I recently came back from the Royal Princess five day cruise to Cabo. I have to say I will never cruise with Princess again. The room NEVER stopped shaking - five days 24hours - because I beleive it was next to an engine room or something. My folks were one floor directly above me yet had very minor rocking. Everything was sub par and/or downright unacceptable for what we paid. My room was filthy, nothing worked consistently (TV stopped working - Bad Gateway), fridge never got cold, the Medallion App NEVER worked (constantly crashed or lose my info.), wifi was terribly slow, bed sheets dirty, etc. Very difficult to get anyone on the phone (room service, cleaning or registration desk), it would ring then go to VM!? Many of the service employees had extremely poor or indifferent attitudes/service, example: I orded the 5 for 4 beer package and it took forever for them to bring it to my room and when they did arrive, it was five warm beers laying on a tray, no bottle opener, ice or even a glass and the lady acted as though she was angry that she had to bring it to my room - stupid me still gave her a tip. There were several warning signs the cruise was going to bad. Firstly brother in law lost his sunglasses during embarking because the poorly trained "security" threw around his bags on the xray machince and were very rude about it when he asked for help to find his glasses, which he beleived may have been stuck inside the machine. They just wanted him to leave the area and basically ignored him. Sad thing is we we celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary but it was impossible to communicate with them because the app doesn't work, phones don't work and you can't use your cell phone. And to top it all off, the Stewards/help barely speak English. Nice guy but impossible to understand him and most of the staff that interacts with guests. All the American employees are in management and don't directly deal with travelers directly - you hear them on the PA but rarely see them. The drink situation is an absolute joke. Every morning I would have to march up to the 16th Deck and wait in line (because there are only two drink stations in the entire buffet area for 3,000+ curisers) to get water that tasted like it came out of a hose or cup of terrible tasting coffee. They make it extremely difficult because they would rather you pay for everything, even water. And all the food was average at best, pretty much what you would find at a $10 Vegas buffet. Hence I ate alot of salads and fruit. Also I'd be very careful in the casino and anytime staff is counting money, they are poorly trained, don't know the games like you'd find from dealers in Vegas and frequently screw up the deal, count or don't know the rules - I witnessed several instances where cruisers litterally were screaming at the dealers for costing them money. Also the machines are set up so its a real pain to cash out, so you end up playing until you lose. It was ugly, so I didn't gamble much. The highlight of the trip was of course getting OFF the SHIP in CABO, which we really enjoyed. Next time we pay half the cost to fly down and stay at an all inclusive resort for a week, which are much, much nicer than the dirty ship. List goes on, but I am done and glad it's over. Read Less

Review of Carnival Imagination Sail date 2/2/20 Room type – Ocean View – Empress Deck – E135 My young adult daughter and my late 50-year-old self-took the Imagination to celebrate her bday and to just enjoy some time to ourselves. Why we chose this line and specific cruise: 1. We’ve always cruised Carnival (we’re gold) 2. Port is quick hour flight from our home 3. Very cost friendly and she was paying her own way 4. Just right amount of days (4) Embark was a breeze out of Port of Long Beach – we literally just walked on – we had 12 – 12:30 check in time but were earlier. Although we carried our luggage on flight – we decided to check at port – I might just keep my luggage with me next time although we did receive within 2 hours of embark. We didn’t realize at the time but you walk on the ship on the Empress deck which was where our room was. We headed to the Lido to wait out the 1:30 cabin access time and grabbed a quick bite at the well-appointed buffet; and noted the Guy’s Burgers for future enjoyment. Lido was booming the welcome music and Ben-your-cruise-director – was making periodic welcome announcements and updates. As this was my first Ocean view cabin vs balcony, I was a bit worried about the space however was pleasantly surprised at the room especially as we had our twin beds made into an L shape which left the middle of the room open. Nice, large (albeit could have used a wash) window and usual appointments in cabin and bathroom – as this wasn’t our first rodeo, I knew to bring a small usb hub for multi charging. Beds were very fluffy and comfy and as it was a bit chilly, we asked our steward for comfy blankets and he brought very soft, blue fleece ones for us to use. Was a bit dismayed to find a small pipe in one of the drawers and some used gum under one of the closets - but, I realized we were not on a luxury line and didn’t let this bother me too over much as I know how little time the stewards have to turn these rooms (and no – I was not tempted to keep either item). Room was midship and the deck was perfect – not noisy above and easy to get around from location. As day 1 was Super Bowl, Carnival had several tv screens on around ship and had set up the large Dynasty showroom with buffet and bar and had the game on the big screen. Muster was delayed accordingly until 8:30 and was very brief. We received sad news that due to high winds, we were not going to be able to visit Catalina the next day (it is a tender port and thus, small craft advisories prevent visiting – make a note for those going in Winter/Spring – and, in fact, were not going to leave Long Beach until morning – as this was the port we were most excited about, we were very sad however decided to make best of it and scheduled an excursion for Ensenada and I booked a “top to Toe” spa treatment for my daughter as she was gifted a $50.00 spa gift card via Carnival delivered to our cabin. We were refunded our port fees for Catalina but no other compensation – I did note one couple demanding their money back at Customer Service desk – luggage in hand - Other areas to note: • The excursion we booked was the Bufadora Adventure (?) – while a very nice tour and we had a very nice but beware – you must run the gauntlet of aggressive vendors to get to the blowhole and also are shown what is touted as a wildlife conservatory with baby tigers but is nothing of the sort and is just a sad use of animals as entertainment – and although the baby tigers looked healthy it was just sad. We alerted Carnival to this and as of now, we have not received a response to our request, onboard at the excursion desk, they indicated we were not supposed to have been taken to this or had to ensure the stores. Who knows if this is accurate? • Dining room – mediocre at best – food just isn’t good. Soups however are amazing – broccoli cheddar and steak/ale amazing • Ship overall – ship is older and it shows – but I wasn’t expecting much so wasn’t disappointed. I’m not sure I’d choose this for my first cruise but for our purposes of a short get-away – it was just fine. • We carried off our luggage and had early departure due to flight time – got in line at 7:00 and were off ship by 7:30 and at John Wayne by 8. Read Less

the design of the ship reminded us a lot of Royal Caribbean, it is disappointing they don't put lemons on the tables every night only formal nights. We had a great time the extras like the hand washing stations in the lido deck and at the cherry on top Candy shop we're great additions. Ship featured a large effy jewelry selection and the piano bar had a fantastic host for the sailing we were on the design was well-thought-out also.they could have done more karaoke is that was a big hit and they stopped it mid cruise. My wife and I really enjoyed tee time on sea days at 3 p.m.going this early in February we saw whales at breakfast when we were pulling into Cabo breach over 15 times. Well worth the money. I just wish they would offer more non alcoholic drink packages besides just bubbles. Leaving out of Long Beach it is awesome to be able to use your ticket to board the Queen Mary and take a tour for free. The liquid lounge their main entertainment venue is rather small for a ship this size however they did not hold great enough entertainment to keep it full most any night.the one annoying thing in the room is you have to leave a card in a slot to turn the lights on most people end up just shoving a piece of paper in that dead man switch so they can use that feature without leaving their seapass card. This is the second type inaugural Cruise my wife and I have taken, in both cases there were surprises and let Downs overall this is a good ship for a good value. Read Less

