My Thoughts on the Panorama

[mkcurran]

Not that anybody asked and most of you won't care, but I'm going to share them anyway.

It's terrible that I have to be back at work today, but then again some reporting systems are down, stopping e from completing work and catching up on everything from last week. So here I am.

 

I just got back from the Mexican Riviera on this ship. On the itinerary where Cabo is a short last day.

I'll try my best to break this up into categories.

 

Pre-cruise--Long Beach is a pricey place to stay. Extremely pricey the weekend after the Gran Prix. So out in Westminster we stayed again. The Best Westerns are good deals that way. And the drive in is just long enough to make us not too early and can be done on side streets. Some how we've managed to perfect the timing so we end up with primo 1st floor parking in the garage. Twice now.

 

Outside the dome they have lines according to time slots for your arrival appointment. We timed it just right we went in on time and had no lines. Not entirely sure how and when they were letting people in from the other lines. I really hope they weren't leaving them to bake in the sun for hours. 

 

Once inside, there was a short wait until we got to board. But at least I had a friend to keep me company:

 

Pro-tip: If you are platinum and trying to embark with your elderly mother who is not, there is no need to yell, they will be nice. But attitudes will get you the side eye from everyone else.

[txsmiles]

Excited to hear your thoughts, we’ve recently booked Panorama for the same itinerary in July. Taking our grandsons and eager for info on the ship and the ports.  We’ve been on Vista, but not this ship and have never done the Pacific coast of Mexico itinerary. Thanks in advance sharing!

[mkcurran]

The Ship:

 

There were exactly three times this ship felt crowded:

-Embarkation

-Debarkation

-Trying to leave the comedy club

Other than that it was fairly easy to avoid most of the crowds.

 

The lanai area on deck 5 is under used. This made it a perfect place for us to hang out. Could always find a nice relaxing table to occupy and an occasional day bed to relax on.

 

The elevators are funky, but once you get used to them, they are nice. Never had to wait long. There are only two elevators that go to the 14th floor, which is where our cabin was located.

This was nice because we'd knew which two we'd end up on 95% of the time. Small problem coming back from Cabo, as they didn't pick either of these elevators for the guy to run manually. So we ended up getting off on the first stop and switching.

 

Pro-tip: The elevators will not close if a body is too close to the doors, no matter how badly the last person who shoved them selves on, with out pushing a button, needs to get to another floor where there may not be a line. 

 

[mkcurran]

5 minutes ago, txsmiles said:

Excited to hear your thoughts, we’ve recently booked Panorama for the same itinerary in July. Taking our grandsons and eager for info on the ship and the ports.  We’ve been on Vista, but not this ship and have never done the Pacific coast of Mexico itinerary. Thanks in advance sharing!

Feel free to ask questions! 

[mkcurran]

My Cabin:

 

We had an inside spa cabin. I've stayed in similar cabins on the Splendor. I was hesitant about booking this type on a Vista class ship. 

I think we would have been happier in a Havana Cabin. 

Anyway, the location is great. It is so quiet, well until the fog horn is blown. Thankfully that was only a couple of times coming out of PV. 

The Steward greeted us and said I only really work mornings. The guy was part ninja, as they all seem to be. He was good.

 

The Spa:

 

We are the kind of people who function better when we can soak our aging bodies in hot water on the regular. Regular hot tubs on the ships tend to break out either in kids or people who very suspiciously stay in them all day with out a break. So I book spa rooms. Which has worked out for us previously. 

 

The hydrotherapy spa on the Panorama leaves a lot to be desired, like comfortable seating for more than four people at a time, or comfortable seating in general really. Also it is shallow. Like kiddie pool shallow. 

 

The tile loungers are the best. We spent hours on them. To paraphrase another poster--we loved living the seal life. For the most part relaxing, until there was someone with no concept of volume control having a conversation in the tub.

 

It also felt like like the spa was oversold a couple days for the day passes. Lots of people at times. 

[4hunters]

Enjoying your review.  Thanks for posting. 🙂

[ASR1996]

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences. I'm following with interest as I am going to be on the Panorama in 18 days.  I was on the Panorama last May and had a great time.  

 

What time did you arrive to the cruise terminal to miss all of the chaos with the parking and lines? 

 

 

[mkcurran]

3 minutes ago, ASR1996 said:

I really appreciate you sharing your experiences. I'm following with interest as I am going to be on the Panorama in 18 days.  I was on the Panorama last May and had a great time.  

 

What time did you arrive to the cruise terminal to miss all of the chaos with the parking and lines? 

 

 

About 10 am. We spent about 30 minutes on the grassy area on the side before our appointment time of 10:30. 

[ASR1996]

Thank you! 

[ibarrio]

Awesome, Thank you!! 

[mkcurran]

The food:

 

We had early assigned dinning and ended up between two tables with four people on each side. We got lucky and had wonderful people on both sides. It wasn't long before we had them all ordering banana splits. The highlights were the filet on the 1st formal night, the short ribs, the fried oysters, hot soups in general, and the salads. 

