Background: This was our sixth cruise, fourth with Princess and first Alaska cruise. We choose this cruise for our 30th anniversary celebration.

Travel to Embarkation Port: We arrived in Vancouver 4 days out of Toronto before the start of the cruise. My wife had never been to BC and I wanted her to see the mountains, the sites and arriving early allowed use to visit friends.

Hotel: We stayed at the Century Plaza downtown about a 12 minute taxi ride to the cruise terminal. We booked the hotel through CAA and were very pleased. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. They provided info on restaurants, pubs, liquour and grocery stores and we were able to purchase tickets for the hop on hop off trolley which we used for 2 days. It was a great way to see Vancouver. We also rented a car for 2 days from Avis just around the block from the hotel. We drove to Whistler for a day on the new highway. Read more