Panorama out of Long Beach

[TNcruising02]

7 hours ago, SJCSuzy said:

Thanks for all the insight into the Panorama! I'm sailing on her in February and am getting excited!

 

I'm wondering if your scheduled time back in to Long Beach was 9am like my cruise is, and what time you actually docked. I'd really like to take a flight home at 10:30am from LGB as opposed to the next flight at 1pm but if we can't get off until 9am that will never work. 

 

When we sailed this same cruise this past February we were at the airport by 8:30am doing self-disembark so I'm wondering if it's likely going to be that same way this time. I appreciate any insight you can provide!

 

Suzy

We were scheduled to return at 9:00 am, but were docked by 6:00 am.  There was a delay in letting people off of the ship because of a medical issue, so they started letting people off around 7:40 or so.

[Cafedumonde]

Hate to say it but it cracks me up thAt there is trash in the ocean on the cost of the most vocally “environmentalist” state.  I have never seen trash in the ocean at other US ports.  Thanks for the review.

[TNcruising02]

1 hour ago, Cafedumonde said:

Hate to say it but it cracks me up thAt there is trash in the ocean on the cost of the most vocally “environmentalist” state.  I have never seen trash in the ocean at other US ports.  Thanks for the review.

I agree.  I found it ironic that a state with some of the most regulations does not do a good job with one of the most hazardous situations.  They have warnings on everything under the sun, but can't figure out how to prevent trash from spilling into the ocean through drains and aren't on top of cleaning it up.

I used to live in California many years ago.  It was nothing like how it is today.  It's very sad to see.  I had a wonderful cruise and my hotel in Long Beach was great.  The Panorama is a beautiful ship.

 

It's really too bad about the trash.

Edited December 26, 2019 by TNcruising02

[crucero]

On 12/23/2019 at 1:44 PM, TNcruising02 said:

I stayed at the Maya and took their shuttle bus to the port, so I am not exactly sure how hard it is to use a car. Maybe someone who drove for this past cruise can tell you.

 

There is a lot of construction going on in the vicinity and my shuttle driver that took me from the airport to the hotel had to circle around because one of the roads was closed.

 

The terminal area itself seemed clear when I arrived by shuttle around 11:00 am. It also was clear when I exited the terminal around 8:00 am. I hope someone who drove can be more helpful.

 

 

 

 

Was there anywhere near the Hotel Maya to get wine, sodas, and other last minute forgotten items like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc?

 

What did you do in the ports? 
Thank you!

[TNcruising02]

57 minutes ago, crucero said:

Was there anywhere near the Hotel Maya to get wine, sodas, and other last minute forgotten items like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc?

 

What did you do in the ports? 
Thank you!

We only ordered room service for food and didn't need to visit any stores.  I think the Maya has a shuttle that goes into the Long Beach area and I noticed buses close by too.  Hopefully, someone who stayed at the same hotel or at the Queen Mary can help you out on your questions about the stores.  I think there are stores across the bridge.

We took a land and sea tour in Cabo.  The port area is neat with a lot going on in that area, so for people who don't book tours they can just take the tender to the port area and walk around.  The land and sea tour was fun, but much too long.  I wish we had booked one or the other.  We were just ready to get back on the ship by the end of the day.  It was fun though.

In Mazatlán we booked a land tour.  It was fun and informative.  We made several stops.  I wouldn't take young children on it because I think they would get bored.

In Puerto Vallarta we booked the Rhythm of the Nights tour.  This one is expensive, but a lot of fun.  We boarded a two story boat directly from the ship.  The crew on the boat was very entertaining.  They served drinks, but some people chose to purchase wrist bands for unlimited better drinks.  We didn't purchase the wrist bands and had a free pina colada on the way to the beach.  Carnival had two boats with people going on this tour.  

Once we got to the beach, we were seated according to how many people in our party.  My husband and I were seated at a table for two.  The waiter offered us wine or other drinks (free).  My husband had a margarita and I had a Pepsi.  There were multiple buffet areas, so the lines were never long.  Each buffet area served a set of tables, which were situated near the water at varying heights.  The selection was good and there was also a selection of deserts.

After dinner, everyone went to an arena area.  There are padded benches.  The show was amazing.  It was better than we expected and we felt we got our money's worth.  We tipped our waiter, gave a tip as we were leaving the island, and then a tip as we exited the boat for the boat crew.  The entertainment going back was a lot of fun.  I recommend sitting on the first floor of the boat for a good view.  Anyway, I was very happy with that excursion.  If I had a large family, I don't know that I would have paid that much money, but for just my husband and myself it was fine.

