Alaska legend july21st review...my first!!!

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time to do a somewhat detailed review with pics so bear with me!

As it says in the title, this was a Bucket List Cruise. Something we felt we really needed to do!

When an offer came thru the casino, I booked it the fastest I’ve ever booked anything

The offer was for a restricted view balcony, which I was leery of but after searching cruise critic, found the balcony with the least obstructed view and dang if it wasn’t available! Seriously, from finding out about by checking in my VIFP offers to looking up to make sure I booked the right balcony , was about 15 minute max!

After I did all that, reality set in and what are the airfares going to be!!! I checked on using points and nope, the airlines aren’t going to allow that for Seattle in the summer. Looked at Southwest from BWI and they were about 400.00 a ticket, not bad at all. So now the plane tickets are booked.

I made the reservations for Sunday and the Legend didn’t leave until Tuesday….because I wanted to see Seattle! Then I checked prices for downtown Seattle hotels! They definitely know they have a “captive” audience in the summer. Most of the prices were around the 250.00 mark. So to my stock of points for IHG which is Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza…..Crowne Plaza available for points and cash. So, total money on the hotel room 70 each night!!! This trip was just meant to be!!! As an aside, I would so recommend the IHG credit card. It comes with a lot of extra benefits and if you like to travel, you can save a ton on hotel rooms. (I don’t work and am not associated with them at all)

By the way, I have done all the above and have not told the person who I was going with!!

But he was ok with it!

So off we go to Seattle!

Got there about 3:00, had a car service pick us up at the airport and straight to the hotel.

Checked in and dang…we were upgraded to a SUITE! (IHG Card, y’all) Two beautiful rooms with

Wall to wall windows in both rooms overlooking Seattle and the Needle.

But no time to tarry, Seattle is waiting. It’s 90 degrees and the sun is shining!

I always look up any interesting things that might be going on in any city I travel to, whether art exhibits,

flea markets, special events, etc. and Seattle was no exception! The day we arrived was

Bite of Seattle…a food and wine festival! So we headed to the monorail and to Seattle Center which is where the Space Needle and Chihuly Museum is. It was so entirely fun, lots of food vendors, a wine tasting area, and live music all over! We had a blast.

About 8 we headed back to the hotel, tired but just in that travel bliss zone!

We get back to the room and this is what we see!!!

MORE TO FOLLOW

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Next morning, we decide to go walk along the waterfront and it’s cool and overcast but no rain…

Lots of tourist stores The best bargain (I’m a retail buyer so I kind of know about these things)

Is a jacket they sell that is hooded, reversible from waterproof to polar fleece and embroidered with

Seattle on the front. They were two for 40.00 and believe it or not pretty good quality. I mention this because it was the go to jacket for the whole cruise so if you don’t have an all weather jacket, you can get one in Seattle (or as we found out, in several of the stops in Alaska)

We walked to Pike Place Market and the crowds were not in full swing yet, so we actually could move around. If you go, go early. We saw the fish being thrown, and bought the biggest, most beautiful bouquet of flowers for $10!!! And yes, we took them on the ship! Then stopped for brunch at Athenian Restaurant. Table overlooking the waterfront and a really fabulous waiter. By the way, they know you are a tourist if you call it Pike’s Place…it’s PIKE PLACE!

Two bloody mary’s and some really delicious chowder and we were on our way again. This time back on the monorail to Seattle Center and Chihuly Museum. This was a highlight for me, as I am fascinated by

His concepts and execution in a very unforgiving art form! All I can say is it was magnificent!

We got back on the monorail and went back to the hotel, had a romantic dinner and that’s all I’m writing!

MORE TO FOLLOW

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Next morning time to leave for the Legend (about 12) took a cab and it was 15.00. We were a little confused at first, because at other cruise ports, there are porters where the cabs come in. Not in Seattle, or at least when we were there. They have a desk outside that you can check the bags at.

After we gave our bags to the guys, in we went for security. The only thing I was told is to hand carry the flowers thru, the x-ray kills them! Who knew that? But obviously many bouquets from Pike Place

Have boarded the ship.

We were on the ship and in our room by 12:45…seriously, fastest embarkation ever.

We are quite familiar with the PRIDE and Legend is a sister ship, so the set up is identical, although they don’t have some of the 2.0 upgrades like Guy’s or Alchemy.

We went up to have some lunch, then out to Serenity for sail away, and good bye Seattle!

We had anytime dining and went at about 7:30 and had to wait about 15 mins for a table, not bad at all.

Delicious food and then the casino. For all you gamblers out there it doesn’t open til about 8pm!

