California Restart Thread - Panorama Departing 8/21/21

[ScottsSweetie]

I'm not sure if we are allowed to link here from the book of faces, but Lee, Your Cruise Director posted a video today talking about some of the activities that will be held on Panorama.

 

He mentioned specifically the Motown sing-a-long, an 80's party, and the white night party. He also said that Quest is not being done right now but they do have some type of replacement game for it.

[Wanna_Cruize]

Thanks for the update. I've never sailed with Lee Mason before, but.I did find this interview someone did a couple of years ago on him from the Carnival Breeze. 

 

[Honolulu Blue]

10 hours ago, ScottsSweetie said:

I'm not sure if we are allowed to link here from the book of faces, but Lee, Your Cruise Director posted a video today talking about some of the activities that will be held on Panorama.

 

He mentioned specifically the Motown sing-a-long, an 80's party, and the white night party. He also said that Quest is not being done right now but they do have some type of replacement game for it.

 

Thanks for sharing.  I'll take a bullet for you:  https://www.facebook.com/LeeYourCruiseDirector/

 

It was nice knowing you all... ✋

[BenjiRodney]

On 6/30/2021 at 1:58 AM, ScottsSweetie said:

😲 Seriously??  I expect we will do a short cruise at some point and have never been to Catalina or Ensenada.

Love Catalina, we are taking the Ferry over for the day before we get on Panorama next month.  We also booked Panorama again on one of her 6 night cruises as it stops in Ensenada on that Itinerary.

Edited July 26, 2021 by BenjiRodney
spelling

[ScottsSweetie]

6 minutes ago, BenjiRodney said:

Love Catalina, we are taking the Ferry over for the day before we get on Panorama next month.  We also booked Panorama again on one of her 6 night cruises as it stops in Ensenada on that Itinerary.

Good to know - we look forward to exploring all our new places here on the west coast. 😃

[BenjiRodney]

On 6/15/2021 at 11:17 PM, Wanna_Cruize said:

After having a grand total of 8 cruises cancelled due to Covid, we ended up by chance booked on the first cruise out of California. Panorama departing 8/21/21 to the Mexican Riviera. I'm starting this thread now, to document the protocols that end up being put in place for our cruise, and how it progresses. 

 

Feel free to follow along, and ask any questions you would like to have answered. 

 

Here's the situation so far:

 

This cruise was originally booked for April 11, 2020 as a John Heald Blogger's cruise. DH and I (early 60s) had been on a mission to get ourselves to Diamond status on that trip. We ended up taking 6 weekend cruises in the last 4 months of 2019, 3 more the first 2 months of 2020, and then our last 3 day in March got cancelled, and that started the chain reaction. When it all closed down, we were 10 days away from Diamond. Oh well, we'll get there soon.

 

Right now, we're cruising alone on Panorama on 8/21. It was the earliest we could rebook after our July 17th booking got cancelled. Fortunately for us, it ended up being the first cruise (fingers crossed that we actually sail).

 

After reading the tea leaves, we figured vaccinations would be required in order to sail, so we ended up getting our 2nd shots earlier this month. We've been boosing our immune system all through covid, so didn't have any real side-effects from the vaccinations, and were very thankful for that. I actually think we caught it very early, before they knew what it was, but that's another story. 

Thanks for sharing all of this, we are due to board on August 28th when you disembark.  We were originally scheduled to sail Panorama March 2021 but we know what Miss Quaratina Covid thought of that.

[Wanna_Cruize]

On 7/26/2021 at 10:42 AM, BenjiRodney said:

Thanks for sharing all of this, we are due to board on August 28th when you disembark.  We were originally scheduled to sail Panorama March 2021 but we know what Miss Quaratina Covid thought of that.

Yea, we were originally booked for the April cruise with John Heald, and were going to turn diamond on that cruise, but 'rona f-d it up for us. Cancelled and rebooked for June, and then July, now finally get to go in August. Won't make diamond until our Sept cruise, but it's all good. Can't wait to be 'haze grey and underway' again. 

[ehyup71]

On 7/4/2021 at 6:17 PM, Wanna_Cruize said:

That being said, there seems to be something going on with booking the Specialty Restaurants online. Not sure if it means that everything except for JiJis and the Steakhouse is booked, or it's just a glitch. 

 

I've been wondering the same thing myself.  Was hoping to book Bonsai Teppanyaki on the 02/19 Panorama sailing, but it doesn't show it being available online.  Does anyone know if you can call Carnival and have them book it for you if it is a glitch?  I've heard Teppanyaki can sell out early and don't want to wait until we are onboard to book.

[LeslieA]

My husband and I are on this cruise with you on the 21st.  We are so excited!

 

Just got word that we got off the 6:00 seating waitlist and are now confirmed for that time.  We like meeting other folks at dinner, so I think I'll call Carnival and let them know we would prefer to be seated with a large party.

 

I also just watched a bit of Lee's video that was posted earlier and just heard there is no bar in the casino. That's kinda a bummer, I usually enjoy the casino bar.

[Wanna_Cruize]

6 minutes ago, ehyup71 said:

 

I've been wondering the same thing myself.  Was hoping to book Bonsai Teppanyaki on the 02/19 Panorama sailing, but it doesn't show it being available online.  Does anyone know if you can call Carnival and have them book it for you if it is a glitch?  I've heard Teppanyaki can sell out early and don't want to wait until we are onboard to book.

