Panorama April 2-9 cruise review -Mexican Riviera

[CruiseMGM]

I never really see many reviews for the Panorama sailings on this forum, so I thought I'd do a semi-short review of our recent April 2-9 sailing, Mexican Riviera r/t Long Beach. Please be kind, it was our first Carnival sailing and our first review on this forum. We're mainly HAL cruisers, with a smattering of other lines thrown in. You may well ask why we chose a sailing around Spring Break for our first Carnival? Well, I guess it was luck of the draw. And, in our mid-60's with no children, it never occurred to us that it WAS near Spring Break! Oops.

 

A short “about us”: we were a group of 9, DH and I, along with my brother and sis in law all in our 60's, with their son and his wife and 3 kids (girls ages 16 & 14 and boy age 9). We older couples had side-by-side Cove Balconies on deck 2, while the family was in an OV in Family Harbor aft on deck 2. This was a long-delayed cruise we'd been planning at Christmas 2019 for later in the new year, and we all know how THAT year went. And the year after that. So the phrase “much delayed” is apt.

 

Embark was a little chaotic. The parking structure at Long Beach was really good, although it took us a long time to slowly make our way there. Luggage was handed off and we got in the long line almost at the exact time of our appointments. Two of our parties got through the paperwork check very quickly using Verifly on their phones and were ready to continue to check-in, but my brother and DSIL (who likewise had Verifly on their phones) were told by their paperwork-checker that Verifly wasn't being used that day (???!!!???). Every single piece and parcel of paperwork was checked with a fine tooth comb and they ended up having to go to a secondary check, download another app (DocID or something like that?), stand around, wait and wait some more. After a long wait, they were finally released and we all joined the now much longer lines to get on the ship.

 

Personally, my first 2 days were a big adjustment period. My thought process was likely “who are all these people (AND KIDS!!!!) and who invited them on my cruise?!?!?!” It's been over 2 years since we've been on a ship at the kind of occupancy we saw, and it was really a shock to the system. Things “felt” better after those first 2 days, and while I don't know the numbers for our sailing, I'm pretty darned sure we were full-up, and then some!

 

I would estimate that 5% of the passengers wore masks anywhere, and that included me and DH. I'm sure we'll rejoin the rest of you one of these days, but for now, it feels more comfortable and safe for us, so we'll continue to do what's right for us.

 

There were 300 kids in each of the girls' age-group (Club O2 and can't remember the other name), and we're not sure about the boys' age group, as Club Ocean only allowed 45 kids at a time (so reservations had to be made). But they all made friends and hung out and did all the fun things. The girls had a curfew that they adhered to, and we saw them for many meals and around the ship. The boy was constantly on the go and probably slept the whole way home, with many dreams of water slides and lots and lots of ice cream cones to keep him smiling.

 

My nephew and his wife enjoyed the ship and the shows and really had a great time, too. Us older couples went to a few shows and enjoyed them, but also retreated to our balconies from time to time for a little peace and quiet. Deck 2 is pretty noisy with kids running up and down the corridor, but we were between mid-ship and forward elevators, while the Family Harbor area was more aft. And the kids-in-the-corridor settled down later at night.

 

We LOVED our Cove Balcony. We've never been that low on the ship before, and being so close to the water was really wonderful. We could hear the waves even with the balcony door closed and that kind of lulled us to sleep each night. Luck o' the draw, we'd somehow booked cabins that could have a door opened between the balconies, and I don't think all that many have that ability --think “storm doors” instead of openings! So we had our steward open the door (we had to ask Guest Services first, then he had permission to open) and we could sit out there and converse. The cabin itself was fairly standard as cruise ship cabins go, but the way it was laid out made it seem so much roomier than other cabins we've stayed in. The bathroom was a little smaller (small shower) and I think there was one less closet than we've had on other ships. Since we came with one small suitcase each, it was no problem. The bed was pretty comfortable and the sofa was good for in-room breakfast (with a nice sized coffee table, not one that you worried about the tray falling off of!). There were enough drawers and spaces for everything we cared to put out, and we also loved the shelf at the big window, easy to stow eye-glasses or a Kindle there. Fredie was our cabin steward and he was quick with any requests (like having the shower, that drained slowly, fixed as soon as I mentioned it) and had ice in our room every day. Once-a-day service, we chose morning.

