Carnival Panorama December 17-24 Briefish Review with some pictures

[Theosprey247]

Just got back from our 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on the beautiful Carnival Panorama.   In short we had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves.   If you want more info please scroll down otherwise thank you for reading. 

[Theosprey247]

Days 1-3 Sea Days.

We spent the evening in the Serenity area on day one and got pie-eyed (coconut martinis and skinny mojitos). My wife refused to drink for the rest of the cruise. We choose to eat in the steakhouse for formal night.   The service was excellent and the food was delicious (Wife had surf and turf I had the stuffed mushrooms and ribeye). 

[Theosprey247]

Day 4 Puerto Vallarta 

Part 1

Took a taxi ($12) to the Malecon where we shopped, looked at statues, my wife bought some art, and had some delicious tacos (wife had a fried banana). 
 

Part 2 

Returned to the ship where my wife had a 10 minute message for $10. But the real reason was to go on our sole excursion Small Group Dolphin Swim.  Very fun afterwards they sold us some very expensive photos and fed us fajitas(chicken or steak),  nachos, and dessert.

Part 3 

After returning later than planned due to traffic we ran (strolled with a purpose) to Walmart for things we forgot to pack. 

[Theosprey247]

Day 5 Mazatlan 

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face.”

How true that quote is. We planned on walking the Blue Line or going to Stone Island.  We were struck with analysis  paralysis till a Pulmonia came by and offered us a tour of the city for 1 hour (we stretched it to a little over 2). He took us to the Barco (where the fishing boats come in), El Faro, the church, cliff divers, and other amazing sites and views.  He dropped us off at an amazing beach restaurant were we gorged ourselves on seafood and booze.  Then we walked along the beach, before talking a cab back to the ship.

[ninjacat123]

Enjoying your review!!  Thanks for posting😁

[Theosprey247]

Day 6 Cabo San Lucas

We planned on getting off the ship late walking around then eat lunch.  But of course that didn’t happen.  Instead we took a 45 minute boat tour (the arch, window, and a bunch of other rock formations) that gave us a 1 hour at Lovers Beach /Divorce Beach (Mexican hour it turns out the boat was 1/2 hour late picking us up).   Very beautiful.  Lovers Beach was in the shade and colder (and more crowded and smaller) than The sunny but rougher waves Divorce beach.  There were vendors there selling stuff (drinks, coconuts, mangos, jewelry, etc.) but they were very expensive.  When we finally got picked up we went and eat lunch (fish tacos, nachos, and mole enchiladas) it was good and cheap.  We wandered around for a bit (my wife was actually shopped out) till we came to the tequila store where they offer free samples.  We tried lots ended up buying a few bottles and returned to the ship.

[Theosprey247]

Day 7 Sea Day

We decided to have the Sea Day Brunch. We went at 9:30. Big mistake it was super crowded and we waited longer than than the less than 10 minutes the app promised (usually when we arrive our table is ready).  We waited around 15-20 minutes.  Our wait staff was excellent. I had the 12 hour French Toast and the voyager burger washed down with a spicy Bloody Mary. My wife had the avocado and crab sandwich with one of those pressed juices.  We played trivia (GOT & Superheroes lots of cheaters 😑) and spend the day lounging in the serenity section (bundled up in a clamshell cause it was cold).  I also ate at Pig and Anchor buffet. Sadly it wasn’t very good. The chicken was overcooked and the ribs well the less said about them then better.

[Theosprey247]

Final Thoughts and Photo Dump

 

Just some random thoughts:

MDR: Only ate twice (Breakfast on day 6 Cabo and Sea Day Brunch on day 7) when busy expect slower service.  Received excellent service both times and we enjoyed our meals.

Buffet: For breakfast always had grits and a hard boiled egg often had a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana.  The coffee is terrible and I think the crew members wash their socks in the coffee machines (read here on CC so it must be right). The fruit cocktails are very sweet.  The ice tea is gross but is improved by adding the overly sweet lemonade to make a passable Arnold Palmer.  Most of the food was ok to good but avoid something called “Alabama Chicken”

 

Guy’s Burgers was good as usual. Occasionally a long line but it moved quickly. Never more than 5 minute wait. 
 

Blue Iguana: got breakfast burritos mostly but my wife had the hueovos rancheros and those Columbia quesadilla things. She said the hueovos were better.  The shrimp burrito I had was delicious.  
 

Bar Service was quick even during busy times (no 30 minute waits for us). Had every rum drink at Red Frog Pub. Every drink we had had a heavy pour.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation was quickly and smoothly.

 

Lots of Christmas Decorations. 

 

We will do this cruise again.  

[ninjacat123]

Great finish!  DH and I will probably never do this cruise since we are within driving distance of Florida ports, so it was fun to experience this cruise through your eyes.  Sounds like you and your wife had lots of fun!  Happy Holidays to you both!😊

[nwcruiselover]

Thank you for the preview!  I’ll be on Panorama B2B 1/7/23 through 1/21/23.  Loved your pictures!