 

I was able to book the Teppanyaki restaurant in May for our August cruise. It had been available up until the weird glitch happened and then it disappeared and never came back. I don't know if you have to be paid in full in order to book or not, but it doesn't seem right that you can't make a reservation for your February cruise. I'd maybe try calling the FunShops and see if you can do it over the phone. Never hurts to ask.

[Wanna_Cruize]

13 minutes ago, LeslieA said:

My husband and I are on this cruise with you on the 21st.  We are so excited!

 

Just got word that we got off the 6:00 seating waitlist and are now confirmed for that time.  We like meeting other folks at dinner, so I think I'll call Carnival and let them know we would prefer to be seated with a large party.

 

I also just watched a bit of Lee's video that was posted earlier and just heard there is no bar in the casino. That's kinda a bummer, I usually enjoy the casino bar.

 

Yea, I hear that they closest bar is the Hero's Tribute bar, so hopefully that will be open late

[ScottsSweetie]

So, I've heard that the steakhouse bar can be a great place to get a good glass of wine - that they often have other or better choices than some other bars. I've been to the steakhouse on other ships but never really noticed a bar. Any of you previous Panorama cruisers have any experience with this?

[crzndeb]

On 7/25/2021 at 7:16 PM, Wanna_Cruize said:

Thanks for the update. I've never sailed with Lee Mason before, but.I did find this interview someone did a couple of years ago on him from the Carnival Breeze. 

 

I enjoyed him. He was the CD on the Splendor to Singapore in 2019, plus I was on the last Mexico cruise, before TP. He is very personable, and gets involved in lots of activities on the ship.

 

Also, if you remember, can you find out the Mixologists at Alchemy Bar. I’m hoping my fave is back, but it’s probably a long shot. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by crzndeb

[klfhngr]

PLEASE let us know when lobster night is! We booked steakhouse on night 2, which is first formal night we believe. We thought that lobster would be served on 2nd formal night (day 6), but no one really knows. Please let us know, thank you!

[dukenmelo]

Has anyone stayed in Lido cabins, and if so did you find there was very much noise in the cabins?

Thanks in advance ☺ 

[Moviela]

1 minute ago, dukenmelo said:

Has anyone stayed in Lido cabins, and if so did you find there was very much noise in the cabins?

Thanks in advance ☺ 

No out of bounds noise, and you are just steps to the snacks.

[bdever]

2 hours ago, klfhngr said:

PLEASE let us know when lobster night is! We booked steakhouse on night 2, which is first formal night we believe. We thought that lobster would be served on 2nd formal night (day 6), but no one really knows. Please let us know, thank you!

Lobster night is first formal night (at least it was for the Vista sailing posts I saw) and I booked JiJi for that reason as I don’t like lobster tail or prime rib. It was also on night 2 (1st formal night) pre-covid too:

 

https://eatsleepcruise.com/carnival-panorama-dining-guide-and-restaurant-menus/

[vicky3vicky]

I am interested in knowing if there are any indoor smoking areas, if the sky-ride is a little scary, if the platinum/diamond party is still on the last full day of the cruise and the average length of the Bonsai Tempanyaki dinner/entertainment.

[Wanna_Cruize]

Went early this morning for our Covid PCR test from my medical group (Kaiser). Have a backup rapid test scheduled at CVS on Friday morning if we still don't have results from this. 

 

Also, just got a letter from Carnival that the port order has been changed. They reversed the ports for this cruise (and also the one on the 28th)

Schedule now from the Planner in Cruise Manager:

Depart Long Beach

Fun Day at Sea

Fun Day at Sea

Puerto Vallarta

Cabo San Lucas

Fun Day at Sea

Disembark at Long Beach

 

We didn't have any excursion booked for this one but if we did, Carnival would just adjust them to the new days. Will have to look again at our dining reservations, Teppanyaki is now on a port day. 

[vicky3vicky]

A few things I would ike to know, please and thank you. Is the serenity deck often packed and/or windy and I would like to know about the performance of the cruise director as well.

[bdever]

15 minutes ago, vicky3vicky said:

A few things I would ike to know, please and thank you. Is the serenity deck often packed and/or windy and I would like to know about the performance of the cruise director as well.

Great questions!

Pre-Covid Serenity was very, very windy with crowding being subjective. 
Reports on cruise director Lee Mason is he is lively, engaging & entertaining. I personally find Cruise directors described in this fashion as being over the top and annoying but hey, to each their own.

[ScottsSweetie]

48 minutes ago, vicky3vicky said:

A few things I would ike to know, please and thank you. Is the serenity deck often packed and/or windy and I would like to know about the performance of the cruise director as well.

We sailed with Lee Mason on the Sunshine in 2017 from the east coast - he was awesome!

[kdr69]

following along👍

[pinto18]

2 hours ago, Wanna_Cruize said:

Also, just got a letter from Carnival that the port order has been changed. They reversed the ports for this cruise (and also the one on the 28th)

Schedule now from the Planner in Cruise Manager:

Depart Long Beach

Fun Day at Sea

Fun Day at Sea

Puerto Vallarta

Cabo San Lucas

Fun Day at Sea

Disembark at Long Beach

 

No Mazatlan??

[tm_aw_love]

4 hours ago, nlstigger said:

Just received an itinerary change, plus new masking requirements in Mexico.

 

it looks like the Cabo San Lucas day was changed from Day 3 to Day 6.

 

12 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

No Mazatlan??

Mazatlan is still there, just reverse order like they have done in the past.