 

Food is very subjective, but it's a big part of our enjoyment on a cruise, so please take what I say with a grain of salt on this subject. YMMV and you may really enjoy it. For us, not so much, but this is just OUR opinion, no flames, please! But there were a few standouts.

 

We LOVED Blue Iguana for tacos or burritos at lunch. Long lines some days, but the food was exceptional (chicken and pork in particular, and the pico de gallo). The fish & chips from the Seafood Shack were good. We all went to the Steakhouse on our last day to celebrate a birthday in our party, and that was really fantastic. I had surf and turf, and both were wonderful, perfectly cooked and really, REALLY tasty. I also had the mushroom appetizer and it was likewise great. I had the wine pairing with my meal and enjoyed that, too. We arranged a birthday cake ($14) from Cherry On Top and ended up with way too much dessert, but it was all good.

 

As far as the not so impressive:

The lobster roll at Seafood Shack: no flavor.

Breakfast at the Blue Iguana: some kind of weird chicken sausage (fatty, gristly, icky).

Guy's Burgers: long, LONG lines and “just ok” burgers, the fries were just so-so.

Guy's Smokehouse BBQ dinner: I've eaten at Guy's on land before, and this wasn't that. Tough ribs, fatty brisket, lukewarm cole slaw. Asked for BBQ sauce and didn't get it until after we'd finished eating.

Mongolian Wok (lunch): DH liked his noodles, my dish was flavorless.

Italian Pasta Bar (lunch): average with not a lot of flavor.

Bonsai sushi restaurant: just “ok”..........with the edamame being probably the standout

Sea Day brunch: just “ok”; lots of choices, but special orders (hard cooked Eggs Benedict, or salsa for the eggs) didn't happen, or in the case of the salsa, got it after the meal was completed.

 

We decided that the kitchens are NOT short-order kitchens and you can't change or add to what's offered. Service was really slow most days and evenings, too, and that's not good when you have active kids at your table. The main dining room dinners had lots of choices, but most of the food was “just ok”, not much flavor. Steaks were tough, chicken was overcooked. The salmon was apparently pretty good, as several of our group had it a couple of nights. The elegant dinners had even SLOWER service, and no flavor to the very tiny lobster tail (1^st elegant night) or very tiny shimp (4 of 'em, 2^nd elegant night). DH reported the filet being “weird”, like it had been tenderized with some solution that didn't have a very good flavor.

 

Room Service breakfast was friendly and on time and what we ordered, but the room service menu was pretty minimal (fruit, cereal, pastries, juice, coffee....breakfast sandwiches for-fee). We like to start our day with coffee and a croissant on a cruise. Unfortunately, the coffee was terrible wherever we had it (I wonder if they're urging you to go to the fru-fru coffee place) and the pastries were pretty awful, especially the croissants. There was one muffin, a spice-cake-type muffin, that was pretty good. For anyone who wonders, an order of 2 sugars sometimes comes as 2 packets, and sometimes as 4. A cup of coffee NEEDED 4 packets, and a serving of half & half, to be drinkable...... in my opinion! At least the caffeine got us going! The orange juice was always very good.

 

Worst of the worst was the buffet. Oh my gosh, I was SHOCKED at how small it was, how PACKED it was any time it was open, and how “high school cafeteria” it seemed. None of the dishes looked appealing, and all the hands on all the utensils was a definite turn off to me. After that first impression, the only times I ventured into the buffet was to get a sandwich at the deli, where they serve you. Since they don't offer lunch in the main dining rooms, that buffet is the big lunch draw (Sea Day brunch ends at noon), and with so many people onboard, I really don't think it's adequate for the number of people. That also explains the incredibly long lines at Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana, and the beepers needed for the Mongolian Wok and Pasta Bar lunch venues.

 

I know, I detailed more about the food than anything else about the cruise! But as I said, it's a big part of our enjoyment when cruising.

