before i Sailed i checked here for a few reviews and didn't see many up to dated ones so i thought i would add one, it was a few ago and i did not write anything down so i will try to be detailed. This was a 4 day cruise from Long Beach Ca. Catalina, Ensanada Mx. sea day back to Long Beach So for the People reading this in the future we just started getting serious about the Corona Virus 3/9/20 and everyone was canceling there cruise, Carnival was trying to fill this ship up and so i booked this 10 days before they sailed through the Carnival Players Club ( Casino ) The Deal was $20 pp for a IS and I upgraded it to 6C for $10 so for double i paid $60 plus taxes of $105 and i received $100 OBC and a Drink on us package in the Casino then a few days after i booked is when the cruise industry really getting hammered with people getting Corona Virus. Carnival offered us a $100 more OBC if we didn't cancel but would honer anyone who wanted to cancel so to recap i Paid $165 got $200 OBC and free drinks..i couldn't say no. Before I boarded everyday Carnival sent emails everyday saying if you feel sick or have any signs dont show up you will not board that there was strong screening before you get on...making it easy to cancel for full refunds..and they were true to there word they did screen everyone, they took everyone's temperature as they boarded. never once did i feel like i would get sick, they were not allowing people to spoon there own food in the buffet they plated everything for you and they had full hospital gowns on face masks gloves etc..there were always people walking and wiping rails tables etc. This was my 9th Carnival Cruise 5th Fantasy class Ship and 2nd time on the Inspiration .So i knew the layout and i knew what to expect a older ship with funky coloring i like the ship and the layout and i know where to stay I like my room right by the Elevator that leads to deck 10 right in front of the buffet. easy access to food and the lido deck fun. I stayed in M 199 the room was set up as a king by my request and it had a hanging bed that was folded up out of the way. What i wanted to do this cruise was play some Craps in the casino and read some books I did just that I played a lot in the Casino they Have one of those Crap Bubble Machines that i love I probably played 7 or 8 hours on that plus about the same on live craps. I did not eat in the MDR... i ate Sushi twice Buffet once and Deli once for Dinner everyday is was Guys buggers and Fries...Omelettes for breakfast. The Buffet sucked i did not eat all of it i went and got a sandwich at the Deli later that night.I also had a new guy trying to make omelettes one morning he had to make it 3 times before he got it right,,,besides those few issues no problems with food. I only went to a few shows ...the same as always if you have not seen it go see it if you have ...unless your bored ,,, my guess was the ship sailed at about 90% so there was always people on the Lido deck as usual i walked around a few times tryig to find a quiet place to read and was not able to find it even on the ship the library had people playing board and card games only place was my cabin to read which sucked but im one of those guys who has distraction i cant read... Hey I have never been on a bad cruise I have not Issues but never have they ruined my Cruise this was no different.. My Cabin steward I met him my first day I tipped him $40 and said I am Solo i probably not gonna need a lot from you but Ice please keep my Ice chest full... I had to call him every time but once I only had him clean the cabin once which is the time he got the Ice...he was polite and professional but didn't seem to want to do the extra effort... he would of got another $40 but did not earn it. and yes i kept on the auto tip as well. also like i said with my breakfast i felt they were training people to do it, Besides that everyone was awesome and friendly the Casino crew was top notch from the dealers to the Cocktail servers i was greeted by name every time i walked in there. the staff during the Muster drill was awesome they were the Dancers in the show so they new how to Entertain us while dealing with a boring issue. So here are some weird issues this cruise had that normally you wont run into often We were suppose to leave Long Beach at 5:30 pm I was up on the lido and we just sat and sat finally i went downstairs because it was getting dark and i was hungry.. we set sail at 8:05 Captain came on once and said we were delayed because we hadn't been cleared to leave yet..First day we were suppose to be in Catalina I was going to stay on board the weather was poor and i have been to Catalina many times nothing i wanted see but i was woke up at 7:45 by the Captain saying the weather was to bad to be able to tender back and forth so we were going to make today the sea day and go to Catalina tomorrow and Ensanada on the last day. and any excursions would be refunded, taxes etc. everything would be re booked for Ensanada about 12 pm the captain came back on and said we were heading to San Diego to drop off a sick passenger and please dont try to get off the ship we are only going to stop and drop...then about 30 minutes later he cam back on and said the Coast Guard decided to come and pick him up instead please stay away from the back of the boat...of course everyone was up on the lido taking pictures...and we ended up canceling Catalina altogether and went to Ensanada as planned with the last day being another sea day... Getting off the ship I walked off at 7:45 right to my truck and on the road by 8am Read Less

My husband and I chose Carnival Panorama because we wanted to sail on a brand new ship and sail to the Mexican Riviera. The Good: Brand New beautiful ship, enjoyed the pay restaurants for free at lunch bt noon and 2:30pm. We tried-Mongolian Wok and Pasta Bar. Staff was friendly and worked hard.The big shows in the evening were excellent. The Not So Good: The drinks on board are very expensive a strawberry margarita or daquiri is bt 13 and 15 dollars including the automatically added tip and floater.If you don't add the extra 2.00 floater it just tastes like no alcohol is in the drink at all. The dining room meals in the evening were not very good. I'm not a picky eater and on three different nights I only had a baked potato because I didn't like any of the other items I ordered. Lobster, prime rib, escargot and Mahi Mahi not eatable. One night we ate at the Smokehouse just so I could find something to eat that I liked. There is very little healthy food on board. If you look high and low you can survive but on a brand new cruise ship I would've loved seeing a healthy restaurant to choose from with many food allergies or diets addressed, gluten free, keto, dairy free, etc. Our table mates in the evening also were struggling to find food to eat at dinner and they also thought this would be a great idea. It was sad to see so much wasted food on board by passengers who took too much food ate a couple bites of each item and tossed the rest. The entertainment on board was not very good unless you like bingo,the casino, or game shows. This cruise was one of the most expensive we've taken and not good value. Read Less

Our family wanted to celebrate the 70th birthday of the most amazing woman ever! There were three children, ages 5 to 9, several young adults in their twenties, thirties and forties, and three 62-and-over guests! I don’t see how we could have enjoyed ourselves anymore! The staff was super friendly and accommodating, the food was truly amazing in the formal dining room, and the buffets were far above average! The hamburgers at Guy Fieri‘s were outstanding! The entertainment was great! There was plenty to do for everybody of all ages! The pool and spa area were fab, as was the whole ship! We took advantage of the Cheers beverage packages, which was great! The kids also loved all of the activities geared toward them! Our room steward could not have been more accommodating! We ported in Catalina and Ensenada, both of which I have been to several times, but others hadn’t. Everybody enjoyed themselves. La bufadora was great! The other passengers were friendly and everyone was looking for a great time! The whole cruise was very impressive and tons of fun! Read Less

I chose this cruise for a 70th birthday blowout with my family. Big mistake. We love Carnival and have cruised with them 3 previous times. I was excited to book on this new ship however I did not investigate it enough. I am mobility challenged with RA and OA and bring a walker with me. My review is mostly based on these facts, not for an able bodied person as my family enjoyed the trip more than I. If you are mobility challenged, be aware that you were not factored in when the ship was designed. I could not get into any of the pools nor the hot tubs. The pools all had a wide, raised edge around the perimeter with no handholds available. I could not raise my knees high enough to step over and there was nothing to hold onto while trying. The hot tubs were a "step in" with no way to ease in. I cannot bend my knew very far so could not crouch down to slide in. They had handicapped washrooms with automatic sliding doors. They were mostly unavailable as the general public would use them even when the regular ones were empty. Oftentimes they automatic doors were not working so you had to try to get into the regular ones, park you walker in a tiny corner or out in the corridor as they had no wide stalls inside. I found the staff disinterested in helping if you appeared to need a hand. It is awkward to carry a coffee cup in one hand and try to maneuver your walker to a table but they would just look at you in passing and keep on going. Other cruises I have been bowled over by the staff's helpfulness in getting a meal or a drink to a table for me. They mostly seemed to be "going through the motions" of their job and didn't smile very much. The rooms are very nicely laid out and the room staff was awesome. The activities were abundant and the ship very clean. They had these amazing Dyson hand washers that you put your hands in and a swirling warm water bath was started. Amazing! Made us wash our hands a lot! It was like a garburator without the teeth! The food was very good however unlike other ships, the variety was very scarce. They had mutiple stations with the same items. It was very different from other Carnivals I have been on as well as other cruise lines (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity). I hope this doesn't sound like a spoiled traveller however it was disappointing after so many wonderful cruises. Plus, it was expensive and I like value for my money. The Panarama did not provide that in my opinion. The Legend was amazing however! Read Less

