Quick Thoughts on the Panorama

[jimbo5544]

On 1/26/2020 at 8:29 PM, glrounds said:

Just got off the PANORAMA yesterday. My milestone cruise and I loved it. The elevator thing is easy to figure out and I thought an excellent idea, but there were those the first few days who had no clue until they entered the elevator and discovered there were no buttons for deck selection. Most were quick studies it seemed, however.

 

I was amazed to find the casino was 100% smoking. I don't smoke anymore , but vape now for the last 10 years. But this amazed me. The Promenade goes straight through the casino and the part of the circular bar that is tangent to it has smoking people asked to move around a little bit. Kind of funny, I thought, since the whole place is smoking.  Surprised there weren't more guests complaining about this on CC.

 

Was tickled that the NFL games were carried. The first one in the sports bar was impossible to get seating as booths and tables were all gobbled up HOURS BEFORE the game. Small, although 6 large bar screens. Almost like Carnival got the point and put the second game on the big screen at the DIVE IN movie center. That was great, although my Packers didn't prevail. Excellent picture, far better than I expected on such a huge screen. Deck 11 overlooking the pool and the movies was also smoking on the starboard side so that made it much better for me.

 

Enjoyed everything immensely except for the food in general has gone downhill. Dined at Fahrenheit555 twice and that was great service at least, but just not the same. ATD was not that great for me, either, so I did most of my "dining" from the buffet, which I thought was terrific as buffets go. I'm not a big foodie so take my thinking with a grain of salt.

 

I'm not big on showtimes, but the 60s Revolution show was phenomenal and only being done on the PANORAMA. Don't miss it.

 

The P&D drinkathon filled the main showroom to standing room only. Quite impressive, the youngest DIAMOND being an 8-year-old little girl ! Big change from the days when checking with the cashier at the casino for the FREE slot ticket when there would be 20-30 Platinums onboard. 🙂

 

The cabin, my always favorite porthole cabin was great. The decor or the entire ship was terrific also. I started out trying to write a review, but just couldn't maintain. There was just too much to do. Sorry. 🙂

8 year old diamond is truly impressive.  You mentioned in another post you'd not see any USB ports in your cabin which surprises me.  

[glrounds]

6 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

8 year old diamond is truly impressive.  You mentioned in another post you'd not see any USB ports in your cabin which surprises me.  

 

To be fair, Jim, I really wasn't paying much attention. I did look to see if there was one on the lamp on the nightstand and there wasn't. Also I was in the "cheap seats" (forward inside-priced porthole cabin) which may have had something to do with it. Also most of my charging devices have the male 115v  insert already attached and I just glossed over the USB ports if they were there. Overall, I had a great time.

 

The young girl was up on the stage and obviously did a lot of cruising with her parents. It probably would involve a lot of paperwork, but it would be nice if Carnival did the plaque for most nights at sea on-this-ship thing like Princess does. Could be very interesting as it was for me on the Princess cruise I took.

Edited January 28, 2020 by glrounds

[jimbo5544]

29 minutes ago, glrounds said:

 

To be fair, Jim, I really wasn't paying much attention. I did look to see if there was one on the lamp on the nightstand and there wasn't. Also I was in the "cheap seats" (forward inside-priced porthole cabin) which may have had something to do with it. Also most of my charging devices have the male 115v  insert already attached and I just glossed over the USB ports if they were there. Overall, I had a great time.

 

The young girl was up on the stage and obviously did a lot of cruising with her parents. It probably would involve a lot of paperwork, but it would be nice if Carnival did the plaque for most nights at sea on-this-ship thing like Princess does. Could be very interesting as it was for me on the Princess cruise I took.

I understand, thanks for the reply.   I just went to the TA booking engine and the facts sheet lists them for all cabins.  Maybe porthole they are not out in the open.   We have never sailed porthole, but it does interest me.   Does it open?

[glrounds]

1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:

I understand, thanks for the reply.   I just went to the TA booking engine and the facts sheet lists them for all cabins.  Maybe porthole they are not out in the open.   We have never sailed porthole, but it does interest me.   Does it open?

