Our review of the Panorama 5/28 - 6/4

[jerseygirlinAZ]

Day SIX - CABO SAN LUCAS

 

We had to rise and shine early today as we were booked on Carnival's Pirate Ship excursion.  Catching the tender took a little while.  They brought us all in one of the MDRs and called us by excursion.  We were one of the last groups called.  We headed down and boarded the tender.  The ride in was nice since we could see everything along the coast.

 

Got to the port and saw our pirate ship.  We booked this excursion mostly for my six-year old.  My parents joined us as well.

 

We were greeted by the crew and given a non-alcoholic drink as we boarded.  Then we headed off to the arch, music playing and drinks flowing.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aye mateys!  If you bring your children or grandchildren on this excursion, be forewarned!  The crew does have pirate gear they try to sell you for the kids.  It's $20 and nearly all the kids got it.  So, if you don't want to be left out, bring the booty.

 

After hanging by the arch a bit, we headed down (or was it up?) the coast toward our snorkeling spot.  Again, the music was playing and the drinks were flowing.  It was a pretty trip, in my opinion.

 

Once we got to the snorkel site, they gave us our gear and had us walk the plank (literally there was a plank we had to walk) to get into the water.  They threw some bread or something in and the fish came running, I mean, swimming.  I didn't really get any pics of this as this was my daughter's fish real time snorkeling and I was a worried mama.  She did great though and saw a lot of fish.  While we were snorkeling my husband stayed on board and climbed up to the crow's nest of the pirate ship.  He's a kid at heart.  

 

 

 

After snorkeling we were given lunch.  It wasn't anything fancy, but it was good.  Some nacho chips, wonton-type/burrito thingies that my dad and husband both thought were very good, hot dogs that looked like some creature, and pasta salad.  After lunch, we headed back toward port.  The crew did some audience activities, like a couples question show and singing happy birthday to all the June and July birthday people.  Then, they did the pirate show, which was fun ... just don't expect any Vegas cirque de soliel experience.  At the end there was a treasure of chocolate coins that the kids collected.

 

All in all it was a fun excursion.  The crew worked hard and my daughter LOVED it.  She gave it 80 stars our of five, lol.   

 

Once we got back to port, Mom and Dad headed back to the ship along with our daughter who wanted to go to Camp Ocean.  Hubby and I decided we had to stop at Senor Frogs, so we did.  We stayed long enough to have a drink, use the bathroom, and watch some debauchery.  Then we walked around port a bit before hoping on the tender to head back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

Once back on board, hubby and I went to check out the Havana Bar since we hadn't been there yet.  We ordered a drink and enjoyed the area.  It was very quiet.  The outdoor area looked very nice.  Here is a pic of the bar area...

 

 

 

 

After some drinks, we picked up our daughter so we could get ready for the second formal night.  Here is one of the pics we purchased ...

 

 

 

After pics, we headed to the MDR.  The staff knew our drink orders and were at the ready.  I really can't say enough good things about the crew of this ship.  They were just incredible all week.  

 

For dinner, hubby had the salmon, which he said was wonderful.  I had the fettucine sans whatever meat was supposed to be in it.  The pasta was very good.

 

 

 

After dinner we headed to the piano bar and I believe Camp Ocean was open til 10 p.m.  No casino today for me.  

 

Also, if you get the chance, check out the barista at Java Blue.  I can't remember her name, but she is great!  She was singing along during the song trivia while making coffee and she has a great voice!  She joined Marcelo at the piano bar one night for a few songs.  It was a great time.

 

 

We were in the room relatively early (for us).  Here is our towel animal for the night.

 

 

 

Next up: Final day at sea!

[jerseygirlinAZ]

19 minutes ago, urbanhawk said:

I have been following along, and very much enjoying your most informative travelog and pics.. My favorite  photo is of you and the seal, sticking your tongues out!😁. Enjoy those cool  ocean breezes. Summer has arrived in AZ.😯...Steve/Tucson 

It sure has, hasn't it?  

 

I don't usually post pics of me in a bathing suit, but I had to share the one of me and Lucy with our tongues out on facebook, lol.  

 

Thanks for following along!

