Carnival Panorama for this Princess Cruiser?

[nini]

I was not sure which board to post this on... my sister has suggested

a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Panorama. We are seasoned Princess

cruisers, so has anyone out there able to comment on the "comparison"?

We like the traditional interior of the Princess ships, the food and service

as well as the bright and open atriums.

Thanks!

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, nini said:

I was not sure which board to post this on... my sister has suggested

a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Panorama. We are seasoned Princess

cruisers, so has anyone out there able to comment on the "comparison"?

We like the traditional interior of the Princess ships, the food and service

as well as the bright and open atriums.

Thanks!

We have sailed the 7 day Mexican Riviera on Crown Princess and Carnival Panorama. We are retired and agreed we had more fun on Panorama. The only plus to the Crown was the main theater. Carnival has chosen to downsize the main lounge which we found crowded and at times we had to attend a later show because the venue was filled to capacity. 

[cruizergal70]

3 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

We have sailed the 7 day Mexican Riviera on Crown Princess and Carnival Panorama. We are retired and agreed we had more fun on Panorama. The only plus to the Crown was the main theater. Carnival has chosen to downsize the main lounge which we found crowded and at times we had to attend a later show because the venue was filled to capacity. 

On older Carnival ships, the main theaters were too big. Most seats were empty during shows. By making the theaters smaller, the full crowd brings more energy than an empty theater.

[sanmarcosman]

59 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

On older Carnival ships, the main theaters were too big. Most seats were empty during shows. By making the theaters smaller, the full crowd brings more energy than an empty theater.

I completely disagree and have sailed on Carnival since 1987.

[firefly333]

I've done princess twice and I'm older, but didnt much care for the atmosphere. Staid. I prefer rcl but have 180 days on carnival, and like to switch back and forth. I preferred carnival to princess. I love guys and the bbq and other food on carnival. I have better perks on royal. So I alternate. 

 

I didnt think carnival desserts were that great and not a chocolate melting cake fan, but certainly always found something good to eat. But I love guys burgers and fries. 

 

Princess made me feel old, and could even find a bridge game to join. It is a older crowd than carnival. 

[cruizergal70]

1 minute ago, sanmarcosman said:

I completely disagree and have sailed on Carnival since 1987.

We all have our opinions. I've been sailing with Carnival since 2015. I've been on older ships and the Horizon. The only theater that ever got anywhere near full is the Horizon. All the older ships with the big theaters never filled up. 

 

Here's the thing. Carnival has data on all this type of stuff. They know crowd size and I'm confident they've designed the new ships accordingly.

[sanmarcosman]

16 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

We all have our opinions. I've been sailing with Carnival since 2015. I've been on older ships and the Horizon. The only theater that ever got anywhere near full is the Horizon. All the older ships with the big theaters never filled up. 

 

Here's the thing. Carnival has data on all this type of stuff. They know crowd size and I'm confident they've designed the new ships accordingly.

Carnival reduced the size of the lounges to free up space for more cabins both on new builds and the older ships that have been renovated. The redesign is revenue driven.

Edited June 21, 2020 by sanmarcosman

[firefly333]

8 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

Carnival reduced the size of the lounges to free up space for more cabins both on new builds and the older ship that have been renovated. The redesign is revenue driven.

The comedy club cut down too and was full before. Now you have to stand in line to get a seat. It didnt need cutting down. 

 

Agree they had to find space to add more space for more cabins to drive revenue. ... though most love the new Havana area. 

[pc_load_letter]

9 hours ago, nini said:

bright and open atriums

 

You won't find that on Panorama. Watch some youtube videos on Panorama. It's a big beautiful ship but feels very tight. There are numerous open spaces but nothing huge and wide open. Even the pool deck felt tight to us. But we still loved the ship and will hopefully be on it again in November.

[aaconsumer55]

If you sail Panorama, get a Havana room - the experience is way better and way different in a positive way

[PhillyFan33579]

6 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

On older Carnival ships, the main theaters were too big. Most seats were empty during shows. By making the theaters smaller, the full crowd brings more energy than an empty theater.

In my opinion, the theaters/lounges on Vista and Horizon (I haven’t sailed on Panorama) are not only the worst on any Carnival ship, with Sunshine’s being right behind them, they are easily the worst of any ship I have cruised on. I have no plans to ever cruise on Vista or Horizon again, although I might sail on Panorama once at some point in the future. 

[GLCM GUY]

We have sailed on Princess and the experience was superb every time but we are Carnival cruisers.  We sailed on Panorama in April and had a wonderful time.  She is huge, has many dining options to suit nearly all tastes and the entertainment was excellent--the Comedy Club was especially great.  The Sky Ride was a hoot--I did it twice and I am 76 years old! The atrium was different in that it did not open to the sky but has a pole in the center that changes colors and themes and is most entertaining for a change.

ENJOY!

[glrounds]

On 6/21/2020 at 2:18 PM, sanmarcosman said:

I completely disagree and have sailed on Carnival since 1987.

 

I'm with sanmarcosman on this one. A smaller showroom provides "more energy", com'on cheerlead a little ? I sailed the PANORAMA just before the shutdown and cruised a Princess ship on an Alaska cruise several years ago. I've cruised Carnival since '83 and this is truly one of their finest ships, IMHO. I really like Princess for sure, but I would choose the PANORAMA again (my August cruise on the PANORAMA was cancelled) and am currently trying to determine what the conditions will be for cruising in the future before booking her again. And it really is MORE FUN. 😄

[Dunk]

Hi! I am Elite on Princess and Gold with Carnival. Went on the Panorama in January and loved it. Unlike the Fantasy Class ships, where they seem to have given up using the lounges for entertainment and just put everything on the promenade, The lounges were well used, with a lot of entertainment. I loved-loved the outdoor space along the promenade. Lots of comfortable seating everywhere. I also appreciated the secondary breakfast buffet in the Ocean Plaza, to avoid the craziness of the buffet. Food is subjective, but I have very simple food taste, and I generally prefer the food on Carnival. Standard cabins are more spacious than on Princess-most cabins have a sofa, which I like. I did not find the ship to be overly crowded, although the previous poster was correct about the smaller main theater. 

