matter how playful they look, they reminded us that they were very much wild animals. One sea lion had been swimming around the buoy, poor thing wanted out of the water but as he tried climbing up, the others went crazy and starting yelling as they forbid him to climb on. Hopefully he got a spot after we left.

 

And that marks the end of our whale watching excursion. I loved it so much!! I'm already planning to do another whale watching excursion this spring!!

 

We went back on the bus and headed for a short 15 minute stay at Mendenhall Glacier.

Initially, we had planned on staying here longer then taking the bus back to the cruise ship. That planned didn't pan out. My sisters didn't want to stay, instead they wanted to head back to find something to eat. My biggest regret of the trip, I should have returned to the glacier and hiked around by myself.

 

We went on the little boardwalk where salmon spawn. I was hoping and praying for a bear to appear. I mean this looks exactly like bear country!! No bears :/

[maileehawj]

We saw some salmon. I thought there would be tons of salmon but we must have missed the run.

 

When people talk about Alaskan King Crab, you always hear about Tracy's. Shel told us that Tracy's was the best place for king crab and that other restaurants would order her crabs to sell. So we had to check out Tracy's.

 

Just staring at this photo now makes me salivate! So darn good!!

We ordered two orders of the Crab Shack Combo (1 King Crab Leg, 4 crab cakes and 1 bisque) for $32.95, plus an additional king crab leg since there was 3 of us. I know the menu says this combo will serve two people, no matter how big that crab leg is, get one for each person! I know Tracy's is known for her crab leg but her crab cakes were to die for!

 

If you want to eat at Tracy's it is extremely close to the cruise dock. At tops, a 10 minute walk.

 

After eating my sisters headed out to go shopping while I returned to the cruise ship.

 

Wished we could have stayed in Juneau longer as it was a much bigger port than the other stops. Unfortunately our stop was too short and we headed out by 3pm.

 

Once out onto the water, someone decided to show up!!

THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!! You can literally see where the clouds stop and where the clear skies start!! I'd forgotten how much I missed the sun until I felt it here!

 

Crazy to think I'd been cruising these waters for almost a week now and finally, I just realized that the mountains were made up of trees & green! The details you miss without a clear sky :/

 

Even the whales decided to come out and play!

Edited September 12, 2015 by maileehawj

[maileehawj]

I spent the rest the time sitting out on the balcony enjoying the sun as it started to set.

 

I left my room and went up top and what a beautiful sunset I was in for! Every direction I looked, the sky looked different.

 

On port side looking to the back,

 

Towards the back on starboard side,

That fog was just absolutely beautiful!! It looked like a river flowing into the ocean.

 

Starboard side towards front,

 

 

 

Just an absolutely stunning sunset!!

Other people on the boat had mentioned that they saw the northern lights the night heading to Skagway and the night leaving Skagway. I'm not sure how they saw it as the skies were soooo cloudy, you couldn't even see the stars. So I decided to wake up to see if I could see them this night as the sky was clearer. No such luck :/

[Budget Queen]

Did you need passports on your drive? Were there places to stop along the way to take pictures, or did you just snap them as you drove. I think when we go next year we are there from 7 am to 1 pm. Is that enough time to do the drive? Your pictures are amazing by the way

 

You have a longer port time than that- they are in SKAGWAY for this drive.

[Budget Queen]

 

 

Afterwards we headed to the restaurant and....they had just closed. I believe it was 2ish by then so if you go there with plans to eat, they do close early. We went to the deli to find food but unfortunately there was nothing to our liking. So we just drove back to eat on the ship. Border to the US was just as quick and easy! We got back to Ketchikan by 3ish.

 

My only complaint about Ketchikan is that we were there way too long. It's a very very small town. I wish we would've done this 14hr stay in Juneau, not Ketchikan.

 

You weren't in Ketchikan. This is from the Skagway port.

[maileehawj]

You weren't in Ketchikan. This is from the Skagway port.

 

My bad. I posted it under Skagway, not sure why I kept calling it Ketchikan. Can't edit anymore. Sorry folks.

[cruzysuzy331]

Loving this!!!! Our 35th is Sept 2016. Trying to get him to book.

