I am interested in taking a short cruise, but my travel companion does not want to leave the USA due to their visa status and complications involved with getting entry visas to other countries and an employer letter to aid their return to the USA.

I thought this might preclude cruising altogether, but I read about some lines offering very short cruises to nowhere on both coasts, that give a nice introduction to the cruise experience with lower costs and less time away from work.

The pickings seem to be abit limited, and the west coast cruises I found stop at one or more ports in Mexico or Canada, which defeats the purpose of the cruise to nowhere.

Has anyone had good experiences with one of these 2-3 night voyages? We prefer the west coast, specifically the Pacific northwest, because the shore views should be more interesting than the southeast. Also, we definately want to avoid the party ships like Carnival and Royal Caribbean, opting for a more quiet, luxurious experience.