This was my second cruise but first time w/RCCL. We booked this trip summer of 2005 through a local travel agent's "best bets". It was myself (female, 28), younger brother (24) & older cousin (male, 35). We had two cabins.

We had transfers included in our package (not through RCCL) and were met at LAX without any trouble. I thought that we would get in the van and head directly for San Pedro. Not the case. We cruised around LAX for the next 30 minutes collecting other passengers to fill the van. Once we arrived at San Pedro I saw hundreds of people milling around outside the Celebrity ship, it looked like chaos. Thankfully when we pulled up to RCCL's dock it looked like everything was under control. We tipped the porter to take care of our bags and headed into the terminal. Warning: homeland security really is serious about you not taking pics inside the terminal. We got yelled at. Check-in was really easy. They had different lineups for different decks. There were only about 4 people ahead of us in line. Even w/ a computer glitch that caused a delay it went very fast. The security screening took a little longer but before we knew it we were on the ship.

We were on the ship by noon and couldn't get into our cabins until 1pm. So we went upstairs to the Windjammer Cafe to eat. The food was really good. Much better than I expected. The mashed potatoes tasted real! Not something you usually find in a buffet. I made the mistake of buying a pop card. WASTE OF MONEY! At home I drink one pop a day. I think we figured out that you needed to drink 6 a day in order to make it worth while. Well, you live and learn. Read more