Just off Carnival Legend to Alaska 6/5-6/13...

Just off the Legend Tuesday morning and arrived home from Seattle late last night. Still have a bit of jet lag and buried in mounds of laundry, but wanted to share some thoughts. I am not going to write a long detailed review but please feel free to ask me any questions.

We were on the Legend out of Tampa back in 2010 so I knew it was an older ship but I remember loving the layout. The ship is still in great shape. One thing I was concerned about was it not having all of the 2.0 upgrades (Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana, Alchemy Bar, specifically). We definitely missed the Guy’s donkey sauce and fries and missed the burritos from Blue Iguana both other than that, it great! There is still an awesome pool bar, similar to the Blue Iguana bar, and the Atlantis Bar is basically the Alchemy Bar.

I must admit I was worried about having no Alchemy Bar because my husband and I love the martinis there so much but the Atlantis Bar was AWESOME! Still a light up menu, but a tad different choices (although they know all the “official drinks” and will make them for you). Javon and Adrian are wonderful!! There is a vintage pop duo that plays next to the bar almost every night from about 5-9pm. They are so amazing!! Arjanna is the woman’s name and her voice is incredible. They play songs from almost every era but in a cool, jazzy way. Anyone that watched the HBO series, Westworld and enjoyed the music would LOVE this duo because that is what they reminded me of a lot!

Speaking of bars, my husband and I purchased Cheers. This is the first time we have purchased it and were happy with our choice, although I am not sure we will always do it. We usually cruise at least twice a year and we are thinking we may buy Cheers every other cruise. Not that we didn’t feel it was worth it, but I feel like it made me overindulge. I never hit more than 6 drinks, and my husband 8 drinks, but we always chose high end martini and wine. Also, I hit the coffee bar like a serious addict!! Even with only averaging 4 drinks a day I “broke even”, except for the last night, my liver said “NO MAS!!!”.

ALASKA is AMAZING! So unbelievably beautiful that the scenery will literally bring you to tears. I am not going to post pics because my crappy iPhone 6 camera does not even begin to give it justice. However, please let me know if you want a pic of something specific because I may likely have it.

Overall, we had PERFECT weather…we had no rain, even the 4 days pre-cruise in Seattle!! It was sunny and HOT the day we boarded in Seattle and my kids spend the day at Waterworks. I debated even bringing bathing suits since we are Floridians I figured we would freeze but my son (age 11) and daughter (age 13) hit the pool almost every day. It is covered and warm. My son still loved going on the slides even when it was very chilly and we were in Alaska. He said he did the Green Thunder slide 28 times one day and after 5 times he would run down and go in the hot tub to warm up. My husband and I never did put on our suits though. I thought maybe we would have gone in the hot tubs but time someone got away from us and before I knew it, it was the end of the cruise!

Our cruise was scheduled to go into Tracey Arm Fjord but because there was too much ice we were diverted into Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. There is a lot of talk on here that you MUST purchase the small boat excursion. We did not and I do not regret it. It was absolutely beautiful and we were not disappointed. We saw lots of whales, sea lions, orcas, bears, etc. It was an amazing day. Maybe we missed out now paying for the excursion but if I did I don’t want to know because we were extremely pleased with the day.

As for the main dining room, as you probably already know, they use the old menus. This is not a big deal for us. I ate salmon 7 out of 7 nights. I like salmon so that is what I order. I was thrilled to see the Bitter and Blanc on the dessert menu again!!!

As for my negative I will tell you the service in the MDR was PAINFULLY slow. Each night was at least 2 hours and three of the nights we left before dessert (and I LOVE dessert!!). We had YTD but ate pretty much the same time every night (when they opened at 5:30). I think we are going to go back to early seating for the next cruises and see if that is any better.

