Departing San Diego was much easier than Long Beach. Line moved a lot faster and we were on board in about 15 minutes. Although boarding starts at 1:30pm, we got on at noon and there were already many people aboard. I traveled with my wife and 9 year old. This was our 2nd Cruise with Carnival, the first being on the Carnival Pride. When we went to our cabin, our room was ready and we were able to drop our handbags off. We went to the Tiffany restaurant to eat lunch. The food was so so. Not much of a variety of flavors. On returning to our cabin, the door lock wouldn't open causing us to wait another hour before we could get back in while the maintenance team replaced the door lock. The room was in poor condition, with the drawers sticking so bad we abandoned using them. Our room telephone fell apart and didn't work. Our steward had to get that fixed. The windows were pretty dirty on the outside and the carpeting is stained. I was not impressed with the condition of the ship. (I learned that the ship is scheduled for overhaul in the spring...should be sooner Staff: Waiters were outstanding "Joseph" and "Tomo" were very friendly and worked hard to make us have an enjoyable experience. Cabin Steward was also very friendly and was there when we called for him. He kept our cabin neatly stowed and fresh ice avail at all times. Cruise director - Was ok, I guess I was expecting the same as the cruise director on the PRIDE. I only heard her a few times on the intercom system, unlike the Pride director who was constantly on telling us of upcoming events. Entertainment: Entertainment was not very good. Dancers and singers need some work. The comic act was very funny. The magician was so-so. Activities only allowed limited participation so when lines formed for things such as the great race only about 8 couples could do it.. Camp Carnival- was fun for my daughter, but having to check her in an out at different hours made it hard to go to activities because of time limitations. Ports of Call: Cabo was very nice, set up to receive tourist. Clean town and friendly people. Ensenada is pretty much an ugly city. We took a tour to La Bufadora. The van we rode in was a wreck. No shocks, torn upholstery, ceiling fabric duct taped together and a 1" gap between the walls and the floor..horrible experience. The tour takes you to La Bufadora which isn't worth seeing. A guide takes you through a gauntlet of shops and recommends restaurants and shops. We ate lunch and Banana Hanna a nice looking clean restaurant. When the bill came, I noticed that the waiter tried to over charge us adding additional drinks that weren't ordered. Had to get him to fix it before we left. Carnival should find a new port of call for this cruise...maybe Mazatlan instead. Departing the ship in San Diego was a snap. I was off the ship, through customs and in a cab in about 15-20 minutes. Much easier than Long Beach terminal.

Recommendations: Unless you are strapped for time, I would take the 7 day cruise to different ports of call than Ensenada. Carnival Elation is pretty beat up, so if you have a choice go with a newer ship like the Carnival Pride or wait till the Elation gets fixed.