Within 24 hours of Panorama's 7 day cruise, already regret it.

[Cruise, J.D.]

3 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Whoa.  I am definitely not a first time cruiser, but next year will be my first Carnival cruise on the Panorama and I've been a little hesitant about the whole thing and when I read this post and saw the word roaches I am almost ready to cancel my cruise.  I have NEVER seen them on any cruise I've taken and I would just die if I saw them in my cruise cabin.  It would likely ruin my vacation.  That may sound extreme to some, but I cannot deal with that.  I have a pretty severe aversion/phobia to that kind of thing and it really would ruin my trip.  This is a family trip for a special occasion with our daughter, her husband and our grandkids and her husband has never cruised and I am afraid this would ruin cruising for him if he had this experience the first time. 🙁  

I think this was an extreme anomaly. I've never seen one on a cruise. In fact, this might be the first time I've ever seen a Carnival review mention this issue.

[dallasdan]

I was on this same Cruise.  There was an issue with long lines during embarkation.  Since we were platinum, this wasn't an issue for us.  However, others in our group did have to wait about 2 hours to get on board because of the long lines.  They didn't board until 3:00 pm.  I didn't see any issues with ship being dirty.  The staff was constantly cleaning.  We did encounter some wait time at sea day brunch if you went around 10-10:30 am.  Before or after I didn't see any lines.  My wife had orange juice and I also saw several people with orange juice.  Not sure why the OP didn't get any.  We did see long lines at guest services especially the day the gratuities posted to everyone's account.  I have been on 17 cruises and have never seen roaches.  Overall it was a great cruise.  I would sail this ship again.  My only complaint was we were not in Cabo long enough.

 

  

[sfaaa]

2 hours ago, dallasdan said:

  We did see long lines at guest services especially the day the gratuities posted to everyone's account. 

 

  

Happened on every Carnival cruise I had been on. Particularly bad on last sea day. It disgusted me so many cheapskates wanted to stiff the ship crew.

[Itried4498]

2 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Whoa.  I am definitely not a first time cruiser, but next year will be my first Carnival cruise on the Panorama and I've been a little hesitant about the whole thing and when I read this post and saw the word roaches I am almost ready to cancel my cruise.  I have NEVER seen them on any cruise I've taken and I would just die if I saw them in my cruise cabin.  It would likely ruin my vacation.  That may sound extreme to some, but I cannot deal with that.  I have a pretty severe aversion/phobia to that kind of thing and it really would ruin my trip.  This is a family trip for a special occasion with our daughter, her husband and our grandkids and her husband has never cruised and I am afraid this would ruin cruising for him if he had this experience the first time. 🙁  

 

There any many positive reviews of the Panorama, including one I posted just moments before this thread went live.  Generally, negative threads get the most attention -- the OP started this thread less than 24 hours after his trip begun, but he's now been off the ship for 50+ hours.  Meanwhile, threads like mine were quickly buried.

[Itried4498]

2 hours ago, dallasdan said:

I was on this same Cruise.  There was an issue with long lines during embarkation.  Since we were platinum, this wasn't an issue for us.  However, others in our group did have to wait about 2 hours to get on board because of the long lines.  They didn't board until 3:00 pm.  I didn't see any issues with ship being dirty.  The staff was constantly cleaning.  We did encounter some wait time at sea day brunch if you went around 10-10:30 am.  Before or after I didn't see any lines.  My wife had orange juice and I also saw several people with orange juice.  Not sure why the OP didn't get any.  We did see long lines at guest services especially the day the gratuities posted to everyone's account.  I have been on 17 cruises and have never seen roaches.  Overall it was a great cruise.  I would sail this ship again.  My only complaint was we were not in Cabo long enough.

 

  

 

For the record, we were on the previous cruise and we did see roaches in the Lido dining area, so they're definitely on the ship.  Given how dirty people are, it's not surprising.  I agree on Cabo; thankfully, the ship will stop in Cabo first most of the rest of the year, with a more reasonable 10AM arrival and 7PM departure.  