Also, the Pizza Pirate was the grumpiest worker we have ever come across on a cruise! That man must truly hate his job. It was almost comical how grumpy he was each day. Sometimes it would take him 10 minutes to even come up front even though he could see you standing there. Also, whenever he did come out and you got to order you had to watch him knead the dough for at least two minutes. I know it is freshly made, but JEEZ, could he have prepped a little? In all seriousness, I am assuming he was just overworked. They really should have two people back there, especially at peak times. Same with our cabin steward, we NEVER saw him. Not complaining because most days he did his job but he was like a ghost. I miss the old days when the you would walk down the hallway and you would see the steward hanging in the hallway working on another room and he would call you by your first name and ask you how your day was. I feel the “personalization” in general of cruising is unfortunately fading away.

My negatives were very small and we had an AMAZING cruise. Would I do it again? Absolutely and already have two more planned but outta my home state because flying out to Seattle was definitely exhausting but definitely worth it !!

Glad you had an amazing cruise. Having tnat Cheers may have also added to the fun.

Thanks for the review.

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Thank you for the review. We have this cruise booked for next summer. Did you do any excursions that you would recommend?

Awesome! We did AK on Spirit a few years back and will be on Legend next summer. Glad to hear she is still hanging in there!

Thank you for the review. We have this cruise booked for next summer. Did you do any excursions that you would recommend?

Hi! Since we had our kids with us (13 and 11) we tried not to plan too extravagant of excursions. Not only because of money, but because my 13 year old loves making friends at camp and both kids enjoy being on the ship. I felt we had a great balance and if I could do it all over again I wouldn't have changed a thing. :)

Skagway: This was our "main excursion" and we were gone most the day. We went with a private tour company sight seeing around Skagway and up to the Yukon, gold panning in Liarsville (cheesy!!), and a lots of other awesome picture points. We stopped at a Musher's camp and learned all about dog sledding, went on a ride (in the dirt, not snow, but still fun) and got to play with 2 week old puppies and all the musher dogs were so playful and happy to see us! We are animal lovers and this was seriously one of the most memorable days of our lives and by far are favorite day of the ship. It was such an awesome day!! We also walked around town, shopped, and had a few local beers at Skagway Brewery. Our tour guide was amazing. She was born and raised in Skagway and was so knowledgable about everything. She was constantly offering to take pics for me, which was so nice because we hardly ever have pictures of the four of us (my 13 year old daughter freaks out when I try to bust out the selfie stick:')). We also saw a ton of bears!! One was right outside our bus, scared the crap outta me, and another time we saw a grizzly bear from a distance!

Juneau: I had pre-arranged a for a taxi to pick us up at the pier at 7:30am and bring us to Mendenhall Glacier. I am soo glad we did this. It was so easy and it got us there before the shuttles starting running so we were literally the first ones there. We walked the Nugget Falls trail to the waterfall and beach. It was truly magical! We had the whole place there to ourselves for about 20 minutes of major picture taking and then the place quickly starting to fill up. We had the taxi pick us back up at 10am and we walked around town, shopped, and then got back on the ship for lunch. Also, the taxi driver showed us many local sites and he even stopped at a grocery store that had a Starbucks inside because it was the only Starbuck in Juneau and my only shot at getting an Alaska mug. I collect the "You are Here" series so this was a big win for me. :D

Keitchikan: We were wearing down at this point (too many 7am port times combined with not adjusting to the time zones and also the Cheers package may have played a part). We just walked around town, up Creek Street, up to that nice lodge (can't think of the name) and then rode the tram up and down. Originally I wanted to take the bus to the Totem Bight Park but no one else wanted to go and I was too tired to fight with them. Also, bought a bunch of souvenirs here because I read this was the best port shop. This is correct!

Victoria: We were scheduled to arrive at 7:30pm but were delayed and didn't get off the ship until after 8pm. It was sooo windy and I thought it was the coldest moment of the whole trip which is weird because it was the most south. The kids did not want to get off the ship and I was kind of glad because they would have complained the entire time. I heard it is only a short walk to town. This is not true. Take the shuttle! It is $10 round trip and very worth it. My husband and I are triathletes and run 15- 20 miles a week so we planned on walking into town but once we felt that cold wind we changed our minds. When we realized how far the ship was from town we were sooo happy with our choice. Victoria is a beautiful little town but not much to do. We walked around, checked out a couple local craft breweries, and then headed back to the ship.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions. I would tell you my tour and tour guide and taxi company but I don't think I am allowed?

