Background:

My wife and I are both in our early 40s and we traveled with our 16 year old son. My parents (late 70s) were with us as well. We have been on 30 prior cruises on most of the major lines. This was our first trip to Alaska.

We traveled to Seattle two nights early to spend some time in the area. Seattle is a great city with plenty to do and excellent dining. We enjoyed great weather with temperatures in the low 80s. We stayed in the Homewood Suites-Downtown, which is really outside of the downtown area but still convenient. Since it's a suite hotel, we had plenty of room. The hotel was clean and well maintained. A breakfast buffet was included. I highly recommend both Etta's Seafood and Il Bistro (Italian) for dinners. Read more