 

The activities were definitely enjoyed by the younger kids... the water slides, mini golf, sky-bikes, obstacle course and pools kept them busy and they loved it! We don't usually attend the shows on cruises, but went to a few on the Panorama with the kids and they were pretty good -we went to Soulbound and also the Rock show. We didn't really like the screechy female lead singer, but the 2 male leads were pretty good. The Family Harbor Lounge was well frequented by the youngsters and they loved being able to grab something quick as they went here or there.

 

I went to the spa for a pedicure on our first sea day and it was very good and felt great. Went back later the same day and had a hot stones massage and it was amazing. Wish I could have found the time to have another before the cruise ended!

 

I know I didn't say much about the ports, but they're pretty standard. If you've ever been on a Mexican Riviera cruise, it's always Mazatlan, PV and Cabo. Cabo was probably the one everyone enjoyed the most. We didn't do any excursions, but often just enjoyed the peace and quiet on the ship when everyone else was off on their excursions!

 

Before I forget, debark wasn't too bad. We took our luggage off ourselves, but they call by Muster Station and by about 9:30, they still hadn't called our station. Since we had to leave our cabins by 9am, we just joined the chaos near the elevators on deck 4, got into the long line and headed off. The car was waiting for us, we hopped in and hit the road just in time for Saturday I-15 traffic (that Cajon Pass traffic is terrible). Made it home without any other issues.

 

So that's it, my review of our recent and first Carnival cruise. Would we do it again? You betcha, we had a GREAT time being together as a family and the kids (all of 'em) had so much fun. We'd do it again in a heartbeat if they arranged a cruise and asked if we wanted to join them. And in fact, DH and I actually have a Magic cruise scheduled for fall of 2023 with some friends, Canada/NE, and we're looking forward to that. I'm a little hopeful that there won't be as many kids on that one, but we'll see. I've also just recently learned that Carnival sometimes has southern Norway cruises and DSIL wants to do that for her retirement cruise in 2024, so once the itineraries come out, I'll definitely be looking at those. As I said, we had a GREAT time together and really enjoyed ourselves. We also know more of what to expect next time around. Hope you enjoyed my semi-short review, LOL. I guess my motto is “why say something in 2 words when you can use 10?”

 

Best wishes and smooth sailing to all!

[sfaaa]

With the relaxation of mask mandate and self-serve buffet, were there a lot of people coughing or sneezing toward the end of the cruise? I read from some CC members on another cruise line that this was a rather common occurrence on their cruises.

[CruiseMGM]

37 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

With the relaxation of mask mandate and self-serve buffet, were there a lot of people coughing or sneezing toward the end of the cruise? I read from some CC members on another cruise line that this was a rather common occurrence on their cruises.

 

I checked with DH and we both agree there wasn't a LOT of coughing or sneezing that we remember. Maybe an odd cough or sneeze here or there, but nothing sustained.

Best wishes!

[pinto18]

Thanks for the review. Im sure your Canada cruise in the fall will have very few kids!

[sanmarcosman]

Did you try using the auto hand washing stations in the lido after touching all the buffet utensils? We want one for our home. The touchless wash and rinse system feels like a hand spa.

 

[CruiseMark]

Thank you so much for writing your thoughts. Very helpful. I’ll be on the Panorama in 17 days!

[pinto18]

11 minutes ago, CruiseMark said:

Thank you so much for writing your thoughts. Very helpful. I’ll be on the Panorama in 17 days!

We will be on as well!

 

[CruiseMGM]

1 hour ago, sanmarcosman said:

Did you try using the auto hand washing stations in the lido after touching all the buffet utensils? We want one for our home. The touchless wash and rinse system feels like a hand spa.

 

 

😁 We actually didn't use one of these on the Panorama because we never ate in the Lido after that first visit (deli sandwich notwithstanding). But we've used them before on HAL and we really like them too! I'd love to have one in my house as well!

Best wishes!

[CruiseMGM]

@CruiseMark and @pinto18, I'm sure you're both going to have wonderful cruises! Say hello to the seals in Cabo for us if you have the chance. They were quite entertaining as we took the shuttles from the ship to the land.

Best wishes!

