Carnival Panorama

The 2019-built Carnival Panorama cruise ship is the third Vista-class (modified Dream-class) vessel in Carnival Cruise Line’s fleet. Vista-class ships are the most family-friendly in the fleet, offering the company’s largest family staterooms along with a wide range of dedicated family amenities. Panorama is Carnival's 27th cruise ship.

Her Vista-class sisterships include Carnival Vista (2016) and Carnival Horizon (2018), as well as former Costa Cruises ships Carnival Venezia (2019, launched as Costa Venezia) and Carnival Firenze (2020, launched as Costa Firenze), and Adora Cruises vessels Adora Magic City (2023) and Adora TBN (2024).

The vessel (IMO number 9802384) is currently Panama-flagged (MMSI 374527000) and registered in Colon.

History - Construction and Ownership

Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) is a US-based cruise brand, trademarked and owned by Carnival Corporation. CCL was founded in 1972 by Ted Arison (1924–1999), co-founder of Norwegian Cruise Line.

CCL has the Corporation's largest fleet in terms of both number of ships and total GT (gross tonnage), and accounts for a major share of the global cruise market. In 2023, CCL represented approximately 9% of the industry's total revenue and carried ~19% of cruise passengers worldwide. In 2024, Carnival Corporation held a ~51% share of the USD 64+ billion cruise industry.

Carnival Panorama accommodates around 4000 passengers and features all Fun Ship 2.0 experiences, along with several first-at-sea features such as SkyZone trampoline park (Decks 7-8), SkyRide aerial bike ride, Havana staterooms complex (with pool, bar, and lounge), Family Harbor staterooms, the fleet’s largest SportsSquare complex, and venues such as BlueIguana Cantina, RedFrog Bar, Alchemy Bar, Carnival Cloud 9 Spa, and new stage show programming.

Vista-class ships also introduced fleet-first venues including the "IMAX Theater at Sea" (87-seat cinema), the "SkyRide" (aerial cycling track), and Havana staterooms with a lanai sundeck and private pool area.

Decks and Cabins

Carnival Panorama staterooms (totaling 1965) include 74 Suites, 912 Balcony, 264 Oceanview, and 749 Inside cabins. This includes 35 wheelchair-accessible staterooms and 104 Cloud 9 Spa cabins, across 34 categories. Most cabins are sized between 185–220 ft², with balconies ranging from 35–75 ft². Spa staterooms come with exclusive access to the Panorama Deck spa, as well as perks like spa reservations, complimentary access to the Thalassotherapy Pool and Thermal Suite, fitness classes, and premium bath amenities.

A new cabin category—aft-view extended balcony—was introduced within the Family Harbor section. These cabins, along with 86 other Family Harbor staterooms, are located near the Family Harbor Lounge, which provides 24-hour snacks, breakfast, large-screen TVs, and games. There are also 18 tropics-inspired staterooms in the Havana section, located aft on Decks 6–8–9, which offer access to the exclusive Havana Deck with its own Cuban-themed pool and bar.

The ship has 14 passenger-accessible decks, with cabins spread across 13 of them.

Shipboard Dining Options – Food and Drinks

Carnival Panorama features two main dining rooms—Horizons and Reflections. Horizons has a small bar for pre-dinner cocktails. Both venues offer dishes from the onboard steakhouse (available at an extra charge). The ship also has a Lido buffet and a New England-style Seafood Shack, which offers both indoor and outdoor seating and à la carte items starting at $4 (e.g. lobster, crab cakes, fried clams, shrimp).

The Bonsai Teppanyaki restaurant (within Bonsai Sushi on the Promenade Deck) offers Far East cuisine and a live-cooking show by skilled chefs at 8-seat tables. Reservations are required. Each meal begins with a sampler of five appetizers and concludes with dessert (Chocolate Bento Box, Green Tea Ice Cream). The restaurant is open for lunch (on sea days) and dinner (nightly), with a fixed per-person cover charge.

The Chef’s Table is a premium dining experience offering a multi-course meal with the executive chef, a cocktail reception, and a galley tour. Held in non-traditional locations (e.g., the galley or library), this can be booked onboard for $75 per person.