Edited December 26, 2019 by TNcruising02

[crucero]

16 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

We only ordered room service for food and didn't need to visit any stores.  I think the Maya has a shuttle that goes into the Long Beach area and I noticed buses close by too.  Hopefully, someone who stayed at the same hotel or at the Queen Mary can help you out on your questions about the stores.  I think there are stores across the bridge.

We took a land and sea tour in Cabo.  The port area is neat with a lot going on in that area, so for people who don't book tours they can just take the tender to the port area and walk around.  The land and sea tour was fun, but much too long.  I wish we had booked one or the other.  We were just ready to get back on the ship by the end of the day.  It was fun though.

In Mazatlán we booked a land tour.  It was fun and informative.  We made several stops.  I wouldn't take young children on it because I think they would get bored.

In Puerto Vallarta we booked the Rhythm of the Nights tour.  This one is expensive, but a lot of fun.  We boarded a two story boat directly from the ship.  The crew on the boat was very entertaining.  They served drinks, but some people chose to purchase wrist bands for unlimited better drinks.  We didn't purchase the wrist bands and had a free pina colada on the way to the beach.  Carnival had two boats with people going on this tour.  

Once we got to the beach, we were seated according to how many people in our party.  My husband and I were seated at a table for two.  The waiter offered us wine or other drinks (free).  My husband had a margarita and I had a Pepsi.  There were multiple buffet areas, so the lines were never long.  Each buffet area served a set of tables, which were situated near the water at varying heights.  The selection was good and there was also a selection of deserts.

After dinner, everyone went to an arena area.  There are padded benches.  The show was amazing.  It was better than we expected and we felt we got our money's worth.  We tipped our waiter, gave a tip as we were leaving the island, and then a tip as we exited the boat for the boat crew.  The entertainment going back was a lot of fun.  I recommend sitting on the first floor of the boat for a good view.  Anyway, I was very happy with that excursion.  If I had a large family, I don't know that I would have paid that much money, but for just my husband and myself it was fine.

Thank you! 

[PekingeseLady]

2 hours ago, crucero said:

Was there anywhere near the Hotel Maya to get wine, sodas, and other last minute forgotten items like Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc?

 

What did you do in the ports? 
Thank you!

No there are no stores close by, But Long Beach has a free bus that picks up and drops off right in the Hotel Maya Parking lot.  Not sure if there shuttles will take you to a store, I think they are fore airport and cruise pickup and dropoff only, but not positive.   The free bus is called the Passport here is a link.

 

https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-line-PASSPORT-Los_Angeles_CA-302-774728-197287-0

[Dunk]

On 12/26/2019 at 7:57 AM, Cafedumonde said:

Hate to say it but it cracks me up thAt there is trash in the ocean on the cost of the most vocally “environmentalist” state.  I have never seen trash in the ocean at other US ports.  Thanks for the review.

 

It literally rains a handful of times each year in Southern California, and that sends trash all at once from upstream into the ocean. In Florida, for example, it rains many times of year every day, and small amounts of trash are carried daily, instead of all at once, so it's not as noticable. In addition, Long Beach has a huge breakwater to protect the shoreline and the oil well islands that were built in the 60's, which prevents good flow in and out of the harbor.   It has nothing to do with environmental regulation or lack thereof. 

[Cafedumonde]

56 minutes ago, Dunk said:

 

It literally rains a handful of times each year in Southern California, and that sends trash all at once from upstream into the ocean. In Florida, for example, it rains many times of year every day, and small amounts of trash are carried daily, instead of all at once, so it's not as noticable. In addition, Long Beach has a huge breakwater to protect the shoreline and the oil well islands that were built in the 60's, which prevents good flow in and out of the harbor.   It has nothing to do with environmental regulation or lack thereof. 

Except that if this is the case, they should be able to deal with it.  Not hard to round up trash.  Pretty poor showing.

[VentureMan_2000]

On 12/26/2019 at 9:06 AM, TNcruising02 said:

I agree.  I found it ironic that a state with some of the most regulations does not do a good job with one of the most hazardous situations.  They have warnings on everything under the sun, but can't figure out how to prevent trash from spilling into the ocean through drains and aren't on top of cleaning it up.

It's really too bad about the trash.

 

 

Yes, most California storm drains "Drains to the Ocean"... there has been a huge effort to mark all storm drains with a placard saying, "Do not Dump, Drains to the Ocean".  Nearly all this debris is from folks littering in one form or another.

However, Long Beach does spend a lot of effort trying to keep the area free of trash and debris.  Check out this article from 2 years ago -- updated September 2017:

https://www.presstelegram.com/2016/01/17/booms-turn-back-trash-in-long-beach-waters/