My first west coast cruise on the Carnival Panorama

[havanadaydreaming]

I'll try to keep most of the posts short and sweet since i dont think i'll have internet action after sailaway this weekend.  But who knows...maybe i'll get in the mood to splurge.  

 

Flight to LAX lands 12am before embarkation.    Bah humbug, but we stalled booking airfare hoping it would fluctuate downward.  it did not.  so 86 the direct flight and midday arrival.   here's hoping there's food available at our layover airport!  

 

i have always sailed from FL ports.  Looking forward to our first CA departure, wonder how long we will get to see the mainland on our way south to Mexico.  i love to have a few drinks for sailaway on Lido.  That usually leads us to dining in the buffet juuuuuust before closing.  Cheers y'all! 

[sanmarcosman]

Congrats on WC sailing. You will see the Baja Peninsula there and back. Here's a Princess ship sailing along side Panorama in March as seen from one of our two portholes in a 1A category cabin. You can see land in the background. Have fun, Panorama is a fine ship.

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, havanadaydreaming said:

I'll try to keep most of the posts short and sweet since i dont think i'll have internet action after sailaway this weekend.  But who knows...maybe i'll get in the mood to splurge.  

 

Flight to LAX lands 12am before embarkation.    Bah humbug, but we stalled booking airfare hoping it would fluctuate downward.  it did not.  so 86 the direct flight and midday arrival.   here's hoping there's food available at our layover airport!  

 

i have always sailed from FL ports.  Looking forward to our first CA departure, wonder how long we will get to see the mainland on our way south to Mexico.  i love to have a few drinks for sailaway on Lido.  That usually leads us to dining in the buffet juuuuuust before closing.  Cheers y'all! 

 

You're landing at LAX at midnight on embarkation morning? That's horrible. I hope you're getting a place to sleep for a few hours.

[kona_wahine]

Thinking about taking this cruise. Looking forward to reading your trip report!!

[cruisin from vegas]

Lax at midnight on day of departure ?  Well hopefully you’ll get there then.  That’s not usual right now.  Be prepared for delays Or worse.  I live in Vegas and fly down there all the time, the last cruise I took on Panorama in February, 14 hours of delay and then cancellation..  should have driven.  I sincerely hope your plans go well!  When you get to LAX at that time, you will most likely have to exit the gate area, especially if you are checking luggage.  There are areas by luggage claim that have chairs.  There will be nothing open, until about 6 am.  There is a Starbucks that opens around that time. If you are taking carnival transportation to the port, it meets in that area around 9-10 am.  If possible, you really should get an airport hotel room that has free shuttle and a 24 hour front desk.  The Holiday Inn Express is what I always use.  The Panorama is a beautiful ship…. My absolute favorite and that itinerary is fabulous!!  Have fun!!

[csm5986142]

2 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

Lax at midnight on day of departure ?  Well hopefully you’ll get there then.  That’s not usual right now.  Be prepared for delays Or worse.

 

I agree, unfortunately we've had a tough time with air travel lately too.  Although our flight last Monday into LAX was on time, we sat on the runway for 50 minutes waiting for a gate (people with connections were starting to get pretty irritated).

Hope your flights go well and you have a great trip!

[cruisingguy007]

2 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

Lax at midnight on day of departure ?  Well hopefully you’ll get there then.  That’s not usual right now.  Be prepared for delays Or worse.  I live in Vegas and fly down there all the time, the last cruise I took on Panorama in February, 14 hours of delay and then cancellation..  should have driven.  I sincerely hope your plans go well!  When you get to LAX at that time, you will most likely have to exit the gate area, especially if you are checking luggage.  There are areas by luggage claim that have chairs.  There will be nothing open, until about 6 am.  There is a Starbucks that opens around that time. If you are taking carnival transportation to the port, it meets in that area around 9-10 am.  If possible, you really should get an airport hotel room that has free shuttle and a 24 hour front desk.  The Holiday Inn Express is what I always use.  The Panorama is a beautiful ship…. My absolute favorite and that itinerary is fabulous!!  Have fun!!

 

That's almost hard to believe with all the flights from Cali to Vegas. I fly out of SJC going to Vegas and can pretty much pick anytime to fly since there are so many, even SFO has a bunch. You'd think Vegas to Long Beach/LAX would be nearly fail proof. I guess things are as bad as everyone says! Yikes! 

Edited June 23, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[havanadaydreaming]

We have a hotel at, or near,  the airport. Hilton or Sheraton.  Just learned we now have 3 hour layover in salt lake city. At least we should get a relaxed dinner. 

