After working solid for 3 weeks with no time off, I had to find a quick weekend away to maintain my household's domestic tranquility. We have booked a 7 day on Carnival Legend for the end of May, but I needed something RIGHT NOW! So I checked Carnival's website and found a 3 day cruise at a ridiculously low fare out of San Diego, and booked it as a surprise for my Faithful Spouse (FP). The Elation would take us to Ensenada, then one day at sea. Three nights after leaving San Diego, we'd be back. It sounded like a cruise version of a Greyhound trip, but I was desperate to get out of town.

I told my FP that we were heading out early one morning, but didn't tell him where. Only as we started the 6 hour drive to San Diego from Tucson at 5:30 am did I tell him where we were headed. To my astonishment, he was all for it.

We arrived at the pier at 12 noon, and parked across the street. It was a 5 minute walk to the Cruise Terminal. Check-in was not supposed to start until 12:30 pm, but our bags were checked, and we were ready to board the ship by 12:20 pm. Oops, not so fast!! It seems that right after we checked in there was a communications failure between the ship's computer and the Sign and Sail Card printer in the cruise terminal. So no cards could be printed for about 20 minutes and no one could board, as the passengers began stacking up. To Carnival's credit, they kept us informed as to what was happening, and no one seemed unduly upset. When the problem was fixed, boarding resumed. Read more