Just Off the Legend---Some Thoughts:

[CruisnMom007]

If you're going to be disappointed, then I would cancel. If they haven't gotten in over the past 14 months, I don't see it happening next month either.

 

 

I have pictures of Endicott in my review, it's in my signature. It was amazing! We saw wildlife, lots of ice calving, etc... it was really beautiful!

 

 

Thank you !! I am sure I will enjoy it just as much from the pics I just saw!!

[CruisnMom007]

I had no problem not going to Tracy Arm Fjord or being rerouted to Endicott my problem is the cruise ship followed us close behind the small boat so why take it if the ship will follow, when we got back on the the ship and to our balcony we took pictures of the icebergs and they were better because of the height of the ship, i went down to the tour desk to ask about this and the line was around the corner with our tour people complaining about paying to get up close when the ship also gets up close. I would check before you spend $300 for this excursion.

 

 

WOW! Thank you for letting us know!!

[telebax51]

WOW! Thank you for letting us know!!

 

don't get me wrong i loved our Alaska cruise i will be going back 2019 but not doing the up close tour if they can't tell me if the ship is going to follow us up to the glaciers.

[kctwinmommy]

don't get me wrong i loved our Alaska cruise i will be going back 2019 but not doing the up close tour if they can't tell me if the ship is going to follow us up to the glaciers.

 

That's how it always is. That's the way they can offer 2 excursions. We did the first one, got on our boat, and went down to the glacier. Then the Legend followed us and got there awhile after us. But we were like 1/2 mile away, the Legend was about 3-4 miles. Then we took our small boat back to the Legend, got off, and the next excursion got on. So they went over to the glacier while the Legend sailed back out. After awhile, the small boats came back to meet up with the Legend and off load that group.

 

Now, while the Legend does get pretty close, our guide told us they don't always come down that far. And honestly, we enjoyed the tour guides, getting up close to the waterfalls, the bears, the seals, etc... It was nice to have the small group for this. However, we said if we HAD to cancel any excursion, that would have been the one. BUT - we really enjoyed it still! I would still recommend it to people going on their first/only Alaska cruise.

[zdcatc12]

Thank you for posting your review!! I am on this ship July 25th and have registered for the Tracy Arm small boat excursion as well...I sure hope we are able to get in! At $189 a ticket I would be very disappointed :( do they make you take that Endicott small boat cruise or will they refund you if requested?? Also, do you by chance have any of the Fun Times papers ? Would love to see the activities etc lined up. Thank you!!

 

No refund. When you read the description of the excursion, it states that if they don't get into Tracy Arm, they go to Endicott instead. I have all of the Fun Times, I will try to scan them in.

 

That's how it always is. That's the way they can offer 2 excursions. We did the first one, got on our boat, and went down to the glacier. Then the Legend followed us and got there awhile after us. But we were like 1/2 mile away, the Legend was about 3-4 miles. Then we took our small boat back to the Legend, got off, and the next excursion got on. So they went over to the glacier while the Legend sailed back out. After awhile, the small boats came back to meet up with the Legend and off load that group.

 

Now, while the Legend does get pretty close, our guide told us they don't always come down that far. And honestly, we enjoyed the tour guides, getting up close to the waterfalls, the bears, the seals, etc... It was nice to have the small group for this. However, we said if we HAD to cancel any excursion, that would have been the one. BUT - we really enjoyed it still! I would still recommend it to people going on their first/only Alaska cruise.

 

I agree with you on all of this. The ship looks close until you look back from the boat and see how much closer that you actually are.

[zdcatc12]

Also, reference going into Endicott Arm. Not sure if it happens on all of the cruises or just this one, but the Captain parked the ship with the starboard side facing the glacier and when we left, turned out counter-clockwise, so the balconies on the port side never got to see the glacier. I'm not sure if that happens every time or not, but it might be something to be aware of if you are on the port side expecting to see the glacier from your balcony. When we did Glacier Bay on Princess, the Captain rotated the ship 360 degrees, so that everyone saw it. The Captain is going on vacation in two weeks, so maybe the relief Captain will do it different.

[CruisnMom007]

No refund. When you read the description of the excursion, it states that if they don't get into Tracy Arm, they go to Endicott instead. I have all of the Fun Times, I will try to scan them in.