We were on the same cruise. I totally agree with you, we didn't do the small boat excursion either and have no regrets. We saw plenty from our balcony and once the boat stopped we went to the top deck to get a better look.

The pizza pirate was always a long wait, they really need to have more than one person working it.

 

Also, the Pizza Pirate was the grumpiest worker we have ever come across on a cruise! That man must truly hate his job. It was almost comical how grumpy he was each day. Sometimes it would take him 10 minutes to even come up front even though he could see you standing there. Also, whenever he did come out and you got to order you had to watch him knead the dough for at least two minutes. I know it is freshly made, but JEEZ, could he have prepped a little? In all seriousness, I am assuming he was just overworked. They really should have two people back there, especially at peak times.

 

The pizza pirate was always a long wait, they really need to have more than one person working it.

Agree with you both on the Pizza. The Triumph was the same way. I'm not sure the difference between how Carnival does their pizza and how NCL does theirs, but on NCL there is very rarely a wait and Carnival it always seems like the wait is at least 15 minutes.

We are going on this cruise Tuesday and I can't wait. We were there in 2010, so figured that it was time to go back. We were also on the Legend to Hawaii last September, love the Spirit class of ships.

We did the YTD on our Alaska cruise as well, because of the long port days. We had some issues with service in the MDR as well. It got better, but the first night or two wasn't that great.

Our family did go on the small boat excursion after reading a lot of reviews and asking questions on this site. We had a good time but I don't think it was worth all the money our family of 6 spent. I did feel that the Yukon Rail and Bus trip through Chilkoot tours was worth it and was our favorite excursion in Alaska.

Just off the Legend Tuesday morning and arrived home from Seattle late last night. Still have a bit of jet lag and buried in mounds of laundry, but wanted to share some thoughts. I am not going to write a long detailed review but please feel free to ask me any questions.

 

 

We were on the Legend out of Tampa back in 2010 so I knew it was an older ship but I remember loving the layout. The ship is still in great shape. One thing I was concerned about was it not having all of the 2.0 upgrades (Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana, Alchemy Bar, specifically). We definitely missed the Guy’s donkey sauce and fries and missed the burritos from Blue Iguana both other than that, it great! There is still an awesome pool bar, similar to the Blue Iguana bar, and the Atlantis Bar is basically the Alchemy Bar.

 

I must admit I was worried about having no Alchemy Bar because my husband and I love the martinis there so much but the Atlantis Bar was AWESOME! Still a light up menu, but a tad different choices (although they know all the “official drinks” and will make them for you). Javon and Adrian are wonderful!! There is a vintage pop duo that plays next to the bar almost every night from about 5-9pm. They are so amazing!! Arjanna is the woman’s name and her voice is incredible. They play songs from almost every era but in a cool, jazzy way. Anyone that watched the HBO series, Westworld and enjoyed the music would LOVE this duo because that is what they reminded me of a lot!

 

 

Speaking of bars, my husband and I purchased Cheers. This is the first time we have purchased it and were happy with our choice, although I am not sure we will always do it. We usually cruise at least twice a year and we are thinking we may buy Cheers every other cruise. Not that we didn’t feel it was worth it, but I feel like it made me overindulge. I never hit more than 6 drinks, and my husband 8 drinks, but we always chose high end martini and wine. Also, I hit the coffee bar like a serious addict!! Even with only averaging 4 drinks a day I “broke even”, except for the last night, my liver said “NO MAS!!!”.

 

 

ALASKA is AMAZING! So unbelievably beautiful that the scenery will literally bring you to tears. I am not going to post pics because my crappy iPhone 6 camera does not even begin to give it justice. However, please let me know if you want a pic of something specific because I may likely have it.

