LOS ANGELOS Port: We arrived from Calgary, Canada to the LAX a day before the cruise. We stayed at the Travel Lodge hotel by the airport. It was a cheap, no frills motel. From that motel to the ship was approximately $70.00 for the cab and it took 25 minutes.

EMBARKATION: It went fairly smoothly with little wait time. We could not go straight on as some cruise reports stated. It could be because we were not platinum or diamond level. We had to wait in this one area before we could board the ship. We were at the port around 10:45 and I think we got on the ship around 11:30. The Windjammer cafe was open and we ate there, explored the ship, played some mini-golf and were able to get into our stateroom by 1:30.

ROOMS: We had a room with a balcony on Deck 8. The queen sized bed was very comfortable and to me, there was ample room to put things away. There are hangers in the closet and a little clothesline in the shower (enough to hang two bathing suits).There is shampoo in the shower and a bar of soap is provided (like in a motel), but we brought our own toiletries. We have two teenage boys and they stayed in the stateroom across the hall from us. They were in an interior room with twin beds. Their bathroom was manageable, but small and there is enough room to put away clothes. There is no clock in the room, except on the phone (difficult to see at night), so I would suggest bringing a travel alarm clock. There is an outlet by the desk to plug in curling irons, etc. Read more