Dining Outdoor Options - Carnival Panorama

[papicalvin]

Traveling with family members who are wary about going on our cruise now because of the uptick in covid cases.

We're going to Mexico on the Carnival Panorama departing on 7/30 from Long Beach.

 

Is it possible to eat outdoors the entire time onboard? Thought this might help alleviate some fears if there are options to try to prevent covid as much as possible... 

 

Thanks!

[cruisingguy007]

Yes, possible, optimal, not so much. You could stick to the buffet for lunch and dinner and there are tables just outside the back doors that lead to the tides pool area (near pizza place) with plenty of seating. It's actually a great spot in the mornings because you can see the port stops with great views. They also have coffee/water stations out there as well. Pizza/Seafood shack is another option back there. Lunch, you can eat on lido outside or also back in that same area. Very possible to avoid dining inside. That said, I don't think dining is the most risky thing and you'll miss sea day brunch and also elegant nights that have nice options. I'd do those at least once. Avoiding the shows, night club, comedies and enclosed bars (piano bar) would yield better results. The dining room is large enough to make the risk minimal. I ate in the dining rooms several times, did excursions (the bus rides on excursions is another area where a good fitting N95 would yield dividends) hung out on lido in open air and even ate inside at buffet and did all those without a mask and was fine. I did avoid the shows, comedy and other enclosed spaces as much as I could. Have a great trip! She's a great ship! 

Edited July 13, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[Itried4498]

We don’t do upcharge restaurants, but Pigs and Anchor has dedicated outdoor seating and is open for lunch.

 

Note that the coast surrounding California and Baja Mexico is known for its summer cloud coverage, and this year has been the strongest in quite some time.  We were on the RCL’s Navigator of the Seas last week, and even though the ship moves very slowly (four day cruise from LA to Ensenada, which is only 150 miles away) it was way too cold to eat outside for my liking, and I generally prefer it on the cooler side.  Maybe the weather will cooperate :).

 

BTW, we got off the ship Friday morning and by Saturday night I felt like a train hit me.   At at-home test confirmed I had Covid, and a follow up PCR affirmed the result.  I’m feeling better today, so it seems like I’m over the hump.  Covid is out there, be safe!!!

[Saint Greg]

Buffet, Pizza, Deli, Guy's Burgers, Pig & Anchor BBQ, Bonsai Sushi, 555 Steakhouse all have outdoor areas on Panorama.

[csm5986142]

2 hours ago, papicalvin said:

Is it possible to eat outdoors the entire time onboard? Thought this might help alleviate some fears if there are options to try to prevent covid as much as possible... 

 

I hate to say it, but they are nervous for good reason.  You are going to encounter some very crowded areas - sometimes it's just impossible to avoid (even being careful).  Recently in the terminal at the port of San Francisco, instead of calling boarding groups (like they'd done in our prior 8 cruises) they started the boarding process by calling for anyone with priority/suites/platinum/diamond.  As you can imagine, half the terminal rushed toward the boarding area, creating one of the largest crowds I've seen since cruising resumed.  Unfortunately due to where we were sitting, we got caught right in the middle.  The ships are 90% - 100% capacity and some areas just get crowded unexpectedly.

Like a previous person said, I tested positive for Covid the day I got off the ship/got home.  I'm not saying I got it on the ship, but Covid is absolutely everywhere right now and some people travel far (come in contact with lots of germs) just to get to the ship.

[papicalvin]

On 7/13/2022 at 2:47 PM, Saint Greg said:

Buffet, Pizza, Deli, Guy's Burgers, Pig & Anchor BBQ, Bonsai Sushi, 555 Steakhouse all have outdoor areas on Panorama.

555 Steakhouse has outdoor dining options? That's cool.. 

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, papicalvin said:

555 Steakhouse has outdoor dining options? That's cool.. 

 

This is the steakhouse exterior seating area. Full deck 5 pictorial tour is available here.

 

[sanmarcosman]

You can even enjoy your candy al fresco at Panorama's Cherry on Top.

[TheSeagoer]

Everything you do onshore is the same on a ship

[mikelong]

We had the same concerns when we first resumed cruising Oct 2021 and have done 5 cruises now and remained 100% free from SARS-Cov2 infection. 

 

Here are what we did:

 

(1) N95 mask everywhere all the time except during eating/drinking

(2) Use outdoor sitting whenever possible, on Panorama that means Lido buffet you can find outdoor sitting, same with the BBQ place, the Mexican and the burger place.. No outdoor sitting for the Italian and Asian restaurants. 

