Review of the Panorama, 9/24-10/1

[allinwonderland]

Okay, I've been stalking these boards for weeks in anticipation of my first Carnival cruise (I've been on one NCL cruise several years ago but it was honestly very forgettable - and not because I was drunk the whole time), and I love love LOVED reading everyone's live reviews, so I wanted to give back to the boards by chronicling my own adventures on the Panorama, especially since food is important to me (though I unfortunately don't have photos of everything). However, I had already decided I was going to take this trip to unplug, having read nothing but terrible commentary about the WiFi (both for connectivity and cost), so I couldn't do this review truly live. Instead, I took notes on my phone as though I was doing a live review.

 

I did get the Cheers package, even though I knew my sister wouldn't make full use of it (more info about whether I think this was worth it at the end), so because I saw this on someone else's review and thought it was cute, there will be a "Cheers count" on each day to track what and how much I drank. Also paid for 2 nights of specialty dining ahead of time. We booked a tour in every port, but only one of them through Carnival.

 

Without further ado, let's get this vacation rolling!

 

-

 

DAY ONE

 

Breaking news: No masks needed at the LBC terminal! I got us an early arrival time (11:00-11:30) on the soonest day we could check in and it definitely paid off. Even though traffic and parking jams meant we didn't get to the terminal until a little after our arrival time, we got on the ship around 12:30 with only minimal waiting in lines. (FYI, I was traveling with my sister who lives in LA; I flew in from Arizona on the 23rd and stayed with her that night.)

 

Once on the ship, we went to muster and then in search of lunch. I noticed that the crew working outside didn’t have to wear masks (a couple did); inside they all still did though. I got a Guy's Burger and it was good - not groundbreaking but good - though the fries could’ve been crispier. Also had to get a Funship as my first drink! Sister didn’t like her Blue Iguana burrito that much but still ate it. Cakes from the buffet were great! I had the infamous funfetti cheesecake and also PB s’mores. It was hard to find seating on Lido when we were there. (PS: We came back around 3:30 in advance of sailaway and the lines for both Guy's and Blue Iguana were massive! Seemed to move fairly quickly but still.)

 

 

 

As we were eating, they made an announcement about rooms being ready at 1:30, and our suitcases that we left with the porters were already there when we got there at 2:30. We got an inside room on deck 7, midship; it was small but actually not as small as I was worried about, and closet space was plentiful enough for 2 women. Steward offered once per day cleaning but let me pick which time - I said evening because we like to sleep, and that was fine with him.

 

First impressions after walking around the Crew are very nice, friendly, funny, personable. Go out of their way to talk to you. Bartenders like to laugh with you (got a big chuckle when I ordered the “kiss on the lips”). Found our way to the Alchemy Bar very quickly; it is so cool to watch them work! Also definitely the most interesting drinks on the boat; my sister loved the Cucumber Sunrise. For anyone curious, the Alchemists on this trip were Kateryna and Dragana, though Dragana said she was 2 weeks away from going home, so she's probably gone by now.

 

MDR dinner: requested a table around 7. There was a glitch on the hub app that meant I was trying to check us in and it wasn’t working. Said under 10 min wait but was more like 25 before we got a table. Seated so close to another table for 2 it was like we were at a table for 4; they were a nice older couple, very friendly, who'd been on many Carnival cruises before. Food was just meh—I ordered strawberry bisque (that literally tasted like melted ice cream haha), Caesar salad, sweet and sour shrimp (pretty bland). Sister got corn poblano soup and the grilled salmon (she loved it tonight). Bar service was super slow, and they gave me the wrong kind of wine (I still drank it). We were visited by the magician - very cheesy. Servers tried to coerce us to do shots - the older couple and I did, sister did not. (The shots in the MDR are covered by cheers if you ask them to pour you one in a different glass; it's the souvenir shot glass that you're paying for.) Chocolate melting cake is to die for but super rich (we both had it).

 

 

After dinner, I tried to get into the 9pm adult comedy show but it filled up and they weren’t letting anyone in. Yikes. Not much other programming tonight - weird - so after a drink at Alchemy, we ended up just coming back to the room and chilling.

