Alaska/Carnival Legend Cruise Review w/ Pictures July 2015

[navybaby1113]

After we were done touring the market, we walked down to the Argosy tour docks. The Seattle City Pass includes a voucher for the one hour harbor tour, so we traded our passes in for tour tickets at 6:30pm (there were early tours, but we wanted to give ourselves enough time to tour to aquarium).

 

Once we were done getting our tickets, we walked down to the Seattle Aquarium. DH and I love aquariums, so we were pretty excited about this stop.

 

The first thing you see when you come into the aquarium is the Window on Washington Waters. It is designed to replicate the seascape around Neah Bay and is filled with more than 800 fish and invertebrates. They have divers go into the aquarium 3 times a day and they can answer the audience questions. Thankfully we walked in just as they started their talk, so we grabbed seats and watched.

 

 

Next up, you come to Life on the Edge, which is filled with touch pools. Here you will see creatures like hermit crabs, sea stars, and sea urchins. This was one of the best touch pool areas I have ever seen. So many creatures to see and touch.

 

 

 

I was pretty excited about the next part because I love coral reef. The aquarium has a giant aquarium full of Pacific Coral Reef and fish swimming through it.

 

 

 

Up next they had some ocean oddities.

 

[navybaby1113]

The next section of the aquarium was what I was most excited about. The animals!

 

First up, they had the Birds and Shores exhibit. This is an open air exhibit and highlights the habitats along the Puget Sound. In addition to birds, the exhibit also features fish and other invertebrates.

 

 

Next, we went down to the lower level and got to see some of the Puget Sound fish.

 

 

On the lower level is a really cool feature. They have an undersea dome that allows you to get 360 degree views of the huge aquarium.

 

I might have squealed when we walked into the next part. Mammals!!! And some of my favorites too! This is the whole reason that we came to the aquarium was so I could see these adorable animals up close.

 

There were seals!

 

 

And my favorite! Otters!!!!!

 

 

We stayed in this area for a really long time watching the otters play. I could watch those adorable otters swim around for hours!

 

Note: If you love seals and otters as much as I do, check out the Seattle Aquarium’s website. They have live cameras!

 

We really enjoyed the aquarium and would definitely go back in the future.

[FloridaGram]

We did this cruise in June so I am enjoying reliving our trip through you. We went out from FL also on Sat. but we went to Mt. Rainier on Sunday and just did a city tour on a bus Monday. Yours sounds much more exciting. We did get to see Pike Place Market briefly and went to the top of the Space Needle.

 

If you ever go back Mt. Rainier was so worth it. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express at SeaTac and it was pretty decent also.

[navybaby1113]

We did this cruise in June so I am enjoying reliving our trip through you. We went out from FL also on Sat. but we went to Mt. Rainier on Sunday and just did a city tour on a bus Monday. Yours sounds much more exciting. We did get to see Pike Place Market briefly and went to the top of the Space Needle.

 

If you ever go back Mt. Rainier was so worth it. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express at SeaTac and it was pretty decent also.

 

We went to Mt. Rainier on Monday! The park was absolutely gorgeous, but sadly there wasn't terribly much visibility because of the weather. We'd definitely go back!

[navybaby1113]

We hung out and took some pictures along the water front for a little while while waiting for our cruise.

 

 

 

 

I was getting thirsty, so of course I had to walk down to Starbucks. It’s right next to Argosy docks.

 

[BenjiRodney]

Loving your review, we did the first one in May out of Vancouver that came back to Seattle. Have to agree on the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm, Loved it.

[nybumpkin]

I'm glad that staying out by SeaTac worked out for you. The light rail line really works well. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[cruisingbajan]

Great review and awesome pics so far:).

 

An Alaska cruise is on my bucket list and based on your pics and review so far, it has now moved to the top of that list.:D

 

Keep it coming.

[navybaby1113]

It was finally time to board the boat. There were about 150 people on the boat. They had an inside area that you could sit in or you could sit in the seat on the top, which is what we chose to do. Our guide Greg was absolutely awesome and gave us all the information we wanted to know about the Seattle area. We also got some gorgeous views!

 

 

 

 

 

Towards the end of our tour, we got to go into the Industrial area and watch a gentleman load cargo onto a ship.

 

 

 

This was a great tour! Next time we go to Seattle, I want to take their 2 hour locks tour, which sounds awesome.

[navybaby1113]

We had noticed there was a Red Robin next to the Argosy dock, so we walked over there to grab dinner. We don’t have one in Tallahassee (yet!), but I’ve heard great things about it. Plus, it was founded in Seattle, so I felt like it fit right in with our trip!

 

We also had a gorgeous view of the sunset from our table.

 

 

The food was yummy!