On so many levels we wanted this cruise to be epic because we had my MIL and my sister with us, both first time cruisers. Having cruised on Carnival and other Cruise lines in the past we didn't sway their judgement one way or the other. We wanted their honest unbiased opinions without our input to see if we were just being too judgmental and comparing our past cruises to this one. 1. Embarkation for the most part went smoothly. We didn't have any issues. Our Uber driver dropped us at the Queen Mary and we walked a very short distance to the entrance, dropped our bags and moved through the lineups fairly quickly. 2. The ship overall is nice and new and clean. The cabins are roomy with enough storage. Beds are comfy. There we no robes in our room when we arrived but our room steward Anthony had them to us in no time. We were in a balcony cabin and Mom/Sis were in an Ocean view cabin. The elevators took a short time to get use to, more so for Mom and Sis. To me the layout overall was a bit confusing and I found myself getting lost often throughout the week. I thought it was just me until my sister stated the same, she said she found the ship choppy and hard to remember where to go. This is where the app came in handy and we messaged each other often for directions etc. NOTE* the app messaging only works when the app is live. My MIL found the washrooms inconveniently located and she spent a lot of time walking around looking for washrooms. 3. Entertainment was great, we loved the Punchline Comedy Club as well as the Broadway Beats show. There was always good music around the ship also. During the day they had trivia and other games that were fun. They also had a lot of entertainment for the kids making this a great family cruise if you have young children. We really wanted to try the Skyride but the wind was just too high which was disappointing. 4. The food in the buffet, in our opinion, wasn't very good. It wasn't hot and it tasted bland. We found the line ups long for the burger and pizza place every time we went there so we just gave up. The dinning room was our go to. It was the best food and the service was 10+++. Our crew, Ivica, Ned and Borna were probably the best we've had on all the cruises we've been on. They took great care to remember details and made us laugh every night. I like that they have a "showtime" in the dinning room where the staff dance for you. Ivica also worked the deck during the day and always found us to keep our drinks filled. Speaking of drinks, this time we purchased the drink package and found it a total waste for money for the amount we drank. Next time we'll just pay as we go, it would have been a lot cheaper. 5. Ports and Excursions were good. We booked our excursions through Carnival instead of sourcing it from outside and we were satisfied with what we got. In Cabo we did the Catamaran Cruise & Snorkel with Open Bar - Great fun, the guys on this excursion were awesome! In Mazatlan we did the Salsa Salsa - Also great fun learning to make Salsa as well as salsa dancing and in Puerto Vallarta we decided to just walk the Malecon. The weather wasn't great in PV so I'm glad we opted out of an excursion on this one. 6. What gave us the mixed feelings. We booked the chef's table 3 months prior to the cruise and was told we would receive our time once we arrived on ship. When we received our excursion tickets and not the chef's table confirmation we I went to customer service to see why. They confirmed that we were booked for the Monday night (which was port day in Cabo) and we were to meet the chef in the main lobby bar for 6 pm. We made sure we were back on board to shower etc and be on time. 2 hrs before we were to be there we get a call stating that they could only accommodate 3 since I didn't confirm all 4. I was very upset since we had planned our day around this dinner and my hubby and I was excited for our family to be a part of this event. They said they could "squeeze" in the 4th person but they wouldn't get any of the personalized items that came with the dinner. I declined and they rebooked it for 2 days later. I was still upset and went to customer service to see why this happened since I was told the night before we were confirmed. Long story short, they messed up, they admitted to messing up because we were not sent the invitation like we were supposed to be. They bought us dinner in JiJi which we appreciated. The other thing we found, all the hot tubs on board seemed to be used as little kids wading pools. Everyone of them were always filled with the wee ones. I feel Carnival should enforce that if a child under the age of 8 is in the hot tub then an adult needs to accompany them. We talked to a lot of other people who felt the same. We feel this ship is more geared towards young families and that is great if that's what you are looking for. I wished I had did a little more investigating before we book this cruise. We were excited to book the Panorama because it was a new ship and we wanted to experience that. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we were looking for a shorter trip to a warmer area on the West Coast. We had a deluxe balcony cabin mid aft. It was smooth sailing, quiet and we enjoyed the verandah. I went to the fitness center every AM and then had breakfast either at the Horizon Bistro or MDR. Meals were okay, tea was fun, but we liked the pizza at Alfredo's.The dinner at the Crown Grill was well worth it--best meal all cruise. The International Cafe had coffee drinks, pastries, good salads and sandwiches. We did not participate in the activities per say, but enjoyed the Sanctuary and the Enclave. Skipped the comedian, but went to Colors of the World (just okay) and the singer, Cheaza (she was really good!) The service was friendly EXCEPT for the front desk at the Lotus Spa. I guess she thought she was the Ice Princess and was entitled to be rude. I didn't really want to book any services there anyway. In Cabo, we went on the Zodiac whale watch tour and would rate that 5 stars. Highly recommended. We do not think we would go again, but try a smaller ship for any future cruises. Apparently cruising w/3600 others is not for us. Read Less

We had over 50 CC members sign up for our Meet & Mingle scheduled for our first sed day. I had prearranged the time and place with a Princess representative and kept her updated as our anticipated crowd grew over time, contacting her just days before departure to keep her ‘in the loop’. I requested for a few ‘key staff’ if available to answer any questions and to get better acquainted with each other. NONE attended. The Meet and Mingle was otherwise fun lasting well over an hour. We set aside a later time and date for a ‘Slot Pull’ at the Casino. Due to the Super Bowl being the same day as the M&M, we decided to hold it on the last sea-day of our short five-day cruise. Though not as well attended as I had hoped, we were very lucky, with each participant over tripling their initial investment. The five days went quick. We were blessed with good weather for our overnight in Cabo San Lucas. As far as I could tell everyone had a real good time. I know I did! As an aside… This was my first Cruise on a 'Medallion Enabled' Princess Ship. The pre-cruise preparation for the Medallion is redundant and cumbersome. Having to enter everything over after already giving it to the Princess website is a waste of time. The instructions for their 'scan' app for our passports were unclear and/or the scan mechanism was faulty requiring many, man, retries. Even after we finally succeeded for both of us, only one worked at check-in requiring a wait while they re-scanned the passport. I talked with others who shared similar frustrations. Read Less

British-flagged Royal Princess ship carries its prestige name as a dignitary ship because the cuisines are the best among its current 18-ship fleet. 1,300 cruise staff from 53 different countries are doing great jobs to keep nearly 3,600 guests happy. Below are the most passengers from the top 7 countries on the voyage: 3,340 from the U.S.A. (美国) 181 from Canada (加拿大) 19 from the United Kingdom(英国) 13 Mexico (墨西哥) 10 from Philippines (菲律宾) 7 from India (印度) 7 from Ukraine (乌克兰) I like Hammam that is a Turkish-style steam bath with an infused aroma that enhances well-being. The warm marble queen-size slab is a smoothing aqddition to any massage. A steam room from the top two hotels in Los Angeles just can't match. If you like seafoods, you can try the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar and try a Treasure Chest Sampler at $20, which comprises of five (5) items: 1/2 Dozen Fresh Shucked Oysters; Sashimi Trio, 6 pieces; Ahi Tuna Poke; Alasken Crab Cocktail and two Oysters Shooter (one is Grey Goose and the other Tekila). The six shucked WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS provided by RESTIGE OYSTERS, INC. CERTIFIED OYSTERS FROM TX, USA is fresh and tasteful , and it is one of the best fresh oysters you can find. The sampler is worth your money because I had a half dozens of oysters at an upscale French restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $18.00 and found the quality and tastefulness of the WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS on this cruise ship are far better, in addition to other four (4) items of seafoods. Please don't miss the last day cruise-lunch buffet at the Horizon Court where you will find a variety of amazing seafoods such as Shucked Oysters referenced above, Giant Cocktail Shrimps, Giant Clams etc. It is worth mentioning that the French onion soup in the evening dining restaurants is the best - it is very difficult to find it in Los Angeles - you definitely can't get it on both Sky Princess (10/2019) and Majesty Princess (03/2018) when I was on the ships. The Elite Lounge foods from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily is also the best since I have not yet seen for many years. If you like seafoods, you can try the Treasure Chest Sampler at $20, which comprises of five (5) items: 1/2 Dozen Fresh Shucked Oysters; Sashimi Trio, 6 pieces; Ahi Tuna Poke; Alaska Crab Cocktail and two Oysters Shooter (one is Grey Goose and the other Tequila). The six shucked WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS provided by RESTIGE OYSTERS, INC. CERTIFIED OYSTERS FROM TX, USA is fresh and tasteful, and it is one of the best fresh oysters you can find. The sampler is worth your money because I had a half dozens of oysters at an upscale French restaurant in downtown Los Angeles at $18.00 and found the quality and tastefulness of the WILD CAUGHT OYSTERS on this cruise ship are far better, in addition to other four (4) items of seafoods. The last-day cruise lunch seafoods buffet is the best with high quality seafoods such as the wild oysters referenced above, giant cocktail shrimps and clams etc. Read Less

