Re-Introduction and Lots of Questions about Carnival Legend

Hi! I registered here way back in 2013 when I was preparing for my first cruise (NCL Alaska). Since then I have done at least a cruise a year but always with NCL until the last cruise that was on Carnival because a cousin needed someone to share a cabin for a 7 day Western Caribbean, and how could I refuse that? :D All these previous cruises have been without my dear husband who was starting to get a little perturbed at his spoiled wife gallivanting around the oceans without him for weeks on end, so I put down money while on ship for this year's cruise for the two of us. Legend, Alaska, July 25. This will be my third Alaskan cruise, and his first ever cruise at all. It is important to know that Jeff doesn't like to travel (on the other hand, I get ansty if I am at home for more than a month at a time) but an Alaskan Cruise has always been his exception and this is a bucket list trip for him.

So now that he sees me as a seasoned cruiser (Ha!) he has left all the details to me, so I am hoping I am doing right by him. But of course I am second guessing some of my (too late to change) decisions and need some guidance, and insight on the Legend specifically. The sailing is the Alaskan 7 day itinerary leaving from Seattle.

Because it's Alaska, I made sure to get a balcony of course. Does anyone know if port or starboard is the better side? I believe our cabin is port side- 5205 I tried to choose a stable area (he might get seasick) close to elevators etc. (he doesn't like to walk much either- LOL) and the deck plan shows it by the atrium- is that a good or bad thing? I am more social and noise tolerant than Jeff, in fact I was worried Jeff would spend this while cruise in the cabin and on the balcony, ordering room service and only leaving the room for muster drill. LOL

Because of his proclivity toward being anti social, I made sure to schedule us up for tons of things to keep him from holing up with a book or TV. We have excursions in every port but Ketchikan and that is a town that I love exploring on my own so it was deliberate. Is there anything specific to the Legend that I should know to do?

Also specific to the Legend and the itinerary- I emailed to reserve the small boat excursion at Tracy Arm, but only found out how to do that last night! Anyone know how soon I can expect a confirmation or a response that I was too late and it is all sold out? Now that I know about that, I really really really want to do it and will be devastated if it sold out before I even knew it existed.

The other things I have done to make sure this is indeed a "bucket list" trip for Jeff, who has already said it will be his first and last cruise.... First class air travel to and from Seattle (we are in Kansas) FTTF already purchased, alcohol and diet coke to be delivered to room upon arrival, gratuities pre-paid, excursions booked, anniversary cake ordered to be delivered to room (we will also be celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary) port transfers arranged, and parking for the week at KCI already taken care of... Did I miss anything?

I am hoping it will be a matter of driving to the airport then not having to think about anything or have any hassles until it's time to drive home from the airport.

I got a bit off track (sorry this is so long!) but really, I am so used to NCL and the only Carnival ship I have been on is Freedom so anything about Legend that I need to know or is interesting to know, would be great. I'm wondering too about the spa. I hear the steam room and hot tubs are usable without an upcharge? (I think a spa pass was 100+ dollars on NCL) Also we have early dining (6:00) confirmed, I am not used to the way the MDR works. Will we be seated with strangers or our own table? If we decide to skip MDR for dinner, do we need to inform them? The only other Carnival cruise I took, we had tons of family on board so we all sat a huge table.

Thanks for any advice or just chit chat so I can be excited about only 37 more days...My friends are getting sick of me talking about "my cruise in July". LOL

First of all, just relax. It will all go well. :) It sounds like you've covered the bases for things that your husband wants/needs. It didn't seem to matter which side of the ship we were on, we had a balcony as well. But there were things to see on both sides.

We did the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm, although diverted to Endicott, like most have been it seems. It was really neat, but I also wouldn't be super upset if you don't get in. Our cruise ship got about 3-4 miles away, while our small boat was like 1/2 mile away. So, even if you're on the Legend, you still get a nice view.

This post may get moved to the Alaska board, or just ask some of your more specific questions there too.

