Trip Report: Carnival Panorama 1/21-1/28

[allinwonderland]

Barely 4 months after hopping off the Panorama for the first time and I was already raring to go back! When you do the math, even with doing all the add-ons (like Cheers) that I like, the value of a Panorama cruise just can't be beat. Plus, I loved all the ports and felt certain there was enough different things to do in each of them. I was also keen to experience a cruise where I wasn't drowning in sweat the whole time, as I foolishly sailed near the end of the summer season last time (September).

 

This time I was sailing solo - or rather, semi-solo, as I had made a new friend on the last cruise (we'll call her C for the duration of this review) who was also going on this one, but we had separate rooms. So we could meet up and eat meals, do things together when we felt like it, but also no expectation of being joined at the hip (or need to work around the other's sleep schedule from sharing a cabin) which, having now experienced a trip this way, I think is the best way to do it.

 

I took a lot more pictures this time so this report is probably going to be broken up into multiple posts, but hopefully it's not a bother to anyone!

[allinwonderland]

DAY 0

 

Since I had just gotten back from a work trip 2 days prior (to freezing cold NYC - I was very excited to be on a beach on Mexico), I decided to take an evening flight on Friday instead of opting for one in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, so I wouldn’t have to take an extra day off work. That meant by around 3pm I was basically rattling the walls wanting to get to the airport already. I was also flying Southwest and after their massive f***up last month I was definitely giving the whole thing the side-eye, but honestly when you live in and are flying to a Southwest hub, it just never makes sense to fly anything else - free checked luggage is like a gateway drug, hahaha.

 

The flight was delayed a bit and I was starving so decided to buy an airport pizza - despite how much I hate paying for airport food - because I was mildly concerned about delays keeping us from finding anywhere that served food when we landed. At least it was decently edible for $17 (but that price, UGH). In the meantime C decided to play a prank on me at the airport - with about an hour till boarding, she called claiming to be stuck in traffic and that she was going to miss the flight. Then I looked up and saw her barreling toward me from the other side of the terminal. Much hugs and squeaking ensued as we were reunited and dished about our lives since we last saw each other.

 

Because I'd recently done a bunch of expensed work travel on Southwest, they had sent me a stack of drink tickets, which I was excited to use to get the party started, but unfortunately there was turbulence so they couldn’t run drink service! Ack. Oh well, it’s such a short little hop of a flight from PHX to LGB, I’ll be able to get a drink soon enough.

 

We’d each booked a room for the night at the Hotel Royal in downtown Long Beach. C didn’t exactly like the almost college dorm-esque setting once she got there and saw it (and the 2 flights of stairs with no elevator, but mostly bc she had like 4 overstuffed pieces of luggage), but since I was the one who’d originally found the place, I had a better idea of what we were getting into. The rooms were compact but serviceable, and it did have a bit of an Airbnb or hostel sort of vibe (thankfully they had a full bathroom inside the room, not shared), with a mini-fridge and a microwave. The hotel offered free WiFi, 2 bottles of water, and even free coffee (albeit instant coffee in my room; C’s had a little Keurig). For a budget-conscious solo traveler or couple wanting to stay close to the port, I would definitely recommend this place; all the “regular hotels” next to the port were like $300-$400 a night, and anything cheaper was like a shady looking Motel 6.

 

 

 

By the time we found our respective rooms and got all our stuff settled it was like 10pm, but we were both hungry, so we went to dinner at a place called Padre a block away that was thankfully still open and serving food. We shared a pitcher of strawberry margaritas (yum), elote (they served it cut off the cob for us), and then each had 2 tacos - mine were a fried fish w/ cabbage and a pork belly pastor-style with pineapple. Food was pretty good and prices were reasonable; I would def recommend if you stayed in the area, especially if you had a late flight.

 

 

We’d had grand plans of going to party in the upstairs bar after we ate, but then the tequila hit us and both of us needed to go to sleep.

[cacruisin]

Yeah sailing on the Panorama next month and love hearing all about her!!! Thanks for taking the time to review! 

[allinwonderland]

DAY 1

 

It’s CRUISE DAY!!!!

 

Got up, made some coffee, packed all my stuff up, helped C pack hers, and then we went over to the Vons two blocks away - despite having the Cheers package, I wanted to grab a bottle of wine for the steakhouse (I’m picky about my reds), and C needed body wash and some chips for a friend of hers in MX. Then C got some kombucha on tap from this cute little coffee shop called Pop’s Java on the corner of the block where our hotel was. Again, I highly recommend this hotel because it was in an absolutely awesome location.