 

There are still no port menus or table cloths. Our team of servers were on it for the most part, but did forget us for a few minutes on the second formal night. But they did feel bad about it. 

 

They brought out brownies for our special anniversary dessert, a day early. They had this thing where they wanted us to "kissy-kissy" at the end of each line in the song. On the third kissy-kissy the hubby went for a full-dip kiss. Cracked the team up. Being full we took the brownies back to our room. They were excellent.

 

We tried Guy's burgers, Blue Iguana Tacos, & the deli. The burgers were okay, but could live with out chili powder on the fries. The tacos are solid. The Deli was hit or miss, hot dogs excellent, steak sandwich gross.

 

Pro-tip: When in doubt ask your server for a recommendation. Would have missed the short ribs if I didn't.

[mkcurran]

The entertainment:

 

It's been a while since we cruised, but it seems like they are showing less movies. Which was disappointing. We really enjoy them.

 

 What I don't enjoy is the over acting and singing of the playlist performances. The cast is extremely talented, but the over doing everything gets old.

 

There seemed to be less over all entertainment than I remember. I used to do so many things the casino was almost an after thought and something to hit in between activities and dinner. 

 

The most entertaining part of trivia is watching the serious players get upset at pronunciations and the fact that the questions aren't the same from cruise to cruise or ship to ship any more. That and spotting the obvious cheaters. 

 

There is one event that turned out to be the most funny delightful experience ever. And that is the turtle trek. If this is on your ship, go see it.

 

Pro-tip: Hanging out on the deck 5 lanai never got old. It did, however, get cold on the last sea day.

[mkcurran]

Puerto Vallarta:

 

I love PV. We went there last year and stayed at an all-inclusive. We've done the taxi to the Malecon twice to enjoy the day. Good food is easy to find as well as good drinks. 

 

Having been here before, this is the day we picked for our relaxing beach day. We are not big drinkers, so the traditional day passes didn't hold value for us. So I search and found Las Palapas. Here you can rent the two lounger set-up for the day for a food and beverage minimum of 1,000 pesos or about $54. We had 2 pina coladas, 2 cokes, one big bottle of water, a club sandwich with the best fries ever, a shrimp taco, and a octopus taco. This barely met our minimum. There is parasailing right off to the side. Watching that was great entertainment. Only two sailors got close to landing on our umbrella.

 

To get to this little slice of heaven we walked outside the port all the way to the corner OXXO station, where reasonably priced cabs are available. 

 

Pro-tip: The first cab drivers will try to over charge you and claim it takes 3 times as long to get back as it does. Keep walking the ride should be $20 or less.

[mkcurran]

Mazatlán: 

 

This city is safer than Chicago. Don't stay on the ship. You'll be missing the best place on the trip to shop. 

 

We walked the blue line down to the Mercado. We started back and got distracted by umbrellas and some flamingos.

 

There is a very active art scene here. This place is beautiful!

We stopped at El Ceilo for cokes and nachos on the way back from the Mercado.

Less than $10 for everything.

 

Pro-tip: You'll be taking lots of pictures. Put your ship card in a different pocket than your camera. If your lucky the people walking behind you will spot your card on the side walk and pick it up, guessing they'll find you eventually as you are back tracking.

[mkcurran]

Cabo:

I'm not a fan. You get off the tender then have to walk through a gauntlet of sales people. The marina is hot and the vendors have taken up all the shade and benches. Getting here early in the morning when the only shops that are open are there solely for the tourist means selection is slim and prices are high. 

 

We tendered, we walked around, found what we were looking for, but at double the price. So we went back to the ship.

 

I will touch on the tender situation. (They are also known as water shuttles, but that just seems wrong to me.) I have always hated the grab a ticket system. This ends up with half-full tenders at times. And also with me not wanting to plan that far ahead. We get there at 7, who knows when I'll actually get moving for the day. 

 

Anyway that was a lot of words to say they aren't or at least didn't do the tickets this time. When you are ready, just go down and get in line. Took about 5 minutes to get on a tender. How ever they do funky things with the elevators. You'll have to go down to level one and walk down to get in line---or to the heroes bar if you can't do stairs. 

 

Coming back there is one elevator they use to get people up stairs, but it doesn't go to deck 14. 

Pro-tip: do not wear a shirt with a city name on it. The hubby got called "Hey Las Vegas" enough times that I got some serious side eye for giving him that shirt that morning. It didn't help I was chuckling every time either. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by mkcurran

[Kingsmom]

Thanks for this update.  I've been hoping for a recent Panorama review.  I recently booked a trip on her for February 2024.  Our itinerary has 2 days in Cabo so I will plan ahead for the gauntlet and will tell my crew to be prepared!  I'll be traveling with two teens who I'm pretty sure I will embarrass.    