I also have a lengthy review of this cruise, it's in my signature. Have fun!

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We did the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm, although diverted to Endicott, like most have been it seems. It was really neat, but I also wouldn't be super upset if you don't get in. Our cruise ship got about 3-4 miles away, while our small boat was like 1/2 mile away. So, even if you're on the Legend, you still get a nice view.

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I also have a lengthy review of this cruise, it's in my signature. Have fun!

Hi! It was actually your review and wonderful photos that clued me in about the small boat excursion! :)

You might want to go to the dining room when you first board. You can ask where your table is located and see if you are seated with others. I like being seated with other people, but if he is not a very social person, you might want a table for two. There will be a time in the Fun Times that tells you what time the dining room will be open for changes or just to see where you are. I hope your husband has a great time and you never know he might just get hooked. Go to some shows or the piano bar. There are lots of options for entertainment. Happy cruising.

Candi

You might want to go to the dining room when you first board. You can ask where your table is located and see if you are seated with others. I like being seated with other people, but if he is not a very social person, you might want a table for two. There will be a time in the Fun Times that tells you what time the dining room will be open for changes or just to see where you are. I hope your husband has a great time and you never know he might just get hooked. Go to some shows or the piano bar. There are lots of options for entertainment. Happy cruising.

Candi

Thanks! :) I will definitely do that. One of his complaints about not wanting to cruise was "eating with strangers". It's not that he isn't friendly or nice or personable, he is just not very comfortable with new people. On NCL, which I am not comparing, but much more familiar with is all, you go to the MDR when you go (or not) and get seated with whom you arrive so the concept of set tables, times, and dining companions is still a bit foreign to me and seems way too "structured" for his tastes.

If we choose not to eat in MDR one night (we do have steakhouse reservations one night as well) do we need to inform the maitre d' or will he just figure it out if we don't show up?

We do plan on seeing the shows, and I am staking out a seat in the comedy club every night. Comedy is my thing more than music; Jeff is into live music though, so I am sure we will make the rounds for that too. :)

We do plan on seeing the shows, and I am staking out a seat in the comedy club every night. Comedy is my thing more than music; Jeff is into live music though, so I am sure we will make the rounds for that too. :)

The one thing with their comedy club, which was the first time we went to one, was that we could show up and get a seat. When we went on the Magic this past November, the line was down the hallway and you had to leave after each show. It was definitely filled to capacity. Not like that on the Legend though.

If you are at a table for 2, you don't have to tell anyone you are not coming. If you do end up at a table with other people, it would be polite to tell your waiter you will not be there that night. Some times they hold things up a bit, waiting for someone to show.

Hi! It was actually your review and wonderful photos that clued me in about the small boat excursion! :)

LOL! Cool!

I think I said in there, but I can't remember, that if we "HAD" to skip any excursion, it would have been that one. I'm glad we did it, we loved it, but I could see that some people wouldn't think it was worth the money. Now, the helicopter onto Mendenhall - totally worth every penny!!! And I really enjoyed our trip in Skagway.

The one thing with their comedy club, which was the first time we went to one, was that we could show up and get a seat. When we went on the Magic this past November, the line was down the hallway and you had to leave after each show. It was definitely filled to capacity. Not like that on the Legend though.

That is how it was a the comedy club on the Freedom. You had to show up and be in line before the previous show ended (way before) to have any hope of making it in for the next, and had to leave after each show for this reason. Because of that (and after waiting for more than 30 minutes one night) I only made it to one comedy show the whole cruise which was disappointing because that was what I was most excited about of the onboard activities.

I think your time dining (YTD) might be better for you two. That way you can always have a table for two and arrive in the dining room anytime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Occasionally there may be a short wait but we just adjust our arrival times if we don't want any wait. From what I've seen it seems there's always a line that forms for early and late dining times as well. I believe the dining room on the Legend offers the whole second floor as YTD so easy to be seated. Enjoy your cruise!!

