When it's cold outside in CA and the office is closing down for the holiday, what better way to spend the time than on a cruise to Mexico! This was my 10th cruise, but my first experience with NCL and "free-style cruising". We booked the trip with NCL based on the date of departure/return.

NCL advises passengers to fly to LAX, although Long Beach airport is a viable option and is actually 1 mile closer to the port. We took a shuttle to the port from LAX and wished in retrospect that we'd been organized enough to plan the transfer through the cruise-line. It probably would have kept my skin from losing all color as I watched the shuttle driver split lanes while reading his e-mail, etc.

Happily though, we arrived at the port in-tact and ready to board the Norwegian Star. The boarding process was easy and seamless, and we found ourselves on the ship before noon. The staterooms were not ready to occupy until about 2:30, so passengers generally explored the ship during this time and most eventually proceeded to the buffet for lunch. Read more