Very nice cruise,

We are seniors and have done about 48 cruises on various lines. We have done about 10 coastal cruises along the Pacific coast and have previously visited most of the ports on this cruise. Our primary reason for taking this cruise was the entertainment, food, and a close to home get a way. We live about 120 miles north of San Francisco.

We drove down to the bay area and stayed the night previous to our flight at the El Rancho Hotel in Millbrae. We have done this several times. When a cruise starts in San Francisco, we have the hotel shuttle take us to SFO where we get the cruise ship bus to the port in SF. On this trip, we had had a 6 AM flight to Vancouver. We were up to catch the shuttle at 4 AM. The flight was smooth and our customs check in Vancouver was also. They have a new system at the airport that allows Americans to pass through customs with a minimum of time lost. It is a BIG improvement over our last time at this airport. You just slap you passport on a screen at one of the machines, get a receipt and you are on your way. If you have any problems, there is a helper there to answer any questions. Otherwise, you wait in VERY LONG lines to get up to talk with an inspector. We were through and out the door in about 5 minutes. Read more