We were hoping to get out of the cold weather, but found California and Mexico to be considerably colder in late January than we expected. Fortunately coming from cold Montana we were use to the chill. We'd been on the Royal Princess before and found it still be a very beautiful and well maintained ship. All the staff and workers on the ship were very friendly and helpful, but that is a common attribute on all Princess ships. We flew into Los Angles and took the Go Shuttle to our Best Western Plus hotel in San Pedro. We usually used Super Shuttle for our transportation to our motel, but they have since went out of business. I believe that Go Shuttle must simply have a contract with Uber or Lift because they were located in that area and we were pickup up in Toyota RAV4 SUV rather than the usual shuttle area. If you use this service be sure to get good directions to the pickup area because it took us a lot of walking and asking questions to find them. No one seemed to recognize the name "Go Shuttle" at the airport. It was by far the cheapest service we could find at $39.95 for both me and my wife. Food was excellent throughout the ship. We thought the beef steaks and roast were considerably better than on our previous cruises on Princess, but the fruit wasn't all that great, but that was probably due to the time of the year. We were a bit disappointed with the theatre shows and would like to see more diversity in the type of shows. The comedian Carlos Oscar was very good, but the production shows "Colors of the World" and Encore" were both a big disappointment. Marcus Prince Juanta was possibly the best cruise director we have ever had, funny, but not silly like so many others. Rolando and his assistant in the Concerto Dining Room were both great as was Avinash in Alfredro's Pizzeria. And Zelenir from Brazil serving up the ice cream cones around the swimming pool was exceptionally nice to talk to. Getting to know and talking to people like these simply make our cruises great ones. We often prefer smaller ships, but overall the Royal Princess is a great ship and one of the most beautiful in our opinion. Read Less

Had a great time from the ship to the staff to the entertainment to the food and excursions, everything was amazing. This was our 4th Carnival cruise and we have never been disappointed. Let's start with the cabin, had an ocean view which had a nice size window, 2 bathrooms, 1 had a tub and sink the other had a shower sink and toilet. The room was a great size. Only negatives, only 1 outlet in the whole room, bring your own extension cord. Also there is no fridge in room they call it a cooler, but it doesn't keep stuff very cold. We brought a collapsible cooler and gave a cash tip to our steward and he kept it full of ice the whole week. The entertainment was outstanding. We went every night and were never disappointed. The x rated comedy acts were hilarious. A special shout out to Emma, Cruise Director, she kept the days and nights going. Had an endless amount of energy. We ate in the dining room just about every night and the food was terrific. Guy's burgers were great as well as the taco's and burritos. The 24 hr pizza was awesome. The sea day brunch was great as well. Did 2 excursions. In cabo we did the whale watching, saw about 8-10 whales, including 2 that put on a show for us. In Puerta Vallerta we did the Outdoor adventure. Speed boat ride, truck ride, donkey ride, ziplines, rapelling, water slides. Best excursion we've ever done. And on the way back found dolphins and a mama and baby whale that actually jumped out of the water. The elevators on the ship take a bit to get used to, but they're not that big a deal. The biggest downfall is that dropoffs and pickups are in the same location at the terminal, and it is a disaster. We were waiting for a Lyft ride and it was a terrible experience. Read Less

I love to cruise! I love the new Panorama. I was not thrilled with my spa cabin on the 12th floor, trying to sleep at night was horrible. Very loud above which was the golf course. Heard crew moving chairs around,cleaning, etc. The other disappointment was the food in main dining room. Carnival has really lowered the menu choices as a way to push people into buying dinner at specialty restaurants. This was my first premiere cruise. It was not what I expected, the casino host was not friendly, they didn’t really have anything special to make you feel like you were a “premiere casino guest.” I did see a lot (at least 4) people win well over 10,000 pretty cool. Overall my group had a great time. Beautiful boat. Just happy to cruise on a brand new boat as I cruise 6 times a year from this port. Looking forward to going again in March then April again. Read Less

First Carnival cruise of around 20 total on other lines; RCI, Celebrity, MSC, P&O and NCL. Embarkation was easy at the purpose made Carnival terminal. The ships is very nice and modern. We were onboard pretty fast and during boarding all staff were friendly and welcoming. As we cruise many times a year, we only booked a inside cabin on this vacation. It was fit for purpose and modern, although the surfaces had not been wiped down since the previous guests. There was a soda spill on the bedside cabinet and glass condensation rings all over the furniture. After 3 days and upon my request the surfaces were finally wiped down which is quite concerning. The cruise director Emma is outstanding, as are the shows. They're fully immersive and I feel that Carnival has really delivered on these, although the theater venue is very small for the size of the ship and you need to line up 45 minutes before show time minimum to get a decent seat, if one at all as many were standing. The buffet is very lacking but the included burger and burrito bars by the pool compensate for this. We found the food in the MDR to be excellent on the formal nights, and a bit basic at times. The lobster was amazing, as were the chilled soups. You get what you pay for and based on the price of the cruise I would say the overall dining proposition is acceptable, but not like Celebrity etc. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and I was in one of the cheapest rooms. Read Less

I went with my older parents Platinum Members - every little thing was the bomb! The attentive staff was so amazing! The buffet to the fancy restaurants was so over the top! To just relax and rest was my main interest and it was met. I did not attend all the scheduled outings but there were so many. I can not say anything more - and will and have booked another cruise where and when I don't know - at every port, there was touching up paint refinishing,,, all staff wanted to know what more they could do for you..what more? I was so taken care of. The hamburger grill and the pizza grill and the ice cream wow exceeded my thoughts and expectations..entertainment that I visited was tremendous - the ocean views were fantastic..The organization was on spot the new gadget that had your ID and such was simple enough not to need much else to get you where you wanted and no key to open your cabin door...Go, rest and enjoy! Read Less

Overall we enjoyed the Royal Princess. The staff is excellent with the exception of our room steward who was just average. We returned to our cabin several times later in the day, and it had not been serviced. This also happened at evening turn down. The ship is beautiful and our suite well appointed, however it was very worn with stains on the carpet and couch. The bathroom was "very" dirty and our balcony was filthy!! Most of the public areas were clean except the buffet seating areas which could have used a scrubbing. The food was excellent in both the MDR and buffet's. Serve was also excellent in both places. The entertainment from the ship's dancer's/singer's were somewhat lacking. Music was very loud and show themes were sometimes disjointed and dark. Comedian, guest singer and musicians were good. Entertainment in the Piazza was good. The sales consultants in the Faucets store were very pushy to the point of being rude when you didn't but anything. Internet was good all the times we used it. Really liked the "on demand" tv/movie selection Medallion worked well and was easy to use. Read Less

We wanted to do this itinerary and our regular cruise line wasn’t doing it at the time we wanted to go in January so our travel agent suggested Princess and said they were a good cruise line. They were definitely not up to the level of service or up to par on food experiences compared to other lines we have been on. It’s the first holiday I’ve returned from and didn’t gain any weight. We were very disappointed but others may not have been. We have been spoiled by services and food preparations on other lines. Princess may be considered upscale compared to Carnival, but they are far below other lines we have cruised with. It was not a cheap cruise as we upgraded our suite considerably from a standard stateroom to a suite but we don’t feel we got value for our money in any other area. We were told our itinerary when we booked and we began making plans for our shore excursions. Three weeks before we were emailed that the itinerary was changing and would be reversed which meant having to change our plans while in ports on different days. Not that bad but still something that wasn’t anticipated when making all of our plans initially. Cabo was a disappointing stop as it was very very short time in port and we have been to Cabo before. It’s a lovely stop if you have time to get past the pier. Read Less