 

 

Overall, we had PERFECT weather…we had no rain, even the 4 days pre-cruise in Seattle!! It was sunny and HOT the day we boarded in Seattle and my kids spend the day at Waterworks. I debated even bringing bathing suits since we are Floridians I figured we would freeze but my son (age 11) and daughter (age 13) hit the pool almost every day. It is covered and warm. My son still loved going on the slides even when it was very chilly and we were in Alaska. He said he did the Green Thunder slide 28 times one day and after 5 times he would run down and go in the hot tub to warm up. My husband and I never did put on our suits though. I thought maybe we would have gone in the hot tubs but time someone got away from us and before I knew it, it was the end of the cruise!

 

 

Our cruise was scheduled to go into Tracey Arm Fjord but because there was too much ice we were diverted into Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. There is a lot of talk on here that you MUST purchase the small boat excursion. We did not and I do not regret it. It was absolutely beautiful and we were not disappointed. We saw lots of whales, sea lions, orcas, bears, etc. It was an amazing day. Maybe we missed out now paying for the excursion but if I did I don’t want to know because we were extremely pleased with the day.

 

 

As for the main dining room, as you probably already know, they use the old menus. This is not a big deal for us. I ate salmon 7 out of 7 nights. I like salmon so that is what I order. I was thrilled to see the Bitter and Blanc on the dessert menu again!!!

 

 

As for my negative I will tell you the service in the MDR was PAINFULLY slow. Each night was at least 2 hours and three of the nights we left before dessert (and I LOVE dessert!!). We had YTD but ate pretty much the same time every night (when they opened at 5:30). I think we are going to go back to early seating for the next cruises and see if that is any better.

Also, the Pizza Pirate was the grumpiest worker we have ever come across on a cruise! That man must truly hate his job. It was almost comical how grumpy he was each day. Sometimes it would take him 10 minutes to even come up front even though he could see you standing there. Also, whenever he did come out and you got to order you had to watch him knead the dough for at least two minutes. I know it is freshly made, but JEEZ, could he have prepped a little? In all seriousness, I am assuming he was just overworked. They really should have two people back there, especially at peak times. Same with our cabin steward, we NEVER saw him. Not complaining because most days he did his job but he was like a ghost. I miss the old days when the you would walk down the hallway and you would see the steward hanging in the hallway working on another room and he would call you by your first name and ask you how your day was. I feel the “personalization” in general of cruising is unfortunately fading away.

 

 

My negatives were very small and we had an AMAZING cruise. Would I do it again? Absolutely and already have two more planned but outta my home state because flying out to Seattle was definitely exhausting but definitely worth it !!

I've been wondering about the menu (we're going in July). I've read a few reviews and at least one said it was the American Table menus.

We were on the Legend a couple of weeks ago and also experienced very slow service in the MDR with early assigned dining. The holdup seemed to be getting the food from the galley. They converted to the "American Table" menu on our cruise, so we were told that the cooks were learning the new menu and this was the cause of the slow service. Sounds like two weeks later, they're still learning. I put "American Table" in quotes since they're not calling it by that name since the ship spends half the year in Australia. They also are using tablecloths every night.

We were on the Legend a couple of weeks ago and also experienced very slow service in the MDR with early assigned dining. The holdup seemed to be getting the food from the galley. They converted to the "American Table" menu on our cruise, so we were told that the cooks were learning the new menu and this was the cause of the slow service. Sounds like two weeks later, they're still learning. I put "American Table" in quotes since they're not calling it by that name since the ship spends half the year in Australia. They also are using tablecloths every night.

It's confusing. You said it was the new menu and the thread starter said it was the old menu. Other reviewers said the same thing (some said old, some said new).

tHANKS FOR THE REVIEW.

It's confusing. You said it was the new menu and the thread starter said it was the old menu. Other reviewers said the same thing (some said old, some said new).