 

Our dog is getting teeth cleaned from vet at kennel in an hour.  Staying a couple nights before our adult kiddos will pick her up and dogsit til we get back. 

[jsglow]

Why are some of you concerned about the OP's midnight arrival?  It'll be a long day but they'll get plenty of sleep and have a solid overnight cushion against missing the cruise. We've arrived in FLA plenty of times at that hour flying after work on a Friday evening before a Saturday cruise.

 

OP, yes my recollection is that you do get a good view of the Mexican Baja on the way down and back. 

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

I just read an article yesterday from an airline flight attendant that the way flights are being cancelled, if your drive is less than 7 hours, drive! Because of staff shortages, if flights are cancelled there are not always crew to replace them. She stated that by law they must not fly after 10 hours so if their time is up they are gone and there are not often the crew to replace them. She suggests if you are flying take the earliest flight as crew hours are not a factor. She also stated that 3rd party tickets are the first to be bumped if no volunteers. 

By the way you will love the Panorama. I have sailed on her 3 times and have 2 more scheduled!

[havanadaydreaming]

We have made it to Salt Lake City airport got to see a nice sunset with the mountains in the distance.  our plane to LA is getting "cleaned and inspected". Boards in 15 mins.  

 

Quick 100 min flight to LAX. Heres hoping the hotel there has a well run coffee shop....imma double fist java tomorrow am.  

 

 

[DAllenTCY]

Once you get to LA, your "vacation" has officially started.

 

My advice is....don't be in a rush to get to the ship.

 

Sleep in, have time to recoup.

 

Traffic won't be as bad on a Saturday.

 

You will be less than 1 hour away......and the best time to arrive in Long Beach is 2 - 3 pm.

 

Rooms on the ship aren't ready until 1:30 pm.

 

Once onboard.....my favorite are the Serenity area (decks 12 & 14) and the aft pool area.

 

Most of the time, luggage will be at your room before 5, so drag those things around?

 

The porters may seem "pushy", but as far as I know.....nothing has been fished out of the harbor this year.  

 

Have a safe flight from SLC to LAX.

 

David

[Kealy]

Happy cruising - -hope you have a great time in Mexico!

[ruready]

I have a bunch of family that will be on this cruise.  It should be lively with them there, lol.  Luckily, they only have a 30 minute drive to get to the Port.

 

Cheers!

[havanadaydreaming]

Good info TCY! 

 

Getting to taxi/ rideshare was confusing.  We wound up walking to LAX It from Term 3. Im a LAX novice.   Not too bad but it was about 60° last night.  Brrrrr!  I didnt bring any long sleeved clothing.  Ha! 

 

Hotel was more than satisfactory.  Did the Hilton Airport via hot deals on a travel booking website.  Some reviews werent too positive but paid a very reasonable price. Rolled the bones so to say..... All we needed was clean room, comfy bed, ice and water, and AC.  Check plusses on all those "needs". 

 

So far so good!!! 

 

 

[Itried4498]

Have a wonderful trip. Just we warned that while it’s been hot in Los Angeles, that June Gloom is turning into No Sky July along the coast… so don’t be surprised if the sun isn’t out in full swing (and it feels chilly) on your first day, and it feels windy and cold on your final day.  Don’t be deceived - make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen.

[Ranyw]

Hope you made it ok!

[havanadaydreaming]

Had a wonderful Lyft to Long Beach port, next to traffic on ride.  The main road at the port had a backup.  About 15 min delay.  

 

I left my cel in the car!  Luckily we used my wifes phone to contact lyft support who reached out to driver.  He was able to return it!!!! $100 tip for my new pal Nykola, a true mensch. 

 

Had Guyburgers for lunch. Still great but if im being honest didnt love the new fries.  No biggie they were decent.  

 

We felt pooped from prior day travel itinerary so we actually took a nap until sailaway, a first.  

 

Then we each lost $100 in casino but it took 90 mins or so.  The Dive in movies were Encanto and The Lost City.  Dinner was buffet in tshirt and shorts.  The roast beef was a big surprise, very tender and flavorful. My wifes fave was the baked potato and whipped butter, really hit the spot.  Sometimes simpler isnt worser.  

[havanadaydreaming]

Looks like 4700+ passengers, 3100+ first timers  on this sailing.  

 

Elevator system i loved on Horizon at 60% capacity seems stressed by numbers above.  

 

Stairwells here i come! 

