Havana cabins on Horizon

[kcbmarek]

I am really toying with booking a Havana cabin on the Horizon for the April 26, 2020 sailing to the Western Caribbean.  Question is .... are they worth the additional money?  It will only be my husband and I traveling (52 and 57.  I know that during the day it is adults only, but do they offer enough loungers to accommodate everyone?

 

Any insight is appreciated!

 

Kim

[Jenjer]

The Havana is what got us to give Carnival a try after 14 cruises on other lines. I do not think I have read any review that said it was not worth the money. It can be busy on say a sea day especially the first sea day but compared to the main pool its down right calm.

 

If every single person staying in a Havana room tried to get a lounger at the same time I am sure there are not enough.

 

Also to note its 12 and above not 18 and up so there are teens in the area.

[bowlinmoe]

Havana is awesome.  I can't recommend it enough.  Yes, it is quite a bit more money but it is well worth it, imo.

[crewsweeper]

On our cruise, while the clam shell filled up, people weren't chair hogging, semi-frequent turnover, and there were chair seats and lounger always available.  Plus those on a balcony or lanai could always head back to them without tramping through the ship.

[kcbmarek]

2 hours ago, Jenjer said:

The Havana is what got us to give Carnival a try after 14 cruises on other lines. I do not think I have read any review that said it was not worth the money. It can be busy on say a sea day especially the first sea day but compared to the main pool its down right calm.

 

If every single person staying in a Havana room tried to get a lounger at the same time I am sure there are not enough.

 

Also to note its 12 and above not 18 and up so there are teens in the area.

I thought I read it was 18 and up.  That is the reason I was considering it as we love our kids and grands, but well, we were looking forward to an area without kiddos possibly.

[renza]

I looked into booking Havana on Panorama for next year. My husband said no way. He doesn’t understand the hype of a balcony  where everyone can see you and the view is a wall of glass. We r not ones to use the pools, or hot tubs on ships. We do enjoy laying out but never have a problem finding a lounger in the sun, just not at pool side. 

[oumagic]

We booked yesterday and were told that The Havana pool area is ages 12 and up during the day and all ages are welcome once it opens up at night to the rest of the ship.

 

We have 3 rooms reserved and my 14 and 16 year old will be with us. I do not know how much time they will actually want to spend in the area.

 

We have never cruised in the Havana area or on a Vista class ship.

[Jenjer]

21 hours ago, kcbmarek said:

I thought I read it was 18 and up.  That is the reason I was considering it as we love our kids and grands, but well, we were looking forward to an area without kiddos possibly.

Sorry but its been pretty clear its 12 and up. So you have a choice to share your area with a limited number of teens or the general ship with lots of kids of all ages.

 

We are travelling with our teens and I know they will enjoy the area but just like the Haven on NCL they will most likely spend a limited about time in there. Its pretty boring compared to water slides and sky rides.  Its more of a base camp ie where they can find mom and dad.

[Jenjer]

I do know that on some NCL ships (getaway breakaway and escape) in the Haven area they have made the top sun deck 18 and over. Lots of people (with kids) are upset over it and it seems like NCL is not making exceptions. The pool area is still for all Haven guests. 

 

My guess is Celebrity suites might have a adult only area but we have never sailed them.

 

Virgin cruises that start sailing in 2020 are going to be all 18 and over.

[RumpunchGirl]

We had the Havana Extended Aft balcony on Vista 2 years ago.  It was awesome!  We had a lounge chair, a chair with a foot stool and a table on our balcony.  We never had an issue getting lounger at the Havana pool.  The pool and hot tubs were never overly crowded.  It was one of the best cruise experiences we've had worth every penny!

[bdever]

On 2/6/2019 at 9:47 AM, crewsweeper said:

On our cruise, while the clam shell filled up, people weren't chair hogging, semi-frequent turnover, and there were chair seats and lounger always available.  Plus those on a balcony or lanai could always head back to them without tramping through the ship.

How early would you say someone staying in a Havana Cabana 2 doors down from a clamshell would need to get out there and get one in the morning in sea day? 

[modes]

1 hour ago, bdever said:

How early would you say someone staying in a Havana Cabana 2 doors down from a clamshell would need to get out there and get one in the morning in sea day? 

730.

[bdever]

1 hour ago, modes said:

730.

Then it doesn’t sound like booking a Havana Cabana is going to be worth it.

[jimbo5544]

Yes, without a doubt.

[bakersdozen12]

On 2/7/2019 at 9:26 AM, renza said:

I looked into booking Havana on Panorama for next year. My husband said no way. He doesn’t understand the hype of a balcony  where everyone can see you and the view is a wall of glass. We r not ones to use the pools, or hot tubs on ships. We do enjoy laying out but never have a problem finding a lounger in the sun, just not at pool side. 

 

Everyone? The only people that will be walking by are those who are staying in the Havana cabanas. So the foot traffic is minimal. 

[renza]

30 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

Everyone? The only people that will be walking by are those who are staying in the Havana cabanas. So the foot traffic is minimal. 

And the cabins above look down onto your balcony. Zero privacy. Along with all the Havana cabins open to each other. And a glass wall. I don’t get it. I do understand wanting a private pool area. I just wish they had regular balcony rooms. 

[bakersdozen12]

31 minutes ago, renza said:

And the cabins above look down onto your balcony. Zero privacy. Along with all the Havana cabins open to each other. And a glass wall. I don’t get it. I do understand wanting a private pool area. I just wish they had regular balcony rooms. 

 

Fifty percent of the patio area is covered. So you have the option for privacy from the people above you. And that 50% alone is a larger area than a regular balcony. 

[renza]

23 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

Fifty percent of the patio area is covered. So you have the option for privacy from the people above you. And that 50% alone is a larger area than a regular balcony. 

