A big plus for us was cruising out of San Diego; we flew in a day early and spent two days after the cruise in this lovely city. Loved the friendly people, the excellent bus transportation system (they even included transport to the airport on an excellent MTS bus and that was included in our $5 all day pass.

We visited the Zoo, Balboa Park, Old Town, the Gaslamp quarter and Seaport Village, all using public transport. Next time we know to get to our hotel using the excellent airport bus which also stops right in front of the cruise terminal. We stayed at the Sofia hotel in the downtown area and were able to walk to and from the ship with our wheeled luggage - about a 3 block walk. This is a great hotel, right on bus transport. routes. The rooms are small since it is an old historic hotel that has recently been renovated, but the rooms are beautiful and the service is excellent. There is a coffee shop right next door. A 7-11 is on the corner for snack food and a Baja Express and great sushi restaurant are about a block up the street. You are also located a half a block away from Horton Plaza shopping center.

Embarkation was OK - a bit confused - Carnival had us line up inside for luggage drop off when we could simply have dropped off our bags curbside outside. We generally arrive at the cruise terminals well before the suggested time, but this does not work well with Carnival because no matter what time you arrive, they will not let you on the ship until noon and your room until 1:30. Lunch was available on the Lido deck and was crowded but the food was good. Read more