We are two seniors from Florida with more than twenty cruises, mostly Caribbean and most with Carnival. We do not expect perfection, we have modest needs and we try to keep our expectations reasonable. Some cruises are more enjoyable than others; this cruise to Alaska was among the best.

We booked air and transfers with Carnival to assure our timely arrival. In order to make it in time in Seattle, we had to leave home at 3AM for our early flight and our return flight would not return us until after 11PM. We did not want to ask friends for a ride in the middle of the night and the local shuttle did not operate at those hours. So we drove to the airport and paid $136 to park. The flights and layover were uneventful. My PVP did not suggest arriving a day early, in retrospect it would have been a better choice. The transfer provided by Carnival and the embarkation process were terrible. On arrival in Seattle we were told to meet a Carnival representative at the baggage claim. He was very cordial, checked our passports and directed us outside to a kiosk. The people staffing the kiosk were rude and arrogant. Everyone seemed to have different paper proof of having purchased a transfer. I was told I was not entitled to the transfer even though my documents clearly stated it was included. After they tore my documents apart - literally - they were in pieces, they checked passports again and then demanded that every piece of luggage including carryons be tagged before proceeding to the bus. I had printed out extra luggage tags, but not enough for the carryons and the scotch tape I had brought to affix them was at the bottom of my carryon - it was not produced quickly enough for the transfer Gestapo, their comments were uncalled for. Once I got the scotch tape out and put the tags on we were allowed to load our own luggage under the bus. We could not put our carryons under because they weren't tagged and we were not allowed to take them on the bus with us. We just stood outside the bus trying to figure out what to do. The bus driver arrived, placed our carryons under the bus and got us settled on the bus. She was a delight. She solved our luggage dilemma, gave us a lovely tour on our way to the port and had our carryons waiting for us as we stepped off the bus. Her efficiency and professionalism erased the awful experience at the beginning of the transfer. At the port it was necessary to walk a fair distance to the terminal and then walk the length of the terminal to start the process. We both have mobility issues and always look for the shortest distance between two points. We showed the FunPass with the VIP on it, but it was ignored. Maybe VIP boarding has not been instituted in Seattle? We were directed to the other end and even though there was no line, no other passengers being processed, we had to walk through the ropes back and forth, up and down the terminal instead of just stepping up to the counter. Once arriving at the counter the process took about a minute. Then we were directed outside to walk the length of the terminal again to start the climb up a series of ramps to the ship. Once onboard we headed straight to the cabin to wash up and rest for a few minutes. Hunger struck and we headed to Lido to see what food might still be served. The regular buffet line was closed, but the rotisserie was still serving. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies. Very good! Before we finished the meal we started to sail away and enjoyed a beautiful sunny, warm, clear and calm start to a fantastic voyage.

We did not take part in many of the onboard activities. We have done most before and competing with the passing scenery was no contest. I usually try to win a ship on a stick, but this cruise I did not take the time to join in the games. Read more