We are also on the Legend with you July 25th. This is our 2nd time on the Legend to Alaska we went in 2015. Your room 5205 should be on the starboard side. We had the starboard side balcony in 2015 and will again for our cruise in July. Alaska is great for not socializing because the wildlife and scenery from your balcony is amazing. Many dinners I ate room service on the balcony. We only ate in the MDR twice. We didn't attend any shows but we did enjoy the naturist that came onboard to discuss the wildlife and glaciers. We do the your time dining and there is four of us so we haven't been put with strangers on any of our Carnival cruises. We will not be doing the small boat excursion as I felt we saw great views from our balcony.

I think your time dining (YTD) might be better for you two. That way you can always have a table for two and arrive in the dining room anytime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Occasionally there may be a short wait but we just adjust our arrival times if we don't want any wait. From what I've seen it seems there's always a line that forms for early and late dining times as well. I believe the dining room on the Legend offers the whole second floor as YTD so easy to be seated. Enjoy your cruise!!

Agree with this !!! If you are used to NCL's Freestyle concept than you will definitely want the YTD on Carnival PLUS you will be able to get a table for 2 each evening. We sailed the Legend for 11 nights in April and had YTD and it was never a problem to get a table. Of the 11 nights we only had to wait 1 night for a table and we were getting a table for 4.

The other things I have done to make sure this is indeed a "bucket list" trip for Jeff, who has already said it will be his first and last cruise....

It's very nice what you are trying to do to make the trip so special but it sounds like his mind is made up before he even goes. Try not to stress over every little detail and even if he isn't having a good time, try to enjoy it yourself and remember, you are not responsible for anyone else happiness.

Alaska is truly amazing!

I agree about YTD especially doing Alaska. We went on the Spirit, when it was sailing Alaska, and always got the same table and ending up eating around 7 each night. We didn't want to miss the sights and we wanted to have time to chill out after excursions before heading to dinner. If you sailed NCL you will probably like this better.

Yeah, Alaska was the one place we did YTD as well. We knew we would have long days, so we didn't want to be tied down to a specific dining time.

We're also doing it next month in Europe. Our port days are super long (12-14 hours), so we want to be able to go to the MDR on the off chance that we're back early enough to use it. We don't plan on it though, we plan on eating in the cities we're in.

I think your time dining (YTD) might be better for you two. That way you can always have a table for two and arrive in the dining room anytime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Occasionally there may be a short wait but we just adjust our arrival times if we don't want any wait. From what I've seen it seems there's always a line that forms for early and late dining times as well. I believe the dining room on the Legend offers the whole second floor as YTD so easy to be seated. Enjoy your cruise!!

Agree with this !!! If you are used to NCL's Freestyle concept than you will definitely want the YTD on Carnival PLUS you will be able to get a table for 2 each evening. We sailed the Legend for 11 nights in April and had YTD and it was never a problem to get a table. Of the 11 nights we only had to wait 1 night for a table and we were getting a table for 4.

I agree about YTD especially doing Alaska. We went on the Spirit, when it was sailing Alaska, and always got the same table and ending up eating around 7 each night. We didn't want to miss the sights and we wanted to have time to chill out after excursions before heading to dinner. If you sailed NCL you will probably like this better.

Well, y'all have convinced me. :) On Manage my Cruise is says our dining time is confirmed and there is a wait list for YTD, so I am going to request it anyway and the back up plan will be trying to get a table for two assigned at beginning of cruise. :)

The other things I have done to make sure this is indeed a "bucket list" trip for Jeff, who has already said it will be his first and last cruise....

 

 

It's very nice what you are trying to do to make the trip so special but it sounds like his mind is made up before he even goes. Try not to stress over every little detail and even if he isn't having a good time, try to enjoy it yourself and remember, you are not responsible for anyone else happiness.

Alaska is truly amazing!