 

Having learned our lesson from being squished into the back of an Uber last night with C’s crazy amount of luggage, I made her order an Uber XL to get to the port. While waiting for him to show, we watched 4 little old ladies try to pile all their luggage into the back of a Tesla Uber; they didn’t learn the lesson we did last night obviously.

 

We had the 11:00-11:30 check in time and left our hotel at around 10:15. Getting through check-in went fairly seamlessly even though we were like 15 minutes early once we’d checked our bags, but then we had to sit and wait a while for boarding to start - last time I did this cruise we more or less walked right on after getting inside the terminal.

 

You already know my first meal on board HAD to be a Guy’s Burger and a Funship, hahaha.

 

 

For dessert I got a scoop of the coffee gelato, but my issues with it from last time had not abated; it was a really messy melty texture and tasted more like ice than coffee. Thankfully the buffet cakes didn’t disappoint - I had pieces of the elderflower vanilla, peanut butter s’mores, and the infamous funfetti cheesecake.

 

 

After a quick pit stop to grab our cards from the room (no luggage delivery yet), C and I met up back at the red frog rum bar and proceeded to order more and more drinks until the Sailaway party, which I was excited to see since I missed it last time. Marty did a great job (he was also the CD when I sailed in September) but I think C and I made our own little party, chair dancing and getting drunk - wowwwwwwww Ryan at the RFRB does not have a light hand with those pours (but he's the best).

 

 

Eventually when Sailaway was over, we wandered down to Alchemy, because there was supposed to be a meet and greet with our FB group, but I think we got the time wrong. Then…. All the rum caught up with us, and we both stumbled back to our respective cabins and were asleep by like 7:30. Eep!! Not exactly the start to the trip I was hoping for...

[allinwonderland]

DAY 2 - Part 1

 

After yesterday’s epically early bedtime, I woke up feeling pretty good - as I very well should after 12 hours sleep. Thankfully I drank enough water in between all the rum yesterday to not be feeling too terrible.

 

Showered, chugged a liquid IV while I did the unpacking I should’ve been able to do last night, and then met C at the coffee shop before going to sea day brunch. I had a mimosa, cheese omelet, hash browns, and the 12 hour French toast — I know some people love and some people hate that, personally I thought it was just okay. Definitely was expecting more of a bread pudding texture than what I got, and probably wouldn’t get it again.

 

 

After breakfast, I went back for another latte, this one spiked with amaretto and Kahlua (SUCH a good combo), and Neenee at the ocean plaza bar gave me more suggestions of spiked coffees to try. She’s the best!!

 

The weather was surprisingly nice, so C and I decided to lay out on Serenity. With a little bit of luck I was able to snag one of the daybeds. We spent a couple hours up there just relaxing, drinking, and reading - I had bought the Prince Harry memoir for the cruise. (Oh boy, I was not expecting that to be such a tearjerker right out the gate - but I guess that should’ve been expected with Princess Diana’s death.)

 

 

Around noon we went and got salads from Fresh Creations, where I made like a Cobb salad; very good, but the woman working there weirdly gave me like a child’s portion of food. Of course you know I had to come check on the cakes too - snagged a slice of raspberry champagne and lemon meringue - and then pizza ended up calling my name, since I hadn’t had any last night, to round out my piecemeal sort of lunch.

 

 

 

After a bit of a mishap trying to find the rest of the group (pro tip: never schedule a bar crawl to start at the sports bar on playoffs Sunday), C and I caught up with our FB group bar crawl at Havana - well, sort of. It was kind of a sad and anemic little crawl compared to the one in September, but at least I finally got to have a drink at the P&A. Then it finally ended up just the two of us and a nice middle aged couple playing cards at Alchemy. (I think the drink below is the Hearts on Fire but I'm not 100% sure.)

 

[allinwonderland]

DAY 2 - Part 2

 

C said she needed at least an hour to get ready for formal night, whereas I only needed about 15 minutes to do a costume change and slap on a little makeup (I’m just that good, hehe), so I went solo to the PG comedy show at 6pm with Tim Homayoon, where I also got to have what I think is my favorite drink on the whole ship: the whimsy Scarlett (it’s like a pomegranate martini). The show was pretty good for a PG show although he was a little heavy on the poop jokes IMO.