This was our 4th Princess cruise in the last 5 years. Three of those cruises were on the Royal and one on the Regal. The Royal is our favorite ship and she lived up to her reputation on this cruise. The cruise director, Marcus, was the best cruise director we have had in our 4 Princess cruises. The guest entertainers were fabulous, especially the comedian Carlos Oscar. We were disappointed in the production shows.They did not live up to the quality of the shows we have previously seen on Princess. The quality of the food in the dining rooms and the Horizon Court/Bistro was very good. Excellent service all around the ship with a very friendly crew. The cruise director's staff was great and kept us entertained. The medallion worked great. We were traveling with another couple and it was nice to be able to locate your ship mates. We enjoyed Puerto Vallarta, Mazaltan, and Cabo San Lucas. We only spent 6 hours in Cabo and wished that we had more time to explore the city and sight see. We did do a whale watching cruise and seen several whales. Emarkation and dis-embarkation was a breeze and our airport transfers were very smooth. We will definitely book this cruise again. Read Less

Cruise Review - Carnival Panorama - Feb 2020 The brand new 4000 passenger Carnival Panorama cruises the Mexican Riviera 52 weeks/year from Long Beach, CA with stops in Cabo, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta. It leaves and returns on Saturdays. We took the January 25, 2020 cruise. In short - it was a great value for money. The ship, the crew, the food and the entertainment were all first rate. The entire staff is dedicated to helping you have fun, which is Carnival’s big focus - fun all the time. Here are some tips that I hope will help you get ready for your cruise. 1. There are 2000 cabins on this ship and only 70 suites. We signed up a year in advance to grab one of those suites, 7319, and there were only a few left that far in advance. With 3.5 days at sea, we spent a fare amount of time in the suite watching the view from our large balcony and watching the included movies on the in house television or streaming Netflix on our iPad. A suite has a large area for watching tv, which was very comfortable. The tv channels were very limited, no ESPN, no CNN or FOX. A bunch of kids shows and a few other junk channels. Carnival needs to change the channel lineup. We had a walk-in closet, a very large bathroom with 2 sinks and a shower/jacuzzi. If you ever are going to splurge for a suite, this would be a good cruise to do it on. The room had plenty of dresser drawers and 120 volt power outlets. Lighting in the room was very good for reading. Staff only serviced the room once per day. We chose to have the room cleaned after 6 pm when we were at dinner. The room stewards clean the rooms in the morning or evening. You should get a choice, ask the steward about this choice if he doesn’t offer it. 2. Embarkation: all 4000 passengers arrive within a 4 hour window and there is congestion in the passenger drop off area. Once you reach the drop-off queue, it takes about 15 minutes to creep your way to the drop off area. A quicker way would be to have your driver get in the far left lane and turn left towards the parking structure, before you are very far into the queue, then you can be dropped off at the far end of the drop off zone. Then you’ll walk your bags about 300 feet to the entry of the big white cruise terminal. You could leave your bags with a porter at the curb and tip them $5, which is what we did. You won’t see your bags for a few hours this way. Inside the cruise terminal you proceed to the check in desk and show them your paper work and they move you right thru. If you have dragged your own bags this far, they will have to be x-rayed. You can have the crew take your bags to the room at this point. You are not allowed to pack alcohol or wine bottles or plastic bottles in your checked or carry-on luggage You can bring a case of canned sodas, in fact you can buy canned sodas right in the cruise terminal as sodas are expensive on the ship. You cannot bring a case of canned beers, however. I think you can wait for the x-ray process to be completed and take your own bags onto the ship. It’s a long uphill walk on indoor ramps! 3. Tip: Carnival gives you a 30 minute check in window in an attempt to spread out the crush of boarding passengers. We had a 1:00pm to 1:30pm check in window. The rooms are ready at the end of this window. The room keys are in the paper work holder next to your stateroom door. At 1:30 we went straight to our room, found the keys in an envelope next to the door and dropped off our carry-on bags. The room key is a plastic card. To unlock the door, hold either side of the room key close to the black square reader on the door, a little green light will come on and you’ll hear a little click, then just turn the door handle to open the door. Once the lock clicks, you have about 5 seconds to turn the handle, so no rush. Most people arrived early, so they were stuck dragging their bags around the decks while they are waiting for their room ready time. No need to be there early. It takes about 10 minutes to get through the check in process and to get up the ramp, so if your window is 1:00 to 1:30, plan on arriving about 1:20 or later. 4. Elevators: There are 16 elevators for passengers in 3 banks of elevators. The forward bank of elevators has 8 elevators, the middle back and the aft elevator banks have 4 elevators each. Each bank of elevators has small iPad looking devices on the walls where you enter the floor number where you are going. The pad tells you which elevator you are assigned to. You should enter the floor number for each person in your party. The computer will stop assigning people to a particular elevator once it sees that the number of people assigned to that elevator reaches a certain number. Most people don’t enter the floor number for each person in their group and then elevator overcrowding can happen. The system works really well, once you figure it out. Once you get on your assigned elevator, it will only stop once or twice before reaching your floor. Inside the elevator there are no floor buttons for people to push. This prevents kids from pushing all the elevator buttons inside the elevator. 5. Once you drop off your carry-on bags, if you are hungry, you can proceed to the buffet in the Lido Marketplace on the 10th floor in mid ship for some lunch. It can be crowded in here because many people arrive before their room is ready and they are dragging all their bags into the dining room, creating a major traffic jam. Food was good, but seats were hard to find. 6. Study the deck plans on the Panorama website before you arrive, it’s a huge ship and you’ll need to study it ahead of time. You can download the deck plans onto your smart phone into the documents or books app, so you can pull it out when you need help. There are deck plans at all 3 elevator banks. You can walk from one end of the ship to the other using the corridors on one side of the ship or the other, not the middle area, except floor 3, due to the gigantic galley in the middle of that floor. That is a little confusing. When you look at the 3rd floor plan, it will make sense. 7. Restaurants: The food is very good. There are many places to eat and they are all good. The specialty restaurants all charge an extra fee for dinner. The main dining rooms are not open for lunch, but there are so many great places for lunch, try as many as you can. On sea days, the Vista Dining room serves a “Sea Day Brunch” from 8:30 to 1:00. You can order steak & eggs with filet mignon here, no extra charge. It’s a small piece, but really good. There was a long line to get into the Sea Day Brunch at 8:30 on Friday, we went to the Lido Marketplace instead that morning. The omelette station in the Marketplace is quick and makes great special breakfast orders. 8. There are 2 main dining rooms: 1) Vista Dining Room, Decks 3 or 4 aft (take the aft elevators or stairways). This 2 story dinning room is for the “anytime dining” option. 2) Horizon Dining Room, Deck 3 mid or forward elevators or stairways. There are 2 entrances. This one story restaurant is for fixed time dining, either 5:45 or 8:15pm. If you are a couple, you generally are assigned a table with other people, which can be fun. After the first night, many people ask to switch tables for one reason or another. We took the early seating, which allowed us more flexibility in seeing the big night time shows, more on that later. The wait staff in the dining rooms are excellent. If you arrived for dinner at 5:45pm, you were usually finished eating by 7:00pm. 9. Dress up nights are Sunday and Thursday. No jeans and t-shirts, guys. There are 3 special meals in the main dining rooms: Sunday is lobster night, Thursday is filet mignon night and Friday is prime rib night. On the other 4 nights those items are available for an extra $20 per person. All those items were outstanding. Every night is a different menu which you can review on the Carnival hub app. 10. Wine with dinner: the wines average about $46/bottle including the 18% gratuity. You can also buy a 5 bottle package of wines before you board called “Cruising the Vineyard”, the wines will cost you about $27 or $40 per bottle. You have to purchase this before you board by calling Carnival, I didn’t see this option anywhere on Carnival’s website. I had my travel agent call Carnival and set that up. There are 2 levels of wine: the Premium was $198 for 5 bottles, the lesser quality wines were $135 for 5 bottles. If you buy one of these packages, you will receive 5 little coupons in your stateroom along with a list of wines included in your package. You can use these coupons to order wine in your stateroom, any dining room or at any bar. 11. Bars: there are many bars all over the ship, all serving great drinks. They all add 18% gratuity to the posted drink price. There are 2 draft beers on board, brewed on board, which are very good. There is also a self service beer tap in the Lido Marketplace (Deck 10)where you can enter your room number and pour your own 16 oz beer. This will save you about $2 for the same excellent draft beers that bars serve. 