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

[Princess Cruiser27]

Howdy Jeff. I'm playing catch up with your review. LOL. Great photos of Long Beach. 

 

Barb

[MistyRo76]

Well, I'm slowly getting caught up (not really - I've only gotten to when you first boarded the Miracle!) and for the next few days I'm just going to live vicariously through you and Patti! 🙂 

 

My first post-Covid cruise (cancelled from October, 2020) is not until October, 2022 but seeing your pics and reading along is getting me even more ready to go! I booked my own airlines for our cruise yesterday - the first day they were available to book, like you! So now it's starting to feel like it's a bit closer! 

 

And I just have to say that Patti takes amazing pics! I used to be a big picture taker - but last few trips I didn't take as many. I'm ready to document the heck out of my next cruise! 

 

Back to reading......

[Jamman54]

13 hours ago, Princess Cruiser27 said:

Howdy Jeff. I'm playing catch up with your review. LOL. Great photos of Long Beach. 

 

Barb

Hey Barb! Glad to see that you made it over! Always glad to have you along  for the ride! 😎

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, MistyRo76 said:

Well, I'm slowly getting caught up (not really - I've only gotten to when you first boarded the Miracle!) and for the next few days I'm just going to live vicariously through you and Patti! 🙂 

 

My first post-Covid cruise (cancelled from October, 2020) is not until October, 2022 but seeing your pics and reading along is getting me even more ready to go! I booked my own airlines for our cruise yesterday - the first day they were available to book, like you! So now it's starting to feel like it's a bit closer! 

 

And I just have to say that Patti takes amazing pics! I used to be a big picture taker - but last few trips I didn't take as many. I'm ready to document the heck out of my next cruise! 

 

Back to reading......

You've got a ways to go to catch up,  and I'm not quite finished yet. Good job getting those flights booked. Planning makes it finally seem so real! 😎

[sp2]

Patti’s photos of the show from the last night are incredible! She is a very talented photographer! Carnival could use them on their website.

continuing to follow along. I’m also loving the food porn 😋

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, sp2 said:

Patti’s photos of the show from the last night are incredible! She is a very talented photographer! Carnival could use them on their website.

continuing to follow along. I’m also loving the food porn 😋

 

Patti says thanks!  She had taken about three dozen "keepers", but I told her that I only wanted to use half of them, so I let her pick them out. You can see all of them on our hosting site, the link is in my signature. Thanks again for following along. I will be wrapping this review up in the next couple of days. 

[MistyRo76]

On 11/26/2021 at 8:06 PM, Jamman54 said:

Zoran makes me a Jamman special…..

 

 

 

 

Here are Patti and I enjoying our pre-dinner cocktails…..

 

 

It’s time for dinner, so we make the 25 foot walk across the hall to the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse…..

 

 

This is our table…..

 

 

The Chefs and Bartenders are hard at work…..

 

 

 

Our bread plates and accompaniments…..

 

 

 

The amuse bouche…..

 

 

To be continued…..

The steakhouse food look amazing as usual! However, the portions look quite a bit smaller than in the past - especially the surf and turf! That looks tiny - but maybe it's just perception because of the large plate. But it sounds like it was enough to fill everyone up! So that's good! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 22  (October 30^th)  -  Debarkation Day.

 

We were up at 6 am to a cloudy and cool day as the Carnival Panorama approached Long Beach. We were barely moving as if we were waiting for clearance to come in or the Harbor Pilot to come aboard. Eventually the Panorama moved into port and docked right about 8 am. Here are the General Debarkation letters, and the Diamond Debarkation Letter…..

 

 

 

 

 

We had to go up to the Lido Marketplace for breakfast, as they weren’t doing the mini buffet breakfast in the Ocean Plaza today. We have time since luggage debarkation doesn’t begin until 9:30 am. Self-debarkation for Diamond, Platinum, and suites began at 8:45 am.

 

After we finished breakfast we went back to the cabin to grab our carry off bags, and then made our way to the Liquid Lounge to wait for luggage debarkation to begin. Right around 9:20 am we were allowed to debark. We debarked the opposite way as we embarked. We went through the outside doors by the Liquid Lounge, and then walked aft on the outside promenade until we reached the gangway.

 

We easily found our bags in the Zone 1 area, grabbed a porter, and then said our goodbyes to Jim and Pat. They are taking Carnival’s bus to the airport, renting a car for the day to explore LA, and then getting on the red eye back home to Florida.

 

Going through customs was a breeze thanks to the facial recognition technology. We have AM Limo Services picking us up at 10:30 am, so our porter took us to where we would be picked up. I called the limo people to ask them if we could be picked up earlier, and they showed up at 10:15 am. Our driver will be taking us to the LAX Hilton where we will be staying for a couple of days until we fly home. We are leaving the Port of Long Beach…..

 

 

Heading to the LAX Hilton…….

 

 

 

We have arrived at the LAX Hilton….

 

 

 

We are checking in. We were allowed early check in for $50.

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

The bellman will get our luggage to our room. We are going to be on the 14^th floor so we need to take the elevator. Programmable elevators. Oh, boy……

 

 

 

We have arrived at room 1444…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We have a perfect view of the runways over at LAX…..

 

 

 

 

Looking straight down we can see the hotel pool and hot tubs….

 

 

While I set up my laptop and begin working on the review pictures, Patti heads out to explore the hotel. Here are some views of the lobby…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Here are some of the venues in the hotel. Let’s start with The Café…..

 

 

 

 

 

This is The Landings Bar….

 

 

 

 

 

This is The Bistro which is open 24 hours…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here is the hotel gift shop…..

 

 

Patti checks out the Health Club next…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the outside view of the LAX Hilton…..

