New Year Baby’s Panorama Birthday Cruise

[bdever]

I’m a virgin so go easy on me. This is my very first cruise review and doing it on my phone. 

Sailed on Panorama on 12/31/21 for my birthday on 1/1. Because I book by cabana # and because this was an 8 day NYE cruise at that I had to book this cruise over a year in advance (8/20). I’m so glad I did! Out of my 11 cruises it was my favorite. Not perfect but sure close to it all things considered. 
Sailed solo for all the right reasons: been dating myself for 18 months now, avoiding a dance with Covid (never had that dance so knock ✊🏼 on wood 🪵 ), it was my birthday gift to myself, I started a new job a week prior so this was the perfect way to hit the reset button.

This was my 3rd sailing on Panorama in a Havana Cabana with the previous sailing on 9/18/21. Same cabana, same crew! I love ❤️ my Havana crew. If La Casa de Papel was on a cruise ship 🛳 my name is Havana and my gang of misfits, thick as thieves would no doubt be mi familia de Havana. 
The things that made this cruise so special to me:

1. My friends Eschalon & her mom Joyce that I met on my first Panorama cruise booked this one ☝️ To join me in a cabana down the ways from mine!!!!! We boarded together and are rooms were ready together as soon as we boarded at 12:30! 
2. As soon as I boarded Nader at Alchemy Bar recognized me and said “Hi Bethany, we will have fresh ground pepper for you to make your cocktail 🍸 don’t worry! (I was amazed he remembered Pump & Glory was my drink, he remembered me too!) Stopped by Pig & Anchor and Tijana was bartending there and she was so excited to see me! She assured me that the Alchemy bar staff would be coming to her for instructions on the Pump & Glory and to get the pepper grinder. Then when I walked the brides walk to Havana Bar (love that walk) Israel saw me and gave me the tightest hug 🤗 in the world and I didn’t realize how much I needed that hug until I melted in his arms. Mikol was also still working Havana bar but Victor was moved to Serenity bar and Louiza reassigned to Java Blue.

Eschalon said “Wow Bethany you’re famous.” I said “This coming from the girl who gets recognized by random passengers while I’m famous for being a lush???” Israel gave me 4 cans of grapefruit bubly on my first day to keep in my cabana fridge! They all know I invite flavored sparkling water to the party 🎉 & I have cheers so always always double fisted with grapefruit bubly! They stock extra cases when I’m on board. I also got reintroduced to the bar staff supervisor who remembered me from the last cruises so that was cool 😎 that their boss remembered me! 
3. Islah - my room attendant. He is somewhat of a serious demeanor. Friendly but serious 🧐. He was my attendant on 9/18 and I am intrigued by him! He remembered I am crazy for slippers and brought them to me as soon as I checked into the cabana. He is so serious but has a soft heart. So funny, he knocked at my door with the slippers while I was changing but who cares, we’re family so I open the door anyway. He also wrote Happy Birthday on my mirror 🪞 on 1/1. He knows I like my room refreshed around 11 - 12ish too (not morning, not night) and works with me there. Islah also knows I’m late debarking and let’s me finish up in my cabana on last day until like 10:30ish. I tip him generous and give him cute straws on the last day. I use his towel animals to hold the money and straws before leaving the cabana.

