PANORAMA...give me those cruise reviews to Mexican Riviera

[mitsugirly]

3 hours ago, edspec said:

@mitsugirly Here is a link to the QM site, https://queenmary.com/

and a link to an article on what's been going on w/ her since we stayed in December 2019. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-04/queen-mary-once-a-sinking-white-elephant-shows-signs-of-remarkable-revival#:~:text=Although the ship still needs,for weddings and other gatherings.

What I didn't like about the hotel in 12/19 was that our rooms weren't decorated in a glamourous Art Deco style, more of a mid 60s hotel decor with what looked like indoor outdoor carpet.  Also, we had drinks at the Observation Lounge and the carpet was filthy.  The LA Times article explains that there was some upkeep, including a revamp of the Observation Lounge and new flooring.  Given that I will definitely book QM again.

The ship itself was amazing.  A huge promenade deck with larger than life size blow up photos of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and other historical figures.   There are a lot of tours you can take as well, depending on interests and arrival/departure time. Finally, you cannot beat skipping across the parking lot to the terminal 🙂

 

Thanks for all the info. I'm going to look into it and see if its a) something we'd like to experience and b) if it's affordable compared to the other hotels in the area. 

 

"Finally, you cannot beat skipping across the parking lot to the terminal"

 

Now this is hilarious!!! 🤣

[mitsugirly]

52 minutes ago, mkcurran said:

I've done this cruise many times.

 

For Cabo I recommend any Carnival excursion, makes tendering easier and less stressful.

For Mazatlan I've used this vendor: Mazatlan Tours, Activities, and Excursions

The Stone Island beach break gives you a brief catamaran tour, beach time, open bar, lunch and two activities each, such as snorkeling, banana boat rides, horseback riding, etc.

I've used them in PV as well: Puerto Vallarta Tours, Activities, and Excursions

There I did the city and tequila tour. Lately I've been going to Playa del Muerto, and hitting the beach club at La Palapa. It's got a minimum spend, which is easy to reach with lunch. The parasailing guys set up right there, so grabbing a quick ride is easy.

Just know the first and the last sea days can be breezy and cool, so bring a jacket. 

As for the ship, I sailed on her for the first-time last year and was pleasantly surprised. Never seems too crowded. The lay out is nice. We spent a lot of time outside of Ocean plaza at the tables and daybeds catching sun and relaxing. 

 

Thanks so much for the information. I'm going to check it out. 

 

I'm so glad you also agree that the ship did not feel too crowded. A lot of people seem to be saying that...so that's a good thing!

[jerseygirlinAZ]

6 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Who did you use to swim with the sea lions? We are trying to decide if we want to swim with them or dive with them. I thought swimming with the sea lions was in Cabo? I have seen pictures of people going to the arch, Pelican Rock for the sea lions and then mention going to lovers/divorce beach afterwards. ??  Or can you swim with the sea lions in both ports?

 

Thanks for the heads up on Medano Beach in Cabo. I will look that up as well. 

 

I was reading your story over on deladane's review and OH MY GOSH! I would have had heart failure. Thank goodness we've swam with the whale sharks during our land vacation to Isla Mujeres and it was the most amazing experience we've ever had. I hope you get to try this again some day and be successful. 

 

I have seen people mention Stone Island in Mazatlan. I'm going to research a little more about it (have also seen mention of Goat Island). 

 

Thanks for all of the info! I appreciate it. 

 

We did the sea lion excursion with Carnival.  It was not out in the wild, but at a facility in a big pool.  The sea lions had been rescued or injured.  They had two and we were in two groups at opposite ends of the pool.  It was a great excursion and our daughter loved it.

[Krisco]

https://vallartafoodtours.com/

 

I'm giving advice to my travel hero I have learned so much from?  Woo hoo.  We did this cruise back in 2022.  You guys don't seem like foodies, but this was one of my favorite excursions of all time.  Walked around with a guide and tried different out of the way tastes of PV with a great tour guide.  It was great.

 

We did whale watching in Cabo with Whale Watch Cabo. That was also fantastic

Edited January 22 by Krisco
typo

[riktishaw]

Following along too! I've done Panorama once and the Mexican Riveria many times--but it will be my first time to La Paz  this Spring Break and there are very few reviews out there. 

