Hello fellow cruisers!!  Join in on this wonderful cruise!  My wife and I will be in one aft cabin on the Panorama deck and my folks will be next door.  We can't wait!!

You might be in the cabin we just vacated!

Well, we are in 8275 and 8277 - what cabin were you in?

 our cabin is 8268

 My husband and I will be on this cruise! Although we have an interior room all the way at the front of the ship. I'm a little worried about noise and/or rocking of the ship from the very front, but I think we will have a great time! This will be my fourth cruise, 2nd with Carnival. I have sailed on the Pride before and had a great time! My husband has never been on a cruise before, and he isn't sure what to expect. His parents went on a cruise about 20 years ago and thought it was the worst vacation ever, and I cannot disagree with them more. My husband is caught in the middle not knowing whether he will have a great time or a miserable time! We are on a definite budget, so any tips on fun and exciting shore excursions that are less expensive would greatly help! Oh, also we will be driving from Northern California to San Diego on Thanksgiving, any suggestions for inexpensive, but nice hotels to stay at? We would love to be able to park our car there during our cruise as well. Thanks!

Hello All;

My partner and I will be on this cruise!  Looking forward to a wonderful time.  My second cruise/ partners 5th; all with Carnival.  Have not cruised on this new of a ship, want to try the Supper Club and other features on the newer ships!

My husband and I are on this cruise (our 12th) Room 7156 I think.  We are staying at the Sofia Hotel across from Horton Plaza but I hear there is a Hampton Inn near the Port that is pretty reasonable.  We selected the Sofia because it is close to a restaurant where we plan to have Thanksgiving dinner.  Not sure what you call reasonable rate but $107 a night is what we got.

See you on the Spirit!!

Haven't decided on the T-giving night hotel but am looking around as that was the best travel day for us.  Have never been to SanDiego before....thinking want to be near the port to see the ships come in....might be difficult as Miami was kinda difficult to get a room in last year.

 4 of us on this one! All of us have been on numerous cruises, but we have one first timer.  Looking forward to it!

 As for the hotels in San Diego...I live in San Diego, but rarely STAY at hotels here.  Recently, we went to a concert and wanted to eat and party in the Gaslamp District (the cool area downtown) and then be able to take a cab to the concert venue and back to a hotel.  Some of our friends were staying at a 3 star hotel in the Gaslamp for about $170 per night (Gaslamp Plaza Suites). I thought it looked to old and small for my tastes, so I went on to priceline.com and entered my general area of downtown (and I think it included the harbor area also), plus I put in 4 stars.  We wound up at the Manchester Grand Hyatt ON the harbor for under half of what they were paying.  I think it was $69 or so. Just plug in a low amount like $40 or so and work your way up until a price is accepted.  I LOVE priceline!

Another good site to check out is yelp.com.  If you are not familiar with it, it is a site where people review everything from restaurants, to doctors, to well...you name it!  Plug in "hotels" and San Diego, Ca 92101 (downtown zip) and see what comes up. Here's the link: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=hotels&ns=1&find_loc=San+Diego%2C+CA+92101

A note of caution about the hotel I mentioned...it has a mixed review on yelp due to the fact that a lot of "yelpers" seem to support *** rights.  The owner of this hotel supported Prop.8 and there are reviews on there that are flat out ridiculous.  Someone said there are bedbugs.  It's outdated.  Blahblahblah.  I was there at the beginning of October and it was immaculate.  Very nice hotel (if you like big hotels), and we had a water and pool view.  I'd recommend that!

If you like historic hotels or smaller places, then I'd suggest finding a hotel IN the Gaslamp District.  It's eight blocks long (from Broadway to Harbor Drive) and two blocks wide (from Fourth to Sixth Avenues). Go here for more info: http://www.gaslamp.org/ or here for the map: http://www.gaslamp.org/location_&amp%3B_directions.html

And, if you have any more questions, just let me know!  Enjoy your stay in San Diego!

Echick,

   I live in San diego too and have stayed at the Hyatt. I like it and enjoy the Sea Port Village that is right outside the side doors. Never had a bed bug bite us either and the staff is great.

   We do like Holiday Inn on the bay because of the balcony and the view of the bay. Of course the Embassy gives happy hour and a free breakfast. Sometimes we have been lucky enough to get a bay view balcony.

Thanks all for the ideas and suggestions.  We are at the Holiday Inn on T-giving night up bright and early for embarcation  :D

Looking forward to this vacation!

 We will also be on the Panorama deck and are travelling with our two kids 4 and 18month old.  Looking forward to the first curise on the Carnival and the first curise with the kids..

Hi,

 My husband and I will be sailing on this date as well.  We are staying @ the Holiday Inn accross the street from the pier.  We are in our mid forties and traveling with no children.  I hope to make many friends.

 My mate and I will be on this sailing onboard. Cabin 6136 Empress Deck. We are long time residents of San Diego. 

This is my first Carnival cruise (cruised with Royal....about 15 years ago) and the first cruise of his life for my mate. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about San Diego...if we don't know we'll sure try to find out for you.