 

 

 

 

After dinner we walked back up to the light rail station and went back to our hotel. We were getting up early tomorrow to take a day trip to Mt. Rainier.

[Namlsnik]

Thinking of driving a rental car to Mt Rainier after our cruise. Not sure if we should go into the national park or to Paradise.

 

Or we might go to Lake Washington and Snoqualmie Falls.

[navybaby1113]

Thinking of driving a rental car to Mt Rainier after our cruise. Not sure if we should go into the national park or to Paradise.

 

Or we might go to Lake Washington and Snoqualmie Falls.

 

We did a day trip to Mt Rainier and loved it. We spent the majority of our time at Paradise, but also drove to other areas. I'm hoping to get up that part of our trip today (it might be tomorrow though).

 

We did Snoqualmie Falls after our cruise and it was nice, but if I had to choose between Snoqualmie and Mt Rainier, I would definitely choose Mt Rainier.

[red47]

I heard that Pike Place Market gets really busy around noon and it was getting close to that point, so instead of going up the Space Needle again, we decided to head back to the Westlake Center.

 

Sadly when we got there, the place was already packed! You could barely walk through the market at this point, so I don’t have too many pictures.

 

 

First stop was the gum wall. So gross!

 

 

Also had to get a picture of Rachel the Pig.

 

 

I heard Beechers was absolutely amazing, so we decided to stop there for lunch. Thankfully the line to order food was pretty short. I got their Worlds Famous Mac n Cheese and Breadzel and DH ordered a turkey melt. Thankfully the turkey melt took a while to make because we had to stalk people to get a seat. There are maybe 12 milk cans lined up along a counter in the store. Finally a couple people got up, so we grabbed their seats as quickly as possible. The most uncomfortable “chairs” in the world, but better than sitting on the curb. You also get to watch them making cheese while you eat, which is pretty cool.

 

 

Now on to the food. It was okay, but nothing special. I’ve definitely had better mac n cheese in my life. Glad we tried it, but don’t know if we would go again.

 

 

 

Hi could you direct me to the gum wall?? My 9 yr old GD would love that place!

Thanks,

Carol

[ch27088]

Subscribing!

[navybaby1113]

Hi could you direct me to the gum wall?? My 9 yr old GD would love that place!

Thanks,

Carol

 

If you're looking at the main entrance to Pike Place Market, there's a little alley way to the left. You walk down some stairs and you're there.

[marshhawk]

subscribed! so far have learned a lot from you review. thanks!

[navybaby1113]

Day 3: Seattle

{Monday, July 13}

 

We woke up extra early this morning because we had plans to visit Mt. Rainier. We grabbed a quick breakfast before we left.

 

We decided instead of doing a tour of Mt. Rainier to just rent a car and drive ourselves. This worked out to be cheaper and allowed us to see more than what we would have seen on the tour. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport to pick up our rental car.

 

Our first stop was Safeway to grab some food for lunch. They had ready made sandwiches for $3 each.

 

The drive to Mt. Rainier took us about an hour and a half. We entered the park at the Nisqually Entrance. It costs $15 per car to get into the park.

 

On our way to Paradise, we made a short stop at Christine Falls. It’s a short little walk down the trail to the falls. Gorgeous view, but you’re decently far away.

 

 

Our next stop was Paradise. We were planning on taking a mile hike, so we decided to eat lunch before we went out. As you’re driving up to Paradise, there’s a little picnic area on the right hand side with bathrooms and picnic tables. Nice, quiet place to eat.

 

 

The hike we took from Paradise was the Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls. The elevation was a bit much for this Florida girl. I felt like I was going to die! It was worth it when we got to the top though because the views were gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

We were hoping to also do the Nisqually Vista Trail, but sadly it was closed while we were there.

[navybaby1113]

After we were done hiking, we left Paradise and took the short drive over to Reflection Lake. This area was gorgeous and so serene!

 

 

 

We stopped at a couple more waterfalls along the way.

 

 

Last stop of our trip was one of the most popular trails at Mt. Rainier, The Trail of the Patriarchs. This trail was a lot easier than the one at Paradise. No mountains to look at here, just really big trees. You also get to walk across a really cool bridge.

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

It started raining on our way back to Seattle, which was a little terrifying driving through the mountains in.

 

 

DH doesn’t like seafood, but I love it, so I wanted to try at least one seafood restaurant while we were in Seattle. We decided to go over to Anthony’s Homeport Des Moines and eat at their Oyster Bar and Grill. It was about a 30 minute wait to get a table.

I ordered pan fried Sole. This came with rice pilaf and fresh vegetables. I asked what the fresh vegetables were and she said pea pods. I asked if she had anything else and she said they only had pea pods. :-/ Thought that was a little odd, but decided to just go with a plate of rice pilaf instead. The Sole was really good. It tasted very fresh. Not a huge portion for the price though.

