engteacher

Books and some travel size games.

Ours did too.  I was worried but there it was.  

We are sailing on the Dream out of New Orleans Dec. 23 - 30 and I am looking at our return flights. Is booking a 12:15 pm flight out of New Orleans too risky? We're supposed to be back in port at 8 am. Anyone with any experience with this? Thanks.

Thank you!

We will be on the Legend to Alaska on July 25. On the 7 day itinerary, which night is elegant night? I have heard conflicting reports about what people are supposed to wear to the MDR on non-elegant nights. Some places have said that nice jeans are allowed for men on the Alaska itineraries. My husband is not a dress-up guy, and he does not ever wear a sport coat or tie. I can convince him to put on khakis, but he feels that is more for elegant night and not for every night dining. We have reservations at the Steakhouse and he will wear khakis for that night. Those of you who have been on the Alaska cruises, what did you notice about men's clothing in the MDR. We will be having YTD, if that makes any difference.

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.

Awesome review and pictures. What a wonderful time you gave your mom. How very special. We will be on the Legend July 25 and are very excited about the trip, but even more so after seeing your pictures.

We are sailing on the Legend July 25. I have already paid my balance and pre-booked (and paid for) our excursions and the soda/water to be delivered to our room. I know we will use the S&S card for the steakhouse, pictures, etc. I have already established my credit card account for my S&S card. I can get some Carnival gift cards through my American Express reward points. My question is: if I get some Carnival gift cards, can I add them to my S&S account? How do I do that?

Thanks for offering to post the Fun Times after your trip, Bakersdozen12! We are on the May 23rd sailing.

 

I'm also interested in any tips for the cruise - great places on the ship to watch the wildlife/glaciers, etc.

 

Does anyone know the prices at the Bonsai Sushi place? I found a menu, but no prices. I'm just wondering if it reasonable or really expensive.

 

Also, I've been told that there is an excursion that can only be purchased on the ship to get you up close and personal going through Glacier Bay. Can anyone give me details on this, please - description, cost, is it easily sold out, etc.?

 

Thanks!

We are on the Legend Alaska sailing on July 25. I booked the Tracy Arm excursion directly through Carnival by emailing them. I heard it sells out very quickly. You give them your booking number, names, stateroom number, sailing date and requested departure time. We requested 11:00 a.m. I got a confirming email back and I will go to guest services to pick up the tickets once on board.

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Here's the email address: alaska_tracyarm@carnival.com

Last May, we took a van ride with Frontier Excursions & Adventures. We took the Yukon Discovery & Sled Dog Tour. It was great, we visited Michelle Phillips Iditarod training camp and had a great lunch (included). They had many stops and the driver was very knowledgeable. Sounds like you may have a pretty good size group, see if they will give you a group rate. Even after the door, we had time to walk around the small town. If you go, remember to take your passport, you have a border crossing.

We are booked on this excursion through Frontier in late July and looking forward to it. Glad to hear we will have time to walk around the town too.

I have always booked excursions through the ship because I am so concerned about getting back to the pier on time. However, for our trip on the Legend this July, I booked a Skagway tour through Frontier Excursions. We are in port until 9 pm that night, and Frontier guarantees we will be back at the pier on time. My choice for this was because my husband is a smoker and the train to White Pass does not stop and he would be uncomfortable. Frontier takes a van and says they stop frequently for photo opportunities, etc. and my husband will be able to step away from the group and smoke. I was pleased with their customer response, and will be hoping that it all lives up to what they say.

We're booked on the Legend, leaving Seattle on July 25. There aren't very many excursions listed on the Manage My Cruise site. Do I need to wait until closer to sailing time? I like the White Pass Train but don't want the biking portion, and that Tracy Arm one you guys are talking about sounds wonderful!Am I just being too anxious?