orangedec10

I guess it all depends on your perspective and what your day to day is like. I work remotely, I’m always glued to a computer or a phone. When I have the luxury of a vacation….no thanks, I’ll be screen free.

Compared to the ship and spas local to me, I think it’s cheap! 😂

Sure!!! At PV we did the Playa Sabal beach club excursion. Beautiful views of the mountains and beach from Playa Sabal! I also got a massage there…45 mins for $46 dollars! We would have loved to do some of the other excursions, considering the boat is docked there most of the day, but our son didn’t meet the age requirements. In Mazatlan, we booked a tour with Julian Acosta red truck tours. We spent all day with a tour guide and he tailored the tour to what we wanted to do and see. We explored the old town, visited the church, saw cliff divers and then went to the golden zone to do some shopping and beach time. We also had an amazing lunch, simple tacos and quesadillas but they delicious and churros after!

We recently returned home after cruising on the Panorama for a 7 day cruise. I read a ton of helpful reviews leading up to our sailing and hope to pay it forward by sharing my thoughts and experience! Just a bit of background info…we typically sail out of Florida and on Celebrity. We had an airline credit and points to use on Carnival, so the Panorama out of Long Beach it was! We haven’t sailed with Carnival since before our son, who is 5 was born. We steered clear for sometime because of the poor reviews and “party” vibe. We also found most of the ships to be a bit dated in comparison. Fortunately, the Panorama exceeded our expectations! The ship is clean, modern and had enough quiet spots that you could tuck away and escape from the crowds if you wanted. We also sailed during Spring Break and while the ship was full and there were lines, overall I felt like most passengers just wanted to have fun and were respectful of others. The vibe was definitely more “chill” then I’ve experienced sailing out of MIA during Spring Break. A few things to note if your sailing from the west coast for the 1st time - yes, it really is chilly on day 1 and 2! Bring a sweatshirt or light jacket. There’s no rushing the embankment process…the reviews are legit. Stick to your boarding time and don’t bother arriving early! We stayed in a spa room and enjoyed the quiet hall way. No running kiddos or loud neighbors! Our son loved the water park and sports deck area. He also enjoyed a few of the Cat and the hat activities and did the build a bear activity. He left the cruise declaring Carnival as his favorite! 😂 I suppose on demand soft serve helped tip the scale! We bought the cheers package on board. After the 1st day, we decided for us it was worth it. Loved the atrium bar and found the drinks strongest there! Hubby loved the bloody Mary’s at the Pig and Anchor. Also hint…cheers covers milkshakes!!! Now let’s talk about the food. The good….the pizza was delicious as was guys burgers. We also tried the tepynaki and felt rushed, but the experience and food was excellent. The so so…..we ate at Ji Jo’s kitchen and the Italian place. Both were just OK. Big portions though and if that’s your thing you may really enjoy both. The bad…the MDR was just terrible. So slow for sub par food. One night my husband ordered a Cajun pasta and it literally came out with one tiny shrimp and one sliver of sausage. He asked for more toppings and they delivered on that but….not a great experience. We ordered wine with dinner and didn’t get it until desert. We also tried the sea day brunch at MDR and while that was quicker, the food was just not good. Also…this may seem very picky but I thought the no bread basket thing at breakfast or dinner was just cheap. Who doesn’t want a few options for a dinner role or croissants at bfast? Yes, while you could order a danish or croissant with your breakfast, it came so slowly it was nearly time to leave. First world problems I suppose! It’s also worth mentioning that Panorama is a bit like Disney. You must have your cell with you and you must download the app. 🤦‍♀️ Sorry to be a Karen, but I want to unplug while cruising and I don’t want to carry my phone with me! Please give me a paper menu!!!! I did some research prior to sailing on the ports of call and was a bit hesitant based upon the current travel warnings. That said, we opted to get off the ship at all three stops and we’re thankful we did. We never felt unsafe or nervous. Cabo was our favorite port of call. We went whale watching and loved every minute of the experience! We also had a Mexican breakfast at a restaurant near the marina and it was great! Just be prepared to ignore all of the vendors, stay in the beaten path or take an excursion and enjoy!

Option 2! Olden is not to be missed!

Hi! My family took a Norway cruise last May, including my 5 year old son and my father in law who is a wheel chair user. The trip was great for all and we found a way to meet everyone’s needs. My father is laws wheel chair is not electronic, so I can’t speak to what the elements would do but I can tell you we found way to make the trip accessible. You don’t mention what ports of call you’ll be visiting but just an example, we explored Bergen on our own. The port is quite a bit of a haul from the city center and Bergen provided a free shuttle to the center. In Grainger fjord we found an accessible boat tour and in Haugansand we did a “hop in and hop off bus.” We also visited Olden and my father in law had no problems finding an accessible tour. I realize this may not be a concern with a scooter but it’s worth mentioning that most of the cities include very steep streets. It may be worth taking that into consideration. If you look back on old posts, you may find a few of mine inquiring about what to pack, so I certainly understand! I wore a long sleeve top, fleece vest and rain jacket everyday. Some days I also wore a hat and gloves! We did not go hiking, but I did wear fleece lined “sneakers” and sprayed boot protectant and my feet stayed dry. In June you may not need all of the cold weather gear. 🙂 Enjoy the trip! Norway is beautiful!

Thanks all, you’ve confirmed what I was thinking!

