We got there the day before and stayed in SpringHill Suites San Diego Downtown/Bayfront right across the street from the cruise port. It was a great hotel, still pretty much brand new and with great view. We booked a corner suite and requested a “good view of our cruise ship” and got what we asked.
We used to live in Long Beach, CA, and since my husband was in the navy, we have visited San Diego many times before, so we didn’t do any sightseeing.
We had been alerted about the women’s march happening right on the street between our hotel and the cruise port on the day of our embarkation. Although Holland America sent us an email advising us to come to the port at 2 pm, we planned on going there before the traffic was closed off at 10 am. I figured, as long as we can get to the other side of the street before the march started, we’d wait there till 2 pm if necessary. Fortunately, the port opened early, so we were able go to the port (we walked there) before the mess started and wait inside the port building.
Because we got there early, we did have to wait a bit before we were able to check in and wait a little more to actually board the ship (both times we were seated, so no standing in lines,) but it was much smoother than anticipated. And we were on board before 11:30 am.
We departed at around 5 pm, one hour later than originally scheduled. Considering that many people didn’t arrive until after 2pm, I thought that was pretty good.
Crunchii's Cruise Blog 