We went on this cruise with about 10 other friends. It was convenient as we are all from Arizona and Southern California, so San Diego embarkation was perfect. We drove over the day before with another couple and stayed right across from the port. We last sailed HAL (Oosterdam) on the same Mexican Riviera itinerary back in 2010, so were anxious to see how they compare.

EMBARKATION: The port in San Diego is very congested, and the warehouse structure serving as the terminal doesn't help. It is convenient but could you a remodel or update. You had to arrive by the time on your boarding pass, but it was still very congested with long lines. The process took about 1 hour until boarding the ship.

STATEROOM: We were in room 7144 (aft), just in back of the aft elevator. It is a veranda. Perfect location for walking up to the lido/pool or down to restaurants and entertainment. No noise at all from the elevators even though they were just around the corner. Room was nicely laid out with plenty of storage. It worked well for us and would book again. Read more