Quick one day repositioning cruise to Seattle from Vancouver on the May long weekend for Canadians. Embarkation took an hour although I heard it took later arrivals a few hours, the key is to know what kind of traffic the port will be experiencing (check the Port of Vancouver's cruise ship schedule) and if there is more than 1 ship, arrive well before 11am and even at 10am if there are 3 in port that day. All staff we encountered, on-shore and when we arrived on the ship, were helpful, patient, and cheerful. A great start to the cruise.

Sailaway out of a sunny Vancouver harbour was spectacular. It is so exciting when the ship goes underneath Lions Gate bridge, you must head for the top deck to wave at people on the bridge, hear the screams of delight when we go under the bridge, and see how close the ship actually comes to clearing under the bridge deck.

Food on the ship was quite average, completely edible but not in the least bit memorable. Only the basics for lunch, salad bar is almost bare minimum, and don't expect smoked salmon or shrimp or bacon bits or anything remotely special in the buffet. Dinner choices were fairly plain as well. I'm not going into great detail as it was a one day cruise only and perhaps they save the good stuff for the full week paying guests (although Princess isn't known for great food). Read more