MissyMac13

2 hours ago, douggw said:

Perfect. I got some today.  Do you have a template for the big poster in the middle?  If not, I am going to try and make one similar.

I bought the poster in the middle on Etsy. It is a magnet. I used lots of Sticky Tac!

BTB = back to back cruisers. They were on the 3 day and our 7 day. 

I used Sticky Tac. The doors were not metal so the magnet in the middle had a lot of Sticky Tac.

Ports and Excursions - We have been to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta before and we planned no excursions as we have our routines there (Cabo - we go to a restaurant toward the end of the pier and eat lunch, and our daughter at 17 must have a stuffed dolphin from Cabo Adventures, and in PV, we shop at the mall across the street and WalMart.) In Mazatlan, we took a city tour that we found as we got off the ship. It was in an open air taxi, took 2 hours and we were charged $20 each. We were given opportunities to stop and walk around at the beach and in town. Our guide was very knowledgeable and patient as we took photos. We never felt unsafe while doing this. When we got back, we did some shopping, my husband and daughter got massages and we had drinks at one of the open air bars.

Parking - We decided to stay locally the night before and booked a room at Hotel Current for $189 with tax. This included the room, breakfast the next morning, parking for the duration of the cruise and shuttle service to and from the port. The room was decorated in a modern way and the bed was comfortable. We had been told that the breakfast was continental but they had eggs, breakfast meats and pancakes, as well as cereal and pastries. When we checked in, we scheduled the shuttle to the port and when we got back, we called to schedule a shuttle back. We did wait about an hour for the shuttle to pick us up and return us to the hotel, but we were in no hurry and enjoyed people watching. Since parking has gone up at the port, we figured it would be a better deal to stay with all that was included.

We didn't hear any noise from the dining room. 

As far as the kids programs, I saw kids participating in them but since our daughter is 17, she didn't participate. There were kids who went to the Family Harbor lounge to play video games and I think they were there most of the day! The only kids' activity I did was the Build A Bear. There were over 100 people doing it but they had it down to a science and only had to wait about 15 minutes to build my stuffed animal. My suggestion, given that our daughter did participate when she was young is to have your kids participate as much as they can. There is also a cool sports area above the Lido deck where we played mini golf (now on the honor system, you get your own club and ball), corn hole, foosball and ping pong. We spent some time there and in the library, playing Jenga and Sorry.

5 hours ago, MissyMac13 said:

Here is my review of the beautiful Panorama.

Embarkation - We stayed at the Hotel Current in Long Beach so we had their shuttle take us to the port. We dropped off our luggage with no problem and entered the building, as the lounge for Platinum and above is now in the dome. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly Carnival employee, who checked us in and directed us to the lounge to wait. The lounge is beautiful and set up with lots of seating, free video games, water and charging stations for your electronics. My only complaint about the lounge is that you cannot hear any of the announcements while you are in it! There was apparently a problem with all of the BTB cruisers and this delayed our boarding (I don't think that they anticipated over 500 BTB-ers!)

 

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While re-reading the above, I don’t mean to imply that any of the BTB cruisers were a problem. I think that the staff didn’t anticipate that there would be so many of them. They had to get off, go through customs and get back on again, and from what I understand, it was quite the ordeal. Carnival did offer them a free drink in the atrium when they re-boarded. They had to process them before anyone else could board, which I think is fair  

The part of Cherry on Top with the ducks, one of ours that we hid, and someone in our Carnival Kitchen class found one of our hidden ducks. 

Us on our balcony and some dogs in the dome. 

Family Harbor lounge set up for breakfast. Also, photos of the latte and ice cream machines. And the coffee mug we brought home. The also had a book in our cabin devoted to Panorama and we were able to bring that home, too. 

Havana area

Carnival Kitchen

Build A Bear, or in my case, build a dinosaur. 

Puerto Vallarta welcome, my husband and I with CD Emma,  special pins for sale at Pixels, deck 5 relaxation.

More Teppanyaki and Guy Fieri wax figure. We decided it was kinda creepy.

Teppanyaki photos

The view from our balcony and our television welcome.

The blimp, lido deck and our decorated door.

Two photos of the lounge and the ship  

Deli was open until 11pm and Lido had some food until Midnight. We did order room service once. We ordered grilled cheese and fries for my daughter and chicken tenders for us. $10 total and they were delivered hot. The chicken tenders were really good.

Shows/events - We went to one show - the Celestial Strings show. It was really good. We also went to the Lip Sync Battle because we had met one of the contestants and wanted to cheer him on. (and he won!) We also went to trivia a couple of times and I made a Build A Bear for my grandson. We went to the Christmas tree lighting and Santa's visit too. All events were just great.

CD Emma - She is so full of energy and did a special Q and A on one of the sea days. It was interesting to hear about her and how she structures her day. She is so sweet! If you get the opportunity to sail with her, do it.

