LaRue1975

Medano Beach in Cabo is perfect. When you walk out of the dock area there will be tons of barkers selling water taxi tours of the arches and they can also drop you off and pick you up from Medano beach. We paid $17 per person but we had 7 in our group, I think it is normally $20 PP. The tour of the arches was fabulous and so was the beach. You tell the captain what time you want to be picked up and he comes back to get you, you are required to stay at least 2 hours. The beach and water are wonderful, closest to the Caribbean I have seen on the Pacific Ocean. The beach is lined with bars and restaurants with beach loungers and inside covered seating. The most popular are Mango Deck and the Office. We went to the Hungry Shark because it was the closest to where we were dropped off and really enjoyed it. You can look them up online and make reservations if you want to. In Puerto Vallarta there are nice beach resorts in Puerto Nuevo about thirty minutes from the port. You can book day passes through Resort For A Day and taxi to and from. The beaches and surf are very similar to Southern California so I think you will find them appropriate for swimming if is not an exceptionally rough day. We took our grandson to the Marriott because it is in town and close the port. The beach there is not as nice as Puerto Nuevo but he was out there anyway rolling around in the waves. I think people that are used to the Caribbean and Florida beaches are intimidated by the big surf in the Pacific Ocean. The pool was huge and gorgeous, we had a great day there. The nearby Westin is also an option. Look into Stone Island in Mazatlan, I have not been there but heard good things and the beach looks lovely. You can find lots of info and pics on Trip Advisor. It’s a short walk from the ship where you can hire a water taxi to take you there. I’ll add a few pics of Cabo and the Marriott for reference.

Lastly they had these Rubber ducky Lanyards at Cherry on top marked down to $1.75. I bought one for each of us. Not to sound old fashioned but, I’m not into the new lanyard styles that have the boat wheel at the bottom, makes the lanyard feel too bulky for me The hubby and I didn’t like the heaviness and length of the new lanyards so he took the boat wheels off and they are perfect now. I am going to put cruise pics in the boat wheels and use them for Christmas ornaments. I’m enjoying your review, we did this cruise over New Years and had a fantastic time. It was raining before we boarded also and the parking ticket machine was broken back then too. The port is really dropping the ball on this issue as it makes the drive in so much longer, just fix the dang thing! 😡 I am looking forward to the rest of your report, thanks!

Sky Zone is awesome, there is an extra charge but it is reasonable. They have regular sessions during the day and glow in the dark ones in the evenings. Those are a bit more but the kids get a souvenir glow in the dark t-shirt and it’s pretty wild with loud music. My grandson loved the staff, they made it super fun with lots of kidding around. The Rock & Glow deck party is fun too, I brought a bunch of glow in the dark baseballs from the Dollar Tree for him to share with his new friends and they had a ball tossing them around. They can have dinner with the kids club too, he would have gone every night if we let him, lol! They serve it in a roped off area in the buffet and they’ll take them directly from the club or you can just check them in at the buffet at 6. Then you can have a nice quiet kids free dinner. The water park and slides will be a huge hit with your boys too. They have them on all the ships but the ones on the Vista and Panorama are bigger and better than the older ships. Plus you are closer to Long Beach than LAX so you can save gas, another good reason to choose the Panorama! 😜

I think you should definitely consider the Panorama this time and save the Caribbean for your next cruise. The Panorama is the crown jewel of the Vista class ships, I have been on her 5 times in the last two years. We took our 9 year old grandson on his first cruise on the Panorama in October 2022 and are taking him again this August. He had the time of his life on the ship, we didn’t do that much in the ports other than a day pass to the Marriott in PV which he loved. This year we are going with our friends and their two grandsons and have excursions booked. The Panorama has the Sky Zone trampoline park which the Vista does not plus Guys Smokehouse & Brewery and the Teppanyaki Grill. The Teppanyaki restaurant was so much fun, the Chef was very entertaining and our grandson had a blast. We have it booked again with the three boys. The kids club is fantastic, he wanted to go every day. The water park, Sky Zone and Sky Ride were huge hits and so were the deck parties, they are kid friendly. The money you save on airfare will be more money for the ports, excursions and specialty dining. You will also need at least one night hotel if you sail out of the East Coast. Plus all the hassle of flying and dealing with airports, it is so easy to drive to the port and no weight limits on your bags! 😜 I love the Caribbean and enjoy the ports more but the Panorama and the ease of sailing from your home port would make it an easy choice for me. We do plan to take him to the Caribbean on an Exel class ship for his 13th birthday. Have a great time whatever you decide, Carnival is great for family cruises, they are serious about their Fun Ship reputation!

The full inside restaurant with table service is only open for dinner and is not free. You pay for the items ordered and the prices are reasonable. The outside lunch buffet is free and open on embarkation and sea days. It’s good and you are welcome to eat inside the restaurant but they have a lot of tables outside on the deck too. Embarkation is a great time to try it, most people don’t know about it so it’s not busy. My friend and I were the first ones to arrive and a server was out there to take our drink order too. We got a lovely table overlooking the dome, it was perfect!

