We recently got back from a mother/son trip to Alaska before he heads off to college. The trip was great and I wanted to offer some helpful hints/notes about this particular cruise.

The port in Seattle is NOT walking distance to any of the hotels, just given the road and cargo in the way. You can take the shuttle and sign up at most of the hotels once you check in but don't wait to do that until the morning of. We waited and the only shuttle left was at 1:30 pm. We opted to have the hotel arrange something and the "bus" they found for us was the same $8 per passenger and was a luxury ride. We used alreadythere car service from the airport and it was quick and easy - tip was included - the driver wouldn't accept more.

Boarding for us was insane. We stood in the line to check in about an hour and we were Gold members. Just be prepared to go through security and have your passports out. Read more