Detailed Photo Review of Carnival Panorama 8 Night Mexican Riviera New Year’s Cruise 12/30/23

[deladane]

Camp closed at 3pm, so we picked up Ian and took him back to the cabin for a nap.  The starboard side of the ship is in the shade in the afternoon sailing north on the last 2 sea days, so I needed a jacket to sit out on the balcony while Ian napped.  

 

 

Ian woke up from his nap at 5pm, so we all got ready for the second formal night.  I tried to get a photo of the 3 of us together, but of course a little someone wouldn’t cooperate.  At least Jason and I got a nice photo of the two of us!

 

 

And I was able to sneak this photo of Ian in the elevator going down to dinner.

 

 

Tonight’s dinner menu:

 

 

I ordered the calamari and the beef carpaccio for my appetizers.

 

 

 

Of course, I ordered the lobster tail for my entree.  I probably should have ordered 2 of them… I forgot how small they are!

 

 

[deladane]

We decided to skip dessert tonight.  None of the options appealed to us, and it always takes so long to get the dessert that we decided to skip it.  This meant we were done with dinner by 6:45pm and we could be first in line to drop Ian at camp when they reopened at 7pm.  Tonight was the final big production show in the Liquid Lounge, and we wanted to get good seats!

 

We got there at 7:05 and there were plenty of seats available, so we sat in the front row of the mezzanine.

 

 

I flagged down one of the roaming bar waiters and ordered a Funship Special.  While I waited for him to bring my drink, I watched some of the pre-show entertainment on the lower level of the theater.  Some of the dancers were out in the audience, posing on the props and walking through the aisles.  

 

 

I saw the female dancer approach several passengers seated down there.  It looked like she was handing them a piece of paper, they wrote something on it, and then she brought it back to the male dancer so he could attach it to one of the props on stage, maybe a tree?  I thought this would all make more sense once the show started, but honestly, I have no idea what that was all about?  Does anyone know what they were doing?

 

 

Oh look, my drink has arrived!

 

 

[deladane]

Tonight’s production show was called Celestial Strings, and we thought it was the best show of the cruise.  The show featured the strings trio playing live, accompanied by a backing track, while the singers and dancers performed around them.  It was a fusion of classical music with familiar pop songs, and I loved how the sets and costumes were all white, creating an elegant atmosphere.  The setlist included songs like Air Tonight by Phil Collins, Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, Viva La Vida by Coldplay, Chandelier by Sia, Uninvited by Alanis Morrisette, and Show Must Go On by Queen.  We loved the song selection, and it was impressive to watch the strings trio play their instruments while performing with the dancers.

 

 

 

 

 

When I picked our seats, I didn’t realize that giant rose prop would block my ability to take a decent photo!  Sorry about that!  It didn’t obstruct our view of the stage too badly, but we probably should have opted for the same seats on the opposite side of the room so the rose wouldn’t be between us and the stage. 

 

After the show, the performers continued out in the atrium for an after show.  I think there was a similar performance before the show, but of course I didn’t see that because I had to reserve our seats in the theater.

 

 

 

 

 

[deladane]

After that, we walked back to Punchliner’s for Jaylyn’s 9pm comedy show.  It was very crowded when we got there, but we were able to snag the same seats we sat in earlier in the week.

 

 

This was an 18+ show, but we appreciated that Jaylyn was very funny without being overly raunchy or using too many curse words as most 18+ shows tend to do.  

 

 

The comedy show ended at 9:30pm, so we had just enough time to run up to Lido for a quick snack before we had to get Ian from camp.  Jason got a hotdog from the deli, and I got half a margarita pizza.  Neither of us had to wait in a line, so that was a nice surprise!

 

 

We got to camp just in time to pick up Ian before Night Owls started at 10, then we went back to the cabin to get ready for bed.  The debarkation paperwork was waiting for us, so that was an unwelcome surprise!  With FTTF, we were automatically given zone 5 luggage tags.  Works for me!  One less thing to worry about!  No need to mess with the new debarkation system in the hub app!