[mitsugirly]

2 hours ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

 

We did the sea lion excursion with Carnival.  It was not out in the wild, but at a facility in a big pool.  The sea lions had been rescued or injured.  They had two and we were in two groups at opposite ends of the pool.  It was a great excursion and our daughter loved it.

 

Oh ok. I'm not really interested in doing any swims in enclosed areas. I want it out in the ocean in the wild. 🦭 🙂

[mitsugirly]

1 hour ago, Krisco said:

https://vallartafoodtours.com/

 

I'm giving advice to my travel hero I have learned so much from?  Woo hoo.  We did this cruise back in 2022.  You guys don't seem like foodies, but this was one of my favorite excursions of all time.  Walked around with a guide and tried different out of the way tastes of PV with a great tour guide.  It was great.

 

We did whale watching in Cabo with Whale Watch Cabo. That was also fantastic

 

Yea the food thing isn't something we would do with only 1 day there in port. However, depending on how this trip goes, I'm going to consider doing a land vacation there and I would definitely do it if that's the case. Thanks for the info. 

 

I did save the Whale Watch Cabo link. What time of the year did you go and how many (and types) did you see?

[Krisco]

6 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Yea the food thing isn't something we would do with only 1 day there in port. However, depending on how this trip goes, I'm going to consider doing a land vacation there and I would definitely do it if that's the case. Thanks for the info. 

 

I did save the Whale Watch Cabo link. What time of the year did you go and how many (and types) did you see?

 

We went in mid February.  We only saw humpbacks at that time.  They emailed us a bunch of photos after we got back for free.  

[sfaaa]

Lot of Panorama reviews on Youtube.

[pinto18]

1 hour ago, Krisco said:

I'm giving advice to my travel hero I have learned so much from?  Woo hoo.  We did this cruise back in 2022.  You guys don't seem like foodies, but this was one of my favorite excursions of all time.  Walked around with a guide and tried different out of the way tastes of PV with a great tour guide.  It was great.

Just looked at the website. Which one did you do? They even have a vegan food tour!

[Worldly_Idiot]

On 1/21/2024 at 11:46 AM, mitsugirly said:

We just booked the Panorama to the Mexican Riviera and I'm super excited! This will be the first time we have ever cruised to the Mexican Riviera. 

 

So, any of you that have reviews, blogs and/or websites for the Panorama OR the ports in the Mexican Riviera, please give me a link. I'm ready to soak up as much information that I can about this ship and the ports and love reading the reviews (especially if there's pictures involved) 😉 

 

Itinerary:

Day 1: Long Beach (Los Angeles) | Departs at 4:30 PM

Day 2: Fun Day At Sea

Day 3: Cabo San Lucas | 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Day 4: La Paz | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 5: Mazatlán | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Day 6: Puerto Vallarta | 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Day 7-8: Fun Day At Sea

Day 9: Long Beach (Los Angeles) | Arrives at 9:00 AM

I'm on this exact same itinerary in a couple months. I too am excited - I've been following along on this review from another passenger that did the same itinerary. It's not complete yet, but its a fun read.

[mitsugirly]

33 minutes ago, Krisco said:

 

We went in mid February.  We only saw humpbacks at that time.  They emailed us a bunch of photos after we got back for free.  

 

 

Wow, those are awesome!  Do you by any chance know if they were using their phone or a DSLR with a zoom? Where you really that close or they just zoomed in?  Do you get wet on the tour at all? I want to take my DSLR to be able to zoom in and get some good pictures but don't want to risk it getting wet. Thanks in advance. 

[mitsugirly]

3 minutes ago, Worldly_Idiot said:

I'm on this exact same itinerary in a couple months. I too am excited - I've been following along on this review from another passenger that did the same itinerary. It's not complete yet, but its a fun read.

 

Yea, I have been following her too since she told me she was doing one when she was reading my recent review. I'm loving it!

[Krisco]

20 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

Just looked at the website. Which one did you do? They even have a vegan food tour!

We did the Original Downtown Tour

[Hogladyrider]

Reminder that cruising on the west coast is VERY different from the east coast.  Not the Caribbean water or weather at all, very different.

 

We did our 1st Mexican in February 2020.  We loved it.  Always windy on deck when cruising.  When stopped not so much. 

