Willdra's Peculiar Carnival Panorama Oct 16-23 Cruise

[klfhngr]

Great Review! I was on Panorama the week after you! Thinking of going back in Jan., the rates are $533 for my wife AND I! Balcony!!!!!

[Cruisesfun65]

Not fair. To be outrageously funny AND so pretty!!! 🙂

But seriously, I love love love your writing style and can't wait for more posts!

[Cap'n Ron]

Awesome, another Willdra review!  I was so excited to see you post this, love your reviews.  So good to see you back cruising again and looking forward to the rest of your review!

[rwest898]

So happy to see a new review I have enjoyed all of your previous reviews!

[natefish95]

Very rarely do people on Cruise Critic make me laugh out loud (unless it's the people on the Royal Caribbean threads who don't what two days before Saturday is...) but you are killing me! Can't wait to read more! I'm definitely going back and reading your old reviews now!

[willdra]

CRUISE DAY

 

My aggravating alarm went off at 7 and I got right up. Miraculous. W arose shortly after me and we started the process of making ourselves presentable to the world. I’m finding the older I get, the longer that takes. So not sexy.

 

When we were about as presentable as we could get, (we no longer looked like we were in the throes of the pox) we ran down to the poolside restaurant for breakfast. W had the American breakfast and I had the breakfast avocado quesadilla.  Our server suggested that I add bacon to it, and I went for it cuz bacon is always an amazing idea. Cousins. This quesadilla was prepared by the holiest of celestial hands. It gave big chef’s kiss energy. I ate as much of it as I could, which wasn’t even half. The hotel restaurant also had Starbucks coffees and lattes which was why I was full. Darn. My stomach really isn’t that smart.

 

 

 

 

Our goal was to leave the hotel by 9:30 and we rolled out at 9:27. Chicka Boom. I see you improvement.

We were driving to Long Beach airport to drop the rental off then we would Uber or Lyft from there to the port. But wait. There’s more. W wanted to drop the bags off at the cruise port first. Why do we always order an extra side of extraness when we travel? Lordt please deliver us from this spirit of making simple things complicated.

 

 On the drive down I made notes and helped W navigate (remember, starting to drive then realizing he doesn’t know where he’s going yet is his absolute jam. It ain’t mine tho.) At 10:10 we crossed the bridge to the port, and it was really porty looking. There were tons of cranes and shipping containers everywhere. Then bam. Cruise ship.

 

 

 

We pulled into the luggage and passenger drop off section and as per usual it was hectic as heck. W walked over and got a porter who helped us after a couple of minutes waiting. We dropped off the luggage, and slid out to return the rental. We also stopped and got gas on the way. High priced California gas hits different y'all.  How do they pay these prices??? This is a stickup.

 

While W was returning the car, I ordered the Lyft. We did express pickup, and it was $17 back to the port, and our driver would be there in a few minutes. Uber was twice as much as Lyft. Always check both tho. Don’t pay the first price that you see. That’s how they play you. We are not here to get played.

 

By 10:50 we were pulling back into the port area in the Lyft. It was cool cuz our driver was already at the airport dropping off returning cruisers from the previous sailing. Also since Long Beach Airport is so small the rental return is right at the "arrivals" pickup area. We are never sure what to expect when we drop off a car then need a ride, but this was easy peasy lemon squeezy.

 

On the ride over, I took a minute to organize our documents. So glad I did this! It made everything go smoother. There was no wait to go into the terminal when we got there. First we showed boarding passes at the door. Then we walked in and went to a table to be processed. There was no wait there either. As soon as we walked up there was an agent available. This is where they check your passports, vaccination docs, and test results. In total it took about 7 minutes for them to check both of us in and get thru security. Not even a blink at our carryon, nor the homemade looking test results that W had. What is this new trust in us, all about Carnival??? I was both pleased and concerned.

 

After that part we went to the official check in where our passports and pictures were scanned. This took maybe 2 minutes since there was only a few people in line ahead of us. Let me pause here for the first (of many unfortunately) Public Service Announcement. When you are done with a task in a congested area where other people need to walk thru, keep walking out of that area and don’t block the aisle asking Bobby Joe Jeff where he wants to eat lunch, or where he gets his mullet trimmed. Move to one of the open areas out of the way. We don’t care about your lunch plans, or your mullet grooming tips.

 

Once we completed all of the logistics, W wanted to sit in the Captain's Lounge, so we went in there. The only problem was that you can’t really hear the announcements in the Captain's Lounge. We had to walk out when they started making announcements. Boarding started around 11:45. Suites first. At 11:50, A01 (our group) boarded. There was no call for Diamond or Platinum that I know of. 2 minutes later they called A01-A03 then a mad wave of people rushed in behind us. It thins out quick tho cuz you have to walk up a winding ramp for 3 or 4 flights up. Don't skip your heart medication, this climb is a doozy!

