Panorama 2/18 - 2/24 Trip Review

[Kingsmom]

Reading through all of the Cruise Critic reviews has been such a help in planning this trip so, as promised, here is my review of our Carnival Panorama 6 night cruise - 2/18/24 through 2/24/24.  Overall, we had a very nice time.  There were four of us traveling.  Myself (49), DH (50), our son (17) and his buddy (17).  We had two rooms.  DH and I in a cove balcony (2294) and the boys across the hall in room (2296). DH and I had cruised before but the boys had not. 

 

PRIOR TO EMBARKATION:

We flew into Long Beach Airport the evening prior to embarkation.  We stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan which was located in the downtown area.  The hotel itself does not have an elevator but we had no trouble schlepping our luggage up three flights of stairs.  The room was spacious and had a small kitchen with full size fridge.  The neighborhood was lively but we never felt unsafe.  We walked around the first night and had dinner at Congregation Brewery. They had a great selection of beers on tap and the food was good with very large portions.  There was a huge reggae festival in town so there were many people out and about. We walked to the festival area after dinner but security was pretty tight.  The boys enjoyed seeing all of the tricked out cars and hearing the music. 

EMBARKATION:

After searching around the neighborhood for coffee, we took the two-block walk to the beach.  There is a long biking/jogging path that runs along the beach and it gave us our first glimpse of the Panorama.  After stopping at VONS (across the street from hotel) to get our wine/soda we packed up and called for an Uber.  Our embarkation time was 10:30-11:00.  I called for the Uber at 9:47 and they arrived at 10:07.  The traffic getting into the port area was nuts.  It took us 50 minutes to go 2.6 miles ($15 +$10 tip).  We were stopped for so long that Uber called me twice to make sure we were not "in danger".   Once we actually made it into the terminal, we were on board in less than 30 minutes.  We hurried to Guy's Pig and Anchor for the complimentary sea day lunch.  It was very good.  Rooms were ready promptly at 1:30. 

ROOMS:

The rooms were great!  We loved having the cove balcony.  It was nice being so close to the water and due to the location of the room, we had no noise from the dining room above.  I picked the room specifically for its location under Guest Services and it had very little view obstruction from lifeboats.  In fact, we did not have a lifeboat directly above us.  We spent a lot of time on the balcony people watching while in port or simply relaxing. 

 

The interior room was perfect for the boys although they did comment on how they could never tell what time of day it was when they woke up. If traveling with teens/kids in a separate room, I suggest asking Guest Services for an "entry only" key to their room.  It was a struggle to wake them before I realized I probably could get a key made and go in and wake them myself.  Again, both were very quiet.  We heard no door slamming (at night) and had no neighbor noise. 

Our steward Kaschun was wonderful and always called us by our names when she would see us in the hall.  We had zero requests and were very happy with how clean and well stocked the rooms were.  I will say, I appreciated that our neighbor had hung celebratory streamers from the ceiling in front of their cabin.  Going forward, I will make sure to bring something along as it was very helpful in finding our way down the long hallway. 

 

FOOD/DRINKS:

We rarely ate with the teenagers.  They mainly stuck to Blue Iguana, Guys Burgers and the Pizza place.  They enjoyed the food at these locations very much but told us they missed having the option for a salad.  They both had the Bottomless Bubbles package but neither used it.  It was a huge waste of money for them.  They did dine with us in the main dining room once and said it was "just okay".  They never tried the Lido Marketplace. 

Together we did enjoy Bonsai Sushi and Bonsai Teppanyaki.  The food was delicious at both and the experience was very nice.  I am very glad we paid the extra money to enjoy them.  I highly recommend them both. 

 

DH and I went daily to JavaBlue for our morning coffee.  Going right when they opened was key as they did get very busy.  We really enjoyed lunch at Guy's Burgers and breakfast at Blue Iguana.  We tried the Sea Day brunch once and it was mediocre.  Our experience with the Main Dining Room was just okay.  We did elegant night with the boys and one other time just the two of us.  It was nothing to write home about but it was edible.  I did enjoy the Indian Vegetarian dish.  On our second sea day, we went to Pig & Anchor again and once again enjoyed it very much.  We did have pizza on several occasions for a meal or snack it was very good. 

