This was the most wonderful relaxing vacation we have taken to date. This was the 1st ship out and we were the only ship at all the ports we went to until our last stop in Victoria. We flew into SEA and took Amtrak to Vancouver. It was a long trip, and disembarking off the train took a long time as it was full and we had to wait for customs. But, I would do it again, it was nice. We stayed in the Ramada limited in Vancouver, just a few blocks from Canada Place. This was a small, nice hotel with very good service. We were on the street side, and it was loud all night from the people in the streets. I would ask for a different part of the hotel next time. We intended to do more in Vancouver. But, were content with just walking around our part of town and checking things out. We went to China town and had dim sum,then went to Canada Place and checked things out. The next morning...we walked around some more...then took a cab to the pier around 12. The porters took our luggage right off the cab and we were in line. It took about 30-45 min. to get through security, then customs, then check in. We did not get rained on at all...the weather was perfecto. We are two women in our forties, and our 3rd cruise to Alaska. We were on the Pearl her first year in 2007. We chose her again because we love the spa. We loved our balcony room, and would never want anything less on the Alaska cruise. There is always something to be looking at or for. We like to get the spa pass and relax in there everyday as we watch Alaska go by....ahhhhhhhh. I think the Pearl has one of the best spas on the water.

We had the best cruise critic group, ever. We ended up having a very large gathering...probably 60 people. Then a cabin crawl and a poker run. It was great, as we had just about every category cabin to view. The one thing that we did that was truly amazing that was not a port was we cruised Tracys Arm. This was the best day of the whole cruise. I felt I was going to miss Glacier bay....but I was not disappointed....AWESOME

We do not do much with the activities. Went to one comedy show...it was OK. I went to the Quest and had fun with some fellow cruisers. I did make it to the chocolate buffet for the 1st time and it was pretty tasty. Other then that....we pretty much cruise for the sights, spa and food. About the food.....we enjoyed the buffet, both the main dining rooms and Lotus Garden. We were not crazy about the food in Cagneys or Blue Lagoon. For the most part....the food was very salty in all the restaurants. But, we did find things we enjoyed. The service was awesome....everywhere. We did get a room that was smoked in previously. It was very bad...even in the bathroom and the closet. Our stewards and their boss handled this as well as expected. They removed everything from the room....curtains, couch covers...all the pillows, and cleaned the carpet. Unfortunately they could not move us to another room as the ship was full. It was so bad, I could not stay in the room the 1st night. I spent the night hanging out around the ship, and met some very interesting people. They brought in an ionizer for 4 days, as well. The smell was pretty well gone after a couple days. Disembarkation was a breeze. We were the 4th group to be called, and we walked right off. Our luggage was right there and we grabbed a cab. We went to the car rental place in Seattle and took off for Whistler for another week.