[jerseygirlinAZ]

One thing I didn't mention about last night's dinner ... we saw a ton of dolphins as we sailed away from Cabo.  There must have been hundreds!  I saw them first and then a bunch of other diners came over to watch.  It was very cool, especially for the kids.  I am always on the lookout for whales and dolphins when I'm cruising.

 

DAY SEVEN - FUN DAY AT SEA

 

Ah, the last day of our cruise.  We had no plans today except to relax.  I got up and went to Blue Iguana to get me some huevos rancheros.  The line wasn't too bad, which was good because it was C-O-L-D on deck.  Was breezy and probably in the 60s and that is C-O-L-D for this Arizona girl.

 

After a short wait, I got my breakfast and then grabbed some chocolate milk and croissants (breakfast of champions) for the kiddo.  She was still sleeping.  Hubby went up for breakfast next.  Not sure why we just didn't eat up at Lido other than we were all kinda tired.  

 

Quick tip, btw.  If you have trouble finding a table in the marketplace, check out the Tides bar area.  We ate there multiple times and found it to be less crowded.  Plus, we liked that it was open air, not that it mattered since we caught the 'vid anyway.

 

I started packing a bit while daughter finally got up, ate breakfast, and watched "her shows."  (She reminds me of my grandmother who had to watch her "stories" a.k.a. soap operas.)  After a while, daughter decided she wanted to go to Camp Ocean so off she went.  I took the chance to hit the Cloud 9 spa one last time.  It was not very crowded between breakfast and lunch so this is a good time to go.

 

After some time at the spa and Camp Ocean, daughter and I went to lunch.  We got a table for six on the lido deck in the marketplace.  It was pretty crowded since it was cold outside so we felt pretty lucky.  No one was eating outside.  My dad went to the pasta bar and had to wait a while for his meal as the line was long.  Mom went to Serenity to get a salad.  (Did I mention they have an awesome salad bar up there?)  Hubby and I decided on Guy's for veggie burgers.  Unfortunately the were out of the great burgers we had earlier in the week, so the cooks were making them from scratch.  I appreciate the effort, but the new burgers were very mushy (as many homemade veggie burgers are) and just not as good.  My hubby still ate his though and thought it was okay.

 

After lunch, daughter headed back to Camp Ocean since it was still too cold to swim.  Hubby and I headed to Pig and Anchor to claim our free beer from the beer tasting earlier in the week.  Met some nice folks and chatted for a while.  Also purchased some Pixel photos while we were there.

 

 

 

Dad started messaging hubby to let him know the line for the sky ride was short, so hubby joined him up there.  I picked up daughter from Camp Ocean so we could get ready for dinner and I could finish packing our luggage.  Can't remember what we had in the main dining room that last night, but it was good.  The servers did their dancing and little party.  My daughter saw some kids she knew from Camp Ocean and they danced around the dining room.  (Not posting pics of that out of courtesy for the other family.)

 

After dinner, kiddo was, where else, back at Camp Ocean for the Farewell party.  She also wanted to go to Night Owls so we paid for that.  Hubby and I hit the casino a bit more and had fun.  Hubby came out ahead on the trip.  I was down, but comfortable with my losses.  We all headed to bed a little after 11 a.m.

 

Next up: leaving the ship

 

 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

FINAL DAY - DEBARKATION 

 

We slept in as long as we could, lol, but it was time to move.  Daughter was a bit grumpy since she was up late and up early.  We got showered and dressed and were up at Lido by 8:30 a.m.  There was no rush for us to debark as our flight out of Long Beach wasn't until 2:15 p.m.  We sat around and had breakfast.  We had 24 as our number to leave the ship.  I think we were called a little before 10 a.m.  

 

Debarking was smooth, just crowded.  Had to wait a little to go through the facial recognition thingie.  Daughter got flagged for a check.  The agent said it was probably because she looks different than her passport photo.  (Guess it's good that kids have to get a new passport every five years.)  After a second check by another agent, we were waved through.

 

Saw all the new, happy people getting ready to board the Panorama while all us tired, sad folk headed for our cars or uber.  Took our uber driver about 20 minutes to arrive.  Arrived at Long Beach airport around 11 a.m.  Had some lunch and sat around til it was time to board.

