We stayed at a local hotel with a Park and Stay package (highly recommended, btw) the night before the cruise began in San Diego. Taking the hotel shuttle to the port was great, and everything was very organized there considering the number of passengers (2200) that were boarding. I'm not sure how things would function with more than one cruise departing on the same day, might be a little confusing. In a nutshell, the cruise was fantastic. The food was great, the crew was great, there were many activities on the ship on sea days, and shore excursions on port days. We were looking for rest and relaxation, and were very happy that was exactly what we got. We especially liked the "My Time Dining" in that we didn't have to eat at the same time every evening, or get stuck with table partners we didn't like. If you don't get there right at 6:00 to eat, then you may have to wait to get a table. We ate around 7 PM most nights, and didn't have to wait once. This is supposed to be a "test" for the "My Time Dining" and I hope they keep it around. I know we'll use it every time! One thing we weren't expecting was the lack of a crowd on the ship. We thought it would be crowded everywhere, considering the 2200 passengers, but the only time that many were evident was at breakfast on Disembarkation Day. This ship does a remarkable job giving its guests a plethora of activities on 13 decks to keep everyone happy. One word of advice...the only electrical outlets are at the desk, and we were advised to bring a surge protector and an extension cord. I sleep with a CPAP machine and would never have been able to get connected without them. There are huge amounts of storage space, a medicine cabinet, shelves behind desk mirrors, and enough space under the bed to store luggage. All in all, we were sorry we weren't on a "back to back" cruise because 5 days was way too short!!