3. Midnight Project Band in Havana / every. single. night. Going to cut the floor like a flamenco dancer but salsa 💃🏻 instead! 
4. My cabana, my home / Improvements made - metal scraping against a chalkboard all night long from upper decks is no longer a thing!!!! Slept like a rocked baby! Bed still hard but softening! Linens and pillows seem upgraded even more! Fridge now works and so does the safe. Love ❤️ the soft water 🚿 and Elemis products in the shower. Love my sliding glass door and keeping it open especially in the morning when I’m thinking about maybe getting out of bed. My swing that I sit in at all hours of the day and night but I especially love the swing at night! The lanai outside of my cabana balcony / some people hate it but when you love to dance and drink at the same time and have taken ballet classes as an adult the best experience in the world is to go out to that lanai at 2 AM to dance on the bannister and look directly down to the water being cut below with the moon 🌙 and the stars above ☝️ reaggeton of course but I throw in a few ballet 🩰 positions for good measure. 
Havana Bar - I have a table especially for me. Love ❤️ my table and I bring my decorative cabana pillows from my room to the bar at night to support my back. Feels so comfy! I love ❤️ how the Havana bar has an outdoor side and indoor side. I move to the outside at night when the band takes a break in between sets just to relax and enjoy the calmness in the outdoor Havana area. My Havana crew that I get to party with every night. 
Lanai / deck 5 - al fresco dining and drinking is an LA staple so the lanai for me is a no brainer. The lounge chairs are too deep so it’s nice that you can take the back cushions from other loungers and stack them to support your back better. 
Deck 11 aft / wow 🤩 wow 🤩 wow 🤩 on a cold day this is the spot! Plush loungers with extra plush ottomans so your legs are actually elevated to chest level for good circulation and your protected from all the elements since it’s designed like a grotto with a crescent enclave and you have vents that blow hot air behind you so the temperature is very mild. Smokers a few feet away but you can’t smell the smoke at all with all the wind blowing. Even if I did, who cares, I’m comfy, I’m cozy. I noticed it’s also a nice birds eye view of the Tides Pool and hot tubs so you could time dips for when it’s not so crowded. If I wasn’t staying in Havana you bet your ass I’d be hanging here all day. 
Lido Buffet - they have a charcuterie spread like no other. I eat like a bird because given a choice on a cruise I prefer to wet my whistle rather than waste time chewing and I had weight loss surgery like over a decade ago that just recently started to kick in. So the magic of the charcuterie spread on lido is make yourself a beautiful plate with salami, pita bread, olives, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, drizzle with fresh pesto they have in a big jar, top with cheese cubes then carry the plate to deck 5 pig & anchor to get a small glass filled with blue cheese stuffed olives 🫒 then take it back to your cabana and fridge it until sunset or until your hunger kicks in so you can enjoy it with a cocktail 🍹 and watch the sunset. The zucchini and cheese tarts, empanadas and coconut lime cake are also highly recommended from the buffet! Loved that the gelato station had butterscotch sauce and white chocolate shavings for toppings- forget the gelato 🍨 give me a gallon of butterscotch sauce and white chocolate shavings to go please (note to self / use as toppings on coconut lime cake next time) 

Havana Outdoor Area / no party crashers this time! Empty for most part. I use the outdoor area I think the way it was traditionally conceptualized: your cabana is for partying and relaxing and pool and hot tubs are for dipping like a potato chip. The loungers and beds out there are for people who don’t have cabanas IMO. So I get crazy lit 🔥 on my cabana, walk out to the outdoor area to get wet for maybe 20 minutes then back to my cabana to dry off and get lit some more/ repeat. This is also when I make trips to outside Havana bar to re/up. 
Ports / Always get off the ship, Mazatlán is my favorite hands down. Every city in the world needs a blue line. Just follow the blue line, just follow fallow fallow the blue line and you are led to the emerald city aka machado plaza the center of the universe! This time I found a gem 💎 of a cafe on the blue line that is my new spot!!!!

PV - John Huston gifted us Las Caletas and it’s literally heaven on earth 🌍 Thank you 🙏🏻 so much John! Give my dad a hug for me! 
Cabo is my least favorite but I still get off and buy my hand blown stemware because I insist on the beauty and craftsmanship of Cabo hand  blown stemware for my watermelon 🍉 cucumber 🥒 coolers I make at home. Plus I’ve been known to need to buy replacement pieces 😬

Art of Tea 🫖 OMG 😳 this tea though! I now order it at brunch & dinner in addition to tea time!!! White coconut creme is my fav but not going to lie, that French lemon ginger is to die for!!! I only drink Art of Tea when I cruise so it’s a very special treat for me! 
Java Blue Cafe / since my cabana is so close to ocean plaza, I put my Havana robe and slippers on and freestyle it to the cafe half asleep in the morning and get a chai tea latte instead of room service coffee and take it back to my cabana to enjoy on the swing while I think about taking a shower. 
Alchemy bar / go there once a night before dinner & dancing 💃🏻 in Havana. I get my Pump & Glory or modified cucumber 🥒 sunrise (heavy on cucumber heavy on watermelon 🍉 light on the sunrise). 
 

 

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Things that disappointed me about this trip:

karaoke / if you insist on doing this WEAR YOUR MASK AT ALL TIMES out of respect for others please and thank you!!!!