DH and I had the Cheers package.  Honestly, we both felt somewhat pressured to drink a lot to make it count!  I don't know if we would get it again but cannot say for sure.  With bottled water, coffee and the ability to have drinks we normally wouldn't definitely made it feel like it was worth it but I have nothing to compare it to.  DH really enjoyed the Bloody Mary's at Pig & Anchor.  They are a meal in a glass! 

 

We spent most of our time in the Atrium Lounge because it was only one floor above us.  However, we also enjoyed drinks from many of the other bar locations with the exception of Alchemy.  I wanted to try it but never made it happen. 

ON BOARD ACTIVITIES/EXCURSIONS:

I’ll start with the teenagers.  They report that they got bored with the on board activities by day 3.  They told me that they don’t think they will do another cruise.  It just wasn’t what they expected.  They did not seem to connect with other teens at the teen club, stated the games at the arcade were all broken and that once you did the ropes course, water slides and other games that was enough.  They loved the ports (Cabo + Ensenada) and wish they had had more time to explore.  Oddly, they preferred Ensenada over Cabo. 

 

At 17, they really wanted to go to the Comedy Club but weren’t willing to give the PG version a try assuming it would be “lame”.  They did try to go to the 18+ version but were turned away at the door.  The pools and hot tubs were always packed with kids and although they got in a few times, they didn’t really enjoy the vibe. 

 

DH and I enjoyed the two comedians we saw.  We also watched a few of the trivia games but never actually played.  We did however play Bingo twice which was fun (can get expensive) and played Deal or No Deal which we also enjoyed.  We enjoyed the theme parties very much.  We danced like we were young again and stayed up way past our normal bedtime.  We also had a blast dressing up for 80’s night and taking photos at the different photo “booths”. 

 

We lounged by the pool a few times but never actually got in.  DH really wanted to do the hot tubs but they are literally filled to the brim with children. Those Havana rooms started to look pretty nice…

 

Day One in Cabo we got off the ship and walked around.  We strolled through the port area and over to Medano Beach.  It was a fairly long walk and we probably said “No Gracias” a million times along the way.  The beach area is very nice and the boys enjoyed swimming in the ocean. 

 

Day Two in Cabo we did the Carnival “Catamaran and Snorkel” excursion.  It was roughly 2 hours with the first hour being the snorkeling portion.  We saw tons of fish.  Although way to short, it was a great experience.  The second hour we went out to the arch and got an amazing view of a young whale frolicking about.  I would do that excursion again.  The fact that it was affordable and it did not take up the entire day was a plus. 

 

In Ensenada we had hoped to do the Carnival “Surf Lesson” excursion but it was sold out.  So we simply went into town.  The boys wanted to shop and so we did just that.  There are a ton of people/shops that sell pretty much the same types of things.  They all want you to stop and look at what they have.  It’s easy to acknowledge them, take a quick peak and continue on.  Knowing how to barter is a plus.  DH speaks pretty good Spanish so we were able to negotiate some pretty good deals.  Once we were done shopping we took a taxi to Playa Hermosa.  This is the beach where we thought the surfing excursion would be.  We thought maybe we could rent a surf board and do our own activity.  No such luck.  There was no one there.  No one surfing and hardly anyone on the beach.  I learned later that the formal excursion had been cancelled.  We ended up walking back to town which took roughly 30 minutes. 

 

DEBARKATION:

Was a breeze.  We express debarked with an exit time of 9:30.  We left our room about 8:30, hung out on the 5^th floor until it was time, then down to the 4^th floor and kept on walking.  Once outside we waited the most time for a taxi to the airport ($40+ $10 tip).  I had originally booked us out of Long Beach at 12:10 and then changed it to 3:00 thinking that we would not make it.  However, we got to the airport and I was able to get us on the 12:10 via standby.  That request was accommodated and we were able to catch the earlier flight with about 30 minutes to spare.  Flying in/out of Long Beach is amazing. 

