We had originally booked our much anticipated cruise around Alaska on Celebrity and were arriving 10 days before. The cruise was leaving from Seattle and we were wondering what we should do while making our way from LA. Instead of catching a few domestic flights we thought "why not cruise our way along the coast." What a wonderful idea this turned out to be. We found an NCL Pacific Coastal cruise on the Pearl that departed LA the day after we arrived from Melbourne and finished in Vancouver 2 days before our next cruise started.
The 7 day cruise included the ports San Francisco, Astoria Oregon, Nainamo BC, Victoria BC and Vancouver.
We thought the embarkation at LA went smoothly with only a short wait however the Americans must expect a quicker process as they seemed disappointed and a bit upset that they had to wait a couple of hours. We later heard from the Captain that the authorities would not let the passengers onboard from the Panama Cruise leave. The only other cruise we had been on was Dawn Princess in May 2009 at the height of the Swine Flu and we didn't board until midnight, so this time seemed a breeze.
9080 was in a perfect position. Close to the stairs/elevators. Quiet location with minimal movement. Lots of storage. The bed was very comfortable and when we checked it had at least 3 foam overlays on the mattress. Furnishings were bright, modern and clean. The room had a coffee maker, flat screen TV, fridge and safe. The bathroom was divided into 3 sections by screens. The choice of a shower screen instead of a shower curtain shows that NCL listen to their passengers. All in all a great cabin.