A Cruise To Be (Or Not To Be?) Eclipsed, Alaska August 15-22, 2017 Carnival vs Disney Cruise p. 7

[natebenma]

To the moderators- I hope this is ok to post here on the DCL Trip Report Board. Although this was a Carnival cruise, I will be taking a Disney (Fantasy, Western itinerary) trip in a few weeks and I planned to compare the experiences and the two ships in this report.

If this needs to be moved or removed, please let me know.

Thanks! Dee



A Trip To Be (or Not To Be?) Eclipsed


Carnival Legend, Alaska/Glacier Bay August 15-August 22, 2017


We booked our cruise to Alaska in July 2016, over a year before the embarkation date. This was our first trip to Alaska and our first cruise on Carnival. We have been on 2 Royal Caribbean cruises to tropical ports. One was a family reunion trip with 40 members of my family and one with just the four of us 10 years ago. I will be cruising on the Disney Fantasy with my dear friend Teena in 3 weeks, September 30, a replacement cruise for our September 9 trip cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. My first Disney cruise!!!

We went with the Carnival line for this trip because, well, $$$. The focus was on the destination and this was the way for us to get there and to get to the ports we wanted to see in a budget friendlier way.

Honestly, my family prefers land based vacations, but for a trip to Alaska, cruising was the best way to get to the different ports since travel between them by land or air is difficult and/or expensive. We were also intrigued by the day we would spend cruising into Glacier Bay.

Our son Nate (19) is starting his sophomore year in college with a Wildlife Conservation and Biology major, so this trip really spoke to his interests. Our son Ben (16) will be a junior in high school, with interests in history and geo-politics. We are not sure where their future plans will take them with jobs or internships, so for the past few years, we have planned annual dream vacations since “It might be the last chance to travel together as a family”

In 2014, we went to Disneyland and Hawaii. Yellowstone in 2015. Washington DC the following year. And a couple of trips to Universal Orlando thrown in for good measure.

I guess we have been blessed with a few “last chances”


Our itinerary for this trip:





Monday August 14- Fly from Boston to Seattle on Delta Airlines, 7 am to 10:30 (with 3 hour time change). Check into the Hampton Inn, a couple of blocks from the Space Needle. Explore Seattle for the day.

Tuesday- Cruise Day! We booked Seattle Shuttle to take us to and from Pier 91 and boarded the Carnival Legend at 11:30 am

Wednesday- At Sea

Thursday- Juneau 2 pm to 10 pm: Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier through Juneau Whale Watch

Friday- Skagway 7 am to 9 pm: Skagway Scenic Tour booked through the ship

Saturday- Glacier Bay

Sunday- Ketchikan, 7 am 1 pm: Alaska Bear Adventure booked through the ship

Monday- At Sea*, Victoria 7:30 pm to midnight

Tuesday- Debarkation in Seattle, 8 am. Check into Hampton Inn, explore Seattle

Wednesday, August 23- Flight from Seattle to Boston (9:30 am to 6 pm, 3 hour time difference)


* About a month before the cruise, Nate asked “What are the dates of our cruise?” Turns out that we would be cruising off the coast of Vancouver Island during the August 21 solar eclipse, a few hundred miles from the path of totality. The event would be after breakfast, in the 10 am to 11 am timeframe. We were able to get eclipse glasses (from ebay, express shipping) under the wire a couple of days before leaving for Seattle. Phew!

That morning, the last full day of our trip, we woke to the sound of foghorn blasts every 5 minutes or so and ZERO visibility…




All Aboard!

 

[natebenma]

Chapter Links


Monday August 14, 2017

Travel to Seattle

Hampton Inn Downtown Seattle

Seattle



Tuesday August 15, 2017 Embarkation

Come Sail Away

Nouveau Steakhouse


Wednesday August 16, 2017 At Sea

Cabin 7178

At Sea


Thursday August 17, 2017 At Sea/Juneau
Any Port in a Storm- Juneau What the Rainiest City in North America Is?
Mendenhall Glacier/Whale Watch Combo Tour through Juneau Whale Watch

Morning At Sea

Mendenhall Glacier

Whale Summer

The Whales Don't Care, They're Already Wet



Friday August 18, 2017 Skagway
What Would You Do-oo-oo for a Klondike Tour?
Yukon Scenic Tour (Offered through Carnival Cruiselines)

Yukon Scenic Tour, Part 1

Yukon Scenic Tour, Part 2

Town of Skagway


Saturday August 19, 2017 Glacier Bay
Ice, Ice Baby!