12. WiFi - we purchased the Premium WiFi plan for $15/day per person. It was worth it for as we were streaming Australian Open tennis and Netflix movies frequently. It was pretty good WiFi for the most part. There are no instructions on to log on that I could find so I had to ask someone. It was pretty easy. Each passenger has a different “folio number” on their Seapass room card, each person has their own account for charging things on board. You’ll need this number to log on. Open up your browser on your device and type in: login.com in the URL line. Click on that and your devise will ask you for your folio number and birthdate and then you can log into the ship’s good WiFi. To switch to another device, use the log in procedure on the other device and it will ask you if you want to “ switch devices” . I was always switching between my iPad and my iPhone, since I could only have 1 device connected at any other one time. A couple could share one WiFi package together and take turns being on line with their device if you both don’t need to be online at the same time. 13. Time Zones: as you approach Mazatlán on Tuesday at 2am, you will advance your clocks one hour to the Mountain Time Zone and leave it there until Friday morning at 2am, when you go back to Pacific time. You’ll need to take your phones off “set automatically” in time settings so you can set the time zone that the ship is on. Ship time doesn’t always agree with the time zone that your phone thinks it is. On my iPhone, with Verizon service, I had to turn off the “ screen time” function in settings in order to be able to set the time zone manually. Many people couldn’t get the time right resulting in being an hour off for dinner. You always need to follow ”ship time”, not the time your phone thinks it is. Time makes a difference if you are meeting people, or trying to get a good seat at a night show! 14. Laundry: Suite customers got free laundry. There were self serve laundry machines and ironing equipment on all the floors. We never used them , so I don’t know if they required money, best to call Carnival if you plan on using them to reduce the amount of clothes you need to bring. 15. Fitness gear: the spa (12 forward) has an amazing fitness room, never crowded and lots of first rate cardio and resistance equipment. There was also an outdoor walking track and outdoor workout equipment on deck 12. 16. Pools and jacuzzis: the main pool is on deck 10 mid. This is where all the outdoor dance parties take place after 10 pm. Another pool and 2 very crowded jacuzzis are found on deck 10 aft. Deck 5 aft has an exclusive area called the Havana Experience with a nice infinity heated pool, 2 not so crowded jacuzzis along with loungers and cabanas and the Havana bar. You need a wrist band and must be over 12 years old to access this area. Passengers who stay in suites, as we did, or in the Havana rooms are eligible for the wrist bands. You cannot purchase them. It is nice and quiet in this area except for the Cuban music playing over their speaker system. 17. Production Shows - the Panorama features 5 awesome and different 45 minute shows with high energy singing and dancing and music from a cast of 14 wonderful performers. The backdrop is an amazing video wall. These are mesmerizing productions!! Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30, with doors open at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Seats fill up within 10 minutes of the door opening, so be there when the doors open. It’s worth it to get a good seat as the cast uses the stage and most of the lower floor of the Liquid Lounge, decks 4&5 forward for the show. The balcony of the Liquid Lounge on Deck 5, has seating, but many seats have sight line restrictions due to support columns, but they still fill up. Drinks are served before and during the show. The other 2 nights, the main shows are some audience participation games, we passed on those. 18. Comedy shows: the ship carries 2 stand up comedians, each doing a PG show and an adult show most nights. The comedians were both very good. 19. Fellow passengers: lots of kids and all ages of adults. The ship had plenty of activities for kids, in a highly popular Kid Zone, so they weren’t underfoot frequently. There were many people using wheelchairs, walkers and canes. The ship is designed to handle chairs. 20. Door decorations: many rooms had doors that were decorated with stuff to make their door standout. People brought little magnets to secure their decorations to their doors. Some used tape, but you are not supposed to use tape on the doors. They were fun to read, and made it easy to find your room in those very, very long hallways! 21. Bed spreads: beds come standard with heavy duty white quilts like so many hotels are using these days, which can be too warm for some people. After 1 night, we asked our room steward to replace the quilt with a sheet and blanket which was much more comfortable. Don’t be afraid to ask or maybe you can request that ahead of time. 22. Shore excursions: just Cabo had tenders, Mazatlán & PV had easy dock access. We bought Carnival shore excursions in all 3 ports as the prices were reasonable and there were plenty of offerings. There were plenty of independent shore activities available to you once you left the ship. We went whale watching in Cabo and PV and we saw plenty of whales, up close, on both trips. In Mazatlán, we did the Harbor boat ride and city tour, which was a very nice trip. The tour guide dropped us off and gave us 90 minutes for lunch and shopping. He recommended a restaurant called Margaritas because of their fantastic local shrimp. We went there and this 10 piece boat load of very large shrimp for 2 people, all cooked in different ways along with some fish tacos. The food was really good. The meal was $36 US for the 2 of us, cash only, no credit cards. The shopping in all 3 ports was disappointing, just low quality tourist junk. 23. Last 2 days at sea: very windy due to 22 mph boat speed. The seas were relatively calm, at least on this trip. It was too cold & windy to sit on the deck in many areas, but you could find areas sheltered from the wind that were comfortable. The weather was in the mid 60’s and sunny. 24. Activities at sea: there are plenty of activities for passengers, many of them are audience participation activities. There were no movie theaters on board, as every one has access to a large list of movies in their room at no charge. The sky ride, a bicycle ride suspended over the water looked like fun, but usually had a 60 minute wait. There is a ropes course, miniature golf, basketball and a trampoline area($), so plenty to do. There were no enrichment lectures. No History of Mexico talks. 25. Cruise Director Emma was a bundle of energy and kept all activities going day and night. She must work 18 hours a day. Her activities team were very good. 26. Photographers: yes they were there taking your pictures frequently. You could see your pictures on your room tv or on tablets around the ship. You could download a picture to your phone for $20 each or have them make prints. You can’t just takes picture of their picture, as the picture you see is full of watermarks to discourage that. 27. Disembarking: you could walk off the ship with your own bags or put them out the night before and collect them near the immigration area. Suite customers could exit the ship with their own bags at 7:30am, which we did. It was pretty easy to roll the bags off, as the walk-ramps were all down hill or level grades. The rest of the ship started exiting the ship on a floor by floor basis starting at 8:00am. Passengers exited the ship on Deck 4 forward. There were no Customs forms to fill out (unless you wanted to declare something). You just went through Immigration and answered a quick few questions from an Immigration officer. Then you exited the cruise terminal building and opened up your ride hailing app and ordered your car. It took 7 minutes for the driver to arrive. There were cabs waiting at the curb, which makes sense if you have a short ride. If you had an early flight out of the area, you could depart early like we did. Exiting passengers had to be out of their room by 8:30 am to allow preparation time for the next group of passengers. All in all it was a wonderful cruise and I would recommend it as a way to get away for a week and get a change of scenery on the west coast of Mexico. Read Less