 

Cheers count: Funship, mango margarita, Cruiser, kiss on the lips, champagne, woo woo shot, martini seduction

[allinwonderland]

DAY TWO - SEA DAY

 

Woke up and pretty quickly went down to Java Blue; the line moves pretty fast, and the espresso drinks were good - like Starbucks - not great like the independent coffee shops my sister and I prefer nowadays. My sister was a bit more grumpy about this than I was.

 

After getting our coffees, we requested a table for sea day brunch. Service was also slow in the MDR, including bar service for my mimosa, and the app wait times continued to not be accurate. Food was decent; sister got salmon Benedict, I got the skillet cake and the for-fee crab and avocado sandwich (it was good, probably would’ve been better if I ate it like a sandwich, but I was thinking it was some sort of crab Benedict. The crab cake was quite large and chunky.) Unfortunately didn't get pictures. Sea day brunch was something I was super super excited for after reading a bunch of reviews, but they slashed the menu a few weeks before I got on, and there were things on the other menu like the frittata that I had been looking forward to.

 

I lounged on the lanai on deck 5 for a bit, then got some of the incredible Mac and cheese from Guy's BBQ. Sorry I can't report on the quality of the meats because I’m not a BBQ fan. Lol. Lido buffet cakes were a winner again (strawberry Mille feuille and green tea checkers - didn’t taste like green tea at all). I got a tomato and mozzarella sandwich from the deli and honestly it was a little disappointing - ate about half because I needed food in my stomach - but I probably should’ve known better.

 

Our FB group planned a bar crawl! If you saw people with leis roaming around the ship, that was us. Sorry if we were too rowdy. I actually didn’t end up drinking too much during the crawl bc I was trying to stay on top of too many things at once, took my lunch break in the middle, and then had to go get our water shuttle tickets for Cabo, since I had booked an independent excursion. (Pay attention to your app where they announce these things if you’re like me!)

 

After the bar crawl that wasn’t (for me), I spent most of the afternoon in one quiet spot or another writing—outside whenever I could stand it (not too humid) to watch the water. Sorry I’m boring. Sister and I did go get pizza mid-afternoon, and can I just say, it blew both of our expectations out of the water. Almost always a long line though, they couldn’t make them fast enough to keep up with demand - and they were only giving each person half a pie too.

 

 

I was determined to make it to comedy tonight, so we went to the PG show at 7. Larry Omaha was hysterical, and I kind of wanted to see his adult one after that but already knew I wouldn’t last long enough to make it to the 11:30 comedy showcase. They also have this drink on the comedy club bar menu called the Whimsy Scarlett that’s like a pomegranate martini - SO freaking good if you like sweet drinks.

 

MDR dinner tonight was lackluster. But I don’t like lobster or prime rib so I was pretty much just there for the creme brûlée (which was amazing). Sister liked the lobster. I got the carbonara and it was not at all authentic but I wasn’t expecting it to be. We both got the grilled salmon from the everyday menu and thought it was overcooked, unlike last night when she loved it. Sister got CMC again.

 

 

Tonight I made it into the 9:45 adult comedy show! Manny Maldonado was hysterical - very politically incorrect, definitely rated R. Sister was too tired so I went alone. Then because of my worries about getting off the boat tomorrow, I just went back to the room and went to bed.

 

Cheers count: mimosa, mango rum punch, green iguana (Midori, pineapple, coconut, and tequila), Miami vice, cappuccino with Kahlua, pomegranate martini, glass of Pinot Grigio, chocolate martini

[allinwonderland]

DAY THREE - CABO SAN LUCAS

 

Set an alarm for 8 and then I grabbed coffee at Java Blue and just a couple nibbles from the buffet to tide me over, since we had big plans to eat on shore. We were in Cabo from 10am-7pm.

 

I booked a walking food tour that I would 100% recommend - it was amazing. BUT because Cabo is a tender port, and we didn't have a Carnival excursion, I was very nervous we wouldn’t be able to get off the ship in time. Yesterday we had scrambled to get the earliest possible ticket time and then it was still questionable if they would start letting people off the boat in time for us to get to the meeting spot by 12:30 local time (11:30 ship time). By the grace of God we were able to get off the ship in time - and then still had to walk to the location, which was about 20 minutes away and all the way around the marina (taxis wouldn’t take us there for some reason - that was another cluster***).