 

No problems boarding the plane or with the flight.  Arrived in Phoenix on time.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of people coming in at the same time.  We waited over an hour for our baggage to arrive.  Yes, waiting for our baggage took longer than the flight did.  I get that things happen, but an update would have been nice.  Maybe we could have ubered my mom and daughter home so they didn't have to wait.  Oh well.  Eventually we got our bags and called the uber.  Uber was quick so that was good.  Made it home and decided to order pizza for dinner since no one was prepared to cook just yet.

[greenie082756]

@jerseygirlinAZ Thank you for sharing your experience on the Carnival Panorama. 

 

We are also from AZ, and we tell people that if its below 80 degrees we get cold. I know you will understand that. Today it is supposed to get to over 110 degrees. Oh my!!

 

We will be on this ship in October for our 44th anniversary. This will be our first experience with Carnival Lines as we usually do Princess.

 

You gave some really good tips and I hope that you all are doing better now.

Thanks for sharing!!

[jerseygirlinAZ]

6 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

@jerseygirlinAZ Thank you for sharing your experience on the Carnival Panorama. 

 

We are also from AZ, and we tell people that if its below 80 degrees we get cold. I know you will understand that. Today it is supposed to get to over 110 degrees. Oh my!!

 

We will be on this ship in October for our 44th anniversary. This will be our first experience with Carnival Lines as we usually do Princess.

 

You gave some really good tips and I hope that you all are doing better now.

Thanks for sharing!!

 Lol.  Yes, we have different blood in AZ, don't we?

 

I've never sailed Princess so I can't compare, but I will say that this was my favorite ship so far on Carnival.  I hope you love her!  And happy early anniversary!

[urbanhawk]

23 hours ago, greenie082756 said:

@jerseygirlinAZ Thank you for sharing your experience on the Carnival Panorama. 

 

We are also from AZ, and we tell people that if its below 80 degrees we get cold. I know you will understand that. Today it is supposed to get to over 110 degrees. Oh my!!

 

We will be on this ship in October for our 44th anniversary. This will be our first experience with Carnival Lines as we usually do Princess.

 

You gave some really good tips and I hope that you all are doing better now.

Thanks for sharing!!

Yes, it was 109 yesterday in Tucson...and even hotter in Phoenix....I left my "swamp cooler" on last night-when I woke up this a.m., it had cooled down to 75 degrees, and I was freezing. We Arizonans ARE of a different blood!😉. (Happy early anniversary-44 years-Wow!)

[kimmiekaz]

@jerseygirlinAZ Thank you so much for this review, it's so helpful to see ahead of our cruise in July. My unvaccinated 5-year-old daughter is  coming with us on this cruise, and I just applied for the exemption, which it seems like from the website we should be granted. If your daughter is unvaxxed, I'm curious if you could just describe some of your experience on this cruise. Did they require additional testing, not allowed to participate in certain activities or be in certain public areas? Just generally what was your experience sailing with a child in the Covid era? Thanks so much!

[jerseygirlinAZ]

8 minutes ago, kimmiekaz said:

@jerseygirlinAZ Thank you so much for this review, it's so helpful to see ahead of our cruise in July. My unvaccinated 5-year-old daughter is  coming with us on this cruise, and I just applied for the exemption, which it seems like from the website we should be granted. If your daughter is unvaxxed, I'm curious if you could just describe some of your experience on this cruise. Did they require additional testing, not allowed to participate in certain activities or be in certain public areas? Just generally what was your experience sailing with a child in the Covid era? Thanks so much!

 

Our daughter is vaxxed so I can't speak to the testing though I don't believe it is any different.  I do know that they have opened Camp Ocean to kids that are not vaccinated, which is a relatively new change.  Your daughter should be able to enjoy that.  They have a lot of fun activities for the kids.  Also, if the ship is crowded, you might have to make a reservation for her if she wants to attend Camp Ocean.  We didn't have to, but I know some families have had to do that on other cruises.

 

We had a great time and didn't worry about covid too much though we did move away from people who were coughing a lot.  I noticed more coughing toward the end of the cruise.  

 

Have a great time!  

Edited June 12, 2022 by jerseygirlinAZ

[redsox1584]

Thank you for your wonderful review and pictures. I will be on this ship in September and your steakhouse pictures make we want to make a reservation now.