This was an excellent cruise. We actually embarked in Long Beach (not on the option list for writing this review). Since we booked a Suite, we had VIP check-in and the entire process was smooth and fast. We were ushered to the embarkation picture station and within 15 minutes, we were on the Lido deck enjoying our tropical drinks, music and lunch. The ship is beautiful and the lunch was excellent. The first night we explored the ship and our room. We had a private balcony and spent a lot of time on it because the weather was so nice. We had dinner in the Captain's dining room and everything was excellent. Our servers were fantastic. The kids, ages 11 and 13, went to the Camp Carnival activities every day. They had discos every evening. The casino was varied in games and not crowded. We enjoyed the Karaoke Bar, it was always lively. The disco and the comedy show were fun too. We attended a dance performance one night and it was of professional quality, the dancers were well trained and the sound was perfect. The only thing I didn't like was the location and structure of the Taj Mahal theatre. There are poles (like columns) in a few areas of the room, if crowded, people would not be able to see the shows from behind those columns. We are coffee lovers, so it was great that they had two espresso shops on board!!! The first port was Puerta Vallarta, we did the dolphin excursion and water park. It was excellent. Air conditioned bus took us to the park and the staff were ready for us. The park was not crowded and we were able to do the dolphin excursion first, then use the pools and water slides for the remainder of the time. We had lunch there and the prices were fair. The most expensive part of the excursion was the DVD and pictures of swimming with the dolphins. The DVD and photos are top notch, but pricey, and they have them ready for you before you leave the park, which I thought was great. The kids loved this excursion and have asked to do it again on another vacation. The second port was Mazatlan. The boat actually docks next to a shipyard and then little golf care trolleys take the passengers into the town. We went shopping in the plaza just outside the gates and had a snack and $1 beers and $2 margaritas/daiquiris. It was sunny. There were massage chairs set up in the plaza that were always full, umbrella tables and a gazebo in which some Mexican dancers performed in full Mexican dress. There was also a band. Great relaxing time. The only thing I didn't like about Mazatlan was that the Mariachi band was playing outside our window when we arrived at 7:30 a.m. We had stayed up the previous night and were quite tired, planning on going into Mazatlan about noon. The last port was beautiful Cabo San Lucas. It is a tendered port and we were able to get some great pictures of the Arch and Sea of Cortez from our balcony when we arrived. We ate a late breakfast on the Lido deck and then headed into Cabo about 11 am. The tenders ran every 15 min or so and we had no problems getting on one. We got a 45 min glass bottom boat ride around the Sea of Cortez and the sea lion rock and pelican rock for $10 for 2 people. The boat driver then dropped us off at the beach and we had lunch and participated in the beach trivia contest that was going on. It was great, there was music and beach chairs, the servers were excellent. We took another glass bottom boat for $2 back to the pier to catch our tender. Two of our party rented a jet ski for 2 hours for $85, they said it was the best time. This cruise had 2 formal nights, the room steward was speedy in getting the formal wear pressed and returned to us. The grand buffet night was excellent. It was just a fantastic cruise and we are looking forward to going again. It has something for everyone, even the kids and there was not one minute of boredom. Next, we would like to do the Acapulco, Ixtapa, San Diego route.