Within 24 hours of Panorama's 7 day cruise, already regret it.

[ashkir]

Hello all! I'm usually very quiet, but, I've been on CruiseCritic for many years. I usually don't have much to say because I enjoy cruise ships. But I just boarded the Panorama yesterday and my experience was anything but pleasant. I've been to Mexico and Alaska before on the cruises. Always enjoyed it. Never once had a bad experience... Until now. 

 

I've had issue after issue and am honestly pretty unhappy and already a day into this. 

- Checkin process/embarkation was chaotic. They disembarked late, which is okay. But there was no staff telling passengers anything. The luggage drop-off was almost non-existent and things were getting mixed up of things going on / off the ship.

- There was no organization of embarkation.

- There were limited check-in staff and security tables that made the process last until almost 4pm. 

 

Now we got to our cabin:

- We waited until the time we were told we can go.

- The bathroom was unclean. We had roaches as well. Never seen that before!

- Our stateroom had broken furniture.

- The laundry bag, and other standard forms were missing. Our steward had to give them to us so we can get a shirt pressed for elegant night.

 

Got our sail and sign cards!

- We found we were already charged almost $50 at a bar we haven't been to! 

 

Okay, maybe just a bad start yep? Went on the spa tour. We were promised a $249 deal for a couple. We were told we can get complimentary scrubs each day. Went today:

- They want $9 per person now. 

- $108 more in fees basically if we continue to use the facilities.

 

We went to Vista for breakfast. We used the app to check in. 

- Chaotic. One hostess. 

- There were massive lines of people down to the staircases just waiting. Everyone's table stated ready. They obviously weren't. The notifications were wrong. Nobody was ready and the movement was so slow because people who didn't checked in yet, were standing there and getting priority over people who did check in which caused a bigger mess.

- no regular orange juice. We were told they only have the specialty orange juices. 

- Took about 35 minutes before we even saw our server. 

 

Guest services

- Waited in a line for 2 hours to fight the bar contests yesterday (Before the spa issue). 

- Guest services only had 2 people the entire time we’ve been here that we've noticed. The one girl looks like she’s about to faint. I saw her at 10 pm last night and again at 8am when walking by. Again at noon just now. 

 

Kiosks

- The card readers are broken on the sail and sign places in the third floor. 

 

Food

- We wanted to go eat about 10pm. They already closed all the restaurants. 

- We went to the pizza place. 

- The only food is the pizza. Their pizza quality declined. We were given black burnt pizza. They ran out of basil as well. 

- Had to wait in a 25 minute long line, to only be told my preferred pizza isn't available, and told to wait and stand aside. Once it was available, they gave it to the next person in line... Three times! So it took me almost 45 minutes to get a pizza. This ordeal cost me almost an hour and a half

 

Our only enjoyable experience so far was the Italian restaurant dinner and the cabin bed is relaxing.

 

I'm already regretting this and we're only 1 day in. I skipped my college graduation to spend the travel money on a cruise instead. 

[tallnthensome]

Can I make a simple suggestion. Since you're already on board and you have many days left put what has upset you behind you and TRY and enjoy yourself the rest of the way. Don't look for things that make you mad going forward..... You're cruisemdoesnt have to be ruined after 2 days especially over missing laundry bags and some complimentary scrubs, or missing basil. Formal night on the Panorama is not so formal..... at all. Don't make mountains out of mole hills. BTW, try and eat dinner at a restaurant at a normal human time ..... not 10pm. They are understaffed and over worked as you already pointed out so give a rest already ..... Things are different cruising right now I some ways .

Edited May 8, 2022 by tallnthensome

[BeachDiva101]

So sorry you are having a problematic cruise.  I hope it gets better.  

[Itried4498]

I just got off the Panorama yesterday and can help address a few of your points:

 

-- The ship left Los Cabo on-time on Thursday, but we experienced rough seas on our way back to Los Angeles -- easily one of the roughest rides I ever experienced, which is uncharacteristic for early May.  On Friday morning, Joey announced that the captain was hoping to arrive by 8:30AM Saturday, but it could be as late as 9:30AM.  Miraculously, we docked around 7:40AM, but it wasn't until around 9AM when the first passengers were able to leave the ship.  We had Zone 25 (the last zone) baggage tags, and were called to leave & left the ship shortly before 11AM, but there were hundreds of passengers still onboard (way more than there should be).  Normally the ship begins unloading shortly after 7:30AM... the delay likely lead to more people staying in their cabins until 9AM (and probably later), which impacted the level of cleanliness.  Obviously the entire event also delaying the boarding process.