 

Once we got the meeting spot, though, everything was great. The tour was operated by Juan More Taco and it was phenomenal. They took us through town into some of the more local spots, with a guide who was super knowledgeable about the area. We tried sopes, three different taco places (including the most incredible tacos al pastor), quesabirria, frozen fruit popsicles called paletas, and churros. You could order as much food as you wanted at each stop. Water, soda, agua Fresca were included, but beer or liquor was an extra cost (only a couple places even sold booze). Ended with a tequila tasting which was very nice too, though I didn’t much care for them (I like my tequila in mixed drinks.)

 

On our way back to the ship, we stopped at a bar called Monkey Business, which I had read rave reviews about for all the fresh fruit and other fresh ingredients they use in their drinks. I got a mango margarita, my standby; my sister got passionfruit and it was to DIE for. $9 USD each for these giant drinks in super cool glasses made at the local glass blowing factory. Highly recommend a stop at this place too.

 

I felt like a total ball of sweat by the time we got back on the boat. We were really not prepared for the sun and humidity. There was a big line to get on a shuttle back but Carnival staff thankfully kept it moving. After a shower, I went down to the atrium bar to get to work on my cheers package. 50th birthday martini was yummy (made with passionfruit liquor) but also packed more of a punch than i thought - or I was just way dehydrated despite chugging water all day - because then I was tapped out on drinking for a bit. 

 

 

I'd wanted to go to the 7:30 showing of Soulbound but then my stomach said “I want food!” So I met up with my sister and got pizza - they are really stingy with giving out the whole pizzas for some reason. We had to wait in line twice to get as much as we wanted. Also got some Parmesan chicken tenders from the buffet line which were pretty good. Dessert from the buffet was a caramel apple bread pudding - it was okay, not that much flavor.

 

 

My sister befriended Kateryna from Alchemy, so I finally got some custom concoctions. Should’ve asked her what was in them but it was busy.

 

 

 

Wanted to make it to Larry Omaha’s adult show at 9:45, but by 9:30 I was just too tired. So we went to bed, since we had to wake up pretty early the next day.

 

Cheers count: 50th birthday martini, fruity custom Alchemy concoction x2 (and a giant mango margarita on shore)

[allinwonderland]

DAY FOUR - MAZATLAN

 

I set my alarm way too early because the app said we’d be let off the ship starting at 7:15, and our tour start time just said "30 minutes after the ship docks." Not sure if we were ever actually going to get off that early, but some kind of customs delay meant we didn’t get off until 9. My sister was mad I got her up so early. Time in Mazatlan was from 8am-9pm (extended from 5pm a few weeks before we left).

 

In the meantime, I got a breakfast burrito; it was just okay. Blue Iguana was sort of the one major disappointment of the ship - something I thought, based on all the reviews, would be a lot better than it was. Maybe we’re just spoiled, living in CA and AZ, with better Mexican food. But also, our ship literally went to the Mexican Riviera, so there was no shortage of good Mexican food on the trip.

 

We did a tour called "city highlights with lunch" from a non-Carnival vendor. It was very easy to meet them at the little port shopping area, thankfully, and after all the walking and sweating we did yesterday, it was nice to be in an air conditioned van. There were only 11 of us compared to the size of the ship's bus tours. We stopped at a lookout spot near the water, to see the cliff divers, drove through the old town to see the Immaculate Concepcion church and the big market (I got $1USD worth of amazing pastries at Pasteleria Panama; my sister bought a $100 fake Louis Vuitton bag) and drove past the shrimp market. The streets were so narrow and it was so hot and humid, so I was thankful not to have to walk too much. Then we drove through the Golden Zone and stopped three times: for a tequila tasting (the history lesson part was the same as the one we did in Cabo, but we got to try some flavored tequila - passionfruit, almond, coffee, and hibiscus - in addition to the reposado and anejo), to do a little shopping in an upscale gallery-type place (we didn’t buy anything), and then for lunch at a restaurant on the beach. I got a basket of shrimp 3 ways (breaded, coconut, and beer battered) with fries, and 1 frozen margarita - all included in the cost of the tour. The one annoying thing was that because we were on the beach, and it was a public beach, all these vendors came around trying to sell us stuff while we were eating lunch. Oh, and then a mariachi band that put their drum right next to my sister’s head - she was in a bad mood after that.

