We went on this trip looking forward to a restful trip. We had been reading the reviews on the Star and were concerned with traveling Freestyle. We have mainly sailed with RCI and love it. First let me say that you make your own trip and if you go with the attitude that you are going to have a good time, then you will.
Arrival at LAX went well. We chose to take our own taxi to the pier. Our plane landed about 10:00 a.m. from Detroit and we were at the pier by 11:30 a.m. The drive took about a half hour and cost about $50.00. Embarkation took about an hour. I guess this wasn't too bad since we have had to wait that long before with RCI and Carnival. The people were helpful and friendly. Because we had registered online, when we got to the counter it took about 5 minutes and we were ready to board the ship.
Our room was a balcony room and quite nice. Maybe smaller than some but the bathroom was very nice and had a great shower. Our room was clean and our luggage arrived in record time. We were so tired the first night that we ate room service. The food was great and we used room service again during the week. Not having to tip was great (this is since the tips are added to your account at the end of the week).