 

-- The Long Beach Terminal is a converted museum; it's hardly an ideal cruise terminal, and certainly isn't designed to handle thousands of people trying to board and de-board a cruise ship at the same time.  But while it may seem chaotic, it's very organized (it'd be better organized if they enforced arrival times when entering the line extending outward from the building).  Luggage drop-off is adjacent to the parking garage/through (drop-off) area.  If you arrive early, there's going to be more people trying to drop off their bags than there are porters, and the porters will generally serve first those who dangle large bills in front of them.  

 

-- If you experience any problems with your cabin, let your steward know.  Our bathroom had a foul, sewage smell, and at least six people were sent into our cabin to clean it up.  The floor supervisor and guest relations manager personally visited our cabin to ensure it was cleaned up.  That said, I'd freak out if I saw roaches... they're on every cruise ship, but I've never seen them in my cabin.  Given the large number of people who piggishly stockpile dirty plates in their rooms, I'm not surprised.

 

-- Cheap cruise fares attract a large number of first time cruisers.  After a day or two, they will learn the ship, and things will get better.

 

-- Always use the app to plan your day around restaurants, shows, activities and events you'd like to see.  The hours may not be the same as your prior cruises, but you should never be surprised.

 

[CruisingFromLA]

Does Carnival still have the Great Vacation Guarantee? Within 24 hours of embarking, if you are not happy with the way the cruise is going, go to Guest Services and let them know. They will give you a 100% refund and get you back to the original cruise port for free (which means they will fly you back from Puerto Vallarta back to LAX). They had this pre-covid for years, but I can't seem to find it on their website right now. You still have a couple more hours to ask Guest Services and go this route if you choose.

[ashkir]

32 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

Can I make a simple suggestion. Since you're already on board and you have many days left put what has upset you behind you and TRY and enjoy yourself the rest of the way. Don't look for things that make you mad going forward..... You're cruisemdoesnt have to be ruined after 2 days especially over missing laundry bags and some complimentary scrubs, or missing basil. Formal night on the Panorama is not so formal..... at all. Don't make mountains out of mole hills. BTW, try and eat dinner at a restaurant at a normal human time ..... not 10pm. They are understaffed and over worked as you already pointed out so give a rest already ..... Things are different cruising right now I some ways .

Hello. I feel you missed a lot of the context. They advertise different times then are available. Plus coming to a room not clean after they told us it was unavailable and it took 7 hours after it to get it clean was pretty unacceptable. We didn’t have a clean room until 7pm. 

 

their restaurants are in the app until 3am for some. But they decided to close them.

31 minutes ago, BeachDiva101 said:

So sorry you are having a problematic cruise.  I hope it gets better.  

Thank you. I’m gonna get. We found an awesome salad bar just now. 

28 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

I just got off the Panorama yesterday and can help address a few of your points:

 

-- The ship left Los Cabo on-time on Thursday, but we experienced rough seas on our way back to Los Angeles -- easily one of the roughest rides I ever experienced, which is uncharacteristic for early May.  On Friday morning, Joey announced that the captain was hoping to arrive by 8:30AM Saturday, but it could be as late as 9:30AM.  Miraculously, we docked around 7:40AM, but it wasn't until around 9AM when the first passengers were able to leave the ship.  We had Zone 25 (the last zone) baggage tags, and were called to leave & left the ship shortly before 11AM, but there were hundreds of passengers still onboard (way more than there should be).  Normally the ship begins unloading shortly after 7:30AM... the delay likely lead to more people staying in their cabins until 9AM (and probably later), which impacted the level of cleanliness.  Obviously the entire event also delaying the boarding process.

 

-- The Long Beach Terminal is a converted museum; it's hardly an ideal cruise terminal, and certainly isn't designed to handle thousands of people trying to board and de-board a cruise ship at the same time.  But while it may seem chaotic, it's very organized (it'd be better organized if they enforced arrival times when entering the line extending outward from the building).  Luggage drop-off is adjacent to the parking garage/through (drop-off) area.  If you arrive early, there's going to be more people trying to drop off their bags than there are porters, and the porters will generally serve first those who dangle large bills in front of them.  

 

-- If you experience any problems with your cabin, let your steward know.  Our bathroom had a foul, sewage smell, and at least six people were sent into our cabin to clean it up.  The floor supervisor and guest relations manager personally visited our cabin to ensure it was cleaned up.  That said, I'd freak out if I saw roaches... they're on every cruise ship, but I've never seen them in my cabin.  Given the large number of people who piggishly stockpile dirty plates in their rooms, I'm not surprised.

