We flew into LAX from Edinburgh the day before the cruise. We stayed at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro the night before the cruise. The hotel was fine for a night but would not want to base myself there if spending time in LA. We had dinner in the Whale & Ale which is 2 minutes walk from the hotel and then had breakfast at the Happy Diner the next morning, which was very good value.

We arranged a private tour of LA and our driver picked us up with our luggage at 8.30am. Our 4 hour tour was a great way to get an overview of LA. I had been before but my husband had not. We were dropped off at the pier just after 12.30. We left our luggage with the porters on the dock (remembering to tip) and proceeded to a very lengthy line for check in. The check in queue took 1.5 to 2 hours but the staff were very friendly. Our room (an inside mid-ship cabin) was available as soon as we boarded and our luggage arrived about 5pm.

We had lunch and some drinks at the poolside grill and enjoyed some drinks in the atrium bar prior to the muster drill. Read more