BelowDeck4us

Cruised on the Panorama in August.  Was very impressed with Starlink.  It was faster than expected.  Encountered just a handful of instances where I had issues with connectivity for 45-60 seconds, but overall it was a significant internet improvement over our previous Panorama cruise.

19 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

That's not how ir's supposed to work.  The SOLAS muster drill requirement is for each passenger, not a representative from each stateroom.  When they scan one S&S card, they can see everyone assigned to that cabin on their tablets, but they're only supposed to select those who are physically present as having checked in, for obvious reasons.

Totally agree with you.  If you'd been there, you would have seen me struggling to keep a very surprised look off my face.  

When we cruised in August, my wife and 18 year old son went to the muster station, while I was taking care of some reservations.  I showed up at the muster station about 30 minutes later and was informed they had no need to see me, as my wife and son had already taken care of the requirements for our cabin.  

So not everyone has to stop by the muster station (or at least on my cruise they didn't).  😉

On 12/6/2021 at 7:40 PM, willdra said:

The food was good overall. The only thing that was questionable, was why they call those shrimp Buffalo? There was not one thing Buffalo about those shrimp. Unless the shrimper who caught them was named Buffalo, or from Buffalo. They actually did not have one drop of seasoning on 'em. Maybe call them plain fried shrimp, cuz naming them Buffalo is misleading. I know how Carnival rolls tho, so I did not have my mouth ready for Buffalo sauce. With Carnival you gotta wait and see. Don’t assume. Sometimes details are lost in translation.

In your photo you had two small condiment cups, but they forgot to give you a third cup.  Their shrimp are "Buffalo" shrimp because they should have given you a condiment cup of Buffalo dip/sauce to dip the shrimp into.  Or at least that's what they gave me when I ordered the Buffalo shrimp aboard the Panorama in early 2020.

Keep up your great reviews....they are simply the best!!  You're sense of humor is to die for and is a great reminder of the primary coping mechanism some of us use to stay sane throughout life, especially in these trying times!!  

We cruised on one of last Panorama trips pre-Covid in Feb 2020.  I checked our itinerary and our scheduled Long Beach arrival time was 9 a.m.   I'm not sure what time we actually arrived, but I'd estimate they started disembarking around 7:30 a.m.  As we had stayed in a suite, we were in one of the earlier groups off the ship and were sitting just outside the terminal by 8:10 a.m.  

The longest wait we had was for our ride, which arrived around 9 a.m.  As it was a Saturday, traffic was light to LAX and we encountered no accidents.  LAX is farther LGB, but we still arrived just before 9:30 a.m.  

Overall, everything fell perfectly into place for us.   We were very lucky.  For example, we had a propulsion issue that started one night in Mexico, but it apparently didn't affect our return time to Long Beach.  

I truly hope it all works out for you.  But your flight time is hyper aggressive and would make me a total basket case.  Why ruin the last few days or more of your cruise worrying about whether your going to make your flight?  Unless you're able to self medicate and make the worries go away.....😊

1 hour ago, mexicobob said:

Love cruising in warm weather places. That being said on a scale of 1-10, Alaska would be about 37. Unbelievable. Excursions that involve helicopters or small airplanes are well worth it but very expensive. 

You hit the nail on the head.  Couldn't agree with you more.  One of the first airplane excursions we ever took was to Taku Glacier Lodge.  To this day it remains our favorite cruise excursion.  Just incredible, though expensive.  

Everyone's budget is consideration #1, but if cruising in a balcony room is on your bucket list, then doing it on an Alaskan cruise should be at the top of your list.  

We cruised on the Panorama in February.  Sign up for YTD, eat early & use the app.  We never had much, if any, of a wait.  Tell your server you want to make the show that evening.  You'll want to get to theater before the doors open, if you want your choice of the best seats.  We loved Rock Revolution and Celestial Strings.  

On 9/28/2020 at 11:48 AM, TNcruising02 said:

It worked great for our Panorama cruise last December.  After people got the hang of it, it saved a lot of time.  It prevented everyone in the elevator area from rushing to the first one that opened.  It's definitely a great idea and I hope the Mardi Gras has the same type.

Agree with you.  We cruised on the Panorama earlier this year in February, which was our second cruise that used this new type of elevator system.  We, in general, encountered fewer full elevators and many people, but definitely not all, seemed to be quick learners.  It's a significant change, one that some will never embrace or like, but I, too, am supportive of this new elevator technology.