 

-- Cheap cruise fares attract a large number of first time cruisers.  After a day or two, they will learn the ship, and things will get better.

 

-- Always use the app to plan your day around restaurants, shows, activities and events you'd like to see.  The hours may not be the same as your prior cruises, but you should never be surprised.

 

Oh wow! The deli now closes at 930. We did use the app. The app hours were off by quite a bit and different than the signs and what staff say. We tried to use for breakfast this morning and it was chaotic. Like our table was given away to a walk-in when we had it reserved etc. there are lines down to the staircases trying to get a table. 
 

you’re right. I started noticing a lot of blue cards. Obviously a lot of very new people here. 
 

We found an awesome salad bar today. So I’m happy about that. 
 

considering going to guest services and ask for them to cancel the thermal pass since it’s not what’s promised. Or should I use the spa manager for that? 

[Elaine5715]

4 minutes ago, ashkir said:

Hello. I feel you missed a lot of the context. They advertise different times then are available. Plus coming to a room not clean after they told us it was unavailable and it took 7 hours after it to get it clean was pretty unacceptable. We didn’t have a clean room until 7pm. 

 

their restaurants are in the app until 3am for some. But they decided to close them.

Thank you. I’m gonna get. We found an awesome salad bar just now. 

Oh wow! The deli now closes at 930. We did use the app. The app hours were off by quite a bit and different than the signs and what staff say. We tried to use for breakfast this morning and it was chaotic. Like our table was given away to a walk-in when we had it reserved etc. there are lines down to the staircases trying to get a table. 
 

you’re right. I started noticing a lot of blue cards. Obviously a lot of very new people here. 
 

We found an awesome salad bar today. So I’m happy about that. 
 

considering going to guest services and ask for them to cancel the thermal pass since it’s not what’s promised. Or should I use the spa manager for that? 

Crew are limited in hours so yes, if the ship was late returning, it is likely crew timed out and needed to go off shift.  

[tallnthensome]

13 minutes ago, ashkir said:

 

 

their restaurants are in the app until 3am for some. But they decided to close them.

 

considering going to guest services and ask for them to cancel the thermal pass since it’s not what’s promised. Or should I use the spa manager for that? 

I was on the Panorama a few months ago. I don't remember any restaurant open until 3AM. I also had a couple`s thermal spa pass and was never ever offered complimentary scrubs. Either you heard wrong or a worker, maybe new, made an error. Why not just enjoy the the Thermal Spa for what is important and not try to show them that you're willing to throw away a week of relaxation in there over a scrub that others were never offered..... makes me wonder. You're being petty in my opinion. 

[mz-s]

The only food open until 3am is pizza. There are no restaurants open anywhere near that late. 

[ashkir]

16 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I was on the Panorama a few months ago. I don't remember any restaurant open until 3AM. I also had a couple`s thermal spa pass and was never ever offered complimentary scrubs. Either you heard wrong or a worker, maybe new, made an error. Why not just enjoy the the Thermal Spa for what is important and not try to show them that you're willing to throw away a week of relaxation in there over a scrub that others were never offered..... makes me wonder. You're being petty in my opinion. 

We just spoke to guest services and showed them the ad where it’s included. They’re talking to the spa manager now. It’s supposed to be included. I’m not being petty. My room had roaches in it and wasn’t cleaned until after we left port. 
 

Then I had nothing but issues in a spa. I tried to enjoy it too. It has lines and it was packed today. I couldn’t enjoy it. it is in fact illegal for them to not offer or match their ad. If they can’t supply it they must refund it. 
 

I will throw away a week vacation in order to enjoy time I paid for at full price and not a last minute deal.

 

on the bright side we really enjoyed other things today. 
 

im just sharing my experience. The ads aren’t accurate. If you go on this cruise and the product is promises to you now you know you’re not getting it. 

[ashkir]

7 minutes ago, mz-s said:

The only food open until 3am is pizza. There are no restaurants open anywhere near that late. 

I know that now. The app says different. Hopefully they fix it. Last week cruisers had deli at that time. Now that’s not an offer anymore. 

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, ashkir said:

I know that now. The app says different. Hopefully they fix it. Last week cruisers had deli at that time. Now that’s not an offer anymore. 

i have never seen the deli open that late, it’s always closed at 11pm.

[icft]

What people remember is useless information. One of the problems apparently is that the app that they have forced everyone to use is giving bad information to the OP. The OP did not expect anything but what the app said. Are you guys now saying people should ignore the app? Apparently the app is also screwing up reservations and with people down the staircases it obviously isn't a case of the OP not knowing how to use the app.

