We sailed to Alaska (Ketchikan/Juneau/Victoria) on the Norwegian Sun from 9/14/08-9/21/08, Vancouver to San Francisco. Our first cruise and we LOVED it. We were in balcony cabin number 9044.

Vancouver: We arrived the day before the cruise and stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn. Decided to take the Vancouver Trolley, which has a stop right outside our hotel. We had to wait quite awhile for one to show up; apparently this was a very busy weekend for them. We really enjoyed the trolley though - a great way to see the highlights of the city without a lot of effort, because we were starting to get tired after being up since 3 am. We got off briefly at the Rose Garden in Stanley Park, which was slightly past its peak but still beautiful. The part of the trolley through Stanley Park was just gorgeous - amazing old trees. Our trolley driver's narration was good. We got off next at Chinatown - this was one of our favorite parts. Loved browsing through all of the unique shops. Our first experience with a Chinatown anywhere. We picked up some great sushi dishes for dirt cheap, and stopped for coffee to sit awhile. Then we hopped back on the trolley, and got off at our hotel. I would have liked to browse around Granville Island and Gastown, but we were tired and didn't have enough time. For dinner, we walked from our hotel to Robson Street (about 8 blocks or so, a nice walk) and ate at Tsunami Sushi. The nice part was the incredibly fast service - like crazy fast. Almost like they were rushing you out. I had several rolls that were good, but unimaginative. Steve had a plate of raw fish that he said was very fresh and delicious. The prices, in our opinion, were pretty good for what you get. Then we strolled around Robson Street awhile, picking up some gifts and socks for Steve, and Baskin Robbins ice cream before heading back to the hotel. We enjoyed the hot tub and then went to bed very early!

Embarkation: Our hotel's checkout time was 11 am, so we got a taxi then to Canada Place and were there just as customs opened. It was a smooth process, a few lines but overall not much waiting at all. We were overwhelmed at first - what to do first??? But got a table outside the buffet and relaxed for a few hours. Toured the ship for a bit and then headed to our cabin as soon as they were available! Read more