Glacier Bay


Sunday August 20, 2017 Ketchikan
Alaska Bear Adventure

Ketchikan

Alaska Bear Adventure

Bears and Bears and Bears, Oh My!


Monday August 21, 2017 At Sea and Victoria British Columbia

Total Eclipse of the Sun? or No?

At Sea

Victoria, BC: Cheers to Nate, Eh!


Tuesday August 22, 2017 Disembarking

Get Off the Boat!


Seattle

Seattle, Monday August 14 Part 1

Seattle, Monday August 14, Part 2

Seattle, Tuesday August 22

 

[natebenma]

Monday August 14- Travel to Seattle

We had a 7 am flight from Boston’s Logan Airport, which meant a 3:30 wakeup call and 4:30 pickup from the car service we have used more than 4 dozen times for business and vacation travel for over 20 years.

As I have mentioned in past trip reports, I get nervous that they are not going to show up. Every.Single.Time. Even though they have never failed to be there. Usually early.

But just like for other trips, we saw the headlights of the van pulling into our driveway and we gathered our things.

Ben announced “I can’t find my shoes”

What?!?

My son Nate is a shoe guy and had the pair he was wearing a pair of boots hanging from his carryon and two additional pairs packed.

Ben owns just one pair of black sneakers that he wears, always, and he can’t find them.

He looks on the porch. Not there.

He looks in the passenger seat in my van. Nope!

A couple of weeks ago I had bought Ben a new pair of bargain sneakers ($10) from Walmart, and we were running out of time, so he cut the tags and put them on. Not ideal to be breaking in a brand new pair of shoes for the first time on a trip where we would be walking all over Seattle and exploring in Alaska.


We found his shoes when we returned home. And the location and circumstances do not reflect well on me as a parent or Ben’s activity level.

The week before our trip we had my annual family reunion. Ben did some tidepooling while there and changed from his sneakers into flip flops. He tucked his shoes into the bag with the camp chairs which I had not taken out of the back of my van yet.

That means Ben had not worn shoes (hence, had not left the house) in about a week.




That crisis averted, we made the trip to the airport, arriving around 5:30.

We breezed through check-in where we got rid of our two large pieces of luggage and proceeded to TSA with our licenses/passports.

The TSA agent looked at the boarding passes and checked the IDs for Mark and me.


Then he asked “Which one of you is Joshua?”

I looked confused since the names of my boys are Nate and Ben. “We don’t have a Joshua”

Then HE looked confused and said “Oh, that was the last guy”

Ben always seems to get TSA precheck, so he headed to a different line where he didn’t have to take off his shoes.

That’s a relief because I didn’t have to worry about him losing them at the airport.

At this point it was about 30 minutes before boarding and of course the line at Dunkin Donuts was long. We were leaving New England, after all. So we went to get breakfast across the aisle, bagels and breakfast sandwiches and a much needed coffee for me.

No food porn yet.


This is the first time I have flown Delta across country, and I have to say, I am impressed!

There are video screens at every seat, with the option to watch news, or tv shows or even movies, free of charge (assuming you brought headphones). Although I never even turned on my display, it was good to know it was there. Movies were decent choices, too, ones I haven’t seen like Guardians of the Galaxy II and Beauty & the Beast live.

And the food kept coming! There were two beverage services with a choice of snacks (almonds, a kind bar, some kind of seeded bar, chips) AND breakfast was offered. It has been a long time since I have had a meal provided on an airplane, we didn’t have that on our flight from Boston to LAX a few years ago, and I totally did not expect it.

Still no food pictures.


I spent the first half of the flight planning for my Disney trip with girlfriends at the end of October, since our FP day would be a couple of days after we returned home from this trip.


The rest of my time on that flight, I alternated between looking out the window or reading.


Leaving Boston:

Do you see the Space Needle?

We landed in Seattle, found our driver and checked in at the Hampton Inn. I’ll have a post later all about the Hampton Inn where we stayed one night before and one night after the cruise. I’ll also talk about our touring in Seattle in detail, but I’m anxious to get into the report about the cruise, so I will leave placeholders in the next two posts (because I am OCD and the report needs to be laid out chronologically)

 

[natebenma]

Hampton Inn Downtown Seattle: Cliffs Note Version

I'll insert more pictures and descriptions here, eventually.




