My husband and I cruised onboard NCL Pearl from LA on 9/28/12, stopping at Cabo, Pt Vallarta, Huatulco, Pt Chiapas, Puntarenas, crossing Panama Canal, Cartagena, and finally ending in Miami. The first 4 ports are all located alongside the Mexican Riviera. Puntarenas is in Costa Rica and Cartagena is in Colombia. Each port was unique and interesting.
We flew out of NY on the day of embarkation and arrived at the LA Airport at 10:00 AM. I originally booked a shuttle service online with the Lotus Transportation for $28 to take us to the port, but decided that we also wanted to stop and pick up some drinks on the way. This request increased our fare to $48 because we now require a private car instead of a shuttle van (which doesn't make any stop). We didn't mind this since the drinkable wines onboard were very expensive. Our driver, Peter, was very gracious and friendly. He even let us used his customer card at the local grocery store so that we could get 30% off on all the wines we purchased! What a great customer service! At the port, NCL charged $15 corking fee per 750 ml bottle (more for larger bottles). If you have any unopened bottles left at the end of your trip, you can get that fee back. We also picked up some water and ice teas.
We arrived at the San Pedro World Cruise Center in good time. The embarkation process was very easy and fast. Our stateroom was all ready and our luggage arrived soon after. We were eating lunch at the Summer Palace by 1:30 PM!