We just returned from an eight day cruise on the NCL Star visiting the Mexican Riviera. Our Ports of call were; Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. This was our third cruise.
Embarkation: This was a horrible mess that took 3+ hours. We arrived at 12:30pm (30 min prior to the start of embarkation) and the lines were very long. The porters did not show up until 1:30 or 2 so we had to drag our luggage around with us. My tip would be to arrive at around 3pm to avoid the long lines.
Ship and Cabin: The ship was very nice and our cabin was a little worn but okay. As we got out to sea and the ship began to sway, the cabin had a lot of creeks and pops all night long. We got did used to the noises rather quickly. We always cruise with a balcony and would recommend this type of cabin to anyone. It is worth the extra money.