I had never been on a cruise before, and went with my dad who has been on several cruises. I have to say, overall I am not a cruise person, but I am glad that I took this cruise! It was well worth it.
Pre-cruise: We flew into Seattle the day before, so that we did not have to rush to get to port. We stayed at the Westin, which was a great choice. The location was perfect - just down the street from Pike's Place Market and across the street from the monorail that took us to the Space Needle. It was also near a lot of shopping and some parks. The hotel also was very comfortable, and perfect after a long day of traveling. We took a taxi right from the hotel to the port, and it was no problem- very easy.
Embarkation: We had an assigned time of 2 p.m., but were given a tidbit of information to arrive by 11:30 a.m. We had no problems getting through security or check-in, and were on the boat soon after it opened at noon. We went straight to our room, where the bags had already arrived. Our steward greeted us almost upon arrival- he was great the whole time. We ate at the buffet- not many people on the boat yet, so we had no problems getting our food or finding a place to sit.
Great balcony, great quiet location, huge closet, small bathroom but not cramped. Lots of storage space.