Only a mini-review
We returned to Florida last night, (May 25, 2016), after spending an extra day in Seattle. My wife and I both agree that the "Alaska" portion of the cruise was completely excellent. It was everything you would expect it to be and more. We have a ton of memories from each port and from all 4 of our excursions. Of particular interest to us was the stop in Skagway. We can envision ourselves doing a future fly-in trip to Skagway and touring with that as our center spot. The absolute highlights of the trip were clearly Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier and the day spent in Glacier Bay. For a stateroom we had Ocean Suite 6154 and we put that large balcony to good use. The entire day in Glacier Bay was spent photographing the sights from our balcony. We didn't even leave for a meal. We saw many whales, sea otters, seals and eagles. The scenery was breathtaking and captivating.
Regarding the ship itself and the time spent on the ship....I'm forced to eat a little crow. For the past few years I've been a very vocal cheerleader for all things Carnival. Partly because we have developed friendships with a few officers and crew members which have lasted beyond our cruises. My expectations were very high for the "Carnival" portion of the cruise and I'm afraid my expectations were sorely unmet. From the completely amateurish/poor quality of the entertainment (theater as well as lobby), to the notably declining quality of the food in the Truffles Dining Room to the overall lack of friendliness and hospitality among much of the staff. With some crews you can feel a sense of hospitality in each interaction and with the Legend crew it just wasn't there. Except for our room Stewardess Anjana and a special member of the photo staff, Jessica. Those two were far and above the standard set among the rest of the staff.
Juneau was a very pretty port and was our 1st stop of the trip. In general the city offers the most shopping of our ports. In fact I found a great knife shop where I made a valuable purchase. The downside is that going through the row of Jewelry retailers is a lot like going through a gauntlet. The operators approach you on the sidewalk as you pass by and try to put as much pressure on you as they can. This was a huge negative and would impact our desire to return.