 

 

 

I agree with you on all of this. The ship looks close until you look back from the boat and see how much closer that you actually are.

 

 

THANK YOU!! That helped me make the decision to still do it either way!! I am excited!!!

[telebax51]

At least people will know what to expect if they read the post, we did not have opposing views of the excursion to decide just the small boat goes up close, we were also going to do the Bering Sea Crab Tour but we saw from reviews that they only go close to shore around the inside passage so we decided not for this excursion i try to research as much about tours or excursions we take to see if it fits our wanted experience. You will enjoy Alaska and the Legend

[zdcatc12]

As for the excursions we did:

 

From the postings above, you could see that we did the ship offered small boat excursion into Endicott Arm. It was a nice excursion, we saw things we wouldn't have seen from the ship, e.g. we went into Ford's Terror and were right up to a waterfall and being a quarter of a mile from the glacier was just cool, but I'm just not sure that it was $189 pp nice. I am glad that I did it, but if you are tight on excursion money, I would probably skip it.

 

In Skagway, we did Dyea Dave's Emerald Lake tour with the WP&Y back from Fraser and it was fantastic!! It was so beautiful and we even stopped at a dog musher's camp on the way up. You can do this tour the whole way with Dave, but we decided to do the train back and it was fabulous. There were only 14 of us on the trip (8 were from the NCL ship) and it was very personalized. Stopped at a "diner" in Carcross for lunch on the way back. We also had about a half an hour to walk around Carcross, it was very interesting.

 

For Juneau, we did the Juneau City, Mendenhall Glacier, & Juneau Whale Watching Combo Tour with Juneau Whale Watch. They are #1 on Trip Advisor and it shows. We had a newish catamaran (3 or so years old) and there were only 10 of us on the boat that holds 49!! We saw numerous humpbacks and a few pods of Orca's along with the sea lions on the buoy. After the whale watch, they took us straight over to Mendenhall. You can stay there as long as you like. They give you a sticker to get back on the shuttle to town. Once in town, our sticker got us on the trolley for a 45 minute city tour. You can get just a whale watch tour, but the glacier was only $20 more and the city tour another $5, so it was a no-brainer for me to get all 3.

 

While we were on the whale watch, until most of the way back, it was cold and rainy. Inside the boat was warm, but we went out to see the whales and it was really, really cold with the rain!!

 

For Ketchikan, we just went to the visitor center and picked up the walking tour map and did that. We did go into the totem pole museum that is on the walking tour, but did not go to either of the other two.

 

And for Victoria, we did a bike tour around town. It got dark halfway through it, so I'm not sure that I would do that again, if the times were the same (we didn't get off until almost 8 and sunset was at 9:15).

 

With all of that being said, I believe the Skagway and Juneau excursions were well worth it. The Endicott Arm small boat tour was nice, but not sure that it was worth the money. In Victoria, I would recommend, at least with the Legend times in port, walking or taking the shuttle into town for $10 r/t and not taking a formal tour excursion.

[zdcatc12]

So how the hell do you pronounce SAAME? Same? Or Sammy?

 

Just wondering...

 

And yeah. I was flying back then. It is always fun coming off of JFK via RBV with them keeping us slow then ZDC wanting us fast and high ASAP. I never have been able to figure that out.

 

I'm not sure, that one wasn't there when I was, it probably came about in the HAR. Not sure if you know, but the Airspace specialists and members of the redesign teams name them. If something they want is already in use somewhere, they will find five other letters that still gets them their name. E.g. COLNS is named after Ed Collins, PUTTZ after Ed Putz. YOCKY is either named after Ed Yocke at ZID or someone said that it also stands for Your Over Central KentuckY.

 

It's always fun working with TMU restrictions. They may want you up high fast to get above the arrivals and probably fast because you are first in the line. We used to space for DFW over MRB!!!

[cruises42]

Did you ask if Carnival participated in the free luggage valet service the port offers?

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[zdcatc12]

Did you ask if Carnival participated in the free luggage valet service the port offers?

 

I didn't ask, but it was not advertised anywhere on the ship and was not listed in the debarkation instructions. I'm not sure why they aren't participating.

[cruises42]

I didn't ask, but it was not advertised anywhere on the ship and was not listed in the debarkation instructions. I'm not sure why they aren't participating.

 

I called the port today and they said Carnival is the only line not participating and they don't know why.

