trippingpara

Following.  We've booked this cabin too for the Dubai to Singapore spice route in 2021.  I do know that it is right next to the new Spice H2O (right next to the entrance doors) and there are deck chairs and tables above on Deck 11.  According to previous reviews, it was very quiet at night but that was when the kids water park and slides were located there instead of Spice H2O.

Great start Ak4n3, can't wait to read the rest!!  Glad I was able to help you out some.  "Popsie is a bit creaky"...I love it!  I can see Lady Trip starting to say that about me pretty soon!

Cheers,

Trip

Hi Newtocruise2011,

Sorry, it took me so long to respond, I just returned from our land vacation to Kauai.  I didn't post too many pics of the ship or the room since so many of already been posted in other reviews.  With that said, is there something in particular that you are looking for?  I can see if I have it, and I would be happy to post them for you.  Let me know!

Cheers,

Trip

20 hours ago, Clairescurtains said:

I have really enjoyed your review. We are doing the Legend to Alaska in July and really looking forward to it.

I plan on recommending your review to our travel friends, too.

Hi Clairescurtains,

I'm so glad you enjoyed my review and I appreciate you recommending it to others.  You are going to love this cruise!  We want to go back on it so bad.  Have a great time and happy sailings!

Cheers,

Trip

23 hours ago, jc4me said:

We cruised Carnival Legend May 6-14, 2019 and LOVED this trip.  Thank you for your suggestions.  It was an amazing trip and the drive up the Klondike Highway was one of our favorite days.  You Rock!

Hey jc4me,

I'm glad you had an awesome time on the cruise.  Isn't that drive up the Klondike Highway incredible?!  I'm still amazed that I never drove the car off the road gawking at all of the incredible scenery!  So happy my review was helpful for you.

Cheers,

Trip

16 hours ago, Ak4n3 said:

 

 

Can we use  USD when  paying for the dog sled tour (or purchasing food along the highways in the Yukon) or should we bring CAD?

Whenever I've been fairly close to the US border in Canada, I've never had a problem using USD, but like Auralee said, they will always give you change in CAD and the FX rate will not be favorable.  On this particular trip, we only used our credit card which had very favorable FX rates and does not change conversion fees.

Also, please note that there are very FEW places along the highway for food.  This is a very rural route that is extremely scenic but very lacking in amenities.  Your best bet for food is in Carcross.  We stopped at a little cafe there, just off the highway.  Excellent sandwiches!

20 hours ago, Ak4n3 said:

This is the third time I read your trip report and I love it.  It gave me ideas what to do for our upcoming Alaska cruise on August with my parents and hubby.  Thanks for the info about the Tutsi Dog Sled tour.  My mom loves dogs.  However, since they are on the older side (70's), they would probably sit out the dog sled part.  I promised my sister I would return them in one piece.

LOL, yeah, bringing the parents back in one piece is a pretty solid plan!  I'm so glad to you enjoyed my review and have found it helpful.  The great thing with Tutshi, you don't have to take the dog sled tour to play with the pups.  But note, the dog sled tour is pretty easy going for the passengers.  It's not a wild ride or dangerous in any way.  If I remember correctly, you can sit or stand in the sled.  We choose to stand.  Sitting would be just fine for them.  Something to think about if you'd (or they) are interested.  Have fun and smooth sailings!

14 hours ago, amypintx said:

Hey Trip! One more question... did you have to make a reservation at the Tutshi Dog Kennels or can you just show up anytime? 

 

Thanks!

Amy

Hi Amy,

You don't need to reserve in advance.  We just showed up and asked for the sledding tour.  We stopped there in the morning on our way out instead of waiting for our return trip back to Skagway.  Some of the tour companies are now starting to send their tours there instead of to Caribou Crossing in Carcross.  We made plenty of photo stops on the way there but we wanted to get there fairly early (shortly after they opened).  You'll love it at Tutshi.  The dogs were awesome (tons of puppies, how can you not love that?!), the scenery is incredible and the folks working there and running the place were super nice and very informative.  We never felt like we were at a tourist stop.  It really felt exactly what it was: basically, we were dropping by and hanging out with the dogs and to learn and help out training a sledding team prepare for the winter racing season.  The whole car ride into the Klondike was the highlight of the trip for me.  Absolutely loved it and can't wait to do it again!

On 4/6/2019 at 7:12 AM, Auralee said:

Great review trip!!! Just stayed up til 4am reading! Lol. We set sail April 29th from Vancouver with same stops (but not Victoria — but we live in Victoria so no loss there 😜) glad you found eagle wing for the whale watch they are great!! We went out with them last sept too and saw baby orcas. Btw there are harbour ferries (mini boats) that can take you from fisherman’s wharf to down town or to quite a few other stops around the harbour and up the gorge.(for others traveling here). Good to hear there will still be the “hairy chest competition” for me to bus-chuck my hubby into😜. Was wondering if there would be any activities like that. (My hubby won the last one he was in on our Caribbean cruise lol and he’s usually very shy so is great to see him cut loose lol) . Beautiful pictures - mind if I repost any? 