We were on the Bliss to Alaska 5 weeks earlier and had a great time!  Hope to sail on her again soon!

May.

On 6/21/2020 at 8:17 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

In my opinion, the theaters/lounges on Vista and Horizon (I haven’t sailed on Panorama) are not only the worst on any Carnival ship, with Sunshine’s being right behind them, they are easily the worst of any ship I have cruised on. I have no plans to ever cruise on Vista or Horizon again, although I might sail on Panorama once at some point in the future. 

We would sail again on the Panorama in a heartbeat.  We loved the ship, but that's due, in part, to the fact the theater and atrium aren't as important to us.  However, the Panorma's theater, like its sister ships, is substandard.  It was small, with many seats having poor "sight lines".  And while the atrium was quite beautiful, it was very small and the few activities we attended there quickly resulted in an overflow crowd on multiple levels even before the event started.  

1)  Value proposition 

2)  Trivia  (yes, we idolize Alex Trebek)  

3)  Food options  

Some people have a negative opinion of Carnival, due in part to their reputation portrayed in the media and their "cheap" cruise prices, but if there's one thing you learn in life after living a number of years, price doesn't always equal quality and the media is seldom objective with their reporting.   Simply put, when we go on vacation we want to have fun and be ourselves, both of which Carnival is very successful at, for a very reasonable price.  

Our last two Carnival cruises were on the Freedom and Panorama.  We loved both ships.  Admittedly the Panorama had a few more activities, but those activities were also usually more crowded than on the Freedom.  Condition of the Freedom was good when we went a couple years ago.  The kids in our group liked the Panorama's Sky Zone trampoline park, which isn't on the Freedom.  The shows were better in the main theater on the Panorama,  but we had to line up earlier as there were fewer good seats.

As for your choice, we would hands down choose the 8 night Southern Caribbean itinerary, as we'd be happy to sail again on either the Freedom or Panorama.  

9 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

The idea leaves me cold..  I don't cruise for picnic boxed lunches.  Would they be served in cabin only or ship wide?  Room service doesn't come fresh, it comes lukewarm.  I can see the mess all over the outside decks. Strict rules regarding separating trash would make it impossible for cruisers to dispose of their own leftovers, utensils, etc.

 

Just my opinion.

Agreed.  I have no problem with this option being offered, as long as it didn't replace existing food options, but my first reaction to this idea was I don't cruise to eat boxed meals.  And as pointed out, then there's the trash issues to address.  Perhaps this idea would appeal more to children, as an addition to kids menus....

We were on the Jewel many years ago, followed a couple years ago on the Bliss, then most recently the Panorama.  Agree with most of the prior posts.  The Jewel class ships won't have the amenities & activities of the larger mega ships, so it all comes down to what do your kids like to do aboard ship?  How active are they and do they enjoy their food options?  Mega ships have more of both.  That doesn't mean or the other is better, but rather what do your kids like to do and eat aboard ship?  Research what each ship you're considering has to offer, then compare it to what keeps your kids entertained.  Though I wouldn't describe our son as particularly active, he definitely would tell you he likes the mega ships better and had no issue with larger crowds, which can be a drawback for some adults.  

On 4/25/2020 at 6:53 AM, roger001 said:

I did see a news article today where Lysol is advising us to NOT inject their germ disinfecting solutions.  So, guess that option is off the NCL list of preventive measures.   

Just too many people afraid of needles, including children (who can by symptom free carriers), for that option to be a reasonable, level headed solution.  A more subtle, scientific and low key approach would be to make all ice on the ship from a mixture of 80% water / 20% Lysol.  Problem solved.  Now if Lysol would just cooperate in this endeavor and create flavored Lysol...oops, wait a minute, I've said too much and gave away my Shark Tank idea. 😉

Carnival Panorama.  February 15-22, 2020.  Good food, fun ship.  Feel fortunate to make it back just before all h*** broke loose.   Looking forward to booking our next cruise soon, once things settle down.  

