Okay. I'm just an ordinary traveler and cruiser. I haven't sailed on every line, nor have I taken a hundred cruises, but, maybe like you, I searched out this site in an effort to learn a little bit more about my upcoming cruise to Alaska aboard the NCL Pearl. After reading some over-the-top negative reviews, I thought, "Geez, I hope it won't be THAT bad", and flew off to Seattle. Here is my review and commentary, as truthfully written as you'll get it from anyone.

ARRIVAL / SEATTLE: Flew in late Saturday June 1st, and immediately jumped on the Grayline Airporter (Per a recommendation on the Seattle CC board). Driver was great, and after a couple of stops, he delivered me and my wife and two sons directly to the Downtown Sheraton. We got a great deal online from a discount hotel booking site, and were not disappointed. Had a room near the top floor, and the view of the city was fantastic. The next morning we took a cab back and forth to the Space Needle, then grabbed a cab to the pier.

EMBARKATION: Very smooth, and well organized. We arrived at about 11:30 am, and had a short wait in the staging area where they served coffee, juice, and cookies. One weird thing occurred after they called our boarding group number -- an NCL rep told us to follow her -- we went through a back curtain where we found ourselves in the "VIP" area or something, with separate tables set up for processing. They asked if we were in room 12XXX....knowing that we were in an inside cabin, I knew right away we were in the wrong place. The lady then apologized, and told us we could board through some other doors, and walked us right in front of the people having their Embarkation photos being taken. Other than that, everything was very smooth, and people were very friendly to us. The champagne was a nice touch, and they even provided orange juice in champagne flutes to our kids. Read more