This is my fourth cruise. One cruise was on Princess, one was on Holland America, and two were on Royal Caribbean. In general I like Royal Caribbean the best. I was on the cruise with my husband and two children. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

We flew to Seattle on Southwest Airlines using credits earned on their credit card program. Free flights are a great start to a cruise. We arrived in Seattle two days before we set sail.

Pre-Cruise Hotel: We got a rate of $70 per night at the Holiday Inn SeaTac right next to the airport using priceline.com. The hotel was a typical Holiday Inn. It is a little run down but they have done some remodeling recently so it is not too bad. The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. The hotel charges $12 a night for parking so if you are driving there that is one downside, though I think it is like this at most Seattle hotels. The hotel offers a free 24 hour shuttle to and from the airport which we used. There are two bus stops that are within easy walking distance of the hotel. We used the city bus transportation to get around Seattle. It was fairly easy and quite inexpensive ($1.50 for adults, $0.50 for children one way for most trips). Read more