 

Then I headed over to the atrium bar to have a drink and listen to the awesome violin trio (on my ship they were Flying Fingers) while I waited for C to finish getting dolled up. Seriously, I feel like I totally missed out by not going to hear the violins on the last cruise; I know it probably wouldn’t have been the same exact people but still. The bartenders here were also fantastic, so this ended up being my second (third?) favorite place to get a drink in the evenings.

 

 

It didn’t take that long to get a table for dinner even though it was the first elegant night. I had Caesar salad, stuffed mushrooms (shared with C), shrimp, filet mignon, and the grand Marnier soufflé for dessert. All was excellent, just like last time, and surprisingly the service went pretty fast; we were in and out within 1.5 hours.

 

 

 

 

Then C went to change her shoes and I got an espresso martini from the fabulous Neenee at ocean plaza, before skipping back downstairs for adult comedy at 9:45 with Lenny Schmidt (and of course, another whimsy Scarlett - seriously, you gotta try this one).

 

 

When I checked in with C after the show, she was living it up at Alchemy, but after grabbing a little pizza to soak up the alcohol in my stomach, my bed was calling my name, so I surrendered. Haha.

 

 

Towel animal from my lovely steward Robby.

 

[allinwonderland]

DAY 3 - Part 1

 

Same old same old morning routine: Wake up, get dressed, drink a liquid IV, go to the coffee shop, check in for breakfast. I never made it to the MDR for breakfast on the last cruise so I was determined to do it this time. I got the avocado toast, hash browns, yogurt parfait, and a raspberry danish (not pictured because I ate it too quickly). It was all just okay; I don’t think I’ve been missing out or anything by not eating breakfast in the MDR before. There was almost no avocado on that toast, and I really didn’t care for how the granola in the parfait is literally all nuts.

 

 

 

We finished breakfast faster than I thought, so I went back to Neenee for a spiked coffee (white chocolate mocha with RumChata and Frangelico - holy ***** that one was so good) and then up to hang out with C at the red frog until it was time to go. She was gonna do her own thing today while I went on an excursion.

 

When I booked this cruise, I got $200 OBC as part of a promo deal, so I had used that to pre-book an excursion for Cabo, mainly because I didn’t want to have to deal with the whole “getting tickets the day before” bit that stressed me out so much the last time. The one I originally picked was called "organic farm to table experience" - basically a cooking class at a gourmet farm-to-table restaurant in San Jose del Cabo. It was a little pricey, but since I was only paying for 1 person this time and I had the OBC, I thought it sounded interesting and went ahead to book it. Well, about 2 weeks before the cruise, I happened to check my planner and saw I no longer had an excursion for Cabo. Absolutely ZERO notice from Carnival that the farm to table excursion was now no longer being offered. Thankfully they did refund the OBC right away, so even though most of the excursions were full at this point (since it was a fully booked ship) I did manage to find 1 single slot in a new excursion. But like, the whole thing had really left a bad taste in my mouth toward Carnival.

 

My ticket said to meet in the Horizon dining room at 10:15 (even though the excursion was meant to start at 11:15). We ended up being ushered right off the ship and onto a tender, but then had to wait around on shore for about 30 minutes till the tour started. I desperately had to go to the bathroom, but there were no free public bathrooms; however, I linked up with a nice older couple from my tour and the woman decided to buy a drink at a nearby bar, so then we all got to use the bathroom for free. It pays to make friends! Haha.

 

The new excursion was called “explore Cabo”; basically a sightseeing tour that went to the glass factory and San Jose del Cabo, with lunch and a tequila tasting. I think they said there were 80 people from the ship on this tour, split into 2 giant buses. Compared to a similar sort of tour I did in Mazatlan last time with shore excursions group, which was only 12 of us, I wasn’t super thrilled to be in such a large group. (But again, my main goal with booking a ship’s tour in Cabo was getting priority tender access.)

 

The first stop was at the glass factory - this was so cool! We watched a guy make a little turtle wearing a sombrero and drinking tequila in like 5 minutes. It’s kind of scary to watch them work with molten glass (at temperatures of like 300 Celsius) without wearing any kind of protective gear other than eye goggles. I guess that’s Mexico for you.

