Vista Premium Havana Balcony review

[cdnmr]

Stayed in cabin 6464 which is "bowling-alley" balcony. I wouldnt pay extra for the bigger balcony simply because although I normally spend a lot of time on my balcony, this cruise I preferred to go to Havana and enjoy that great space.

 

Pros:

-great location. There is a stairwell right next to the cabin that takes you into "back door" to Havana Bar. Stairs are carpetted and not a crew stairwell so no noise issues at all from stairs (sort of...see later)

 

-great room. No complaints but prefer traditional layout as we missed having the couch to sit on and found the cubby hole near balcony door wasted space.

 

-Huge TV- TV was close to 50 inch and great HD picture. Too bad tv service was up/down for the entire cruise...channels cutting out constantly.

 

-Steward. Name was Paul....very good at his job. One of the ones that you see briefly when he passes you in the hall but seems to get your room clean when you step out for 5 minutes. Great Steward!

 

-Balcony, was nice and long and had 2 loungers. Loungers very close tot he ground so sitting up not comfortable but offer more privacy from below if tanning.

 

-Breakfast- Was great having a quick walk to get morning coffee and try out the tasty offerings. Ate there most mornings just to get a quick bite to start our day...was a nice perk.

 

Cons

 

-You do hear the music from the Havana Bar off and on from 845pm until close to 1am. It is very faint and most folks wouldnt really notice it much. HOWEVER When the band is on a break the trumpet/trombone player likes to tune his instrument so loudly you will open your cabin door to make sure he is not actually standing in your hallway. Sound came right up the stairwell.

 

-Some guests were yelling from Havana area up to their cabin mates on their balconies like they were in their back yards. This was not often but noises can be heard from below if there is a rowdy bunch in the area. No noise issues from the Havana Cabanas at all.

 

 

-Hot tubs were enjoyable and we often had one to ourselves but water temps were quite low (90-ish?) so on colder nights they werent as enjoyable.

 

-Havana bar/serving staff....while the bar staff were good, there was usually only 1 bartender so you waited for drinks. In the 6+ days I used hot tub/pool/chairs in the Havana area I was NEVER offered a drink.

 

I was approached by staff to make sure I wasnt drinking out of a glass container in the tub but not once was anyone I saw offered a drink from serving staff.

 

Normally not a big deal but the bartender wouldnt see you or would just ignore you on the pool side bar. You would have to walk inside....dripping wet to place an order. This was an issue at night, people sitting at the bar ordering drinks and you'd walk inside wrapped in a towel etc and stand behind them waiting to be served.

 

Carnival needs to provide a bartender for Havana pool side guests at all times IMO. Paid for a premium product but service was poor (facility was great)

 

Pictures:

 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by cdnmr

[BoDidly]

Stayed in cabin 6464 which is "bowling-alley" balcony. I wouldnt pay extra for the bigger balcony simply because although I normally spend a lot of time on my balcony, this cruise I preferred to go to Havana and enjoy that great space.

 

Pros:

-great location. There is a stairwell right next to the cabin that takes you into "back door" to Havana Bar. Stairs are carpetted and not a crew stairwell so no noise issues at all from stairs (sort of...see later)

 

-great room. No complaints but prefer traditional layout as we missed having the couch to sit on and found the cubby hole near balcony door wasted space.

 

-Huge TV- TV was close to 50 inch and great HD picture. Too bad tv service was up/down for the entire cruise...channels cutting out constantly.

 

-Steward. Name was Paul....very good at his job. One of the ones that you see briefly when he passes you in the hall but seems to get your room clean when you step out for 5 minutes. Great Steward!

 

-Balcony, was nice and long and had 2 loungers. Loungers very close tot he ground so sitting up not comfortable but offer more privacy from below if tanning.

 

-Breakfast- Was great having a quick walk to get morning coffee and try out the tasty offerings. Ate there most mornings just to get a quick bite to start our day...was a nice perk.

 

Cons

 

-You do hear the music from the Havana Bar off and on from 845pm until close to 1am. It is very faint and most folks wouldnt really notice it much. HOWEVER When the band is on a break the trumpet/trombone player likes to tune his instrument so loudly you will open your cabin door to make sure he is not actually standing in your hallway. Sound came right up the stairwell.

 

-Some guests were yelling from Havana area up to their cabin mates on their balconies like they were in their back yards. This was not often but noises can be heard from below if there is a rowdy bunch in the area. No noise issues from the Havana Cabanas at all.

 

 

-Hot tubs were enjoyable and we often had one to ourselves but water temps were quite low (90-ish?) so on colder nights they werent as enjoyable.

 

-Havana bar/serving staff....while the bar staff were good, there was usually only 1 bartender so you waited for drinks. In the 6+ days I used hot tub/pool/chairs in the Havana area I was NEVER offered a drink.

 

I was approached by staff to make sure I wasnt drinking out of a glass container in the tub but not once was anyone I saw offered a drink from serving staff.

