Friends of ours called us at the last moment and asked us to join them on the Mexican Riviera Cruise that was going to Victoria BC instead due to the flu scare. So we did a week before sailing.I was not particularly excited about the itinerary, but needed a week away from the work grind. So lets grade by four factors: Ship, Service, Food, & Ports.We had sailed on the Mariner before to the Caribbean both East and West so we knew how big the ship was, but we had a good feel where everything was, and booked a cabin in the middle.Ship: Big, but great, we prefer the "Brilliance Class" ship because it is big enough not to be bored by the second day, but no so big you feel you did a 10K run to the Show Lounge. Everything was spotless, cabins and cabin service exceptionally good.Service: Exceptionally good, the crew, waiters and staff were particularly active and made it a point to make you feel welcome. The dining room staff were right on the dime.Food: As you all know the variety and quality has declined over the years, but still, I felt they had a good enough variety to please everyone, and, the waiter arranged for me to have Shrimp Cocktail, EVERY night. Right On!Ports: Well, as I said earlier, I was not very excited about the ports, I have seen all of them except Victoria before. San Francisco seemed sadly grungy and crumbling more than I remembered. It was extremely congested as well.Seattle was very nice, and the Space Needle was worth going to, do that. The city tours were what you would expect, the tour is only as good as the Tour Guide you get.All in all, Royal Caribbean does a heck of a job with only 7 day to work with. It is well worth your time.

I missed Victoria and the program would not let me edit so: Victoria was very interesting, again, we had a great Tour Guide, so that made it more interesting. Nothing special but a nice four hour ride.