 

 

Up next: our third and final sea day

[pghsteelerfan]

On 2/1/2024 at 10:29 AM, deladane said:

We still had a few minutes before it was time to go downstairs for dinner, so we decided to check out the “secret deck.”  I kept meaning to go out there all week, but it is extremely windy when the ship is at sea, so we never had a chance until now.  The secret decks are located all the way forward on most of the upper decks on this ship, and anyone can access them if you know where to go.  Since we were on deck 9, we walked all the way forward, then turned the corner to the hallway with the forward-facing cabins.  There aren’t many doors up there so it was easy to find the door out to the secret deck:

 

 

This deck was above the bridge, so it is bigger than the other secret decks and extended out beyond the sides of the ship.  We were the only people out there, so it was a nice place to take some photos of the port area while we were still docked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a staircase leading up to the secret deck on deck 10, but we didn’t go up there, much to Ian’s dismay.

 

 

It was now 5:27pm, so we went back inside through this door to get down to the MDR for dinner.

 

 

We tried going out one of the nights while we were at sea and couldn't see a thing.  One of those things I totally forgot to do while it was light.  So glad you went out and got pictures!  I'm really enjoying your review and loved all of the zoo pictures.  Those steep pathways remind me of a park which was formerly a golf course until 2019 that is a mile up the road that I walk to often.  The former golf cart paths are used as walking trails and some of those hills are steep.  No beautifuly painted walls along the sides, just trees, grass, & weeds. 

 

[SenatorsFan]

That blue dress is so pretty, Dana! I agree with you about Celestial Strings. We saw it on Mardi Gras and recently on Celebration and both times I was impressed with the violinists and the music selection.

[Bollycats]

3 hours ago, deladane said:

After that, we walked back to Punchliner’s for Jaylyn’s 9pm comedy show.  It was very crowded when we got there, but we were able to snag the same seats we sat in earlier in the week.

 

 

This was an 18+ show, but we appreciated that Jaylyn was very funny without being overly raunchy or using too many curse words as most 18+ shows tend to do.  

 

 

The comedy show ended at 9:30pm, so we had just enough time to run up to Lido for a quick snack before we had to get Ian from camp.  Jason got a hotdog from the deli, and I got half a margarita pizza.  Neither of us had to wait in a line, so that was a nice surprise!

 

 

We got to camp just in time to pick up Ian before Night Owls started at 10, then we went back to the cabin to get ready for bed.  The debarkation paperwork was waiting for us, so that was an unwelcome surprise!  With FTTF, we were automatically given zone 5 luggage tags.  Works for me!  One less thing to worry about!  No need to mess with the new debarkation system in the hub app!

 

 

Up next: our third and final sea day

What is the new debarkation system in the app?????

[deladane]

4 hours ago, pghsteelerfan said:

We tried going out one of the nights while we were at sea and couldn't see a thing.  One of those things I totally forgot to do while it was light.  So glad you went out and got pictures!  I'm really enjoying your review and loved all of the zoo pictures.  Those steep pathways remind me of a park which was formerly a golf course until 2019 that is a mile up the road that I walk to often.  The former golf cart paths are used as walking trails and some of those hills are steep.  No beautifuly painted walls along the sides, just trees, grass, & weeds. 

 

 

Those hills were no joke!  I felt like I was in San Francisco!  And yes, I loved how they painted the stones on the pathway walls.  It must have taken them forever to do it!

[deladane]

4 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

That blue dress is so pretty, Dana! I agree with you about Celestial Strings. We saw it on Mardi Gras and recently on Celebration and both times I was impressed with the violinists and the music selection.

 

Aww, thank you!  We are going to a fundraiser tomorrow night for Ian's daycare and the dress code is cocktail attire.  When I bought the black dress from New Years Eve and the blue dress for the 2nd formal night, I intended that one of them would double as my dress for the daycare gala.  Jason says I should wear the black one, but I'm not so sure.  I'll have to see how I feel in them tomorrow!

[deladane]

1 hour ago, Bollycats said:

What is the new debarkation system in the app?????

 

I'm sure you can find a more detailed post about it if you search in the Carnival forum.  I don't know the specifics because I didn't have to do it, but I think you need to look in the app on the last day of the cruise and pick what time you want to debark.  And then they deliver luggage tags to your cabin that correspond to that time.  Or something like that?  It is meant to replace the old system where you had to line up and go to one of the lounges to pick up your luggage tags.  Maybe someone else who has used the new system can clarify?

