My husband (53) and I (46) just returned from our first cruise on the wonderful ms Noordam. I booked this cruise directly through Holland America in late January of this year. Then I transferred it to a local travel agent. I don't know if this was a benefit for any of us, but I thought as a newbie I could use the help of a TA if problems arose. I'm happy to report there were no problems. We chose the round trip Alaska cruise from Seattle and up the inside passage. We both work full time and this was actually our honeymoon, albeit 16 years late. So we left the children at home and set sail on our own, though my sister and her husband joined us.

We flew in by Delta the night before embarkation. Our reservation was at the Clarion SeaTac Hotel. It looked very nice from the outside and the lobby, but the room was showing its age. There was also a strong floral perfume spray odor in the room. I booked this room month in advance for a very good price and would have been very unhappy if I had to buy the current price for it. There was no continental breakfast offered, but there was an in-house restaurant. 15% was deducted from the restaurant bill if you showed them the coupon received from check in.

The four of us shared a ride from the Clarion to the pier with First Class Towncars Service. Due to the number of luggage pieces, we reserved a SUV for $65.00 plus tip. The SUV was very clean and the driver was great. Read more