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Trip Report: CCL Legend, Alaska, Very Photo Heavy! And it's late, from Sept. 2017


Tennessee Rose
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First, I'm sorry this is so late! This is my very first trip report on CC, even though I've actually written some up in the past. I would always be so late with getting them written and downloading/organizing photos that I was embarrassed to even submit them. So, I didn't.

 

But, it seems like there just have never been a whole lot of photo reports for Alaska cruises during my searching the last few years, so I'm doing this anyway! By the way, our cruise was in September 2017. Some things may have changed, but most will be the same. I just hope that my crazy number of photos will show those who have never been to Alaska just why I name it my favorite trip so far. It is just gorgeous.

 

So, hop aboard and I hope you enjoy!

LaRose

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Carnival Legend, AlaskaCruise, Sept. 5-12, 2017



LaRose and Jaime

Trip Review

 

We started planning this cruise over a year before our cruise dates and booked it in June 2016. All travel---cruise, rental car, Seattle lodging, flights, and cruise excursion---were all booked and completely paid for by the first of April 2017. Our only out-of-pocket $$ after April would be for taxi/shuttles/tips. Then, it was just waiting until September arrived. “We”includes me, LaRose (early 60s), and my co-worker and travel buddy, Jaime (early 40s). We’ve found that not only do we work well together at work, but we travel well together also. While traveling, some people think we are doing a mother/daughter trip, and we just let them think that! This was our 3rd cruise as roomies.

 

One more thing for the beginning, since I will post a TON of pics scattered into this report. I had been wanting a new camera for months but didn’t actually get it until 1 ½ weeks before we left. I was still trying to figure out how to take just basic pics on the plane! I only used a few of the way-too-many modes available and a few of the panoramas have“lines” because I didn’t hold the shutter correctly at first. My pics were all taken with a Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS70, it has 30X zoom which was used a lot; this was the first time I had used the camera! I did take my old Lumix along but only took about 6-8 pics with it. I figured I bought this new camera for this trip, so I better just use it—and hope for the best! Most came out pretty decent considering the not-great weather we had.

Edited by Tennessee Rose
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Monday, Sept. 4th, Labor Day, Seattle:

Our cruise originated in Seattle and ended in Vancouver, so we flew Southwest Airlines to Seattle the day before our cruise sailed. There were several delays in leaving Nashville but thankfully we had booked a nonstop flight. We arrived at SEATAC only 45 minutes late, about 1:00 p.m. I had read good reviews on Shuttle Express but Speedi Shuttle’s kiosk was right beside them in the garage and they were cheaper, $16 per person, so we booked with them and immediately we were loaded in their fabulous and fancy big van and on our way to the Silver Cloud Stadium Hotel---it’s right across the street from Safeco Field and Century Link Field, the Mariners and Seahawks home fields.

Almost to Seattle, after a long flight from Nashville. This "might" be Mt. Ranier??

 

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Pics from the Silver Cloud Hotel in Seattle:

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Side note: The first of April I had booked/reserved a really cute AirBnB studio apartment for our one night’s lodging in Seattle, right across the street from Pike Place Market. We planned to spend our one afternoon wandering around the market and having lunch and/or dinner there. The apt. was in an older building that had been renovated for lodging. The pics were so cute! The person managing the property for the listing (don’t know if she was the actual owner) was very quick to respond and friendly. So, about 3 weeks before our trip I sent her a message asking for check-in details. She did not respond to the message through AirBnB. 10 days before we were leaving, I called her on the phone to get those details. She was friendly and said she would send them to me the day before we traveled. Okay. I’m more comfortable having all the details tied down and info in my travel folder (yes, I’m one of those!) but guessed she had a reason for not giving key pickup and check in info while someone else may be there. Well, guess what?? Almost exactly 24 hours later, I received an email from AirBnB that my reservation was cancelled! I was shocked. Upset. In a panic. After checking the listing/cancellation on their site, I found that she also had 3 other units around Seattle, and that all 4 were “no longer available.” I don’t know what happened but suspect she got kicked off AirBnB. In the cancellation email from AirBnB, they gave me the option of booking another unit through them with full credit for what I had paid plus another 10%. Or I could just get a full refund. I opted for the refund and searching elsewhere. I personally know people who have successfully booked with AirBnB, but I don’t know if I’m willing to try them again---at least not for a while!

 

So, I’m in a panic a little more than a week out needing to find alternative lodging. Seattle lodging is very expensive and that was one more reason I had searched and searched months before. I ended up doing the Priceline Express Deal for a 4-Star hotel (no name until you book) and got the Silver Cloud Stadium. Not our ideal location. We really wanted to be closer to the Market and waterfront. But Priceline’s area for those includes the stadium area. Oh well. It had really good reviews on TripAdvisor, and we had a place to sleep!