 

 

 

 

After having the chance to buy souvenirs if we wanted, we got back on the bus for about 30 minutes to go to San Jose del Cabo. The guide did typical history sharing stuff; I kind of fell asleep. Then we got to the main square of town with the Mission church (I regret not going in) and had about 40 minutes to shop, wander, and buy snacks. I had some incredibly delicious fresh churros, 5 for less than $5 USD. I felt bad I couldn’t even finish them, but the price was definitely right!

 

 

 

Lunch was at a restaurant in town called Cuervo’s House, run by the descendants of Jose Cuervo - yes, THAT Cuervo. They were waiting with water, sodas, and beer for us to pick from when we sat down at a couple tables in the courtyard. They gave us one chicken taco, one fish taco, and some rice and beans, which was all decent - along with, of course, a tequila tasting. (I did not partake.)

 

 

The last stop was to shop at this little square called Plaza de Los Artesanos; obviously they just pay the tour guides to bring the bus here, it was nothing special or interesting - a bunch of little clothing stands, couple jewelry stores, pharmacies, and one bar which at least had live music. We only had 20 minutes to walk around there and most people just wanted to get back to the ship at this point.

 

Overall, I would give the tour a solid 7 out of 10, which is about exactly what I thought it would be: a wholly non-objectionable way to spend a day onshore, reasonably priced for the value (of course I didn’t lay out cash because I had OBC but like that’s still technically money), and no fighting for tender passes the day before. I will say that I doubt kids would be entertained by this tour, and there were approximately 0 on it (at least in my bus).

[allinwonderland]

DAY 3 - Part 2

 

After a quick tender ride back to the ship, I showered and put on pants, then zipped up to deck 10 to grab some pizza to tide me over until dinner, since those tacos weren’t so big. Then met up with C back at the RFRB (I did not drink rum because the smell still makes me kind of queasy) though I shortly ditched her to go listen to the amazing violin trio and hang out with my new friends Nepa and Ruth at the atrium bar until it was dinner time.

 

So I’m not usually a big hibachi fan, but after reading @TxTeach79's stellar review from his NYE cruise, I ended up booking Bonsai Teppanyaki. Oh my GOD this was an amazing experience - and so much freaking food. I ended up leaving behind like half of the entree but I just couldn’t possibly eat it all. They gave us spicy tuna, garlic shrimp, crispy pork belly, miso soup and a salad as starters, then for the entree I chose teriyaki salmon and steak, with rice and stir fried veggies. (I don’t care for fried rice so asked for some plain white rice, but it was super entertaining to watch the guy make it.) Dessert was a “chocolate bento box” with 6 different things, including green tea ice cream, chocolate cake, chocolate covered strawberry, and some kind of juice. I had to waddle my way out of the room when we were done. Even though I was the only single one at the table, everyone else was really nice and friendly and funny. Plus our hibachi chef Gershun had some jokes and some PIPES! (I may or may not have been tipsy enough to be singing along to most of them haha.) Not to mention their cocktail called the Geisha reminds me so much of my favorite drink from the comedy club, the whimsy Scarlett. Would I do this again every trip? Probably not, but it’s SO worth doing at least once.

 

(Be prepared, I took a LOT of pictures.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, I caught up with C, who was well and thoroughly drunk, at Alchemy, and finally got my first custom Alchemy creation of the cruise (surprised it took this long), which tasted like a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar in drink form. She’d made some new friends and was getting into all kinds of mayhem, and I finally had to bow out and run down to the 9:45 adult comedy show with Tim Homayoon.

 

 

After that, my overly ambitious “wants to do everything” mind said mega deck party, but my tired eyes and feet said bed - and they won. Hehe.

[allinwonderland]

DAY 4

 

Drank my coffee outside today while catching up on emails (my cell provider covers Mexico like normal) and staring at the beautiful (hehe) industrial port of Mazatlan. I wasn’t planning on getting off the ship today since I did a city tour last time I was here, and the only other options seem to be adventurous stuff (not my thing) or beach/resort pass for a day. I don’t know about you all but if I paid for a pool on Lido and my cheers package, I’m not about to repeat. LOL.

