Background: This was my third trip to Alaska having previously cruised on the Celebrity Galaxy in 1990 and the Vision of the Seas in 2006. This was my fourth cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas having sailed on her out of Galveston in 2004, 2005 and 2007. (The only way I willingly got off of her in 5/07 was knowing that I already had this cruise booked.) On both previous cruises, I had been to both Juneau and Skagway. Cruising the Sawyer Glacier and going to Prince Rupert on this one were new to me. Both of my prior cruises took place late May/early June so the September time frame was a new one.

Pre-Cruise: DH and I flew into Seattle the day before the cruise. We booked a room at the Westin through RCI for the convenience and the double BOA Visa points. We had no wait for a bus at the airport and got to the Westin before noon. I was sure we'd have to wait to check in, but they had a room ready for us. The room was very nice and we would definitely stay at this hotel again. After a brief rest (we'd gotten up early to make our flight), we enjoyed walking through the Nordstrom's flagship store and our walk over to the Pike Place Market. We really enjoyed the market - loved the flowers, the free samples, the flying fish, the entertainers, etc. and bought all sort of goodies. Had a nice late lunch/dinner combination overlooking the water. It was early to bed for us. The next day we had a big breakfast at the hotel and once again walked to the market and found even more goodies. The bus picked us up or rather tried to pick us up around noon to take us to the pier. The bus wouldn't start and after a wait to have some one come jump start it, we were off.

Check-in: Painless, absolutely painless. There was one other couple ahead of us in the Platinum/Diamond line. The lines for the x-ray machine and the seapass card pictures went quickly as well. We had a five minute wait before the doors to the cabin areas opened. Read more