 

In the long run, Silver Cloud turned out to be a much better deal money-wise. It was $30 cheaper, was really nice and clean, had very nice staff (on phone and in person), very comfy beds, nice Aveda toiletries, a rooftop pool/hot tub terrace, plus FREE shuttle to take you to various places around the city. If you took the shuttle, they gave you a card and you just called when you were ready to be picked up and they come get you to get back to the hotel. All free.We did tip the drivers after our outing to Pike Place Market. Oh, this also included a free trip to Pier 91 the next morning! We had planned on having to pay for a taxi to the port. We got lucky with the shuttles this trip. Both Speedi Shuttle and Silver Cloud had the nice fancy oversize shuttles with comfy seats, very friendly and informative drivers, and great A/C! And clean.

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Some things I noticed about Seattle: It’s a very dog friendly city with a lot of people walking dogs downtown. The streets are filled with trees and beautiful giant hanging flower displays. I really wish Nashville would do something like this; our light pole baskets are pretty but Seattle’s are just incredible. On the downside, there are a lot of homeless people with their tent cities just set up on the sidewalks in a couple of areas we were driven through from the hotel. I would definitely not feel safe walking in those areas, day or night.

 

At Pike Place Market, we had a mid-afternoon lunch at Lowell’s---I had the fish ‘n chips, Jaime had the cheddar burger & fries. The fries were just normal fries. But my fish was wonderful---and I don’t normally eat fish at all. Jaime said her burger was really good also. We sat at the window—it was very hot and didn’t seem to be air conditioned in that dining area. Even lowering the shades didn’t help. We ate quickly, but not before we had 2 guys from NYC join us at our long table. So, good food and friendly tablemates for our lunch----if only it had felt cooler than 80 degrees in the dining area! The tables had little old fashion bar stools, not really comfortable. By the way, when we looked out the window at the buildings across the street, I recognized one of them as the location for the AirBnB we had originally booked. It would have been so very handy—literally right across the street. After eating, we wandered some more, seeing the fish markets with all the fresh fish and seafood, and the cut flowers. Had to stop by Rocky Mountain Chocolate for some ice cream. It was really hot outside so this cool treat was nice. We spent about 2 hours at the market, then called for the shuttle to pick us up. They were there in about 15 minutes. At the hotel, we went up to the rooftop and sat for a while. This was probably about 5:00 p.m. and it had cooled off and we had a nice breeze. The Mariners were playing the Astros that afternoon so we saw all those people milling around.

 

I had hoped we would have clear weather so I could get some good pics, especially from the rooftop. But that didn’t happen. The airport shuttle driver had told us all the heavy haze was actually smoke from all the wildfires in the eastern part of the state. Seattle looked foggy the whole time we were there. The next day you could barely see the downtown skyline from the ship, it was that bad. From the terrace, we did watch the ferries going back and forth, the ferris wheel, and the space needle. I had hoped for a couple of sunset pics but the sun finally just disappeared into the haze.

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After traveling all day, we were really tired and didn't do as much exploring of the Market as we would have liked. We didn't make it down to the shops levels, but that just leaves places to go for next time! And here are a few more pics. I promise, I'm getting to the actual cruise soon!

 

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At and from the hotel viewpoints:

 

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The Silver Cloud and the stadiums are south of the downtown area and just a few streets from the shipping areas with the huge cranes and shipping containers. The cranes looked like giant "dinosaurs" to me.

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Flowers on the rooftop pool terrace:

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Tuesday, Sept. 5,Seattle:

Several months prior to the cruise, Carnival sent notification that check-in times were available to select from and we immediately selected the first time slot,11:00-11:30 a.m. When we checked into the Silver Cloud, we went ahead and scheduled their shuttle for 10:00 a.m. for the next morning to be taken to Pier 91; we wanted to be there as soon as they would possibly let us in at the port! We double checked our time with the SC shuttle driver when we arrived back at the hotel after our market jaunt and he told us they don’t normally start going to Pier 91 until 11:00. When we told him the front desk check in people had told us 10:00 would be fine, he said he would check the schedule at the front desk. Well, they had us down for 10:00 a.m. and since it was their mistake,they said there was no problem, they would gladly take us over at 10:00! Another plus for the excellent service at Silver Cloud Hotel! By the way, we learned that there are several Silver Clouds located around the Seattle area.

 

We got to the lobby with our luggage (each of us had only 1 medium suitcase plus 1 small tote/backpack) about 9:45, and Denise, our wonderful and friendly driver,came in to get us right at 10:00. Oh, we were the only 2 people they had on the shuttle, but they still took us. She dropped us off at the port right near the door---there was hardly anyone there yet, really only a couple of cruisers outside, no lines could be seen!---at 10:20 a.m. A porter was right there, took our luggage which we had already tagged, and he told us which door to go through. We also had our boarding passes and health certificates pre-printed and completed so we got through security and the entire check-in process in all of 20 minutes! We were seated in Zone 2 at 10:40 a.m. to wait to board. That wait to actually board did last right at 1 hour. But it was okay. We just sat in anticipation of boarding and watched all the other cruisers arriving, just as excited as we were.