We chose this cruise because my hubby and i wanted to see the pacific side of mexico, Why not on a NEW SHIP?! .We only have Celebrity to measure to but here is what we found... the main DR was ALWAYS cold...like very cold. The food was just...meh.. and the decor was not as nice as celebrity, however.. playing to a different crowd, i wouldnt want to have it super posh and kids jumping all over it. NOT dissing kids, it is what it is...EMMA was amazing, never really actually met her but her voice is infectious and her ALWAYS ON (bless her soul) attitude was over and above. She is the voice of Carnival.. i can only imagine, her time off she must spend sleeping.. thank you Emma for your very hard work at trying to please everyone! Havana bar was nice, it would have been nicer had the weather been better, but thats not Carnivals fault. More beverage options as opposed to you coming up with one on your own, would have been more helpful.. your on vaca, you don't want to think..lol.. The entertainment was definitely better than celebrity, and JOHN...loved him. Im glad he got to see his moma today! JIJI'S was AMAZING food. It was a refreshingly different taste and the service was done well. The seafood shack was also good.. the Casino was fun, a lot of winning from a lot of people. Surprised is both, actually.. I would suggest they take time during the evening and clean off the machines more often of the "stuff" people leave lying around, particularly ashtrays and empty glasses..(although i would prefer to put this on the people using them, i feel most dont think it should be them cleaning up their own mess) i cleaned a couple off just to sit down and play. The staff on board, for the most part everyone was pleasant, i did feel some were getting tired as its close to the end of their run, felt you were asking for too much sometimes, but I wouldnt hold that against them.. It would also be nice to have a few more garbage cans, (recycling) maybe near the elevators as you have coffee cups as your walking around but have to hunt to find a place to discard them. All in all, i didnt mind the Carnival, and i would cruise with them again, its a new ship..their is always kinks to iron out. Read Less

We got off the Carnival Panorama at the Long Beach port after returning to our rooms for one additional night as one passenger was Covid 19 tested and the 4000 of us had to wait for that one passengers result. Thank god the one passenger was negative but it was nerve wracking for all of us. Needless to say it was chaos for the thousands of embarking passengers since they could not get on the ship since we could not get off it. I have no idea were 1000+ hotel rooms were found to put these 1000's of waiting passengers. After 15 Carnival Cruises (since the 1990's), I think I am really done with Carnival for a long time. The Panorama crew and their service was impeccable and personable. Having Matt Mitcham (as a surprise guest) onboard truly helped the atmosphere as he and Emma did the best they could with the challenges caused by these events. The problem is that the mass cruise market has just become way too congested (e.g. just too way too many people and too many queues) on their ships. The production shows were great, but the showroom layout, seat cushions, and sight lines were the worse ever (and that was considered an improvement from the other Vista ship we were on). The casino was literally unplayable! Reason: The entire casino is the dedicated indoor smoking area 24 hours a day. Its so bad, that transiting non-smokers had to go up one deck and cross over before going back down stairs on the other side. What a dreadful design and my casino play was the least ever on any cruise ship because of this. On the other hand, the new NCL Encore we ere on the month before has a non smoking and separately ventilated and isolated/enclosed smoking casino and it was wonderful except even the NCL Encore suffers from the same passenger congestion issues. I am still a big fan of cruising, but I think its time to look at less passenger ratio ships in terms of "elbow room." I'll try more River cruises (which I love!), once this Covid virus is past us. My estimate is that is won't be until year 2022 that this pandemic is under control so that cruising becomes as safe as it was before this started. Otherwise, trust me, its not worth the stress to vacation this way with this kind of risk out there. Read Less

I have done the 7-day Mexican Riviera trips several times over the last 6 years through Carnival Miracle and Carnival Splendor. I was excited to learn a brand new ship was coming to the west coast and just knew that I needed to take a cruise on it. In fact, I scheduled two cruises. One for February 29 2020 and another on January 16 2021. On the February cruise, I got a category 4F inside cabin (7307). I was on the ship by 1PM. I parked my backpack at the back of the ship on deck 11 and got myself a Lobster Roll from the Seafood Shack. That was delicious. I will do that again. I started to explore everything about this ship. It is SO completely different than the other west coast ships Carnival had. (Imagination, Inspiration, Splendor, & Miracle) Panorama was not gaudy and loud like my previous Carnival ships. The Panorama was very pleasant to the senses. I didn't feel there was any over the top interior designs. I loved the clean sleek feel to the ship. I definitely loved all of the dining choices. I ate at the Fahrenheit 555 (the steakhouse), Guy's Pig and Anchor Smokehouse, Seafood Shack, Cucina del Capitano, Guy's Burger, BlueIguana Cantina, Pizzeria del Capitano, and the Dining Room. And there were still a lot of other choices for me as well. I participated in quite a few of the trivia games on the ship. Through the games I met fun people that I was able to join throughout the cruise. (I traveled solo on the trip.) The first port of call was for Cabo San Lucas. I got off the ship here to come in and have lunch at one of the local restaurants and to get some obligatory souvenirs for my office. Cabo is a great port. If you are new to this location be prepared for the onslaught of locals trying to pry money from you for their services or goods. If you are not interested just say No, Gracias and move on. They do expect you to haggle on the prices so, be bold and work a good deal. I was only in port for roughly 2 hours. I have been here many times, so there wasn't anything special for me to do this time. That night was Elegant Night, which means you have the opportunity to dress up a bit and come to dinner with everyone else dressed nicely. The next port of call was Mazatlan. You arrive at a commercial port. You can just walk off the ship, but you are confined to a small area where you will be transported from the commercial operations of the port and taken into the city. This is an interesting port. Mazatlan is a port in the Mexico state of Sinaloa. If you go into town, you must take care in where you travel. Stay in the tourist parts of town. Take the normal set of precautions you might take if you were traveling in a bad part of town. I have always had good luck there. The people you meet are friendly, and want to do business with you. There is a lot of very interesting things to see there. The cliff divers, the Gold Zone, the Malecon, the old church, the market and all of the bars and restaurants catering to tourists. Many times I take the Hop On Hop Off city tour bus. It costs about $35 US per adult and the entire circuit may take about 90 minutes to 120 minutes. This time I took the bus and never got off. (Again, I have been here 6 or 7 times already.) The next day we go to Puerto Vallarta. Many times in the past we would arrive mid morning and that would present you with an opportunity to see migrating whales or even a school of dolphins off the bow of the ship. This time we were in port by 7AM. This is my favorite location. There are so many wonderful things to do here with your family. My most favorite memories are from going to Las Caletas beach hideaway. You can snorkel or scuba dive there, they have lunch prepared for you when you arrive, There is an open bar. There are many paddle boards, or inner tubes to float on, You can have the kids visit the critters they have there. In 2018, I got to play with sea lions and stingrays but I don't know if they still do that at Las Caletas. They have just simple hammocks and lounge chairs if that is all you wanted to do. This year, I jumped into a cab across the street from the port and as I was figuring out what I wanted to do, a couple wanted to go to a fleamarket in town. The driver asked if I would share his cab and I said sure. I was already sitting up front, so the couple jumped into the back seat. We all made little chit chat while we drove to our destination. I noticed some irregularities in the driving and that is when I actually looked at the driver and saw that he was falling asleep when driving us to the flea market. At one point I had to wake him up to drive. Fortunately we were in bumper to bumper traffic so he was not going to do much damage. We all got out of the cab anyway. I did some shopping for clothing. Lesson learned. ALWAYS try on the clothes and be sure there are no stains on the clothes. I wound up on the ship with a shirt that technically should have fit but was way too small. So I am stuck with the shirt. The next two days were Sea Days. I did a lot of trivia games on the ship competing for the coveted Ship on a Stick. We got into Long Beach before 6AM on Saturday 3/7. I was already on Lido deck getting breakfast when I heard the siren of a firetruck and ambulance. I looked over the edge of the ship and saw both vehicles pulling all the way up next to the ship. This was around 6:15 but they didn't leave until almost 8AM. This was a bit odd, but I didn't think anything of it. The next odd thing was we weren't being called off the ship either. We were the ship that got stuck in Long Beach quarantined for 18 hours. An announcement was made finally around 9AM there was some sort of medical situation and tests needed to be conducted to see if the passenger had the coronavirus. 10AM there was another announcement but no additional news. 11AM, another announcement but this time they said they would open the Lido deck dining options for the convenience of the passengers. Around 11:30AM, they said we could go back to our staterooms if we wanted and that it take up to roughly 6 hours to get the coronavirus test results back. They made all of the movies on the TV in the room for free. They played a couple of movies at the DiveIn Movie screen by the swimming pool. The Fun Squad put together some entertainment and games for the passengers to play while we all waited for the results. The main dining rooms were opened for the passengers. During dinner the Captain announced they have not gotten word on the results yet. But they would keep us updated as time goes by. At about 10PM, the Captain announced the results came back negative and the passenger DID NOT have the coronavirus. The Captain offered for people that wished to debark right away, they would be able to. However, the Border Patrol people were not onsite and therefor no one was getting off the ship. Everyone got off the ship the very next morning, Sunday March 8 between 6:30AM and 11AM. Although it was a high stress situation, with people not knowing when they would be able to disembark, people had planes to catch, some people had family or friends in the parking lot to pick them up. But there were no riots, or crazy behaviour, pretty much everyone took it all in stride. In spite of everything, I would go back on this cruise again. Read Less