Israel gets Covid, Alejandro & Bryan from the band get covid and I suspect it was from karaoke passengers who take their masks down when singing… bad form, bad form. 
Havana shouldn’t be for karaoke anyway, ruins the vibe and I would rather listen to my salsa & reaggeton over the Havana speaker system because that’s what was paid for.

Dinning room service - slow. On the plus side, had my dinner delivered to my table in Havana one night due to service issues. Not my idea but Kudos to dining staff suggesting it and making lemonade from lemons 🍋 

Lastly, Havana band was down 2 members due to Covid but only 2 sets per night?!?!? Seriously 😳 *****?!?! 8 - 11 PM 😳😳😳😳😳 We need the band from 8:30 - 1:00 AM at least. Throw us a bone 🦴 here! I’m avoiding comedy shows, I’m avoiding the theatre, I dance at my table in the back of the room with my mask on. Work with me carnival work with me.

Tried to eat a Guy’s burger / DRY, cold, no, not so much…

 4 disappointments not too bad.

 

Things that did not effect me either way:

mask wearing 

shows / skipped 

I have never visited decks 12 and above so ya…

Lido deck / haven’t really been there, have no desire.

Sky Zone - not even on a good day

Spa/gym - lol 😂 never going to see it especially during Covid 

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by bdever

[bdever]

In closing I want to reiterate that I went the mile for this cruise:

Tested 5 times in 10 days prior,

took my 4th vaccination booster on 12/18/21, isolated from friends and family during Christmas holiday and declined invitations, bought and wore KN95 masks, and had (have) no dating life to speak of. All for my cruise. Was it worth it? YES 🙌🏼 

 

Being a responsible and paranoid person I scheduled a debarkation test at CVS for the day after my cruise and I scheduled it before I got on the ship. It was negative 🤗

 

Im pregnant with a Panorama Cruise and my due date 9 months from now is 9/3/22!!!!! Same cabana (thanks Dad & family in heaven for making it available !) Labor Day week so I only have to take 4 days off from the new job!!!! But my boss  doesn’t know I’m preggers with a cruise yet 😬😬😬

[bdever]

Lit 🔥 on the swing NYE Lol 😂 

crashed and burned after this / went to bed 🛌 in the dress that I couldn’t figure out how to take off - Happy Birthday to me!

Edited January 14, 2022 by bdever

[firefly333]

Happy Birthday Bethany!  Your look more beautiful in your pictures than your avatar. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[firefly333]

Double post.

Edited January 14, 2022 by firefly333

[smellywax]

Bethany I’m so happy to see you had a fabulous cruise! I was worried since you too are immune compromised (By the way I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and take remicade infusions). This is the perfect post to show my husband because we used to cruise the spa cabins but this shows me, this would be a lot better with the times. Can you please tell me more about the places you visited in Mazatlan etc.? As much detail as possible. Happy Birthday and New Year! 

[bdever]

2 hours ago, smellywax said:

Bethany I’m so happy to see you had a fabulous cruise! I was worried since you too are immune compromised (By the way I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and take remicade infusions). This is the perfect post to show my husband because we used to cruise the spa cabins but this shows me, this would be a lot better with the times. Can you please tell me more about the places you visited in Mazatlan etc.? As much detail as possible. Happy Birthday and New Year! 

Mazatlán- I split Mazatlán up into 2. I walk the blue line in the morning to Plaza Machado and visits all the art shops and galleries that are there in the surrounding streets. 
From the Plaza in the afternoon I take a pulmania to the Golden Zone to either Panchos or Tony’s on the Beach 🏖 for a banana margarita & beach time. From there you can take a water taxi over to deer island for $10 round trip. The pulmania that drops me off picks me up at a designated time & drops me back off at the cruise terminal. The little cafe that I found is on Carnaval street on the blue line walking towards Machado Plaza. Rosa De Los Vientos / FREASH food and drinks for a VERY reasonable price plus free WiFi. 

 

[cruisingguy007]

Great trip report! Comprehensive and entertaining. I would add spacing between paragraphs for easier reading though. I really like how you make your vacation your own and make the best of your situations. great photos too. Glad everything worked out for you, you dodged the covid and had a great time. I know how much you were looking forward to this trip and so glad everything went awesome! Can't wait to get back on Panorama, such a great ship.  

Edited January 14, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[Joe817]

Wow bdever! For a first time reviewer, you sure did a good job! Loved it! 👍