Edited May 1, 2023 by Kingsmom

[Squirreladd]

44 minutes ago, mkcurran said:

Puerto Vallarta:

 

I love PV. We went there last year and stayed at an all-inclusive. We've done the taxi to the Malecon twice to enjoy the day. Good food is easy to find as well as good drinks. 

 

Having been here before, this is the day we picked for our relaxing beach day. We are not big drinkers, so the traditional day passes didn't hold value for us. So I search and found Las Palapas. Here you can rent the two lounger set-up for the day for a food and beverage minimum of 1,000 pesos or about $54. We had 2 pina coladas, 2 cokes, one big bottle of water, a club sandwich with the best fries ever, a shrimp taco, and a octopus taco. This barely met our minimum. There is parasailing right off to the side. Watching that was great entertainment. Only two sailors got close to landing on our umbrella.

 

To get to this little slice of heaven we walked outside the port all the way to the corner OXXO station, where reasonably priced cabs are available. 

 

Pro-tip: The first cab drivers will try to over charge you and claim it takes 3 times as long to get back as it does. Keep walking the ride should be $20 or less.

We went on this itinerary in march. One of our fellow cruisers, gave us the advise to get an uber. It costed us about 100 pesos (7$) to get to the downtown area

Edited May 1, 2023 by Squirreladd

[mkcurran]

Debarkation:

 

On Saturday they will throw you off the ship. Some thing about schedules and letting the next round of people enjoy the ship. I think it's rather rude.

 

Anyway, for once in our cruising career we were alone, so instead of trying to make sure I left out clean under roos we decided to pack all of our luggage off ourselves. 

 

So in the morning we got our selves ready, packed everything up, and parked ourselves down on lido. We got breakfast, drinks to go. And since we had muster A4 we were the first group called to disembark after the priority people. All was good until we got to the garage and I realized I left my thermo cup on deck. I can no longer give my husband grief when he loses a cup now, sigh. 

 

Anyway if anybody found a purple Contigo cup, I hope you sterilized it and get good use out if it.

 

That's all I have until I remember more. Ask any questions you have, I might be able to answer.

[Jamman54]

Thanks for sharing your review! It brought back some great memories of our time on her, and yes, a Havana cabin is the way to go on this class of ships! 

[mkcurran]

32 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Thanks for sharing your review! It brought back some great memories of our time on her, and yes, a Havana cabin is the way to go on this class of ships! 

I know better for next time. I was actually surprised about how little I felt the crowds. Might have to book an ABC cruise on the Horizon now. I really think I'd like staying on the back considering how much time we spent on 5.

[staceyglow]

39 minutes ago, Squirreladd said:

We went on this itinerary in march. One of our fellow cruisers, gave us the advise to get an uber. It costed us about 100 pesos (7$) to get to the downtown area

We have used Uber in Puerto Vallarta as well. It's basically as easy as using it in the US. 

[txsmiles]

4 hours ago, mkcurran said:

The hydrotherapy spa on the Panorama leaves a lot to be desired, like comfortable seating for more than four people at a time, or comfortable seating in general really. Also it is shallow. Like kiddie pool shallow. 

 

 

Thanks for the info on the hydrotherapy spa - I loved the spa's thalassotherapy pool on a previous cruise years ago, but the photos of the new spa pools looked very shallow, appreciate knowing that my impression was correct. 

[Markmom18]

😁😁  Great review!  A nice sense of humor, not too wordy and best of all made me wish I was onboard 💙  I love the Panorama and have been to all 3 Ports quite a few times.  
 

You were on point about Cabo BTW.  Wish Carnival would give another Port a try. Keep Cabo, but offer maybe La Paz every other Panorama cruise. Just thinking out loud …

 

🛳️🛳️

Bobbi

[txsmiles]

3 hours ago, mkcurran said:

So I search and found Las Palapas. Here you can rent the two lounger set-up for the day for a food and beverage minimum of 1,000 pesos or about $54.

Can you tell me more about this place?  We've got a morning excursion (not throught the ship) but I'm hoping to find a place to spend some time on the beach for the afternoon... were you able to reserve in advance? Your pictures look like exactly what we're looking for, sun + sand + umbrellas + ocean + food/beverage service!

[mkcurran]

1 hour ago, txsmiles said:

Can you tell me more about this place?  We've got a morning excursion (not throught the ship) but I'm hoping to find a place to spend some time on the beach for the afternoon... were you able to reserve in advance? Your pictures look like exactly what we're looking for, sun + sand + umbrellas + ocean + food/beverage service!

Las Palapas, they like you to be there early. Won't do reservations much past 11am. There was an empty set up the entire time we were there. You can walk up. They have tables in the restaurant if you don't get the loungers. It's got everything you want. Short walk to the water. Kinda chill. Some vendors, but not terrible. Great service! Incredible food. Yummy Pina coladas. The do pull the lounge chairs at 4 pm.