LaRue1975

9 hours ago, ItsADryHumor said:

That’s a great shot! 

I think it was first posted on John Heald’s Facebook page. 

1 hour ago, Kelownabccan said:

Saturday morning at noonish.....still there.....will try to get a friend to go over and see what is smoking....lol

Rumor has it she is heading South Tuesday morning but nothing is confirmed. No doubt she will make it in time for the party! 🥳🎄🛳️🎅🏻🛳️🎄🥳

We’re almost there! 

Here’s a pic you might enjoy, I can hear the song Reunited in my head. ❤️🛳️❤️

1 hour ago, jemrtt said:

We don’t like how close the tables for two are either. It has the propensity to be awkward. 😂

 

We like to check out the MDR on embarkation day, to scout for two-tops that are relatively more private, or booths. We take note of the table numbers. After we check in on the app, if we have been given one of these tables, great.  If not, then we try to ask the hostess for something a bit more private. It works for us. 
On elegant night though, we just take what we get to avoid crowding at the entrance. 
🛳️ 🍽️ 🎉

Another great idea, I am definitely going to try it next time, thanks! 

2 hours ago, Butterbean1000 said:

The table are ridiculously close together.  On an elegant night we were shown to a table with just a few inches clearance on either side.  I had on a full skirt and actually dragged a woman's  plate across the table when I was trying to get seated.  She was irate and I was terribly embarrassed. 

Oh my gosh, that’s horrible! It also 100% sounds like something that would happen to me. 🤦🏼‍♀️

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Go to the left hand side of the entrance to check-in or speak to the check-in desk. The right hand side of the entrance is for when you have an assigned table.

That’s good info, thank you! 

4 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

You certainly can. Or you can just check-in at the front of the restaurant to begin with if you prefer.

But I always make fun of the people waiting in line and clogging up the entrance to the dining room. 😜 I might just try it myself now that I know why. We are with a big group for our New Years cruise so it won’t be a problem and the next one is the Celebration with lots of dining options. It’s not a big deal to me but I have a hard enough time getting hubby to the MDR, he hates all the waiting around between courses which is probably worse in Anytime. 

I’m not sure of the exact timeline but I am sure she will be in Long Beach on time. Carnival would not be so publicly confident if there was any question it will happen.. I’m all checked in for the New Years cruise, whoo-hoo! 🥳🛳️🥳

17! It’s a double whoo-hoo because I am on the Panorama and it’s only been a sure thing for a couple of days, whew! Edited to add I have a 24, 66, 143 and 150 too. That covers the first half of 2024 which is going to be a very good year. 😎

13 minutes ago, lasekeye said:

We’ve had great luck with privacy during My Time Dining, going early (5:30-6:00) & asking to sit along the railing overlooking the downstairs dining room.  This only works if there is a 2 level dining room, of course.

They assign you a table on the app, do you ask for the different table at the desk when you arrive? 

I booked the Early Seating instead of anytime last cruise and went to the dining room after we boarded to find our table, it was a table for 6. I went to the dining room as soon as it it opened and switched to Anytime. The hubby and I don’t like how close they sit us to other tables either but Early Dining was a total fail. Not sure if I want to try again or not. 

I have the repositioning cruise to PC booked for December 2024, got a free balcony deal from the casino. I really want to do this cruise but have come to the realization we just can’t at that time of year. Now they are offering it in early November 2025, perfect! I am going to move my booking there even though I don’t have a casino offer, super happy we can still do this cruise! 

She is about to dock in Victoria, yay! Here is a link to the Ship Report podcast, this site has been invaluable for information during Panorama’s adventure to be repaired. It is also very interesting to learn about all the maritime workers that made it possible for our ship to be repaired in time for the Holiday cruises. Yesterday's podcast was a summery of everything that went into getting it done, it’s very interesting and kudos to all that came to the rescue. We will definitely raise a glass on board in toast to you in the Pacific Northwest, thank you! ❤️🛳️❤️
 

https://shipreport.net/2023/12/11/the-carnival-panorama-heads-back-to-victoria-as-the-saga-continues/?fbclid=IwAR12bznsEBD-lZlVyPdB1JS6_0KiCcX17hemNHM7H5AzOEpx8zwoyruEgKI_aem_AYGr-LOd2xGyaiw4d0TS3z7e8lCcwtzCNXeXfn21cED4s4ja1-lwXEGW3v58Y-OAY44

Looks like all is well with the Panorama, yay! She should be out of the Columbia River in a few hours and on her way to Victoria to retrieve her tail. The President of Carnival and now John Heald on Facebook have both announced that she will be ready for the Christmas cruise December 23rd. I think that is enough assurances to get out the suitcases! 🥳🛳️🥳 

5 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

That means she needs to leave Portland Monday morning, so to allow for some sea trials of the repaired pods, they would likely need to get her off the blocks and out of the dock this evening.

 

And, the estimates put into Marinetraffic via the AIS system, is manually entered by the navigating officer on the ship, and is frequently a "place holder" when waiting on more detailed information.  Not saying it isn't correct, but it is an estimate.

This makes sense because the Ship Report’s info comes from the pilots on the Columbia River and it estimates the Panorama is leaving Portland at 2 AM tonight. So it looks like the sea trials will be the last hurdle they need to get over to be sure we are cruising for Christmas and New Years. There is a cushion for some delay but if the pods fail and she has to go back to dry dock that will not be a happy ending to 2023 for us. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise, I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed! 🤞🤞🤞🤞

The Panorama is officially on schedule to arrive in Victoria Tuesday at 7 AM. That should leave plenty of time to get her tail on and make it home for Christmas, the Holidays are looking bright! 

