Terrible Havana Experience Aboard Vista

[SailorMarg]

We were on the February 8, 2020 Sailing of the Vista, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in how much I did *not* enjoy the Havana experience this year.

 

We sailed the Carnival Vista in the Havana area this time last year and were so impressed I booked the same area for this year in a Havana Suite and for 2021 in a Havana Cabana and 2022 in a Havana Suite. I’ve spent the past year on the many online cruising sites telling anyone who would listen how fantastic the Havana experience is.  That will no longer be the story I tell on these online sites although I was hoping to add to my new telling that Carnival was gracious in handling my concerns.   Unfortunately I have only received platitudes from Carnival and no assurances that they intend to make any reasonable changes.

 We were in Suite 5236 and the noise from the Havana Bar every night made sleeping impossible.  The music and singing from the dining room below us during each evening's “showtime” was unacceptably loud in our cabin.  Both of these things could possibly have been overlooked. But what was inexcusable was the inability of the Havana staff to maintain a safe and pleasant environment in the Havana area, an area that we pay a hefty premium to enjoy.  It is not possible to enjoy the area when the Havana staff allow other passengers to loudly play their personal music on their personal speakers set up poolside where all other passengers were subjected to whatever that passenger chose to blare out of their speakers.  I brought my concern to the Havana area attendant and was told they couldn’t do anything about it.  I eventually called Guest Services, each time the attendant allowed this to happen, and security was sent to tell the passengers to turn off their speakers.  The overly intoxicated passengers then made a big deal about who was “snitching to security” and made the entire situation very uncomfortable.  Along with the private speakers being played, the Havana attendants did little to control the out of control antics such a “cannonball” jumping into the pool soaking everyone sitting on the pool's edge and nearly landing on people in the pool. It was unsafe and very unpleasant.

I expect that I will just have to understand that my fellow Havana passengers were the luck of the draw, and I drew a very bad lot this cruise. I did expect that the Havana staff would do more than stand idly by allowing this ruckus and mayhem to unfold day after day.  Understand that if you are considering paying the high premium  for a Havana cabin and are hoping for a relaxing space, it will come down to whether your fellow Havana passengers will play nice because the staff will do nothing to control any passengers who choose to ruin the experience for everyone else.  I will not be taking that risk again.

I no longer have any desire to stay in Carnival's Havana area after suffering through a very unpleasant $4000+ frat house experience this past week, or aboard any Carnival ship in the foreseeable future.  I was working toward becoming a platinum passenger by the end of 2021 with my bookings, but that is no longer something I want.  

[Jerseygirl1416]

That really stinks. I’d be very annoyed with the pool situation. 
 

I don’t know how stupid people have to be to think others around them want to listen to their music? It’s so obnoxious and I’ve found it’s usually older people who you'd think would know better.
 

We had an idiot on our Christmas cruise start playing music back in the Tides pool area by us and I outright told him to use his earphones that I didn’t want to listen to that and then he started to come back at me and my husband shut him down quickly and he turned it off. It probably helped that we also had our 3 young adult sons there too so he was very outnumbered. It made for an uncomfortable situation but if you’re going to be inconsiderate to me I’m going to give it right back to you. Until more people start speaking up to these morons the more it’s going to happen. Carnival’s not going to get involved unfortunately.

[CarolSW]

Hmmmm, we also had the misfortune to share our Havana experience with some very loud guests on our December ‘19 Vista cruise.  There was a lot of boisterous bantering between balconies and down to the pool area.  It felt like we were privy to all of their conversations which were many, and mostly about cocktails.  We laughed it off, but it was not pleasant.  Alas, I agree that it is the luck of the draw, which can happen in any area of any ship.   

[Drinal01]

Everyone is always at the mercy of our fellow passengers.   Sometimes you get lucky (which you normally quickly forget) and sometimes you don't.

 

Can happen no matter the cruise line or the place on the ship.  You paid a premium expecting that other guest paying a premium would be of similar mind to you and you were disappointed. That is understandable.

 

Security has a fine line between being over bearing and allowing people to have fun.  Everyone there is a customer.    

 

Unfortunately its luck of the draw unless you book a private ship.