I was on this cruise and did the Platinum carry off luggage debarkation. We were in our car pulling out of the garage shortly after 8:30. You meet in the showroom at 8:30, we got there at 8 and there were already a lot of people in there. They had us line up our suitcases near the exit which is down front by the stage. The people that were already seated in the theater suitcases were lined up on the deck outside the exit. We had only been sitting for a few minutes when the ship was cleared and debarkation began. We didn’t stop moving except for the few seconds it took for the customs camera to verify our passports. If you are on the 7 or 8 day cruise there is a chance you could arrive later but the Panorama has been doing well since the recent repair. Also, the taxi/Uber situation is terrible at the terminal but hopefully you will be off early enough to avoid the worst of it. Around 9 to 10 AM the traffic entering the port gets backed up to a stand still with the large trucks supplying the ship and people arriving early for departure. Ubers stop accepting rides and you could wait an hour or more to get one, not sure about the taxi availability. This was our first time doing carry off and we will be doing it from now on, it couldn’t have been easier. The Panorama is our favorite ship, enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the heads up. On the Panorama now and had no idea this was an option, just checked the Hub app and it is. I am definitely going to order the teriyaki pizza tomorrow, we always order delivery for pizza anyway so the cost is the same.

We were on the Panorama for the New years cruise in a 6th deck aft wrap and hubby’s brother was in the aft balcony next to us. We had no soot on our balconies and didn’t notice any in the Havana pool area. It was only its second week back in service and the weather was cooler, not sure if that makes a difference. We loved our cabins and the whole Havana experience, enjoy!

Thanks to reading your reviews I booked a pool cabana the day I booked my Celebration cruise over a year ago. It’s in May, absolutely can’t wait and these pics make me even more exited. I also booked a beach cabana in Mahogany Bay last year which we loved. With the price increase we are one and done for cabanas unless traveling with others but thank you for the recommendations. Oh, and I booked Paradise Beach in Cozumel yesterday for our Jubllee cruise in November, you haven’t steered me wrong yet. 😜 Now I need to catch up on this review, it’s been another fun ride so far!

Thanks for the great review, I loved every minute of it! Especially because for this one I was literally along for the ride. I don’t think we ran into each other except I think I was watching the Rock & Glow party from the 11th deck port side not far from you. If I would have known you were on the ship I had recognized your gorgeous hair and introduced myself. My hubby’s number was picked for Deal Or No Deal and our friend’s number was called for the second game which was crazy! Neither did very well but it sure was fun! I see you have an upcoming cruise in May, us too, the Celebration. I hope we cruise together again!

This is from 2021 and obviously hasn’t happened as yet but it would be wonderful for West Coast cruisers if it did. The Ensenada plans sound doable but I am not sure they can get approval for something that big and touristy in La Paz. It has stayed pristine for a reason and giant cruise ships would completely change the landscape. The resistance would be huge but they don’t have to deal with the California Coastal Commission, so maybe! 😜

I don’t see it in coming to the West Coast, there are only two ports that would work with that size ship, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. I am not sure how efficient tendering would be in Cabo and La Paz doesn’t have the infrastructure to support 6000 passengers. The town is 30 minutes from the pier and there is very little to do there, not many restaurants or shops. The on the water excursions are limited because the areas with the excellent snorkeling, sea lions and whale sharks are in a protected area of the Sea Of Cortez and only a small number of boats are allowed in daily. The famous Balandra Beach also has limited access with morning and afternoon sessions and it is an hour from the pier. Ensenada would be swamped with 6000 passengers plus it sucks anyway, lol! Sure would be nice though, I would be happy with the two ports and 4 sea days on a new Exel ship!

I noticed this on the Panorama last month but not for every drink. I think it might be when you order premium liquor and it showed up when I ordered Grey Goose or Patron. I just looked at my invoice and it either says On Us Premium - bar name or just lists the bar name, it was like that for all the bars. I don’t remember seeing it listed like that before, maybe they are thinking of selling two tiers of drink packages and they could do the same with Drinks On Us comps. I’ll ask the bartenders about it when I’m on the Panorama again next week.

I enjoyed your review so much, thank you! Especially because I was on board with you, first time to read a review for a cruise I was also on. Now there is another one as I was on the Panorama in October with Wildra too, who knew? We were a group of 10 retired friends celebrating my hubby’s 70th birthday on NYE, to say we had a completely different cruise experience would be an understatement, lol! I loved reading about Ian and how well he did and all the family fun you had together. The Panorama is my favorite ship so far, will board her again on the 18th with my best gal pal, Girls Cruise! Or more accurately Mature Ladies Cruise! 🤣🤣🤣 I look forward to your next review!

The post with the scary excursion story from La Paz is in Deladane’s review that is active now. I think they posted in our Facebook group too and I wasn’t as disappointed our excursion was cancelled hearing how rough it was on the water that day. I totally understand your desire to get to Balandra Bay, it looks fabulous! The problem is the capacity limits, once they are reached they don’t let anyone else in. We were told a lot of people get all the way there, can’t get in and waste their whole day. It’s also split into morning and afternoon sessions which make it hard to do from a cruise ship. I think it is 9 to 1 and 1 to 5. I don’t think you can get there by 9 so risk not getting in at all. The afternoon session doesn’t give you much time on the beach before you would have to leave to get back to the ship in time. The tour company you are working with can explain the rules and time frames so you will have a good idea whether it could work for you or not. Maybe they could suggest a local taxi or Uber driver that you could prearrange to pick you up at the ship and get you to the harbor on time. I hope it works out for you, looking forward to your review!