This was our first ever cruise and we were a multigenerational group: my husband and I travelling with my parents (active 60 year olds) and my two daughters (8 and 6).
Getting to the ship: We flew into Anchorage the day before the cruise and stayed at the Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage. Very nice place with great service and convenient if you want to see a bit of downtown Anchorage. We then took a van limo from Anchorage to Seward on the day of embarkation.
Embarkation: We arrived at around 3 pm and there were no lines at all. We were on the boat and had our keys, etc. within about 15 minutes. We were able to go to our rooms right away and the bags arrived within an hour or two.