[mondello]

Seaday Brunch was until 1:00 on Vista 3/26, hope they didn't shorten it until noon. Thank you for posting your review, seems a pretty good reflection of our experience.

[WildBlueYonder64]

Thanks for your thoughts on the Panorama. We've been thinking of trying it out. We did the Mexican Riviera cruise on those same dates, but on the Majestic Princess. Touching on a few things you mentioned, I would say probably 5% off of guests on the Majestic wore masks, as well. There is a crew member standing at each entrance asking you to wash your hands and they serve everything in the buffet. Despite those precautions, however, my DH tested positive on Monday, after developing symptoms on Sunday evening.

[Markmom18]

9 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Did you try using the auto hand washing stations in the lido after touching all the buffet utensils? We want one for our home. The touchless wash and rinse system feels like a hand spa.

 

  I’m not a fan of any buffet, but I’d walk by and use this great invention on my way to Guys Burgers. 🍔🍟🙂

 🛳🛳

 Bobbi 

[CruiseMGM]

8 hours ago, WildBlueYonder64 said:

Thanks for your thoughts on the Panorama. We've been thinking of trying it out. We did the Mexican Riviera cruise on those same dates, but on the Majestic Princess. Touching on a few things you mentioned, I would say probably 5% off of guests on the Majestic wore masks, as well. There is a crew member standing at each entrance asking you to wash your hands and they serve everything in the buffet. Despite those precautions, however, my DH tested positive on Monday, after developing symptoms on Sunday evening.

 

@WildBlueYonder64 So sorry to hear this, hope your DH has a quick recovery with mild or no symptoms! Thanks for the information about Princess serving guests in the buffet, we haven't sailed Princess before.

[pc_load_letter]

Great review!

 

I was on Panorama for the inaugural and, while I loved the overall look of the ship, was not impressed by many design choices Carnival made.

 

I also thought the buffet was overly small for how many passengers are on board. I thought the bbq place was good but really like the freshly made salads in the Serenity area. Probably our best meal we had on the ship.

 

The water park was well done and happy that kids have a cool place to play.

 

I thought the piano bar was small and didn't like the main theater layout.

 

I also miss the great atriums that ships typically offer.

[CruiseMark]

3 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

Great review!

 

I was on Panorama for the inaugural and, while I loved the overall look of the ship, was not impressed by many design choices Carnival made.

 

I also thought the buffet was overly small for how many passengers are on board. I thought the bbq place was good but really like the freshly made salads in the Serenity area. Probably our best meal we had on the ship.

 

The water park was well done and happy that kids have a cool place to play.

 

I thought the piano bar was small and didn't like the main theater layout.

 

I also miss the great atriums that ships typically offer.

I think that cruise lines realized that massive atriums look great but they don’t generate revenue. Better to use that deck space for something that does. 

[Little Rascal]

Thank you for your review. We had a princess cruise booked but they cancelled all the Sapphire Princess cruises till Sept 22, 2022. 😟. We have not cruised with Carnival for 17 years or so but always enjoyed them and thought a trip to Mexico would be relaxing. We live in Ca so no flying needed.   You will love Norway. We went in Feb with Viking to see the northern Lights. Amazing.  

  

[smarterman64]

4615 passengers. i think it was 1300 or 1600 kids onboard. 

[Are.we.there.yet?]

Hello,

 

Thank you for the great review!

 

I'm hoping to find out what nights are the formal nights on the Panorama.  First sea day (Sunday) and Cabo night?  I'm making reservations for JiJi's and I wanted to do it on the second sea day but not to conflict with either formal night.  Any insight would be great.  

 

Thanks!

 

[CruisefunSAN]

2nd (Sunday) and 6th (Thursday) night.

[Are.we.there.yet?]

THANK YOU!!!

[jessica82973]

Curious about your check in time, and how long you waited in line once arriving until you were onboard? TIA

 

[CruiseMGM]

 @jessica82973, Our entire group had a check-in time of 12:30-1 and we were standing in line just a little before that time. I think I talked about the VeriFly fiasco in my review (2 parties sailed through with VeriFly, the 3rd party got stuck with a checker who said they weren't using VeriFly that day and so they were quite delayed). If we'd all gotten through as easily as the first 2 parties did, I think we'd have been on the ship by the end of our check-in time!