Carnival Kitchen - We scheduled the Holiday class because most of the others were full. It was an hour long class and we decorated Gingerbread Houses. The kitchen is set up like a test kitchen with I-pads at each station to watch the instructor, and we had the houses already built so we just decorated them. It was so much fun! I would definitely do another class again.

Casino - What can I say? It was nice to us on some days and cruel on others. We ended up having cash to spend in port and to apply to our Sail and Sign. I was not a fan of the new straws they use for the drinks. Ugg.

Platinum/Diamond Party - This was scheduled for the last sea day and they had so many of us that they had to have two parties. They weren't checking cards when you entered so there were lots of people in our party who came for the free drinks/food. 

Shops - There is one shop devoted to Panorama and her "inaugural" season. We bought a replica of the ship bell, a jacket, magnets and and a coffee mug. The Cherry on Top store also has an area devoted to cruising ducks. We didn't go in any of the other stores.

Debarkation - We ate breakfast in the Family Harbor lounge and waited there to be called off the ship, which took us off around 10am. We were not self-assist and it was confusing to find our luggage, as our number was way in front of the dome and the line to go through customs was long and going a different way. We discovered that if we had a porter help us, we could go through a different line and get out quicker (which we did!)

I am sure that I forgot some things and I will post some photos later. If you have any questions, ask away!

Here is my review of the beautiful Panorama.

Embarkation - We stayed at the Hotel Current in Long Beach so we had their shuttle take us to the port. We dropped off our luggage with no problem and entered the building, as the lounge for Platinum and above is now in the dome. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly Carnival employee, who checked us in and directed us to the lounge to wait. The lounge is beautiful and set up with lots of seating, free video games, water and charging stations for your electronics. My only complaint about the lounge is that you cannot hear any of the announcements while you are in it! There was apparently a problem with all of the BTB cruisers and this delayed our boarding (I don't think that they anticipated over 500 BTB-ers!) Once we were told that we could board, we walked up some long ramps to get on the ship. Anyone needing assistance was able to take the elevator. Once onboard, we were walked through the casino to the elevators so we could leave our luggage in our room.

A word about the elevators - they are "smart" elevators. Meaning that you push the floor you want for the number of passengers you have and you are told which elevator will be coming for you. Once you enter the elevator, the only buttons are to open and close the doors and the emergency buttons. This was something we had to get used to but after a few days, it was not too difficult to deal with.

Room - We stayed in an AFT balcony in the Family Harbor area - cabin 2497. There were three closets and enough room for all of our clothes. The balcony was private as there is no walkway on deck 2 at the back of the ship. We had a couple of issues with the room that were taken care of quickly - the steel door covering the balcony door would not latch and was making noise in the wind, and there was a gurgling noise from the shower. We reported this immediately and they were taken care of within a few hours. We LOVED the Family Harbor lounge. There was breakfast every morning (eggs, meats, oatmeal, fruit, pastries, waffles) and milk and yogurt was available all day. They brought in snacks during the afternoon and evening and we had our own ice cream machine and a latte machine that also made hot chocolate. For my husband, that was worth the extra price as the lattes were the same as what was served in the MDR. There are plenty of areas to sit and relax and they also have televisions and video games. Our cabin stewart was Awayne and he was fantastic. 

Muster Drill - It was in the dining room one level above us. This dining room was for anytime dining, which we did not have. The drill took about 20 minutes.

Food - We booked the Teppanyaki Restaurant (think Benihana on a ship.) It was outstanding. Our daughter is vegetarian and the chef was very accomodating to her needs. The food there was great. We also ate at the Steakhouse and the food was great there, too. We ate at the Marketplace (Lido) a few times and the food was fine. I did not have Guy's Burgers but did eat at Pig and Anchor for lunch one day and that was also good. The pasta restaurant, Asian restaurant and Pig and Anchor are free during lunch, so if you don't want to pay for it, try it at lunch.

The MDR was good. Our waiter, Noel, was extremely attentive. We were blessed with a Senior Waiter named Ken, who sang before the wait staff started their show and he was outstanding. It was nice to hear someone singing while you are having dinner! We were at a table for 6 but the other 3 never showed up.

We booked the 7 day starting December 14 in a Horizon Family cabin. We have an extended balcony. I had no problem with booking online and I like the "easy monthly payment" option.

Guys Pig and Anchor is outstanding if you like BBQ. It's only open on sea days and for a few hours each day, so look at the Fun Times for the days/hours. I echo the pasta place - go during lunch because they charge if you eat there for dinner. It is delicious!

We used Fulton as well and paid $78 with tax to park from Sunday to Sunday. We didn't have to wait for a shuttle either way and I highly recommend them.

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We were on Dream two weeks ago and I agree with you on the pasta. I had some for lunch and although it was hot and tasty, it wasn't THAT good that I would pay for it at dinner. Now Guys Pig and Anchor - YUM.