Full list of Carnival Panorama dining venues:

• Reflections Restaurant (1474-seat main dining room with fixed dinner seatings and open-seating breakfast/lunch)
• Horizons Restaurant (702-seat with fixed and “Anytime Dining” dinner service)
• Bonsai Sushi and Bonsai Teppanyaki
• Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ
• Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse (with Chef’s Table)
• Guy’s Burger Joint (poolside)
• BlueIguana Cantina (Mexican fast food)
• Lido Marketplace (825-seat buffet)
• Pizzeria del Capitano (24-hour)
• Seafood Shack (à la carte)
• Cucina del Capitano (Italian)
• Ji Ji Asian Kitchen

Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge (Deck 4) is dedicated to US military personnel, featuring logos of the five armed forces, memorabilia, and specialty cocktails. A portion of drink sales benefits Operation Homefront. Custom pint glasses are also available for purchase.

Panorama debuts “Carnival Kitchen,” a venue offering 15+ cooking classes led by ship chefs. Located aft on Deck 4, the venue accommodates 18 guests with nine cooking stations. Classes include signature dishes and desserts such as Carnival Classics, Asian specialties, pasta, cakes, sushi, and pizza. Sessions are held only on sea days and range from $30–$60 per person.

Shipboard Entertainment – Fun and Sports

Entertainment starts with the SkyRide, a pedal-powered aerial cycling ride 150 feet above sea level on an 800-ft suspended track.

The SkyCourse ropes course provides a thrilling obstacle challenge, while the expanded SportSquare also features mini-bowling, ping-pong, arcade basketball, and more.

“Seuss at Sea” is integrated across the ship, particularly in the Choose Fun WaterWorks aqua park (Deck 12), which has two signature waterslides: Red Fun (455 ft / 139 m) and Blue Fun (300 ft / 91 m). Additional themed features include:

• “Cat in the Hat” raft slide (137 m / 450 ft)
• “Fun Things” body slide (65 m / 213 ft)
• Dr. Seuss-themed play areas, decor, and special events (e.g., Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast, Seuss-A-Palooza Parade)

The ship also features:

• Family Harbor Lounge (with 24-hour snacks, games, concierge)
• Liquid Lounge (2-deck main show lounge featuring Playlist Productions, drone shows, Broadway Beats, and Rock Revolution)
• Panorama Atrium (3-deck hub with live music and LED displays)
• Panorama Casino, Limelight Lounge, Ocean Plaza, Club O2, Circle C, Arcade
• RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, JavaBlue Café, Havana Bar
• Camp Ocean, Dr. Seuss Bookville
• Guy’s Pig & Anchor BBQ Smokehouse | Brewhouse
• Carnival Cloud 9 Spa, Serenity Retreat (21+ only, with massage huts, cabanas, salad station, and Spritz Bar)
• SkyTrack jogging track, SkyFitness, Seaside Theater (outdoor cinema), SportSquare (with mini-golf, ropes course)

Panorama is also Carnival’s first ship with a brewery offering exclusive beers like ThirstyFrog Red, Port Hoppin’ IPA, Caribbean Wheat, FriskyFrog Java Stout, ParchedPig Farmhouse Ale, Smoked Porter, and Miami Guava.

Sky Zone Park

Replacing the IMAX Theater, Panorama features SkyZone—a two-deck indoor trampoline park via partnership with Sky Zone (Los Angeles-based entertainment company). The 3000 ft² space includes a 12-lane trampoline court, rock climbing wall, basketball goals, Tug of War, and more. Events include glow parties, toddler sessions, and family fitness. Access is at an additional cost; weight limit is 300 lbs (136 kg).

Itineraries

Carnival Panorama is homeported year-round in Long Beach (Los Angeles CA). This West Coast deployment, announced in 2018, marked the first newbuild Carnival ship to be based in California in 20 years.

Panorama sails 7-day Mexican Riviera cruises (Saturday departures) visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.

In 2025–2026, scheduled itineraries include 6-day Baja California cruises (Saturday departures to Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas/overnight) and 8-day Mexican Riviera cruises (Sunday departures to Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta).

The vessel (Fincantieri Marghera yard / hull number 6272) has a volume of 133,868 GT and a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 11,963 tons, with a maximum draught of 8.6 m. The powerplant consists of five MAN marine diesel engines (4-stroke, common-rail injection: 2x 14V48/60CR and 3x 8L48/60CR) delivering a combined output of 62.4 MW (83,680 hp). Propulsion is diesel-electric, utilizing two ABB Azipod thrusters with a combined output of 33 MW (44,250 hp). The registered shipowner is CARNIVAL HOLDINGS BERMUDA LTD, and the registered manager is CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE.

By gross tonnage, Vista-class ships are currently the largest in Carnival’s fleet. They introduced several fleet-first features, including the Multiplex media entertainment complex (5D Thrill Cinema), SkyRide (roller coaster with dual-track bicycle rides), an expanded SportsSquare complex, the Havana Outside area (pool, Jacuzzis, bar, new Havana staterooms), and Family Harbor cabins with their own themed lounge offering 24-hour dining, concierge service, babysitting, and entertainment.