My wife and I sailed on the Carnival Panorama on Feb 29th –Mar 7/8th (I will explain more on that later). We are experienced mass market cruisers having sailed on Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Norwegian, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean previously. This was our 28th cruise. We are senior citizens. Those of you who have read my reviews before know that I might be politely described as picky. I can’t help it. I was born with the glass half empty gene. I know this is not a good way to go through life and I have tried to change, believe me, but I am stuck with my perfectionistic attention to detail. I try to counter this by bending over backwards to give the benefit of the doubt and see things from the other point of view. I usually fail. However, I am balanced by my wife who has a Mary Poppins optimism and sees the good in everything, even me. My wife and I do like cruises for the same reasons. We love being on the ship and enjoy the relaxation and variety of entertainment that it offers. We don’t care where it goes, as the ship is our destination. Since we live near the west coast, the majority of our cruises have been either to Mexico or Alaska. We don’t even get off at the ports in Mexico any more. We shop for bargains and typically cruise during the off season. The things that are important to me in choosing a cruise ship are food, stateroom, entertainment, service, general ambience and activities – pretty much in that order. That being said, the Panorama appealed to me because of two things. 1) It had a trampoline park on board ship – the first and only ship to do so. 2) It had a category of ocean view rooms that had 2 bathrooms or technically, a bath and a half. The half bath had no toilet and smaller square footage but it had its own sink and a 2/3 size bathtub (but deep) and shower combination. The full sized bathroom with a toilet had a standard shower. The last time I was on a trampoline I was 16 years old, 5’8” tall and weighed 135 lbs (maybe). I had fond memories of how much fun I had doing all kinds of gymnastic tricks on the trampoline: twists, flips, every manner of trick. The trampoline and I were one. Everything came natural to me. I looked forward to impressing my wife with my emergence from the couch potato she knows me as into an acrobatic marvel. The fact that I am now 73 years old, have shrunk about 2 inches and gained 85 lbs., not withstanding. As I started my warm up jumping, I noticed that the trampoline and I were no longer one. The bouncing felt awkward and alien to me. I tried a simple knee drop and was unable to bounce back up to my feet – and it hurt my knees and ankles. I bounced some more, I tried a seat drop and landed awkwardly to my right side and fell onto my right arm and shoulder. When I tried to get back up, I found I could no longer use my right arm to push myself back up and had to rely on my left (I am right handed). That ended my trampoline session. My wife, however, was impressed - WITH THE DEPTH OF MY STUPIDITY! For the rest of the cruise, I came to be known as Lefty as I was unable to raise my right arm very far and could not lift with it. But enough about me, onward with the ship. FOOD – A The food in the MDR was great. Not just good – great. I have cruised Carnival before. I am pretty much a meat and potatoes kind of guy. My favorite foods are steak, hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza and any kind of potato. I have the taste of your average 9 year old. According to my wife, also the mentality. The buffet had average buffet food. No better or worse than you receive on any other mass market cruise ship. On some Norwegian ships (not all), Celebrity and Royal Caribbean ships, I have experienced better than average buffets. Although the buffet on the Panorama was often crowded, never had a problem finding a table/seat. One below average thing about the buffet was limited variety of offerings. Much more limited than most ships. Back to the MDR. Since I tend to order meat and potatoes, I often order that flat iron steak which is on the always available portion of Carnival’s MDR dinner menu. In the past, this has been an okay experience but not memorable. The first night on board I ordered it for dinner. It was amazing. More tender than usual but bursting with flavor. It was all good. Never had a bad dinner in the MDR the whole trip. Guy’s Pig &Anchor charged extra for dinner but served complimentary lunch on sea days. The problem was on sea days the was a very long line to stand in before you ever get to the food. Lines tended to be the norm for lots of things. I don’t do lines well. Rather skip the venue than wait in line so we did not eat at Guy’s Pig and Anchor. JJ’s Asian and Cucina Capitan, both extra dollar restaurants, also provided free limited lunch items. We never ate at JJs but did the Cucina for lunch one day. Quite good. Of course, there was Guy’s burgers and the Blue Iguana (Mexican food) with lines for each. On occasion, when there was a short line, I had a Guy’s burger. I know I am going to sound like a heretic, as everyone raves about Guy’s burgers and fries. The burgers are good but not fantastic, IMHO, and I do not like the way the fries are seasoned. I would rather have regular French fries. I find the burgers and fries at Holland America’s Dive In to be far superior. For one thing, they are cooked to order. Second to the Dive In, I favor the burgers available at O’Sheehan’s or the Local (depending upon what ship you are on), the 24 hour dining venue on Norwegian’s line. To each his own. Pizza was good but not my favorite, but again, everyone has their own pizza preference. I think Carnival aims for the middle of the pack, which makes sense. STATEROOM – A+ We had the deluxe ocean view stateroom with the one and a half baths. The luxury of having essentially two separate bathrooms so two people can get ready at the same time cannot be overstated. Did not know what I was missing, but any Carnival cruises I would take in the future would have to be on a Vista class ship that offers this type of stateroom. Much rather have the extra bathroom than a balcony. Nice TV that offered only a few channels and a few free movies. Comfortable bed, adequate storage. Thermostat worked great. I like it cold and lots of times I cannot get it cold enough to sleep. My wife, needless to say likes it warm. Our compromise is she can have it warm during the day and I get it cold at night. Thermostat worked great for both of us. ENTERTAINMENT – B Musicians, singers and dancers were all A to A+. The reason for the B grade was the venue. The main theater, known as the Liquid Lounge, is a hideous monstrosity of a venue. On the main level, the chairs which are not theater type chairs but regular sitting chairs quickly become uncomfortable after 10-15 minutes of sitting on them. The floor is flat and does not slant upwards so the chairs are all on one level. The farther back you are from the first row, the greater your chance of not being able to see what is going on because you are blocked by either one of the people in front of you or a pillar. Sight lines are awful. If you want to see a main room show, better get there an hour before, even though doors don’t open until a half hour before, as there will be a very l-o-n-g line. SERVICE – A+ Every crew member was attentive, friendly, warm and greeted us with a smile despite the onerous duties of their jobs. From our room steward to our dining room servers to the cruise director – just everyone we encountered were above and beyond. I admire and have utmost respect for those crew members. I could never be like that but their attitudes just made the whole cruise that much better. GENERAL AMBIENCE AND ACTIVITIES - A The general ambience of the ship appealed to me. It was nicely decorated and had lots of organic wood and earth tones. It was incredibly clean but it is also Carnival’s newest ship, just put into service in November and this is its inaugural season. Activities rate an A+. The top deck which has the water park, slides, sky obstacle course, sky pedal ride, pool tables, club house, miniature golf, outdoor exercise machines – too much to list, really is incredible. The elevators take a little getting used to, You push the floor on a touch screen outside the elevator banks – not buttons in the elevator itself. Then the touch screen tells you which letter elevator gets assigned to that floor. Sometimes you can wait quite a while for your elevator and it might be packed at peak times, but most of the time it worked okay. Embarkation was relatively easy. We were supposed to disembark on March 7th. We put our luggage out the night before and had our carry-ons with us ready to go that morning. It was announced that disembarkation would be delayed as customs would not clear the ship and the cruise line could do nothing about it, Apparently, there was a woman who had taken ill but clearly had a non-COVID condition. Nonetheless, customs wanted to do a thorough screening before the cleared the ship for disembarkation. Carnival knew what was going on with the passenger and was confident that she would be deemed to not have a condition that was virus related. Being that everyone is hyper vigilant with what is happening these days, customs (I think with CDC input) decided she should be transported to a local hospital and tested. We were advised it would take 6 hours for the test results to come back. At that point, it was pretty clear that we were on the ship until nightfall and probably overnight. Carnival was great about it. They opened up all the restaurants, gave us free wifi, made the pay movies on TV free, put together an entertainment schedule with the entertainment staff and did everything they could to keep us happy, fed and entertained. Hats off to the crew of the Carnival Panorama. Could not have been more accommodating and all with smiles on their faces even though they were under the most pressure of any of us. They also had to deal with the people on shore who were supposed to board for their cruise but could not as we were still on the ship. I could almost hear those poor people yelling as the buffet opened up again –“ Hey, hey – that’s our food. They’re eating our food. I paid for that food.” As it turned out, the results of the testing came back negative, just as anticipated but at that point we were well into the evening and had to stay overnight on the ship until the next day when we disembarked. Such are the risks of cruising in the current climate. The cruise itself was terrific and I would do it again. My only objection was that there were lines for almost everything and I hate lines. Read Less