[pppiglet]

I have friends on this cruise too.  First time for them going to the Mexican Riviera.  They are a lively bunch!  

[havanadaydreaming]

Day 2 - after 24+ hours no coffee started the morning with iced americano and a cafe latte. Caught a little bit of the CD morning show and then just walked ship while wife slept in. 

 

Ive been on plenty of carnival ships but this was first time i noticed how small the alcohol shop was.  Probably due to just being on ncl last cruise where its 3x bigger.  

 

Lunch was buffet, nothing stood out.  Dinner was MDR for lobster and prime rib.  I didnt want to say anything but dude next to me said lobster was very salty. Yes!  It was. But prime rib was tasty.  

 

Had a delicious Col EH Taylor on the rocks pre dinner.  Been a couple years since ive seen a bottle of that in the wild.  

 

Hit casino and hit for $100 slot.  Over next couple hours gave it back. But had a handful of comped Coronas while playing.  Not a total loss! 

[havanadaydreaming]

DAY 3 - Went down for a couple coffees before doing a walk up and down any public deck and outdoor areas.  

 

Serenity was completely full so i kept hunting for a spot to watch the baja penninsula go by.  Im easily entertained by stuff like that.  

 

Lunch- new funderstruck burger. Have to say it was tasty.  I expected it o be a bit of a mess but the flavors blended well. 

 

Got some more sun before heading inside to hydrate.  Watch deal or no deal.  Catch some live music.  And take another walk doing laps topside.  Watched a basketball game.  As a Gen X fella ive retired my shoes but i still have the itch to run a few games.  But a fear of torn achilles more than puts that itch to pasture. 

 

Had another run in the casino and missed the spiderman dive in movie.  We sat next to a few elderly ladies who were on a run, too.  Slot novices.  It was fun to watch their reactions.  

 

Dinner was buffet. Winning dish was parmesan chicken fingers.  Lamb wasnt bad either. I liked the indian chicken dish over rice.  With orangish sauce. Im new to that cuisine and struggle remembering entree names.  

 

Wife grabbed a few cookies and put them in a bowl with soft serve ice cream.  My dessert was iced water.  I was full. 

 

Hit just shy of 20k steps so turned in fairly  early.  Have our first port of call tomorrow! 

[sparks1093]

Following along.

[havanadaydreaming]

Day 4 - our PV excursion sold out so we just wandered off ship...into my worst possible scenario, the dreaded timeshare presentation offer. 

 

My wife accepted anticipating the hour long commitment was firm (spoiler alert, it wasnt) and we would get resort for a day access (spoiler, we didnt) 

 

I will say the adult theme park/luxury resort/PGA golf course concept was impressive.  Starting price for 2 wk at new building + bonus week for 10 yr was $550k.  The place literally resembled Jurassic Park.  It was impressive. 

 

It dropped to 22k for recently bought back unit at older building on property, beachfront. (Not deeded, so unit only guaranteed in building not oceanview)  Dropped to $11k. Final push offer $5500.  

 

We walked after 3.5 hours there. Maybe longer.  It wasnt high pressure so i called it even steven. Got a bottle of resposado tequila and some travel "cash" we may or probably may not ever use those.  

 

I was surprised so much of the 5 star members only resort was not air conditioned. We have been to a dozen AI's and normally lobby is open air but with side areas with crispy cold AC to rejuvenate americanos tourists. 

 

Wife got a 60 min massage comped also, at port shops. 

 

Dinner - buffet. It pains me to say i have nothing nice to say so ill say nothing at all.  Thanks momsie! 

 

Slots - we had a bank of slots on the wall.  EVERYONE but me was retriggering bonuses over and over.  And over.  I stopped after $40 or so.  As we were about to turn in i put a twenty in the money tree machine and hit for almost 100.  Sweet victory.  I stopped with a net profit for the evening.  

 

Tried to book a resort for the day for mazatlan...only 1 ticket remained.  Sigh.  Will do a port day then back to ship for sports trivia 5pm.  Im 2x defending sports champion but i wont calculate score if they ask any of the same questions.  I have long thought some folks know answers from previous sailings.  But last cruise i got 15/15 (with our 6 adult kids/partners) and ive softened on that stance.  

 

Only question i had heard before was what is the national sport of Canada?  

 

99% say hockey.  Me too first time. I had totally forgotten the answer but when i looked up at tv near casino bar they were showing a game of it.  

 

Lacrosse! 

[sparks1093]

I think this is Renier's (sp) first gig as a CD. How's he doing so far?