Our first sighting of Legend!

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Hazy skyline from the wildfires.

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I think I had read this is called the Admiral of the Navy's Home. It sits right above a nice marina that Pier 91 is adjacent to.

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Okay, so the posting of this report is going a bit slower than I expected! Now, I must break for the evening to get laundry done for work this next week. Oh, my, why DO I wait this late for that! I will work on adding more tomorrow evening.

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Thanks for doing the review, we sail in June on the Legend. Can't wait!

 

You are welcome! I loved Legend--my first time on her and I hope it won't be the last. I wish I could go back in the summer time to try for some "pretty" weather. Even with less than ideal weather in Sept., we still thoroughly enjoyed ALASKA!

You do have a very short countdown! Have fun!

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. My pics were all taken with a Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS70, it has 30X zoom which was used a lot; this was the first time I had used the camera! I did take my old Lumix along but only took about 6-8 pics with it. I figured I bought this new camera for this trip, so I better just use it—and hope for the best! Most came out pretty decent considering the not-great weather we had.[/b][/color][/font]

 

 

I just bought the same camera! Replacing an aging Lumix! Great pictures [emoji16]

 

I have been pleased so far with the pics from my camera & it’s great to see yours!

 

We leave for AK in less than a month! Thanks for posting your review!

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Thank you for posting this. Can't wait for the next installment!

 

Your pictures are great! I love reading Alaska trip reports—better late than never! :)

 

Thanks! I couldn't find that many; the reason I'm doing this even late.

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I just bought the same camera! Replacing an aging Lumix! Great pictures [emoji16]

 

I have been pleased so far with the pics from my camera & it’s great to see yours!

 

We leave for AK in less than a month! Thanks for posting your review!

 

Wow! I think you will love this camera. I researched for several months and agonzied over it. For me, as just as casual picture-taker (no photographer here!), this has so many more features than I'll ever use. But I wanted the high zoom and great hi-burst. Make sure to try out and practice using the panorama mode---it is fabulous! Alaska is BEAUTIFUL----enjoy it!

 

 

 

I'm so glad you're posting a review. I'm enjoying it a lot, love seeing all the photos, and am looking forward to more.

 

Thank you! I hope to add a few pics this a.m., then have a funeral to go to, but will work on getting a significant part added this afternoon. Stay tuned!

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Thank you for posting this. Can't wait for the next installment!

 

Your pictures are great! I love reading Alaska trip reports—better late than never! :)

 

I'm just trying to pay it forward, and thanks for the compliment. I love taking pictures, and my oh my, Alaska provided gorgeous scenery to do that!

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Let's get on that ship!

As soon as we boarded the beautiful Legend---which is now my favorite ship—we headed to Lido for lunch and just waited until we could get to our cabin #4196 at 1:30. The doors to the hallway were closed and they asked us to wait until 1:30 as they were still cleaning. They opened the door at 1:30 and several waiting people got to go to their cabins.My suitcase arrived very shortly after that and I unpacked. We stayed in the cabin until safety drill time which was announced at 3:30. Jaime went to our assigned muster station, but I told them because of my severe arthritis that I could not stand for very long. They had me go with the handicap folks just into the dining room which was just around the corner from our muster station. This worked out very well and I didn’t have to start the cruise experiencing terrible pain while waiting for people to show up for the drill.

 

About our cabin: We selected one of the interior cabins with obstructed French doors for the first time ever to have a more reasonable price but also be able to have fresh air and to be able to see what the weather was like each day. It was #4196. We were fortunate to get one right between 2 lifeboats and it was the 3rd down from the rear elevator on the Main deck 4. This cabin was absolutely perfect for us! Oh, it also had a sofa and table which we used a lot. Down the elevator to deck 2 was the MDR, down to deck 3 was open deck which we loved being able to go to, and straight up to deck 9 was the Lido Unicorn buffet café which led straight out to the Serenity area. For any future cruises, I will always book a cabin right next to the rear elevators.

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I had read about Legend being the "urn" decorated ship. Yes, it was. Lots of them. I thought they were beautiful!

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Yes, people want to see the facilities also!

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Beautiful boats and yachts in the marina beside Pier 91 which was the one north of the downtown Seattle area; the one used by Carnival.

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Handicap sitting area in dining room for muster drill.

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Although these rooms have a French door that you can open to the inside, there is a rail that blocks you from going outside. They are not balcony rooms; nothing to go out onto. Here is what is outside the door. We could easily see the open deck below the lifeboats. And then you can see our view between lifeboats. I had specifically chosen this one so as to not be directly and wholey behind a lifeboat.

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