 

Absolutely NOT. 🙂 The bow splash frequently comes up the side of the ship at this point and when it did rain (once, I recall) the porthole was covered in rain water. There are "decorative" clamps on them, but I'm sure they don't open. I love this slight upgrade from an inside (I think I paid $1.50 per day extra !)which is all I can afford at double occupancy prices. Very popular and almost have to book years in advance to get one. I booked this cruise over a year in advance. As soon as we know when the MARDI GRAS is going to be able to sail, I'm going to try and get one.

 

The only negative I get from other cruisers is the constant crashing of the bow through the swells which at times literally sounds like something is crashing into the ship. Very loud and ominous. Once I understood exactly what it was it became a "grandfather clock" sound (very rhythmic and constant) and lulled me to sleep. I loved it. 🙂

[SDPadreFan]

Just saw a new article on CNET about a product called SyncStop USB Condom. Creative name to say the least.

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, glrounds said:

 

Absolutely NOT. 🙂 The bow splash frequently comes up the side of the ship at this point and when it did rain (once, I recall) the porthole was covered in rain water. There are "decorative" clamps on them, but I'm sure they don't open. I love this slight upgrade from an inside (I think I paid $1.50 per day extra !)which is all I can afford at double occupancy prices. Very popular and almost have to book years in advance to get one. I booked this cruise over a year in advance. As soon as we know when the MARDI GRAS is going to be able to sail, I'm going to try and get one.

 

The only negative I get from other cruisers is the constant crashing of the bow through the swells which at times literally sounds like something is crashing into the ship. Very loud and ominous. Once I understood exactly what it was it became a "grandfather clock" sound (very rhythmic and constant) and lulled me to sleep. I loved it. 🙂

Huh, thanks

[OMGOMGOMG]

That wasn't quick.

[GLCM GUY]

We sail Saturday.  I understand that the cabin keys are now swiped and not inserted in a slot for access.  Is this true and is it as simple as it sounds?   

Thanks in advance.

[3HrTourist]

I was on this same sailing and I agree with you about the food going downhill.  Basically, to get good eats, one needs to pay extra.  I found the very limited dinner buffet to be particularly awful, even for Carnival, and should be avoided at all costs.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 1/26/2020 at 5:47 PM, PlayTheAces said:

We saw some comedy shows in the Limelight Lounge and I was amazed they keep copying the layout of this lounge on all the ships.  It's truly impressive how many columns that block the view of the stage the builders manage to squeeze into such a relatively small space.  Even one of the comedians made fun of it.

I have heard and read lots of complaints about the Limelight Lounge on Vista and Sunshine class ships, but your comment about the number of columns they squeezed in was one of the funniest I have read. 

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, 3 Hour Tourist said:

I was on this same sailing and I agree with you about the food going downhill.  Basically, to get good eats, one needs to pay extra.  I found the very limited dinner buffet to be particularly awful, even for Carnival, and should be avoided at all costs.

So, based upon your 2 posts, I sense you loved your cruise

[glrounds]

On 1/30/2020 at 2:25 PM, GLCM GUY said:

We sail Saturday.  I understand that the cabin keys are now swiped and not inserted in a slot for access.  Is this true and is it as simple as it sounds?   

Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, true. One just has to put the cabin key by the lock and it opens. Lights go on when you put the key in the slot by the door. Pull the key out of the slot, put it in your pocket and leave your cabin and on a time delay the lights go off. Good energy preservation.

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by glrounds

[Moviela]

The cabin door locks are a proximity system. No need to insert or swipe. A black pimple above the door latch is the sensor. Hold the Sign and sail card next to the pimple and a green light will illuminate if it is your cabin. You then might hear a muted click as a solenoid enables the door handle. I leave the card in an outside pocket on my wallet and hold the wallet against the door. 

 

In the rooms on the desk there are two 120V outlets and one 220V outlet. There are two USB outlets that source 500mA with no data connection. No worries about snooping through the cable. In the bathroom there is a special 120v outlet above the sink that is for shavers only. It does not source much current. 

 

If you need to wash some clothes or do some pressing there are "launderettes" that are self-service. $3 wash, $3 Dry,  $1.15 for a single use soap box. I think the iron and ironing board is free. A proximity sensor is on all laundry machines. No cash accepted on board, except slot machines and casino games. 