 

We officially walked onto Panorama at 11:58. Our cabin wasn’t ready, nor was our key available to drop off luggage. We decided to go to Lido while the ship was still mostly empty.  W checked on the Bottomless Bubbles package at the bar, but I forgot to tell him they switched to Pepsi. He was so surprised, he had to sit down and think about it for a while. It’s not that he hates Pepsi, he was just not expecting it. He seriously had to process this hitch in the giddy up. It was almost like they said "We don't have coke, but we can give you the mange instead". Needless to say, he was shooketh.

 

 

 

 

W recovered, then we took our pictures up there. While we were posing, we heard the announcements for muster, so we went to look for our muster station. It legit took us 3 minutes to muster! Come through quick and efficient muster drill! They scan you in at the door, then you sit down and watch a crew member put on a life jacket. Dat’s it. Hallelujah.

 

While we were down there, W wanted to check the cabin again, and this time it was ready. It was 12:30. I took clean cabin pictures while I could (before W soiled it. He's messy). It felt good to get into the cabin. I always feel like a homeless hobo when we have to wait and loiter until we can get into the cabin.  

 

 

We had a sweet view of the Queen Mary from our cove balcony, so we took a lot of pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

We made our way up to Deck 15 because I wanted Serenity pictures too. I try to get as many of the outside areas as I can on embarkation day while it’s still empty ish. It was warm up there with all of the glass surrounding the deck. There was not a breeze to be had unless you walked up the stairs by the hot tub. By the time we made it thru Serenity, W made his peace with the Pepsi conundrum and decided that he would go ahead and purchase the Bottomless Bubbles. 1st world problems. 

 

 

Food started to call out to us from every corner of the ship so we answered the call at Guys Pig and Anchor. I really like how they have it situated on the Panorama, the setup makes a lot more sense. I got food with one hand and kept taking pictures along the way with the other hand. Multitasking is my super power.

 

 

 

I really needed a cocktail after I ate. We went to the Lobby Bar (where the whole entire rest of the ship was) and got drinks. They had a few Halloween themed drinks. I tried the Green Goblin which was delightful. Since we only had to walk one level down to Deck 2, I will pause for my next PSA here. Ahem. Clears throat. Taps mic. On this ship’s elevators, you have to choose where you would like to go on a keypad that lights up when it detects motion. After you make your selection it tells you which elevator will take you there. There is no way to select or change anything once you are in the elevator. No ma’am. No ham. No Turkey. So no, Cecil and Otis. I absolutely cannot push Deck 10 for you in the elevator and I cannot make this elevator go anywhere other than the floors that are lit up on the screen inside of the elevator. And yes I can select that for you on the keypad before I get in, but you will most likely have to get out and get into another elevator so you may as well do that yourself. Every time W and I rode an elevator that day, we were delayed because we broke our mind your own business rule, and explained this to somebody’s Meemaw and Pawpaw. Then we helped them get to their destination. I have zero hope that this will get better throughout the cruise. I know people. People are gonna people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[willdra]

When we got back to the cabin our luggage had arrived. That was good timing for us to get that unpacking order of business out of the way. Afterwards we sat down, stared into space, and looked crazy for a few minutes, then we made our way up to the Lido for sail away. It was around 4 and they were still missing 140 people from the muster drill. They were adamant that we could not leave until everyone checked in. They have made the muster process as easy as possible, but passengers were STILL trying to ditch it. For why?

 

 The Lido was not too crowded, but the party started and as usual there were some funny characters to watch. One piece of advice tho. If you want to go down to dance with the CD, that’s great, they actually welcome it, but maybe know how to dance first. Or at the very least have rhythm. Or figure out how to fake it until you make it. Ok moving on.

 

This was maybe the absolute shortest Sail Away Party that I’ve ever been to. At the conclusion, we still hadn’t sailed away yet. Awkward. It took a long time to leave. The CD said they still had 12 people to go for muster before he peaced out. When we did finally leave, we pretty much crept out of port. The ship was still moving slow due to a propulsion issue. They even changed our port order because of it. The other thing that was curious, was all of the container ships docked everywhere, because there’s a backlog at the port. It is so eerie to see all of the ships just sitting out there. They look like ghost ships. There are also a few cruise ships that haven’t been put back into service yet out there chillin too. Freaky.