This was my second Caraval Cruise my first was with Dream. I have to say it was easy bordering ship just beware uphill walking to get on board in terminal. Once on ship is beautiful designed started out in Hero’s Bar waiting for other family members. First stop of course buffet, it was too crowded and as the week progressed they serve the same items . We had burgers at Guys(lifesaver of cruise) not only really favorable with plenty of options. Our Cove Balcony 2361 was private and beautiful. Plenty of room your clothes and shoes. Nice spacious bathroom and our Porter Arthur greeted us immediately presented his card and asked us what we wanted he was amazing. We ate at Horizon on fourth floor, our waiter Faub was great. Food in my opinion was mediocre everyone else loved it. Finally Emma she was the best cruise director I’ve ever had and I’ve been on several cruises(12). She made everyone get up and enjoy this cruise. My family loved her, Hell everyone dead!! When we had to stay on the ship due to a passenger being taken off Emma came on explain and was very accommodating. They returned our baggage to the room and offered free movies and Wi-Fi would recommend Panorama. Read Less

Just back from a week on the Panorama plus a bonus day on the ship when a passenger got sick and needed medical testing to ensure it wasn’t corona. It wasn’t, thank goodness. The ship is clean and modern. It follows the Carnival layout for the most part. However, for those of us who need accessibility features, Panorama is vastly better than its predecessors. There are handicapped restrooms everywhere now. Huge help for me as I use a wheelchair and cannot stand or walk. We had a fully accessible balcony cabin and it was pretty easy to manage. The balcony was not easy; the depth was narrow and I would not have been able to turn around to go back in the cabin. Our cabin held a lot of mobility equipment with ease. We managed with my husband’s large scooter, his large walker, and my large power chair. Then my wheelchair frame snapped (steel!) and I had to borrow one of the ship’s small scooters. It fit too! The ramp to access the balcony is too close to the side of the bed, making getting in and out of bed even more difficult due to the angled floor. A grab bar near the bed would have been smart. Dining was terrific and we enjoyed all the options. We did the anytime. Never had to wait. The steakhouse was amazing. We loved Guy Fieri’s burgers last year on the Magic. Not so much on Panorama. The cheese seemed different. It was equally unpleasant in Pig and Anchor’s macaroni and cheese. Not a crisis as there is plenty to feast on and it’s all tasty. Crew was fabulous and warm and showed such hospitality when disembarkation shut down due to the health crisis. They were wonderful. Our room steward Ade was a peach. The big shows were great. We saw Broadway Beats and Rock Revolution. Excellent! We also hit the comedy club and several smaller live performances and loved all. The violin trio wasn’t quite as good as the trio on Magic. No worries. Overall, a wonderful cruise. I can’t speak to the ports as I wasn’t permitted to take the borrowed scooter I the ship. My husband had fun in all three. Cruise director Emma is so bubbly and sweet. Other senior staff were also relaxed and pleasant. Embarkation took forever and we waited in endless lines to board. The first attempt at disembarking was chaotic and confusing. The second time was better. That said, I am a large woman and when we reached the dome in Long Beach I got stuck because so many wheelchair pushers refused to take me. I get it; I’m not easy. But they were openly nasty about it. One of the porters suggested we take a Carnival bus to LAX. We had planned to use Access Paratransit but the bus team escorted us to a big bus with a lift and said it was free because we were ADA. Nice surprise! Read Less

I don't know if I am the first to write about the Mexican Riviera that sale 2/29-3/7, but let me start by sharing we were one of the ships on the news that was held up at Long Beach, unable to Disembark due to a sick passenger that LOCAL authorities wanted to first be sure didn't have COVID-19 and she didn't. However, this hold up did give us an extra day onboard, being fed and entertained at no extra cost. Let me also share this was my first cruise, so maybe my opinion is lacking due to not having comparison, but nonetheless I feel compelled to give it. Ship: Its clean, beautiful and massive! I was traveling with my older sister, but had visions of how much fun my grandson (due next month) could have on this boat when he's old enough. Cabin: Small but enough. If you go on a cruise and spend any more time in your cabin other than to sleep, you may has well stay home. That isn't what a cruise is for, so these folk who complain about space kill me. As long as the room is clean and you have space for yourself and your luggage, that's all you need. Dining: Nothing to compare to, but I didn't go hungry for sure. Most meals were from the buffet for convenience and food was hit and miss. Most disappointing is that the breakfast selection was the exact same thing every day. Guy Fieri's Burger & Fries was ALWAYS good as was the Taco bar on the other side of it. 555° Fahrenheit Steak House served perhaps one of the best rib eye steaks I have ever had. Entertainment: Cruise Director Emma is such a breath of fresh air. She's full of energy, always upbeat (even when our disembarkation fiasco was happening) and as genuinely sweet as the day is long. Her "Fun Squad", I believe, has some potential future Cruise Directors in its midst with the likes of LeLe (spelling?), Gabe and Aussie Neil as the most memorable for me. I didn't attend any shows (not my thing) and saw one comedian who was really good, but didn't go see any others. I was able to take part in a Build-a-Bear workshop and now have the cutest little bear to share with my grandson when he arrives next month. Service: EXCEPTIONAL! Every single employee I interacted with was friendly, smiling and never once seemed as if I wasn't their most important priority. Ports: So, funds were limited for me and my sister who has cruised no less than 20 times wasn't really interested in doing much. We planned to get off the boat at all 3 ports, but only paid for one Carnival sponsored excursion that was 5 hours of beach time in Puerto Vallarta. It would have been nice had our view of the beach not been blocked every 2-4 minutes by a local peddler trying to solicit their wares for the ENTIRE time. :-( The shopping right at port at Cabo San Lucas is just a glorified flea market, but much better in Mazatlan. Finally, the last day arrived. We sent our luggage down the night before and excited our cabin with our carry-off luggage by 8:30 am as directed. Packed into a smoking area like sardines (unable to smoke due to ship fueling), we knew we could have a potential problem when we saw 2 ambulances, a firetruck and a helicopter. Sure enough, a sick passenger who (per the announcements) "did not meet any of the CDC's criteria to be at risk for COVID-19" was taken off the ship and local authorities in Long Beach would not clear us for disembarkation until testing was done. The results did not return until after 9pm and we were told while that was great news, we couldn't get off the ship until the next morning. A lot of people were angry. I missed a flight back to Arizona and had to pay for another, but let me tell you, under the circumstances, Capt Carlo Queirolo, Cruise Director Emma Nixon and the entire staff handled this snag PERFECTLY! Those passengers who were angry should be ashamed of themselves. It wasn't something that could have been avoided by the ship's crew and to mistreat them as a result is uncalled for. If you're reading this and you were one of them, your mama didn't raise you right! I am so grateful for the time I had on the Panorama and for the care taken to make sure we were all fed and entertained even though there was an unplanned 8th day. I was at ease and will jump back on this boat at my earliest opportunity! Read Less