 

I guess roaches and broken furniture in your room is the norm for some of you, but I find that unacceptable and would not consider myself "petty" for complaining. Nor would I consider it inappropriate to complain about being charged $50 in error and having to stand for two hours to get it fixed.

 

Given the litany of problems I think the OP has been very gracious. One or two things are "stuff happens" but this list is just beyond the pale.

 

In these times one expects some problems, but there is a limit beyond which complaining is totally appropriate for anyone with a spine.

 

 

[LatinaInTexas]

Our Feb Panorama cruise was my most problematic and least enjoyable cruise. I was semi upset many times throughout the cruise.

I did like ship and loved the ports and the excursions we did so that helped. After I got back and reflected on things I realized at the moment these things were bad but now they were just inconveniences that didn't ruin my cruise. I will try the Panorama again at some point.

Hope you experience some good things ASAP and things turn around for the better and your whole cruise isn't ruined.

[tallnthensome]

I don't think anyone was dismissing the $50 charge ..... That's understandable but how many cruises have had restaurants open until 3AM? Come on now..... Thats common sense regardless of an app. Not trying to be hard on anyone and I get it but to pretty much say your cruise is ruined after the first day and half is a stretch . Just trying to convince the OP to let it go this early on and have a good time. Don't dwell .....

Edited May 8, 2022 by tallnthensome

[Itried4498]

54 minutes ago, CruisingFromLA said:

Does Carnival still have the Great Vacation Guarantee? Within 24 hours of embarking, if you are not happy with the way the cruise is going, go to Guest Services and let them know. They will give you a 100% refund and get you back to the original cruise port for free (which means they will fly you back from Puerto Vallarta back to LAX). They had this pre-covid for years, but I can't seem to find it on their website right now. You still have a couple more hours to ask Guest Services and go this route if you choose.

 

The Great Vacation Guarantee was short-lived and hasn't been around for many years.  IIRC, it began circa 2013 in response to poor bookings following the so-called Poop Cruise, and was extended until 2015 after NCL or Royal matched it.  IIRC, while it began as no questions asked, toward the end you had to have experienced a problem that Carnival was unable to reasonably address.  

 

Unfortunately, such program wouldn't work in today's world.  Millennials and Gen Z (and I'm an older Millennial) live in a "deals" world where this would be marketed as "get PAID to take a 3-day cruise from Long Beach to Puerto Vallarta."  

[Moviela]

I sailed Panorama two weeks ago and had none of the problems you mentioned, in fact none at all. I am feeling lucky. 

 

I am a late night person and often like dining a midnight and beyond. On the cruise ship that lifestyle is not possible except for soft serve and pizza (there is no such thing as bad pizza) that takes too long. 

 

Roaches are unacceptable, but are often brought in by passengers. I hope they were cleared on sight and never returned. I found any issue with the cabin was responded to quickly and resolved as fast.

 

I agree the dining room staffing is not acceptable. While I have no issue with slow service (I'm retired) but not serving people in order is inexcusable and usually fixed on the spot with a whisper in the maître d's ear. Advice for next time.

 

The scrub as I recall is a hand full of coarse mineral salt you scrub yourself with. It would last me all week. The whole spa deal is overpriced and under valued. The same company ran the spa where I worked and were dismissed for the hard sell of expensive products annoying guests. 

 

I hope you enjoy the music, shows, comedy, and port visits.

 

The Dome was actually designed as a sea port, a terminal for an abandoned Disney Sea project, so the city put the Spruce Goose in there. Carnival did an excellent job of designing the current interior  structure, and for several magical weeks in 2020 was a wonderful place to embark. The magic died with covid and now the necessary protocols to inspect paperwork slows the whole process down.

 

My next cruise is in a fortnight and I will have a smile on my face for a straight 7 days.   

[Itried4498]

13 minutes ago, icft said:

What people remember is useless information. One of the problems apparently is that the app that they have forced everyone to use is giving bad information to the OP. The OP did not expect anything but what the app said. Are you guys now saying people should ignore the app? Apparently the app is also screwing up reservations and with people down the staircases it obviously isn't a case of the OP not knowing how to use the app.

 

I guess roaches and broken furniture in your room is the norm for some of you, but I find that unacceptable and would not consider myself "petty" for complaining. Nor would I consider it inappropriate to complain about being charged $50 in error and having to stand for two hours to get it fixed.

 

Given the litany of problems I think the OP has been very gracious. One or two things are "stuff happens" but this list is just beyond the pale.

