Review of the Panorama, 9/24-10/1

[vicky3vicky]

I am so excited for it next month! Thank you so much! 

[allinwonderland]

1 minute ago, vicky3vicky said:

I am so excited for it next month! Thank you so much! 

Have a GREAT time! I'm currently scheming whether I can make it work to go again in January... LOL

[southbayer]

sounds like your sister had a miserable not so fun as can be time

[allinwonderland]

3 hours ago, southbayer said:

sounds like your sister had a miserable not so fun as can be time

She had an overall decent time! But yeah, I think the heat was too much for her and we'll both know better next time (if there's a next time cruising with her). Think I'll be flying solo on the next cruise because we also just have very different vacation styles.

[Roscoe13]

On 10/9/2022 at 5:02 AM, sanmarcosman said:

We'll be boarding January 14th for our 10th cruise aboard Panorama and it has always been a happy ship so we agree with the OP on that completely. Now we wait for December 29th to select our arrival time...

I'll be disembarking on January 14th.  I'll metaphorically high five you as I come down the ramp and you go up!!

[sfaaa]

17 hours ago, allinwonderland said:

She had an overall decent time! But yeah, I think the heat was too much for her and we'll both know better next time (if there's a next time cruising with her). Think I'll be flying solo on the next cruise because we also just have very different vacation styles.

Alaska cruise has no issue with heat.

[allinwonderland]

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Alaska cruise has no issue with heat.

I think an Alaskan cruise as a whole family (including our parents) is on the bucket list, but likely not for a couple years; I'll probably wind up planning it, since I'm now the de facto "cruise expert" of the family. Frankly, I'm not sure how much I really want to go (I mean I do for the scenery alone) because I'm a baby about cold weather - I live in Arizona for a reason! 🤣

Edited October 24, 2022 by allinwonderland

[avenger71]

Thank you for your review.  I will be on the Panorama in a couple of weeks.  I'm excited!!!

[john91498]

Amazing review, thank you very much 😎

[vanislandcruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your Cruise...89 days until we are on the Panorama again.

[allinwonderland]

5 minutes ago, vanislandcruisers said:

89 days until we are on the Panorama again.

Are you on the 1/21 sailing? I just booked on that one - going back for round 2!! Hahaha

[vanislandcruisers]

58 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

Are you on the 1/21 sailing? I just booked on that one - going back for round 2!! Hahaha

Yes...7 days on the Carnival Panorama...then 3 Days/Nights at Disney then the Carnival Miracle for 5 days.

 

We will see you at the Alchemy Bar for sure 🙂

[allinwonderland]

9 minutes ago, vanislandcruisers said:

Yes...7 days on the Carnival Panorama...then 3 Days/Nights at Disney then the Carnival Miracle for 5 days.

WOW! Nice vacation ahaha. I'm kinda jealous. But then, I will be hopping on the Panorama a few days after flying back from NYC for a work trip.

 

9 minutes ago, vanislandcruisers said:

We will see you at the Alchemy Bar for sure 🙂

Cheers to that! 😁

[monty3]

I can't remember from previous cruises, is there an area where the juices, coffee and tea is where you can get water also? Like if you want to fill up a water bottle or your own personal container.

[allinwonderland]

51 minutes ago, monty3 said:

I can't remember from previous cruises, is there an area where the juices, coffee and tea is where you can get water also? Like if you want to fill up a water bottle or your own personal container.

I didn't use the included beverages too much because I had Cheers, but I do believe on Lido where the dispensers were with coffee, juice, tea that you could get water also. I definitely saw people walking around with the little Carnival cups that had water in them.

[Matco]

The buffet had water dispensers and you can pretty much ask any bar for water with the exception of the Alchemy bar.  

[Crusin Karen]

Great review.  I'd love to do that itinerary but I'm on the opposite coast.  Just wondered-what is on top of the meatballs from your Cucina dinner?  Butter?

[allinwonderland]

1 hour ago, Crusin Karen said:

Just wondered-what is on top of the meatballs from your Cucina dinner?  Butter?

The arancini (rice balls), you mean? It was some kind of cheese.

[Crusin Karen]

22 hours ago, allinwonderland said:

The arancini (rice balls), you mean? It was some kind of cheese.

Thought that was a fancy Italian name for meatballs lol

[tammyjw305]

Great review; thank you for sharing! We are going on January 21st. The Mexican Riviera is new to us, and with 3 sea days, I'm looking forward to some relaxation time. I have the skyride and Serenity salad bar on our list. 

 

The Deal Closer is my favorite!

 

Tammy 

Edited October 29, 2022 by tammyjw305

[allinwonderland]

7 minutes ago, tammyjw305 said:

Great review; thank you for sharing! We are going on January 21st. The Mexican Riviera is new to us, and with 3 sea days, I'm looking forward to some relaxation time. I have the skyride and Serenity salad bar on our list. 

