As an introduction, my wife and I are in our early 50's. This was our 3rd cruise. Our 2nd on the Star and our 2nd to the Mexican Riviera. Stops this cruise included Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.
We arranged for NCL transfers from LAX to the ship and were disappointed with this service. On our previous cruise this went off splendidly but this time was different. We arrived at the airport around 11 AM and were greeted by an NCL representative who was very friendly and welcoming. Instead of the standard NCL bus transfer, however, the group of about 10 of us fellow cruisers were loaded into 2 Airport shuttle vans and driven to the pier where we were expected to tip our driver, unload our own bags and then locate and tip a porter. Definitely not what we had paid for, in our opinion.
Embarkation went smoothly. We were aboard the Star within 30 minutes, and welcomed with champagne (apple juice for us non-drinkers), and in our cabin by 3PM.
Nicely decorated cabin. Comfortable beds.