We have done this Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise several times and for me, it never gets old. I'm not a cruise snob so Carnival is fine for me and to be honest, they have some of the best food afloat. The towns you visit -except Cabo- are real towns and not just there for tourism. They may not have pretty turquoise water like the Caribbean but they don't have the seaweed either. I've got a couple more of this same cruise booked. Can't wait!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The Panorama has some propeller issue that results in it getting back to LA a couple hours late. This causes everything to get backed up. We had a 12:30 time and arrived by car to the port at about 11 am. However the last half mile was so backed up that it took over an hour to reach the drop off area. Some people from our boarding time group had already been let in. We got in line and were let in the "dome" about 12:45. Once inside they held up the line for 20 minutes to let the number of people already ahead of us get onboard. Nothing goes fast here so you just need to be patient. I forgot to pack my patience though, so it was painful. We got onboard about 1:30 and headed straight to Guy's Burger.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I've sailed all the mainstream cruises and Carnival has the best "Lido Deck" food of them all, by far. Guy's Burger is without comparison in hamburgers. Guy's barbeque place Pig and Anchor (Sea days only) is actually pretty good barbeque. The Blue Iguana tacos and burrito place is great, especially the huevos rancheros for breakfast. The pizza is among the best at sea. There are more options also. Unfortunately, the Panorama does not have Shaq's Big Chicken, sad face :( This was my first Carnival with the new MDR menu. Honestly, if I didn't know it was a new menu, I wouldn't have noticed it. It seemed pretty typical MDR type choices. They had Lobster one night. I could usually find at least one entree that excited me. I didn't eat anything that was not decent and some quite good. It was definitely better than I remember on Royal Carribean or MSC, about the same as Celebrity, and only slightly less tasty than Princess. One change I liked was less of the MDR Server singing and dancing shows. One night of that is fun, every night was a bother. An area that Carnival lacks in is the desserts. They have only two choices nightly so it can be hit or miss, also they always have the chocolate melting cake and ice cream. One night I just ordered a banana split off the kid's menu since nothing sounded good, you can only eat so many melting cakes. The buffet was kind of small but did have some of the MDR entrees. On formal night they even were serving Prime Rib in the buffet. The bad thing is that the buffet closes from 2:30 to 6pm and during that time the Pizza and Guy's Burgers can get crowded especially on a port day. The Sea Day Brunch in the MDR had a great menu if you had the time to kill. Overall, I was very pleased with the food on Carnival.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
My wife and I took our two grandsons ages 8 and 9 on the cruise. They had Fall Break from school. Apparently lots of kids had school off this week because there were lots of kids on board. They mostly behaved well but did hear teens running the halls a couple times late at night. The Skyride, Ropes Course, and Water Park were hits. There were lots of typical organized activities going on around the ship. The Silent Disco is a hoot! Even if you don't dance, just go to watch.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The only comedian we noticed that was playing in the theater instead of the nightclub was rated R so no kids allowed. That is expected for a late night show but this was at like 9 pm. Not good planning on Carnival's part with so many kids on board. We saw a couple shows and they were fine.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
The kids club seemed pretty good. The grandsons went a few times but weren't ever excited about going back. That's mostly because they are a little shy. It seemed like they had a good program for the kids. They did let the younger one go into the older group so he could be with his brother.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Typical cruise service. Everyone works very hard and tries to please. No complaints!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It is a pretty hard job picking up after a Carnival crowd with lots of teens but they did a good job.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Inside cabin with bunks for the kids. On the smaller side with not much closet/drawer space. The shower was a good size though.
Ship tip
Learn about all the dining options and the schedules. This has way more choices than a typical cruise. Many of the free eateries are really great. Late afternoon does not have many options so try to get full during lunch.
We just walked to the beach nearby for a few hours and then to Walmart. The crazy thing is that toys (maybe other items also) at this Walmart are almost twice the cost of a US Walmart. I don't know how the locals could afford them.
Walked to the Panga ferry and rode it to Stone Island. Picked a restaurant and used their beach chairs. Ordered some sodas and chips and salsa. Note that they automatically add an 18% tip to your bill.
They put tags out in the hallway on Deck 10 the last full day of the cruise. Get there early to get an early tag. Got back into port around 9 am I think. The line to get off was long and slow. Once you were in the terminal it was even slower for the Passport line -even though they do facial recognition. The Birth Certificate line was super short. To avoid the last long Passport line after you get your bags is to hire a Porter. They walk right past the line.
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