[jimbo5544]

Sorry you did not enjoy the Havana area, we Have stayed in HC rooms 3 times and not had a problem.  So if the next cruise the same happens on a balcony, what will you do?  If GS did not take care of it, ask for the Hotel Manager.  What was the not safe part?

Edited February 22, 2020 by jimbo5544

[soonernstlouis]

Agree with what is said above...who you cruise with, who you are tabled with at the MDR, who are your cabin neighbors (even suites) and who you share even a semi-exclusive pool with is luck of the draw.  Sorry you went thru this.  I probably would have accidentally kicked their boom box into to pool since apparently the only repercussions are a fight at sea with Carnival doing nothing.  Which is probably why fights happen more there to begin with.

 

Forgot to mention that I intentionally avoided booking a 5th level Havana cabin figuring that adjacent Havana Bar music might keep

us up.  Got the last 6th floor interior cabin available & will bring earplugs just in case.

Edited February 23, 2020 by soonernstlouis

[Banditswife]

I had a major complaint about Vista as well, guest services didn't do much.  I ended up emailing Carnival & immediately got a call from a very snippy associate.  She just went on & on about how it didn't happen, because no one else reported it.  My request to all who have major concerns like Sailormarg had: contact Carnival in an email.  If they continually get similar complaints, they might start to address the issues we are experiencing.

[SailorMarg]

5 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

I had a major complaint about Vista as well, guest services didn't do much.  I ended up emailing Carnival & immediately got a call from a very snippy associate.  She just went on & on about how it didn't happen, because no one else reported it.  My request to all who have major concerns like Sailormarg had: contact Carnival in an email.  If they continually get similar complaints, they might start to address the issues we are experiencing.

I have emailed Carnival's executive offices, and have contacted John Heald.  Thus far I have received only platitudes. 

 

[Banditswife]

I don't know why they contacted me by phone immediately after receiving my email.  Make sure you include your booking #, phone #, sail date, etc.  She ended up giving us $100 OBC for a future cruise.  $100 was not nearly enough for my issues, in my opinion.  $0 would have been ok, if she had of addressed my issue instead of giving me the run around.  Been sailing with CCL since 2009, am platinum- but our Vista cruise was the worst cruise we have ever had.  We are usually very laid back, not complainers at all.  We took another cruise with CCL after our bad experience.  That was a wonderful cruise, so I will still sail CCL.

[LuckyStar]

4 hours ago, SailorMarg said:

We were on the February 8, 2020 Sailing of the Vista, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in how much I did *not* enjoy the Havana experience this year.

 

We sailed the Carnival Vista in the Havana area this time last year and were so impressed I booked the same area for this year in a Havana Suite and for 2021 in a Havana Cabana and 2022 in a Havana Suite. I’ve spent the past year on the many online cruising sites telling anyone who would listen how fantastic the Havana experience is.  That will no longer be the story I tell on these online sites although I was hoping to add to my new telling that Carnival was gracious in handling my concerns.   Unfortunately I have only received platitudes from Carnival and no assurances that they intend to make any reasonable changes.

 We were in Suite 5236 and the noise from the Havana Bar every night made sleeping impossible.  The music and singing from the dining room below us during each evening's “showtime” was unacceptably loud in our cabin.  Both of these things could possibly have been overlooked. But what was inexcusable was the inability of the Havana staff to maintain a safe and pleasant environment in the Havana area, an area that we pay a hefty premium to enjoy.  It is not possible to enjoy the area when the Havana staff allow other passengers to loudly play their personal music on their personal speakers set up poolside where all other passengers were subjected to whatever that passenger chose to blare out of their speakers.  I brought my concern to the Havana area attendant and was told they couldn’t do anything about it.  I eventually called Guest Services, each time the attendant allowed this to happen, and security was sent to tell the passengers to turn off their speakers.  The overly intoxicated passengers then made a big deal about who was “snitching to security” and made the entire situation very uncomfortable.  Along with the private speakers being played, the Havana attendants did little to control the out of control antics such a “cannonball” jumping into the pool soaking everyone sitting on the pool's edge and nearly landing on people in the pool. It was unsafe and very unpleasant.