[CruisingObsessed]

We had the YTD in Alaska (our 1 and only time we did that) and I agree about the poor service in the MDR. I'm not sure if it was related to that, or if the scheduled time diners had the same issues. Often had to wait longer than normal times for things.

 

I didn't see those problems in the comedy club though, it wasn't that crowded when we went, nothing like the Magic last November!! :o Standing in line for 30-40 minutes before the show doors opened.

 

As far as Tracy Arm I don't think I've heard of any ships making it in there. I followed the news/reports last summer before we went and I've read some this summer and haven't seen any making it in there. Having never been to Tracy Arm, I wouldn't know what I was missing. I thought Endicott was beautiful!

 

Legend made Tracy Arm on the 6th-13th sailing (I was on that one) and a few others. I've seen both Arms, there are advantages to either. Tracy is a bit deeper. To the OP: Safety is #1, if for any reason it's not safe, they will take you to as comparable a place as possible. I hope you both enjoyed, Alaska is fabulous no matter where you go and the Legend was a real joy to sail on.

[halterk]

Also, reference going into Endicott Arm. Not sure if it happens on all of the cruises or just this one, but the Captain parked the ship with the starboard side facing the glacier and when we left, turned out counter-clockwise, so the balconies on the port side never got to see the glacier. I'm not sure if that happens every time or not, but it might be something to be aware of if you are on the port side expecting to see the glacier from your balcony. When we did Glacier Bay on Princess, the Captain rotated the ship 360 degrees, so that everyone saw it. The Captain is going on vacation in two weeks, so maybe the relief Captain will do it different.

 

This happened to us too on the June 6th sailing.

 

I was very disappointed as I read (on here) that the ship does a 360 so everyone can see, but that is NOT the case. I stayed in our cabin waiting for the turn, then all of a sudden we started leaving! I had to run up to the open decks to get a view on the way out....

[halterk]

Legend made Tracy Arm on the 6th-13th sailing (I was on that one) and a few others. I've seen both Arms, there are advantages to either. Tracy is a bit deeper. To the OP: Safety is #1, if for any reason it's not safe, they will take you to as comparable a place as possible. I hope you both enjoyed, Alaska is fabulous no matter where you go and the Legend was a real joy to sail on.

 

Are you sure about that?

I was on that sailing too, and was told we were at Endicott Arm

[zdcatc12]

To the OP: Safety is #1, if for any reason it's not safe, they will take you to as comparable a place as possible. I hope you both enjoyed, Alaska is fabulous no matter where you go and the Legend was a real joy to sail on.

 

I know that safety is #1 and I wouldn't expect them to compromise it. I didn't mind Endicott as I hadn't been to either one.

 

I was just stating that at no time do I recall them announcing or putting in the Fun Times (actually the Fun Times for that day was titled "Welcome to Tracy Arm Fjord!!), etc. that we would be going to Endicott instead.

 

I also agree with you about Alaska being fabulous. I actually told my DW on the cruise that I could do an Alaskan cruise every year because everything is so beautiful. I also agree with you about the Legend. We were on her to Hawaii last fall. That is the perfect size ship if you ask me. Last time we did Alaska, we did the Coral Princess which is almost the same size and layout.

[BeachClubDee]

As for the excursions we did:

 

 

 

For Juneau, we did the Juneau City, Mendenhall Glacier, & Juneau Whale Watching Combo Tour with Juneau Whale Watch. They are #1 on Trip Advisor and it shows. We had a newish catamaran (3 or so years old) and there were only 10 of us on the boat that holds 49!! We saw numerous humpbacks and a few pods of Orca's along with the sea lions on the buoy. After the whale watch, they took us straight over to Mendenhall. You can stay there as long as you like. They give you a sticker to get back on the shuttle to town. Once in town, our sticker got us on the trolley for a 45 minute city tour. You can get just a whale watch tour, but the glacier was only $20 more and the city tour another $5, so it was a no-brainer for me to get all 3.

 

While we were on the whale watch, until most of the way back, it was cold and rainy. Inside the boat was warm, but we went out to see the whales and it was really, really cold with the rain!!

 

 

Glad to hear the review of Juneau Whale Watch. We booked the Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier combo for August. I'm hoping we go to the glacier after the whale watch so we can spend as much time as we want at the glacier.