It definitely was the new American Table menu on the May 23 cruise, but with tablecloths. This was JH's Blogger's cruise, and during one of the Q&A's with John, the topic of slow service in the MDR came up. We were told that they had just switched to the American Table menu on this cruise, and that the cooks were learning the new menu. If you were reading posts from the first three cruises of the Alaska season, then the old menu was in effect. As I previously mentioned, they aren't calling it the American Table since the ship heads to Australia after the Alaskan season.

I've been wondering about the menu (we're going in July). I've read a few reviews and at least one said it was the American Table menus.

Instead of going on the small ship excursion did you stay on the ship?

**Sorry, I didn't mean to ask this question on the post of the menus**

* Yes, we stayed on the ship instead of the small boat excursion. It was wonderful and we have no regrets.

* It was not the American Table. They had water on the table (and table cloths) but the desserts were definitely different and in a different order(I had Bitter and Blanc which is not on American Table)and a couple entree choices that I liked on the American Table were not offered. Also, they did not offer the sauce choices that is on the "From the Grill" on the everyday American Table. I love the Roasted Garlic sauce and also the Olive Tapenade sauce and they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about it. They also don't have the cool little city square plates that are used now for American table.

However, it wasn't exactly the old menus either. The Alchemy (Atlantis bar) was also the same way. I asked the bartenders why the menu was so similar but yet different and they told me because they weren't allowed to have the exact menu until dry dock and the official upgrade occurred. Maybe it's the same way for the MDR menus, or maybe it's because of Australia.

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Thanks for posting! Can you tell me how your kids felt about the kids club?

(our kids are similar in age- I have an 11 year old and a 14 year- so the Camp Ocean and Club O2)

Also- did you enjoy any special meals in Seattle? I'm trying to think of a good dinner place for our first night (landing at SeaTac at 6pm- but flying from east coast so I know we'll be a bit jet lagged).

Edited to add- you wouldn't happen to have copies of the Fun Times you could share, do you? I am a planner and would love to take a look and start mentally making choices for activities I will do in 2 months LOL!!

We are leaving on this cruise soon! Can you tell me what taxi service you booked for Juneau? I would like to do the same as you, taxi to Mendenhall. We are also taking our kids and plan to hike to nugget falls so glad to hear you liked it! Thanks!

Thanks for posting! Can you tell me how your kids felt about the kids club?

(our kids are similar in age- I have an 11 year old and a 14 year- so the Camp Ocean and Club O2)

 

Also- did you enjoy any special meals in Seattle? I'm trying to think of a good dinner place for our first night (landing at SeaTac at 6pm- but flying from east coast so I know we'll be a bit jet lagged).

 

Edited to add- you wouldn't happen to have copies of the Fun Times you could share, do you? I am a planner and would love to take a look and start mentally making choices for activities I will do in 2 months LOL!!

Hi! My 11 year old boy didn't "love" the kids camp. He felt he was one of the oldest and things were too baby for him. He did enjoy free time when he and a few other kids got to play video games together but he often signed himself out when it was time for arts and crafts or movie time. He does like the scavenger hunts and they had them almost every day. He LOVED the covered pool and water slides (even though it was freezing) so my husband sat at the lido deck with his kindle and a drink while my son went in the pool for hours after lunch. As a result, my son was exhausted and falling asleep at dinner so every night after dinner he put on his jammies and watched tv in the room and went to bed. We had the HUB and often checked on him so felt ok about this. My daughter loves the social aspect of Club 02 but she said there isn't a whole lot going on in there. Even when something fun was scheduled she would show up and sit there in an empty room with no staff. She said a lot of things were cancelled because of lack of staff. There were a ton of kids 2-11 on the cruise so maybe they had to shift staffing. However, we were told there were 99 kids ages 12-14 on the ship so my daughter said she met a lot of nice kids and liked hanging out with them.