4 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

I was sorry to see the shut-down extension announcement. I hate seeing all these businesses that are forced to stop doing what they do because of this mess. The "I told you so" people should bite their tongue, if you ask me. They're not helping matters. I'm confident that when Carnival does decide to return, it'll be with the health and safety of their passengers and crew in mind. The dates they announce to return aren't set in stone. There's too many factors at play here. There's a lot of people who need to understand that before they point fingers and accuse Carnival of acting carelessly. I've said it more than once, these cruise lines have people in place who are far more knowledgeable on this matters than we are and they are privy to a mountain of information that we aren't. Not to mention, they're in contact with the government to make sure a return can be done in a timely manner, but also safely. To those who raise questions about where cruise ships will go when they return, what island nations will be open to cruise traffic, etc., I have no doubt they will have worked that out ahead of time. It's not like they'll return to service and go blindly out into the ocean hoping someone will take them in. They've been scheduling cruises for decades. Have some confidence that they know what they're doing and they'll be prepared. For those who say you don't want to cruise right away, that's your prerogative, but stop attacking those who will. I, for one, choose not to live in fear of this thing. I know I'm not alone. If you aren't comfortable cruising until much later, you do you. But let others make their own choices without being berated for it.

 

I'm hoping that Carnival, and others, get to resume cruising sooner rather than later.

Amen.  I couldn't have said it better.  

5 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

coronavirus? advanced screening

No advanced screening at the airport, just regular security.  Terminal itself was quite busy, once we cleared security.  We flew back 2/22, so coronavirus was a concern, but it was over the subsequent 7+ days when it really seemed to ramp up exponentially.  

We had a Panorama suite and made this exact same trip to LAX in late February.  We were off the ship a few minutes before 8 a.m.  Traffic was light, so only about 20-25 minutes to LAX.  No airport traffic.  Security line was very short, less than five minutes.  We flew out on Alaska, a different terminal than American, so I'm unsure what, if any, difference there might be for a security wait.

Terminal difference aside, however, assuming your disembarkation is without issue, you have transportation waiting for you and can leave almost immediately, and there are no traffic problems, then you should be ok.  But I would caution you that obviously everything went pretty close to perfect for us, so while it is doable, there is little room for error (delay).  

We've cruised on both the Freedom and Horizon's sister ship, the Panorama. We liked them both and would definitely cruise again on either ship.  The Panorama, of course, was newer and bigger, but whether that makes a difference depends, in part, on what you like to do on board and what you value?  Panorama had more activities, more "bells & whistles".  But do your research on the differences and decide which, if any, of the differences you may use or enjoy.  Compare and contrast the dailies and amenities of each ship.  Any differences in the cabin choices you're considering? Do you put more value on cruising on a newer ship?  

Overall, for us the differences weren't enough.  We'd go with the better itinerary because the primary activities we do aboard are available on both ships.  

Our family went on one of the Panorama's last cruises just as the outbreak ramped up in the U.S. and we had a blast!  Stepping outside of your house, let alone traveling, always entails risk.  But if you let fear rule your life, then what type of life are you left with?  Cruising is relaxing and brings our friends & family together, so we will continue to do so.  

Have you double checked to see how many rolls of toilet paper they now allow you carry on board?  ☺️ 

Cruise Line:  Eliminate or reduce self-service food and beverage options (i.e. buffet).

Me:  Increase the number of discreetly placed hand sanitizer stations.  Have an easier/better hand washing option for passengers upon return to their cabin.  Also maybe include a small pack of hand sanitizer wipes in each cabin.  

Current events will force them to make changes aboard ship, but the question is whether the changes will be meaningful or illusory. 

We only started cruising on Carnival a 3-4 years ago.

We primarily like Carnival for “vibe” and the daily activities.  Initially, I was extremely reluctant to cruise on Carnival, based primarily on the reputation it’s received.  However, once sailing on Carnival, it’s quickly risen to the top of our list.  They do a great job of truly being a fun ship.  Varying and numerous activities throughout the day that we enjoy.  Truly something to do for most interests and ages.  And for me, a vacation is the opportunity to relax and wind down.  So if I want to dress in shorts and shirt for dinner, not a tank top and cut offs, rather cargo shorts and a t-shirt, then I want to feel at home doing so.  I also must say that I was quite surprised with the food quality and food choices offered.  I figured at the cruise price offered by Carnival that the food must be lacking in comparison with its main competitors, but that simply isn’t the case. 

It’s not always about having the biggest ships or newest and shiniest toys on those ships, but rather for us, and pardon the use of business jargon…..Carnival offers the best value proposition.