 

WRAP UP:

Overall it was a very nice trip.  In retrospect, I would have included (insisted) the teens in more of our activities like bingo and trivia.  I would have walked them through the HUB app and explained things better but I honestly though they would figure it out.  I also assumed they would enjoy all of the activities and connect with other teens.  I think 17 is a weird transition age.  They were too old for some of it and too young for the rest.  I also wished there were more mid-day activities.  Maybe I missed them but there seemed to be a period of the day where not much happened.  We’re not night owls so staying awake until 10:00pm when most of the fun happened was HARD!

 

DS and I suffer from extreme motion sickness.  We started taking Meclizine the night before we were to fly to Long Beach.  We then took one tablet every night and every morning until we got home.  We has ZERO issues.  Although mostly calm there were a few bumps and rocks along the way.  It was nice to not be sick.

 

Also, DH and I appreciated the automatic handwashing stations… 

 

DH and I are looking forward to our next cruise.  But we will probably leave the kiddo at home next time!

 

 

Edited February 26 by Kingsmom
Cabin # error

[pc_load_letter]

I will get to the hot tubs right when they open to get a hour in there without being bothered.

 

 

[john91498]

My children are hitting their teens and they seem to over cruising. When they were younger, they loved the water parks and the pools and could spend hours in them. Now, cruising is really boring to them and they can't wait to get off the ship.

[Kingsmom]

I forgot to mention....

 

We did NOT have the WIFI package.  Once we got on board we all purchased the chat feature in the HUB app for $5.  Come to find out, we didn't need it.  The three of us with iPhones were able to text one another without issue.  I was even able to text my mother back home.  You couldn't send pictures, but could easily send a quick text update. 

 

Also, the ship never felt crowed.  Yes, there was an occasional line but they really do a great job with the open spaces and gathering areas.  Even at the pools, there was always a nook or cranny to sit and relax. It was a beautiful ship and Deon the Cruise Director (Can I get a "Hey Deon"?) was really the highlight of the activities.  He really is good at his job.  The staff all seemed to enjoy being on board.  

[ober134]

Thank you for the review. We are booked on a cruise out of Long Beach this fall. I am wondering about debarkation and transportation to LGB for a flight at 11:45. There are no later flights. based on your experience we should be OK??? We fly back to Pa and really want to avoid LAX or a red-eye. thoughts? TIA

[Kingsmom]

15 hours ago, ober134 said:

Thank you for the review. We are booked on a cruise out of Long Beach this fall. I am wondering about debarkation and transportation to LGB for a flight at 11:45. There are no later flights. based on your experience we should be OK??? We fly back to Pa and really want to avoid LAX or a red-eye. thoughts? TIA

I would love to tell you that you would be fine but there are so many variables at play.  We were lucky in that:

- The boat arrived on time back in Long Beach from Ensenada (7:30am)

- We opted for the Express Debarkation and carried off our luggage (9:30am) * They did have earlier options and if you get FFTF you may even be earlier.

- We had passports which allowed for an easier walk through customs

- The line for the taxi was fairly short (waited approx 15 mins).  Turn left immediately once out of the terminal.  Taxi's are to the left of the parking garage. The larger the car you  need, the longer the wait.

- There was no traffic getting to LGB (about 10 min drive)

- The TSA line was unbelievably short (like we were the only ones in line)

- We started boarding at 11:40am and were in C group (literally the last people on the plane)

 

Any hiccups in any one of those situations could potentially set you back.  What airline are you flying?  We flew Southwest and had the option to chose standby (or pay to guarantee) once I realized we would make it.  We kept the later flight just in case.  Once approved for standby those tickets were moot. 

 

Good luck!  It certainly was nice to be home earlier.  But if it will add more stress to the end of your vacation it may not be worth it?  

[ober134]

Thank you for the feedback. We are platinum so will self debark as early as possible. We have passports and TSA precheck. First choice is Southwest 11:45 at LGB. Backup choice is United at 2:10 at LAX. Cruise isn't until Sept so I feel we can wait a bit to decide. Weve already booked SW to arrive day prior and overnight stay at the Queen Mary. Its just that flight home that has us puzzled. We have companion pass on SW so really want to go that route IF its feasible.

[tonit964]

 It's too bad the boys didn't check out the Lido Marketplace, they have a really nice salad bar everyday.

Glad it was a good trip.

[john91498]

@ober134 September is hurricane season in Mexico, so there could be a chance of rough seas. We were on the Panorama last September and we ran into rough seas going back to LB. We didn't get into port till after 9.