Pros: Location was AWESOME, 2 blocks from Space Needle and Attractions, we even had a view of the Space Needle from both rooms we stayed in. Large and comfortable rooms, especially compared to our cruise cabin. Amenities included coffee maker and microwave in the room and breakfast included daily- pastries, yogurt, fruit, eggs, breakfast meet, make-your-own waffles with numerous toppings. Fresh cookies starting at 5 pm. Grab and Go boxed lunch provided upon request at no extra charge. Water and Coffee available all day.


Con: This place was NOT inexpensive. With all taxes and fees, we paid around $370 each night. Eek! That’s Beach Club rack rate prices there!


But I don’t regret our choice to stay there.

 

[natebenma]

Seattle: Abridged Version

I’ll add pictures and write more later, but here are a few thoughts.

I LOVED the vibe in Seattle, the commitment to the environment and recycling.

It also helps that the weather was gorgeous on the days we were there. The smoke from the BC wildfires was clearing, it was sunny and warm with no rain.

We purchased City Passes for $80* per person (*$76 with AAA discount!) which gave us 2 admissions to the Space Needle, plus visits to Seattle Aquarium, Pacific Science Center and IMAX (or Chihuly Glass), Pop Culture Museum (or Woodland Park Zoo) and a 1-hour boat tour around Seattle Harbor- we did everything except the cruise- We had been on a boat for the past week! The passes were valid for 9 days, I think, so we were able to use them on both ends of our cruise.

As a family, we made two trips to the viewing deck of the Space Needle on the day we arrived. Then, the next morning before leaving for our cruise, Mark and I took a walk to Seattle Center and went up again when they first opened.

The Seattle Aquarium was interesting and the otters were super cute!

The Pacific Science Center was geared more to little kids, but I loved the butterfly garden. We could choose to watch one of the IMAX movies currently running. The one about the first emperor of China and the terracotta warriors was fascinating. There was also a special terracotta warriors exhibit, at additional cost, which we did not see.

The Pop Culture Museum had displays of movie and music memorabilia. The Space-themed/Sci Fi exhibit space was HUGE, but the horror wing was closed for refurbishment☹ An exhibit on Jim Henson and the Muppets was available for an additional fee, but we passed on that.

 

[natebenma]

Come Sail Away!

When we were just a couple of weeks from our cruise, I still hadn’t made arrangements to get from the airport to the Hampton Inn or from the hotel to the port and back again.

I called the Hampton Inn to see what they offered. They could arrange for transportation by an outside company to the pier for $7 per person but they weren’t sure if a return to the hotel was offered. I guess most people must just return to the airport when they get off the ship. Actually, we were going to do that too but Delta changed our flight times and we were afraid it would be cutting it too close to get to the airport in time and the only other non-stop flight that day would get us home around midnight so we decided to spend another day in Seattle.

I searched online and found a couple of services and I contacted them both for a quote.

Seattle shuttle responded immediately with their rates ($48 each way for a van between the airport and the hotel) and $8 per person to the pier and $8 for the return ride, plus gratuities. We booked our rides with them and they provided immediate responses to us and detailed instructions about what to do when we landed at SeaTac and when we got off the ship on the last day of the cruise. I liked that!


This was taken while waiting for the shuttle. You can see how close the Space Needle is.





I think we were picked up around 11:30, it was about a 10 minute ride to the dock. Drop off was quick and we started snaking our way through the terminal. There were a lot of cruise personnel helping us along by pointing the way, making sure everyone had their paperwork and passports out when needed.

A lot of people had not completed their check-in documents so they had to step out of line. We had done ours weeks ago, but we hadn’t finished filling out the health disclosure because you are supposed to do that on the day you are cruising. Apparently, we hadn’t signed our passports yet, either since getting our newly renewed ones last year.

Once we finished those last-minute details, we got into a line which moved pretty quickly and we received our sea cards.


Photographers were there taking pictures of the families who were boarding and I knew my boys were going to give me a hard time because they don’t like to have their picture taken. When we were at the Space Needle the previous day I told them that I wanted to have one family picture a day, no arguments. I am still bitter that I have ZERO family photos from our April 2016 trip to Washington DC.





We walked through the lobby and we saw a costumed bear, or in Disney-speak “friend of a bear”. We overheard the photographer with it ask “Can you see ok? Walk this way- wait, there ‘s a pole on your right”

Nate, our wildlife expert, identified this creature as the rare “Alaskan Blind Bear”

For some reason this cracked me up and I was laughing so hard I was almost crying.

