This cruise was planned as an opportunity for my 30 year old daughter and I to enjoy a week together. The cruise was booked in Feb. 2009 for the earliest she would be available to go as she is a middle school teacher. I have used HA before to book and have nothing but good to say about that with HA matching any price offered by any online or independent travel agency. We got an unmentionably low price. One thing I don't like about HA is that you have to prepay your excursions at the time of reservation, unlike Princess and others.

We flew into Vancouver the evening before departure and found getting through customs there was quick and painless. We'd read horror stories about the process on day of departure and decided to avoid that. A cab ride into the city was CAD$35 including generous tip. We stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle and had a lovely room there. The buffet breakfast was rather expensive though at CAD$56 for 2. The city itself is beautiful, clean and safe feeling. Wish we'd had more time there as many others plan. We easily walked the short 1/2 mile, luggage in tow, to Canada Place for boarding at around noon. The process seemed a bit confusing with luggage dropoff, but once we figured out where to do so, after figuring out we had to enter the parking garage to get to boarding, everything from there was easy and short. No customs issues, no HA issues, quick and simple. I think it pays to be a bit ahead of all the HA arranged airport transfers.

The ship and crew were ready and waiting for us. Our cabin was upgraded to L500 from one of the A deck inside cabins. We found it very roomy with plenty of storage. The TV and video system seems to leave lots to be desired on all HA boats, but I'm not cruising to watch TV, so it basically stayed off the entire cruise. Read more