 

Because I wasn’t going to get off the ship, I signed up for one of the Carnival kitchen classes. The one they offered today was called Morning Hustle and featured a bunch of items from the sea day brunch menu - French toast, ham and cheese frittata, and huevos rancheros. They even had us pick out fruits and veggies for our own fresh pressed juices! I didn’t snap a ton of pictures of the process because my hands were busy/dirty; it wasn’t that hard to make the stuff, but I also cook pretty regularly at home. And even though we had to share most of the things (half a frittata, one piece of French toast per person) it was still SO much food, my stomach was fit to burst at the end.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, I grabbed a spiked coffee (unfortunately not from Neenee at the ocean plaza bar, because that bar was shut down - of course she probably was on a well deserved break!) and hung out in ocean plaza for a while to write, which I hadn’t done yet this trip but is usually a key component of my relaxing vacation.

 

For lunch, I made myself a sad little salad from the Lido salad bar (seriously would it kill them to put out some chicken on there??) and grabbed a Quattro formaggi pizza, since for some reason I wasn’t feeling a burger. In the same way, none of the cakes in the buffet were really tempting me, so I had a mudslide for dessert instead.

 

Spent the rest of the afternoon seeking out a comfy and warm spot to write, until I finally had enough and came back to the cabin to change, then went to Alchemy, where Dragana was working tonight - and she remembered me from last trip! Oscar made me an incredible creamy mint martini with gin, then a creamy coconut martini, while I waited for C who was supposed to meet me there. Welllllll long story short I ended up having to go collect C from the RFRB and get some food into her.

 

 

 

We ate in the MDR tonight; I had onion soup, the cornmeal crusted chicken, and chocolate melting cake with a side of peanut butter. It was all fine, nothing stellar.

 

 

 

 

After we ate, C decided it was bedtime and I went to hang out with Neenee at ocean plaza for a bit before grabbing a comfy seat for the love and marriage show. So glad I got to see it (I missed it last time because of conflicting steakhouse reservations). Marty did a great job with the innuendo, and the couples were all hysterical, especially the “middle couple”, who ended up winning. But the theater was super hot and stuffy, so after the show I ended up just going to bed.

[allinwonderland]

DAY 5 - Part 1

 

For breakfast today I got a burrito at the BI and also tried the arepas - those were awesome! The burrito was better than the one I got on. my last cruise, but still not stellar; I do think I’d have this again as a break from always eating omelets in the morning though. Also made my own mimosa with a glass of champagne and that heavenly orange passionfruit juice.

 

 

Eating on Lido also meant we got to see the towel animal takeover!!

 

 

 

Then after coffee (iced today, because it was already warm and a little muggy eating upstairs) I met C in the atrium to get off the ship at around 11 ship's time (noon local). She was already a little tipsy and I was a little nervous about carting her around town.

 

We got in a taxi and went to the malecon, because I was really excited to actually see Puerto Vallarta this time (last time I did Rhythms of the Night, which was wonderful, but it meant that I ended up staying on the ship in the morning and never actually saw the port city). Walked the whole length twice admiring the art and the guys who do the pole swinging dance (I promise that's not as dirty as it sounds, I just don't know what else to call it!!), and then stopped at a beachfront restaurant to get C some food, since she didn’t eat on the ship; I wasn't hungry, so I got a passionfruit margarita, which was summer yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a quick pit stop to see the Our Lady of Guadeloupe church, we walked over the Rio Cuale bridge into the Zona Romantica, to meet our tour guide at Lazaro Cardenas park by 3pm local. Thankfully it was all very easy to navigate and find our way there, even though the heat in PV was the worst of all 3 ports (not quite as muggy and awful as September, but slightly on the same scale).

 

 

 

But oh no! Right before the tour was about to start, C got food poisoning or something from her lunch. So she headed back to the ship and left me to take the tour alone.

[allinwonderland]

DAY 5 - Part 2

 

I booked a food tour called Mexology: Tequila, Tacos, and Mexican Cocktails through Viator, run by Vallarta Food Tours. Would definitely recommend. Love that PV is such a long stop because I never felt worried about missing the ship with an independent tour. There were 7 stops.

 

De Cantaro: shrimp taco and a hibiscus cocktail with raicilla and merlot

 

Joe Jack’s Fish Shack: Baja style fish taco and pineapple mezcal drink

 

Sonorita: al pastor taco and a regular lime margarita (along with a raicilla tasting)

 

Don Chava: volcano (like a fried crispy open face taco) with steak and cheese

 

El Brujo: steak rolled inside melted cheese on a taco, and a raicilla drink with citrus and basil

 

Zapata: traditional Mexican paloma, along with a mezcal shot

(the picture of this one was really blurry, sorry!)

