Re-Introduction and Lots of Questions about Carnival Legend

[JeffsWife]

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. ...

 

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

 

That sounds great! This will be my third Alaska cruise- the last two on NCL with same ports and all day in Victoria. It seems this time, Victoria is just a pit stop. We are doing whale watching in Juneau too, because it is awesome. We are doing Mendenhall Glacier and Wildlife Quest. I am not sure who it is through, but I've done it before and the people were great so I wanted to go again. :) I haven't settled in on exactly what to do in Victoria. The last two times I did EVERYTHING LOL Since it will be dark and not much time, I am thinking we will probably just take the shuttle in and walk around for a bit.

 

I've built in plenty of reading/alone time for Jeff and scheduled spa services a couple of days...I never have before but I figured if I am spoiling him with luxury, I should treat myself a little too. Some sort of body wrap the evening of the first day, and a facial early morning before the glacier day. I've never done either of those things on or off a ship so it will be a completely new experience. With the (anticipated) spa gift cards, I hope to work in a mani/pedi at some point too...those too are nicest in the evening after all the activities are finished and Jeff can settle onto the balcony with a book.

[zdcatc12]

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!!

 

Last week, the YTD dining times were between 5:30 and 9:00, except the Victoria day, it was 5 to 8:30. We tended to arrive at seven and never had to wait. The line is very long from 5:30 - 6:00.

 

 

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.

 

Glad you got the small boat excursion, we did it last week and it was well worth it. You get to within a quarter mile of the glacier as opposed to 3 or 4 on the ship. When you get back on the ship and see where the 3:30 excursion boat ends up, you will see how close you actually were!! Be glad you took the early one and not the late. Our early one was maybe half full, the late one looked almost completely full. Also, we did Endicott, not Tracy Arm. Talk on the small boat was that Tracy Arm had a huge piece of ice in the middle of it and no one can get past it. I guess they will go there again when it melts or floats out enough to get past it.

 

Also, early seating is at 5:30 (5 on the Victoria day), not at 6, if it will make a difference to you.

[yenrod2]

That sounds great! This will be my third Alaska cruise- the last two on NCL with same ports and all day in Victoria. It seems this time, Victoria is just a pit stop. We are doing whale watching in Juneau too, because it is awesome. We are doing Mendenhall Glacier and Wildlife Quest. I am not sure who it is through, but I've done it before and the people were great so I wanted to go again. :) I haven't settled in on exactly what to do in Victoria. The last two times I did EVERYTHING LOL Since it will be dark and not much time, I am thinking we will probably just take the shuttle in and walk around for a bit.

 

I've built in plenty of reading/alone time for Jeff and scheduled spa services a couple of days...I never have before but I figured if I am spoiling him with luxury, I should treat myself a little too. Some sort of body wrap the evening of the first day, and a facial early morning before the glacier day. I've never done either of those things on or off a ship so it will be a completely new experience. With the (anticipated) spa gift cards, I hope to work in a mani/pedi at some point too...those too are nicest in the evening after all the activities are finished and Jeff can settle onto the balcony with a book.

Glad you got confirmed on the excursion. We're in the morning too. Nice planning on spa treatments. Looks like you have great plans(y)

[JeffsWife]

Glad you got confirmed on the excursion. We're in the morning too. Nice planning on spa treatments. Looks like you have great plans(y)

I was honestly starting to worry. Everyone said they got confirmation within 24 hours and it had been at least a week before I heard anything. My panicky self just kept sending emails. :') I am sure they were finally annoyed into responding just so I would leave them alone. They responded to all my emails at once. The first 2 I opened said " sorry, the 11:00 am is full, the 2:00 is still available" then the third one I opened said, "we are pleased to confirm your reservations at 11:00". So I hope I didn't confuse them too much at least. I look forward to seeing you on the boat! :)

 

 

Glad you got the small boat excursion, we did it last week and it was well worth it. You get to within a quarter mile of the glacier as opposed to 3 or 4 on the ship. When you get back on the ship and see where the 3:30 excursion boat ends up, you will see how close you actually were!! Be glad you took the early one and not the late. Our early one was maybe half full, the late one looked almost completely full. Also, we did Endicott, not Tracy Arm. Talk on the small boat was that Tracy Arm had a huge piece of ice in the middle of it and no one can get past it. I guess they will go there again when it melts or floats out enough to get past it.

 

Also, early seating is at 5:30 (5 on the Victoria day), not at 6, if it will make a difference to you.

 

I am okay with Endicott, and have pretty much resigned myself to missing Tracy Arm- no ship has made it yet this year, have they? But honestly from our fairly uneducated about it vantage point, a glacier is a glacier, so it will still be good. :) I wondered if afternoon would be crowded. I think they might try to shove everyone they can who waited to make reservations on that one (maximize profits LOL) and of course many people probably wanting to be more leisurely on what is essentially a sea day and not miss breakfast/brunch/lunch/etc. In my real life, I would much prefer afternoon or evening schedules for any activity but on the ocean, I am more of a "seize the day" person and thought the earlier boat would probably offer the better views and nature watching.

 

 

I don't think 5:30 is going to make a lot of difference for dinner. Our 6:00 "meal time" at home was a very long progression from Jeff's much preferred really early dinner times. I tease him that he is getting old and that before you know it, dinner will be at 3:30. He will probably be pleased with slightly earlier on the ship, but it might be a struggle to get him back into waiting until 6:00 when we get home. ;)

[CruisingObsessed]

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 sailed Legend recently. Great entertainment team--one of the best I have seen, so you will find things to do. Good call on the comedy, the hostess/manager is fun, and the comedians they get are first class. Legend also has a pub band (and there are games in the back you can play for free while you listen), and there is always some sort of activity from crafts to trivia. The piano bar guy is hilarious--this is not your Grandmother's piano bar!

 

The buffet often has much of the food served in the MDR, my DH is also not fond of eating with strangers. But the food is good on this ship, even in the buffet.

 

You are staying almost exactly where we did; that room is decent for movement--but honestly, in Alaska, that's not too bad usually anyway.

 

 

Don't count out Tracy Arm; we made in in June. But if you don't, Endicott is pretty.