Pools, spas, and waterslides on Carnival Legend to Alaska

[Ricochet&Away!]

My mom, myself, and my two children (ages 10 &12) were on Carnival Legend August 16-23, Seattle, Endicott Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. This was our first cruise, and we had a great time.

 

Researching this cruise, I wanted to find out the pool/waterslide situation on an Alaskan cruise because those are important aspects for my children. I could find nothing definitive, so here goes!

 

Serenity pool and spa (adults only retreat): never went there, sorry no info.

 

There are 2 other pool/spa areas on deck. The only difference is that one has a retractable glass roof. Both pools were unheated salt water. Both spas were nicely heated fresh water. The pools were too cold for my kids to enjoy. I saw only a handful of people actually using the pools. I stuck my hand in the pool, it was pretty cool. Not mountain stream cold, but too chilly to tempt me to partake. The spas were busier, but I never saw them overcrowded, and often they were empty.

 

The waterslides/splashpark area was manned and open on the last full day of travel. It was sunny and in the high 70s and my kids had a great afternoon on the Green Thunder slide. This area may have been open other days of the cruise, but we didn't check.

 

Weather in the inside passage of southeast Alaska is cloudy and rainy and 60°F, so you can only depend on the spas if you really want to get some use out of that bathing suit you packed.

 

The waterslides are best utilized when the ship is farther south, on the first and last couple days of the cruise.

 

So YES, pack your bathing suits for soaking in the spas, but NO, don't expect to enjoy the unheated pools.

 

The waterslide area will only be fun on a sunny days, and you aren't going to see sun and clear skies in Alaska. So make a point to splash and slide on the first and last days of your cruise.

 

Hope that clears some things up for you.

[MrsRbk]

I was on the same cruise. The only day I recall it rainy was the morning we were cruising into Endicott Arm. Otherwise, the rest of the day while chilly and windy was nice once we got near the glacier. Our first full day at sea it was very rocky and bumpy. My kids tried to go to the Camp Carnival, but many of the kids there (mine included) ended up leaving because of feeling sea sick.

 

We had pretty good weather in all ports tho, especially Ketchikan where it rains 300 days of the year. It was rather warm and very sunny! We all got by wearing light layers and North Face pullovers.

 

I do agree about the pools. My kids enjoyed the kids area pools and yellow slide on departure day and on Monday when we were sailing to Victoria. We all enjoyed the hot tub on the first and last day as well. But we spent nearly all our time off the boat in ports.

[crazycruzer68]

I was on this sailing as well, didn't we score BIG on the weather!!! Didn't even need all that rain gear I bought. I noticed the slide open several days, too cold for any of us. We loved watching for whales in the serenity area, but it was chilly and very windy. If anyone has any questions just fire away!!

 

 

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[cb at sea]

If it's not hot enough to make you sweat, there's little need to get in a pool!

[riclop]

My mom, myself, and my two children (ages 10 &12) were on Carnival Legend August 16-23, Seattle, Endicott Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. This was our first cruise, and we had a great time.

 

Researching this cruise, I wanted to find out the pool/waterslide situation on an Alaskan cruise because those are important aspects for my children. I could find nothing definitive, so here goes!

 

Serenity pool and spa (adults only retreat): never went there, sorry no info.

 

There are 2 other pool/spa areas on deck. The only difference is that one has a retractable glass roof. Both pools were unheated salt water. Both spas were nicely heated fresh water. The pools were too cold for my kids to enjoy. I saw only a handful of people actually using the pools. I stuck my hand in the pool, it was pretty cool. Not mountain stream cold, but too chilly to tempt me to partake. The spas were busier, but I never saw them overcrowded, and often they were empty.

 

The waterslides/splashpark area was manned and open on the last full day of travel. It was sunny and in the high 70s and my kids had a great afternoon on the Green Thunder slide. This area may have been open other days of the cruise, but we didn't check.

 

Weather in the inside passage of southeast Alaska is cloudy and rainy and 60°F, so you can only depend on the spas if you really want to get some use out of that bathing suit you packed.

 

The waterslides are best utilized when the ship is farther south, on the first and last couple days of the cruise.

 

So YES, pack your bathing suits for soaking in the spas, but NO, don't expect to enjoy the unheated pools.

 

The waterslide area will only be fun on a sunny days, and you aren't going to see sun and clear skies in Alaska. So make a point to splash and slide on the first and last days of your cruise.

