Carnival Legend Review - April 30, 2017

I learned a lot from CC and would like to pay it forward and give a review of my cruise from start to finish.

(Pictures will come at the end when I get them sorted)

Background on us -- married for 27 years this June. 13 prior cruises but never to Alaska. This was a bucket list vacation for us.

As a first time cruisers to Alaska we had a difficult time picking which itinerary we wanted to take but when I found an 8 night sailing that incuded Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay our decision was made for us.

I booked this cruise almost 1.5 years prior so I had a ton of time to plan my trip of a lifetime.

We live in Buffalo NY and opted to fly with SW airlines (free with my points) to Seattle three days prior to our cruise to get some extra sightseeing time on the west coast. Another first for me.

We left Buffalo at 6:40 am and landed in Seattle at 10:45 am with a short layover in Chicago Midway. As we were heading toward Seattle I got a covered view of Mt Rainer in the distance.

We took a shuttle to the car rental office and picked up our ride to take us over Whidbey Island to eventually end up in North Vancouver that night. We booked with Avis for two days with a cost of $155 plus $30 extra for insurance since we were crossing the border into Canada.

Our first stop was at Diamond Knot Brewery in Mukiteo for a quick lunch before taking the ferry to Whidbey Island. We shared onion rings and I had chicken fingers with fries and my husband had a Cuban sandwich with a beer. Good food on my end but my husband raved about the Cuban the rest of the day.

After our meal we got in line for the ferry. After about a 10 minute wait we were boarding and 15 minutes later on Whidbey Island. We casually drove across the island and made a few stops ....

Whidbey Island Winery

Ebeys Landing National Park

Whidbey Island Yarns

Whidbey Pies Cafe

Deception Pass

After leaving Whidbey Island we stopped at Walmart in Burlington WA to pick up water and soda. A few minutes later we were crossing the border into Canada. It was a very easy crossing unlike going from Buffalo to Niagara Falls. The border patrol was very nice and did not seem surprised we were heading for a cruise from Seattle to Vancouver.

We drove through Vancouver and over the Lions Gate Bridge and arrived at our hotel in North Vancouver at 8:00pm. We opted to stay at the Best Western Capilano for $50 with Hotwire. We were hungry by then so grabbed a quick pizza from Panago which was a block away. The hotel was loud from the road out front but I was so tired from traveling all day I passed out. I was hoping to get a long sleep but woke up at 5am. I was not used to PST yet and excited to hit the road again.

Our first full day was a trip to Whister .....

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Awesome!! I've been waiting for an Alaska trip report. We go late summer. Can't wait to read [emoji5]

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I loved Alaska !

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Looking forward to your review and pictures!! We go in June and can't wait!!

I hoped you loved Whistler!

Sadly I am at work so will continue tonight with our day to whistler.

This will be fun to see what you enjoyed on your bucket list

Im from Buffalo too! Our Alaska cruise had to be postponed but looking forward to it

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Ebeys Landing

Friday morming -- we hit the road nice and early since sleep was not going to happen for us.

The hotel did not offer up a free breakfast so we checked out and headed for the Sea to Sky Highway. What a pretty drive but I wish there were places to stop along the way to take pictures. I had to snap as we drove so I was not able to get as many as I wanted.

Breakfast was at Galileo Coffee Company which was on the way to Whistler in Britannia Beach BC. Great coffee and small breakfast items. Baked fresh and reasonably priced.

We continued on to Whistler which in my opinion was a let down. I have been to Lake Placid which looks more like a town than a resort. The mountain was beautiful but I was expecting something different. The stores seemed to be more angled towards supplies needed for a ski trip than a village with shops.

All was not lost because the drive along the Sea to Sky Highway made it worthwhile.

After Whistler we headed back south to the Sea to Sky Gondola. Now that is worth a stop. The gondola goes way up the mountain to give a great view of the area. included in your ticket is a suspension bridge and hiking trails. You can also see Shannon Falls from the gondola which is right next door.

We continued on to Whistler which in my opinion was a let down..

I am really surprised - we spent 2 nights/3 days almost there and loved it. Can't wait to go back.

I am really surprised - we spent 2 nights/3 days almost there and loved it. Can't wait to go back.

What time of year were you there? Do you ski? We don't so I think some of the wow factor was lost on us. It was kind of like a ghost town too. I was just envisioning Lake Placid. A town not a resort village.