[Bollycats]

4 minutes ago, deladane said:

 

I'm sure you can find a more detailed post about it if you search in the Carnival forum.  I don't know the specifics because I didn't have to do it, but I think you need to look in the app on the last day of the cruise and pick what time you want to debark.  And then they deliver luggage tags to your cabin that correspond to that time.  Or something like that?  It is meant to replace the old system where you had to line up and go to one of the lounges to pick up your luggage tags.  Maybe someone else who has used the new system can clarify?

Thanks, sounds easier. (maybe???)

[john91498]

I gotta give you mad props. You've done more work on this review then I would of done in 6-9 months of actual work...lol...🤣😂🤪😝

[Waynehazle]

3 minutes ago, john91498 said:

I gotta give you mad props. You've done more work on this review then I would of done in 6-9 months of actual work...lol...🤣😂🤪😝

 

Agreed. I just started posting mine.  It will never be so detailed but I will do what I can 😍

[edspec]

On 2/1/2024 at 7:44 AM, deladane said:

 

I hate that we have become slaves to Ian's nap schedule, and I always hoped he would be the kind of kid who would just sleep in his stroller wherever we went, but that does not work for him unfortunately.  Even yesterday, when his daycare was closed for a teacher training day, he refused to nap and just kept saying "It's wake up time!".  And that was in his own crib in his bedroom where he is used to the environment!  We really had no chance of getting a good nap out of him when we were on a cruise with lots of other exciting things to see and do.  I can't wait until he's a little older and doesn't need a nap anymore.  You're going to have such a fun time on your next cruise with the kids being old enough to really enjoy all the activities on the ship!

DS was a 1 pm nap boy. If he fell asleep in the car before that it was power nap and then Mr. Cranky the rest of the day. I learned early on to schedule our day around that two hour nap. We didn’t cruise in those days, just as well, we’d have been limited to TAs. 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

6 hours ago, Bollycats said:

Thanks, sounds easier. (maybe???)

 

Unfortunately, the debarkation part of the app was not working for most of the day/evening.  We could never get on and heard from many others that they couldn't as well.  Guess they still have some kinks to work out.

[mitsugirly]

15 hours ago, Waynehazle said:

 

Agreed. I just started posting mine.  It will never be so detailed but I will do what I can 😍

 

...and where do we find yours? 🙂 

[deladane]

21 hours ago, john91498 said:

I gotta give you mad props. You've done more work on this review then I would of done in 6-9 months of actual work...lol...🤣😂🤪😝

 

hahahaha thank you!  It's definitely a lot of work and time consuming, but I enjoy doing it!

[Waynehazle]

6 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

...and where do we find yours? 🙂 

I am waiting for it to be approved and posted

 

[deladane]

17 hours ago, edspec said:

DS was a 1 pm nap boy. If he fell asleep in the car before that it was power nap and then Mr. Cranky the rest of the day. I learned early on to schedule our day around that two hour nap. We didn’t cruise in those days, just as well, we’d have been limited to TAs. 

 

Ugh, I cannot wait until Ian is old enough to not need a nap anymore.  Even as I am typing this reply, he is in his crib, fighting his nap and yelling "It's wake up time!!"  I thought for sure that we'd get him to nap at his regular time on the sea days, but the first sea day had the Dr. Seuss parade at nap time (why did they schedule it like that?!), and the other 2 sea days, he was so hyped up from playing at camp that he didn't want to take his naps.  I just keep reminding myself... it's a phase and he won't always be this little!

[deladane]

16 hours ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

 

Unfortunately, the debarkation part of the app was not working for most of the day/evening.  We could never get on and heard from many others that they couldn't as well.  Guess they still have some kinks to work out.

 

oye, that must have been frustrating!

[mitsugirly]

3 hours ago, Waynehazle said:

I am waiting for it to be approved and posted

 

 

Oh ok. So you mean an actual submitted review and not a review like this one. 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

3 hours ago, deladane said:

 

oye, that must have been frustrating!