 

Got back onboard around 3, so I ran up to Lido to get some cake: coconut tres leches and tiramisu cheesecake. Both excellent. The cakes were not dry, as I’ve seen some people complain on here, and while I will admit the frosting is often very butter-heavy, I have a secret weakness for those kinds of cakes, so I enjoyed the cake buffet very very much all week. I also finally found the gelato (took me this long to realize that one section of the buffet has the gelato and the other one has the cakes), and maybe it was just because the scoop of salted caramel I got was so freshly made (it was melting so fast, looked like it hadn’t set enough) but I wasn’t that impressed. The flavor was good but the texture was terrible. I didn’t finish it. I meant to maybe try the gelato again later in the trip but never got to it.

 

 

Spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and writing (I’m boring, I know!) mostly in ocean plaza to get out of the heat. The shrimp at lunch were good but not a very large portion so I went and got a little pizza around 5.

 

We had reservations at the steakhouse for tonight at 7:30. Fabulous meal. My sister said it was “culinary redemption.” She got the lobster bisque, tuna tartare, filet mignon, garlic rapini and the chocolate sphere. I got onion soup, Caesar salad, filet mignon, Mac and cheese, and the cheesecake. Everything was incredible. The only downside was the watermelon martini tasted like jolly ranchers but in a bad way - like fake and almost medicinal. Oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

Originally the love and marriage show was going to be tonight at 9, and I thought maybe we could make it after dinner, but then they switched it last minute to start at 8, so there was no way we were gonna do steakhouse dinner and the show. No comedy tonight either which sucked. My sister went to bed early and I hung out in the library bar (which is not actually a bar) and wrote for a couple more hours before I went to bed.

 

Cheers count: mimosa, Red’s Remedy, Twilight Zone, white peach sangria, watermelon martini (and a margarita on shore)

[allinwonderland]

DAY FIVE - PUERTO VALLARTA

 

Didn't set an alarm today and I woke up at 9, just barely too late for breakfast in the MDR, darn. We have an evening excursion so are spending the first half of the day on the ship. Time on shore was 9am-9pm.

 

I tried to go up to Lido to eat but it was a madhouse; I should’ve known better. Went back to sit in ocean plaza with my coffee for about an hour to let the crowds clear out of the buffet, and my sister met me there. Then we went back up to Lido and got breakfast - the omelet was good, the rest of the food was decent, and the passion orange guava juice was very sweet but definitely great.

 

 

After that I wanted to check out serenity since I hadn’t been up there the whole time, but there was absolutely 0 shade so I didn’t last long. Went back to ocean plaza, my favorite spot, but the bar there wasn’t open and I wanted a drink, so I ended up in the atrium bar with my laptop for a bit. My sister went to the pasta bar because she didn’t eat much breakfast; she said it was good. Around 2pm I ate about 3/4 of a Guy's burger so I would have some food in my stomach before our excursion.

 

Everyone said we had to do rhythms of the night, so we did. My sister took a Bonine before getting on the little boat to Las Caletas and she said it worked. On the boat, the crew were so fun and friendly, and the drinks were FLOWING! Then we got to the island and I immediately had to use the bathroom; they are itty bitty, almost like confessional stalls. It was so humid even without direct sun, my sundress was absolutely drenched in sweat by the end of the show, so plan your outfit accordingly - also wear shoes with some decent stability because parts of the ground are uneven. We did the show before dinner, which isn’t the order of things I was expecting after all the reviews I'd read, so I was a little thrown. So yes, it was still fairly light out but the fire effects were still awesome. The show was absolutely incredible - I don’t know what else I can say that hasn’t already been said or would be useless after all the videos that are out there. Dinner was lovely as well, a nice variety of food - salads, steak, shrimp, chicken, fish, rice, pasta, bread - and the flan for dessert was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Open bar on the island too. Then on the boat ride back, there were more free-flowing drinks the crew put on a great lip-syncing show to Bruno Mars and Pitbull. Everything you’ve heard about this excursion is 100% true; it’s expensive, but worth doing at least once.

 

 

After getting back to the ship and showering off the film of sweat on every inch of my skin, we went down to Alchemy for a bit before the 9:45 adult comedy show, which I ended up going solo for. JeROME was funny but I think Manny from the other night was funnier. Then I met up with my sister at the piano bar, which was surprisingly fun.

