I got a lot of great info from this site before my vacation so I want to try to share my experience and help others as well. This was a twice-rescheduled family cruise (myself and my sister and our parents and spouses) that we were originally going to do in 2020. So happy we finally got to go! My parents, who have cruised before, picked the ship and the itinerary. I have to admit I thought I would hate cruising. Worried it would be too crowded and too corny and too cliche and that it would feel like an inauthentic way to visit other places. I was very pleasantly surprised and would consider cruising again in the future.

Completed our negative COVID tests at home using the E-med proctored tests the day before we traveled. Was very easy to do and only around $35 per person.

Traveled to Seattle the day before the cruise by plane and stayed at Lotte Hotel downtown. Took Lyft from the airport to the hotel. Was a little bit of a mess trying to find our driver at the airport but otherwise okay. The hotel was rather pricey but very clean and modern and with excellent service. It's in a convenient location to walk to restaurants and to the Pike Place Market. Room was small but had a nice view of the water. Read more