· Background Information DH and I enjoy travel, and we have experienced several cruises (lines include NCL before freestyle, Carnival, Princess and HAL, including Zuiderdam, Amsterdam and Statendam). We are in the 35-45 age group, and we have no children. This cruise was our third to Alaska. This is our first 14-day cruise. This was our fourth sailing on HAL.

· Travel to Port On July 15, we flew American Airlines from RDU to SEA via STL to arrive 2 days before the cruise. On July 16, we rented a car from Avis (SeaTac) to drive to Vancouver. Thanks to a suggestion of another Cruise Critic member, we enjoyed a scenic byway (Chuckanut Drive) along the way. This was a beautiful diversion from (I-5). The border crossing was relatively painless (short wait of maybe 5-7 minutes for one or two cars ahead) with a few questions regarding our travel plans (5 minutes ourselves), but the George Massey Tunnel (on Canada's 99) was a gridlock. We sat staring at the same exit sign (Exit 28) for about 1 hour. We ended up in Vancouver's rush hour. The GPS gave weak directions as we descended along the bridge from Richmond to Vancouver, so we got a lovely tour including Gastown. Our hotel was in Yaletown, but we had a sweeping diversion to get there after missing our initial turn. On July 17, we returned the rental car (Avis is located at the Fairmont), and the shuttle driver delivered us to Canada Place.

· Hotel Info For July 15, we booked one night in SeaTac, WA at the Sleep Inn directly via internet. Hotel provides free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and complimentary breakfast. For July 16, we booked one night in Vancouver using Priceline and won the Westin Grand on Robson (at Homer). The hotel was very nice, but we were surprised that only 2 elevators served so many floors (31...or 27 since, 4, 5, 13 and 14 seemed absent, I believe). The waits for the elevators were rather long, and we were on the 29th floor. Does Vancouver believe in AC? The room was HOT. Lots of glass and a sunny day contributed, but it took quite a while for the room to cool to acceptable levels. Also, we had booked a 'suite' per Priceline, but no suites were available upon checkin, so we had a regular room. These are the travails of internet bookings... cheaper prices = lower priority? Westin Grand was convenient to fast food (McDonald's, Burger King, Subway) and liquor/wine store next door. The hotel does offer a restaurant, Menu 39, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. A three-course dinner is $39, and a two-course dinner is $31. We also had nice views of the city but not of the ships. Read more