We were on the last cruise of the Alaskan Tracy Fjord on the Infinity in mid-September. I understand that the Solstice is doping these cruises next year. I was traveling with my mother. We flew into Seattle from Tucson via Las Vegas on Southwest. I had cruised to Alaska before in 1999 on the Statendam. Last time Seattle was a transfer point as that cruise left from Vancouver.

Before going further, mother is a RNC (retiring next year), I'm an associate of Wal-Mart stores Inc. It was her 6th cruise and my 14th. We left Tucson early and were in Seattle shortly after noon. The cruise line didn't have personnel in the airport directed you where to go nor were instructions given in our documents. You had to figure that for yourself. You had to show your documents twice before getting on the bus to the pier.

At the cruise terminal, you had to show documents to gain access to the building. Before getting to check-in hall, your carry-ons had to be x-rayed and you had to go through a metal detector. Only Captains Club members who attained Elite status, suite guests, and handicapped got to bypass the lines. The rest of us had to endure what I would call a cattle chute. We had to go through a winding path of about 5 lengths of the hall before getting to the "Official" check-in desk. There you turned in your paperwork, showed your documents, filled of the health questionnaire, had credit cards scanned, and got your boarding cards. Read more