PaddleAddict

Alrighty folks, I think you've convinced us to forego the cross-country flights and allure of the Caribbean Seas for the convenience of no flying and the draw of a very cool new ship. We will get back to the Caribbean as soon as we can but for this summer, I think it's the Panorama for us! Can't thank everyone enough for the valuable input!

This is such great advice, I can't thank you enough!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! My boys will flip for a trampoline park, had no idea that was on the ship.

Thank you for this tip about the kids club! I assume that is fairly early on embarkation day?

So, thank you for bringing this up. This is something to consider. Despite having lived here my entire life, I've never been to those ports (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas). I have only been to Ensenada on the so-called "booze cruises" with friends (and once with the kids, their first and only cruise ... we did not get off at port due to covid restrictions at that time). Is the water warm and calm at those Mexican ports like in the Caribbean? Are the beaches nice? The beaches and warm water are the draw for the Caribbean, but maybe I'm neglecting a very good different option on this coast.

Yes, pre-kids those ports wouldn't have appealed to us but with the kids I can see the draw.

I also would like to go back to NOLA! I've only been once pre-cruise.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

Other than a very brief weekend cruise on RCCL to Ensenada two years ago, my husband and I have not cruised in 10 years. I used to be "in the know" about cruise lines, ships, and cruise experiences, and now I feel like I just crawled out from under a rock. We also used to sail alone and now have two kids under 10, and I know nothing about kids and Carnival (kids club, shipboard activities, etc.). Can I get some thoughts and opinions on these potential cruises? Looking at three different ships and a mix up of private islands and other POC. We've never been on a newer mega ship and have no idea what that experience is like. I've also never been to any of the private islands (nor have we been to Grand Turk) so I don't know which are better or worse. We have been to Belize, Cozumel, and San Juan, so know what to expect there (over a decade ago, though). We have been on the Liberty but that was almost 20 years ago. Our kids are 9 and 5 and this will be their second cruise, first trip to the Caribbean. These are the cruises we are considering for this August (flying from California): 6-Day Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL Carnival Vista Half Moon Cay > Grand Turk > Amber Cove 7-Day Western Caribbean from New Orleans, LA Carnival Liberty Mahogany Bay > Belize > Cozumel 7-Day from Miami, FL Carnival Magic Eastern San Juan > Amber Cove > Grand Turk OR Western: Cozumel > Belize > Mahogany Bay

Thank you all so much for the replies! Some of this makes us more inclined to book, especially if the kids clubs are operating normally again. But it would be really disappointing to cruise if the experiences are diminished due to so many staff out for covid. Maybe they should not be booking the ships so full? We all had covid already so not too concerned about picking it up. More worried about noro, which we’ve gotten on cruises. Too bad the buffets are self serve again. I really liked not having to touch the utensils.

Thank you so much for this report! This is the ship we will be looking at, probably the Catalina/Ensenada itinerary. Do you happen know if unvaccinated passengers can get off the ship in Ensenada? In February it wasn’t allowed unless you booked a ship tour.

We cruised in February for the first time in years. The on-board experience was masks for all while indoors regardless of vaccination status. They also had vaccinated and unvaccinated venues. The kids club was limited capacity and allowed only one guaranteed reservation for the entire cruise (a three-day cruise). We are thinking about booking another cruise for summer and I scoured the FAQs on the RCCl website but I can’t for the life of me get any real information. What is the on-board experience like? Masks indoors still? Distancing? Non-vaccinated passengers not allowed in certain places. Of most importance to us is the kids club. We don’t want to cruise if it’s still limited in any way as that was very disappointing to both my kids and my husband and I.