 

Bar Playa: cucumber margarita

(This was the only thing that wasn’t that great, and I ended up tossing most of it out before hopping in a cab back to the ship. However, the guide did say that the usual last stop on this tour is a bar called Mezcal y Sal that’s apparently very well known in town, but they’re closed on Wednesdays, so probably if you took the tour on any other day, the last stop would be better).

 

Overall, the tour was an incredible success. I swear at each stop the food just got BETTER, although the first two drinks were definitely my favorite. And we got to walk around and see a good little chunk of PV, which I appreciated. Be warned, the streets in PV are something else, and the roads are worse! Drivers are insane here.

 

I honestly think this was my favorite port stop of the entire itinerary, and I’m seriously thinking about coming back to PV on a land trip. It’s so beautiful, interesting, and just the right balance of commercialized and safe-feeling without being too much of an expensive tourist trap like parts of Cabo.

 

By the time I got back to the ship, having hitched a cab ride with another couple on the tour who were also on the ship, I desperately needed a shower. Then I met up with C, who was thankfully feeling better, to grab a little bit of dinner on Lido, though we quickly split again; I got the black raspberry truffle spiked milkshake because I wanted something sweet (and because I regretted not trying one last time), and she wanted to get a drink.

 

 

Then I hung out in the atrium listening to the violins for a bit, grabbed one of Neenee’s fabulous espresso martinis and went to the adult comedy showcase in the main lounge with the two new comedians: Jason Love and Eric Blake. They were both funny, although about half of Jason’s set involved him pulling out a guitar - he wasn’t a bad guitar player or singer,  but it was just kind of odd. Hopefully when I see his regular show he doesn’t do that again.

 

At that point, while I was really hoping to make it to Carnival Quest at 11:30, my body was just saying no way - all the sun and tequila on shore finally catching up to me - so I crashed.

Edited February 3, 2023 by allinwonderland

[allinwonderland]

DAY 6

 

Sea day, ahh! Woke up, got coffee, checked in for brunch. I ordered the huevos rancheros (which weren’t nearly as good as the ones I made in the cooking class the other day) and the skillet cake (which was so much better than when I had it back in September).

 

 

Then I went to the military appreciation event. This was such a heartwarming event - more than a bit of a tearjerker, especially when some of the Vietnam vets shared their stories. Honestly, the fact that Carnival does this on every cruise kind of makes me feel good about giving them my vacation dollars. It was a very worthy way to spend an hour on this sea day.

 

 

Today I had the pasta bar for lunch - fettuccini Alfredo, Caesar salad, and bread - since that was another thing I never got around to doing last time. It was all good but nothing spectacular. From the buffet I snagged a slice of chocolate vanilla marble cake and apple crumble cake for dessert.

 

 

 

 

Afterward I set up camp in Ocean Plaza to write for a bit. This ended up being a pretty slow and lazy day until the evening - like I didn’t do much of note besides eat and write. C was also off recovering from her last night’s shenanigans so we didn’t meet up until just before dinner.

 

I went to Eric Blake's 6pm PG comedy show and geeeeez that dude was funny even without the cursing! I can’t wait to go see his adult show. Only problem was it was so packed I could barely get a seat and couldn’t ever get a server’s attention. So by the time I arrived at the steakhouse for dinner I was definitely ready to open the wine.

 

I’d picked up a bottle of a red blend to take onto the ship because I don’t always get along with red wine, but when you’re eating steak, that’s like just what you have to drink. I drank about half the bottle over the course of the meal (thought I’d be sharing it with C, but she didn’t want to mix wine and liquor). Ordered the onion soup, stuffed mushrooms (shared those with C), filet mignon with sides of broccoli and macaroni and cheese, and the cheesecake for dessert. It was all amazing as usual.

 

 

 

 

 

C and I agreed that even at the $48 cover charge, it’s pretty worth it when you think about how much nice land-based steakhouses in our area charge. And for me, even though I have the drink package and could’ve gotten my wine by the glass, it was worth buying a cheap bottle on land and then paying the $15 corkage to know I’d have a varietal I like.

 

Rather than order an espresso martini at the steakhouse, I ate my dessert without one and then went to Neenee in ocean plaza (of course) before adult comedy at 9:45. (Pro tip: Order your espresso martinis my way, with a little Frangelico and Bailey's added!)