 

I've heard rumors for awhile that Carnival will be shaking up the Long Beach routes.  Panorama will rotate between 8 nights (an additional stop at La Paz) and 6 nights (three nights at sea, two days in Cabo, one day in Ensenada).  Select itineraries have changed to reflect this, but allegedly more may change over.  And Radiance will go Thur-Mon (Catalina Island & Ensenada) and Mon-Thur (Ensenada).  Would make sense given the number of ships now doing Fri-Mon... and Carnival Miracle will go back to San Diego.  We will see.

[rj59]

I've been on cruises on Royal, Princess, Carnival, and HAL since September, and all except for Carnival got me from entry to the ship in under 15 minutes. Even on the smaller Miracle, it took me over an hour, winding through a slow line that stopped completely when passengers went through the suite line without having their boarding passes checked to prevent line jumping. It was hot and unsafe, with a winding line of hundreds standing close to each other (every other line/port has had spread-out check-in stations). I was nearly tempted by the Panorama with solo fares under $100 in April and this month, but there have just been so many bad experiences on here of late return, early-morning short Cabo visits, and endless lines with no communication. I booked the Spirit instead this month going out of Seattle, and the terminal there uses multiple lines, so I'm hoping it would be a better process, especially with a smaller ship. I've been tempted again by cheap Panorama fares in December, but with full occupancy and the risks of another winter covid wave, I don't think I want to be on a big ship, especially with the renovated Radiance as an option. 

[bobbyandali]

On 5/9/2022 at 12:27 PM, ScottsSweetie said:

But now that the ships are not sailing (seemingly) at that reduced capacity, the amount of staffing does not appear to be adequate. Carnival themselves have admitted staffing issues as the reason for closing the pizza place for several hours a day and ending afternoon tea on cruises less than 7 days. If they can't hire the staff then they absolutely should not increase capacity.

No one in the industry expected that in May 2022, the US government would continue to have the visa problems that it is having. Many of these fares were paid months ago. Should the cruise lines - all of them - cancel fully paid reservations at the last minute due to staffing issues? Or... let everyone board that has paid and try to make the best of it? 

This issue will improve once the US government gets through their backlog of Visa applications. Which will likely take a while. 

[bobbyandali]

1 hour ago, sfaaa said:

Happened on every Carnival cruise I had been on. Particularly bad on last sea day. It disgusted me so many cheapskates wanted to stiff the ship crew.

Anyone who has been on 2-3 Carnival Cruises knows the two days to avoid Guest Services if you can:

Embarkation Day 

"Posting of Gratuities" Day

[pc_load_letter]

1 hour ago, Itried4498 said:

 

There any many positive reviews of the Panorama, including one I posted just moments before this thread went live.  Generally, negative threads get the most attention -- the OP started this thread less than 24 hours after his trip begun, but he's now been off the ship for 50+ hours.  Meanwhile, threads like mine were quickly buried.

 

It's in our nature to love drama. Otherwise BravoTV wouldn't exist.

[BubbaD123]

32 minutes ago, bobbyandali said:

Anyone who has been on 2-3 Carnival Cruises knows the two days to avoid Guest Services if you can:

Embarkation Day 

"Posting of Gratuities" Day

Is 'Posting of Gratuities' on the last full sea day? I was hoping my left-over OBC will cover part of my gratuities. Will the system automatically do that, or will I have to worry about going to Guest Services?

[Joe817]

21 minutes ago, BubbaD123 said:

Is 'Posting of Gratuities' on the last full sea day? I was hoping my left-over OBC will cover part of my gratuities. Will the system automatically do that, or will I have to worry about going to Guest Services?

It will be done automatically. You don't have to go to G.S. Any grats shortage will be charged to your credit card automatically. 

[ARcruisin2]

5 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Whoa.  I am definitely not a first time cruiser, but next year will be my first Carnival cruise on the Panorama and I've been a little hesitant about the whole thing and when I read this post and saw the word roaches I am almost ready to cancel my cruise.  I have NEVER seen them on any cruise I've taken and I would just die if I saw them in my cruise cabin.  It would likely ruin my vacation.  That may sound extreme to some, but I cannot deal with that.  I have a pretty severe aversion/phobia to that kind of thing and it really would ruin my trip.  This is a family trip for a special occasion with our daughter, her husband and our grandkids and her husband has never cruised and I am afraid this would ruin cruising for him if he had this experience the first time. 🙁  

right there with you!

