Let me start by saying that our only other cruise was a 4 night Bahamas cruise with Disney a few years ago as part of our honeymoon. I was nervous trying a new cruise line because I knew what to expect with Disney but did not like the price of Disney, the fact that it left on a Tuesday, and I wanted to sail out of Seattle for cheaper airfare. I did a lot of research and a big factor for me was a cruise line that didn't allow smoking in their staterooms. I narrowed it down to Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Carnival was also leaving on a Tuesday so it was then between RCI and Celebrity. The final decision to go with Celebrity was based on the fact that RCI out of Seattle did not stop in Ketchikan and I kept reading that Celebrity was a higher class line with excellent customer service. I did read that some people find the Infinity in serious need of a dry docking while others found her perfect so I went in wondering what to expect.

Embarkation: We flew in the day of, landing around 10:30 am. We were picked up in a town car by Goldstar Limosuine ($48 including tip). That went very smooth. We hit minimal traffic and were at the pier by 11:15ish. The Embarkation process of standing in a line with all of our luggage, followed by a security line followed by a Check in line was a bit much. I found the staff outside to be your typical crowd control type people who weren't overly friendly (These were not Celebrity employees, they were pier employees). The check-in employees were very nice and that portion went very quick.

The greeting of champagne or mimosas was a nice touch but at the time we went thru there was no one actually greeting you with them, they were just laying on a table. We proceeded to the buffet for lunch. It was very full but within 15 minutes of them announcing the rooms were ready, it cleared out. Read more