I chose this cruise as it was Mexican Rivera. The itinerary was changed to give us less time in Cabo which was annoying as we had booked a tour with Princess that was a drive away from the city. Tour was rushed and not enough time was given to explore Cabo. Not worth the money. The food was average. I will say there was better choice in the Buffet and the food tasted better than the dining room. It was just finding a seat that was more difficult. We ordered room service breakfast one morning and it came stone cold. The staff were just putting in time. They were efficient but did not seem overly friendly. The Pub lunch was awful. I wanted to have an experience at the spa but you had to book and entire week package. All other spas I have been to, you can get access to the amenities if you book a treatment. When I suggested this I got a rude response. They need to have a day package where you can visit the enclave only. The entertainers throughout the ship were amazing. Activities were great. The highlight was spending time in the Sanctuary. Great staff and peaceful surroundings. Worth the small extra fee. The cabins were spacious. Nice bathtub. Very comfy beds. They need to pay attention to cleaning the balcony. I had booked a Princess cruise for the British Isles before going on this Mexican cruise. The itinerary is one I wanted but I don't think I will cruise with Princess after that one. I certainly see a difference between Celebrity and Princess. Read Less

I have been on several cruises before... always on Disney, so naturally the bar was set extremely high. The reason I was on this particular cruise was because it was gifted to me by my mom. I had read alot of review about the carnival imagination before I embarked (on this site in particular) there were alot of reviews in which people's complaints were things I was not bothered by, there were also many things that I was bothered by that many people have not mentioned. I'll start with the good and end with the bad. The good: the embarkment process was super fast, and easy, faster and alot less complicated than Disney. One thing that I noticed other people were complaining about was the smoking... honestly I didn't mind it...I actually liked it...not because I am a smoker, because, well I am not. However what I liked about it was that the cruise did not solely cater to kids. Their smoking policy encompassed this perfect. There were many areas to smoke that was not just on deck but also inside. Speaking onto their dissregard for kids. That was probably the thing I liked, actually loved most about this cruise. Which is funny because it is what most of the reviews ranted about. Anyways, I don't like kids...I am a child free person who really dose not like kids or their parents they are rude and self absorbed. (To further prove this...there was actually a used dipper on one if the elevator button boxes that a parent had just left there) as I was saying, as much as I LOVE the Disney cruise it is very catered to kids. The carnival was not, they had many casinos, bars, smoking areas, nightclubs, 21+ comedy shows and even an area just for adults with hot tubs. I loved Catalina island the water is clear and the island was beyond expectations. There was quite a few events to keep us busy. The buffet was above average, I loved how they had the cakes cut and served to you by staff (so the kids were not getting their hands all in it) the comedy shows 21+ were above expectation and both comedians should be famous honestly. It was not too packed either. Beds were comfy as hell, state room was clean, and there was alot of good movies available. The bad: I wish we had stayed at Catalina the whole time...if you want to see Catilina this is a good way to do it. There is alot to do snorkeling, parisailing, scuba, and the water was crystal clear. That island was amazing. However ensanada is not much it is polluted, gross, and really is not much more than Tijuana. Your tours consist of getting drunk, fat, or both. On many cruises such as Disney they employ staff from all over the world. It provides a really fun and beat experience. However on carnival unlike Disney many of these staff members barely spoke English. The sit down dinners were a constant battle of guessing games. It would not bother me as much however the staff was rude about it and would get frustrated with you even though they were the ones who did not understand you. More about the sit down dining. I have been to many upscale restaurants and whatever that was is far from "upscale" if you have not had a 5 star dining experience you may be fooled, however. Many of the dinners were nasty and tasted like airplaine food. The chef mixed alot of wierd ingredients in an attempt to be fancy however they kept coming out as nasty concoctions. Besides the food, the "fancy" experience was ruined by the fact that every 5 seconds they needed your stateroom card, and we're constantly trying to sell you stuff. Also of you get the "bottomless bubbles" package (free drinks for your Cruise) you still end up paying a tax....leading into my next subjects. I don't know if you have ever flew with spirit airlines, however if you have you know about their bare minimum experience followed up with alot of "nickeling and dimeing you" (extra charges) one of the things I absolutely loved about the Disney cruise was that everything was free.... everything. However on the carnival many of the restaurants cost money, drinks cost money unless a package is purchased....your ticket may cost 200$ but by the time you spend the money to have a half decent experience you will be 500$ in easy. The pool is way too shallow. Read Less

We booked a back to back so we were on the ship for 14 days and had a great time. Positives; Embarkation was fine. I like that there were multiple dining venues open for lunch on embarkation day. I remember being on another Carnival ship where everyone was herded to the Lido deck buffet for lunch and no tables were available. Crews goal is to continuously improve their service. That was readily apparent. Shows were the best I have ever seen and compare with the quality of Disney productions. Cabin steward was efficient and asked us how we wanted our cabin serviced. Panorama has a really nice Promenade deck to get some fresh air, sit and read a book or get some exercise walking. Food was really good. I was most impressed by the main dining room which I normally compare with a banquet setting. Waiters did a good job in getting the orders right. We had only two instances of errors in the main dining room. The premium steak house, Italian and Pig and Anchor all were very good. Emma, the cruise director was really great! Along with the Fun squad they kept things going nonstop. We really enjoyed the Carnival Kitchen cooking classes. Chef Russell and staff did a great job. Learned a lot about cooking techniques. Read Less