We sailed on this cruise departing on 02/29/2020 along with our son and his girlfriend. Embarkation was somewhat delayed. We were in the "A" group and embarked around 12;30 p.m. Once we arrived on the ship, we found ourselves on the 4th floor and worked ourselves up to the 11th floor AFT to the Mongolian Wok for lunch We really enjoyed the new methodology with the elevators; you choose the floor you would like to reach and you are notified what elevator to approach. Overall, I found the ship to be extremely inviting. Although I missed the dramatic atrium as in other ships, the ever changing lighted tower was inspiring. It was easy to navigate through the ship as it mirrored other ships with regard to the activities etc on the 4th and 5th deck. Overall, the ship was very clean and I enjoyed the Havana Cabana theme throughout. They set up the Lido deck loungers in such a manner for all guests to enjoy. In past cruises, the littles would leave their towels laying around on chairs you thought were occupied. Not so on this cruise. We were able to enjoy a chair or lounger without the lIttles claiming it when they were only spending time at the pool. Regarding the food. For breakfast, we had omelettes every morning on the Lido deck. The cooks were wonderful. I actually nicknamed one as our singing omelette maker. Within a couple days, he knew exactly what we wanted on our omelettes! It was definitely worth a healthy tip at the end of the cruise. For lunch, we ate at different venues. On sea days, the Mongolian Wok, Guy's Pig and Anchor and Capitano Cucina are available for free. Mongolian Wok is located in JiJI's Restaurant. It is nothing like the Mongolian Wok we had experienced in the past. Previously, you would fill your bowel with veggies and choice of noodle, ask for your protein and sauce and they would cook in front out of you. The Mongolian Wok on this ship is the complete opposite. Once you enter the restaurant, you are given a paper ticket to check off the vegetables, noodle, protein and sauce for your selection. They are heavy on the noodle and very little on sauce, vegetable, and protein. I missed being able to have more influence on my Asian stir fry. We did also try Guy's Pig and Anchor and thought it was very good. We did not eat at any of the other specialty restaurants. For lunch, we either ate at Guy Fieri's burger, the Deli or Blue Iguana. Did also taste some food at the lido marketplace. I found that all of the food we received was warm, so no issues with receiving cold food for us. We ate dinner at the main dining room and enjoyed it. Service was very good. If you have anytime dining, a tip for you. Proceed to the Java Blue Cafe after you get on board and meet the maitre'd to have your table assigned. If you choose, they can guarantee a table and time throughout the cruise. Regarding the entertainment. I have to agree with others that the productions in Liquid Lounge were not as good as on other ships. The only show I thought was worthwhile seeing was Celestial Strings. Liquid Lounge is too small for amount of guests on the ship too. We did, however, enjoy the comedians. I also enjoyed the DJ's and the trio of violins. Never got the band because we were caught up in other venues of entertainment. The sports deck was a lot of FUN. It had a lot of activities!. Cornhole, pool, golf along with a lot of indoor games too. Skyride was fun too. As far as disembarkation, we were on the ship that was held over for a day due to an ill passenger. We waited many hours standing around with our luggage until they finally announced the news it would take an additional 2-6 hours before they would receive the results as to whether or not the ill passenger had coronavirus. They reopened the rooms, set up activities, and opened up the food areas for lunch. They also opened WiFi and in-room movies were free. I actually felt sorry for the people waiting to get on the ship. We had the run of the ship when the prospective passengers were sitting outside waiting for hours to hear if they would embark. By the way, we were given an extra sea day on our account due to the remaining on the ship that extra day. It was also a nice bonus that the parking fee was waived. As far as the cabin, we had an interior room on the 7th floor. It was relatively easy to navigate around the ship. Plus if you are hanging around the upper decks and want to avoid using the public restrooms, it was a quick walk up and down the stairs. The refrigerator is not cold, it is similar to a cooler (as noted by another reviewer). I just grabbed two cups of ice a day to keep our drinks cold. This seemed to work. I was somewhat disappointed in the cleanliness of our room. I'm glad I brought Clorox wipes. I think our steward had too many rooms to clean or he was burned out. When we did disembark the following morning, it ran smoothly. I think we were able to get off so quickly because they started the process quite early and a lot of people were still on the Lido eating breakfast. If you are looking to have fun, enjoy music and like a diverse group of passengers this is the ship for you. You will have an enjoyable, relaxing, fun time. I've already scheduled my next cruise :) Read Less

Thought we would tryout the new Carnival Panorama since it's only a 6 hour drive to get there. Anyone that has sailed out of long beach knows the Pacific is cold so we didn't use the pools. But other than that the ship is fantastic and cruise director Emma Pack made it all that much better. This was our 14th Cruise and the shows in the Liquid lounge were the best by far I have seen on any cruise ship.Guys Burgers and Guys pig and anker were my favorite places to eat the food in the buffet was good and so was the main dining room. The crew on this ship went above and beyond when it came to making us comfortable when the CDC made us stay onboard another day while they checked a guest that was sick we had to wait till they got the Corona test results which were negative but not only did carnival take care of us in grand fashion they even wiped out everyone's parking fees in the parking garage already have 2 more cruises booked with carnival for this year Read Less

We chose this 4 day cruise as my son lives in the Los Angeles area. Embarkation was smooth and quick. They had scheduled us at 1:30 but we showed up at 12 and we were able to board. We were in 2 rooms - M10 and M14. Rooms were nice and roomy. We were traveling with a 2 year old and she had plenty of room to explore in the room. We signed her up for the childcare but only left her one night as we wanted to spend all the time with her. The childcare seemed great and they give you a phone so you can be called. They also change diapers which I thought was great! Can't say much about the food. It was just ok. Guy Fieri's Hamburgers were excellent though. Our granddaughter loved the children's area, especially the slides. It was chilly though! My husband and son went on the ATV excursion in Ensenada and loved it! In Catalina we just walked around the shops as we had been there before. The entertainment was excellent! Our 2 year old clapped and danced to every show. A little tip about disembarkation - get a Porter! You go to the front of the line and get right off! Would do this 4 day trip again! Read Less

We chose this cruise because it was a brand new ship and thought it would be exciting. It was not, and was a rather bland experience compared to other cruise ships we have been on. I don't think there is anything exciting about this ship. The ambience was very lacking. Lots of advertising for this ship about many things to do on the ship, yet many are just a small area stuck in a corner somewhere. We travel as handicapped and don't believe the Long Beach port is very handicap friendly. They offer scooter rentals for pickup at the port terminal whereas other cruise lines offer scooter delivery to the room and pick up there. The pick up in the terminal was fine for boarding as you didn't have to wait for a wheelchair. But if you wanted to debark and take your own luggage, it became too much baggage to handle along with scooter. Won't do that again. Our accessible room was very nice with a nice layout, nice bathroom layout EXCEPT there were no chairs at all in the room. We had to sit on either the scooter or the bed. We had room service and had to put the tray on the bed. Not a comfortable scenario and there was plenty of room to put a chair. My curling iron quit two days after sailing in a plug where as other things worked fine in. After much frustration and paying for one hairstyle for $ 80; found out there was nothing wrong with my curling iron, but rather something wrong with it working properly in their plug. They brought up a box they called a transformer and I had to plug into that which took up most of the only desk space we had. Not a good experience on a brand new ship. The food on board was mediocre at best. Many things missing that would be readily available on another cruise line. Very little fruit and always the same fruit, mainly melon. Couldn't find a banana or orange to save your life. Many strange dishes everyday. Cutting board items so, so and were sliced to the bare minimum. There were two sides to the buffet and at 10:30 AM, one was shut down, including the orange juice machine!!! One day we couldn't get lunch if we wanted it. Was told we could have pizza or a sandwich, REALLY!! Never been on a ship where the included meals were not available. Very bad. Every tomato we had the whole trip was either green to pink and the center so hard you couldn't eat it. Portions served were small, glasses were small, cups were small necessitating many trips for refill. I really felt the cruise line was trying to pinch pennies with all these type of tactics and push people to go to the pay restaurants. One other note, one of the public rest rooms we stopped at near one of the lounges smelled so bad, it would gag you. There was a cleaning person in there scrubbing the toilets, but THAT WAS IT and she left after brushing all 3 and left the smell to remain. Not good. I will most likely cruise with anyone but Carnival in the future. We have cruised on 12+ cruises on all various cruise lines so lots to compare to. Read Less

Carnival panorama is a beautiful new ship. Everything is new, carpeting, furniture, drink ware, flatware, etc. with over 4,000 passengers public spaces are very crowded though. The beach pool area midship and tides pool area aft fill up by 9am every morning with people reserving loungers and chairs with towels, caps, and backpacks. For adults only, the serenity area isn’t quite as crowded but there is limited spaces and people reserve spaces up there like the other pool areas. There is one pool area that is not crowded, the Havana pool area. Here there are two hot tubs and a infinity pool. If you don’t like dealing with a crowd and would rather relax on your cruise you MUST cruise in a Havana cabin. The Havana pool area has the best aft view of any public spaces onboard. It’s very laid back and service is outstanding. The area has ample loungers and several day beds for relaxing. There are even call buttons for service. You don’t need to get up from your lounger or daybed or pool or hot tub to order a drink. Just press the call button and a waiter will be there in seconds. This is also the best place for viewing whales in the Cabo area. It was NEVER crowded here. Of course you must cruise in a Havana cabin or a Grand Suite cabin to have access to this area and they monitor this very strictly. It is well worth it for these cabins. We will definitely do this cruise again in a Havana cabin. Dining: Main dining rooms were ok. Lido marketplace was ok and the omelette bar here is great. The steakhouse was great and the table art desert is a must if you eat at the steakhouse. Bonsai teppanyaki was good food with a great show by the chefs. Seafood shack was ok, pizzeria was ok, and Cucina Del Capitano was ok. We also did the Elegant Affair cooking class. This was a lot of fun and the chefs were very accommodating and helpful. We prepared an entire meal at our individual workstations lead by a chef. Then afterwards we were served the meal prepared by the galley, which was much better than what we prepared. Our best dining experience was the Chefs Table. It was the most interesting dining experience ever, you must do the chefs table. It’s like no other meal you’ve ever experienced. It is well worth the price. Bars: All were very friendly and no matter where I went in the mornings, bloody Mary’s were delicious. Never much of a crowd at any bar. Casino: Had lots of slots and live table games. However it was always very Smokey in the casino with cigarettes. Unbearable at times. Slots seemed very loose the first couple nights then very tight, alt least for me. Shopping: Loved Cherry on top, especially sour candy selection. Not much in way of sundry items and the shops seemed small. Not a very large selection of tee shirts or shorts. Excursions: We did not purchase shore excursions. We hired taxis in port and went where we wanted on our time. We usually do excursions through the ship, but not this time. Read Less