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What time of year were you there? Do you ski? We don't so I think some of the wow factor was lost on us. It was kind of like a ghost town too. I was just envisioning Lake Placid. A town not a resort village.

 

 

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We were there in September (right before a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to LA). It was gorgeous as we had fall foliage colors and beautiful flowers out. We did a lot of hiking and found it quite peaceful. We also enjoyed the restaurants. I agree, it is not a shopping mecca (part of the appeal for me). I loved the hotel I stayed at also (Pan Pacific Village Center). I wonder if being a day trip - you missed out on some of the things to do around there. When I was there, they said they have more summer visitors compared to winter visitors.

I tried to schedule a return trip but had to cancel it. I would love to get back. It definitely is a planned resort and I thought was laid out quite well compared to some other places (Colorado resorts) that grew and didn't have the space.

Hi! Another Buffalo cruiser checking in! We're going on our 1st Alaskan cruise June 2018. Can't wait to read more!

Awesome!! I've been waiting for an Alaska trip report. We go late summer. Can't wait to read [emoji5]

 

 

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Me too JBeaty. I stalk the board for the 2017 trip report every day. :) We go at the end of August and it can't come soon enough.

After we left the Sea to Sky gondola we popped over real quick to Shannon Falls and then drove on to Vancouver and the Pinnacle Harborfront Hotel.

We parked our car out front of the hotel and did a quick check in to our room. We had a 6th floor harborfront which I paid $97 for on Hotwire and then an additional $20 per night to have a water view. The room did have a small balcony that you could step out on but no furniture. The hotel is in a great location but I did not see it being worth $300+ a night.

We unloaded our bags and ran back downstairs to return our car just a few blocks away at Canada Place. I was getting real hungry by then so we walked to Steamworks Brewing Company for lunch. Once again a good meal and drinks.

We knew we were going to do the trolley the next day so decided to take the ferry over to Lonsdale Quay. I believe it was $4 and a 2 zone fare. There is a nice little shopping area there, some restaurants, and stores.

Not sure where my energy was coming from but we were not done for the day yet. We then took a long walk through China Town and Gas Town.

We finally ended our day with dinner at Mahony & Sons. Sadly this was the first meal that we were let down on. Over cooked and small portions. The best part of the meal was the waterview.

Finally off to sleep and next up is Saturday and the HOHO trolley.

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So excited for your review! We leave for Alaska out of Vancouver in four weeks so I'm eager to hear details from this year's season. Weather, glacier viewing, etc. Following...

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Its now Saturday morning and our original plan was to buy an all day bus pass and sightsee on our own but it was a cold and rainy day in Vancouver so I went online and bought an all day HOHO pass on the trolley. TIP .. It was about $8 cheaper on Viator than from the company website. The hotel desk and me email my invoice to them and printed my ticket for me.

The first trolley was starting at Canada Place at 9:30 so we walked over to get on the bus. We were on the run that did the Stanley Park stops and then dropped us off for the ferry to Granville Island. ( a free ticket on the ferry is included with your ticket along with several coupons). We walked around for a couple of hours, did a little shopping, lots of browsing, and grabbed lunch. It took a bit of searching to find where the trolley was to pick us up to continue our tour. TIP .. Its to the left of the ferry drop off and along the main road out of the shopping area in front of Starbucks.

We continued along on the trolley tour but since it was raining at a steady pace by then decided just to take the ride and not get off at any of the other stops. We ended our tour back at Canada Place.

TIP ... The trolley company seemed to be confused which trolley was doing which run (city or Stanley Park) and did not advertise they had two different bus routes on their map.

Since there were two ships in port ready to leave in an hour or so, we walked back to the Pinnacle and borrowed an umbrella so we could hang out at Canada Place to watch the ships leave port. Two words wet and cold.

We ended our evening at Tap and Barrel where we had planned a group dinner with the gang from FB. It was a treat getting to meet the people I talked with online for months leading up to this cruise.

Tomorrow ... Cruise day!!

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Me too JBeaty. I stalk the board for the 2017 trip report every day. :) We go at the end of August and it can't come soon enough.

Awesome! It looks like we may be going on the same cruise! Are you on the Star leaving Southbound on September 2???

Following! Can't wait to see more.

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Looking forward to the rest of your report. Cruising in 2 weeks!!!!

Interested in hearing about the rest of your trip.

Anixously awaiting the rest of your review!:confused:

Thanks for sharing, I look forward to reading the rest of your review.