Another California Adventure! – Baja Mexico & Mexican Riviera aboard the Miracle & Panorama (with pics) – October 2021.

[Jamman54]

Here’s our television, table, and mini fridge…..

 

 

 

Plenty of closet space…..

 

 

 

Power and USB ports…..

 

 

Our Havana Letter…..

 

 

Our Havana Experience wristbands…..

 

 

It’s time to head up to lunch. We programmed an elevator to take us to Deck 11, and when it opened there was just enough space for us to squeeze in. The elevator made two more stops on the way up, but no one else would be able to get on. Both JiJi’s and Cucina are up here on Deck 11. We peeked into JiJi’s and it wasn’t busy at all…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Webecruzen]

The ride to the port was too crazy not to be funny!  The required covid test and the confusion of staff over Carnival’s protocols was not at all funny.  Craziest embarkation of all time!  Things turned around after a Thirsty Frog and a great lunch!  

[kelkel2]

2 minutes ago, Webecruzen said:

The ride to the port was too crazy not to be funny!  The required covid test and the confusion of staff over Carnival’s protocols was not at all funny.  Craziest embarkation of all time!  Things turned around after a Thirsty Frog and a great lunch!  

I seriously don’t understand the re-testing? If you’ve presented with a negative test in the last 2 days why on earth would you need to test again??

[Jamman54]

15 minutes ago, Webecruzen said:

The ride to the port was too crazy not to be funny!  The required covid test and the confusion of staff over Carnival’s protocols was not at all funny.  Craziest embarkation of all time!  Things turned around after a Thirsty Frog and a great lunch!  

 

100% Our lunch at Cucina will be the next thing posted. 

 

12 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

I seriously don’t understand the re-testing? If you’ve presented with a negative test in the last 2 days why on earth would you need to test again??

 

Because the staff at the port didn't know the protocols. I can't believe that we were the first ones to go from the Miracle over to the Panorama. At least we didn't get charged for the tests. I would have really flipped! 

[RenoNanaOz]

1 hour ago, Jamman54 said:

Here’s our television, table, and mini fridge…..

 

 

 

Plenty of closet space…..

 

 

 

Power and USB ports…..

 

 

Our Havana Letter…..

 

 

Our Havana Experience wristbands…..

 

 

It’s time to head up to lunch. We programmed an elevator to take us to Deck 11, and when it opened there was just enough space for us to squeeze in. The elevator made two more stops on the way up, but no one else would be able to get on. Both JiJi’s and Cucina are up here on Deck 11. We peeked into JiJi’s and it wasn’t busy at all…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…….

Absolutely LOVED The Havana Cabana we had on The Vista. No going back now 

[Jamman54]

We met Jim and Pat and we went across the hallway to Cucina, which also was nearly empty…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Chefs are waiting for our orders….

 

 

We each filled out an order form and handed it to our server…..

 

 

First, we were served our bread and Caesar salad….

 

 

 

About 10 minutes later our pasta dishes were served…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

After eating, Patti wanted to go take pictures of the Cloud 9 Spa and Fitness Center. She missed out getting these shots on the Horizon this past August.  The only time you can go see the Thermal Suites is on embarkation day when they are giving tours, unless of course you have a Spa cabin or have purchased a pass. We all decided to go with her. We have arrived at the Cloud 9 Spa and Fitness Center, located on Deck 12 forward…..

 

 

 

 

This is the Women’s Locker Room…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[sid_9169]

Interesting how otherwise normal decent people turn into savages when it comes to boarding a cruise ship...

[Jamman54]

10 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Interesting how otherwise normal decent people turn into savages when it comes to boarding a cruise ship...

 

Yes, it wasn't pretty at all. 

[Jamman54]

We head into the Thermal Suites. This is the Thalassotherapy Pool and heated tile loungers. To tell you the truth, the T-Pool on this class of ships is puny. The best T-Pools can be found on the Dream Class of ships, and the Carnival Splendor…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Experience Showers…..

 

 

 

The Hammam Chamber…..

 

 

 

The Aroma Steam Room…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Continuing with our tour of the Thermal Suites, this is the Laconium…..

 

 

 

This is the Infrared Sauna…..

 

 

 

You can drop off used towels and get fresh ones here…..

 

 

Patti next moves into the Fitness Center…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Saint Greg]

37 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Interesting how otherwise normal decent people turn into savages when it comes to boarding a cruise ship...

 

How do we know they're normal decent people?

[Jamman54]

After we toured the Spa, Jim and Pat went back to their cabin to relax and unpack. I went on my “Hunt for Saint Greg” which I will detail a little later, and Patti continued with her picture tour. Patti heads down to Deck 5. Here is the Dreamscape in the Atrium…..

 

 

Patti checks out the shops on Deck 5 forward…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti is checking out the Liquid Lounge from the upper level…..

 

 

 

 

 

She runs into our old friend, Cruise Director Lee Mason…..

 

 

Moving aft past the Atrium, Patti checks out the Library Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Joebucks]

3 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Here’s our television, table, and mini fridge…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of people love to find reasons to complain about cruise ship rooms, however these little updates have been very welcome. I'm very appreciative that there are more power options, bigger tvs, and better refrigerators. I'll survive with the tiny room.

[Jamman54]

Across the way is Piano Bar 88. Scott is the Piano Bar player for our cruise…..

 

 

 

 

 

Patti next checks out Bonsai Teppanyaki. We will be eating here tomorrow night…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Right next door is Bonsai Sushi…..

