Now that we cruise more often, we have gotten a bit spoiled. While we used to book primarily interior cabins, we tend to avoid them recently. So, for our first ever Carnival cruise, we booked a balcony room on Carnival Panorama. If you want to know what it is like to stay in this type of accommodation, we share our thoughts and plenty of photos in this Carnival Panorama Balcony Cabin Review.
Carnival Panorama Balcony Cabin Review
Our balcony cabin was room number 8387 (Category BD). This aft stateroom was on the starboard side of the ship. It was a short walk to the aft elevators, or a bit longer of a walk to the mid-ship elevators. Unlike some cruise ships, Carnival Panorama does have three banks of elevators, meaning you are never too far from one regardless of your stateroom’s location.
Deck 8 is only two decks down from the Lido Deck (Deck 10) and three decks above the Upper Promenade (Deck 5). For us, we felt this location was ideal as we could easily walk to the popular decks. Also, we never heard any noise from either the outdoor decks or from the bars and restaurants closer to the promenade.
Related Post: Top Things to Love About Carnival Panorama
Standard Features of a Balcony Cabin on Carnival Panorama
Carnival Cruise Line indicates that the standard balcony room is 220 square feet. Our first impression of the cabin was that it was on par with similar staterooms from lines like Norwegian Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean. The space was certainly adequate for two adults cruising this 7-night voyage.
The layout of this room had the bed located closer to the balcony door. This is our preferred layout.
Upon entering the room, we passed the bathroom on the right. The bathroom was very basic. The shower did not have a door but rather a shower curtain. Compared to some of the larger ships from other line’s, the bathroom space felt a bit cramped. In terms of bathroom storage, there were a few shelves for toiletries on either side of the sink. Though, we could have used another storage space in the shower to store our his and hers bath products.
Continuing into the room, there is the closet on the left. The storage space here is maximized for families with a few configurations possible. For those with little ones, there is an option to have two clothes racks so you can hang children’s garments on the lower one.
We folded up the bottom rack, so we could utilize one full length rack to accommodate dresses and such. Along with these options, there was a standard set of shelves with some drawers for storing additional clothing items or shoes.
The desk area was a bit smaller than to what we have become accustomed on other brands. Typically, there is enough space for our electronics along with a space for the Princess to get ready. This was not the case in the Carnival Panorama balcony stateroom. I had to store some of our gear on the shelves off to the side and the remainder on the sofa. Further, there was only one drawer on the desk which housed the hair dryer.
An Odd Setup for a Balcony Cabin
Across from the desk was a sofa and coffee table. This became our dumping grounds throughout the trip as it usually does. Later on in the cruise, it also became the home for our towel animal “farm”. As furniture goes, the sofa was comfortable and was on par with other balcony cabins.
Continuing further into the room, there is a flat screen television mounted to the wall. We never tested out the television, but it was positioned so it could be viewed from either the bed or the sofa.
No matter the cruise, we are typically going all day. So, falling asleep is never an issue for us. Still, we found the bed to provide plenty of support and comfort.
Next to each side of the bed were small night stands. One drawback of the stateroom was the lack of outlets or USBs near the bed. This was a big miss in our opinion.
Most modern cruise ships from competitor lines have some kind of power outlets or USBs near the bed as virtually everyone uses a smartphone as an alarm clock. So, we were stuck having our phones charging on the desk and getting up to shut the alarm off in the morning.
Being our first Carnival cruise, another surprise was the balcony. Instead of the standard sliding door, there was a large window and a small door that opened out to the balcony. This meant leaving the door open while in the stateroom was not an option.
In terms of the balcony itself, there were two chairs and a small table. The size of the balcony felt comparable to other ships. There was just enough room to sit outside and enjoy the ocean breezes and the views.
Recap of Our Balcony Stateroom Review of Carnival Panorama
Overall, this balcony cabin provided a convenient and easily accessible layout. We had just enough space for our 7-night cruise. Though, the decor was rather basic and did not give the room a luxurious feel.
As Carnival Panorama is a brand new ship, the cabin was in impeccable shape of course, but the ship did lack the style of other newer ships such as Norwegian Encore or Celebrity Edge.
Still, our cabin was more than functional, and we found it an ideal place to rejuvenate before heading out and enjoying all the ship’s amenities. While we were just two adults, we are not sure if a family of four would find the room large enough. We are self-admitted over-packers, but storage could be an issue if you are traveling as a family.
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