[loeytalldog]

Funny because we had Captain Shel too on our whale watching, did he try to make jokes? We didn't have as good luck with the whales as you though, he tried to convince us that we were close but when you need binoculars to see them you are not close!

[maileehawj]

Funny because we had Captain Shel too on our whale watching, did he try to make jokes? We didn't have as good luck with the whales as you though, he tried to convince us that we were close but when you need binoculars to see them you are not close!

 

He didn't talk too much but when he did, he cracked jokes. I ended up standing outside the entire time once we saw our first close whale, so I couldn't hear him anymore. Binoculars? Ouch. Yeah, I would have been extremely disappointed if that were our experience too. Sorry to hear that. Here's to more luck next time you go whale watching!!

Edited September 12, 2015 by maileehawj

[maileehawj]

KETCHIKAN.

 

We woke up early to catch the Rainforest Wildlife, Sanctuary, Eagles & Totems excursion. Initially, we had wanted to book the Deadliest Catch excursion but their website had sold out. I'm assuming the cruise line holds a number of tickets but going through the cruise was $220 vs $169. That price difference turned us off, so we opted for the Rainforest one.

 

Going to Alaska our two big wants were to see whales & bears. Decided that if we were to see any bears, it would be here. Even though the odds were definitely against us, we took that gamble.

 

You get split into little groups as your guide walks you through the rainforest. Before entering the rainforest, they gave us ponchos incase it started raining. The guide kept saying he was impressed that it wasn't raining. He spoke too soon. The rain started pouring. And it did not stop.

 

 

We saw many many evidence of bears.

We saw a few salmon laying on the pathway. The bears were extremely picky here as they just ate the eggs, left brain & everything else.

 

Saw some banana slugs

 

Then we headed to the boardwalk

If we were to see any bears in Alaska, this was our last chance.

 

Unfortunately, all we saw were seagulls and dead salmon. No bears.

Edited September 12, 2015 by maileehawj

[maileehawj]

Walked across the boardwalk and took shelter inside the Herring Bay Lumber Company Sawmill.

Our guide, Sam, standing with a Sitka Spruce.

 

Afterwards we headed to a little room where a man was carving totem pole. He just carved as we asked questions, we were out of there in 5 minutes.

 

I had mentioned earlier that I had not seen a bald eagle yet. While driving to Herring Cove we did see two eagles sitting by their nest!!! But the bus didn't stop so there was no way to observe them. They had two captive eagles, owl and a hawk here.

 

 

 

And that was that. Underwhelming excursion. Seeing a bear would have made the tour! But that's all in the bear's will. I assumed we would see more totems as the tour lists that but there was no mention of the totems, except the one that was being worked on.

 

We got back on the bus and headed towards the cruise ship again.

By now it was raining cats and dogs. My shoes and socks were all wet. My windbreaker was failing me as my sweater was also getting wet. And, I forgot my rain cover for my camera (therefore very few photos here). But a walk to Creek Street had to be made.

 

We walked to Creek Street.

 

I think I would've loved Creek Street if it hadn't been raining. It was beautiful nontheless.

[maileehawj]

We walked closer to the cruise ship and went to grab something to eat. I forget what the restaurant is called but I had cod fish.

Pretty good!

 

I LOVE the rain! But during this trip it stopped us from doing a lot of stuff. We headed back to the cruise ship and just spent the remainder of the day here.

 

Ketchikan from our balcony.

 

Creek Street from balcony.

 

A rainbow to end our days in Alaska!!

[maileehawj]

Almost done!

 

VICTORIA

Today would be a day at sea. We were to arrive in Victoria at 7:30PM. We spent the day watching game shows and just bumming around on the ship.

 

The waves were pretty strong so our arrival was delayed by an hour. We did not reach Victoria until 830pm. We had booked the double decker tour bus. By the time we got there, it was complete darkness. We still got on the bus and just took the tour as it was inexpensive. Even at night, Victoria is absolutely beautiful!!