 

 

 

 

 

Across the way is the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. We will be eating here later this week…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Moving even further aft, is the Pixels Photo Gallery…..

 

 

 

 

 

Just past Pixel’s is the Pig & Anchor. We enjoyed this venue on the Horizon, so we will be eating here later tonight…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are some more Pig & Anchor views…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dream Studios is right next door….

 

 

A little further down is Java Blue and the Shake Shack…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Just past Java Blue is the Ocean Plaza. This is a trivia players dream during the day, and great for the music lovers at night…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Ocean Plaza Bar…..

 

 

Patti heads out on to the Lanai…..

 

 

 

 

Patti then heads back to our cabin, which is just around the corner from the Ocean Plaza, to begin unpacking our bags.

 

To be continued…..

[IntrepidFromDC]

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

We met Jim and Pat and we went across the hallway to Cucina, which also was nearly empty…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Chefs are waiting for our orders….

 

 

We each filled out an order form and handed it to our server…..

 

 

First, we were served our bread and Caesar salad….

 

 

 

About 10 minutes later our pasta dishes were served…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

LOL, Patti asked for zucchini and got precisely one and a half thin slices.

[bunnyette]

On 11/18/2021 at 2:46 PM, Jamman54 said:

We did eat in the Steakhouse one night. Patti and I have always been MDR people, but when we were on the Horizon in August things changed. We had Your Time Dining and were enjoying dinner on the first Elegant night. They proceeded to sit another couple at the table 4" from us even though there was plenty of empty space throughout the dining room. Nothing against the other couple but what happened to social distancing? We ate in the buffet or at "other" venues the rest of that cruise. When you think about it, most of what is being served in the MDR is available at the lido. The food comes from the same place,  it's just plated and made pretty for you in the MDR. 

 

On the Panorama we didn't eat in the dining room except for brunch. We ate at the "other " venues for 6 nights and the buffet one night. 

We are doing a B2B on the Mardi Gras in April and I see us eating in the MDR only once or twice. 😎

Thank you for that insight.  We are going on a cruise to Iceland in July - my husband is a bit nervous, so if we’re not comfortable in the MDR, there’s lots of other choices!

[Jamman54]

“The Hunt for Saint Greg”

 

Earlier today after we had toured the Cloud 9 Spa, Patti had continued on her picture tour, and I went over to the Red Frog Rum Bar for a few Thirsty Frog Wheat beers. I pulled out my phone to check on emails and stuff, and then jumped onto Cruise Critic to check out Saint Greg’s thread. I posted something to the effect that “I’m sure we’ll bump into you later” and then it hit me, let’s try and track him down!

 

The last bar he posted from was the Lobby Bar in the Atrium, so let me head down there. Having no idea what he looked like, all I had to go on was to look for a guy that appeared to be travelling solo, and he had a monkey. I get down there, and it doesn’t appear that anyone at the bar now fits the description. I ordered a drink and whipped out my phone.

 

It appears that he’s now posting from the Alchemy Bar! I gulp down my drink and sprinted, (really I walked slowly), up the two flights of stairs up to Deck 5, and then back to the Alchemy Bar. Once there, I checked out all the male “suspects” and again, nobody fits the bill. He had escaped again! I ordered a drink and whipped out my phone.

 

It wasn’t long before he was posting a string of posts from the nearby Pig & Anchor. I’ve got a bead on him. I can’t gulp down my drink, because you just don’t gulp down drinks at the Alchemy Bar, but once I was done, I made my move.

 

There, sitting in the back of the Pig & Anchor all by himself, was the man, Saint Greg! We shook hands and then sat down and talked like old friends for quite a while. Being that we do photo reviews, I asked him if he showed up in any of our photos, would we be allowed to use them. He told me that he preferred that we didn’t.

 

Like I said earlier in this review, we will never use pictures of someone, or identify anyone, without their permission, so Saint Greg’s response was fine by me. He then proceeded to give me his reasons why he didn’t want to be shown, which he really didn’t have to do. So, not only have I been accepted into the Saint Greg Society by actually knowing what he looks like, I also have been shown the secret handshake!

 

Let me just say to all of you that have never met him. What you picture of him in your mind is probably pretty close. The knowledge, wit, and humor that comes across on these pages, comes across in real life. I’m glad to have finally met him, and I will not betray his trust.

 

We do have pictures of him, both posed and otherwise, which we have moved to our private albums, so don’t bother looking on our host site. When Patti did her tour of the Deck 5 venues, there was one venue we had to leave out, the Alchemy Bar. That’s because she had no idea that she had caught him posting on his phone from there!  

 

And that’s all I’m going to say about that! 

 

Moving on, it was getting close to sail away time. An announcement was made that 200 people had still not done their emuster! Come on people, it only takes 5 minutes!

 

Jim and Pat had invited us up to their cabin for sail away, so we made our way to the Havana Bar to pick up some drinks…..

 

 

 

 

 

While I was being served, Patti stepped outside and took some shots of the Havana Pool area…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Havana Towel Hut…..

 

 

The outside Havana Bar…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We have made it up to Jim and Pat’s cabin for sail away….

 

 

Sailing away from Long Beach…..

 

 

 

 

 

A Princess ship follows us out to sea…..

 

 

We head back towards our cabin. This is the hallway our cabin is in…..

 

 

We decide to head back to the Havana Pool area and get some more pictures…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

This is the outside shower…..

 

 

Here’s a look at the port side Havana Cabanas…..

 

 

 

This is the first sunset of the cruise….

 

 

 

Heading back inside, Patti takes some more shots of the seating in the Havana Bar…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..