Elation 3-night from San Diego

I recently went on Carnival's 3-night Baja California cruise out of
San Diego, going to Ensenada. It was a fairly last-minute trip with a
friend looking to get out of the New England winter.

The trip was pleasant, the food and service were good. We especially
enjoyed the Warm Chocolate Melting cake for dessert every night.

I liked the decor of the Elation more than most of the Carnival ships
- it was a little more understated and less neon-y.

We just got off the ship in Ensenada and walked around the town. I was
impressed at how clean it was. I've been to the port there on a couple
of other cruises, but this was the first time I'd gotten off the ship.
The shopping isn't much to speak of, but we still enjoyed the
afternoon. We had a lovely chat with a lady and her daughter who owned
a jewelry shop and were celebrating their store's 25th anniversary. We
got fish tacos at a street vendor cart about a block east of the
shuttle bus stop. They were fabulous!

Mostly I wanted to mention our hotel, the Best Western Bayside Inn.
It's only a few blocks east of the cruiseship terminal, and since we
had been able to pack in carry-ons for such a short trip, we just
walked up to the hotel after getting off the ship. I paid about $150
for a room with two queen-sized beds, which was less than most of the
hotels I was looking at. The room was generously sized, clean, and
comfortable. The hotel was far enough away from the train tracks that
we never heard the trains (although our rooms did face away from the
tracks). There was an iron, microwave, coffee pot, fairly large mini-
fridge, hairdryer, and free wi-fi. They have a free shuttle to and
from the airport (5-minute drive), and a continental breakfast is
included. (The oatmeal and cream-of-wheat looked really watery, but
they had scrambled eggs, which were good. There were also some
pastries and cold cereal.) There's an pool and hot tub, located in an
interior courtyard away from the street. The employees were helpful
and friendly. I think they normally have a computer in the lobby for
guests to use, but it wasn't working, so they allowed us to use the
office computer to print our airplane boarding passes.

I would definitely stay there again, and would certainly recommend it
to other cruisers - though if you have a lot of luggage, walking to/
from the ship might not be the best option. A taxi ride would be
pretty cheap, though, since it's only a few blocks. (By the way, it
was just under $10, not including tip, for the 5-minute taxi ride from
the airport to the cruise ship. I love taking cruises out of San Diego
- it's so much easier than LA.)

The hotel was also a great location for having dinner in Little Italy
- we just walked a few blocks down the street to Buon Appetito, which
was fabulous.

For our afternoon in San Diego, one of our shipmates recommended the
Old Town Trolley bus tour (hop on, hop off). The bus stop is right by
the ship terminal, so after dropping off our luggage at the hotel and
freshening up, we walked back down and took the tour. Since we didn't
start the tour until the afternoon, we didn't have time to get off at
many of the stops, but it was a nice trip because it takes you down to
Coronado (where we had lunch and enjoyed walking around the beach and
the Hotel del Coronado grounds), then up to Balboa Park and Old Town.
There are various other stops along the way, including the Gaslamp
district, and the bus drivers give you a nice history of the area.

Prior to this, the shortest cruise I'd been on was 4 nights (I prefer
at least 7), so I expected that it would feel very rushed. I was
pleased to find that it really didn't. I think it helped that there
was a port day the first day, and a sea day the second day. I'd still
rather go on a longer cruise, but this was my friend's first cruise,
and she didn't have enough time for a longer one. It was a great first
cruise for her.