 

Now a little rant. The guide did the best he could in the darkness; not his fault at all as we arrived an hour late. Sitting behind us was a group of 5-6 ADULTS who complained the entire time. They mimicked and laughed as the guide showed us attractions & the history of Victoria. They went on and on about getting a refund. Seriously, grow up. If you aren't enjoying the tour, keep your commentary to yourselves please. Just because the tour is ruined for you, don't ruin it for other people around you. Everyone around us was getting pretty pissed off yet no one uttered a word. Canada nice eh?

 

We drove through Chinatown, second oldest Chinatown in North America.

Fan Tan Alley, narrowest street in Canada.

 

After driving around for a couple hours we headed back to our ship. Victoria is definitely a beautiful city! I will have to check it out some day in the future!

 

View from balcony. We left Victoria at midnight and headed back towards Seattle.

[maileehawj]

Seattle.

Time to go home. We decided to do self assist debarkation. Extremely easy! We were off the ship and through customs as quickly as it had taken us to get on the ship during embarkation. Because it was only 9AM & our flight back home wasn't until 6PM, we decided to walk around downtown. We took a taxi back to Sixt to get a car rental to leave our luggage in.

 

Walked to Pike Place Market.

We were there much too early. Many booths were just starting to set up. We did see saw some fish throwing and many many beautiful flowers!

 

We walked down to the wall of gum

 

Pretty gross but interesting.

 

We left the market and walked around downtown for a while. Again, it was raining. We had initially planned to visit Columbia Tower but there was so much fog that a view up there sounded kind of pointless for us.

 

I don't know about you guys but I love zoos! I check out zoos wherever I go! So we left and headed to the Woodland Park Zoo, which ended up being an amazing zoo!

 

I didn't see any bears in Alaska :/ But I did have a close encounter with a grizzly bear at the zoo!

Obviously, not the same thing. But I loved teasing my family & friends, lying that this was a bear in the Alaska wilderness!

 

We were at the zoo for a good 3 hours. Then decided to get some food before heading to the airport.

 

We went to eat some Korean bbq! Soooo good!

 

 

And that marks the end of a remarkable trip to Alaska!!!

Biggest successes. Whales & scenic views!! When booking Alaska, these were my two biggest wants!! And they did not disappoint. Seeing all those whales just makes me want to spend way more hours out on the sea!!! Was very much satisfied but my hunger to see more whales and some breaching has grown stronger. Scenic. I think that word and Alaska should be permanently bound together. Even if you go to Alaska, not looking for that, you will find it! Just absolutely beautiful!

 

Disappointments of the trip. Weather. I love the rain! But my golly, it dampened excitement and forced us to find shelter most of the time. Wildlife, wish we would have seen more. The amount of bald eagles was disappointing. Although I enjoyed this trip, I will have to admit, I have never slept sooo much on vacation. We found ourselves napping a lot. Activities on the ship were far and few from one another. And I really missed dive-in movies :/ I always said Alaska would be a once in a lifetime! But it's looking like it could be a more than once in a lifetime thing!

 

Thank you for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed the review & photos!!

Edited September 13, 2015 by maileehawj

[Florida 1]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your review and photos! I am too excited now for a cruise I won't be on until next June! Thank you so much for posting:)

[keen580]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review! We are going to Alaska on the Legend next July. Your pictures make me excited about the trip! We've never been there, and while I dread being cold in July, I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful sights there.

[maileehawj]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your review and photos! I am too excited now for a cruise I won't be on until next June! Thank you so much for posting:)

 

You are very much welcomed!!! Hope to see your review & photos next year!!

[maileehawj]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review! We are going to Alaska on the Legend next July. Your pictures make me excited about the trip! We've never been there, and while I dread being cold in July, I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful sights there.

 

You are welcome!! This was my first time in Alaska and I was not disappointed!! I hear July has better weather than August but as everyone says, weather in Alaska is unpredictable. It wasn't so cold as it was rainy for me. Best advise I read on here was layers, layers, layers!!

[abcmom123]

Thank you for your review and beautiful pictures. We cruised to Alaska last summer (and in 2006) and I really enjoyed reliving the beautiful scenery. Our first trip was supposed to be a "once in a lifetime trip" but I am already longing to go again!

[prmrolltide]

Can't wait for our trip next July. We are also thinking of renting a car in Skagway. I've already download Murray's guide :)