We arrived a day early to avoid travel hassles. We stayed at The Best western-pioneer square; 4 stars. Very clean,non smoking with a decent free breakfast to boot. We arrived at embarkation at roughly 1:30 pm. The process was fast and efficient in light of all the passengers getting on board. I estimate it took 1/2 hour to process in. We did a quick tour of the boat and ate for the first time at the Horizon room. It took roughly an hour before our luggage arrived in our state room(carry on is welcome).The Sun Princess left Seattle at 4 pm. Our stateroom was on the Aloha deck featuring a balcony and two beds. As we expected the stateroom was small but very adequate to our needs. The bed was very comfortable. The washroom is very small; it was literally a tight squeeze. The balcony can accommodate two people. There was a mandatory fire drill that all must attend(a mild inconvenience). The first day my partner had two treatments at the spa and she enjoyed them immensely. I did the obligatory boat tour and found it easy to navigate.All passengers will receive a credit card used for all purchases. Cash is not accepted. The lone exception was at the casino and any tipping for exceptional service. I will now touch on the food: this is where Princess cruises fell short. The horizon is in a quasi-cafeteria style setup. The food I found to be good but not remarkable--open 24 hours. We ate at the Marquis dining room. We found the food to be terrible and inedible. We left the food half eaten. (we tried this room again to be fair: same result). Verdi`s pizza was good. Ravioli was tasteless. From this point on we ate at the horizon Court; figuring that all foods basically came from the same preparation areas. Cokes are not free; but you can buy a card for unlimited coke during the cruise.( $31.00)The Terrace Grill was average with lines. On board activities were generally decent.The production shows featured a young cast and was competent.It became clear that the best part of the cruise was going to be the excursions. This did not disappoint . Ketchikan-- We took the float plane tour of Misty fjord. 5 star knockout!! We toured the city by foot. Be prepared for curio shops ad-nuaseum. Juneau-- Bus tour ultimately ending at the Mendenhall Glacier .4 stars Skagway--Valley of glaciers helicopter tour. 5 stars Be prepared to be blown away!! Skagway the city is small ,featuring faux-front buildings hawking the same teeshirts, hats etc. The Sun princess goes through the Misty fjord starting at about 6 am. Spectacular!!Awesome!! If you view the Misty fjord topside; trust me it was cold and windy. I actually got wind burn. Wear several layers ;a stocking cap and light gloves.Don`t forget the camera. I would like to recommend travelers get the patch/sea sick pills.Day two was fairly(medium squalls)rough.Quite a few passengers got sick, so be prudent. Formal night I only saw a few tuxedos, jackets and ties were fine. Debarkation went smoothly ;travelers leave via a "staggered" system based on your room location. This was the first cruise for the both of us. Alaska is an amazing destination and cannot be appreciated with mere pictures and video.The Sun is a clean well managed boat. It occasionally shows its age. Some of the paint schemes were pure 80`s. I cannot sugar coat the food,it was abundant ;ranging from decent to truly bad.