[jrtmouse]

CruiseMGM, not intending to hijack your thread but I did want to post my experience as we sailed the week after you.  Ditto to so many things you’ve said!  Here’s my experience to reiterate some of the things you’ve mentioned.

 

We (including wife and three kids ages 5, 7, and 10) sailed the Panorama the week following you (Apr 9-16), the week leading up to Easter.  Having sailed each of the other lines before, this would be my fourth cruise with Carnival.  My prior sailings on the Carnival Liberty, Spirit, and Magic have been wonderful with very minimal (if any) complaints, despite that public opinion of Carnival being considered a "Walmart" brand.  However, this last sailing on the Panorama was straight up Walmart!  Not to mention their handling of C* protocols, an entire s-show in and of itself, including their money grabbing tour restrictions for those unvaccinated.  Complete inconsistency and I can go on quite a bit about that but we’ll move on. I will also say that requiring staff to wear masks at this point was very hard to see.  I spoke to some staff who said they’ve been vaxed by four different brands and are checked every other week.  Let it go Carnival!  How much more…?!?!?! .

 

Embarkation was relatively smooth.  We started at our scheduled time, kids were tested (AGAIN) and we were onto the ship shortly thereafter.  We (except kids) had Verifly setup.  According to the attendant, up to the week prior there was mix up with the attendants requiring both Verifly and actual documents which we both agreed made zero sense but it seemed they got that cleared up.  How long have they been at this and they’re still figuring this out?  Unreal.  Anywho, off we went.

 

Apparently our occupancy was at about 4,500, with 1,500 being kids!  No surprise considering peak spring break season.  Our kids weren’t allowed into the kid zones because of vx status but we soon realized it was for the best.

We had considered the Cove area as well but had concerns about noise level and it sounds like we made the right decision to stay elsewhere considering that particular week.    

 

Food was indeed a disappointment.  I completely agree with you.  I was less than impressed with the dining room food, at least for dinner.  It was Denny’s.  When you can taste the freezer in the vegetables, I’d find myself ordering 3-4-5 appetizers (alligator beignets, escargots, shrimp cocktails, etc) and an obligatory entrée.  Thank goodness for the shrimp cocktails and cheese platter and Chocolate Melting Cake for dessert! Ya can’t really screw up shrimp cocktail and a cheese platter!  😄 With that said our table staff could not have been better!!  We dined for Sea Day brunch a few times and enjoyed the peach French toast…and that parfait!  YUM!  Other egg dishes weren’t good and I needed a chain saw to cut through my breakfast sandwich. 

 

Thank goodness for Guys Burger joint, the pizza place, the deli, and the Blue Iguana.  I had more burgers than I probably should have that week, LOL.  With that said, there were times when the pizza place had only two people working, to no fault of their own, with long lines and waits.  When your buffet is smaller than small and quite mediocre, and the only two things open past 11 PM are pizza and deli, you should probably beef up your alternate restaurant staff!  One of the guys at Guys Burger joint had continuous attitude with his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his head shaking at others.   

 

I heard great things about the steakhouse but I wasn’t paying $30 a piece for my kids to eat there.  I had also heard great things about Bonsai as well but never made it to see.           

 

I’ll say I initially had very very low expectations of the cakes displayed near the buffet.  Oh. My. Gosh. Was I pleasantly surprised!  Those were delicious, esp. that Peanut Butter cake….oh man, wish I had a piece.

 

Another thing I’d like to note is with two of our people having food sensitivities, everyone was very accommodating.  If you have allergies, fear not!

I was impressed with the physical aspects of the ship itself.  Between the LEGIT ropes course, serious water slides, and the sky bikes we occupied quite a bit of time with those.  I was displeased with, once again more inconsistencies, as my 7 year old daughter hovered around the height requirement for the Sky Bikes.  After successfully riding them several times two days in a row (not to mention many times over going down a waterslide with the same height requirement) she was told she wasn’t high enough to ride them.  Crazy!  We continued the fun after putting her hair in a bun and waiting for that dink staff member to be switched elsewhere.  We were back to business. 

