This was my sixth cruise (all with Carnival) which I booked in May 2005. I believe that one of the keys to a successful cruise to Alaska is planning ahead. The Cruise Critic board was a crucial part of the planning process.

Because I travel alone, I decided to book a 1A guarantee, knowing that there are only 5 such cabins on the ship. I was upgraded to a 4B cabin forward port side, near Pharaohs Palace. I booked my own airfare, which included an overnight stay in Seattle. I returned to the airport the morning of the cruise and was taken to Canada Place using Carnivals transportation (through Grayline). I arrived at the airport at 8:30 am and found courteous Carnival employees who directed me to where I needed to go to board the bus to Vancouver. The bus did not leave until 11:00 am, as there was barely a full bus to make the trip. The driver, Pasquale, was pleasant and got us to Canada Place around 2:00 pm. Some CC members flew into Vancouver and in retrospect that might have been a better thing to do.

The embarkation process at Canada Place was the quickest I had ever seen. Walking through Canada Place was a breeze and I was on board the ship within 15 minutes of stepping off the bus! My luggage was delivered by 430 pm and before the ship left Vancouver, I had unpacked everything. After a quick lunch on the Lido deck, I went to my cabin and met my cabin steward, Tabbatta. I only saw her a few times during the week, but she was always attentive to my cabin and I had no problems with my cabin whatsoever. Tabbatta was very nice and did a great job. Read more