 

Hope that clears some things up for you.

 

Thanks for the info.

[BeachClubDee]

Thanks so much for the very detailed info!

 

We will be sailing next summer, the same week in August that you did.

 

So glad to hear that you had decent weather and your family was able to use some of the water amenities.

 

:cool:

[louanne93]

Thanks for the info! The pools and hot tubs are an important part of our vacation as well. I always thought I would not take an Alaskan cruise because of this, so thank you for the feedback! I just might dare now :eek:

[cruiseonthebrain]

 

So YES, pack your bathing suits for soaking in the spas, but NO, don't expect to enjoy the unheated pools.

 

 

We were on the Legend sailing right after yours. The weather was beautiful and there were quite a few people enjoying the Serenity pool while we were docked in and leaving Juneau. They seemed to be enjoying the unheated pool just fine :-)

[Melozone]

I have a general question about dining while in port. Since we will have such a late tour in Juneau, where can we eat once we return to the ship? I know when we went last time on Princess we could go to one of the "Anytime" type dining rooms. I do know we can get pizza around the clock but are there dining rooms or buffet open late?

 

I know there is always room service.

[alabamaprincess]

According to Carnivals website: If you choose the Anytime Dining option, the dining room will be open until 9 p.m.

Other options up on Lido deck are:

 

Pizza open 24/7

 

Carnival Deli

11:00am – 11:00pm

 

Dinner

6:00pm – 9:30pm

 

Late Night Snacks

11:00pm – 1:00am

 

And room service 24/7.

[Melozone]

According to Carnivals website: If you choose the Anytime Dining option, the dining room will be open until 9 p.m.

Other options up on Lido deck are:

 

Pizza open 24/7

 

Carnival Deli

11:00am – 11:00pm

 

Dinner

6:00pm – 9:30pm

 

Late Night Snacks

11:00pm – 1:00am

 

And room service 24/7.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

I wish they did the Anytime like they did on our other cruise to Alaska. We had our set dining time but on those port days we could go to the Anytime without any problem. We will find something to eat somewhere I'm sure.

[winddawn]

My mom, myself, and my two children (ages 10 &12) were on Carnival Legend August 16-23, Seattle, Endicott Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. This was our first cruise, and we had a great time.

 

Researching this cruise, I wanted to find out the pool/waterslide situation on an Alaskan cruise because those are important aspects for my children. I could find nothing definitive, so here goes!

 

Serenity pool and spa (adults only retreat): never went there, sorry no info.

 

There are 2 other pool/spa areas on deck. The only difference is that one has a retractable glass roof. Both pools were unheated salt water. Both spas were nicely heated fresh water. The pools were too cold for my kids to enjoy. I saw only a handful of people actually using the pools. I stuck my hand in the pool, it was pretty cool. Not mountain stream cold, but too chilly to tempt me to partake. The spas were busier, but I never saw them overcrowded, and often they were empty.

 

The waterslides/splashpark area was manned and open on the last full day of travel. It was sunny and in the high 70s and my kids had a great afternoon on the Green Thunder slide. This area may have been open other days of the cruise, but we didn't check.

 

Weather in the inside passage of southeast Alaska is cloudy and rainy and 60°F, so you can only depend on the spas if you really want to get some use out of that bathing suit you packed.

 

The waterslides are best utilized when the ship is farther south, on the first and last couple days of the cruise.

 

So YES, pack your bathing suits for soaking in the spas, but NO, don't expect to enjoy the unheated pools.

 

The waterslide area will only be fun on a sunny days, and you aren't going to see sun and clear skies in Alaska. So make a point to splash and slide on the first and last days of your cruise.

 

Hope that clears some things up for you.

I've cruised to Alaska three times, and will share with anyone interested that the weather was different each time. Expecting anything weather-wise is the best advice. My first cruise the weather was perfect--beautiful blue skies every day and temps in the 70's. The second time was not so nice with rain but still temps in the 70's. The third time was on Legend this past June. The weather was mostly cloudy most days and cool but not cold.

 

So the best advice for Alaska cruising is to be prepared for anything. All 3 of my Alaska cruises were enjoyable, but I can tell you each cruise was very different weather-wise. Expecting days to be enjoyable temperature and otherwise is unrealistic in Alaska. It's much more realistic to be ready for anything and to hope for the best.

Edited November 20, 2016 by winddawn