This was a cruise for my father's 80th birthday, 22 in all would be on the cruise. My wife and I returned to cruising about four years ago after a substantial break. This would be our first cruise with Princess since starting again. Our children, 11, 9, and 6 have been on one cruise previously (last fall).

We flew into Seattle the Friday before the cruise started. We had Princess transfers to the hotel and ultimately to the ship. This was a great buy and I highly recommend it, as you and your bags are taken care of. We took the day to tour around Seattle and do the typical tourist things. Just a side note, there are very few available bathrooms in downtown Seattle, whether you are a customer or not. We stayed the night at the Fairmont Olympic. First class hotel with all the amenities one would want. No complaints.

As previously mentioned we had Princess transfers to the ship. They picked our bags up and we wouldn't see them again till they were delivered to our cabin. Before boarding the bus we went through a quick "pre" check in with Princess. The bus ride was fast and smooth. Embarkation was no trouble and the lines were reasonably short. We had arrived at around 11:00am. Once through check-in, we waited about 15 minutes for our group to be called and then we were aboard! Read more