Carnival Panorama Trip Review: Day 2, Our Anniversary at Sea
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After a busy embarkation day yesterday, we were eagerly looking forward to a less hectic sea day on Carnival Panorama. Be sure to check out our Day 1 Trip Report to hear about our embarkation experience, the sailaway party, and our visit to the steakhouse.
If you’ve been on a cruise since cruise travel resumed, you may share my opinion that sea days are no longer a luxury to take for granted. And, since today was our 23rd wedding anniversary, cherishing family time was high priority. No fancy dinner plans, no gifts, just time to play & explore the ship!
For me, gone are the days when I’d feel “bored” on a sea day, and Carnival Panorama did not disappoint today. As you’ll read in this trip review, there’s just so much to do on this ship. 7 days isn’t nearly enough time to enjoy all the food, activities and entertainment available.
Today, we continued our more than 1000 mile journey from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta. As we made our way through the Pacific Ocean, the weather warmed, the sun came out, and most of the 2400 passengers onboard came outside to enjoy the activities. I can’t imagine a better day for hanging out by the pool, or taking advantage of Carnival Panorama’s sports & outdoor spots.
We were told this ship is sailing with just over 2400 passengers, while Carnival Panorama can hold just over 4000 at full capacity.
My day started around 7:30am, when I headed down to deck 5 to work on yesterday’s trip report. The weather was mild, albeit a bit cool, and I sipped my Americano coffee from Java Blue for about an hour or two, while recounting the memories of our embarkation experience. I easily connected to Carnival Panorama’s Wifi during that time period, and never lost connection while working.
After the coffee jitters set in, I headed back to the room to check on the boys. We were all hungry, and headed to the main dining room to experience Carnival Panorama’s SeaDay brunch. It was my first time trying the new menu, and the service was on point. Junior tried the skillet cake, I had the superfood salmon salad, and Mr. CTTV had a parfait and eggs benedict. We all enjoyed complimentary juice as well, although they do have some upcharge specialty juice blends you can purchase for $5.00 as well.
I’m looking forward to returning another day soon to try some more menu items like huevos rancheros, 12 hour french toast, pastas, burgers, and some traditional breakfast favorites. I may even try the upcharge items, like lobster benedict, peel and eat shrimp, or crab.
After that light meal (portions were not huge, thankfully), it was time to get outside, and try some of Carnival Panorama’s signature, complimentary outdoor activities.
We changed into close toed shoes, and headed to the upper decks to check out Sky Ride, the dual racing bicycle course, as well as the Sky Course, the onboard ropes course. To our surprise, there were no lines for either, and we were able to enjoy each activity multiple times.
The Sky Ride will have your heart pumping, although it’s not too difficult, and you can pedal at your own pace. The view is gorgeous, and honestly if I were to do it again, I’ll slow down and enjoy the view more, rather than racing the bike next to me. GoPro type cameras on chest or head mounts are permitted, but cell phones are not. Neither SkyRide nor SkyCourse require that you wear a helmet.
SkyCourse, the ropes course is a fun, challenging experience for cruisers of all ages. There are height requirements, as with all onboard attractions.
Closed toed shoes are required, and you’re placed into a safety harness to ensure that if you fall while proceeding through the course, you’ll be safe. If you’re afraid of heights, you may want to skip both SkyRide and SkyCourse, as you’ll be several stories above the top deck the entire time.
After burning off our SeaDay brunch calories, we headed for a late lunch at the buffet. It was just closing around 2:30pm, so we barely grabbed a salad, and opted for a deli sandwich rather than leaving the buffet area to find different food selections (there were a few options available, such as Guy’s Burger’s). The friendly staff brought us complimentary iced tea and lemonade, then it was time to regroup in our room for a late afternoon trip to Carnival Waterworks.
There are two waterslides to choose from, Red Fun & Blue Fun. Red Fun requires a raft, while blue fun is an enclosed slide. Cameras and sunglasses are forbidden on both.
The slides were fun, but not super fast. I was relieved that I didn’t get my hair wet on “Red Fun” because at this point, formal night was just hours away.
We laughed, splashed, and tempted the tipping bucket for hours before headed to our room to shower and primp for our first formal night onboard.
Our 6pm dinner in the MDR (fixed early seating) took us to the Horizon dining room on Deck 3. We were led to a shared table, but politely asked to be seated alone, as we always do. The staff was thoughtful, and took good care to ensure we were seated at another table, and there was no delay in doing so.
The formal night lobster was delicious, but small. Many diners were ordering multiples, and the staff gladly obliged. The mood in the dining room was bustling, festive and quite busy. This dining time was obviously popular and most tables were taken.
The dining staff served at a nice pace, although it took about 45 minutes for my cocktail to arrive.
After dinner, we went for a stroll, finally checking out the colorful Havana Bar, and a few of the indoor venues before we headed back to the room for an early night!
Tomorrow, it’s an early start for a visit to the spa. I’m trying ionithermie for the first time, and will be sure to report back on that experience in a future trip review! Tonight, we set our clocks forward one hour, in preparation for our arrival in Puerto Vallarta.
After that, it’s our first port stop of the trip, Puerto Vallarta!
Daily Highlight
Hanging out at Carnival Waterworks stood out as one of the best parts of our day. The weather was perfect, the wind was mild, and there were no lines for the “red fun” or “blue fun” waterslides.
The boys enjoyed jumping beneath the buckets when they spilled over, and I cherished the family time.
Foodie Fun
While nothing we ate today stood out as particularly excellent, we did find Seaday brunch to be enjoyable and I can’t wait to return to try more menu items.
Drink of the Day
Just before joining Junior for the Bertie Bott’s Beans stinky jelly bean challenge, I stopped by the Blue Iguana Tequila bar for some liquid courage. The Carnival Paloma caught my eye and stole the show as today’s drink of the day. Jose Cuervo Silver, Fresh Lime Juice, Soda and Grapefruit was just the refreshing drink I was after.
Venue of the Day
We’d visited Cherry on Top, Carnival’s signature candy shop on other ships, but Carnival Panorama’s version of this sweet shop features more-than-typical square footage, awesome selection, and friendly staff. You can find a wide selection of bulk candies, classic favorites, and even some cruise-specific gifts and candies, such as a line of merch around the #CruisingDucks concept.
Junior was eager to pick up a fun Harry Potter inspired candy in the store, much to his mama’s dismay. Yep, after years of watching Harry Potter movies, he just had to have Bertie Bott’s Beans. In case you haven’t heard, Bertie Bott’s beans are jelly beans that come in some, ahem, “questionable’ flavors (think earthworm, rotten egg, and sausage). These “fun” jelly beans weren’t as bad as I expected. Then again, I didn’t get the “vomit” flavored jelly bean. I will say, the aftertaste on the earthworm bean was quite unpleasant.
I’m sure we’ll be back to Cherry on Top numerous times throughout the week on our Carnival Panorama cruise.
Fun Shipboard Activities we Missed Today
Dive in Movies! What could be better than closing out a sea day with a movie, under the moonlight.
Playing in the Liquid Lounge, we also missed “Broadway Beats”, this evenings main theatre show.
Fun Fact
Carnival Cruise and Sky Zone partnered and made history by creating the world’s first trampoline park at sea! And there’s nothing basic about Sky Zone on Carnival Panorama! Sky Zone has it all- a fusion court that hosts Dodgeball and SkySlam, a Challenge Zone that includes SkyJoust, SkyLadder and a climbing wall.
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