 

The water color is definitely different from the Caribbean.  I would hate to see you disappointed.  I have read ALL your cruise reviews and land vacations on your web site so feel like I have an idea of what your family would enjoy.

 

I believe @Jamman54 and Patti stayed at QM before one of their cruises and have pics in his review.

 

We saw whales right from the ship while sitting out on the aft of the ship enjoying drinks with new friends.  We also saw the arch right from the ship as well.  It really depends on the weather conditions when you arrive as the Pacific is very different.

 

We are doing our 1st cruise to Hawaii next week and I have spent almost one year researching and so glad I did and we will not expect the Pacific crossing to be anything like all the 40+ cruises we've done from Florida when we lived there.

 

Good luck, I may have missed what month your cruise is booked for!  With airlines they way they are today I'd definitely fly in ahead of time and flying east to west is pretty rough and long!

[travelinjess85]

Just backing up what a few others were saying…I really enjoyed the Panorama and the 7 day cruise we went on last summer. It was very hot and humid when I went but we thankfully had a cove balcony that helped give a quiet shady spot to relax on. 

In PV we did one of their beach/pool excursions that wasn’t my favorite…it went to a place called Sabal Playa which was pretty but didn’t have food to buy like advertised (only were letting you buy a buffet that didn’t look great and was pricey) and the ocean there was pretty rough so we mostly just hung out in the pool. We went to some port shops after but after all the sun were ready to be in a/c. 
 

Mazatlan we got out of the port and hired a taxi to take us around which was perfect for the hot day. Saw a lot then went back to relax on the ship. 
 

We had the short day in Cabo so only had time for a clear class boat tour (it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!) and then ate appetizers and had drinks at Captain Tony’s (ceviche and margaritas were yummy). The boat was through Envatours and was well worth the money I thought. 
 

Really enjoyed the ship and most of the food (especially Steakhouse and Teppanyaki). And spent most evenings at the piano bar and Alchemy bars. 

[NeaNea]

We have done the Mexican Riviera Cruise many times and the highlight we had was in Puerto Vallarta was The Rhythms of the Night! You go by boat to an island where you have buffet dinner and a live show after dinner. You can book the excursion through Carnival. It was a lot of fun! 

[travelinjess85]

39 minutes ago, NeaNea said:

We have done the Mexican Riviera Cruise many times and the highlight we had was in Puerto Vallarta was The Rhythms of the Night! You go by boat to an island where you have buffet dinner and a live show after dinner. You can book the excursion through Carnival. It was a lot of fun! 

We had thought about that one! Will have to book it next time! 

[mitsugirly]

13 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

Reminder that cruising on the west coast is VERY different from the east coast.  Not the Caribbean water or weather at all, very different.

 

We did our 1st Mexican in February 2020.  We loved it.  Always windy on deck when cruising.  When stopped not so much. 

 

The water color is definitely different from the Caribbean.  I would hate to see you disappointed.  I have read ALL your cruise reviews and land vacations on your web site so feel like I have an idea of what your family would enjoy.

 

I believe @Jamman54 and Patti stayed at QM before one of their cruises and have pics in his review.

 

We saw whales right from the ship while sitting out on the aft of the ship enjoying drinks with new friends.  We also saw the arch right from the ship as well.  It really depends on the weather conditions when you arrive as the Pacific is very different.

 

We are doing our 1st cruise to Hawaii next week and I have spent almost one year researching and so glad I did and we will not expect the Pacific crossing to be anything like all the 40+ cruises we've done from Florida when we lived there.

 

Good luck, I may have missed what month your cruise is booked for!  With airlines they way they are today I'd definitely fly in ahead of time and flying east to west is pretty rough and long!

 

Yea, I'm preparing myself for the difference by looking at all the photo's I can get my hands on and researching. I had planned on doing this cruise years ago but talked myself out of it just for these reasons (the waves/wind, color, temp). But I'm doing it this time!! I'm looking forward to experiencing something new and hope that we find it enjoyable enough to maybe vacation there some day. 

 

Thanks for reading all of my reviews and since you mention you feel like you have an idea of what our family would enjoy...please let me know what excursions you think would fit our needs. I'm considering all idea's thrown at me at this point. 😄 

 

Oh how exciting...Hawaii...that's on my bucket list as well. I know it will definitely be a different experience as well (than the Caribbean). But, sooner or later, I will make it there too. 