Edited December 26, 2022 by nwcruiselover

[helene109]

Love all the pictures too! We are on this in August. We usually cruise out of Florida. Curious to see the difference.

[luvcruzing]

Thanks for taking the time to do the review. Very enjoyable read.  Love your last photo of the atrium funnel.  

[sanmarcosman]

4 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

Thank you for the preview!  I’ll be on Panorama B2B 1/7/23 through 1/21/23.  Loved your pictures!

Sailing the 14th - 21st, former Seattleite from Ravenna. This will be my 10th Panorama sailing and have never done a b2b.

Edited December 26, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[allinwonderland]

3 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Sailing the 14th - 21st, former Seattleite from Ravenna. This will be my 10th Panorama sailing and have never done a b2b.

Make it a B2B and join me on the 21st!! LOL 😄

[eltigre]

Thanks for taking the time for the  review.  We are booked in Feb. so had a few questions. What time were you able to board in Long Beach? I was told by a Carnival rep they won't start until 1:30.

We have a privately booked whale tour for Cabo. How long did it take to disembark the main throng of people wanting to get off?

[Theosprey247]

We boarded at 12, but the 11:00-11:30 slot was available ( we drove in and traffic in SoCal is unpredictable on weekends). When we disembarked at 10. People were lining up to board. 

6 hours ago, eltigre said:

Thanks for taking the time for the  review.  We are booked in Feb. so had a few questions. What time were you able to board in Long Beach? I was told by a Carnival rep they won't start until 1:30.

We have a privately booked whale tour for Cabo. How long did it take to disembark the main throng of people wanting to get off?

 

[cacruisin]

Thank you for the review....is the first formal night the first sea day or the second?  TIA

[Theosprey247]

1st full sea day. 

[tonit964]

On 12/26/2022 at 8:31 AM, Theosprey247 said:

Final Thoughts and Photo Dump

 

Just some random thoughts:

MDR: Only ate twice (Breakfast on day 6 Cabo and Sea Day Brunch on day 7) when busy expect slower service.  Received excellent service both times and we enjoyed our meals.

Buffet: For breakfast always had grits and a hard boiled egg often had a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana.  The coffee is terrible and I think the crew members wash their socks in the coffee machines (read here on CC so it must be right). The fruit cocktails are very sweet.  The ice tea is gross but is improved by adding the overly sweet lemonade to make a passable Arnold Palmer.  Most of the food was ok to good but avoid something called “Alabama Chicken”

 

Guy’s Burgers was good as usual. Occasionally a long line but it moved quickly. Never more than 5 minute wait. 
 

Blue Iguana: got breakfast burritos mostly but my wife had the hueovos rancheros and those Columbia quesadilla things. She said the hueovos were better.  The shrimp burrito I had was delicious.  
 

Bar Service was quick even during busy times (no 30 minute waits for us). Had every rum drink at Red Frog Pub. Every drink we had had a heavy pour.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation was quickly and smoothly.

 

Lots of Christmas Decorations. 

 

We will do this cruise again.  

Where did you get the fish tacos? They look delicious.

Thanks for the review and all the photos!

[BethID]

How was the weather? We are thinking of booking the same cruise next Christmas but I want to make sure there is warm weather for the majority of the trip.

[ilovesparky13]

We were on the Panorama the week before you, and had a blast!

[ilovesparky13]

1 hour ago, BethID said:

How was the weather? We are thinking of booking the same cruise next Christmas but I want to make sure there is warm weather for the majority of the trip.

It will be warmer the further south you go. We were on the sailing the week before OP, and we were using the water slides and pools. 

[pc_load_letter]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:15 AM, Theosprey247 said:

Day 5 Mazatlan 

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face.”

How true that quote is. We planned on walking the Blue Line or going to Stone Island.  We were struck with analysis  paralysis till a Pulmonia came by and offered us a tour of the city for 1 hour (we stretched it to a little over 2). He took us to the Barco (where the fishing boats come in), El Faro, the church, cliff divers, and other amazing sites and views.  He dropped us off at an amazing beach restaurant were we gorged ourselves on seafood and booze.  Then we walked along the beach, before talking a cab back to the ship.

 

Would you happen to remember the name of the seafood restaurant? We'll be there next month.

[Theosprey247]

15 hours ago, BethID said:

How was the weather? We are thinking of booking the same cruise next Christmas but I want to make sure there is warm weather for the majority of the trip.

1st sea day (plus departure day) and last sea day it was cold in the morning.  Every other day it was in the low 80's.

[vickig315]

What time did you dock in Long Beach/ what time were you off the ship after disembarking?

Our flights just got changed by the airlines and now it's 12:30 at LAX, just wondering how tight it will be.

Thanks!