I have taken this cruise before, both as a 3 night and a 4 night. The 4 night fare is usually cheaper since it runs mid-week while the 3 night runs over the weekend. It tends to attract groups of bachelor and bachelorette parties, which liven the trip up and provide excellent people watching opportunities. Not for the Cunard crowd, thankfully. Unfortunately we didn't have great weather - cool, windy, some rain, which killed most pool deck activity, other than the overcrowded hot tubs. The cruise director Benjamin was very energetic and helped make the best of the trip. The gym is small and was not crowded. Good to see that Ensenada is still the same dump it was five years ago when I went on this itinerary. Friendly merchants on the streets trying to suck you in to buy their cheap junk, or visit any of the upstanding massage parlors, where one guy invited me in for a "rub and *** from one of his pretty cousins". My cabin (porthole, upper deck, very much up front) was clean and functional. Pushing the beds together resulted in an obvious divide and I would probably been more comfortable sleeping on a twin. TV channel... movies are good including TCM, CBS News network (extremely repetitive) and some kid channels. If you're up front, you will be awakened at 5am when returning to Long Beach by the ships engines, extremely loud and lots of vibration. I survived, the trip was cheap. Food in the MDR was at least okay, no complaints but not very exciting. The lido buffet was fine, the pizza was actually good, the deli counter is great, and the Guy's burgers were much better than typical cruise buffet burgers, actually very good for any burger. Stand-up comics were excellent, even when they did their family friendly shows they engaged the kids in attendance. Musical shows in the theater literally put me to sleep. The cruise activity staff was small, Benjamin and the person who did bingo (Jax?) plus a couple of people who did games. The cruise has been livelier in the past, but the cool weather kind of put a damper on it. I arrived around 2:30 pm and was in my cabin within 15 minutes. I carried on a 12 pack of coke and a bottle of wine, no hassles. Disembarkation is the dreaded long line snaking around deck 7. Read Less

A smaller ship has its benefits: It was easier to get on, get off, find a deck chair, and find a chair at the shows. But this is an older ship, it is worn on the edges, had some bed smells, and had a funky cabin layout (The 4 of us were layered like a Jenga game). The bands play in odd places that don't have chairs to watch them from. Even being an older ship, it is Carnival, and the staff is excellent. Our steward was awesome. The comedians were good. The staff we interacted with around the ship was great. The food was good, not great, not bad. The breakfast in the dining room was not the best, we had the same menu items on the Vista last spring and they were far better then. Catalina is a great stop, but the cruise passengers and their rental golf carts disturb the peace as they race around on their gas powered vehicles. We hiked up into the hills around town, that was really fun. Ensenada is nice along the waterfront and the fish market, but the the main shopping street was too much; very high pressure people on the street trying to get you in their store. I was exhausted from saying, "Gracias No". We bought souvenirs from an older couple that owned a store and did not hassle us. The Love and Marraige show, Hairy Chest Competition, and one of the comedians were fun. This was our first cruise, out of five, that loud passengers woke us up at bar closing time. They woke us up every night as they stumbled back to their cabins. Perhaps because this was a 4 night cruise, not to sound snobby but we had only been on 7 night cruises before this. Our kids liked being in their clubs as usual. We did not do any shore excursions. We booked this cruise 4 days before sailing and paid $1,000 for four people including tax and gratuities. Read Less

Cabins: We had two cabins 2371 & 2369. 2371 was a Cove balcony which was a first for us. I now prefer the cove balcony to a regular balcony. The cove balcony has more shade and privacy and less wind. Two doors down is a "service" area, but that is only used to load and unload luggage on embarkation and debarkation days so it is quiet. 2369 is an interior upper/lower room. The configuration of this room means that there is no couch to sit on our coffee table. There is also less closet, desk and drawer space. There is only a stool to sit on. It is awkward to sit on the bed since they are bunk bed style. There is more floor space even though the cabin is smaller than standard, but that is because there is so much missing furniture and the beds are upper/lower and not side by side. This room is only good for people who do not plan on spending any time in the room other than sleeping. Both rooms were very quiet despite being by the elevators. Having the dining room above us turned out to be a big plus from a noise perspective. Food: I thought the food in the main dining room was generally very disappointing and the Lido Marketplace was worse. Fresh fruit or vegetables selections were extremely limited. I would avoid the main dining room except on lobster, filet mignon and prime rib nights. We did enjoy the nightly parade of waiters and napkin waving and dancing in the dining room. I would recommend specialty dining for dinner for some nights, the Vista dining room for breakfast (eggs, yogurt parfait, chia banana pudding were our favorites), and for lunch we liked all of: the pasta restaurant (free at lunch). Mongolian Wok (free at lunch), Pig & Anchor (free at lunch), Guy's burgers and the Cantina (also good for huevos rancheros in the morning). For dessert they mostly had cakes - most of which were OK, not great. My kids also liked the pizza, but I didn't try that. The only desserts that we thought were really good were the ice cream and gelato. Note that the "chocolate extravaganza" just means that the cake station at Lido Marketplace (the buffet) only has varieties of chocolate cakes. Carnival Kitchen: We did the cake decorating. It is a great concept, but they need to refine the class a bit. Assigning the station you go to needs a new process. It took too long and there were many confused people (understandably). Be aware that it is 2 people per cake so if you go solo not sure how you "share" the cake. They should just eliminate the instruction on how to bake a cake because watching someone pour ingredients into a kitchenaid mixer was boring and not part of decorating. There is almost no instruction, but it was fun. The cake tasted pretty gross. We didn't eat ours. Entertainment: I thought the cruise director had a lot of energy and a staff that ran great activities. On this ship, I felt that the main shows were really music shows with something to watch and not productions - although we didn't see Celestial Strings as by then we had enough of the shows. Note that there aren't enough seats and they fill up so get there early to get a seat. The trivia and other games were a ton of fun. My kids liked the rope obstacle course and did it several times. They did the bikes once and thought that it was great, but with an hour plus line the norm didn't go back. My teens liked Sky Zone - it was small, but fun. 20 is the maximum, but both times my teens did it, it wasn't sold out. Teen Center: This was amazing. I didn't see my kids most of the week. A special thank you to Dustin. You were amazing. Pools: There is no adult pool and the 2 adult only hot tubs are small and almost always full. Lounge chairs are hogged early in the morning and so there are none available at Serenity or other prime spots unless you are an early bird. Carnival (like most places) doesn't enforce the "40 minute" rule. HUB App: This is a great concept. I would have done anytime dining if I had realized that you could request your reservation from the app when you were ready to eat. Very convenient. You could look up your account, the dinner menu, activities, and make reservations among other things on the app. My only complaint about the app was that it froze frequently. Ports: I thought that they could have done a much better job providing port information and "ship time" changes. I have been on many cruises and this was the first one where I felt like there was such little information about the port. There was conflicting information about "ship time" as the time on the TV, the time on the paper and the time on the apps all varied. Elevators: This ship uses a new system to call elevators that is very common in other countries and usually efficient. It did not work well. Elevators took awhile (no more than other ships), but here there was no way of knowing if the elevator was on a nearby floor or would be awhile. I think people would have been less aware of it if there was anything in the elevator lobby area to look at to keep you occupied, but there is nothing. Cleanliness: The ship looked very clean. Dirty dishes were picked up quickly. Everything on the ship is very new. I was surprised though that there wasn't anyone pushing hand sanitizer or hand washing at any point during the cruise, especially entering the buffet area. Read Less