 

Thanks for for such a thorough review👍

Hi Auralee,

Wow!  Now that's some dedication to reading!!  I hope a few margaritas were involved in that long session!  Thank you so much for the kind words on my review, I'm really glad you liked it.  We were so happy to have found Eagle Wings, they were truly a class act!  Most of the activities that go on during a regular Caribbean cruise still go on during an Alaskan cruise but they do tend be a bit more subdued if you will.  But the Hairy Chest Contest was still pretty rowdy (ended up having great weather that day too!).  You can certainly repost my photos provided you do not edit them or remove my signature from them.  Thank you for asking, I really do appreciate that!!

Cheers and smooth sailings!

Trip

13 hours ago, amypintx said:

Thanks for a great review! We'll be on the Legend in July. I was planning to do the train/bus combo with dog sled in Skagway but I think you have me convinced to rent a car and do a self-guided tour. Did you have a particular resource book or map or something that you used to guide you or did you just make stops along the way that looked interesting?  Also thinking about doing the Island Wings Fjords and Glacier combo in Ketchikan with the money we save going the self-guided route in Skagway!

Hey amypintx,

Thank you for the kind words!  We absolutely LOVED doing the Klondike drive ourselves.  Super easy to do and so much better seeing things on your terms not 80 other people's terms!  We used Murray's Guide to the South Klondike.  Very helpful and informative.  Just do a Google search for it.  I bought the paid version and downloaded it and took it with us.  You can do it without the guide but there is so much info in there and it's only a few bucks so I would highly recommend getting it.  Plus it gave us some places that are off the beaten path and wouldn't see from the road.  I would suggest booking the rental car soon as they do sell out when the cruise ships come in.  And using your savings to book with Island Wings in Ketchikan is GENIUS!!  Have fun and smooth sailings!

Cheers,

Trip

8 hours ago, jc4me said:

Hi Trip...our trip is getting closer (leaving May 6th) and I was wondering if you brought any Canadian money for this portion of the trip or if those along this route take US dollars...or if you used a credit card to make purchases?  Your review has been so helpful in our planning!  Thanks again 🙂

Hi JC4ME, we did not change over any money into Canadian.  I was planning on stopping at an ATM to pull some Canadian out put it turns out we didn't need to.  Many places will take USD but you will get CAD for change and the exchange rate won't be the greatest.  I used my Amex card which has favorable FX rates and minimal fees for the exchange so it worked out great for us.  I so glad to hear that my review has been helpful for you!  Have fun and enjoy your cruise!!

4 hours ago, Cruisegirl70 said:

Just read your review. Loved it and we are booked on Carnival in June 2020 with close to the same itinerary. Do you remember the name of the company you used for the Victoria Whale watch? 

Hey Cruisegirl70, thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, I really appreciate it!  Glad you liked my review and you are going to have a blast on your cruise to Alaska.  It's pretty flippin' hard to NOT have a great time there!  We sailed with Eagle Wing Tours.  They have a large office right at Fisherman's Wharf, pretty hard to miss.  We sailed on their vessel, "Wild 4 Whales", it was a great boat that had both indoor and outdoor seating and you were even able to go up  to the helm and hang out with the captain.  We had an awesome time with them and highly recommend them!

We will be doing our first NCL cruise next year to the Baltic so I can't give you a good comparison, but we just completed a cruise to Alaska on the Legend in August.  Those sailing to Alaska on cruise ships do tend to be a bit of an older crowd then you will find on Caribbean sailings.  Some say it's partly due to cost and partly due to the itinerary.  Whatever the reason, the crowd is definitely a bit older than you will find on other Carnival ships.  Due to this, there is a bit of a reduction in the level of partying that you may find on other cruises on Carnival.  I was surprised on our first night there how early the bars seemed to close down.  However, that was only on the first night.  All of the other nights, we were able to easily find places to drink, relax, dance, laugh, and basically just enjoy ourselves.  Overall, we had a great time on the Legend and it's itinerary to Alaska.  Like some others have said, you never know until you try it and of course, it's all what you make of it.  I've found that the more I open my own mind and accept differences, the more I end up enjoying the experience.

Hey Stinger-pr!  So good to see you writing another one of your awesome reviews here on the NCL boards!  We just booked our first NCL cruise to the Baltics for 2020.  It's always good to see a familiar face in the crowd!  As usual, another great review and some awesome photos to boot.  I appreciate some of the comparisons that you've added in between your experience on NCL and Carnival.  That really helps us as we've done the Carnival sailing several times out of PR and always had similar experiences to you on them.  Many thanks my friend!