Hard stop upon roach spotting... they'd have to move me. 

(and I am not a drama queen, either...serious aversion to them )

[ashkir]

Everything got much better after the first two days. Cucina del Capitano was my favorite part of the experience went 3 times. The first few days was extremely rough. But, everything improved dramatically. We greatly enjoyed Mazatlan city the most far more than the others. 

 

It ended up being an incredibly relaxing trip. With the remainder of my issues being about the spa. We were able to get the prices they advertised finally, by having my boyfriend's mom book the spa appointments for us. They wanted to charge us more than list price, but, when his mom booked everything we got prices cheaper than advertised. 

 

The experience in the first few days was a fluke. The furniture was fixed, missing items were returned to the stateroom, etc. We were told by a floor manager (Sergei?) that the rooms weren't cleared out late, and they had to rush to fix things up before people were allowed on. 

 

The only last annoyance I had was Guest Services is severely understaffed. Carnival isn't ready to be full speed yet until  they have more staff for sure. I got a notice at my cabin that I needed to go see guest services about a finance issue. My wait was 2.5 hours, because the notice came on the last day and the line was wrapped around the atrium. Only to be told the notice was sent by mistake lol. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by ashkir

[KmomChicago]

On 5/8/2022 at 4:19 PM, tallnthensome said:

I was on the Panorama a few months ago. I don't remember any restaurant open until 3AM. I also had a couple`s thermal spa pass and was never ever offered complimentary scrubs. Either you heard wrong or a worker, maybe new, made an error. Why not just enjoy the the Thermal Spa for what is important and not try to show them that you're willing to throw away a week of relaxation in there over a scrub that others were never offered..... makes me wonder. You're being petty in my opinion. 

I think it's a scrub kit, not scrubs.

[modes]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:46 PM, ashkir said:

Hello all! I'm usually very quiet, but, I've been on CruiseCritic for many years. I usually don't have much to say because I enjoy cruise ships. But I just boarded the Panorama yesterday and my experience was anything but pleasant. I've been to Mexico and Alaska before on the cruises. Always enjoyed it. Never once had a bad experience... Until now. 

 

I've had issue after issue and am honestly pretty unhappy and already a day into this. 

- Checkin process/embarkation was chaotic. They disembarked late, which is okay. But there was no staff telling passengers anything. The luggage drop-off was almost non-existent and things were getting mixed up of things going on / off the ship.

- There was no organization of embarkation.

- There were limited check-in staff and security tables that made the process last until almost 4pm. 

 

Now we got to our cabin:

- We waited until the time we were told we can go.

- The bathroom was unclean. We had roaches as well. Never seen that before!

- Our stateroom had broken furniture.

- The laundry bag, and other standard forms were missing. Our steward had to give them to us so we can get a shirt pressed for elegant night.

 

Got our sail and sign cards!

- We found we were already charged almost $50 at a bar we haven't been to! 

 

Okay, maybe just a bad start yep? Went on the spa tour. We were promised a $249 deal for a couple. We were told we can get complimentary scrubs each day. Went today:

- They want $9 per person now. 

- $108 more in fees basically if we continue to use the facilities.

 

We went to Vista for breakfast. We used the app to check in. 

- Chaotic. One hostess. 

- There were massive lines of people down to the staircases just waiting. Everyone's table stated ready. They obviously weren't. The notifications were wrong. Nobody was ready and the movement was so slow because people who didn't checked in yet, were standing there and getting priority over people who did check in which caused a bigger mess.

- no regular orange juice. We were told they only have the specialty orange juices. 

- Took about 35 minutes before we even saw our server. 

 

Guest services

- Waited in a line for 2 hours to fight the bar contests yesterday (Before the spa issue). 

- Guest services only had 2 people the entire time we’ve been here that we've noticed. The one girl looks like she’s about to faint. I saw her at 10 pm last night and again at 8am when walking by. Again at noon just now. 