 

 

Jason Love was pretty funny but unfortunately the guitar did feature in his set again - I wasn’t super thrilled, like I came to see a comedian and not an amateur singer songwriter okay? After that I was feeling a little tired, but rallied and went to Alchemy for a couple more drinks before going to bed. I think the first one was coconut pineapple something from Oscar, and the second one was like a strawberry cucumber mojito from Amel.

 

 

[allinwonderland]

DAY 7

 

Woke up, got dressed, liquid IV - the usual. I was determined to get decent huevos rancheros today so I went to the Blue Iguana; also got an arepa and some pastries from the buffet. After that I found C at the red frog bar, and we chatted with Ryan for a bit until she went off to meet some other friends for brunch and I got my coffee, then hung out in ocean plaza writing.

 

 

For lunch, I had to go get some P&A Mac and cheese, because that stuff is the best and they only offer it on sea days. I rounded out lunch with some pizza and soft serve, since once again the buffet cakes weren’t that appealing. Then back to ocean plaza, which was packed. (Sorry I’ve been so boring these last couple days! But I was just worn out from the ports and needed to have my lazy vacay.)

 

 

 

Had my pre-dinner drink(s) at Alchemy while C had to deal with her pounds of luggage. Funny story: after the first one, I went to the bathroom and told Dragana to hold my seat, and that I wanted one more. But then I came back and Amel was now on shift, and happened to be standing in front of me when I sat down, so I told him to make me something - unaware that Dragana had already started mixing me another. Oops! They even both used blueberry vodka, but were very different drinks. Just more proof that Alchemy bartenders are magic.

 

 

 

 

(Drinks 1 and 2 were from Dragana, 3 was from Amel)

 

In what I think is going to be a new cruise tradition for me, I booked dinner for this last night of the cruise at Cucina. C hadn’t made any plans but decided at the last second that she wanted to tag along, and of course because I was a party of 1, there was space for her to join.

 

The food was as spectacular as it was last time: we started with that heavenly garlic bread, then I had a Caesar salad, the chicken Parm with a side of spaghetti, and the apple crostata with caramel ice cream for dessert. And I polished off the other half of my bottle of red wine from the night before.

 

 

 

 

 

After that I went down to the limelight lounge to try and get a good seat for 9:45 adult comedy. Eric Blake was hysterical, as expected, and I had one last whimsy Scarlett. Then I went to the atrium bar to hear the violin trio - though they were only a duo tonight - for my final drink of the night before bed; the ultimate XO martini is really yummy (kind of tastes like horchata!) but can't hold a candle to Neenee's espresso martinis.

 

[allinwonderland]

DAY 8

 

Debark day, boo!!

 

We actually got in early; by the time my alarm went off at 7:45, Marty was already on the loudspeaker talking about how self-debark would be getting started soon. They only ask you to be out of the cabins at 8:30 so I was now a little behind schedule, oops! Because I prefer to pack at the last second, and only have one reasonably sized piece of luggage, I prefer to do the carry-off. By the time I was out of the cabin, they’d already called my muster station (A5) so I pretty much just walked right off the ship.

 

After having 3 different Lyft drivers suddenly disappear on me right as they approached the port and then getting reassigned to someone else, I finally said screw it and hopped in a taxi. Since my flight wasn’t until the afternoon, I had planned to go to brunch in Long Beach.

 

Ahead of the trip I researched restaurants in the area and ended up at this cute little diner-esque spot called the Omelette Inn. It was very nice, no-frills, with awesome breakfast food that reminded me quite a bit of this place near where I grew up (that unfortunately closed down a few years ago). I got an omelet with bacon, cheese, and avocado, with a side of hash browns and a peanut butter muffin, all for a very reasonable price.

 

 

After eating, I caught a Lyft to the airport, and spent a few hours sitting around the Long Beach airport terminal (singular terminal, bc it’s such a small freaking airport) until my flight left.

[allinwonderland]

Final thoughts:

 

Cheers was 100% worth it for me this time. Did I ever hit 15? Nooooooo. Did I get my money's worth? Heck yes!

 

Specialty dining was also 100% worth it. The MDR is only worth eating at on formal nights IMO (and I don't like lobster so I skip that one). But that doesn't bother me so much, because there are other options. Just my $0.02 and how I like to spend my money/what I care about. I know there are family members I could NEVER get on a Carnival cruise because of the food situation.