 

We are going March 30-April 7. We always fly in a day ahead of time. Why is east to west long? Wouldn't it be the same amount of time? (Other than the time changing and putting you back on the east coast 4 hours later-clock wise). Just wondering. 

 

[mitsugirly]

12 hours ago, travelinjess85 said:

We had the short day in Cabo so only had time for a clear class boat tour (it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!) and then ate appetizers and had drinks at Captain Tony’s (ceviche and margaritas were yummy). The boat was through Envatours and was well worth the money I thought. 
 

Really enjoyed the ship and most of the food (especially Steakhouse and Teppanyaki). And spent most evenings at the piano bar and Alchemy bars. 

 

I have seen a lot of people mention the clear glass boat tours and enjoying them. What makes them so great? Tell me more please. I'm just picturing in my head previous tours I've seen on glass bottom boats and the glass is so cloudy it's hard to make out what's down there other than shadows of things swimming by. I looked up Envatours to see their boat and it does look amazing and clear. The price is only $39???? That seems awfully cheap for a tour. Even $468 for a private tour. 😶  Do you know if they have more than 1 boat? This just got me really excited. LOL  Do they allow you off the boat for snorkeling or to go to a beach?

[mitsugirly]

12 hours ago, NeaNea said:

We have done the Mexican Riviera Cruise many times and the highlight we had was in Puerto Vallarta was The Rhythms of the Night! You go by boat to an island where you have buffet dinner and a live show after dinner. You can book the excursion through Carnival. It was a lot of fun! 

 

That does look kinda cool. I just don't know if my family wants to sit long enough to watch an entire show. I will have to check more into this. 

[tootsiescurly]

We didn't dive in Mazatlan. We used Manta in Cabo. They are very good. We only dove once in PV. The dive operation we used closed several years ago. La Paz is our preferred diving destination on the Pacific/ Sea of Cortez side of Mexico. We have use either Cortez Club or Fun Baja in La Paz. There is another dive operation I would use in La Paz. It is called Dive Gurus. It is a PADI 5 star dive instructor, specialty dive center. Luke Inman certified my open water dives 22 years ago. He is amazing. They only take 4 to 6 divers per trip. I highly recommend working with Luke. He is a great human being as well!

[falootin]

On 1/21/2024 at 12:00 PM, Lil Angels said:

Question about ship time vs the port time.

Puerto Vallarta | 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM does the ship stay on Pacific Time meaning is this stop actually 11am - 11pm Puerto Vallarta time?

We cruised NYE on the Panorama and we chanded times

[mitsugirly]

1 hour ago, tootsiescurly said:

We didn't dive in Mazatlan. We used Manta in Cabo. They are very good. We only dove once in PV. The dive operation we used closed several years ago. La Paz is our preferred diving destination on the Pacific/ Sea of Cortez side of Mexico. We have use either Cortez Club or Fun Baja in La Paz. There is another dive operation I would use in La Paz. It is called Dive Gurus. It is a PADI 5 star dive instructor, specialty dive center. Luke Inman certified my open water dives 22 years ago. He is amazing. They only take 4 to 6 divers per trip. I highly recommend working with Luke. He is a great human being as well!

 

Thank you so much! I have saved all of them and will check them out. I appreciate it. 

[CheckersMidwest]

We had a Havana Cabana on the Panorama. It was our first cruise out of California. We went in July. A couple important things to us: At night, around 6:00 it got cold. We sat outside to eat and they used patio warmers. In July. The first sea day and the sea day coming back, it was cold on the deck & a lot of people stayed inside. Definitely not the typical Caribbean or even Mexico weather we're used to in July. Mexico itself was warm and we enjoyed it. We don't care to sail out of California again though.

 

We are from Missouri where everything that didn't stay open during covid, opened back up in May. We flew to Mexico for vacation, took a cruise, our daughter got married, had a new grand baby.......then summer 21 we sailed out of California. ALL they talked about - the cruise director too, was "we're back" and we're finally 'out' and the majority of the passengers were from California. Literally all they talked about - first time out since covid and all we could think about was 'what have you people been doing?!' I know it was different everywhere, but the whole vibe , atmosphere, everything was different than any other cruise we've taken. Not bad. Just very different.