Carnival Panorama Review - Havana Cabana Suite - 5233 Saturday, January 18th, 2020 - Saturday, January 25th, 2020 Mexican Riviera - $5300 (pre-paid tips) Weather was exceptional. In the 80s. Only cold night, was the last night on the way back to Long Beach. Cold, Windy, but what do you expect in Winter, lol. I’ve cruised about 25 times with Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean & Celebrity. Virgin is my next line for Sept 2020. Cruise lines cater to couples, families, older cruisers. Etc. many activities for kids on this line, so it’s highly recommended and a great vacation for parents traveling with kids. We did not travel with children. This review is the about the stateroom suite, shops, casino, restaurants and features on the Carnival Panorama. Service: Exceptional. Our stateroom stewards were Mauricio and Ninja. Very nice and friendly. My waiters in the Casino were James and Adrian, very attentive. Stateroom: Booked in Sept, Price was $5300. Havana Suite Rm #5233. the biggest of the Havana Staterooms Suites, only 4 on the ship and amazingly quiet. Suite had a lot of closet space. Large shower, with dual sinks and a lot of bathroom space. As a woman, you need a lot of bathroom space. I looked inside my neighbors staterooms, only difference was a smaller bathroom and no wall divider. Large flat screen in bedroom and Large Flat screen in living room area. This suite has a private patio with a lounge chair, swing chair and a table. Very different than the balcony suites that I am accustomed to. People can walk by, but only your neighbors that booked the Havana Staterooms. This was not not an issue, as most people that walked by were going to the exclusive Havana Area. Suite is smaller than the Grand Suite on the older Carnival Ship, Imagination or Inspiration, but the modern decor makes up for that. So much cabinets, drawers, and shelves. The room divider also has a curtain to slide over to make a separate room or of someone is watching TV late, works great to keep out the light. The sofa was a bit large and a chair to sit on if you will be putting makeup, but otherwise, that chair was in the way. They should have used a chair that would slide into that vanity area. There were 2 USB outlets, and 2 electrical outlets in the room. 1 electrical outlet in the bathroom. The hairdryer was attached to the inside cabinet of the living room area, in front of the mirror. Mini buffet with coffee right outside the lounge for a quick bite, but omelette was a lot better in the dining room, but was convenient for me to grab a cup of coffee. Deck 5 Havana Bar & Exclusive Havana Experience: Havana Bar - every night, Live Latin band. Music was good and lively. Havana Experience - AFT - Entry with a Havana wristband only, and exclusive to the Havana Stateroom Guests. 1 pool, 2 jacuzzis, private bar, lounges, pool beds. Not crowded, no kids running around and quiet. Entry can be from the Havana Bar or directly from your stateroom patio. Ship Decor - beautiful atriums, paintings, decorations. This was a big wow for a carnival cruise. I enjoyed the LED towers in the Atrium and I liked the interchanging designs. There were a lot of different bars - Havana, Piano Bar, casino bar, just to name a few. Pizza Delivery- I did this one day to try it. Pizza was delivered fast to my room. It’s a thin crust personal size, but better to share with others for a snack. Restaurants: JiJi Asian Kitchen - Specialty Restaurant - $15 Surcharge per person . food here was amazing and so was the service. Dined here twice because it was exceptional. I recommend the Nanjing Duck. We ordered the pork belly, shrimp har gow, wagyu beef short rib, Singapore chili shrimp, Kung Lao chicken, stock pig, Hakka noodles, and Himalayan rice. All desserts were excellent. Chefs Table - $95/18% Gratuity - I don’t want to spoil the surprise...but a nice menu, presentation, and dining room in the kitchen. Always a nice experience. About 2.5 -3 hour. Try to do this on a sea day, and have a very light lunch, as you will be full. Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse - Specialty Restaurant - $38 - very nice selection of steaks. Ordered Filet Mignon & Lobster (Surf n Turf), Bone Marrow with Beef Tartare & Tuna Tartare. Food excellent and so was the service. Guy Fieri’s Pig & Anchor BBQ - limited lunch Buffett Free - Dinner A la Carte prices. Ordered a half slab of pork ribs...delicious. The free lunch here is inferior quality, as it is an outside Duffey with limited options. Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint - I think one of the best burgers that I’ve had! Plain, to chili, to overloaded. My fav....Chili Maximus burger. Seafood Shack - A la Carte prices. Ordered a Dozen oysters $1.50 each total $18. Ordered a lobster order with Fries $12. They also offer peel and eat shrimp, fresh fish, crab. Bonsai Sushi & Teppan - A la Carte - I ordered salmon, yellowtail and tuna sushi. Not bad, but cruise ship good. Ramen was available, but not like the ramen I’m used to. Did not reserve the Teppan. Dining Room- we are at the dining room on the last night. Food quality was not bad, but purchased the steak and Lobster for the $20 surcharge. The specialty restaurants were good. Did not eat at the buffet, was always to crowded with people. Specialty restaurants was the way to go, with less crowds and tasty selections. Casino- a lot of fun casino slot machines and many table games. Since this was a Carnival Player’s Premiere Cruise, there was a lot of gamblers, including myself. I am a smoker, so if you are a Non Smoker, avoid this place. The “on Us” drink card is when you gamble in the casino and accumulate 1500 points. Then for the duration of your cruise, drinks are free in the Casino Only (Up to 15 drinks per day, but that is still a lot of drinks, lol) Sky Ride - this ride was awesome. Lines can be crowded, but the secret is to ride this when you at port. We were in Puerto Vallarta, and returned to the ship at 3pm, and I only waited 10 minute. There is only 4 cars on the track, 2 on each track, so you have to wait about 3 minutes per each ride. Not a hard peddle, very easy. I’m scared of heights, but this ride is one of the reasons I booked. Water works- this was the biggest water slides I’ve been on a cruise ship. It is crowded. My secret, went in the late morning when we were at port. Only us, and 2 families. Went on the fast slide and the red tube with the inner tube. So fun. Shops- there is a Swarovski kiosk, Effy Jewelry Shop, Cosmetic Shop, and other mini shops on the ship. I purchased my Jewelry here, as I compare with Macy’s prices and you can haggle for a lower price, but better to buy your jewelry towards the end of the cruise for the deals. Best thing, no tax and Duty Free. Excursion - we did an excursion for Cabo. Cabo Adventures that was ATV riding, Indoor Sky Diving and lunch was provided. This to me was highly rated and extremely fun. Kevin and Mario did an excellent job. First time to see a drone used for video and photos. I never buy photos on excursions, but these were high quality videos and pictures, I purchased the entire package of digital for $50. Facebook & Instagram perfect. They also sell printed photos for $10 each. Mazatlan - we took a taxi from the port to Panchos, a famous Mexican restaurant with a nice view of the beach. Totally recommended. There is also a lot of shopping in that area. Puerto Vallarta - we took a taxi to Malecon - Old Vallarta, and this is a “must go” destination. The streets are picturesque with some beautiful architecture. The beach walk has a lot of restaurants, live music, bars, shopping, and very clean. Reminds me of Key West, Florida. Ports - Cabo, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta I did not visit the spa, due to Cruise Ship lines inflate massage prices, and the last experience on a cruise ship spa, was the upselling of products after the massage. I choose to have my massage at port for less than $40, with a beach view. What I didn’t like- A lot of kids running around in the main pool deck - but this is expected Quality of the free food. I am comparing to Celebrity Cruises as their food is excellent (Specialty, Dining Room & Buffet) Suites smaller than other cruise lines. Comedy shows were in small venues with Standing room only. Culinary classes were targeted more to baking, should open to a themed dish or local cuisine. Rude customers holding slots seats in the casino when they are not playing. Not enough events that caught my interest, but a lot of family oriented events. What I liked - Specialty Restaurants food was amazing. Staff remembering your name, top notch service and courteous. Skyride & Water works New elevators (selecting the floor prior to going in the elevator) Havana Cababa Suite with patio and exclusive use of Havana jacuzzis and pools Bartenders remembering “My Drink” Clean restrooms all throughout the ship Recommendations- Expand Thai, Middle Eastern, Indian cuisine. Carnival should bring up the “perks” as they do with Celebrity. Treats in your room, small logo themed tote bags and card holders etc..the cold towel when getting back on the boat. It’s these small things that bring me back to Celebrity. Would I book with Carnival Panorama in the Future? Yes!! And the Havana Cabana Stateroom Suite I had a great time.... Read Less

This was our 16th cruise. I want to preface this review by admitting we are not big Carnival fans. We've sailed mostly on RCL, NCL, Celebrity, and Princess. We sailed once before on Carnival, on the Carnival Magic to the Mediterranean in 2011. We enjoyed that cruise, mostly because the ship was brand new and the great destinations, but were quite pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food in the main dining room, unfortunately offset by disappointment with the ship itself, and the very poor quality of the shows in the theater. However, we are California residents, and when Carnival decided to sail the brand new Panorama out of Long Beach, we decided it was so convenient to sail from Southern California we thought it would be fun to book a trip to the Mexican Riviera, which we hadn't visited in over a decade. Embarkation went very smoothly; it was only 25 minutes from arrival at the Cruise Terminal in Long Beach to entering our cabin (balcony cabin 8231). The Panorama is an unspectacular ship in appearance; it was very clean, but it doesn't have any features that stand out except for the three story, funnel-shaped digital displays in the atrium and bar on level 3. Those were really interesting and fun to watch, as the displays change continually. Let me summarize what we thought were the highs and lows of the Panorama. HIGHS: Excellent service. This was a pleasant surprise; of all of the cruises we have been on, my wife and I agree that the Panorama had without a doubt the most pleasant crew we've EVER experienced. Every crew member we encountered smiled without exception, was pleasant to speak with, and was as helpful as we could have asked for. Carnival stressed that the Panorama was the line's flagship, and it was readily apparent in the level of service we experienced. Dining. We thought the food in the main dining room was of very good, on par with our last Carnival cruise in 2011, about as good as NCL, and better than RCL. Where the Panorama's food really excelled was at the specialty dining spots; Guy's Burger Joint, Guy's Smokehouse BBQ, and Blue Iguana Cantina. The burgers at Guy's were by far THE BEST BURGERS ON ANY SHIP I'VE EVER CRUISED ON! No other ship's burgers are even close! I ate NINE on our seven day cruise! Tasty, juicy, thick, freshly-made beef patties (they gladly made my burgers doubles), crispy on the edges, excellent condiments, these are without a doubt as good as the most of burgers at the upscale burger restaurants in the Bay Area. Likewise, the Blue Iguana's tacos were incredible; my wife and I agree they were superior to the tacos in virtually all of the Mexican restaurants in our area. The meats were nicely seasoned, properly cooked, tender and tasty, and the condiment bar was very well stocked, and had an excellent selection of salsas and sauces. Another experience we greatly enjoyed was the Chef's Table; for a very reasonable $95 we enjoyed a three hour experience which included touring the kitchen, food preparation, wine and champagne, and a creative,12 course, delightfully presented meal. We thought it was definitely money well spent. Entertainment. There were four shows performed in the main theater by the Panorama's production crew, and we enjoyed all of these. There were also multiple comedians every evening, and we saw several of these, and most were very good. Cruise Director. Emma, the Cruise Director, a former English school teacher was, without a doubt, the BEST CRUISE DIRECTOR EVER! Her energy, her sense of humor, her enthusiasm, were outstanding. Normally, when we cruise, the Cruise Director is a non-entity to us; we know they exist, but don't care about them at all. Every time I heard Emma's voice; at the shows, in the Atrium, poolside, or over the PA system, she made me smile. Without a doubt, she was an incredible asset to the Panorama. Value. Our balcony cabin was an incredible bargain, and the package that the Panorama offered for the price was excellent. LOWS: The buffet was mediocre. The Lido Marketplace was surprisingly small for a ship with 4000 passengers, and the variety and selection were disappointing, compared to other cruise ships we've sailed on previously, while the quality of the food was about average. The one outstanding feature of the buffet was a cake bar; every day with the lunch buffet there was a separate offering of six to eight layer cakes, with almost all offerings changing on a daily basis. This became one of the highlights of our day! The cakes were almost uniformly good; moist, flavorful, great butter creams, and lots of variety. My wife and I sampled four or five different cakes every day, and they were very good (and my wife is a great baker in her own right). Even now, a week after our cruise, we talk about the cake bar! The Panorama. What can I say about the ship's physical features; it's public rooms were very pretty pedestrian. Artwork throughout the ship was pretty blah. Our balcony cabin was just okay, a bit smaller than average. The theater was small, and most of the seats on the main floor were just ordinary padded chairs, with no arms. Even the pools were smaller than average. The new Sky Ride was very underwhelming, almost boring. The outdoor screen for movies was impressive, being brilliant and sharp, and easily seen, even in bright daylight Overall, we thought our cruise on the Panorama was a really good value, and we had a very relaxing cruise to some very pleasant destinations (we think Cabo San Lucas has beaches as beautiful as any in North America). Terrific service, very good food, lots of entertainment; a really pleasant cruise.. Read Less