I am sorry I did not keep the Fun Times. I meant to but I left them in the middle drawer on ship. Honestly, we went to nothing this week. It is really weird now that I think about it. We usually do not attend any shows but do usually attend the comedy. We went to comedy one night but neither guy was funny and we really liked the live music around the ship so chose our evenings listening to music. We did attend the naturalists presentation the first night, which was interesting. BakersDozen has a detailed Legend Review and all the Fun Times posted. Even though her cruise was 8 nights I remember studying it and it was basically the same.

As for restaurants we didn't go anywhere too memorable. If you aren't planning on going to the Space Needle in the morning, maybe you could eat there the first night? It doesn't get dark until past 9pm and I heard even though the menu is a little pricey, it includes free tickets to the Space Needle which will be $100 for a family of 4 anyway...it may be worth for you.

We are leaving on this cruise soon! Can you tell me what taxi service you booked for Juneau? I would like to do the same as you, taxi to Mendenhall. We are also taking our kids and plan to hike to nugget falls so glad to hear you liked it! Thanks!

We LOVED Nugget Falls! I went on Evergreen Taxi company's website and just clicked the online reservation system and Shane, the owner, emailed me confirmation and his private cell phone number within 24 hours. It was very easy and definitely saved money for paying for a family of 4 for the shuttle.

It definitely was the new American Table menu on the May 23 cruise, but with tablecloths. This was JH's Blogger's cruise, and during one of the Q&A's with John, the topic of slow service in the MDR came up. We were told that they had just switched to the American Table menu on this cruise, and that the cooks were learning the new menu. If you were reading posts from the first three cruises of the Alaska season, then the old menu was in effect. As I previously mentioned, they aren't calling it the American Table since the ship heads to Australia after the Alaskan season.

Thanks! So it's just called the new menu. It's odd that this review said it was the old menu (they just got back on Tuesday).

* Yes, we stayed on the ship instead of the small boat excursion. It was wonderful and we have no regrets.

 

* It was not the American Table. They had water on the table (and table cloths) but the desserts were definitely different and in a different order(I had Bitter and Blanc which is not on American Table)and a couple entree choices that I liked on the American Table were not offered. Also, they did not offer the sauce choices that is on the "From the Grill" on the everyday American Table. I love the Roasted Garlic sauce and also the Olive Tapenade sauce and they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about it. They also don't have the cool little city square plates that are used now for American table.

 

However, it wasn't exactly the old menus either. The Alchemy (Atlantis bar) was also the same way. I asked the bartenders why the menu was so similar but yet different and they told me because they weren't allowed to have the exact menu until dry dock and the official upgrade occurred. Maybe it's the same way for the MDR menus, or maybe it's because of Australia.

 

 

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It sounds like a combination menu.

* Yes, we stayed on the ship instead of the small boat excursion. It was wonderful and we have no regrets. * It was not the American Table. They had water on the table (and table cloths) but the desserts were definitely different and in a different order(I had Bitter and Blanc which is not on American Table)and a couple entree choices that I liked on the American Table were not offered. Also, they did not offer the sauce choices that is on the "From the Grill" on the everyday American Table. I love the Roasted Garlic sauce and also the Olive Tapenade sauce and they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about it. They also don't have the cool little city square plates that are used now for American table. However, it wasn't exactly the old menus either. The Alchemy (Atlantis bar) was also the same way. I asked the bartenders why the menu was so similar but yet different and they told me because they weren't allowed to have the exact menu until dry dock and the official upgrade occurred. Maybe it's the same way for the MDR menus, or maybe it's because of Australia. Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you for posting your review. Approximately, how long is the walk..time wise..to the falls and beach from where the taxi drops you off? Also, is it pretty easy as far as the terrain goes?

Thank you for posting your review. Approximately, how long is the walk..time wise..to the falls and beach from where the taxi drops you off? Also, is it pretty easy as far as the terrain goes?

Hi! The taxi drops you right at the Visitor Center. Behind there is where the trail begins. It is a mile each way but an easy terrain.

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