Hello all! Headed on a Mexican Riviera cruise out of Long Beach in mid March. I’m a Floridian and have become a bit spoiled by typically driving directly to the port and experiencing similar weather as home for sail away. Can anyone tell me what to expect in terms of the weather on the first few days of that itinerary mid March? It seems like sweatshirt weather based upon what I see online.

Yup, pack the resort wear!!! It will be hot in the sun and the breezy night window may feel good. Just to add some context, took a cruise to Norway in May. 🥶 While it as chilly outside, the inside stayed very temperate. The same will be true for your trip, but the reverse. Throw in a Jean jacket or light sweater and enjoy!

Thanks for the info, I thought there was a pool on loft 19. Are there any other suite perks that make it “worth it?”

Hi fellow cruisers! We are looking to book a cruise over spring break. We are typically Celebrity cruisers, but have been on Carnival years ago and expect it to be a better experience for our son, who is 4. We would be booking a suite. I’m leaning toward the Mardi Gras since it seems there is an additional pool for suites. Thoughts? Anyone sail both have a preference? Not really factoring the ports of call into the decision…

This is the company we used to get to the airport to Southhampton.https://www.london-transfers.com/ We had six in our party and a ton of luggage, wheel chair and walker and we fit in one of the large vans.

We recently sailed Anthem out of Southhampton on a 7 day cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. I found many great reviews on Anthem, but not a lot of info on the ports of call, so I am hoping this review helps future cruisers plan! First, Anthem is huge! While there are plenty of bars and restaurants, she felt too crowded for my tastes. I suspect this is because for the majority of the cruise the weather was brisk and foggy making the out door areas not as appealing. we tried all of the specialty restaurants and Jamie’s was our favorite! Food in the dining room was decent enough and the service was good. We typically sail with Celebrity and would give the edge to Celebrity in service and food, but any day I am not cooking dinner is a happy one! 😀 We did buy the drink package and would do again if it was on sale. We were fortunate to win our bid up to a jr. suite. Found the room to be spacious and with a 4 year old appreciated the bath tub! Husband loved having the espresso maker in the room and the room attendant was sure to refill it with pods each day. We had an extra large balcony which came in handy when sailing into the ports. That said, something about how the balcony was built created a wind tunnel and I could hear the wind “howl” all night. Sadly, if I thought I was going to encounter any wind at all, I’d pass on a je suite on the “hump” for this reason. I was a bit nervous about sailing through the North Sea and on our cruise we experienced rough seas only 1 night, and we were already in Norwegian seas at that point. Please don’t worry too much about this if you are concerned. 🙂 Now, on to Norway! I put a lot of thought into packing and will share my two cents. Yes, do pack for all weather but assume it’s going to be damp and cold. I wore long sleeves, fleece vest, rain proof shell hat and gloves most days. We are from FL, so perhaps the hat and gloves were a bit overkill for others but I was glad to have them! We also did laundry early in the trip and this allowed us to reduce the total jeans etc packed. Haugesund We did not book an excursion in this port as we were traveling with a family member in a wheel chair and did not find any accessible tours. We did opt to jump on the hop on and hop off bus, which as accessible and a decent way to spend the day. Geiranger Beautiful port! Be sure to get up to watch the sail in - mountains and waterfalls!! Sadly and disappointingly the accessible tour for this port was canceled. No replacement was offered and we had to contact RC to get refund. The shore excursions staff we actually heartless about the situation. Luckily, this port offers a lot to do and we found an accessible boat tour through the beautiful fjords. There’s plenty of shopping and an awesome hot chocolate shop here too! A few of us took a rib boat ride here and found it enjoyable. If you are lucky enough to sail in May, they said it’s common to see Orcas! Olden This was my favorite port of call. It’s a tiny village with a ton of natural beauty. Our group split up for this one. We took a tour through Olden Adventures to the Briksdale glacier. Around 45 mins to get there but beautiful scenery along the way. We opted to take the troll cars to the top of the mountain and we’re glad we did. I have a feeling our 4 year old would have made the hike up, but would want a ride back down. 😂 highly recommend. The Village is walkable, it there’s not a city center per say. There are a few shops and one or two places to eat within walking distance. I would encourage you to take a tour here, to really experience nature. Bergen we opted for the Bergen on your own excursion which bought us the funicular tickets in advance. If the weather is good, I would recommend going there first as it seems like the lines get long quickly. We visited the fort and toured Haakon’s Hall, which has a nominal fee but we found it to be worth it. Lastly we ended the day at the fish market and later walked back to the ship and took time to detour to a few of the parks which has beautiful Spring flowers. A word of advice, the walk from the port to the city center is long. A free shuttle was offered for those with mobility issues. It’s worth the wait if you or someone in your party needs it. Lastly, on disembarkment day we had nearly a full day in England before our flight took off. We found a private tour company on viatour and visited Stonehenge and Windsor Castle. Yes, it was rushed! But so worth it! Loves seeing both sites and if you do it, try to get to Stonehenge early as we were one of the first groups to enter and on our way out we could see long lines already forming. Sadly, one person in our party did return home with Covid. We took precautions but it seems to just be a risk associated with traveling these days. Hopefully this has been helpful and happy planning!

Recently sailed on the apex and had an infinite veranda room and loved it! We were traveling with a four year old and felt it was “safer” yet still allowed for a beautiful view. We also enjoyed being able to roll the window down and have a few drinks while the kiddo slept.

Sure! The shows in the theatre started at 7 or 9. There were also some shows in the club as well as Eden and those times varied, but generally the shows in Eden started a bit later in the evening.