Feb 8, 2020 - The fog is so thick this morning that we can’t even see the Queen Mary docked about a half mile from our hotel room in Long Beach. By the time we check out of our hotel, the fog is beginning to lift and it looks like it will be a nice, sunny day. Rather than take a shuttle or Uber to the cruise terminal, we decide to walk. It is only a 10-minute walk from Hotel Maya to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. We pass right by the Queen Mary, which is now a hotel and permanently docked next to the cruise terminal.

On this cruise, we decided to travel with three rolling suitcases (overhead bin size). Our plan was to drop one off with the porters outside the cruise terminal and have it delivered to the stateroom, but we must have walked right by the luggage drop as we entered the cruise terminal. No big deal, they are easy to roll onto the ship, and then we can unpack as soon as we get to our stateroom. Check-in at the Long Beach terminal was a little different than we have seen at other ports. Instead of going to a long line of registration agents, agents are standing at a row of chest-high tables where you can fill out the mandatory health questionnaire. The agent then scans passports, takes your photo with a small handheld device, stamps your boarding pass and sends you to the security line. It was quite efficient.

The cruise terminal is nice, with plenty of seating and even a few Instagram photo booths where you can take your own pre-boarding photos.

You probably will not have any trouble finding another guest willing to take your photo in exchange for taking theirs. We were fortunate to have Priority Embarkation so we were one of the first 100 or so to board Carnival Panorama. Unlike other cruise embarkations, this was the first time I can recall boarding a ship without a stateroom key card. Instead, our Boarding Passes were scanned and we were informed that our stateroom keys would be waiting for us in our mailbox outside our stateroom. The excitement begins to build as we walk through the long bridge linking the cruise terminal to Carnival Panorama.

*Bridge connecting Carnival Panorama to cruise terminal*

We stepped aboard Carnival Panorama on Deck 5 and walked aft to the aft elevators and stairway. We were hoping we could at least drop our luggage in the stateroom, even if it was not yet ready for occupancy. At this point, we realized that decades of using elevators proved useless as Panorama has an entirely new elevator system. The new system requires that you select your desired destination deck using an electronic panel in the elevator lobby. The system then tells you which of the four elevators (A, B, C, or D) will take you to your selected deck. Once you board the elevator, it already knows at which decks to stop. There are no buttons inside the elevator to select another deck. It is a little confusing at first, but it seems to work pretty well.

*Select your deck destination in the elevator lobby*

After we arrived on Deck 6, we could see that the fire doors were closed and a sign was posted indicating that the staterooms would not be ready until 1:30pm.

So, we took our rolling bags with us up to Deck 10 for a quick lunch at Lido Marketplace, the ship’s buffet. The buffet offerings did not really interest us, so we decided to walk forward and get a burger at Guy’s Burger Joint located poolside. These are still the best cheeseburgers you will find on any cruise ship, and actually even better than Five Guys, in my opinion. We were trying not to eat too much since our documents show that we are supposed to be dining at The Chef’s Table tonight, which is a huge, multi-course meal.

After lunch, we still had a little time to kill before our stateroom was ready, so we decided to visit Guy’s Pig and Anchor for a traditional embarkation drink. I had a Michelob Ultra ($6.50 + gratuity) and Rickee had a glass of sparkling wine ($10.50 + gratuity). Drink prices have definitely increased since our last Carnival cruise in 2017.

When we got to our stateroom, we used our GoPro to shoot a tour of our Balcony Stateroom (6392). This video will be posted to our YouTube channel soon after we return from the cruise. There are lot of interesting little tidbits worth knowing before you book this category stateroom.

At 3:30, we attended the mandatory muster/safety drill. Our muster station is the Limelight Lounge on Deck 4 aft. The safety drill only took about 30 minutes and we were not required to bring our life vests, which makes the process much easier.

This evening, we were preparing to meet for the Chef’s Table dinner, as today’s date was on our documentation. However, there was no indication where we were supposed to meet. After getting dressed for the dinner, we walked to Deck 5, thinking that we could find someone to direct us. An officer said we should check with the hostess at Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse. After visiting with the hostess at the steakhouse, she informed us that our Chef’s Table reservation was actually for Monday! That was a relief for us since were were still pretty full from our Guy’s burger at lunch. We were a little hungry, but not Chef’s Table hungry. The hostess also re-arranged some of our other dining reservations and was able to get us into Bonsai Teppanyaki for tomorrow night.

After getting our reservations straightened out, we decided to have a much lighter dinner at Bonsai Sushi.

Bonsai Sushi was one of our favorite dining spots on Carnival Vista and the one on Panorama looks nearly identical. In our opinion, this is one of the most underrated hidden gems on Carnival ships. The à la carte menu is very reasonably priced and you can order a little or a lot, depending on your appetite. Watch for a complete review of Bonsai Sushi coming soon to our Dining Reviews blog and our YouTube channel.

After a light meal, it was time for our favorite evening activity aboard a Carnival ship, a visit to the Punchliner Comedy Club. The first “adult” comedy show was at 8:30, and we arrived at 8:00 and were able to get a great seat. As always, the room was packed when Vince Morris took the stage. Vince is a veteran comedian and his entire act was based around interacting with the audience. It was hilarious, and we look forward to more Punchliner comedians on this cruise.