 

 

 

 

We went back down to the cabin when the sun was setting.  More than an hour had passed since we ate so it was time for pre dinner. Both of us wanted deli, so that’s what it was. I got a turkey wrap and fries. W got a turkey roll and a salad. I ate half of the wrap and a few fries. Didn’t want to ruin real dinner. Priorities.

 

 

 

As I was chewing, I remembered that I needed to reserve shore excursions. We had over $1,000 in onboard credit because of the cancellations from last year and our milestone credits. Since our last Carnival Cruise was our 25th cruise, W and I got 25% of the price of the cruise awarded to us as onboard credit.  Unfortunately I couldn’t use the onboard credit until we were onboard (hence the name onboard credit), so I was supposed to schedule stuff as soon as we got on. Y’all already know how that worked out. I forgot. No shock. No shame.

 

The Carnival Hub app has grown up a little since we last used it. It’s easier to book shore excursions and you can even book specialty restaurant reservations. I see you Carnival, flexing those tech muscles. I was able to get some decent excursions that both of us would enjoy. Before I knew it the time had come to get ready for dinner. W always wants to go early and the first night is always his best opportunity for that, since we are not really doing anything else. Having a cabin on Deck 2 is convenient. We just walk forward and go up 1 flight. Then we wait. Because they don’t open the doors early. The first night is also filled with looks of confusion and bewilderment. People don’t know where to go or what to do. People also stand in line and have no idea why. Let's not be like them.

 

The doors opened promptly at 8:15. We were led to a table for 8. At first I was low key salty. I would’ve preferred a smaller table. Now this is no tea, no shade, no pink lemonade. (for my mature audience, that simply means, I don’t mean any harm).  We don’t mind sitting with peeps, but this really was our first time having dinner with people, other than our offspring, since 2019. 2 seats were empty, so there were 6 of us. After I thought about it and realized what bedlam we all went through with testing and vaccinations to get on the ship, I relaxed, and had a great time.

 It was good that the other couples talked a lot. It’s easier when we are with talkers. We found out that we had a lot in common with the other 2 couples.

 

Another change was that there were no more paper menus. There are QR Codes that you scan with your phone, that take you to the menu in the app. You can just go to the menu in the app without scanning the code, tho. The servers will bring you a huge Fred Flintstone looking menu if you forget to bring your phone, or if you request it. I think they try to make it as embarrassing as possible, so passengers won't ask for it. It worked for me.

 

 

For dinner I chose the calamari, strawberry bisque, the salmon, tiramisu, and butter pecan ice cream. Yes they have you even order dessert early. The sacrilege. When I got my food, the vegetables that came with the salmon did not look good, and I wasn’t putting any of it in my mouth. That appeared to be a dish of disgustingness. Dump it.

 

 

 

While we were talking over dessert I got a notification from the app that the welcome aboard show was starting. At first I didn’t know if Lee the CD would be any good, but he’s decent. I actually chuckled at him a few times during his part in the show. After the FunSquad introductions, it was time for the Playlist Cast to do their presentation. Now this was good. And terrible. They were singing the Equate version of some popular songs. Songs that I used to like. There were even parts where they seemed to be unsure who was supposed to sing.  As it went on, I started to wonder if they actually listened to the songs before they sang them. Hard cringe. Then they had these Party City costumes on which didn’t help at all. This was about as lovely as getting head lice in your favorite wig. 

 

 

Out of sheer politeness, we didn't get up and leave, and that show could not end fast enough! We also stayed because we wanted to see the comedy show that started at 11:45 in the same theater. Well the welcome aboard show ended earlier than we expected (a blessing in disguise). We left and walked around to see more of the ship. I was so wrong when I thought there wouldn’t be anything new to see on the Panorama. More on that later. Our little intermission was over, so we went back into the lounge and waited a few minutes for the comedy show. The first comedian was funny. Like how having an ingrown toenail is funny. The second comedian was better only slightly. We left the second that it wasn’t disrespectful anymore. There is no reason to do anything that you don't enjoy (except muster drill) on vacation.

 

Next back to the cabin to take notes and turn in.

 

Before I fell asleep I said a prayer thanking God that W overcame the Pepsi struggle. I was fully prepared to purchase him some therapy when we got home (or pitch him over the side of the ship) if he wasn’t ok, but he snapped out of it just in time. How does that saying go about God taking care of fools and babies??? Yep. That's the one.

 

 

 

[georgiacat]

So glad that you are back.  I enjoy your style of writing and cruising.  Wish we were on a cruise soon, next summer.

 

You are looking good.  I like that hair.

[vacationlover16]

So excited to read your review! You are so witty and fun and I hope you all had the best time!

 

[willdra]

4 hours ago, georgiacat said:

So glad that you are back.  I enjoy your style of writing and cruising.  Wish we were on a cruise soon, next summer.