The next day was a sea day. Had brunch, a great CCL perk, and then went to Serenity and sat out even though it was kind of foggy and overcast….kind of the weather we had been expecting. It’s very nice up there with a different vibe than a Caribbean cruise. They actually have blankets to snuggle up in and hot drinks! Michelle the naturalist would make announcements about where we were and what we could expect to see. And here I am going to make a disclaimer…I didn’t take notes so I might mix up when we saw certain things! Between that day and the next we saw a huge pod of dolphins, and a bunch of whales! It was pretty funny because every time she announced something, people would run to that side of the ship so I’m sure the boat was a tiltin!.

MORE TO COME

Namlsnik · August 8, 2015

Great read so far, thank you! Enjoying your review and can't wait to hear how you enjoyed the Legend and Alaska!

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Sorry to stop in the middle of the review but the the pic attachment thing stopped working! I will try again later...it will give time for the excitement to build....lol

erewhon · August 8, 2015

Enjoying reading your review.

Hope you get the pic attachment to work again.

grancayman · August 8, 2015

ok, got a few pics to download but then it said my security token was missing and have no idea what that means?!

The best pics are coming up but I'll go on with the revue and post them at the end if anyone is interested by then!!!

So the saga continues...

The next morning I got up early and did some walking in the foggy, rainy day and ate breakfast in the buffet. Not a big buffet fan but I have to say the Legend at least serves things warm.

We had the Tracy Arm Excursion booked at 2:30 and I booked it that way in case of fog, so that maybe a chance of it burning off by afternoon.

So about this excursion….because of the wonderful reviews I booked it…first time I’ve ever booked a cruise line excursion and it was worth every penny we spent on it.

The small boat came and picked us up and we got so close to the glacier it was crazy, we saw some calving, mountain goats, and literally hundreds of seals. If you go, make sure you have something warm and waterproof!

We did go to dinner that night at Nouveau and it was just exquisite. I have to say that Carnival’s Steakhouses that I have been to have been consistently wonderful. After dinner, I went to the Casino.

I didn’t win.

The next day was Skagway. I booked an excursion for 79 a person with Dyea Dan. It ended up being almost a private tour as there were only three other people. It was a seven hour journey up to the Yukon and Emerald Lake. The scenery was beautiful, one stop was just more picturesque than the next. Learned about Inuksuk…we now have one in British Columbia.

We had lunch at a very cute bakery…homemade salmon chowder..yes, it was beyond good.

We had Jeannette drop us off in town and did a little shopping. Go to Alaska Artworks if you get a chance. Not a big collection, but it’s an art collective of residents there and they have some very

talented artists and the prices are insanely cheap.

Stopped and got an Alaska Beer-White and it was good, found out it’s on the ship too and then back to the ship. Dinner and then casino…I won!

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Next day, Juneau was a day I was really looking forward to! I love whale watching, done it in lots of places..it’s just my thing. And we booked with Harv and Marv, who are kind of known as the epitome of whale watching companies around the world…I’m not making that up. In South Africa, the Captain of that whate watching ship told me if I ever went to Alaska, I had to go with them! We were picked up right on schedule and bused to the marina. There were five of us on the boat, so you have plenty of room to take pics. It waa a bit overcast but not really cold even on the water Within 5 mins, we saw a bald eagle and and eagle’s nest. Within 15 mins, we saw two whales, then another two, then one, then another two. Took a lot of pictures but you just never know what’s going to happen. I got some tail pics, a lot of doral pics, but as I swung down my camera, two whale came up close, so I swing the camera back up and dang if they didn’t do a DOUBLE BREACH!!!

I have never seen that before! For those who don’t know, that is when two whales jump out of the water at the same time. Yes it was spectacular, but had a telescopic lens on and they were TOO close to get a good pic, but I got the face of one as he was going up!

After whale watching, they take you to Mendenhall Glacier for 15 mins. You can take a shuttle back if you want to stay longer, but it was enough time for us and I wanted to get some ULU knives for gifts and we were only til I think 3 or so.

I really wanted ALASKAN made ULUS, not those made in China. I found exactly what I was looking for and then back to the boat. And for the question are they allowed, yes they are..didn't even take them til the end of the cruise.

That night we ate Pizza and went to see one of the shows. Honestly, I didn’t want to go. The Carnival shows that I’ve seen on the last 6 cruises, have been horrible in my opinion. Not even the quality of a high school review! But we went and wow, what a difference. The performers on the Legend could sing and dance. They were quite entertaining and very talented. Kudos to them!

Then the casino…see a pattern here?