 

We went on a local whale watch a couple of days ago so I could "practice" but we didn't see much because the was rougher than normal out in the open ocean. I had to keep telling my family that it should be calmer in Alaska.

[zdcatc12]

Glad to hear the review of Juneau Whale Watch. We booked the Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier combo for August. I'm hoping we go to the glacier after the whale watch so we can spend as much time as we want at the glacier.

I had to keep telling my family that it should be calmer in Alaska.

 

If you booked the early one (ours was for 7:30 am), you will have the whale watch first. I believe the afternoon ones do it opposite, but I'm not positive on that. Also, we had 10 people on our boat, but the boat going out when we came in (around 10:00), looked pretty full.

 

Yes, in spite of the crappy weather, it was pretty calm when we stopped (it is in a bay), plus the boat was a catamaran, which is pretty smooth anyway.

[CruisingObsessed]

Are you sure about that?

I was on that sailing too, and was told we were at Endicott Arm

 

I was on that sailing too (June 6-13). We were in Tracy Arm. And yes, the ship parked for some time with the same side of the ship facing the glacier. I was surprised it didn't turn.

[Carpe-Diem]

I was on that sailing too (June 6-13). We were in Tracy Arm. And yes, the ship parked for some time with the same side of the ship facing the glacier. I was surprised it didn't turn.

 

Was it Port or Starboard that faced the glacier the whole time? I'm going in a few weeks and want to figure out if my port side balcony will be good.

Thanks!

[FlaMommy75]

Are you sure about that?

I was on that sailing too, and was told we were at Endicott Arm

 

I was on the June 6th-13th cruise, and it was definitely Endicott Arm. We got up close to see Dawes Glacier, which was beautiful. Carnival makes a small announcement in the morning about not entering Tracy Arm so it is very hard to miss. Plus, they still will say Tracy Arm on the Fun times and later in the day we saw the photographer walking around with a Tracy Arm sign for people to get their picture taken behind Dawes Glacier (which is in Endicott Arm, NOT Tracy Fjord).:confused:

You would think they would correct the Fun Times and invest in a new plastic sign since it hasn't entered Tracy Arm in a year..

 

Also, to the poster who asked about which side of ship to be on to see glacier, you need to check out the Alaska board for more up to date information. I was reading it this morning just to see if any ships had made it into Tracy Arm (they have not) and someone who just got off Princess yesterday said the ships can not enter either place right now because of a landslide!! She said their naturalist on board said she didn't think any ships would for at least the rest of the season and that they just spent more time in Juneau as a result! Again, I only read this on the Alaska board, not witnessed it first hand, but you may want to check it out. Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful trip! :)

[zdcatc12]

Was it Port or Starboard that faced the glacier the whole time? I'm going in a few weeks and want to figure out if my port side balcony will be good.

Thanks!

 

On the June 20th cruise, it was starboard facing it the whole time. However, the captain from then is on vacation now, so the relief captain may do things differently.

[CWJCruiser88]

I was on the June 6th-13th cruise, and it was definitely Endicott Arm. We got up close to see Dawes Glacier, which was beautiful. Carnival makes a small announcement in the morning about not entering Tracy Arm so it is very hard to miss. Plus, they still will say Tracy Arm on the Fun times and later in the day we saw the photographer walking around with a Tracy Arm sign for people to get their picture taken behind Dawes Glacier (which is in Endicott Arm, NOT Tracy Fjord).:confused:

You would think they would correct the Fun Times and invest in a new plastic sign since it hasn't entered Tracy Arm in a year..

 

Also, to the poster who asked about which side of ship to be on to see glacier, you need to check out the Alaska board for more up to date information. I was reading it this morning just to see if any ships had made it into Tracy Arm (they have not) and someone who just got off Princess yesterday said the ships can not enter either place right now because of a landslide!! She said their naturalist on board said she didn't think any ships would for at least the rest of the season and that they just spent more time in Juneau as a result! Again, I only read this on the Alaska board, not witnessed it first hand, but you may want to check it out. Regardless, I hope you have a wonderful trip! :)

 

 

 

I hope this isn't the case since we are set to sail on the Legend next week. Jen Baxter, CD of the Legend, posted last Friday the ship was able to enter Tracy Arm, for the first time in two years.

 

 

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