Speaking of photographers, they were voracious! Everywhere you went, and at every port there were ships photographers asking to take your picture, with all sorts of backgrounds or charcters or animals or props. There were photographers set up outside of the dining rooms and roaming photographers in the restaurants during dinner. They were fine when you said “No, thank you” but it got tiresome to be asked so frequently.

Next, we tried to find where our cabin was located, so we went to Deck 7 (Cabin 7178) but the hallways were all blocked off so that luggage porters could deliver suitcases to the rooms.

So we headed up two decks to the Lido Deck, where lunch was being served.

Of course, everyone else was there too because there was really no place else to go. We had to walk and walk and walk to find an empty table, finally locating one through the doors to an outside deck. The boys held the table while Mark and I got into the grill line (burgers/hot dogs/French fries/chili/nachos).

We decided to get food for all 4 of us so the boys didn’t have to wait in line when we got back.

I hated the way the buffet was set up. There were a lot of different stations: Deli, Pizza, Grill, Chopsticks Asian selections, an international station with a theme that changed every day, then other areas with salads, another place with fruit. Each of these was spread out and in a few different rooms. I found it confusing and difficult to manage if you wanted to sample a lot of the offerings (which I always do).


When we returned to the table, the boys told us the bear and photographer had visited the table.

Unbeknownst to the boys, I am now in possession of these beauties:




The boys are surprised by a vicious Alaskan Blind Bear attack!


After lunch, we found our cabin and spend a few minutes unpacking and getting settled before we had to report to our muster station.

When it was time to muster, we found our station and unfortunately were some of the first people there. They took our names and cabin number and then we waited. And waited. And waited while more and more people showed up and we crowded together. It took 45 long minutes for the process to be complete. Apparently, we were rookies who didn’t realize that others show up late so they don’t have to wait around doing nothing.

When muster ended we went up to one of the top decks for sailaway.


The smoke and haze had just cleared in the past couple of days from the fires in British Columbia and it was a beautiful afternoon.

See Mt. Rainier to the left of Ben’s shoulder? No?


Here it is zoomed in with my camera

Here are a few more shots of the Seattle Skyline

We were able to look back and see Mt. Rainier for a couple of hours as we sailed away from Seattle towards Alaska.



We had reservations at the steakhouse that evening, and I will review that in the next post.


Here is the sunset from that evening

 

[annie170]

I'm glad you started this trip report as this sounds like a fabulous cruise!

The shoe story is pretty funny. No judgment here. Ben must be a homebody. I love days when I don't have anything to do and can stay home, but I can't go three consecutive days without leaving the house.

That's pricey for a Hampton, but Seattle in general is quite expensive. You probably wouldn't find anything much cheaper.

Good for you for getting your monies worth out of those City Passes!

Nice family picture boarding and the photos of the boys with the bear are ridiculously cute!

You can't beat the view of Mt. Rainier! Gorgeous!

Want to hear something depressing? The day you left was my first day back at work. Feels like we've been back forever!

 

[pbb&j]

I'm so glad you're doing a trip report for you Alaska cruise! I'm taking notes.

Our family loved the Seattle area, too. We spent a few days in Seattle, then went to Olympic National Park, and on to Whidbey Island. We loved it all. We stumbled onto so many surprises, like the lavender fields in Sequim. We were, however, the only people who took their young kids on the Redhook brewery tour. It was quite a party!

 

[justafigment27]

Oh, I am very excited to read this report! I followed along on your Hawaii report and really enjoyed it!

 

[JanetMom]

I'm in! I'm looking forward to reading your report as I'd love to take a cruise to Alaska. We've never been on a cruise, and don't really have a desire to do so, but we would like to see the north and a cruise seems like a great way to do it.

You captured some impressive photos from the plane! (And thanks for spending your time thinking of other trip planning while on the plane.)

 

[natebenma]

I'm glad you started this trip report as this sounds like a fabulous cruise!

The shoe story is pretty funny. No judgment here. Ben must be a homebody. I love days when I don't have anything to do and can stay home, but I can't go three consecutive days without leaving the house.

That's pricey for a Hampton, but Seattle in general is quite expensive. You probably wouldn't find anything much cheaper.

Good for you for getting your monies worth out of those City Passes!

Nice family picture boarding and the photos of the boys with the bear are ridiculously cute!

You can't beat the view of Mt. Rainier! Gorgeous!

Want to hear something depressing? The day you left was my first day back at work. Feels like we've been back forever!

Thank you for following along!