 

The number of elevators was astounding!  I counted at least 16, and we’re talking real elevators, not the mini lobby glass kind.  I was confused why the newfangled button system at first but after the first day it made COMPLETE sense to me!  It did a great job in directing and redirecting traffic.   I hope other ships take note and give it a try.  The ship sailed beautifully and maneuvered with precision, it seemed. 

 

The theater (Liquid Lounge) was the worst I’ve ever seen, physically and performance wise.  Physically, those poles will screw you!  There are only a few good seats, otherwise someone in your party is screwed with a pole view.  I don’t understand why they’re still building them like this.  The Grand Princess and Star Princess have pole-less theaters.  I don’t remember my other ships but those two stand out to me from prior voyages as exceptional theaters. 

Let’s talk about that lead female singer you mentioned (I believe they referred to her as “Amethyst”).  You are 100% correct in referring to her awful “screech”, we believed to have sabotaged each and every show.  She was awful.  We thought both David, the second line male as well as the second line female singers needed to be lead singers!  Our neighboring cruisers agreed as well, so it wasn’t just our American Idol tuned ears.  I’m not sure what’s happening there.  How she continues to SCREECH her way OFF KEY is beyond my comprehension.  Of all the talent out there, she’s the lead?  Anywho, Spellbound was better than the first show, with the best being the Celestial Strings towards the end of the week, more strings and second line vocals and less Amethyst!  Oh, and while listening to Q&A with Christian the Cruise Director (who did a great job) one of the dancers was holding the mic for questions.  She made a very rude comment to one of the passengers after his questions.  That was really disappointing to see.  I witnessed a lot of attitude on this ship.  Maybe it was because the Walmart crowd is rude! 

 

Aqua-Holics cover band was entertaining to watch. 

 

Having been to Mex Riv about 8 times before, I was fine with spending more time on the ship while everyone got off in port and boy was that amazing to have the entire ship to ourselves!

 

We also got two adjoining interior rooms which worked out really well having the kids in one and us in the other and propping the adjoining doors open.  Again, our room steward was AMAZING!  Poor guy probably felt doomed when he initially saw who was staying in his room.  Apparently there was a family with a similar circumstance the week before us and the kids were absolute pigs.  A few nights of having us he told us he was pleasantly surprised at the status of our rooms.  My kids are currently obsessed with making beds and keeping things picked up so that worked out in everyone’s favor, LOL!

 

With all of that said, this was probably the least impressive cruise I’ve been on.  Food is definitely a “thing” so expectations tend to be high.  I’m also a show person.  It was very disappointing to have lackluster dining and not so excellent talent.

 

Would I sail this ship again?  So hard to say.  Definitely can’t beat what we paid, especially for Spring Break.  Again, I enjoyed the actual ship itself for the most part.  Replace the chef(s), the two lead singers, the dancer and the guy at Guy’s with attitude, and expand those buffets a little more and we could talk. 

We considered the Majestic Princess and Bliss.  My concern about Princess is they don’t have the slides, ropes, rock walls, etc. for the kids (and the big kids 😉).  Having been on NCL before, we absolutely hated Anytime dining, not having set staff, one of the things we enjoy about cruising.  It’s hard to say.  I’ll be looking into a cruise with dudes (cousin getaway) and food will definitely be a consideration.  I was pushing Panorama before having sailed it but I can’t say I wouldn’t be embarrassed by the food or recommend Panorama as it stands today for my dude trip, but then Princess would be asleep by 9 PM, so there’s that.  LOL.  I realize we’re slowly coming out of a pandemic and we were also sailing Spring Break.  However, neither one of those should affect the taste of my food or inconsistent handling of many different things.  Not to mention this is for all intents and purposes a new ship.  They should have some of the best staff on board.  So, I’m not sure what the excuse is. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by jrtmouse

[80sGal]

How is the cruising weather this time of year out of SoCal?  

[jrtmouse]

13 hours ago, 80sGal said:

How is the cruising weather this time of year out of SoCal?  

For us, a few weeks back it was high 60s, windy, and cold there and back. It was warm once we got further down.