This will be my third Alaskan cruise. I actually thought the last one would be my "bucket list" cruise so splurged on every excursion, activity, meal, souvenir, etc. that I wanted no matter the cost. It was truly amazing. This time, I know what I can skip because I've seen it or done it before. :D

I didn't mean to make it sound like Jeff is unhappy or not excited/interested in this cruise. He really is. His " first and last" is more of a logistical thing combined with lack of desire to travel in general; but also his attitude as mine, is that this is first and last for him so lets do it right! :) Today he told me to make reservations at the Chef's Table too, so maybe the MDR arrangements are not so important if we are eating elsewhere every dinner. :')

Assuming he would not enjoy the spa? If he likes the steam or sauna type things I believe they are still available.

If you don't get YTD before the cruise, you can ask for that with Maitre D' and if that isn't possible you can revert to the table for 2.

Carnival does breakfast in the MDR; on sea days it is sea day brunch and on port days standard breakfast fare. You can request to be seated alone and have a much more relaxed breakfast than trying to fight the crowds on the Lido.

We thought the enchanted forest deck 3 forward toward the show lounge was really creative. This is often unexplored territory with few people passing buy so if the weather isn't good, this would be a good place to escape outside your cabin.

We are also on the Legend with you July 25th. This is our 2nd time on the Legend to Alaska we went in 2015. Your room 5205 should be on the starboard side. We had the starboard side balcony in 2015 and will again for our cruise in July. Alaska is great for not socializing because the wildlife and scenery from your balcony is amazing. Many dinners I ate room service on the balcony. We only ate in the MDR twice.

 

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We will not be doing the small boat excursion as I felt we saw great views from our balcony.

Can you order MDR meals for room service? I am thinking mostly of the appetizers and desserts- my favorite parts! :) If that is an option, I do see one or more dinners in our room (or on balcony weather permitting) especially on "glacier day". :)

Assuming he would not enjoy the spa? If he likes the steam or sauna type things I believe they are still available.

He would not, but I do! :) We have already coordinated his "reading time" (he's a news and history junkie) with my trips to spa and sauna (if available). :)

But this brings up another question, that maybe someone knows... We are celebrating our anniversary aboard the ship, and I have let them know of this "special occasion". I anticipate, based on the experience of last year's Carnival cruise where family members were celebrating both birthdays and anniversaries, spa gift cards as a present from the cruise line. Does anyone know if (1) these can be combined, as Jeff certainly won't use his and (2) if they can be used for a pedicure rather than massage, etc?

We thought the enchanted forest deck 3 forward toward the show lounge was really creative. This is often unexplored territory with few people passing buy so if the weather isn't good, this would be a good place to escape outside your cabin.

We will definitely check this out. Just the name "Enchanted Forest" sounds lovely. :)

Hi! I registered here way back in 2013 when I was preparing for my first cruise (NCL Alaska). Since then I have done at least a cruise a year but always with NCL until the last cruise that was on Carnival because a cousin needed someone to share a cabin for a 7 day Western Caribbean, and how could I refuse that? :D All these previous cruises have been without my dear husband who was starting to get a little perturbed at his spoiled wife gallivanting around the oceans without him for weeks on end, so I put down money while on ship for this year's cruise for the two of us. Legend, Alaska, July 25. This will be my third Alaskan cruise, and his first ever cruise at all. It is important to know that Jeff doesn't like to travel (on the other hand, I get ansty if I am at home for more than a month at a time) but an Alaskan Cruise has always been his exception and this is a bucket list trip for him.

 

So now that he sees me as a seasoned cruiser (Ha!) he has left all the details to me, so I am hoping I am doing right by him. But of course I am second guessing some of my (too late to change) decisions and need some guidance, and insight on the Legend specifically. The sailing is the Alaskan 7 day itinerary leaving from Seattle.