 

By now I was getting hungry again so we went upstairs and got pizza. And holy *****, there was a huge ass storm going on! Rain, thunder, lightning. It was kind of cool to watch from the safety of the boat. I was just glad PV held out on sending down the buckets till after we got back from our excursion. We ate and then went to bed.

 

Cheers count: mocha chocolate getaway, French kiss (and three margaritas, two rum punch, and a shot of Kahlua in my coffee on my excursion)

[allinwonderland]

DAY SIX - SEA DAY

 

After all the drinks on the boat, I was definitely glad I packed some liquid IV. Chugged one of those and got my coffee, then went to sea day brunch. I had hoped to make it to the military appreciation thing but it was being held at 10:30 am and I woke up at 9 and definitely needed food, but wasn’t about to brave Lido again during the busy times - plus I like sitting down, being served, and watching the water - so I missed the military thing. Oh well, there’s always next cruise. And so far, I definitely think there will be a next cruise.

 

I ordered a croissant (looked pretty but tasted slightly stale like the smaller ones on Lido), the yogurt parfait (small but good; the granola was basically just nuts and seeds though, fair warning), a cheese omelet, hash browns and fruit, and then because I still had room, I got the 7 layer chocolate cake, which was fabulous.

 

 

 

After that, very full and content, I waddled my way back to ocean plaza and set up in my usual spot in the back corner to write. I was feeling a little sugared-out from all the sugary drinks I’d been having all week so I stuck to some less sweet things - still trying to get the most of my cheers package though. Tried the new Thirsty Frog hard seltzer and thought it was okay. Sister did not go to brunch with me (was still sleeping) and she had the pasta bar for lunch again.

 

We went to teatime today. It was surprisingly decent. The cucumber sandwich had too much pepper (bizarre) and the scones were more like little hard sweet biscuits but tasted okay. They come around with a little tray of sweets and serve you.

 

 

 

Tea runs from 3-4 but by 3:30 we were already done, so I went to the library bar afterward to find some peace and quiet to write. Then back to the room to change for formal night and then up to Alchemy for pre dinner drinks.

 

 

 

For dinner we ate in the MDR for only the 3rd time this trip. Second formal night menu was the one I was looking forward to. I got crab cake, Caesar salad, filet mignon, jumbo shrimp, and grand Marnier soufflé. Sister got basically the same thing but no salad, and melting cake instead of souffle for dessert. The crab cake wasn’t that great but the rest of it was pretty good. Souffle was surprisingly wonderful.

 

 

 

(SIDE NOTE: I ended up throwing up in the middle of the night and I’m fairly sure it was from that crab cake! A few other people I talked to the next day had the same experience. Yikes.)

 

Dinner service was actually pretty quick, thankfully, and I was able to snag a solo seat for the 8:30 adult comedy show (it was very close to standing room only at 8:15). Sebastian Cetina was funny but a lot of his show was based on picking on those in the audience. After that I came back to Alchemy for a nightcap and ended up talking to some pretty interesting people before I finally went to bed.

 

Cheers count: mimosa, ThirstyFrog berry hibiscus hard seltzer, white peach sangria, fruity custom Alchemy creation x2, pomegranate martini, Deal Closer

[allinwonderland]

DAY SEVEN - LAST SEA DAY

 

For once I did not want to go to sea day brunch. Instead I got up, got my coffee and waited a little bit for the crowds to thin, then went up to Lido for breakfast, because I thought they made a better omelet than the one I had yesterday at sea day brunch. The temperature and humidity had dropped quite a bit now that we were headed north, and the boat was rocking a bit more too (not terrible, just noticeable).

 

Though originally we were told it was all full, we were able to get into the mixology class at alchemy. Super fun. We made the martini seduction, purple sunset, mojito martini, and a Caribbean Manhattan — vodka, rum, gin, and whiskey base, respectively. It was so much fun and the drinks were so good! I almost wish they’d held it sooner because I discovered a few new favorites. And then they fed us the fruit that’s been infusing in the pitchers of vodka in the back - WHEW that was a lot of vodka! The class isn’t included in Cheers, but you do get a 25% discount, same as if you’d bought a bottle of wine. Took about 2 hours from start to finish.

