Vancouver the day before and stayed at the Mariott which is within walking distance to the pier,
Embarkation was easyas we did everything on-line beforehand, just scaned us in, drop off luggage and we on boarded. We did US customs in Vancouver so there was not an expedited embarkation for repeat gusets. We were familiar with the ship as we had sailed on its sister ship, Anthem of the Seas. Once on board we took the stairs to the next floor and walked all the way down to the second bank of elevators. Thus we bypassed the crowd.
Ship was clean and beautiful. Even though it was a big ship it didn't seem crowded excWe chose this cruise as it was on our bucket list and we enjoy sea days. We flew to ept when they were selling stuff on the promenade.
Our cabin was lovely. We had plenty of storage space and had an over sized balcony which was wonderful. Bathroom had glass shower door and a night light which we liked. We used the balcony alot as the weather was getting warmer on our 3rd day out. Below us were the life boats but they did not impack our view.
Took a taxi to city center and went to Pike's Market. Cost about $12 each way for taxi which was cheaper than the offering on the cruise which was $22 per person. There were also vans offering rides to the city center for $7 pp.
Tour guide didn't stop talking!!! Tour took around 9 hours