Have u personally stayed in a Havana cabin?  Is it really worth the extra money? We will have our older boys with us and I know we do not want to buy them a Havana cabin as well. Just not sure if we should try and keep them in the cove balcony. We do like the cove balconies though. 

[bakersdozen12]

15 minutes ago, renza said:

Have u personally stayed in a Havana cabin?  Is it really worth the extra money? We will have our older boys with us and I know we do not want to buy them a Havana cabin as well. Just not sure if we should try and keep them in the cove balcony. We do like the cove balconies though. 

 

We stayed in a Havana cabana on our Mediterranean cruise (we were upsold to one for a small amount). Unfortunately that cruise only had one sea day, and with it being April at the time, not really pool weather anyway. But, the Havana area seemed so great that I booked a Havana interior on the Vista as soon as we got back, for later this year. I figured if we are going to spend most of the time in the pool area, the price difference for a cabana wasn’t worth it. I am looking forward to our Havana experience, but I will admit I do love cove balconies. They are the only room I will book on a Dream class ship, and I have a spa cove booked on the Mardi Gras as well. 

[fuddrules]

2 hours ago, renza said:

Have u personally stayed in a Havana cabin?  Is it really worth the extra money? We will have our older boys with us and I know we do not want to buy them a Havana cabin as well. Just not sure if we should try and keep them in the cove balcony. We do like the cove balconies though. 

 

We had both a Cabana as well as an interior on our med cruise.  Fortunately, the Cabanas weren't selling well so I paid a small increase for 1 Cabana (and kept 1 interior).   I really liked the Cabana but I wouldn't pay the extra fee over the interior despite liking the Cabana.  There was hardly anyone in the patio area and walkway, even other Cabana cruisers were typically absent.

 

But I enjoy the Havana deck area that comes with the interior so the extra money for a Cabana would be saved for either excursions or a down payment on another cruise.

Edited February 10, 2019 by fuddrules

[Treyatl2006]

1. Even though Havana cabins will allow 12 years and older... Most teens wont be in the Havana area because most teens are going to want to hang in the sports square, water park, gameroom, and camp areas and etc. They will not want to be in an area (in their eyes) full of old people. You may have the occasional teen here... Most people with kids wont even book Havana Cabins. 

 

2) There are other types of Havana Cabins if you are concerned with privacy of the Havana Cabana Cabins. You have of Havana Interior Cabins, Havana balconies and aft balcony cabins and etc. 

[bjd2]

We had a Havana Cabana on the Vista 2 years ago. Loved the Havana area! We really didn't use the cabana much at all though.

 

We are going on the Horizon in a few weeks and we have a Havana interior. It was a huge difference in price. I think we will be able to decide which way to book in the future as we typically like a Lido deck balcony near the main pool on ships that don't have Havana.

[Jenny in TX]

We had a Havana Cabana on the Vista in October and loved it!  We were with friends and we had 6 rooms in a row in the Havana area and all of us would book that area again in a heartbeat!

 

There were plenty of lounge chairs if you wanted to hangout by the pool and very rarely was there anyone in the pool and if so no more than 3 or 4 people at a time.  We could have gotten a clam shell every day and we were never out there early.  We loved having the private area to just hang out in.  We never saw anyone younger than probably 25 in that area.  That doesn't mean there weren't any younger people booked in the area, we just didn't see them.  I would assume the main Lido pool would be much more exciting to the younger crowd than the Havana area as it is very laid back and relaxed.

[bdever]

5 hours ago, Jenny in TX said:

We had a Havana Cabana on the Vista in October and loved it!  We were with friends and we had 6 rooms in a row in the Havana area and all of us would book that area again in a heartbeat!

 

There were plenty of lounge chairs if you wanted to hangout by the pool and very rarely was there anyone in the pool and if so no more than 3 or 4 people at a time.  We could have gotten a clam shell every day and we were never out there early.  We loved having the private area to just hang out in.  We never saw anyone younger than probably 25 in that area.  That doesn't mean there weren't any younger people booked in the area, we just didn't see them.  I would assume the main Lido pool would be much more exciting to the younger crowd than the Havana area as it is very laid back and relaxed.

Thanks Jenny! That is great to hear as I plan on spending 40% of the cruise on a clam shell at the Havana Pool!!! Being a creature of habit and knowing what I know about Panorama my days will be spent on the cabana, in the clam shell, Guys Pig & Anchor for lunch, Seaday brunch in the MDR, trips to Alchemy bar,  back to the clam shell, then the Havana Bar at night for SALSA SALSA SALSA all night long before stumbling back to my cabana for bed!!! So pretty much not venturing out of the Havana Area at all during this cruise except for trips to the bars and maybe shopping for cosmetics if they have Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation that is duty and tax free as well as Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara duty and tax free. Might check out the fragrances at Victoria Secrets too. I usually never miss the comedy or shows and spend money in the Casino but The Havana Experience has changed my whole itinerary to be honest with you. When I am lit and faded (which I will be for the whole cruise) and that SALSA music hits my hips... forget it! I am going to dance until there is no tomorrow!!!  I just pray they have a horn section and they take requests!!! My biggest worry is that with this being a NEW ship, NEW Years Cruise, with the MOST Havana Rooms on any ship to-date, that getting a clam shell will not be as easy as others have experienced. Clam shell by day, and Havana SALSA by night... Dream come true!

[Joebucks]

I find anything above an interior room to be a waste of money to me. However, Havana rooms have piqued my interest. My only concern is if I would use the Havana pool enough to justify hundreds of dollars more. On my last cruise, we enjoyed the excitement going on in Lido. Never really made it to the other, quiet areas.