This was our first cruise (in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary), so I cannot compare this to other cruises. All I can say is that we must have lucked out  the cruise was spectacular from start to finish.

We flew from the east coast (Providence, RI) to Vancouver the day before the cruise left. we stayed at the Listel Hotel on Robson St. If I could do it over again, I would spend 2 or 3 days in Vancouver before the cruise. Vancouver is a wonderful city and we did not have enough time to enjoy it. We did manage to go for a beautiful jog around Stanley Park on the morning of our embarkation.

Embarkation went smooth as silk. I was worried about this, having read many horror stories about long waits. We literally walked on without any long waits and were in our cabin by 11:30am. We were eating in the Horizon Cafe by noon. The Horizon Cafe is a story in itself  this is the buffet restaurant that runs basically 24/7. I think they might shut down for a couple of hours (3am to 5am) to clean and re-stock. Read more