Ben had a couple of busy weeks prior to the cruise, 6 days at very intensive National Security and Intelligence program in Washington DC and then volunteering for the week at the summer camp at the farm where I work. Then he had the cruise coming up. So I let him slide in the time in between. Perhaps a bit more than I should have.

Mark made the reservations for Seattle. He tends to be more concerned with location and less concerned with budget or finding a good deal.

The City Passes were my idea!

It doesn't take long for that trip euphoria to disappear!

I'm so glad you're doing a trip report for you Alaska cruise! I'm taking notes.

Our family loved the Seattle area, too. We spent a few days in Seattle, then went to Olympic National Park, and on to Whidbey Island. We loved it all. We stumbled onto so many surprises, like the lavender fields in Sequim. We were, however, the only people who took their young kids on the Redhook brewery tour. It was quite a party!

Mark travels to Seattle for work a couple of times a year. This was our first time. I loved the city and the environmental vibe. It was a little granola-crunchy for my conservative boys.

Ha! Love that you took your kids to the Redhook brewery!

Oh, I am very excited to read this report! I followed along on your Hawaii report and really enjoyed it!

Glad to have you aboard!

I'm in! I'm looking forward to reading your report as I'd love to take a cruise to Alaska. We've never been on a cruise, and don't really have a desire to do so, but we would like to see the north and a cruise seems like a great way to do it.

You captured some impressive photos from the plane! (And thanks for spending your time thinking of other trip planning while on the plane.)

Thanks for reading.

As I mentioned, I am not typically a cruiser, but it is the right way to do a trip to Alaska, especially a first visit there.

I swear that I spent half my time on that flight working on our girls Disney trip. Not sure why, since I had already fleshed out most of the planning. I just couldn't get the pieces to fall into place the way I wanted to. Dang you, Rivers of Light!

 

[natebenma]

Arrival Dinner- Legend Steakhouse

First, a mini freakout!

I was looking at my steakhouse pictures this morning, getting ready to upload them onto Photobucket. I had 3 pictures from my phone that I hadn’t added so I put them in the folder. Did some other stuff and when I went back into the Meals and Menu file, those were the only 3 photos there! The folder was empty!



I was even MORE diligent than normal about food porn pictures on this trip (to the dismay of my family). I had pictures of almost all of menus and almost every single thing we ordered.

Unlike on past trips, I MOVED/CUT the pictures from the camera memory cards instead of copying them, so I didn't have the memory cards as backup. I think they are backed up on Carbonite, but Mark is the one in charge of that and I don’t want to ask him to restore these pictures.

Take a breath. Restart the computer. Fold some laundry. Turn the computer back on. Look for the photos.

There they are. I have another folder, embedded in the generic Carnival folder. The pictures are all there. Phew!


***************************************************************************************


About a month before the trip, Mark booked a reservation to the ship’s specialty steakhouse for the arrival night of the cruise. I didn’t really think it was necessary, and I am very frugal (cheap) so I didn’t want to spend the extra $20* per person when I’m sure we could find something to eat in the main dining room. But Nate loves steak, and the boys really wanted to do this.

*I found out when the bill came that it was actually $35 per person. ACK!

There is some kind of deal for the purchase of wine (half-price for a bottle, maybe) if you dine at the steakhouse, but we are not drinkers so I don’t have the details. I expected the steakhouse to be packed at 6:30 when we got there.

It wasn’t.

We saw one other party dining, at the table next to us. They were complaining about everything during their meal.


A few more parties arrived while we were dining, but it was by no means crowded.

The meal started with an amuse bouche, a small bite prepared by the chef as a welcome to the meal.

It was a burger. A teeny-tiny burger. It was fine. Good not great. It was a burger.

I was not amused.


I did not get a copy of the menu for the steak house. I thought it was online but I wasn’t able to find it this morning.


We had a choice of an appetizer, then a soup/salad, the main entrée and dessert.


Appetizers:

Mark got the escargot, I had the crabcake, Ben got the ahi tuna stack and Nate got some kind of soup. Dang! Can’t remember what it was. (ETA: Lobster Bisque)

The presentation of the escargot was weird, not in garlic butter. It had a sauce on the side. I don’t think I tried that. The crab cake was excellent, big chunks of tasty crab. Ben’s tuna was the winner though. Really fantastic flavor.