We have cruised previously on HAL and RC, first time on Carnival. We sailed during the mid-winter break for California schools. There were 1500 kids (full capacity on the ship and they were everywhere. We would not knowingly book our vacation during school break again. Embarkation: We traveled about 3 hours to port and embarkation was fairly organized at the 12:30-1:00 PM check-in. The only negative was we were rushed in security as eager passengers threw their carry-on items on the conveyer belt for ex-ray before we completed the process, causing one of our carry on items to be mixed in with theirs. There are a lot of staff placed on the route to the ship guiding passengers to the gang-way. Once on the ship we were welcomed by many of the crew. We found something to eat on the Lido Deck 10 and explored a little prior to finding our room keys in an envelope at the our cabin. Our luggage didn't arrive until after sail-away and dinner around 6:00 PM. Disembarkation: There is a Disembarkation briefing on the last sea day, also a flyer is left at your door with disembarkation information. Numbered luggage tags can be picked up at the briefing or at guest services. If you check your bag you must have a numbered tag on it. If you are in a suite, Diamond or Platinum or have priority status you will be disembarked early. You may put your bags outside your cabin between 9:30 and 11:30 PM to be picked up for checked baggage on the last sea day. Passengers must vacate the cabins by 8:00-8:30 and wait on the Lido deck or the Liquid Lounge. Decks are disembarked one at a time beginning with Deck One according to the deck your cabin was on. You may also choose to carry off your luggage yourself and disembarked ahead of passengers with checked baggage. Ship: The ship is new and offers many different spaces to explore on decks 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12. There are deck maps at each elevator bank, along with a touch screen for selecting the your floor, make the floor select6ion prior to entering the elevator - there is no option inside the elevator. Pay attention to ships time reflected at some elevators, on your cabin telephone and on the television screen. You will pass through different time zones and there was a couple that almost missed the ship at one port due to the time difference. I found the Carnival Hub App helpful. You can't really see the menu until you board the ship. What I didn't know prior to boarding is while the App is free, they charge $5 extra to use the chat option. Shame on Carnival for nickel and diming their passengers. Especially after they purchase the internet plans. Dining: Caution: While in port on Day 1 you will be charged tax on drinks even if you have the Cheers and Bubbles pass until sail away. There are plenty of dining options and most are good, some are excellent. JiJi's was excellent one of my favorites. This is not ordinary Asian fare. Staff at this restaurant go all out to give you a special evening. Each person gets 2 entrees, 2 starters, 2 sides and 2 desserts and it is served family style for sharing. If you gave special requests they are most accommodating. Very Important: Let them know what your desired spice level is, they want to get it right. The steakhouse is also very good with the meat prepared as ordered every time we went. The portions are small on the surf and turf but enough. I also can rave about the taco (fish, port and chicken) and burrito bar and Guys burger joint (best burgers) and the pizza place (24 hour pizza operation-hand made) all on deck 10. I think the fish and chips are good too at the Seafood Shack also on deck 10. The buffet is at the market place on the Lido Deck 10, breakfast is good here and a fine selection of desserts. You can also find the same breakfast on a smaller scale on deck 5 near the Coffee Bar which is also highly recommended. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating there. Pizza delivery is $5 or you can pick it up. They make them fresh and there is always a line. Entertainment: I saw and recommend the Rock Revolution production show in the Liquid Lounge on day 4. I also saw a female comedian who was hilarious and an older male comedian who was disgusting and centered his routine on insulting the audience, as people were walking out on him he would chase them out and insult them some more. Even though it was an adult show, I didn't find him funny or entertaining, only vile. There were some musicians located in different areas that were very good - Nightshift band was one of them. Activities: There were many activities, trivia and puzzles and contests and bingo, mixology and towel folding along with an ice carving demonstration. Carnival Kitchen cooking classes: Between my husband and I, we took 10 classes. Chefs graciously assist and make sure you are on track to prepare the dish or dishes you signed up for and answer all your questions. The classroom has new stainless equipment and quartz countertops and is well appointed. There is an I-pad with the recipe at each work station and students follow the chef on the I-pad. Depending on the class, you may sample what you make during the class or it will be sent to our dining venue that evening or you will have a sit down dinner in the Carnival Kitchen. I have received all of the recipe cards by e-mail for the classes we took. I have already made my own pizza. Something I would not have tried before this class. Spa and relaxation: I had relaxing massages from Lal in the spa and a very nice facial from Hardashi. I had my hair braided by Shannon at 9:00 AM and it was undone by 2:30 PM; when I returned to have it repaired I was told she was booked and couldn't be worked in by the blonde European lady, so I cancelled my other appointments. You can get massages for much less in the ports and a braid as well. Thermal Suite: This is a nice area but they overbook it and it is so crowded I couldn't relax most of the time I was there. Staff does not control the chair hogging where people put their towels on the lounges while they do other stations. Also, staff isn't good to pick up towels people leave in the steam room, but there are always fresh towels available. Spa is too small to accommodate all the spa suites and day pass guests. Over all, nice concept and facility but overbooked, too small and underkept. Gym: Very busy on sea days, but well equipped and everything seemed to be working fine. I like that the machines are positioned in front of the windows. Too bad the locker rooms aren't closer. Be ware the bathroom is tricky to lock inside the locker room. Casino: Too smoky to use and no hand sanitizer in sight. Pools: Water was cold even in the warmer climates. Spa on the Serenity deck is too small for the size of that deck. Also, there should be enforcement of chair hogging with towels. This is done on all decks and every pool and spa area. Overall: The staff and crew were friendly and went out of there way to make the cruise special for all passengers. I was impressed with the staff and considering the ship was at full capacity, most of the passengers seemed happy and friendly. Staff kept the ship clean but it would be nice to have more focus on germ control with rail and surface cleaning and hand sanitizer dispensers. There were health questionnaires in the Carnival Kitchen prior to each class and at the Embarkation lines. Information: There isn't enough signage and information given to passengers. They are left to navigate the processes and ship themselves. In ports: Other cruise lines have air conditioned buses to transport their passenger to and from the ship and nice welcome tents and welcome towels and water where Carnival has a open air tram in Maztalan with a long line and a long wait and no information or welcome tents. In fact there is very little information provided throughout the ship. You are left to figure it out on your own. Read Less

We are experienced AZ cruisers with Mexican Riviera cruises due to easy access to ports. We have sailed various Mexican Riviera itineraries with Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean (no longer avail). We loved this cabin (1432) and location. We prefer aft ship location and this cabin was convenient to elevators and only a few stair flights to the action. We were always the first on the elevator to get to lido deck. We would definitely book this class (6L) of cabin again. Cabin was larger than expected (recently cruised on a Norwegian Bliss aft balcony that was much smaller). WE HAD 2 BATHROOMS!! One without a stool but it had a very deep, small bathtub. The primary bath was much larger with a shower. A full size couch that could double as a single bed - coffee table, a desk, two closets plus a third storage closet with two shelves, a safe, and 3 deep drawers. All of this with ample room to walk around. Our 25" suitcases fit easily next to wall at bottom of bed. We had a 12:30 embarkation and were eating on Lido at 11:30am. Crowded but we found a window seat. Two buffet areas with different menu choices. In the past, Carnival had a variety of high quality main shows. Variety included broadway style shows (2-3), magic, hypnotists, single singing performers, acrobats, etc. Now there were 2 main shows and fill-in shows were uninspiring. Liquid Lounge had strange seating availability and it was COLD in there. We did enjoy the comedy club each evening. It seems comedy is now the main event on Panorama. Loved the Guys Burgers and Mexican grill (Blue Iguana), and Pizza... and Seafood Shack. It would be nice to see hotdogs as one of the choices at the midnight buffet and by the pool. We did specialty dining 3 nights... JiJi's Asian (very good - $12 upcharge), Capistrano Italian (comp from casino) - VERY LARGE PORTIONS, Bonsai Teppanyaki... all were very good. We felt the $38 upcharge for Teppanyaki and the Fahrenheit steak house were too high. On Norwegian, there are specialty dining packages at very reasonable prices - not offered on Carnival. Our MDR experience was excellent! Early seating in Horizon dining room. Joel, Jose and Alawesus were a great team and took great care of us. We ordered a total of 3 entrees to split between the two of us each night because we like to try a variety. We had one of the best whale watching experiences in Puerta Vallarta. Booked the small boat experience (8:30-12:30). We saw a mother and calf playing - mother extending/splashing pectoral fin, baby whale tail splashing about. Next was a mating pod. One female with 4 suitors - spectacular breaching. Finally an experienced mother and baby with an escort. Whole experience was fabulous and educational. We tipped big on this one. We took Lyft from LAX to/from port $35-$40 each way. When leaving, we have a suggestion. Exit ship and walk toward the Queen Mary. We had 2 checked bags and 2 carry-ons and it was an easy, paved walk the entire way. You will see a loading/pickup zone as you face the Queen Mary parking lot. Schedule Lyft from there to avoid long line that forms in the cruise terminal parking area. We had a late return flight so hung out on Lido deck until the last call to leave (we carried own luggage off). We departed ship around 10:30am. Panorama had one of the best activity / sports deck areas I have seen. Arranged activities in basketball court were adult basketball game, dodgeball, volleyball. A separate playzone for kids, foosball tables, outdoor exercise equipment, mini golf, walking track. Skytrain was so fun! We didn't try the ropes but will do next time. Read Less

