We are first-time cruisers (not counting 20 years on Navy ships, it just isn't the same). My wife and I arranged the cruise and all airfare ourselves over the internet. It was a very easy process, however, I was not able to get our passenger numbers until the cruise tickets arrived and so was not able to arrange for our shore excursions until later on in the process. My wife and I left Anchorage on January 23 for a cruise that began on January 25, spending about two days in Los Angeles in the San Pedro area. It was worth the effort. We saw the Maritime Museum, the fireboats (my son is a firefighter) and went aboard the S.S. Lane Victory, a restored WWII Liberty Ship, and to the Aquarium. We ate at the 22nd Street Restaurant which was excellent and stayed at the Marina Hotel, which was good and convenient for what we wanted to do.

We had read in the cruise critic messages (I wish I could remember the poster's name, but thank you anyway) that early arrival at the pier was the best bet. We arrived in a hotel courtesy van at 10:30 a.m. and in forty-five minutes we were having lunch. This time included a delay because the computer that takes the photos wasn't operating properly. All in all, an excellent embarkation. I highly recommend that people bring passports as ID. When we debarked at the end of the cruise, there were two lines, US Passports and all others, including those with picture ID and birth certificates. We sailed through the debarkation process in 30 minutes from the time our number was called.

Our stateroom was a "Large Interior" stateroom, and it was just fine for what we needed, a place to sleep, change, etc. Our room attendant was Lennox, and he was marvelous. Of course, my wife is partial to Lennox China, so go figure. He left animals in the room each night made of the towels, and this delighted my wife. He was always very solicitous of us. Read more