I'll meet you at the Serenity bar! 😉

[JustACoveGirl]

In regards to Long Beach Airport being close and small...we have an option for a non-stop that boards at 10:35am on debarkation day.  In your opinion do you think we could make that?!

Edited October 30, 2022 by JustACoveGirl

[allinwonderland]

2 hours ago, JustACoveGirl said:

In regards to Long Beach Airport being close and small...we have an option for a non-stop that boards at 10:35am on debarkation day.  In your opinion do you think we could make that?!

That's a bit too close for my comfort with airlines - I did do the self-debark and I believe we were off the ship around 9:30? We were in one of the first groups to line up (it goes by muster station) and they started a little early too. So if you're the type who regularly gets to the airport just in the nick of time and that's fine by you, then maaaaaaaybe that would work? But I wouldn't risk it myself.

 

I would probably book a flight that leaves at noon or later, just to be safe; you never know when a customs delay (like what happened at Mazatlan) or something might hold up the whole ship.

[vicky3vicky]

I think the salad bar in the Serenity area looks incredible. Thing is, and I know it's not exactly healthy, but I love a roll or some type of bread with my salad. I have seen pictures of the yummylicouness of their salad bar, but no bread. Is any type of bread included?

 

[Derbie]

On 10/7/2022 at 8:11 PM, allinwonderland said:

DAY FIVE - PUERTO VALLARTA

 

Didn't set an alarm today and I woke up at 9, just barely too late for breakfast in the MDR, darn. We have an evening excursion so are spending the first half of the day on the ship. Time on shore was 9am-9pm.

 

I tried to go up to Lido to eat but it was a madhouse; I should’ve known better. Went back to sit in ocean plaza with my coffee for about an hour to let the crowds clear out of the buffet, and my sister met me there. Then we went back up to Lido and got breakfast - the omelet was good, the rest of the food was decent, and the passion orange guava juice was very sweet but definitely great.

 

 

After that I wanted to check out serenity since I hadn’t been up there the whole time, but there was absolutely 0 shade so I didn’t last long. Went back to ocean plaza, my favorite spot, but the bar there wasn’t open and I wanted a drink, so I ended up in the atrium bar with my laptop for a bit. My sister went to the pasta bar because she didn’t eat much breakfast; she said it was good. Around 2pm I ate about 3/4 of a Guy's burger so I would have some food in my stomach before our excursion.

 

Everyone said we had to do rhythms of the night, so we did. My sister took a Bonine before getting on the little boat to Las Caletas and she said it worked. On the boat, the crew were so fun and friendly, and the drinks were FLOWING! Then we got to the island and I immediately had to use the bathroom; they are itty bitty, almost like confessional stalls. It was so humid even without direct sun, my sundress was absolutely drenched in sweat by the end of the show, so plan your outfit accordingly - also wear shoes with some decent stability because parts of the ground are uneven. We did the show before dinner, which isn’t the order of things I was expecting after all the reviews I'd read, so I was a little thrown. So yes, it was still fairly light out but the fire effects were still awesome. The show was absolutely incredible - I don’t know what else I can say that hasn’t already been said or would be useless after all the videos that are out there. Dinner was lovely as well, a nice variety of food - salads, steak, shrimp, chicken, fish, rice, pasta, bread - and the flan for dessert was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Open bar on the island too. Then on the boat ride back, there were more free-flowing drinks the crew put on a great lip-syncing show to Bruno Mars and Pitbull. Everything you’ve heard about this excursion is 100% true; it’s expensive, but worth doing at least once.

 

 

After getting back to the ship and showering off the film of sweat on every inch of my skin, we went down to Alchemy for a bit before the 9:45 adult comedy show, which I ended up going solo for. JeROME was funny but I think Manny from the other night was funnier. Then I met up with my sister at the piano bar, which was surprisingly fun.

 

By now I was getting hungry again so we went upstairs and got pizza. And holy *****, there was a huge ass storm going on! Rain, thunder, lightning. It was kind of cool to watch from the safety of the boat. I was just glad PV held out on sending down the buckets till after we got back from our excursion. We ate and then went to bed.

 

Cheers count: mocha chocolate getaway, French kiss (and three margaritas, two rum punch, and a shot of Kahlua in my coffee on my excursion)

I am very much enjoying your review and pictures!  I have a quick question for you.  We will be in port the same timeframe at the end of March, as you were.  We would love to go back to Rythm of the Night but didn't think we would have time.  Seemed like when we first saw the show, our ship was in port until midnight.  I didn't see the show as an offering on the Carnival excursion list.  Did you book through the show's website?  There are 8 of us going, and I would hate for our families to get let at port!  It was only $99 pp, when we went some years back.  It has gone up in cost, by quite a lot. Thanks for any information you can provide.