This is the second time my husband and I, along with friends, have done the Mexican Riviera cruise on Carnival. We were excited to go on the its newest and biggest ship, and this is the second time my husband and I have had sailings on Carnival’s newest and biggest ship. Long Beach port ROCKS on the ease of getting on and off the ship. Long Beach has spoiled me from trying other ports (I am still annoyed with Miami from 30 years ago). The ship was sold out, yet we boarded in our time frame, and met up with our friends at Pig N Anchor for their lunch buffet. Rooms were ready at 1:30 and met our Steward Winston. Cabin number 8397 balcony in an 8D category, and it was almost the exact cabin we had on the Splendor except now they have USB ports. I wished they had them near the nightstands, but it is nice that it is one less electrical thing take up the only outlet in the cabin. For a large ship, I did find the atrium and show rooms smaller, but I found once you got the layout of the ship, it was very similar to the previous ships we have sailed before. There were a few times did I felt like the ship was crowded. Food: Your Time Dining, service was great. We had a waiter named Y.U. (WhyYou) that was excellent, however the food was not 100% and we choose not to return after Wednesday nights dinner. Seaday Brunch, the food was excellent, however both of our servers Dan/Daniel and MD left us hanging. Dan/Daniel didn’t even bring us our last course and MD didn’t comprehend that we would like butter for our toast. Blueiguana on the Lido Deck had the BEST hash browns in their breakfast burrito. Guys Pig N Anchor lunch buffet was good, I would say the sides were some of the best. The pizza place did not disappoint, the Lido Marketplace buffet had some of the same selections as the dining room, and we opted to eat there a few times. We also ate at the small buffet in the Ocean Plaza area. They offer a small buffet a few times a day (this is where the trivia games are played instead of the atrium) and not only was it a small buffet, you could also go around the corner to Guys Pig N Anchor during the lunch time and add a few more items to your plate. I enjoyed Guys Burgers as well. I had the deli sandwiches and LOVED the Rueben. The only paid restaurant we did was Bonsai Sushi. Their shrimp tempura roll and green salad were good. Skyzone ride: it was a fun sky bike ride, and I waited maybe 30 minutes in line on a seaday. Shows: We took in one comedy show, he was funny. We watched the Celestial Strings. I was watching them perform in the atrium in between shows, and if I was going to base my opinion on the show from watching them in the atrium, I would not have gone. However, it was an excellent singing and dancing show. Unfortunately, most of the reviews are correct that the show rooms are too small for a 4,000 plus sailing. We were able to plan our time around the scheduled shows and get there early, but not everyone is able to do that. Poor planning on Carnival’s part. Ports: We did our own thing in each port. When we were in Cabo, there was the Norwegian Gem and Royal Princess. The Royal Princess plays the opening of “Love Boat” as it leaves port. I was bummed that our ship did not do any horn wars. Tips: The Carnival Hub app chat feature was a great way to stay in touch with people in our group. For anytime dining, our friends would add us to their reservation request (they were traveling with a child and she was not in our chat group). We never had a long wait – maybe 10 minutes tops. We did NOT have to link our reservation together. If you meet new friends on the ship that have anytime dining and you wish to dine with them, if they have the Carnival Hub chat and you have connected with them, you can add them when you request a table. Very nice feature. Note to East Coasters/Caribbean cruisers, do a bit of checking on weather if you are unfamiliar with southern CA and the Baja area. I cruised in January and it can be chilly, plan for a lightweight jacket or layers. I cruised the Caribbean at the end of March and still needed a lightweight jacket. Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta were all 75 to 80 degrees. The Pacific is a rougher sailing in January. We previously sailed in August and it was smooth, however it was extremely humid, rain showers, and lightening. Being most people are able to Google or check social medial for what you can expect, you should not be surprised. It was a bit cool on our first seaday and it was cooler on the last two seadays, HOWEVER, that is NOT Carnival’s fault. Facebook: I joined three FB pages dedicated to the Panorama, and one to our specific week of sailing. It was a great way to get a preview of what to expect and ask questions. I was however becoming so overloaded with information by the time we got on the ship, I was glad that I did NOT have the Wi-Fi package and was able to disconnect. Wish list: I would like to see Acapulco or Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo added to ports of call or possibly a private island. As much fun as I have had in Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, it would be nice to have another port option. Cons: The main dining room food, and that seems to be addressed in other peoples reviews, along with the two servers that I mentioned. Pros: I covered most of them in my review and I would be thrilled to plan another vacation on the Panorama. Read Less

The Sanctuary was a life saver for us. Pleasant, Restful and First Class ! The First Day Shore Excursion was a Disaster, after that first day Shore Excursion we stayed on the ship every day and were pampered in the Sanctuary. The stuff was amazing in every single way. Even after our disappointing excursion they refunded us 100% for that day plus let us out of the other two excursions, knowing we were disappointed. The Dining and Entertainment was a highlight each night. The Formal nights were a great time. With over 3000 people plus 1000 workers On Board, we were amazed you could always find a quiet place to sit and relax. But Again, The Sanctuary was Amazing and worth the extra cost to have a Beautiful Cabana, Fruit, welcome drink and a fridge full of Beverages. The Day of Disembarking was super organized and smooth, Impressive !!!! The Movie and water show were also Very Good . Read Less

We thoroughly enjoyed our week on the Carnival Panorama. The food was delicious, entertainment was very good (stage productions/comedians) and service throughout the ship was wonderful. We had a mid-ship balcony on deck 7 which was a perfect location for us since everything was easily accessible. We did independent excursions in each of the three ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta which worked out great. It was a treat for us not to have to fly to board a ship since we live in the greater Los Angeles area and parking/boarding were very easy as well. We attended the cruise critic meet and mingle which was very informal and friendly - no invitations were sent to cabins, but it was easy to find the date/time of the meeting in the "Fun Times." Special mentions for excellent service: Cabin attendant/steward Efren, guest services representative Lufano, and Doris in the Atrium Bar. A Great Week! Read Less

Wife's birthday, 48th Anniversary. These new beds are outstanding. I have a Sleep Number bed at home; these beds are just as comfortable. The seas were FLAT the whole trip, and mostly over 70 deg F. The food choice was vast, and tasty, with short lines. We have been to the same ports many times, so we stayed onboard, mostly, to enjoy the food, and take naps. The new Medallion, which replaces the cruise card, unlocks/locks your door, and does so much more. It is used, along with your cell phone, to order drinks, find your partner, and get you on and off the cruise quickly. This was the most relaxing cruise we have been on in a long time. I am married to Mrs Cruise Queen (her cruise critic name) so I should have had her write this. She talks a lot more, and types far faster than I do. Read Less