Overall it was an excellent cruise. We booked this cruise to experience the beauty of AK. We are a semi-retired active couple looking to mix with the locals and find where they eat and drink to get the true impression of the area. We do a minimum of shopping for souvenirs and gifts. With that said: We flew from Pittsburgh to Seattle via DFW. It was a long flight time. We arrived in Seattle the day before embarkation and traveled via Go Shuttle Express to the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Ave. They graciously allowed us to check in early. I did my research and found a Steelers bar to watch the season opener that afternoon. We had a restful evening and about 11 AM we hailed a cab ($10) to the pier 91. I was a little disappointed that we had to drag our luggage into the terminal ourselves because there were very few porters available. We waited but no one came out for 20 minutes. Once we go inside it was a breeze. We were on board within 20 minutes. I don't know where all the pax went to... but there didn't seem to be a lot of pax out for the sail away on that perfect sunny afternoon. The view of Mt. Rainier was very clear!
