Worst embarkation experience ever. Because a law prohibits US port to US port cruises, this cruise had to depart from Ensenada, even though most of us checked in at the San Diego port. That wasn't RC's fault, but the lack of communication and botched implementation was! We received no email or call from RC before the cruise (others who did got bad info, though, so that probably wouldn't have helped). We were lead to believe that we would go from the hotel to the San Diego port and then be bussed to Ensanada. Everyone thought arriving early at port would get us on an early bus, but when we arrived for check-in at 11:30, we found that we had been preassigned buses to Mexico (ours was not to leave San Diego for another 5 hours - had we known, we might have delayed our arrival to San Diego by a day). When we finally boarded our bus, we set out on a 5 hour trip in a bus that leaked water horribly, so that we were literally drenched inside as we drove through rain. Fortunately, though, we were at the back of the bus, as the passengers up front said the reckless driving scared them to death on the trip. We finally boarded the ship after 9:00 pm. So much for Day 1.
After the Day 1 debacle, the cruise was fine. The ship is a little small for my taste, but the crew was excellent, and we had a good time. It was a very old clientele, so the energy level was low, but the experience was good. It was our anniversary and our first trip to Hawaii. I would recommend seeing Hawaii for the first time this way (good chance to see multiple islands easily), but not if embarkation is from Ensenada.
Very nice cabin. Lots of storage space. Bed was the usual hard RCCL mattress.