One of the ship's interior highlights is "Dreamscape"—an LED sculpture in the Atrium created using artwork from children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis TN, USA). Designed by Techno Media, the 3-deck-high funnel-shaped centerpiece features 33 unique designs and over 2,000 custom-made flexible LED tiles. The rotating sculpture displays changing patterns based on the time of day, port of call, or special occasion.

Construction began on July 7, 2017, with the steel-cutting ceremony. The keel-laying ceremony was held on January 10, 2018, at the Marghera shipyard (near Venice, Italy), officially starting the shipbuilding process. The vessel was floated out on December 6, 2018. The ceremony’s godmother was Antonella Cazzin, an employee at the Marghera shipyard. Attendees included Ben Clement (Carnival Senior VP), Marco Scaramuccia (Project Manager), and Antonio Quintano (Shipyard Director).

The ship’s year-round Pacific Mexico deployment was announced on February 10, 2018, marking Carnival Panorama as the first newbuild Fun Ship to be homeported in California since 1998. The announcement coincided with the reopening of Carnival’s Long Beach Cruise Terminal.

The ship’s Captain is Carlo Queirolo, a 33-year-old Italian (as of 2018) who began his career with Carnival as a deck cadet in 1985 aboard the Festivale (originally RMS Transvaal Castle, built in 1961). He became Captain in 1996 and has since served on Carnival Elation, Paradise, Glory, and Dream. Chief Engineer Nunzio Priolo (from Sicily) joined Carnival in 1980 as a Third Officer and was promoted to Chief Engineer in 2004 aboard Carnival Miracle. Hotel Director Damir Mrsic (Croatian) has been with Carnival since 1993, promoted to Hotel Director in 2009, and previously served on Carnival Legend, Freedom, and Splendor.

Carnival Panorama, the 27th vessel in the fleet, was officially delivered on October 29, 2019. The ceremony was attended by Paola De Micheli (Italy’s Minister of Infrastructures and Transport), Christine Duffy (Carnival Cruise Line President), Giampiero Massolo (Fincantieri Chairman), and Giuseppe Bono (Fincantieri CEO). Following delivery, the vessel’s MMSI number (flag-state) changed from 247392300 (Italy) to 374527000 (Panama).

On November 1, the ship departed Europe (Marghera shipyard) on a Transatlantic repositioning voyage to Los Angeles, sailing around South America via Cape Horn (Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, Chile). The maiden voyage was scheduled for December 11 from Long Beach, California.

Panorama’s godmother is Vanna White (born 1957 as Vanna Marie Rosich), a US television personality and actress best known as the co-host of Wheel of Fortune (since 1982). The christening ceremony was held on December 10, 2019, at Port Long Beach and was attended by Christine Duffy (CCL President) and celebrity chefs Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse, and Rudi Sodamin.

Carnival Panorama Refurbishments Review (2023–2024)

Carnival Panorama’s first drydock was conducted from December 2–23, 2023, at Vigor Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Due to propulsion and machinery issues, six Mexican Riviera cruises (departing from Long Beach/Los Angeles on Nov 11, 18, 26 and Dec 2, 9, 16) were canceled to allow for the drydocking. The ship entered drydock on December 2 for technical repairs and a full mechanical overhaul.

Due to air draft and bridge clearance restrictions on the Columbia River, the ship was temporarily docked in Victoria, BC, Canada (November 21–26), where most of its funnel was removed to allow passage to the shipyard.

Another major drydock refurbishment took place from September 9 to October 12, 2024, at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore. This project focused on routine maintenance, safety inspections and classification, technical upgrades, general renovations, and hull cleaning/repainting, including application of Carnival’s new livery. Interior updates included the addition of a Non-Smoking Casino (adjacent to the main casino on Deck 4), an Effy Fine Jewelry store, a refreshed Carnival Adventures shop (Deck 3), a new Dreams Studio (Deck 5, offering personalized photo shoots), and a new mini-golf area (Deck 12).

Inaugural Cruise Itineraries 2019–2020

Bookings for Carnival Panorama opened on March 21, 2018. The inaugural cruise was a special 3-day mini voyage from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico, sailing December 11–14, 2019. Below are details for the maiden itineraries, including call port times and pricing (per person, based on double occupancy in an Inside Cabin).

3-day Inaugural Cruise – prices started from USD 275 per person.

7-day inaugural Mexican Riviera cruise - from USD 680 pp

Godspeed!