We sailed on the Carnival Spirit from Vancouver to Whittier on June 27-July 4, 2007. I had cruised 3 times prior, my partner 1 time prior, and her mother never, so we had a variety of experience levels with cruising.
We flew into Vancouver on June 26, made it through customs, and stayed at the Landmark Hotel, which was great. Room was just what we needed for a one night's stay, with great views of the city. We walked down the street to eat dinner and walked around the beautiful city of Vancouver all afternoon. Be sure to go by Cupcakes for the best cupcake you will ever eat!
We took a taxi to the port, which was only a few blocks away but too far to drag all of our luggage. Went through the usual check-in process which didn't take too long. We were on board about 1pm. We explored the ship and had lifeboat drill at about 4:30pm. The ship is beautiful, much nicer than the other Carnival ships I have been on (which, admittedly, are the older ships - Inspiration and Fantasy). The atrium is really nice and HUGE. Take a walk up the clear glass steps from the Lido Deck to the Supper Club, it's a wild view.