 

 

DH ordered the burger because that was really the only non-seafood thing on the menu. He said it was pretty good.

 

They had a sign on the table boasting their locally picked berry desserts, so we decided to try the berry cheesecake. This was delicious! I personally think this was the best thing we ate at the restaurant.

 

 

Overall it was a yummy meal, but way overpriced. Probably wouldn’t go back.

 

After dinner we dropped our rental car off at the airport and took the shuttle back to the hotel.

[mimmy52]

I'm enjoying your review. I love reviews with lots of photos.

[michelle1836]

so far so good! seems we had a little better weather for the space needle. even got to see Mt Rainier from the top.

and we went early Monday to the Starbucks in Pike Place and had no line. and by the way, it is really not the original Starbucks- learned that on our Pike Place tour.

 

definitely do the Tracy Arm tour. we went with Ashley in the morning and for some reason think that is a better time than the afternoon

[red47]

If you're looking at the main entrance to Pike Place Market, there's a little alley way to the left. You walk down some stairs and you're there.

 

Thanks! It's a definite stop! :-)

[cruisexlife]

Thanks so much for sharing this review! Alaska has always been on my bucket list, so I can't wait to follow this review and see your pictures! You're at a really good start! :D

[Oppalopa]

You are a great photographer. This really makes me want to move to Seattle.

[navybaby1113]

Day 4: Sail away from Seattle

CRUISE TIME!

{Tuesday, July 14}

 

We woke up this morning around 8am. We had a shuttle to the port scheduled for 10am, so we wanted to make sure we had enough time to pack and eat breakfast before it showed up. We packed up our suitcases and then headed down to the lobby for breakfast.

 

After breakfast, we relaxed around the hotel for a bit and made sure we had everything we needed. Around 9:30am, I received a phone call from the front desk saying that our transportation to the port was here. I few months prior to the cruise I had arranged transportation to the port through Seattle Express. We were scheduled to be picked up at 10am, so I was a little shocked by the early arrival. Thankfully we were all ready to go.

 

The shuttle was a 22 person shuttle and we were the first hotel on board. I see the reason why they picked us up early because we still had to stop at 4 more hotels. Driving to Seattle in the shuttle wasn’t bad at all because there is a dedicated lane in the city for buses, which is awesome. The ride was $12 per person and completely worth it.

 

The past few cruises, we have booked FTTF. It makes check-in so much easier and also makes disembarkation a breeze. As soon as it became available for this cruise, we decided to scoop it up. For only $50, it gets us onboard the ship quicker and in our rooms earlier than everyone else. Completely worth it to us.

 

We arrived at the port around 11am. The checked bags at this port work a little differently than others. You go in a separate door than everyone else to take your checked bags to the porters. They slap the tags on it and put them on a cart to be taken on to the ship. Once you hand you bags off, then you have to go back out and through the door that everyone else went in. It was a little confusing at first, but I think it worked a lot better because you didn’t have all the commotion outside the doors of the port.

 

As soon as we checked our bags, we breezed through security and check-in. We were through it all within 10 minutes. We had time to make a quick bathroom stop and then they started calling Platinum and Diamond guests. Once they were on board, they called us next.

 

We dinged our cards in the security scanner and walked up the long ramp to the ship. We were on board by 11:30am. Our first view was the Legend Lobby and the millions of urns filling it...

 

 

One of the perks of having FTTF is immediate access to your staterooms when you board the ship. This perk is one of the main reasons we purchase FTTF. I hate dragging bags up to the Lido deck and then wandering around the ship with them until our rooms are ready.

 

We booked a balcony cabin (room # 7255), midship on the Verandah deck. We were originally planning on booking an extended balcony, but I was a little turned off by the lifeboats underneath those rooms, so we booked a regular balcony instead. Since it’s only the two of us, we really didn’t need the extra space anyways.

 

Everyone always asks if you need a balcony room for an Alaskan cruise. Now obviously you don’t “need” it, but I would highly recommend it. It’s nice to just be able to go out on the balcony and look at the scenery instead of having to go to a top deck. Plus, it’s more secluded from the wind and rain.

 

I really liked the location of the stateroom. It was only 2 decks down from Lido and it was very close to the mid-ship elevators. Even though we’re right next to the lobby, you never heard any noise. We actually rarely heard any noise at all, even from the hallway.

 

 

 

 

Standard Carnival bathroom. There were no free goodies in there.

 

 

 

Our balcony came with two chairs (one reclined) and a small table.

 

The room worked fine for just the two of us. Plenty of storage space in both the room and bathroom.