This was our first cruise so I did not have anything really to compare it to, but overall we had a wonderful time and Seattle and Alaska are both beautiful. We stayed in Seattle two days prior and one day post cruise. When we arrived at the Seattle airport we followed directions on the back of our transfer ticket which led us outside the baggage claim area to all the buses. We were confused as to what bus to get one, some were going to the piers and others were going downtown. I noticed other cruise lines had representatives there advising their people what to do but didn't see anyone from Princess there at all. We waited with all the other hundreds of people and finally got on a bus going downtown. Within the hour we had taken a tour of the city and stopped at about every major hotel in Seattle, our hotel The Westin was of course, the last stop. We had a very nice room on the 17th floor facing Puget Sound and The Space Needle.
Day 1 - Embarkation went fairly smooth. We were in our cabin in less than two hours and some of our luggage beat us to the room. The room was nice and clean with a balcony. Our room steward Nilo appeared shortly and seemed very eager to please us and offer his services. We took the next few hours exploring the ship and picking out a restaurant. We decided on the Santa Fe Dining room and arrived around 7 and only had to wait a few minutes. The food was good but the service was real slow. We had to ask for ice tea refills several times and once it took him over 15 minutes to bring it out. I thought each restaurant had different menus but was surprised to find out with the exception of one item, all the menus are the same in all restaurants.
Day 2 - At sea all day, nice, sunny and relaxing. Enjoyed the Lido and pool area, very impressive. Had pizza and burgers for lunch at the grill, pretty good pizza I though. Tonight is the first formal night so we made reservations at the Sterling Steak House ($20 cover charge). We arrived at 6 and were seated immediately. We had a wonderful table by the window and excellent service. The steaks were delicious and the Creme Brulee was to die for. My only complaint is that it seemed to me you got better service in the two restaurants that had cover charges, and it should not be like that. My theory is you should receive the same good service no matter where on the ship you decide to eat. Maybe we just had a bad waited at the Santa Fe Dining Room.