 

 

After that, my sister was quite tipsy so I took her to the pasta bar to make sure I saw her eat something, then I went down to Lido and got some cake from the “chocolate extravaganza”. Not sure what about it was so extravagant. Today was the first time I wasn’t that thrilled with the cakes (the butter frosting didn’t agree with me), or maybe I just wanted something savory to soak up the alcohol.

 

 

After she went to take a nap, I got pizza, which made my stomach happy then a spiked coffee to sip while I did some more writing. (Pro tip: the “chocolate lovers” coffee actually doesn’t taste like chocolate at all. I ended up adding some chocolate soft serve to it to get the taste I was hoping it would be.) Then around 5 I had another Guy’s burger (didn't wholly finish it), just because it was the last chance to have one. The fries are actually quite good when you get them hot and fresh, though they were definitely just frozen fries with the special seasoning on them.

 

Dinner tonight was at Cucina del Capitano. My sister got the burrata with tomatoes, the cavatelli ragu, and the polenta cake. I got the arancini (not bad, but this was the weakest point of the meal for sure), chicken parmigiana with a side of spaghetti, and the chocolate biscotti. We both agreed that their buttery pull apart bread was the highlight of the meal, though it would’ve been even better with more garlic flavor. Absolutely, 10/10 would recommend going to this specialty restaurant if it's on the ship you're on; the quality (and quantity) of food, especially for the price, can’t be beat.

 

 

 

 

I ended up going to the 9:30 showing of Celestial Strings by myself, because my sister decided she was too tired and not that interested. It was….interesting. The violin trio performed live and that was cool. The costumes were interesting and most of the singing was good. But there wasn’t really a plot, just singing. I was glad I saw at least one of the playlist production shows (and I’m glad it was this one) but I don’t feel like I missed out by not seeing any others.

 

Then after one last drink at alchemy, and saying a sad goodbye to our favorite bartenders, it was time to go back to the room, finish packing, and go to sleep.

 

Cheers count: Paloma, 4 mini drinks at the mixology class, chocolate lovers spiked coffee, watermelon lemonade with vodka, strawberry Bellini, fruity custom Alchemy concoction

[allinwonderland]

 

DAY EIGHT (aka disembarkation)

 

We carried our own luggage off, and debarkation was predictably a little cluttered but otherwise not too bad. Then, because we hadn’t eaten on the ship, we drove around for a bit trying to find somewhere for breakfast, but all the places I’d written down were near the water and parking was impossible on a Saturday morning. After a bit of map searching, we ended up at a place called the Steel Cup Cafe which was very good and - best part - in its own little parking lot about 10 min away from the water. Not sure this will be useful to anyone else but thought I'd mention it since we did like the food. My sister was thrilled to finally get oat milk in her coffee again.

 

I booked a flight out of Long Beach airport because LAX stinks, and I was surprised by how small it is! The terminal is basically one long hallway, haha. And they don’t have ramps down to the plane, you walk outside and get on a little foldable ramp. Flight was short and uninteresting, and thank goodness for Southwest not charging bag fees.

 

-

 

Final thoughts:

 

The crew are so so nice and friendly. It surprised me when some of them remembered our names. And they are constantly cleaning.

 

Food was about what I expected. Don’t expect gourmet fine dining (except maybe at the steakhouse). But if you’re looking for good burgers, pizza, tacos, etc you’re going to be happy. I never went hungry.

 

It’s a big ship, there are a lot of people on it, but there will still be plenty of places for a nice quiet spot if you want one.

 

Which of the "must have cruise items" that I bought on Amazon were actually useful? Oopsie Poopsie spray was a lifesaver for our tiny bathroom. So were the luggage tags and an outlet extender. Surprisingly, though I bought the metal straws, we didn’t use them (it’s kind of a pain to pull them out, I didn’t order THAT many frozen drinks, and honestly the edible straws weren’t terrible). I didn’t buy lanyards because I knew neither of us would wear them.

 

Our room location (deck 7 midship) was fabulous for where we ended up spending a lot of our time - 2 flights of stairs down to deck 5 with Ocean Plaza, Java Blue, and Alchemy. I tried to take the stairs as much as possible, though toward the latter half of the trip there were definitely times when I used to the elevator to go between floors 5 and 10 out of laziness.

