After sailing on the Magnificent Oasis of the Seas last year, I was a little concerned about going to a smaller ship. But I must say I enjoyed my time on the Pearl. She is a beautiful, modern, relaxing, clean ship. She doesn't have the WOW factor of the Oasis but you do get a more cruising feel since there are more water views than the mega-mall ships. Perfect for Alaska.

We arrived in Seattle the day before the cruise and stayed at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel. It's a beautiful hotel right across the street from Pier 66 and Anthony's Restaurant. The Hop On Hop Off bus stop is also right across the street. We took the bus ($19) and bought tickets for the Space Needle while on the bus ($18). Weather was beautiful (in the 50's, no rain). Seattle was very crowded that weekend. Pike Market was packed so couldn't really walk inside. We walked around the outside for a while. Not what I expected but if you like Farmer's Markets I guess you would like it. Space Needle was also very crowded and after standing in line for 30 minutes hardly moving in the cold shade, we decided to catch the last bus back to the Waterfront. Lucky for us, it was the same bus where we bought the Needle tickets and the guy gladly refunded our money (WOW). We ate at Anthony's (good seafood) and walked down the waterfront past the aquarium for a while. Very nice area.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel buffet (very good) and then checked out at 11:15. Walked across the street to the pier and checked in. Was on the ship before 12 noon. They were sending people to the buffet, but based on info from this site, we went to Summer Palace and had a nice relaxing lunch. Then we did the spa tour (gorgeous) and checked out the rest of the ship. Read more