Cox Family Cruise

Carnival Panorama Cruise Review

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 111

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
Carnival Panorama

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 21, 2023

Ship: Carnival Panorama

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The cruise was a lot of fun. It had something for everyone in our group. If I had to say something negative, the ship felt crowded. We were concerned about a January sailing and cold weather, but we did most ship activities on the first and last day, and enjoyed the weather the other days.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
We had a large group. (9 people) but embarkation was still very smooth. I was surprised that there was plenty of parking at the terminal. Our boarding time was set at 11:00, we were onboard by 12:00

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
The food was better than the last carnival cruise we went on. We had any time dining in the main dining room. I prefer the regular scheduled time because the entertainment is better.

Guy's Burger Joint

5 out of 5

What can I say….. I probably ate 20 of these burgers in the 7 days on board. LOVE them.

Bonsai Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

This was the best dinner I’ve had on a cruise. Our large party filled the entire table. Our chef was incredible. Entertaining and made A DELICIOUS dinner for us. My 5 kids said this this dinner was one of the most memorable things we did on the trip. I highly recommend it.

Horizon and Vista Restaurants

4 out of 5

The food was better than our last carnival cruise, but the service wasn’t. It seemed a bit disorganized.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The Clubhouse

5 out of 5

I don’t know where to put this, but the scavenger hunt was the best activity we did. The whole family got involved and we had a great time. (And we won.)

SportsSquare

5 out of 5

The ropes course is a lot of fun. Remember, you are probably 100 feet over the water. It’s great!

Beach Pool

5 out of 5

The cruise director had some great activities at the pool. Very entertaining. (The pool water was too cold though.)

Sky Ride

5 out of 5

This is really cool. The view is incredible. We did this multiple times.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
The shows were pretty good. Definitely entertaining. We saw most of them. The DJs were great and played a good mix of music.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
As always, the staff was super friendly and gave great service. In fact, many staff members remembered our names. Quite impressive considering they see 4000 new faces each week.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The ship was always SPOTLESS. Unbelievably clean at all times. The ship is huge. And a little difficult to navigate. We hated the elevators. I recommend watching a YouTube video about the elevators before you get onboard. Most passengers didn’t know how to use them and they got jammed with traffic often.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The cabin was nice for an inside. Clean and well maintained. Our room steward was very attentive and did a great job servicing the room.

Ship tip

If you sail in January bring a light jacket for the first and last day of the cruise. On your first sea day, secure a spot at the main pool on the lower level. If it’s sunny, you can still enjoy the pool because the main pool is sheltered from the wind.

Ports of call

Mazatlan, Mexico

3 out of 5
Not my favorite port. This time, we only shopped at the small port shopping area. We have explored the city and the beaches before, but the whole place is not that great.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

5 out of 5
We got off the ship and hired a driver with a van for our large group of 9. I asked him to “show us the city.” He took us on a great tour. Tequila tasting, a trip in the jungle, to the “Beverly hills” of PV, to the beach for swimming, and to an excellent restauraunt for lunch. Then he took us to Walmart for shopping. He did all that for $50 per person. Such great service I tipped him $300. PV is great.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
I love this place. Take a water taxi to medrano beach. It’s cheap and you get a low cost boat ride. It’s a great swimming beach. The food at “The Office” is really good, and they will set up a table for you on the sand.

Long Beach (Los Angeles), California

1 out of 5
I live in socal. Long Beach is gross.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Easy and smooth!
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6 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Appreciate your very detailed and informative review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise and most of your ports of call.

cruising2004    1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience. Great review!

willwork4cruz    1 year ago

Glad you had a great time. Wow, you paid one guy $950 to drive your group around PV in his van? I wish I could make that kind of money. Maybe I should immigrate to Mexico.

captaindancox    1 year ago

Oh, it’s Medano beach, not Medrano.

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