Alaska Airlines

They are still nice! Amazing, isn’t it. All the Alaska employees we came in contact with were very nice and customer service oriented.

Advice to passengers: Alaska allows First class upgrades for certain fares 24 hours in advance. When checking in online you will be asked if you want to upgrade when your fare qualifies.  If you did not book a qualifying fare you should ask at the airport.  Depending on the miles you are flying the upgrade will cost anywhere between $50 to $ 200.

Seattle

We stayed at the Seattle Renaissance. A nice hotel, but not in the best location for the leisure traveler. This is more a hotel for business travelers. It is on the edge of the downtown area and when we tried looking for something to eat the night we arrived (at about 9pm) we could not find any restaurants within a 2 block radius of the hotel.

Seattle is a great city. We used the Free Bus system a lot. Within a certain radius in downtown they have set up a “Ride Free’ area for Friday through Sunday. And since there are so many busses you can get where you want to go.

We did the Underground Tour of the city. It was amazing to find out that at one point in time Seattle was build on top of already existing buildings. I would really recommend this tour to anybody.

Also not to be missed in Seattle is their library. Even if you do not read, this is an architectural marvel. They have self guided tours available to visitors. 

There is so much sightseeing to do in Seattle, that 3 days just was not long enough and we do plan on going back to see much more of the city.

Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver

Everybody should do this! This is a scenic train. A 3 hour train ride on the edge of Puget Sound. The train leaves from Downtown Seattle and ends in downtown Vancouver. It follows a train track that is literarily almost in the water. Very beautiful and affordable.

Vancouver  - 3 nights

We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront. PERFECT LOCATION FOR CRUISERS! The hotel is right across the street from Canada Pier. Walk out of the hotel, walk into the pier! Beautiful property and great service!

I do  recommend that you visit China Town and Gastown during the day! There seems to be a homeless problem in these areas. If you want to go out to eat at night, you probably should take a taxi to get to the restaurant or ask the hotel concierge what is within a safe walking distance.

We did spend time a lot of time in Stanley Park. No problems with homeless there. Great park with the Vancouver Aquarium and during the summer months there is outdoor theater.

14 nights onboard the Tahitian Princess in Alaska.

What a wonderful destination. If you have not been yet, you should not wait any longer! After 2 weeks of traveling to destinations like Valdez, Kodiak, Sitka, Juneau, Seward, Ketchikan and Glacier Bay, all I can say is WOW.

Sailing onboard the 700 passenger Tahitian Princess was a delight. The staff was very friendly. The specialty Restaurants, Sabatini’s and Sterling Steak House were a treat. Highly recommend that you do not skip these.  The food was good in the main dining room, but nothing really out of the ordinary. The ship was very easy to get around because of her size. If you do not have a balcony, the Tahitian Lounge is a great place to spend your day gazing at the wonders Alaska has to offer.

However, this kind of ship is not for everybody. Due to the length and the average age of the passengers, there is not much socializing among the passengers.  A high percentage of the staterooms have balconies, so people do not hang around the ship much. They come out for dinner and a show. If you are looking for many activities, fun and partying, this might not be the ship for you.