Understaffed cruise = underwhelming cruise

Item: Carnival Panorama
Rating: 4
Author: MariahM

Carnival Panorama Cruise Review to Mexico

MariahM

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 19

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 19, 2022

Ship: Carnival Panorama

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The older kids (middle & high school) were absolutely out of control on this ship. Our door decorations were stolen on the first night, as were others in our hallway. The roaming herds of kids also thought it was funny to run down hallways in the middle of the night banging on random cabin doors.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Got in line for our 10-10:30 embarkation time at about 9:50. Checked in about 10:05, but was then held inside the terminal until about 12:45 before first boarding group was called

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

JJ’s restaurants could not accommodate us for Mongolian Wok lunches because their waitlist filled so quickly. If eating in the main dining room anytime after 5:30, service was incredibly slow. Regularly took at least an hour to get food after ordering it. This was tough with hungry kids.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Kids club was incredibly understaffed. The line to check a child into the kids club was 45+ min long. Then parents had to wait in the SAME 45 min line again to pick kids up. Incredibly inefficient. If made attempting to attend one if their 30 min activities completely pointless. 1.5 hours of line to watch a 30 min magic show is ridiculous. The entertainment was waytoo rudimentary for our 6 & 8 year-olds. They were bored out of their minds at the kids club. “Kids Choice” on the kids club itinerary means “video games”. There is no other “choice”. However, their are bo enough cideo game consoles for everyone, and the staff didn’t enforce kids actually taking turns when they said it was time to switch players. Most players refused to move, leaving many kids without the opportunity to ever play

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All staff extremely friendly and helpful.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Everything about the ship is amazing and beautiful except the smoking areas. The casino is more smoky than the smokiest Vegas casino I have ever seen. The stench permeated the Heroes bar and the cooking class kitchen that are both adjacent to the casino. The smell from the other smoking area on the deck above the pool (11) wafted up to deck 12 where we were attempting to relax in lawn chairs.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Long Beach (Los Angeles), California

3 out of 5

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

4 out of 5

Mazatlan, Mexico

4 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

8 Comments

KMoWichita71 1 year ago

We were on Panorama the week before (Nov 12-19). Hardly any kids at all on our sailing. No problems with any of that. We enjoyed our cruise very much. We did experience the rowdy and destructive groups of kids/teens on Mardi Gras back in March. Highly doubt we will ever cruise during Spring Break again! Lesson learned.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

melrodgers85 1 year ago

I was on this same cruise and EVERYONE was commenting on the roaving bands of pre-teens. It drove my mom nuts!! Must have been due to the holiday...

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Sparklyandcute 1 year ago

We went from from the 5th to the 12th and it was great. I totally agree about the smoke in the casino and adjacent areas. I live in Las Vegas and yes it stinks !

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

lisapanayotoff 1 year ago

I am actually surprised ships still allow indoor smoking.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Kracka 1 year ago

Exactly why we avoid holiday week travel.

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations. Traveling when school is out can be frustrating. Appreciate your feedback.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

❤️ Mexico

Wonderful trip. Only downside was 1400 kids under the age of 16! And they were rude. Parents let them run crazy!

Some Hits & Some Misses...