 

Because it's Alaska, I made sure to get a balcony of course. Does anyone know if port or starboard is the better side? I believe our cabin is port side- 5205 I tried to choose a stable area (he might get seasick) close to elevators etc. (he doesn't like to walk much either- LOL) and the deck plan shows it by the atrium- is that a good or bad thing? I am more social and noise tolerant than Jeff, in fact I was worried Jeff would spend this while cruise in the cabin and on the balcony, ordering room service and only leaving the room for muster drill. LOL

 

Because of his proclivity toward being anti social, I made sure to schedule us up for tons of things to keep him from holing up with a book or TV. We have excursions in every port but Ketchikan and that is a town that I love exploring on my own so it was deliberate. Is there anything specific to the Legend that I should know to do?

 

Also specific to the Legend and the itinerary- I emailed to reserve the small boat excursion at Tracy Arm, but only found out how to do that last night! Anyone know how soon I can expect a confirmation or a response that I was too late and it is all sold out? Now that I know about that, I really really really want to do it and will be devastated if it sold out before I even knew it existed.

 

The other things I have done to make sure this is indeed a "bucket list" trip for Jeff, who has already said it will be his first and last cruise.... First class air travel to and from Seattle (we are in Kansas) FTTF already purchased, alcohol and diet coke to be delivered to room upon arrival, gratuities pre-paid, excursions booked, anniversary cake ordered to be delivered to room (we will also be celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary) port transfers arranged, and parking for the week at KCI already taken care of... Did I miss anything?

 

I am hoping it will be a matter of driving to the airport then not having to think about anything or have any hassles until it's time to drive home from the airport.

 

I got a bit off track (sorry this is so long!) but really, I am so used to NCL and the only Carnival ship I have been on is Freedom so anything about Legend that I need to know or is interesting to know, would be great. I'm wondering too about the spa. I hear the steam room and hot tubs are usable without an upcharge? (I think a spa pass was 100+ dollars on NCL) Also we have early dining (6:00) confirmed, I am not used to the way the MDR works. Will we be seated with strangers or our own table? If we decide to skip MDR for dinner, do we need to inform them? The only other Carnival cruise I took, we had tons of family on board so we all sat a huge table.

 

Thanks for any advice or just chit chat so I can be excited about only 37 more days...My friends are getting sick of me talking about "my cruise in July". LOL

My husband and I will be on that cruise with you. This will be our 3rd cruise - 2nd on Carnival, and first trip to Alaska for either of us. We have an aft balcony booked. I have heard others say that packing binoculars is a must. I am much like you - I have had our excursions booked and travel arrangements made for months. For Skagway, we are going on the Yukon Discovery and Dog Sledding with Frontier Excursions. For Juneau, we are doing the Gold Panning and Salmon Bake, and for Ketchikan the Eagles and Totem Pole one. I emailed about the Tracy Arm boat back in October and got my reply from Carnival within a week. I also booked us a night at the Steakhouse. See you in 34 days.

My husband and I will be on that cruise with you. This will be our 3rd cruise - 2nd on Carnival, and first trip to Alaska for either of us. We have an aft balcony booked. I have heard others say that packing binoculars is a must. I am much like you - I have had our excursions booked and travel arrangements made for months. For Skagway, we are going on the Yukon Discovery and Dog Sledding with Frontier Excursions. For Juneau, we are doing the Gold Panning and Salmon Bake, and for Ketchikan the Eagles and Totem Pole one. I emailed about the Tracy Arm boat back in October and got my reply from Carnival within a week. I also booked us a night at the Steakhouse. See you in 34 days.

I've done those excursions on previous cruises- all of them winners- you're going to love it! :) In Juneau, we are doing Mendenhall Glacier and Wildlife Quest- which I did on my first Alaskan cruise with another cruise line, and loved it enough to do again with my husband. :) Last time I did the gold panning and salmon bake- so much fun! :) Our Skagway excursion is the city tour, I've done everything else and even though I love the dogs, I think Jeff will prefer the town, scenery and history.