Escargot

Crab Cake

Ahi Tuna Tartare- Dices of Sashimi Grade Yellow Fin Tuna Belly

Lobster Bisque with Vintage Cognac


Salad:

Ben got the Caesar and I think the rest of us got the spinach salad with bleu cheese and warm bacon bits

Main Course:

Mark got the seafood dish- shrimp, swordfish artichokes. Ben and I got the filet and “Maine” lobster. Nate got the ginormous steak! The menu, even though I don’t have photographic proof, says Maine Lobster. I’m from New England. I know Maine lobster. This was NO Maine lobster.

I thought about complaining that we were served Caribbean lobster, which really can’t be compared to the texture or flavor of homarus americanus, North American lobster. But I didn’t want to be like the party next to us who were complaining and at that point I still though we were paying $20 for the meal. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought, huh, maybe they can’t get Maine lobster during this time of the year.

So I didn’t say anything.

The next night, when “Maine” lobster appeared on the menu for dinner in the formal dining room, we were indeed served the native lobster I know and love.

Grilled Prime Cowboy Steak- 18 ounce Rib Chop

Surf & Turf
Grilled Filet Mignon and Maine Lobster Tail (I'm calling BS)



Dessert:


Mark got the tropical fruit cup with a raspberry sorbet, which was amazing. He kept hoping the sorbet would show up on one of the dining room menus, but it never did.

Ben and I got the chocolate sampler- tiramisu, a fudgy thing, something with banana. We had some of the sorbet and it was super yummy.

Nate got the cheesecake, which he said was excellent and again did not find anything as good in the main dining room or buffet for the rest of the cruise.

Chocolate Sampler
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Banana Pannacotta, Tiramisu and Chocolate Marquise

Cheesecake with Hazelnut Biscuit


When the bill came, we didn’t know what to do about tipping. Was gratuity included in the per person price we paid?


It was awkward, but Mark asked one of the servers, who said that no, gratuity was not included.


The appetizers and salads were excellent and the desserts were the best we had during the cruise, although we were too full to fully enjoy them. The entrees were so-so.

You could order the entrees- the steak, filet and lobster, lamb chop- in the main dining room for an additional charge of $20- THAT’S where the $20 figure in my head came from.


Was it worth it? I don’t know.



Next up: At Sea

.

 

[adSimba]

I'm as cheap as you, I feel your pain.... I make sure I budget for my family to have things I'm too cheap to plan for, but we always seem to go over that budget.... This is a great report though, thank you!

 

[natebenma]

In the few minutes since I posted my last update, somebody found and provided me with the Carnival Steakhouse menu!

Thank you!!!

Going back to add detailed descriptions to my pictures.

 

[annie170]

Glad you found your photos. That's a scary feeling.

I hate when menus state one thing and serve another. I've had that happen when ordering lake perch and served ocean perch. Your meals looked really good, though.

Were there quite a few restaurants on the ship that charged extra? It's been a long time since I've been on a cruise.

 

[natebenma]

I'm as cheap as you, I feel your pain.... I make sure I budget for my family to have things I'm too cheap to plan for, but we always seem to go over that budget.... This is a great report though, thank you!

I don't necessarily mind spending money (you will see that when I get to Ketchikan's Bear Adventure), but I don't like wasting money- spending it when I don't think it is necessary.

But my husband works hard, and if he wants to go to the steakhouse, then I am not going to rain on his parade.

Thanks for your kind words.

:

Glad you found your photos. That's a scary feeling.

I hate when menus state one thing and serve another. I've had that happen when ordering lake perch and served ocean perch. Your meals looked really good, though.

Were there quite a few restaurants on the ship that charged extra? It's been a long time since I've been on a cruise.

I panicked. I could not figure out where they were, or worse yet, what I had done to make them disappear. I just needed to take a step back and calm down.

Truth in advertising and menus matter!

The Legend is a smaller ship than some in the Carnival Line. I think some of the bigger ships have an Italian place and a Guy Fieri burger joint. There was a sushi place that charged extra and a place where you could get seafood- crab legs, lobster, clams, mussels. We didn't do any of those.

 

[TDR32]

If you want the menu it is available here.

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/dining/menus/steakhouse-menu.pdf

 

[Zarina]

Great start! I look forward to your experience with a different cruise line in Alaska. And of course the DCL comparison.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I always enjoy reading your trip reports. Alaska has always been a dream vacation of mine. I am excited to see how you liked the Carnival Cruise Line as Disney to Alaska is so expensive.

 

[Skywatcher1206]

Great start. We are also looking at other options to Alaska as even with the onboard booking perks, Disney is still thousands more than the other lines.