 

Was Cheers worth it? I definitely lost some money vs. paying for each drink individually, but I knew that was going to happen since I had to buy it for my sister too, who doesn't drink that much. We both got a lot of bottled waters and specialty coffees, so that helped make up a tiny bit of the difference, and Alchemy was our favorite bar and those drinks are the most expensive (outside of certain liquors). But mostly, I overestimated my own capacity to drink, after seeing how many of my fellow CC members seem to hit their 15 every day of the trip - but it might've also been because I didn't hang out at too many bars at night because my sister always went to bed early. Due to some personal circumstances that happened right before the trip, I was still glad I had budgeted it into the cost of the trip and paid for it in advance, so I didn't have to overthink "well do I really want another drink right now?" every time I went to order. The argument of "oh it's so much cheaper to drink in the ports" has no impact on me as a female who travels with other females; I'm not going to have more than 1 or 2 drinks in port and risk anything possibly going wrong. I think I would definitely get Cheers again if I did another Carnival cruise.

 

Things I didn’t get to do that I wish I had: Never made it to the SkyRide or the ropes course, though I was so excited to try that. Never hung out on Serenity or tried their salad bar. Never ate lunch at the pasta bar. Never made it to a deck party.

 

Overall, would I go on the Panorama again? Absolutely. I got an amazing vacation for what I spent, and the convenience of having this nice big ship so close to AZ can't be beat. Would I take another Carnival cruise to other ports? Maybe. I definitely want to do some Caribbean cruising, but I'm thinking about trying other lines (if I can find itineraries and sailings within my budget) since Carnival definitely had some downsides and didn't WOW me enough to convince me not to try others.

 

All right, that's enough of my self-important blabbing; happy to answer any questions about the ship, the ports, my experience as a Carnival newbie, etc.

[sanmarcosman]

I enjoyed your cruise story very much.

Edited October 8, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[pe4all]

Very well written, and informative!  This is an itinerary I would like to do someday.  Thanks.

[MyTurnNow]

Thanks so much for the great review!  We will be on the Panorama next month and are so excited.  

[nwcruiselover]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review.  I’ll be on Panorama B2B in January and I appreciate your insights.

[Drew B 58]

I sailed the week before you, and Dragana from Alchemy was my GIRL!!!  Although I preferred the Pig & Anchor Bloody Marys to any drinks I had from Alchemy.

 

I, too, overestimated my capacity to drink with a drinks package (although fortunately, I got mine through a casino deal and didn’t have to pay).  I was also shocked at my inability to EAT, as I just got way too full after eating basically anything. Weird!

 

I loved the ship and the ultra-friendly crew.

[sanmarcosman]

19 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

Thank you for taking the time to do this review.  I’ll be on Panorama B2B in January and I appreciate your insights.

We'll be boarding January 14th for our 10th cruise aboard Panorama and it has always been a happy ship so we agree with the OP on that completely. Now we wait for December 29th to select our arrival time...

Edited October 9, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[nwcruiselover]

4 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

We'll be boarding January 14th for our 10th cruise aboard Panorama and it has always been a happy ship so we agree with the OP on that completely. Now we wait for December 29th to select our arrival time...

I’ll be on January 7th and 14th.  I’m glad to hear so many good things about the Panorama.

[lennythenose]

I have friends from Arizona that were on this same cruise. I have never been in this itinerary or this class of ship but her experience and yours both make me want to go sooner rather than later!  Thank you for this review. 

[monty3]

Thanks for the great review!  We board the Panorama Dec 17, and it will be our 5th cruise with Carnival. It sounds like having appointments for arrival time will make embarkation run more smoothly. Our last cruise was pre covid, so we are so anxious to cruise and there will be 10 of us celebrating a relative's 60th wedding anniversary and their first cruise! 

[allinwonderland]

22 hours ago, Drew B 58 said:

I sailed the week before you, and Dragana from Alchemy was my GIRL!!!  Although I preferred the Pig & Anchor Bloody Marys to any drinks I had from Alchemy.

 

I, too, overestimated my capacity to drink with a drinks package (although fortunately, I got mine through a casino deal and didn’t have to pay).  I was also shocked at my inability to EAT, as I just got way too full after eating basically anything. Weird!

 

I loved the ship and the ultra-friendly crew.

