Great Alaskan Cruise on the Carnival Legend

This was our first cruise to Alaska after about 14 Carnival Caribbean cruises.   I do not like cold weather and it was cold on some of our excursions.  Even though I was cold, this was my favorite cruise of all!    Even our young adult children said it was their favorite.  We spent 2 nights in Seattle before we started our cruise on the Carnival Legend.   We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites airport/28th Avenue.   It was a nice, clean hotel with very good rates.  The free breakfast was good.  The hotel provided free airport shuttle and free shuttle to several restaurants and the light rail.  We walked over 10 miles around Seattle after taking the light rail over.  We enjoyed our time there.  

We really liked the Carnival Legend.  Unlike some of the reviews I had read, the food was very good-some of the best of any cruise.  It was always hot and we had great service with Alan, Dwight and Florin. We loved the size of the ship.  

If we ever get a chance to go again, I would definitely choose May again because of all the snow on the mountains.  It was absolutely beautiful, especially on our Chilkoot Tour excursion to the Yukon on the train up and bus back.  James was our favorite tour guide ever!   I would definitely book with that company again while in Skagway.  Make sure you book before you go on the cruise.  I booked several months in advance for the excursion.

We did the Tracy Arm Fjord small boat excursion from the ship.  If I had it to do over, I would not spend the money on that because we ended up going through Endicott, which was still very beautiful and we saw several calving.  But the ship got pretty far into the Fjord, just not as close to the glacier.  Some may not agree but I didn't think it was worth $186 a person for the 2 and a half hour excursion when you can see a lot from the ship.  

In Juneau we rented a car and went to Mendenhall Glacier.  It was nice to go on our own schedule.  We arrived before the large tour buses did, so it was not crowded.

In Ketchikan we did the town walking tour.  Our favorite part was Creek Street.

Shopping was great in Skagway and Ketchikan.

Our cruise was an 8 night cruise and we were in Victoria from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.  I really didn't enjoy it.  We walked over 5 miles to town and back.  It was a rainy day and we just decided to walk around and look in a few stores.  My husband and one daughter went to a park which was beautiful.   It was Beacon Hill park.  They wanted to see the petting zoo but didn't get to see it.  

I went by the reviews and layered with cuddle duds, sweat shirt and rain coat and had gloves.  I really needed a heavier winter coat for some excursions.  I packed a large suitcase that weighed less than 38 pounds, so I don't know why I didn't.   I would have enjoyed the balcony room better with a heavier coat also.   We didn't use our balcony as much as usual.  We went out to see the whales and sea otters and other wildlife.  

I highly recommend going to Alaska in May.  I saw a few of those giant mosquitoes and sure wouldn't want to be there later in the summer.   Also, with all the snow on the mountains, May is a great month to go.    We would definitely go on the Legned again!  We loved it!!!