Here’s a great update! The Ship Report has been a great source of information during the Panorama Saga. ❤️🛳️❤️

17 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

This is interesting, if accurate, as this is the first time I've heard of an azimuth bearing failing, in all the years that azipods have been around, even when subjected to extreme stress from storms like the Anthem of the Seas a couple years ago, where they burned out the azimuth brakes due to fighting the storm.  While they possibly could redesign the azipod for internal replacement of the bearing, since the bearings have not been known to fail all that much, I would be surprised if that modification was already available, and if not, then it would take a year or so to come up with a new design.  I am surprised that there were two azimuth bearing failures (or at least overheating), especially on the same ship, as this bearing does not rotate much, and at low speed, though if they are talking about vibration causing the overheating, this could be a design flaw in the Vista class ships, where the harmonics of the propellers turning at normal cruising speed, are in harmony with the natural frequency of the hull, causing excess vibration.  There may need to be other modifications done to the ship at the next drydock to dampen the vibration, and I think this may actually be what will happen, rather than a redesigned azimuth bearing.  This bearing is in the size of about 10 feet in diameter, and therefore even internal replacement would require cutting a large hole in the side of the ship to bring the new bearing in and the old out.  My guess at modifications would be either structural strengthening around the azipods to change the natural frequency, or a different propeller to again change the speed the propeller needs to turn for cruising speed, or both.

 

Panorama already has the newer XO type azipod, which allows replacement of the more commonly failed thrust bearing from inside the pod, so I had my suspicions about the azimuthing system when they needed to dry dock, though it could have been something else.  Now that I think about it, I don't see how they could redesign the azipod to renew the azimuth bearing without dropping the pod off the ship (which is what they will be doing now), as this bearing is the only support holding the pod into the ship.

 

Apologies if this has gotten a little technical.

Thank you so much for your analysis, I find it very interesting. The general consensus is that a design flaw with the azipods is the lingering problem but I still don’t understand what an azipod is except that is key to propulsion and steering. I really like the Vista class ships and love their Havana area. The Panorama is the cream of the crop and fortunately for me Long Beach is 90 minutes from home so I have big plans for her.  When the current issue arose the word was it was something that had not happened before so everything was up in the air. I’m not sure if that is the case or if it was dry dock availability on the West Coast that was the problem.  Regardless, it definitely seems like things are heading in the right direction, no news today which means we are still on schedule. If I get pics of the repair or any other info I will post it here for those like me that are hoping our cruises are a go. Any input you have is greatly appreciated, I’ve learned a lot already, thank you!

Good news! The Columbia River Pilots Dispatch Status chart changed Panorama’s tentative departure from December 31st to December 11th today. Things are definitely looking up! 

On 12/4/2023 at 2:35 PM, chengkp75 said:

Again, don't want to be debbie downer, but those pictures worry me a little.  I don't see the scaffolding being set up that would be normal for a typical bearing/seal replacement problem.  The first picture shows what looks like a dock arm pressure washing the area around the azimuthing (pod rotation) seal area of the port pod, and the second picture shows what looks like oil dripping from the same azimuth seal on the starboard pod.  This could be more serious than originally thought, or it could just be early into the repair.  

 

Where are these pictures posted?  Hopefully we get some more, and I can try to remote guess what is going on.  Tomorrow should be an important day for clues.

I haven’t seen any additional pics of the repair so far but I did read on the Ship Report page that the Panorama is tentatively scheduled to depart Portland on the 12th with the emphasis on tentative. I believe the person that made the comment works at the dock. Also there have been comments on social media that I thought maybe you could comment on. We are all following along and sharing any info we get but don’t have the expertise to evaluate the repair situation. If it is correct they are redesigning the azipods so they can be repaired without a dry dock that would be great news for all the Vista Class ships:

"The 'culprit' is actually inside the hull. The bearing on the vertical shaft that allows the Azipod to rotate for steering overheats from vibration at normal cruising speed. Current design requires removal of the pod to service the bearing. Modified design will allow the bearing to be replaced from inside the hull while in port." 

Or in plane English.... As someone else said: "This will be repair only (just bearing replacement). All new redesigned Azipods will be installed during the Oct 2024 Singapore dry dock."

3 hours ago, cxr133 said:

will this be the case for the Radiance also.  going a quick radiance trip dec 15th

No, only the Miracle passengers park off site, you will be able to park in the terminal garage. 

Great video of her arrival in Portland. 

Here are some gorgeous pics of Panorama posted on the Ship Report Facebook page. She is a beauty even in dry dock. 

51 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Again, don't want to be debbie downer, but those pictures worry me a little.  I don't see the scaffolding being set up that would be normal for a typical bearing/seal replacement problem.  The first picture shows what looks like a dock arm pressure washing the area around the azimuthing (pod rotation) seal area of the port pod, and the second picture shows what looks like oil dripping from the same azimuth seal on the starboard pod.  This could be more serious than originally thought, or it could just be early into the repair.  

 

Where are these pictures posted?  Hopefully we get some more, and I can try to remote guess what is going on.  Tomorrow should be an important day for clues.

Thank you so much for the input. I was hoping you would comment on the pics as obviously I don’t know what they suggest other than the repair has started. The Portland dry dock pics are coming from one of my fellow passengers on the upcoming NYE cruise and are posted in our Facebook group. I think she will keep posting them as the repairs progress and I will post them here so you can evaluate the progress being made for us. To say Carnival has not been sharing much information is an understatement but John Heald did say on Saturday the Holiday cruises were happening without the qualification of still scheduled at this time. I hope he know what he’s talking about! 🤞🤞🤞 I’m sure all of us hoping we sail really appreciate your input, thanks again!