 

In these times one expects some problems, but there is a limit beyond which complaining is totally appropriate for anyone with a spine.

 

 

 

One thing I've noticed about CC, is that when it comes to negative reviews, when it rains, it pours.  it is very unlikely, for example, that the OP checked in for dinner, was assigned a table, arrived at the restaurant on-time... and then found out his table was given away and was added to the bottom of the wait list.  It could be that the OP missed the 10-minute window to check-in to the restaurant after his table was assigned (you have more time in practice... if you click 'I'm On My Way," you get 10 more minutes, and even if you didn't, I'd bet staff would wait 15-20 minutes before reassigning it).  You'd have far less symphony for the OP if he admitted that on a busy night, he took 15+ minutes to check-in after this table was assigned :).  From the OP's comments that he didn't realize restaurants were open beyond 9PM, or that he could view his sign-and-sail account detail through it (that kiosk has been broken for months, and there's little reason for Carnival to fix it), I'm betting that most likely, he was just unfamiliar with it.

 

Most likely, the OP did what 4,000+ other passengers on the ship did -- book a super cheap cruise ($249pp with free/discounted spa treatments is hardly full fare...) and is now overwhelmed by the crowds, many of which are first-time cruisers and just learning the ropes of cruising let alone the ship.  We experienced this last week... things will get better within a day or two.  Most of his other concerns -- package inclusions, room cleanliness, incorrect billing, etc. will be thoroughly addressed once he brings them up with staff.  If they were as bad as described, and time consuming to correct, then the OP should let guest services know and request an OBC of some amount for compensation.

[mz-s]

46 minutes ago, ashkir said:

I know that now. The app says different. Hopefully they fix it. Last week cruisers had deli at that time. Now that’s not an offer anymore. 

wasn’t picking up that the app was wrong. Sounds like every aspect of this cruise has been a disaster so far. Sorry to hear this. 

[californiatripman]

The Panorama disembarkation was delayed because a loud mouth women got physical with staff for not letting her off with first ones off instead of waiting her turn.  Police called, arrested her and took her off the ship but it delayed everything over an hour

[icft]

1 minute ago, californiatripman said:

The Panorama disembarkation was delayed because a loud mouth women got physical with staff for not letting her off with first ones off instead of waiting her turn.  Police called, arrested her and took her off the ship but it delayed everything over an hour

So, she got off first? 😁

[Moviela]

I have often thought those who wish to jump the line could make a $100 ea donation to St. Jude. 

I would not mind waiting for those people. 

 

[Itried4498]

1 minute ago, Moviela said:

The Dome was actually designed as a sea port, a terminal for an abandoned Disney Sea project, so the city put the Spruce Goose in there. Carnival did an excellent job of designing the current interior  structure, and for several magical weeks in 2020 was a wonderful place to embark. The magic died with covid and now the necessary protocols to inspect paperwork slows the whole process down.   

 

The dome was built by Long Beach in the early 1980s to house the Spruce Goose, as a companion tourist attraction to the Queen Mary intended on boosting attendance.  The owners of the Disneyland Hotel held the leases to operate both attractions; Disney acquired them in the late 1980s when it purchased the company (because it wanted to own the Disneyland Hotel).  Yes, Disney proposed turning the area into a theme park w/a cruise terminal, but abandoned the project in the early 1990s and terminated its leases, claiming operating losses on both attractions. 

 

The dome was converted into a cruise terminal in the late 1990s, when Carnival acquired the lease to half the facility; they acquired the lease to the full facility a few years ago and expanded operations.  But even pre-COVID, the facility couldn't handle 4,000+ passengers arriving and 4,000+ passengers departing at the same time...

[ashkir]

Guest services fixed the incorrect bar charges. They filed a complaint with the spa manager and apparently I’m not the only one in that line about it. Luckily I had the ad that showed they didn’t give me what is included. 
 

they said they’re aware of the app to being incorrect information and are working on fixing it. 
 

I paid full price for my cruise some time ago. Now when walking around I am noticing almost everyone had a blue card. The staff must be overwhelmed. 
 

tbis is far from my first cruise. But it’s the ONLY time I’ve ever had an issue with them. 

[jetsfan58]

Why do we think that those soon to be Trillionaires didn't have issues with their Amazon, Tesla, etc. companies? It's called "re-growing pains" and trying to get back to "whatever normal is going to look like" moving forward! Same thing with the Medical and Dental Industries; they are desperately seeking assistants and technicians.

 

I still say let's be thankful for Cruising resuming as we could be waiting another two more years to get back on the waters?