 

Last week the weather was not exactly hot, and the Havana area was thinly populated. The bar service was great and fast because the public side was empty most of the time and only a half-dozen at other times I was there. If you have a need for an exclusive area to relax, it is flat worth the money. 

 

I found the food quality to be excellent. We did the steakhouse twice, while JiJi's and Cucina del Capitano were once each.  

Steak House was the best, with service and food taste. The Cucina was also excellent service, albeit with less costly food on offer, the taste was authentic. JiJi's had the most attentive service, and the food was great, but the flavors of the orient were muted for North American tastes. The sushi served also misses the mark on flavor despite top quality fish, but the rice and sauces were more pedestrian than first class flying. 

 

The seafood shack aft outside on Lido made delicious Lobster Rolls (like a hot dog, but filled with lobster) at 2 for $12. The fish and chips at $6 was excellent too. The fries were soooo much better than the ones at Guy's. 

 

I loved the Punchliner club, and the family and adult shows were all good.

 

Most folk's had figured out the elevators before sail away, and I must say they have improved the software since the Horizon we sailed when it was new. The only difficulty is the layout of the touch panel. The font is too thin and too small. I know they are trying to be "green" and save energy, but a few more nits on the display screen and a bold font won't cause the arctic ice to melt any sooner. 

 

The showroom singing and dancing had some standout performers, and for actors just getting started they deserved applause.

 

There was a lot of violin performances on the atrium stage and they were a nice change from the thump-a-thump DJ music. They played some very difficult riffs with philharmonic quality, and seemed to enjoy performing. 

 

The crew was at the top of their game all the time.  It was a wonderful cruise. 

[jimbo5544]

4 hours ago, Moviela said:

The cabin door locks are a proximity system. No need to insert or swipe. A black pimple above the door latch is the sensor. Hold the Sign and sail card next to the pimple and a green light will illuminate if it is your cabin. You then might hear a muted click as a solenoid enables the door handle. I leave the card in an outside pocket on my wallet and hold the wallet against the door. 

 

In the rooms on the desk there are two 120V outlets and one 220V outlet. There are two USB outlets that source 500mA with no data connection. No worries about snooping through the cable. In the bathroom there is a special 120v outlet above the sink that is for shavers only. It does not source much current. 

 

If you need to wash some clothes or do some pressing there are "launderettes" that are self-service. $3 wash, $3 Dry,  $1.15 for a single use soap box. I think the iron and ironing board is free. A proximity sensor is on all laundry machines. No cash accepted on board, except slot machines and casino games. 

 

Last week the weather was not exactly hot, and the Havana area was thinly populated. The bar service was great and fast because the public side was empty most of the time and only a half-dozen at other times I was there. If you have a need for an exclusive area to relax, it is flat worth the money. 

 

I found the food quality to be excellent. We did the steakhouse twice, while JiJi's and Cucina del Capitano were once each.  

Steak House was the best, with service and food taste. The Cucina was also excellent service, albeit with less costly food on offer, the taste was authentic. JiJi's had the most attentive service, and the food was great, but the flavors of the orient were muted for North American tastes. The sushi served also misses the mark on flavor despite top quality fish, but the rice and sauces were more pedestrian than first class flying. 

 

The seafood shack aft outside on Lido made delicious Lobster Rolls (like a hot dog, but filled with lobster) at 2 for $12. The fish and chips at $6 was excellent too. The fries were soooo much better than the ones at Guy's. 

 

I loved the Punchliner club, and the family and adult shows were all good.

 

Most folk's had figured out the elevators before sail away, and I must say they have improved the software since the Horizon we sailed when it was new. The only difficulty is the layout of the touch panel. The font is too thin and too small. I know they are trying to be "green" and save energy, but a few more nits on the display screen and a bold font won't cause the arctic ice to melt any sooner. 

 

The showroom singing and dancing had some standout performers, and for actors just getting started they deserved applause.

 

There was a lot of violin performances on the atrium stage and they were a nice change from the thump-a-thump DJ music. They played some very difficult riffs with philharmonic quality, and seemed to enjoy performing. 

 

The crew was at the top of their game all the time.  It was a wonderful cruise. 

Sounds like you had a great cruise