I'm not a Bloody Mary fan but I had heard such good things about the P&A ones! Almost made me wish I liked them, hahaha.

 

Okay I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they'd drink more than they actually did! (I still maintain I would've added a few more drinks to each day's tally if my sister hadn't been such a wet blanket in the evenings, lol.) I also never sat on the pool deck - I actually bought new swimsuits for this cruise and never put them on once - so I had to get up and go to the bar to get my drinks... Ah, excuses, excuses.

 

As for the food, I was quite happy with how much of everything I got to try; if it sucked, I didn't take another bite, but a lot of it was pretty good. A couple times I got a burger and only ate about half of it because that's all my stomach wanted - didn't feel bad about the waste. MDR portions are pretty small to begin with, and you often had to fight with the pizza place to get more than half a pie. But mostly I just tried to eat smaller portions and then went somewhere else 1-2 hours later if I felt hungry again, and I got to eat pretty much everything I wanted.

 

Oh, I guess I never got to have one of the spiked milkshakes. Darn, now I've got to go on another cruise! 😂

[SDPadreFan]

1 hour ago, monty3 said:

Thanks for the great review!  We board the Panorama Dec 17, and it will be our 5th cruise with Carnival. It sounds like having appointments for arrival time will make embarkation run more smoothly. Our last cruise was pre covid, so we are so anxious to cruise and there will be 10 of us celebrating a relative's 60th wedding anniversary and their first cruise! 

You should prep your older family members, that after leaving Cabo San Lucas on Dec 22nd, the ride will get noticeably worse as you head home directly into the southbound Alaskan currents and winds. By that evening - being out on the open decks will probably be no fun at all. Nothing wrong, completely normal - just the nature of cruising the Mexican Riviera. Enjoy the outside of the ship the first 5 days. The last day & a half is a good time to enjoy the interior.

 

The whales will be in Cabo in December as well as Puerto Vallarta so hopefully you'll be able to take a whale watching tour. My preference is Cabo for whale watching.

[SDPadreFan]

21 minutes ago, allinwonderland said:

Oh, I guess I never got to have one of the spiked milkshakes. Darn, now I've got to go on another cruise! 😂

I hate it when that happens!

[Matco]

Thanks for the great review! We sailed on the Panorama back in June and frequented the Alchemy Bar every night, Kateryna and Dragana are the best! Was Milan still there?  Those three really put on a show. We also were able to do the martini class and had a blast 

[monykalyn]

Great cruise story! We loved the Panorama -did her in March back when our Cabo day was so much shorter! Friend recommended the Jaun more taco tour but we couldnt do it due to short day. Sounds like a great day! We did a small boat whale watching tour instead (fabulous if you go again during whale season)

D&K were there at Alchemy when we were on board-great people! Best drinks on board-hubs and I were there every night-closed it down with our favorite bar tenders the last night-they made special drinks for our groups send off lol. 

Closest I got to 15 Cheers limit was 10 a couple nights and 14 on last night of cruise!

Serenity is great if you can snag a clamshell!

[allinwonderland]

3 hours ago, Matco said:

Kateryna and Dragana are the best! Was Milan still there?  Those three really put on a show.

 

It was just the two of them as main Alchemists; Kateryna said they were getting a third dedicated Alchemist the week after I got off, and sounded very grateful for the help, haha. Occasionally there was a woman named Li who would help out if it was busy, but she didn't have the white coat. Also an older guy named Nicolae would sometimes pitch in if they were very busy.

[monty3]

On 10/9/2022 at 4:07 PM, SDPadreFan said:

You should prep your older family members, that after leaving Cabo San Lucas on Dec 22nd, the ride will get noticeably worse as you head home directly into the southbound Alaskan currents and winds. By that evening - being out on the open decks will probably be no fun at all. Nothing wrong, completely normal - just the nature of cruising the Mexican Riviera. Enjoy the outside of the ship the first 5 days. The last day & a half is a good time to enjoy the interior.

 

The whales will be in Cabo in December as well as Puerto Vallarta so hopefully you'll be able to take a whale watching tour. My preference is Cabo for whale watching.

Thanks for the reminder of the rougher ride back home and cooler weather.  We will let them know what to expect.

[helene109]

Thanks for a helpful review! We are on it end of august and have done a few Caribbean cruises and curious how the west coast compares! Thanks again!