[Kingsmom]

13 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

 It's too bad the boys didn't check out the Lido Marketplace, they have a really nice salad bar everyday.

Glad it was a good trip.

Ugh.  I thought I saw one there.  

[LaRue1975]

16 hours ago, ober134 said:

Thank you for the review. We are booked on a cruise out of Long Beach this fall. I am wondering about debarkation and transportation to LGB for a flight at 11:45. There are no later flights. based on your experience we should be OK??? We fly back to Pa and really want to avoid LAX or a red-eye. thoughts? TIA

I was on this cruise and did the Platinum carry off luggage debarkation. We were in our car pulling out of the garage shortly after 8:30. You meet in the showroom at 8:30, we got there at 8 and there were already a lot of people in there. They had us line up our suitcases near the exit which is down front by the stage. The people that were already seated in the theater suitcases were lined up on the deck outside the exit. We had only been sitting for a few minutes when the ship was cleared and debarkation began. We didn’t stop moving except for the few seconds it took for the customs camera to verify our passports. 
 

If you are on the 7 or 8 day cruise there is a chance you could arrive later but the Panorama has been doing well since the recent repair. Also, the taxi/Uber situation is terrible at the terminal but hopefully you will be off early enough to avoid the worst of it. Around 9 to 10 AM the traffic entering the port gets backed up to a stand still with the large trucks supplying the ship and people arriving early for departure. Ubers stop accepting rides and you could wait an hour or more to get one, not sure about the taxi availability. This was our first time doing carry off and we will be doing it from now on, it couldn’t have been easier. The Panorama is our favorite ship, enjoy your cruise! 
 

 

[salty dingo]

I was on this cruise, and had a blast. It was a solo trip for me, male age 61. I had a nice inside cabin forward on the Lido. It was exactly 7 steps to the door of the "Hidden Deck" on deck 10, so it was easy to check the conditions outside.

 

I flew in to Burbank airport the day before and out of LAX. I took public transportation all the way to the ship and took the Carnival bus back from the ship to LAX.

 

Upon arrival in BUR, I walked to the free shuttle which will take you to the nearby train station. I was the only person there, just called the number listed on the airport website and the driver came right over and took me to the station.

 

The train runs once an hour on Saturday. You can buy a paper ticket at the station or use the app, which I did - fare was $4.50 to Union Station. Then, I switched to the Metro A-Line to long beach. It's very easy and I did not have to walk far at all. The fare for the  Metro was $1.75. I got off at the Pacific Coast Highway stop because it was near the hotel, and walked to few blocks. Stayed in a really cheap place named "Travel Eagle" but it was perfectly adequate for me.

 

All this was done with a carryon and a small backpack. I have learned my lesson about over-packing for cruises!

 

The next day I took a bus from in front of the hotel to the main Long Beach stop - Fare was $1. From there I found a Starbucks and hung out, then went to Von's grocery to get my sodas for the trip, and then caught the free Passport shuttle that takes you from downtown Long Beach to the ship.

 

My arrival time was 1:30- 2:00 and I got there at 1:40 and had very little wait outside. Those who did not arrive during their scheduled time were in a very long line outside. I highly recommend heeding Carnivals warnings (they sent at least three of them to me) and do not attempt to arrive earlier than your scheduled time.

 

I breezed through security and onto the ship. I was surprised they didn't open my backpack to make sure the soda was not beer! A dog named Tito was there to sniff you, and he must have done a good job because I did not smell any weed the entire cruise!

 

I had the anytime dining and depending on the time I checked in there was a 20 - 50 minute wait. I got used to checking in a half hour before I wanted to eat and had no issues with the table.

 

I found the food to be consistent with the other Carnival ships I have been on. The ship was nearly new looking! There was still evidence of the funnel and topside work that was done recently but it did not interfere much. They did have part of the jogging track closed a couple of port days while they worked but it didn't last too long.

 

I really enjoyed the comedians. There were four different ones, as they changed them in Cabo. Really funny, even the PG shows. I enjoyed the production shows too, and I saw all three.