Of course, the atmosphere on Carnival can be a little more raucous than on Princess--which I don't care for, but you can easily avoid craziness. I loved that in the early evenings, the Piano Bar entertainer just plays nice standards, no rowdy sing a longs. This serves a dual purpose-being a lounge of course, but during that time the wall is open between the Piano Bar and the Steakhouse, so they can enjoy the nice music while dining. Once it's time for the sing a long, the wall closes. Genius. 

I love Princess, and it will always be my first choice-but I appreciate Carnival for what it is. 

[SNJCruisers]

One word....Havana

[BelowDeck4us]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:17 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

In my opinion, the theaters/lounges on Vista and Horizon (I haven’t sailed on Panorama) are not only the worst on any Carnival ship, with Sunshine’s being right behind them, they are easily the worst of any ship I have cruised on. I have no plans to ever cruise on Vista or Horizon again, although I might sail on Panorama once at some point in the future. 

 

We would sail again on the Panorama in a heartbeat.  We loved the ship, but that's due, in part, to the fact the theater and atrium aren't as important to us.  However, the Panorma's theater, like its sister ships, is substandard.  It was small, with many seats having poor "sight lines".  And while the atrium was quite beautiful, it was very small and the few activities we attended there quickly resulted in an overflow crowd on multiple levels even before the event started.  

[Roscoe13]

On 6/24/2020 at 2:26 PM, GLCM GUY said:

We have sailed on Princess and the experience was superb every time but we are Carnival cruisers.  We sailed on Panorama in April and had a wonderful time.  She is huge, has many dining options to suit nearly all tastes and the entertainment was excellent--the Comedy Club was especially great.  The Sky Ride was a hoot--I did it twice and I am 76 years old! The atrium was different in that it did not open to the sky but has a pole in the center that changes colors and themes and is most entertaining for a change.

ENJOY!

???  April???

[xDisconnections]

On 6/21/2020 at 5:32 PM, cruizergal70 said:

Here's the thing. Carnival has data on all this type of stuff. They know crowd size and I'm confident they've designed the new ships accordingly.

In terms of research and data mining, Carnival does not effectively utilize this information for the passengers’ benefit. Their decisions are made strictly to increase revenue and the overall experience is not as much of a concern as you are led to believe. Many public areas have been removed or had their available space reduced in an effort to increase capacity — and not by a little.
 

In contrast, their primary competitor takes the information and creates experiences to spread out the crowd flow using reservations and targeted recommendations. Although the logistics can sometimes be revenue driven, the main goal is to ensure a seamless crowd flow is available at all times and all multi-purpose areas are providing the maximum efficiency.

Edited June 27, 2020 by xDisconnections

[SNJCruisers]

5 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

???  April???

Fill in the cracks.....April of 2019.  If you can do the Sky Ride twice at age 76, you're entitled for a flub or two.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, xDisconnections said:

In terms of research and data mining, Carnival does not effectively utilize this information for the passengers’ benefit. Their decisions are made strictly to increase revenue and the overall experience is not as much of a concern as you are led to believe. Many public areas have been removed or had their available space reduced in an effort to increase capacity — and not by a little.
 

In contrast, their primary competitor takes the information and creates experiences to spread out the crowd flow using reservations and targeted recommendations. Although the logistics can sometimes be revenue driven, the main goal is to ensure a seamless crowd flow is available at all times and all multi-purpose areas are providing the maximum efficiency.

Well, when the largest ship in the fleet goes from 135 K to 180 K when the Mardi Gras starts up, maybe they will take a page out of RCI's playbook, then again, maybe not.

[Roscoe13]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Fill in the cracks.....April of 2019.  If you can do the Sky Ride twice at age 76, you're entitled for a flub or two.

Not sure what you are pointing out here.

What I was asking is, when did they sail on the Panorama?

The very first sailings were, I believe, in early December 2019.

 

[xDisconnections]

7 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Well, when the largest ship in the fleet goes from 135 K to 180 K when the Mardi Gras starts up, maybe they will take a page out of RCI's playbook, then again, maybe not.

Maybe not.

[SNJCruisers]

21 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

???  April???

 

16 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Fill in the cracks.....April of 2019.  If you can do the Sky Ride twice at age 76, you're entitled for a flub or two.

 

10 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

Not sure what you are pointing out here.

What I was asking is, when did they sail on the Panorama?

The very first sailings were, I believe, in early December 2019.

 

You were inquiring about which April.  It obviously could not have been April of 2020 because of the Pandemic, so that is why I mentioned  April of 2019.

[sanmarcosman]

 

27 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

You were inquiring about which April.  It obviously could not have been April of 2020 because of the Pandemic, so that is why I mentioned  April of 2019.

 

It couldn't have been April 2019 either. " Carnival Panorama is currently homeported at the Port of Long Beach. She embarked on her three-day inaugural voyage to Ensenada on 11 December 2019." Source Wikipedia and personal knowledge of this writer.

Edited June 28, 2020 by sanmarcosman

[Roscoe13]

56 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

 

 

It couldn't have been April 2019 either. " Carnival Panorama is currently homeported at the Port of Long Beach. She embarked on her three-day inaugural voyage to Ensenada on 11 December 2019." Source Wikipedia and personal knowledge of this writer.

My point exactly!  Hence the question of April?