Our last cruise was the Celebrity Reflection, we have not cruised Carnival in 10 years, so i was a little nervous to return to the line. The Panorama ended up being our favorite cruise! My husband and I are 55 and we took our 16 year old son. We flew in from Detroit to LAX the day prior. We took an Uber to Best Western Long Beach. I would recommend this hotel. It's clean, they have a free shuttle to the cruise terminal, and have a great staff. We took a Lyft back to LAX on our last day. We booked a Havana suite, which was way more than I wanted to spend, but it was worth it. I tried for months to get a Havana Cabana for 3, but there only a few cabins to accommodate more than (2) guests, so when our cabin popped up after months of searching, I grabbed it and didn't look back. The Havana area is fantastic, and I can't imagine going back to a non-Havana cruise! The pool, hot tubs, and bars are right outside of the cabanas and almost private. Embarkation and Debarkation were so smooth and easy with the suite perk. The ship has a much more upscale decor than our past Carnival ships, we really liked it. We ate all dinners/sea day brunches in the MDR with YTD and they were all fantastic with great service. All of the food we had at Guy's Burger, Guy's Pig and Anchor, Blue Iguana Cantina (breakfast burrito was fantastic!), Carnival Deli were also great. We only ate in the Lido for a snacks and gelato but people seemed to be enjoying the food there too. My son said the pizza was great. We loved all the food we had on the cruise, we only ate at included restaurants and we thought it was at the same caliber or better than our food on the Reflection. We did not get a drink package this time. We knew we would be drinking in ports 3 days and my husband drinks beer on the ship. We brought our (2) bottles of wine-which was gone on day 2, and we each brought a 12 pack of soda/diet soda. We brought too much soda, we only needed (2) 12 packs. I bought bottle for the room to make drinks. Being in the Havana area on deck 5, this was really convenient because you are right by your pool, the MDR, Guy's BBQ, Ocean Plaza dining to quickly get a drink. If we were on a different floor, this would have been kind of an annoyance. This worked for us, and we saved a lot by not purchasing the package, but it really depends on what you drink and when you drink to determine if the package is for you. I also purchased a 12 pack of small water bottles to be delivered to our cabin pre-cruise for about $4. The skyride, ropes course, sports deck, and water slides were really fun. We did them multiple times and just paid attention to times when lines were the shortest. My son made friends the first night at the O2 club and they enjoyed the outdoor theater a few times. I did not like the gym on the ship, it seemed very closed in to me, but my son enjoyed it. We took a tour of the spa, and it looked very nice, but we didn't get a package. We did not buy internet, and did not miss having it for a week, even my 16 year old. We all checked email and texts while in ports. Get the HUB app before you leave, it is great for making your YTD reservations and seeing the Fun Times. I only bought the $5 chat option for my son and I would suggest this is if you have kids; when they meet other kids on the ship this is how they communicate/plan to meet. Have your kids go to the clubs the first night, that's how they meet their "group". The older kids rarely hang out at the club after that, but they do exchange names to chat/meet. My son met a nice group of kids and they hung out a lot together on the cruise. This made our vacation fun for all of us! Our room steward, Mauricio, was outstanding. Every employee we came in contact with was so nice, friendly, and helpful. We loved all the ports, we didn't book any Carnival excursions. This was our first time in this part of Mexico so we wanted to explore. I pre-booked a glass bottom boat/water taxi with Blue Baja Los Cabos before we left. They are on Facebook and they were great: took us on an arch tour, which I would highly recommend, and then dropped us off at the Sandbar, and picked us up a few hours later to take us back to the ship. All for $11 pp. At the Sandbar we pre-booked massages and had lunch. It was a great day. Mazatlan was very nice too, people really give this place a bad rap, it's a very quaint, pretty area and it was very safe. We walked following the blue line to the town and explored the Malecon, had lunch, and went to the beach. The open air cabs here looked very fun, but we ran out of time. Puerto Vallarta was beautiful. We took the bus from the marina to the Malecon, had lunch on the beach at Swell, swam in the ocean, explored the area, and took the bus back. The bus was very safe and easy and cost $4 round trip for 3 people. We spent most of our time in the Havana area. It's very quiet, but people still save chairs like they do on the rest of the ship. However, you can always find a place. Laying out on your cabana is the most peaceful. Our cruise was full but I always saw open deck chairs by the main pools and on the other sun decks. We were cruising in February, we had great weather except for the last sea day, which was cloudy and 70, so there were a lot of open deck chairs through out the ship. I was very worried about rough seas, but we had no rough seas at all there or back. I brought motion sickness medications, and never had to use them. We did see a couple comedians which were not our style, same with the shows, and the casino. This is never why we book a cruise, the food, view, and the ports are the highlights for us. We definitely recommend the Panorama, and would love to go again! Read Less

The experience was great. Nice having a new ship on the west coast. The food was better than a recent cruise on the Miracle and the activities were nice. The beds were much more comfortable than the Miracle as well (I know that the Miracle is going in for dry dock shortly, but... those beds gave us a terrible back ache). The ship is definitely big, but it doesn't really affect wait times except for elevators. Other than waiting for the elevators, the queues were fairly manageable and never seemed to be a problem. The skyride and the ropes course were a nice new touch. The embarkation and debarkation process definitely feels smoother than it was while they were doing construction in Long Beach and it was definitely a better experience than in years past. It's nice to know that this ship will be here long term for the seven day cruises and that we'll be able to enjoy all of the nice add-ons for this ship for years to come. Read Less

Carnival Imagination was a great experience for a first time cruise. They have amazing service and the place was always so clean. The buffet had so many options for breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. The pride restaurant was a wonderful experience especially for valentines. I recommend having all your dinners there. There was plenty of activities to do on the boat but of course many things cost extra money. They have an arcade, miniature golf, water slides, a library with games, and much more.You can not pay anything in cash so everything gets charged to your cabin. The casino however is the only place you can use cash to gamble which is nice. Be sure to check out all of their activities because they give out prizes and raffle great things. If you are without kids the serenity room which is hidden in the back of Xanadu Lounge, a great gem. My only complaint is that i bought a Happy Anniversary cake from the fun shop. In all the pictures it shows a beautiful heart shaped cake with the words spelled out. When i saw my cake it was round and only had to letters HA, I complained to several people and no one showed any interest in helping me out. It was delicious but very disappointing. In all reviews everyone seems to have had the cake i wanted, my cake was very lazy and guest services was rude because i complained. I would go again but i will never order anything from the fun shop again. And at the end of the trip they charge us 40 bucks each for gratuity so keep in mind this is not included in the ticket pricing. Read Less

We chose this ship because it was a new ship with 3 hours by flight. We were very excited about the fun amenities. Getting on the ship was ok. Getting off the ship was horribly long and painful. We had hoped for entertainment similar to NCL, unfortunately, 80% is comedians. We visited the casino a few times, it the smoke was so bad it made it impossible to stay very long. I would hope by now the casinos could be split between smoking and non smoking. Although the smoke would still drift over, it would be nice not to have someone smoking all around you. The food on the ship was ok. We were on the Liberty in 2018, the Elation in 2019, and the Valor and Panorama. The menus in the MDR are almost identical for three years. They need to switch it up every couple years. The lunch and dinner food in the buffet was barely warm. Nothing was hot. Breakfast was excellent in the buffet. Things seem to be warmer. I had breakfast in the mdr on a sea day. The pancakes were dry and eggs bland. Carnival has the best fresh juice by far. Blue Iguana was perfect for lunch. Breakfast was hit or miss. Breakfast Burritos thumbs up, huevos rancheros was cold. By the end of the cruise we didn’t go to the MDR as we found almost the same food at the buffet with a great view. One of the highlights of the cruise was eating at The Chef’s table. This was an unforgettable, culinary experience. I would give them 9.5 out of ten. Only because I don’t like wine. If they could have sparkling cider, it would be perfect. The activities on the ship were a lot of fun. Emma our cruise Director made things memorable. Her and her staff were a definite thumbs up. The alchemy bar, by far was the best bar on the ship. Especially if you like custom drinks. Nikola and Zoran crafted incredible drinks, while keeping you laughing. Their customer service was Top Notch. Also, if you like espresso, go visit Java Joe for coffee and a song. We have some great memories, especially due to the staff. Unfortunately, my husband and I said, overall, we would not return to the Panorama. We have a cruise this fall on the Breeze and are hopeful it will Wow us. If not, we will probably go back to NCL or try out Royal Caribbean. Thank you Christine for your addition of the heroes bar. It is a wonderful tribute. Read Less