 

Debarkation was easy - if you book the airport bus they tell you where to meet and when, and I think we were among the first people off the ship. I was at LAX quickly. At $39 it cost a whole lot more than it did to get to the ship, but I felt it was well worth it.

[Kingsmom]

4 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

I breezed through security and onto the ship. I was surprised they didn't open my backpack to make sure the soda was not beer! A dog named Tito was there to sniff you, and he must have done a good job because I did not smell any weed the entire cruise!

 

 

We didn't smell any either....anywhere!  Glad to have a first hand report on the public transport in LB.  We thought about taking the bus to port as well.  There was a stop right outside our hotel but we WAY overpacked!  Sounds like you had a great trip.  

[PattiPB]

Thank you very much for the review and additional comments! Spring Break is just around the corner, and I'm anxious to get on the Panorama.

 

Just to clarify, Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ restaurant is FREE on embarkation day, as well as during the sea days? I hadn't seen that anywhere else, but it would be great news!

 

TIA.

[john91498]

25 minutes ago, PattiPB said:

Just to clarify, Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ restaurant is FREE on embarkation day, as well as during the sea days? I hadn't seen that anywhere else, but it would be great news!

 

TIA.

 

I believe only during lunches on embarkation and sea days. On embarkation day, it's only open for a few hours.

Edited February 28 by john91498

[jrtmouse]

How was the pizza line? In 2022 they had about 1.5 people working there and the lines were awful. 

[Kingsmom]

Just now, jrtmouse said:

How was the pizza line? In 2022 they had about 1.5 people working there and the lines were awful. 

We never had an issue.  Longest wait was probably 5-7 minutes while they cooked more.  I always saw at least two people working. 

[hurricane0226]

On 2/26/2024 at 4:38 PM, pc_load_letter said:

I will get to the hot tubs right when they open to get a hour in there without being bothered.

 

 

serenity hot tubs are usually empty

[pc_load_letter]

2 hours ago, hurricane0226 said:

serenity hot tubs are usually empty

Thanks. We don't like the serenity area though.

[LaRue1975]

9 hours ago, PattiPB said:

Thank you very much for the review and additional comments! Spring Break is just around the corner, and I'm anxious to get on the Panorama.

 

Just to clarify, Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ restaurant is FREE on embarkation day, as well as during the sea days? I hadn't seen that anywhere else, but it would be great news!

 

TIA.

The full inside restaurant with table service is only open for dinner and is not free. You pay for the items ordered and the prices are reasonable. The outside lunch buffet is free and open on embarkation and sea days. It’s good and you are welcome to eat inside the restaurant but they have a lot of tables outside on the deck too. Embarkation is a great time to try it, most people don’t know about it so it’s not busy. My friend and I were the first ones to arrive and a server was out there to take our drink order too. We got a lovely table overlooking the dome, it was perfect! 

Edited February 29 by LaRue1975

[Jeafl]

On 2/27/2024 at 10:33 AM, tonit964 said:

 It's too bad the boys didn't check out the Lido Marketplace, they have a really nice salad bar everyday.

Glad it was a good trip.

I was thinking the same thing.  There is also the deli there which they might have enjoyed.

[PattiPB]

 

 

14 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

The full inside restaurant with table service is only open for dinner and is not free. You pay for the items ordered and the prices are reasonable. The outside lunch buffet is free and open on embarkation and sea days. It’s good and you are welcome to eat inside the restaurant but they have a lot of tables outside on the deck too. Embarkation is a great time to try it, most people don’t know about it so it’s not busy. My friend and I were the first ones to arrive and a server was out there to take our drink order too. We got a lovely table overlooking the dome, it was perfect! 

Thank you for the detailed response! Looking forward to trying it at embarkation (especially with bar service!!).

[RCLcruiser2012]

This was a great review!  Thank you so much. We are due to leave in a week.  I appreciate the transparency.  We have an 11-year-old.

[Kingsmom]

I thought I would add some photos of our trip.  I REALLY enjoyed our cove balcony (#2294).  The location was perfect and our view was spectacular.  I would book that room again in a heartbeat! We also were pleased to witness a young whale having the time of his/her life frolicking around.  Now that we've been home for a bit, I can reflect on what a good time we had.  Even the teens are still talking about it.  I think they really did enjoy themselves. 😉