I still had no response about the Tracy Arm boat so I emailed again today in case I did it wrong. If nothing else maybe I will annoy them into a response. [emoji23]

I also emailed the maitre d' asking for specific consideration for either a table for 2 or YTD. I'm sure he's going to think I'm a crazy woman thinking about dinners that are still 34 days away. [emoji23]

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The other things I have done to make sure this is indeed a "bucket list" trip for Jeff, who has already said it will be his first and last cruise.... First class air travel to and from Seattle (we are in Kansas) FTTF already purchased, alcohol and diet coke to be delivered to room upon arrival, gratuities pre-paid, excursions booked, anniversary cake ordered to be delivered to room (we will also be celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary) port transfers arranged, and parking for the week at KCI already taken care of... Did I miss anything?

 

You sound like a planner- like me LOL!! The one thing that jumped out at me- and maybe you already have a plan but didn't mention it... are you flying in right before the cruise and heading straight to the pier or are you staying in Seattle the night before?

It sounds like you have a wonderful cruise planned- can't wait to hear about it when you get back :)

We are on this cruise too with kids and grandkids (9 of us). We did this same cruise 4 years ago and all loved it so much. The small boat excursion was so awesome we're doing it again. You really get up close and personal with the glacier! I think the company that runs the excursion is Allen Marine out of Juneau. It might be worth a call to check available. I'm a planner too! I don't mind some spontaneity, but not surprises, lol! When travelling with the family it would take half a day to figure out what everyone wanted to do.

In Skagway we are using Beyond Skagway Tours, taking a day out of Skagway customized to make it fun for the g'kids. Yes, that includes mushing dogs!! Juneau is whale watching only, and in Ketchikan we are just doing a 90 minute Ducks tour then explore the town. Last time we didn't get back to town until close to sail time. We were in a bus coming down a mountain after a great time canoeing and hiking a rainforest and the bus hit a pothole and tipped 45% on the mountainside. After evacuating from emergency exit another company came by and brought us back. Quite a memorable experience. Lucky we were on the uphill side, not the downhill:eek::eek:. But I digress... in Victoria we're just going to walk around. The inner Harbour is so beautiful. If you haven't been to Butchers Gardens, you should consider it, even if your husband isn't interested. My husband is a HUGE reader too. The kids have always teased him and now the grandkids have caught on. He loves touring, but on the ship or at a hotel he enjoys his reading. After 46 years being married to him I've learned to give him just enough reading time so we can enjoy doing other stuff:D:D:D.

Not much longer til cruise day, YAY(y)

You sound like a planner- like me LOL!! The one thing that jumped out at me- and maybe you already have a plan but didn't mention it... are you flying in right before the cruise and heading straight to the pier or are you staying in Seattle the night before?

 

It sounds like you have a wonderful cruise planned- can't wait to hear about it when you get back :)

I thought about and probably should have done the day before, but with the way Jeff's work schedule is and the way his vacation time works, that would have been difficult too. So instead I have scheduled the very first flight of the day, direct flight, arriving in Seattle around 8:00 AM I think- might be 8:30- and have organized Carnival transfer to port. I figure that way a flight delay shouldn't be too detrimental as there are other flights we could catch if absolutely necessary. And if we get in on time and as scheduled, hoping to drop luggage at the port early and maybe take in some sights for a couple hours before boarding. Our return flight is 6:00 PM the night we are back, so if we haven't time for sightseeing on the way in, we will on the way out. I have been there, so that part is not really important to me, but would be cool for Jeff.

I finally got confirmation of reservations on the small boat excursion at my desired time (11:00AM- the first boat) so I am very excited for that. And I had emailed the maitre d' requesting either a table for 2 or ytd...I got an email; back from him saying we are now listed as a table for 2 and if we decide 6:00 does not suit us for dinner, we can still change to ytd. We are pretty regimented people though, and 6:00 is dinner time every day Jeff is home (he works 48 hour or 72 hour shifts) whether we are eating at home or out, so I doubt we will have any issue with the timing.

Now that we are under 30 days, I am getting really excited. I cannot wait to get there!