 

You are looking good.  I like that hair.

Thank you!! 🥰🥰

[willdra]

2 hours ago, vacationlover16 said:

So excited to read your review! You are so witty and fun and I hope you all had the best time!

 

Yes 🙌🏾 it was awesome to be able to cruise again! 😃

[willdra]

20 hours ago, klfhngr said:

Great Review! I was on Panorama the week after you! Thinking of going back in Jan., the rates are $533 for my wife AND I! Balcony!!!!!

Wow that’s a great rate, especially on Panorama! 😁

[willdra]

20 hours ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

Not fair. To be outrageously funny AND so pretty!!! 🙂

But seriously, I love love love your writing style and can't wait for more posts!

Thank you so much 😊 that was so sweet! 😘

[willdra]

20 hours ago, Cap'n Ron said:

Awesome, another Willdra review!  I was so excited to see you post this, love your reviews.  So good to see you back cruising again and looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thank you ☺️!! 

[willdra]

20 hours ago, rwest898 said:

So happy to see a new review I have enjoyed all of your previous reviews!

Thank you 🙏🏾 hopefully this one won’t disappoint! 🤪

[willdra]

17 hours ago, natefish95 said:

Very rarely do people on Cruise Critic make me laugh out loud (unless it's the people on the Royal Caribbean threads who don't what two days before Saturday is...) but you are killing me! Can't wait to read more! I'm definitely going back and reading your old reviews now!

LOL! 🤣

[willdra]

On 12/2/2021 at 10:27 PM, mexicobob said:

Enjoying your words and pictures. Keep it coming.

Thank you 😊! 

[willdra]

On 12/2/2021 at 10:55 PM, AKR2011 said:

This right here is why I love your reviews and have missed them so much. Please publish a book when you retire so we can all keep laughing and smiling. I'm so happy that you made it back to sea, and I look forward to following along on your adventure ❤

Thank you so much!! Writing a book would be exciting and frightening! 😱

[willdra]

On 12/2/2021 at 11:03 PM, BuzzBuzzen said:

Hello, great to see a new review from you , thank you. No cruise ships in my country since March 2020. Really enjoying your photos and chat. Cheers, Buzz .

Thank you for returning to my reviews! 😄

[willdra]

On 12/3/2021 at 1:21 AM, LaRue1975 said:

This is the first time I’ve read one of your reviews and I am totally on board, can’t wait for the rest! Congrats on the score with the Beverly Hilton, you couldn’t get that rate at the Simi Valley Courtyard, I just checked! I think you must have been stationed at Camp Roberts, we spent a lot of summers at Lake Nacimiento in the 90s and we used to hear the explosions and wonder if we were being invaded but the locals would say no, that’s just Camp Roberts, lol! 
 

I will be on the Panorama in March or maybe April if I switch dates so looking forward to finding out where all the fun is on the ship, I know you’ll be right in the middle of it, looking forward to reading all about it! 

You are right W was stationed at Camp Roberts! 🤩I think this is the first time that anyone (other than us) has heard about that post. 
 

You will love the Panorama! I really hope that we get to sail on her again soon. 😊

[willdra]

On 12/3/2021 at 7:27 AM, Just Jo said:

 

First time I've read one of your reviews (thanks to the Tribe for recommending it) and I second this.  I'm loving it and you!

Thanks for reading my rubbish! 😉

[willdra]

On 12/3/2021 at 7:33 AM, blarko said:

Also a newbie to your reviews jumping on board. I can tell this is going to be a fun one. Can’t wait for more 😀

Thanks for joining us! 🥰

[MJSailors]

 

Willdra!!!

  I was so pleased to see that you are writing a review here on CC. Your sense of humor and writing style make your reviews very entertaining !

I always appreciate the prayer you offer up at the end of the day too!

   Hoping you continue with this review. You are probably a busy lady these days with work, preparations for the holidays and watching over DH W.

Whenever you have the time to write, please know that your words are appreciated. 

By the way, your reviews are not “rubbish”- just sayin’

Take care

MJ🙋🏻

[willdra]

3 hours ago, MJSailors said:

 

Willdra!!!

  I was so pleased to see that you are writing a review here on CC. Your sense of humor and writing style make your reviews very entertaining !

I always appreciate the prayer you offer up at the end of the day too!

   Hoping you continue with this review. You are probably a busy lady these days with work, preparations for the holidays and watching over DH W.

Whenever you have the time to write, please know that your words are appreciated. 

By the way, your reviews are not “rubbish”- just sayin’

Take care

MJ🙋🏻

 

Thank you so much! I really appreciate this! 😃