This review is from the perspective of a first-time cruiser.

We arrived at the San Pedro port about 10 am (having arrived from Arizona the day before) and checked in early at the Queen Mary and were told to go through the Zone 1 line when it formed. The Carnival employees at the Queen Mary were nice and helpful. It felt good to get rid of our luggage. We still had 2 tote bags. In retrospect, I would carry on a rolling bag the next time - I got tired of carrying my laptop in that tote bag.

We sat on a park bench and took pictures of the ship. It was very warm in the sun. We brought water bottles, but I wanted a diet coke! It was against all that was in me to spend $2 on one from a machine, so I endured. Read more