Cheers,

Trip

5 hours ago, jc4me said:

Hi Trip, thank you for the review!  We are sailing in May and I would love to know if there were USB ports added to the rooms when Legend was in dry dock. Thank you!!

Hi jc4me.  There were USB ports in our room.  I don't recall if there were any by the bed but we did have USB ports in the dressing room portion of our suite.

5 hours ago, SweetpeaOne said:

Awesome review and pictures.  Thanks for sharing.

Hi SweetpeaOne,

You are more than welcome!  Thank you for stopping by and leaving such nice feedback, I really appreciate it.

Cheers,

Trip

Thank you for this excellent comparison from your experiences with Carnival and NCL.  We have always sailed on Carnival but we have just booked our first cruise with NCL on their Escape to the Baltic next year.  We wanted to go on Carnival but their Baltic options were few and far between and NCL had a nice offering so we jumped.  Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

Hiya MistyRo76!

Wow!  You read this novel in one sitting?!  Now that's some dedication.  Or pure boredom.  But I'll go with dedication!  I remember when I had a toddler in the house.  They make the best photo subjects!  Keep in mind with photography, it's not the camera that makes a great photo, it's the person behind the camera that takes a great photo.  Quite a few of the photos in this review were taken with my cell phone.  Modern phones can take some great photos!  Watch some YouTube videos and just start clicking away with your toddler as a model.  You can get pretty bloody good that way.  Expensive equipment and classes are not always necessary.  They're helpful, but not required.  As for Alaska, YES!  It should be at the top of your vaca wish list and a 10th anniversary is a perfect time to go!  Thank you for taking to time to leave me some feedback and the kind words, I really appreciate it!  Take care and smooth sailings!

Cheers,

Trip

On 12/25/2018 at 5:46 PM, sweethart9510 said:

Yeaaaa!!! Love your reviews. Your past reviews are the reason I gave Volbeat a chance 

Hi sweethart9510,

Glad to see you stop by!  Thank you for the kind words.  So glad you gave Volbeat a chance!  They're still one of my top alarms to wake up to.  So much better than Butcher Babies!

On 12/24/2018 at 8:15 PM, LPut714 said:

Loved your review-we did the Legend out of Alaska last year-whale watching got cancelled-did a brewery instead. Love all your pics expecially the orcas. So exciting. Thanks for the great review.

Hey Lput714,

Thank you for taking the time to give me some feedback.  Glad you enjoyed my review.  I would be bummed about missing out on the whale watching but then again, going to a brewery isn't too shabby either!!  I was so excited to see the orcas.  That was the main reason that I decided to go out on the whale watching adventure.  It was soooo worth it!!

On 12/17/2018 at 6:59 AM, jc4me said:

I've followed along to the end as well!  Have enjoyed every installment of the saga 🙂  Thank you for taking the time to finish this in the midst of your chaos.

Hey jc4me,

Thank you for hanging around till the end.  Glad you enjoyed it!

Cheers,

Trip

On 12/16/2018 at 7:47 PM, ToriB said:

What an awesome review with beautiful photos. We’ll be on the Legend in May and cannot wait!

Thank you ToriB for such kind words.  You're going to love the Legend!  Happy cruising!

Cheers,

Trip

On 12/15/2018 at 8:14 PM, tandemcruzr said:

Yep, I'm still here and thoroughly enjoyed the pics and the commentary. Enjoy your future travels. 🙂

 

Hi tandemcruzr,

Thank you for gutting it out and hanging around till the end.  Glad you enjoyed the review!

Cheers,

Trip

On 12/15/2018 at 1:53 PM, pghsteelerfan said:

And I'm still following along too and I certainly won't put pressure on you.  Ship happens!!!  I just finished your final installment.  I really enjoyed your review and seeing Alaska through your beautiful pictures!!!  Thanks again for taking the time to share with and entertain us.  I hope you and Lady Trip have a great time in Kauai!  We were there last year for 4 days, loved it and hope to get back one day.  I hope you also enjoy the Baltics cruise!  Merry Christmas to you!!!

Hey pghsteelerfan,

Congrats on your win against the Patriots.  You caused quite the stir up here in Boston!  Apparently, the world is ending now   Anyways, thank you so much for the kind words and your patience as I worked my way through this review.  I can't believe it took me this long to complete it!  Can't wait for our upcoming trips!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Cheers,

Trip

I can't speak about the cruising part, but we always do land vacations in Hawaii.  The temperature is pretty moderate year round and is shorts/t-shirt weather at the beaches all year.  If you go up into any kind of elevation, the temperature will obviously cool down and will get down right cold at some of the summits and will snow on the summits of the Big Island.  In the evening, a light sweater is sometimes nice to have but not always necessary on the waterfront.  I will say that the Pacific Ocean can be a lot cooler than you would expect so I wouldn't be surprised that it can get chilly, especially at night, when out at open seas.