 

 

This is the driveway outside the lobby, and one of the hotel shuttles…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Meanwhile, I am still up in the room working on my pictures, and at the same time I’m following Saint Greg’s Live Review on Cruise Critic. At this time he’s on his jet and he reports that they have left the gate. Patti has returned to the room so I grab the camera to document Saint Greg’s departure from LAX…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little later Patti and I head down to the Bistro for a late lunch. Here are a few more Bistro pictures…..

 

 

 

 

Patti had the chicken pizza and I had the California pizza…..

 

 

 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, working on the review, and finding a tour for tomorrow.

 

Coming up next:  We tour LA!

[dorchrislen]

I have so enjoyed this review, and recognize some of the staff from our many cruises.  Thank you for all the wonderful pictures, Patti. 
i’m hoping I can get an answer from you about the ship time versus Cabo San Lucas time. Are they the same or is Cabo and hour ahead or behind? I ask because I want to book a whale watching tour but I don’t want to miss the last shuttle back to the boat. 

[Jamman54]

10 hours ago, dorchrislen said:

I have so enjoyed this review, and recognize some of the staff from our many cruises.  Thank you for all the wonderful pictures, Patti. 
i’m hoping I can get an answer from you about the ship time versus Cabo San Lucas time. Are they the same or is Cabo and hour ahead or behind? I ask because I want to book a whale watching tour but I don’t want to miss the last shuttle back to the boat. 

 

On the Panorama, when in Cabo san Lucas, Cabo time and ships time are the same. That is because after the first sea day the ships clocks are moved forward an hour, and the night after leaving Cabo the ships clocks are moved back an hour. 

[kdr69]

14 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

We have a perfect view of the runways over at LAX…..

 

 

 

 

Looking straight down we can see the hotel pool and hot tubs….

 

 

While I set up my laptop and begin working on the review pictures, Patti heads out to explore the hotel. Here are some views of the lobby…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

Sweet i am staying there Pre Cruise in March for our Sailabration Cruise on the Panorama.  Nice to get a sneak peak!!

[Jamman54]

10 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Sweet i am staying there Pre Cruise in March for our Sailabration Cruise on the Panorama.  Nice to get a sneak peak!!

Nice place!  Be sure you get a runway view - awesome! 

[Jamman54]

Day # 23  (October 31^st)  -  Touring LA!

 

We were up at 6 am to a cloudy 61 degree day. The temperature is only going to rise to the mid 60’s later, staying cloudy, with very little chance of rain.

 

Yesterday we decided on the tour we wanted to take. We decided on “A Day in LA Tours” because they picked up at LAX hotels. We will be stopping at the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, Farmers Market and The Grove, Griffith Observatory, and finally Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame. The tour would last about 8 hours. The cost for both of us was $210 and that included the $5 pp charge for the hotel pick up. Here is the brochure that includes more valuable information…….

 

 

They said that we would be picked up between 8:30 and 9, and true to their word we were picked up by our touring van at 8:45. Our driver / guide’s name was Jason, and we liked him right away. He told us to sit wherever we wanted, but to keep those seats for the entire day. We chose our seats about half way back on the left side so we had a full window view. The van was spotlessly clean inside and out, so there would be no dirty window views. Jason told us that the van had 24 seats, but only 22 would be filled today. He also told us that we would be given about 45 minutes of free time at each stop except for at the Farmers Market, where we would be given about an hour. We planned on having lunch there so that was perfect.

 

Jason had picked up three people before us, and would be picking up three more before the balance of the people joined us at the home base in downtown Santa Monica. Patti and I sat back and enjoyed the 30 minute ride.

 

Once everyone was on board, Jason took us over to the Santa Monica Pier. On the way he pointed out the sights, and gave history and information on anything of any importance. He did this for the entire tour, and he was very good at it. Here are some views of the Santa Monica Pier area…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Here are some more Santa Monica views. We just wish that it was sunnier out, which would enhance the pictures more…..  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was our ride for the day…..

 

 

One of many HOHO buses we saw today…..

 

 

We are now heading over to Venice Beach…..

 

 

 

Jason says that this was the original Gold’s Gym…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[blarko]

16 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Meanwhile, I am still up in the room working on my pictures, and at the same time I’m following Saint Greg’s Live Review on Cruise Critic. At this time he’s on his jet and he reports that they have left the gate. Patti has returned to the room so I grab the camera to document Saint Greg’s departure from LAX…..

THIS is awesome!! Love that you could “stalk” his flight 🤣🤣

[Jamman54]

We have arrived at Venice Beach…..

 

 

 

 

 

Jason, our guide, points out some of the sights…..

 

 

 

Huge skate park…..

 

 

 

The 1992 movie “White Men Can’t Jump was filmed here, though the original basketball courts were demolished and replaced with these…..

 

 

Here are some more Venice Beach views…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

This is the Venice Beach Athletic Center…..

 

 

 

 

 

Paddle tennis courts…..

 

 

Some more Venice Beach views…..

 

 

 

 

After we left the beach, Jason stopped to tell us of the history of the Venice Beach canals. When the town was constructed they dug several miles of canals to drain the marshland, giving the area a feel like the Venice in Italy. Over the years, most of the canals were filled in and replaced with paved roads, so only a few stretches of canals remain…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Saint Greg]

13 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

The 1992 movie “White Men Can’t Jump was filmed here, though the original basketball courts were demolished and replaced with these…..

 

 

 

 

[Saint Greg]

54 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 

 

 

 

You just gotta watch for low hanging tree branches on that top deck. I know from experience.

[Jamman54]

We have arrived in Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive…..

 

 

 

 

This is The Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Think “Pretty Woman”…..

 

 

Looking up Rodeo Drive…..

 

 

Tiffany & Co. is right on the corner…..

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the many high end stores that can be found here…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..