 

It was a new process for us, so we just figured we'd get off when the time came.  You were wise to have FTTF.  As the time ticked by, we got concerned about missing our flight and just got in line to debark.  We had no issues until, as previously said, we tried to get an uber and missed our flight anyway.  Ah, memories. 🙂 

[deladane]

Saturday, January 6, 2024 ~ Sea Day

 

 

 

Last night, the seas were very rocky and I could hear the wind howling inside our cabin, over the white noise from our sound machine.  I woke up at 7am again, as I had done for the whole cruise.  Why can’t I ever manage to sleep in?!  The boys were still sound asleep, so I quietly got ready in the bathroom, then sat on the floor by the front door of the cabin and folded everyone’s dirty laundry and put it back into packing cubes.  I always hate the nagging feeling of needing to pack on the last day of the cruise, so at least I could be productive for an hour while waiting for Jason and Ian to wake up.  

 

Ian woke up a little after 8am, and woke up Jason in the process, so that meant we could go to the MDR right when they opened at 8:30am.  We made brunch reservations on the app and got the alert that our table was ready as we were walking down the hall to the elevator.  How convenient!

 

 

Service was very slow this morning.  It took a long time for the waiter to take our order, and even longer for the food to arrive.  This was the first time we had a table in the main section of the aft dining room as we had been seated in the very front by the windows on the other two sea days.  I didn’t even realize until now that there was a second level to this MDR!  The midship MDR where we eat dinner is only one level and it feels kind of claustrophobic to me, but this dining room felt more grand and I really liked the square chandeliers hanging over the middle section.

 

 

While I waited for our food to come out, I took screenshots from the Hub app of all the specialty dining restaurants on the ship.  I am not going to post all of them, but please let me know if you would like to see anything in particular and I can post it for you.

 

In an attempt to add some variety to my order, I got the mozzarella sticks off the kids menu.  They were very good!  The plate came with 4 mozzarella sticks but I ate one before I remembered to take a photo… oops!

 

 

As usual, I also got a bagel with lox to share with Ian, and I got the 12-hour French Toast.

 

 

 

[deladane]

After brunch, we still had some time before Camp Ocean opened at 10am, so we went up to deck 10 aft to look at the view.  It was a beautiful morning, but you could feel a slight chill in the air as we traveled further north towards Long Beach.  I liked how we could always see land in the distance on all 3 sea days.  With a Caribbean cruise, you usually see nothing but water on all sides of the ship on sea days, but we sailed close enough to the west coast that we could see land all day long if we wanted to.

 

 

 

At 10am, Jason took Ian to camp, while I went down to the Liquid Lounge for the towel folding demonstration.  I have done this before on other cruises and it’s always fun, but it’s been a few years so I decided I wanted a refresher course.  On the way, I passed through the atrium to admire the ever-changing funnel:

 

 

As you entered the theater, they had a huge bin filled with towels, so there was no need to bring your own from the cabin.  The chairs in the theater were set up in rows to watch a show on stage, but I knew I would need space to spread out my towels.  I chose to sit on the bar-height stools at the back of the room because there is a cocktail table in front of the stools which works well for making towel animals.  

 

 

Deon stood up on stage to give step by step instructions on how to fold the towels, while Cadet from housekeeping demonstrated what to do.

 

 

Props to Deon because he did a great job giving specific verbal instructions that were easy to follow.  People spread out around the theater in search of enough space to lay out their towels… on the stage, on the floor, and some people just turned around the chairs in front of them to make a table from their seat.

 

 

First, we made a dog.

 

 

 

Then we made an elephant:

 

 

The whole thing took about 30 minutes, and I had a fun time making my animals.

[deladane]

After that, I met Jason back at the cabin to spend an hour packing.  This little bunny was waiting for us when we arrived:

 

 

We also had some more paperwork about debarkation.  Boo!  Hiss!

 

 

 

At noon, we went down to deck 5 to finally try the BBQ buffet for lunch.  I’m not sure if it was because of the chilly weather, because people had already had their fill of BBQ earlier in the cruise, or because we got there so early, but there was a very short line and we got our food right away. 

 

 

We tried the chicken, beef, mac and cheese, and the bread.  It was all very good, but we just got a little bit to share so we could try other things too.  After all, this was our last lunch on board and we wanted to get as much variety as possible.

 

 

Today was the chocolate extravaganza at the Lido buffet.   In years past, they had a chocolate fountain and lots of other chocolate goodies, but all I could find was that the fancy cakes were all chocolate flavored.  “Extravaganza” was somewhat of a misnomer, but at least the chocolate cheesecake was very good!