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Next up was Ketchikan. It was kind of a short stop, I believe 7-1. I had contacted Dave at Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours and had mad arrangements for him to take us around. We shared the tour with a lovely couple from Israel that had come in on another boat. He charges 75.00 and hour and you decide how long. We were with him for about 4 hours and I could have stayed with him another 4 if time would have permitted. He is a fountain of information about the area , had wonderful stories to tell, and took us to some of the most interesting places. And the weather went to really, cloudy foggy to the most beautiful day ever.

The first place he took us was to see a bald eagle. The eagle was probably 30 ft away from us and just sat there and let us take his picture.

Then Dave took us to a bridge overlooking a stream that was jam packed with salmon. We saw some fisherman “snagging” salmon…there are so many salmon that they just have to throw a hook out…no bait needed…and they will snag one and indeed they were. And yes, it is legal there to do that.

We went to a rainforest where we saw a family mining mushrooms and salmonberries and then to Potlatch Totem Park. Dave knew a lot about the Totems and it was so interesting. They have some beautiful Totems for sale in their gift shop …made there in Alaska.

It was time to go though, so back to the ship and yes there was a huge line!

That night we had dinner in the MDR and didn’t have to wait for a table at all. We had the Steakhouse selections that are 20.00. I had surf and turf and he had lobster. It was good, but just not the same.

I don’t think we will do again! After dinner, we went to see a show again, and it was great again!

more to come..last day...the picture thing is working on about 1 out of every 5 pics...still trying to figure it out

grancayman · August 8, 2015

Next day was our last day and Victoria at 7:30pm The casino closes at 3:30 as they are not allowed to be open in Canadian waters. So we had brunch, went out to Serenity for a bit. Decided to get all the bill paying, cashing out in the casino, and packing done, and then go to Victoria for a bit.

We took a bus into town that was at the port at about 8 and we were the only ones on it!

I think it was 10 each round trip. They let you off in downtown Victoria and as you might expect, lot’s of shops stay open. They dropped us off in front of a gelato/maple syrup shop and I got some maple syrup..my brother in law loves it and very expensive where he lives. Then we saw an interesting looking bar on the corner that looked like an old bank, which it was! It’s called Bard and Banker and I would highly recommend going there! They have very interesting Pilsner flights….you get 4 kinds in which ever flight you pick and the parmesan fries are to die for. They also had live music that was really great.

It’s right across the street from the bus that takes you to and from the ship. We could have stayed longer, but then we would have to get ourselves back to Seattle!

Next morning, we had breakfast, and just kind of hung out til they said “get off the the boat alreadyI”

I had made reservations for 10am for Seattle Express to go back to the Airport..$12 a person.

It was pretty seamless.

Going into this cruise, it’s something that we really wanted to do, but we thought it would be a “one and done” cruise. But it was so fabulous, that we are thinking about doing it again next year!

And for anybody going on the Legend, I have to say that every crew member we met couldn’t do enough for you and seemed genuinely happy doing it.

If you have any questions, will be glad answer if I can!

And that marks the end of my first review……wow, now I can really appreciate how much work is put into them! So many thanks to the people who write these consistently to help all the rest of us!

grancayman · August 8, 2015

If anyone knows how to post pictures so they are big and beautiful like for instance NavyBaby....please let me know...I have some really beautiful shots!

Thanks!

gobben · August 8, 2015

Did you save any Fun Times that you can post by chance?

grancayman · August 8, 2015

I actually saved them all and someone threw them away!!!!

ProfCruise · August 9, 2015

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Great review! Makes me excited to try the Legend out of Seattle someday! :D

midwestcruiser2001 · August 10, 2015

If I can figure out how to post a picture, I have one of the double breach. We were also on your cruise and on a different Harv and Marv's boat. It was spectacular. I couldn't believe we were there at the right time.

Also, I have all of the fun times I would be glad to email to anyone.

gobben · August 10, 2015

Can you email fun times to tech234@yahoo.com

Thank you

grancayman · August 10, 2015

Hi Midwest Cruiser,

Can you email the pic of the double breach? I would so love to have it.

You can email to my name at cruisecritic @aol.com

Thank you, thank you!!!!!

grancayman · August 10, 2015

Also to everyone who read or reads, thanks so much.

I hope it either gives good info or inspires a cruise to Alaska!

marshhawk · August 10, 2015

I started reading last night, and so glad you hurried back-I post my photos to photobucket (my DH's account) and copy and post from there, yes it makes for a bit longer time spent doing a review, but i get to choose what size the pictures are. Thanks for the review,and yes, please post more pictures!