My wife and I chose this cruise because some good friends were taking it and asked several other couples to join them - so we did! Altogether there were about 6 couples. The ports of call for this cruise were Santa Barbara, San Francisco (overnight), Monterrey, Avalon (Catalina Island) and Ensenada, MX. There were NO sea days, making this a bit of a different cruise.
We drove over from Phoenix, AZ with one other couple a day ahead and stayed on the Queen Mary, about 15 minutes from the San Pedro Cruise terminal. We've done that before, and was a great way to kick off this cruise (be sure to eat at Sir Winston's for dinner).
On embarkation day, we arrived about 11:30, and were aboard by about 12:30 - fairly easy and well organized. Our stateroom was #2166 (ocean-view) - very well appointed. Rooms were ready promptly at abut 1:00 p.m.; luggage arrived a bit later. Storage space was thoughtful - be sure to use the area above the TV! Our cabin attendant, Mimi, was one of the sweetest people we've met! (On an afternoon where I was not feeling well, she checked with my wife several times to see if she could help with anything!)
Very well appointed. Very quiet! We heard no noise from either neighbor, nor anything above or below.
We had a great time walking around. Lots of restaurants and seafood!
Our group rented golf carts - about $45 for an hour. It's a great way to see the island. There was a marine layer when we arrived, so we were able to ride above it and get some great photos!