 

Normally not a big deal but the bartender wouldnt see you or would just ignore you on the pool side bar. You would have to walk inside....dripping wet to place an order. This was an issue at night, people sitting at the bar ordering drinks and you'd walk inside wrapped in a towel etc and stand behind them waiting to be served.

 

Carnival needs to provide a bartender for Havana pool side guests at all times IMO. Paid for a premium product but service was poor (facility was great)

 

Pictures:

 

 

 

Very fair review, thanks for posting . Can I take it that it was not the Captain tooting his horn ;)

[louanne93]

Thanks for the very informative review! Appreciate the honesty!

[mirp]

Great review. Thank you for the detailed information.

 

 

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[RumpunchGirl]

Pros:

-great location. There is a stairwell right next to the cabin that takes you into "back door" to Havana Bar. Stairs are carpetted and not a crew stairwell so no noise issues at all from stairs (sort of...see later)

 

This is exactly what I've been wondering about. We're on Deck 7 in a Havana Extended Aft Balcony. On the deck plans on Carnival's web site you can see a stairway at the back of the ship that appears to come down from deck 9 but then it looks like it stops at six. I'm glad to hear it continues to deck 5!:D

[cruzkitty]

Thank you for your review. We have a Havana on Deck 7, and have been watching for reviews.

[cdnmr]

This is exactly what I've been wondering about. We're on Deck 7 in a Havana Extended Aft Balcony. On the deck plans on Carnival's web site you can see a stairway at the back of the ship that appears to come down from deck 9 but then it looks like it stops at six. I'm glad to hear it continues to deck 5!:D

 

 

Stairwell was great shortcut to Havana area. Was nice to sneak down in our robes or in jammies to grab a coffee.

 

Coffee and food seemed to stop around 9am, not 930am as advertised. If getting food just ask for 1 of everything (4 or 5 selections), all are small enough that you can sample each without it being too much food (for most folks).

[cdnmr]

Very fair review, thanks for posting . Can I take it that it was not the Captain tooting his horn ;)

 

 

hehe...it did sound like a non-musician though.

 

If it had been a solo we might not have minded...as it was him blowing as hard as he could and not really playing notes it got old real fast. We only heard it on two nights so was not a deal breaker.

 

On one occasion it was around 11pm, Wife was woken up by it, I had earphones in watching a movie and heard it...opened our door to see what was going on.

 

The noise was not as loud on our balcony...sound definitely came up stairway.

[cdnmr]

Almost forgot....a small tidbit.

 

There was a door in the hall outside of the corner wrap cabin and 6464 that effectively "closed off" these two cabins from the main hallway.Someone closed this door during one of the trumpet "solos" while I was having a beverage in the hot tub. When I tried to re-enter my cabin this door was closed and my card did not work in it.

 

I had to go to elevator area and call my Wife to wake her up and come open that door. Not sure if the Steward closed it or the folks in the aft-wrap closed it.

 

Just an FYI- if you close that door everyone's locked out, can only be opened by Steward or from the inside.

[easyboy]

Thanks for your review. Nice pictures too.

 

 

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[the nurse]

We had Havana interior cabin #5217. We could hear the music from the Havana bar at night. Fortunately, we had a fan to drown out the noise. We slept great in our interior cabins. Our friends has a balcony, across the hall, so we had breakfast with them every morning! Great trip!

[azul1]

So glad to see your review. We have 7450 booked (Havana aft wrap).

That door that closes off the two cabins is a bit disconcerting. I wonder if it is the same setup on deck 7.

Glad you enjoyed the Havana space and thanks for your review!

[cdnmr]

So glad to see your review. We have 7450 booked (Havana aft wrap).

That door that closes off the two cabins is a bit disconcerting. I wonder if it is the same setup on deck 7.

Glad you enjoyed the Havana space and thanks for your review!

 

 

I would ASSUME it's the same on deck 7 but cant confirm.

 

The door was wedged open by the Steward Staff, someone removed the wedge to block out the noise (only reason I can think of).

 

I can't imagine some random person doing so but I am not certain why they'd have the electronic lock functional if the cabins behind it cant open with their cards. I will include the info when I get my survey, maybe they'll look into it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited November 17, 2016 by cdnmr

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[DRMUFFINZ]

Thanks for the great review! I've got the Premium Balcony HAvana booked but saw a lot of pictures of the Aft/wrap around balconies being Uncovered. Is the Premium Balcony covered?

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the review, thanks.

[Keith1010]

What a terrific review.

Keith

[lcpagejr]

Nice review... Sorry of your bar experience in Havana area. We were in cabin 5239 during Thanksgiving week and had exceptional service. The Bar steward (Julio) was everywhere and he was like our personal butler???? Always checked on our drinks, etc.... The few times I went to the Havana bar....i was served outside fairly quickly. Never a problem inside (on other side). Never heard any music either??? Our balcony cabin was closest to bar/pool area