For dinner, the MDR doesn't have outdoor sitting. So we risked it, but always asked to sit away from other cruisers and always wear the N95 whenever we are waiting for the order or talking to the waiters. Only took them off when eating

(3) Wear N95 (not the KN95, which usually doesn't have a good seal) when seeing the shows and in Casinos.

(4) Always booked a balcony room with the door opened even when we were sleeping at night

(5) Brought a personal HEPA filter to put on the dining table when in the MDR with mask off

 

With those protocols, we have avoided infection with the SARS-CoV2 even with 5 cruises so far since the restart in 2021. But that was before the mask mandate was removed earlier this year.

 

After the mandate was removed, we cancelled the remaining bookings for the rest of this year, I'm not going to risk my life since now it's everyone for him/herself situation without any regard for others. I'm simply waiting for the crowd to be thinned by the virus and I'm pretty sure when 50% of the population is either dead or permanently disabled by the virus after repeated infections, they will probably re-introduce the measures to make cruising safer again and that's when I'll start booking again, hopefully with much lower rate 🙂

Edited July 24, 2022 by mikelong

[dmcfad2]

38 minutes ago, mikelong said:

We had the same concerns when we first resumed cruising Oct 2021 and have done 5 cruises now and remained 100% free from SARS-Cov2 infection. 

 

Here are what we did:

 

(1) N95 mask everywhere all the time except during eating/drinking

(2) Use outdoor sitting whenever possible, on Panorama that means Lido buffet you can find outdoor sitting, same with the BBQ place, the Mexican and the burger place.. No outdoor sitting for the Italian and Asian restaurants. 

For dinner, the MDR doesn't have outdoor sitting. So we risked it, but always asked to sit away from other cruisers and always wear the N95 whenever we are waiting for the order or talking to the waiters. Only took them off when eating

(3) Wear N95 (not the KN95, which usually doesn't have a good seal) when seeing the shows and in Casinos.

(4) Always booked a balcony room with the door opened even when we were sleeping at night

(5) Brought a personal HEPA filter to put on the dining table when in the MDR with mask off

 

With those protocols, we have avoided infection with the SARS-CoV2 even with 5 cruises so far since the restart in 2021. But that was before the mask mandate was removed earlier this year.

 

After the mandate was removed, we cancelled the remaining bookings for the rest of this year, I'm not going to risk my life since now it's everyone for him/herself situation without any regard for others. I'm simply waiting for the crowd to be thinned by the virus and I'm pretty sure when 50% of the population is either dead or permanently disabled by the virus after repeated infections, they will probably re-introduce the measures to make cruising safer again and that's when I'll start booking again, hopefully with much lower rate 🙂

You are kidding, right?

[Saint Greg]

[TheSeagoer]

37 minutes ago, dmcfad2 said:

You are kidding, right?

I wanted to say the same but I'm close to being removed😃😃😃😃😃

[Despegue]

6 hours ago, mikelong said:

We had the same concerns when we first resumed cruising Oct 2021 and have done 5 cruises now and remained 100% free from SARS-Cov2 infection. 

 

Here are what we did:

 

(1) N95 mask everywhere all the time except during eating/drinking

(2) Use outdoor sitting whenever possible, on Panorama that means Lido buffet you can find outdoor sitting, same with the BBQ place, the Mexican and the burger place.. No outdoor sitting for the Italian and Asian restaurants. 

For dinner, the MDR doesn't have outdoor sitting. So we risked it, but always asked to sit away from other cruisers and always wear the N95 whenever we are waiting for the order or talking to the waiters. Only took them off when eating

(3) Wear N95 (not the KN95, which usually doesn't have a good seal) when seeing the shows and in Casinos.

(4) Always booked a balcony room with the door opened even when we were sleeping at night

(5) Brought a personal HEPA filter to put on the dining table when in the MDR with mask off

 

With those protocols, we have avoided infection with the SARS-CoV2 even with 5 cruises so far since the restart in 2021. But that was before the mask mandate was removed earlier this year.

 

After the mandate was removed, we cancelled the remaining bookings for the rest of this year, I'm not going to risk my life since now it's everyone for him/herself situation without any regard for others. I'm simply waiting for the crowd to be thinned by the virus and I'm pretty sure when 50% of the population is either dead or permanently disabled by the virus after repeated infections, they will probably re-introduce the measures to make cruising safer again and that's when I'll start booking again, hopefully with much lower rate 🙂

Enjoy your bubble life. If you are vaccinated and boostered, you should enjoy your life instead of withering in paranoia and scaremongering. Your mention of 50 percent of the population going to die/ disabled is completely out of order and ridiculous,

Risk of Covid onboard is actually lower onboard compared to on land-based restaurants/ bars, and even if you get it, if not immune compromised , a properly vaccinated person will not get very ill. The flu is more dangerous.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Despegue