 

Kiosks

- The card readers are broken on the sail and sign places in the third floor. 

 

Food

- We wanted to go eat about 10pm. They already closed all the restaurants. 

- We went to the pizza place. 

- The only food is the pizza. Their pizza quality declined. We were given black burnt pizza. They ran out of basil as well. 

- Had to wait in a 25 minute long line, to only be told my preferred pizza isn't available, and told to wait and stand aside. Once it was available, they gave it to the next person in line... Three times! So it took me almost 45 minutes to get a pizza. This ordeal cost me almost an hour and a half

 

Our only enjoyable experience so far was the Italian restaurant dinner and the cabin bed is relaxing.

 

I'm already regretting this and we're only 1 day in. I skipped my college graduation to spend the travel money on a cruise instead. 

The reason you were late getting on was because there was a felon on board and the police were there to find him and arrest him and we all know how the police are in no rush and drag everything.

[pinto18]

On 5/16/2022 at 3:32 PM, ashkir said:

Everything got much better after the first two days. Cucina del Capitano was my favorite part of the experience went 3 times. The first few days was extremely rough. But, everything improved dramatically. We greatly enjoyed Mazatlan city the most far more than the others. 

glad things turned around for you! Mazatlan is our favorite as well

[calbred01]

I was also on this cruise and while not experiencing what the OP did I did notice a few things (not Carnival's fault, at least not all), Embarking was a bit crazy (people getting off and then people wanting on), while we were in the building they had stopped the health part of the check in because of backup (and some people having to get tested), after that cleared up we were through quickly (we asked Carnival employees along the way about what was happening and they were helpful). I also had to go to guest services and waited (I was checking in to scatter my Mom's ashes) but first day at guest services is ALWAYS busy. Had no problem at any time with checking in for sea day brunch or our anytime dining (except first night dinner, the person who seated us took us on the scenic route of the restaurant and I mean completely around the restaurant!). Another time at guest services (we had purchased the chat app) they had a glitch which kicked EVERYONE who had purchased the chat off, they had to refund everyone the $5.00 and then we had to re-purchase (I think this was on the 3rd day), it was crazy busy because of this and yes, there were several people who took waaayyyy longer with a lot of questions and some just not understanding things they were told at all. At no time did I feel the ship was over crowded and the Deli & Pizza usually always have some type of line (so does blue Iguana but so worth it), the crew is short handed and really doing the best they can, however, there is no excuse for a dirty room (unless they were unable to get to it in time and then cleaned it to the OPs satisfaction) but roaches? I think I would have run screaming from my room since I HATE roaches, Lol. We had a great time and this was one of the most physical cruise we have been on, with all the ports and doing the ropes course etc....  

[cruisingguy007]

3 hours ago, pinto18 said:

glad things turned around for you! Mazatlan is our favorite as well

 

Amazing innit? Ironically, a lot of people stay on in Mazatlan because they scuured from some old heresy tales and only get off in Cabo and PV. If I'm staying on, it's Cabo I'm skipping, hate tender ports and the food/drink prices are gougey in Cabo since it's a tourist mecca, in fact, it has one of the largest amounts of flights from CA, people go there for the weekend even. Mazatlan is a gem.  

Edited May 19, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[Schlinger]

17 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Amazing innit? Ironically, a lot of people stay on in Mazatlan because they scuured from some old heresy tales and only get off in Cabo and PV. If I'm staying on, it's Cabo I'm skipping, hate tender ports and the food/drink prices are gougey in Cabo since it's a tourist mecca, in fact, it has one of the largest amounts of flights from CA, people go there for the weekend even. Mazatlan is a gem.  

Went to Cabo in March (Mexico trip by air). Yes, huge amounts of tourists from the USA and yes, I would think it is their widespread presence there that drives up the prices. $550 per night in several of the 5 star resorts there. For context, minimum wage in Mexico is $150 per month.  And as far as we're concerned, cruising is not that expensive if you take into account what some things cost on land. As my wife pointed out to me earlier today, if you take the cost of our post-cruise meal deliveries for lunch and dinner yesterday and compare that to the daily cost of cruising, you end up with very similar numbers.