Weirdly enough I only ate Guy's Burger on the first day. I just wasn't feeling it for some reason.

Blue Iguana more than redeemed itself with breakfast (arepaaaaaaaaas), and the pizza remains awesome. Buffet cakes, aside from day 1, were a little underwhelming, but that's probably a good thing for my waist, haha.

 

I really made an effort to get to know more of the crew this time, and they are the absolute nicest (shout-out to Ryan at RFRB, Neenee at ocean plaza, Nepa and Ruth at the atrium bar, and the entire Alchemy crew - Oscar, Diego, Amel, and honorary mention to Dragana). I can't imagine how I would stay so upbeat and positive working the hours they do, for 6-8 months at a time being stuck on the ship and so far from their home. Especially the bartenders who have to put up with our silly, sorry, drunk-fool-acting behinds.

 

The weather was lovely, and I would hands-down do this cruise in January again.

 

There are still a few things I didn't get to do (SkyRide, deck parties, nightclub, try a drink from some of the bars) but this time around I think I really accepted the idea that the best vacation comes when you just go with the flow.

 

Do I have another Panorama trip planned yet? Nope - absence makes the heart grow fonder and all. I've got an eye on the Caribbean for my next cruise, so I'm sniffing around other lines, and also haven't ruled out the possibility of going back to Puerto Vallarta at an AI.

 

Hopefully I haven't put anyone to sleep with all my blabbing! Happy to take specific questions about the ship, the ports, or any part of my experience.

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

Enjoying your review. We will be sailing in April. I have been on the Panorama 3 times previously, but I have a couple of questions. Where is Fresh Creations? Did they have lobster on the first elegant night? Thank you. 

[allinwonderland]

12 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

Where is Fresh Creations? Did they have lobster on the first elegant night? Thank you. 

 

Fresh Creations is the salad bar on Serenity, which is deck 15. They only have this open on sea days.

 

Lobster is now served on the second elegant night, not the first.

[TxTeach79]

Awesome review so far - I need to go back and catch up from the beginning and soak it all in! I love the Vista class, Panorama is the one I still have yet to sail!! SO glad you liked the Teppanyaki - ain't it great?!? I'm gonna miss it on my next three sailings, but I'm locked in on Celebration in December. Keep it coming, this is good stuff!

[allinwonderland]

3 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

 SO glad you liked the Teppanyaki - ain't it great?!? 

I swear Carnival owes you affiliate money because I booked it. 😂

[Reva_Dearchi]

43 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

 

Fresh Creations is the salad bar on Serenity, which is deck 15. They only have this open on sea days.

 

Lobster is now served on the second elegant night, not the first.

Hello!  What days are elegant nights on?  Thanks

[cruisingguy007]

Great review! I had a bunch of drinks from many of the same bartenders, we must have passed each other at some point because it seems we had to be in the same place, at the same, at some point lol. We had a bunch of espressotini's too! Thanks for sharing! 

[allinwonderland]

5 hours ago, Reva_Dearchi said:

Hello!  What days are elegant nights on?  Thanks

Elegant nights were the 2nd and 6th days. On this version of the itinerary they were both sea days.

[Caribensun]

Great review!  What room did you have?  Would you eat in Cucina more than one night?  Appreciated all of your photos and drink choices too.

[allinwonderland]

8 hours ago, Caribensun said:

Great review!  What room did you have?  Would you eat in Cucina more than one night?  Appreciated all of your photos and drink choices too.

 

I think I would definitely do Cucina more than once, because I love Italian food. The price is just so good for the amount and quality of food you get.

 

I had an inside room on floor 7 (oh yeah, that's another pro tip. I feel like staying on floor 7 on this class of ship meant it was an easy few flights of stairs up or down to wherever I wanted to go), a little bit closer to the forward side than I would prefer, but it was still fine.

[sanmarcosman]

35 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

I had an inside room on floor 7 (oh yeah, that's another pro tip. I feel like staying on floor 7 on this class of ship meant it was an easy few flights of stairs up or down to wherever I wanted to go), a little bit closer to the forward side than I would prefer, but it was still fine.

Deck 7 isn't for us, too many kids running around to the trampoline zone place and hanging around sitting on the stairways. Thanks for your review of Panorama, your food photos made me hungry.