[Bajanswife]

On 5/16/2022 at 5:49 PM, ARcruisin2 said:

right there with you!

Hard stop upon roach spotting... they'd have to move me. 

(and I am not a drama queen, either...serious aversion to them )

Roaches ... eh. I'm from the Caribbean - a good whack from a shoe is all that's required. 😉

[Schlinger]

On 5/8/2022 at 9:46 PM, ashkir said:

We wanted to go eat about 10pm. They already closed all the restaurants. 

IKR... It's a real challenge to get food at or after 9pm on the "American" cruise ships. I wonder how Americans who come to Europe (especially France) for a land based vacation get food if they want to eat at 5 or 6pm. All the restaurants are closed that early. Except the fast-food joints...

[cruisingguy007]

9 hours ago, Schlinger said:

Went to Cabo in March (Mexico trip by air). Yes, huge amounts of tourists from the USA and yes, I would think it is their widespread presence there that drives up the prices. $550 per night in several of the 5 star resorts there. For context, minimum wage in Mexico is $150 per month.  And as far as we're concerned, cruising is not that expensive if you take into account what some things cost on land. As my wife pointed out to me earlier today, if you take the cost of our post-cruise meal deliveries for lunch and dinner yesterday and compare that to the daily cost of cruising, you end up with very similar numbers.

 

It can be the same as the USA in a beach town or tourist spot. Why go all the way to Mexico to pay San Diego prices for food/drinks? Some of the 5-star resorts are really really nice but even those are often over priced, you could rent a place in Mazatlan for a month for what it costs for a two-three days at some places in Cabo. 

[rj59]

On 5/16/2022 at 12:34 PM, Itried4498 said:

 

For the record, we were on the previous cruise and we did see roaches in the Lido dining area, so they're definitely on the ship.  Given how dirty people are, it's not surprising.  I agree on Cabo; thankfully, the ship will stop in Cabo first most of the rest of the year, with a more reasonable 10AM arrival and 7PM departure.  

 

I've heard rumors for awhile that Carnival will be shaking up the Long Beach routes.  Panorama will rotate between 8 nights (an additional stop at La Paz) and 6 nights (three nights at sea, two days in Cabo, one day in Ensenada).  Select itineraries have changed to reflect this, but allegedly more may change over.  And Radiance will go Thur-Mon (Catalina Island & Ensenada) and Mon-Thur (Ensenada).  Would make sense given the number of ships now doing Fri-Mon... and Carnival Miracle will go back to San Diego.  We will see.

The Navigator of the Seas has been doing the same 3-4 night itinerary, so they've had to change schedules so two ships aren't in Catalina on the same day. I saw a 6-night Panorama that tempts me, because I like sea days and Cabo, but not Mazatlan or PV, particularly with all the time changes. I'm taking a Princess cruise that stops in La Paz and Loreto, so it would definitely be appealing to try different ports, as well as to go out of San Diego instead of LB, if only to avoid the stowaway seagulls that swarm the ships there--anyone else remember the ugly fishing line nets they had to put up on the Inspiration/Imagination to deter seagulls stealing food? 

[ARcruisin2]

On 5/20/2022 at 9:55 AM, Bajanswife said:

Roaches ... eh. I'm from the Caribbean - a good whack from a shoe is all that's required. 😉

Dealing with them when we were stationed in Hawaii was a constant battle, that was new to me... they freak me out.

I remember that Hawaiians laughed them off... even had a comedy schtick on TV with posed roaches.

[Elaine5715]

On 5/9/2022 at 1:27 PM, ScottsSweetie said:

But now that the ships are not sailing (seemingly) at that reduced capacity, the amount of staffing does not appear to be adequate. Carnival themselves have admitted staffing issues as the reason for closing the pizza place for several hours a day and ending afternoon tea on cruises less than 7 days. If they can't hire the staff then they absolutely should not increase capacity.

Carnival has thousands of crew members hired but US govt visa processors are moving at the speed of government.  The CD on Mardi Gras said they are trying to bring crew members onboard via other countries since the US isn't helping.