I expect that I will just have to understand that my fellow Havana passengers were the luck of the draw, and I drew a very bad lot this cruise. I did expect that the Havana staff would do more than stand idly by allowing this ruckus and mayhem to unfold day after day.  Understand that if you are considering paying the high premium  for a Havana cabin and are hoping for a relaxing space, it will come down to whether your fellow Havana passengers will play nice because the staff will do nothing to control any passengers who choose to ruin the experience for everyone else.  I will not be taking that risk again.

I no longer have any desire to stay in Carnival's Havana area after suffering through a very unpleasant $4000+ frat house experience this past week, or aboard any Carnival ship in the foreseeable future.  I was working toward becoming a platinum passenger by the end of 2021 with my bookings, but that is no longer something I want.  

I am so sorry this was a bad experience for you.  I guess we got lucky.  We were in a Havana patio, 5201, I believe and were terribly impressed that we heard nothing of the latin band or any other bands.  

[jimbo5544]

18 minutes ago, SailorMarg said:

I have emailed Carnival's executive offices, and have contacted John Heald.  Thus far I have received only platitudes. 

 

Just curious, what could they have said to make you change your mind on “moving up” to higher ground?

Edited February 23, 2020 by jimbo5544

[SailorMarg]

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Just curious, what could they have said to make you change your mind on “moving up” to higher ground?

Absolutely nothing.  They have chosen their demographic and I will move on. But, I was hoping that their response would have been more specific to my concerns and less generic.  I've stopped hoping.

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, SailorMarg said:

Absolutely nothing.  They have chosen their demographic and I will move on. But, I was hoping that their response would have been more specific to my concerns and less generic.  I've stopped hoping.

Curious what their demographic is and how they “chose it”?  

Edited February 23, 2020 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

Look, You can obviously spend your cruising do;Lars where ever you want.  Based on your replies, it seems you are more disparaging Carnival cruisers more than Carnival.  I hope your future cruise line choices work out better for you.  Thanks for giving your thoughts. 

[jimbo5544]

57 minutes ago, soonernstlouis said:

Agree with what is said above...who you cruise with, who you are tabled with at the MDR, who are your cabin neighbors (even suites) and who you share even a semi-exclusive pool with is luck of the draw.  Sorry you went thru this.  I probably would have accidentally kicked their boom box into to pool since apparently the only repercussions are a fight at sea with Carnival doing nothing.  Which is probably why fights happen more there to begin with.

 

Forgot to mention that I intentionally avoided booking a 5th level Havana cabin figuring that adjacent Havana Bar music might keep

us up.  Got the last 6th floor interior cabin available & will bring earplugs just in case.

We have stayed in the same room as the op and heard absolutely no music in our room from the Havana bar area.  That music also stopped at 11pm as well.  

[marshhawk]

I am sorry that you had a rough time with a poor pick of cabin, and a rowdy rich bunch in the Havana area.  I have friends in high places and they have cruised with me on Carnival and hunkered on down with the bottom feeders..., truth is,, that Carnival doesn't reprimand the bad patrons, because they will have a tendency to bad mouth the cruise line even when they are in the wrong, but the listener to their complaint wont hear that, they hear that Carnival is bad.  Which it is not.  Maybe Carnival should get rid of the class status and leave that to Cunard.  A bad cruise experience was that, just a bad cruise experience in a situation that you could not escape from.  Doesn't mean that every Carnival experience will be bad, unless you cant let go of what is bugging you.  My momma always said-"Where ever you go, there you are."  I hope that you enjoy your next cruise, whatever cruise line it is on.

 

 

I too hate to listen to others music.  It is in the rules and regulations to use ear buds when listening to your personal devices.

[TNcruising02]

21 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Look, You can obviously spend your cruising do;Lars where ever you want.  Based on your replies, it seems you are more disparaging Carnival cruisers more than Carnival.  I hope your future cruise line choices work out better for you.  Thanks for giving your thoughts. 

I was thinking the same thing.  I was sympathetic until I read the post that insulted all of the Carnival passengers.  That really makes the first post more questionable to me. It says more about the poster than the people he/she is insulting, in my opinion.  It's always interesting when someone behaves in a way they are accusing others of behaving. Pot meet kettle.

Back on the original topic, I think nobody should ever be able to play music through a speaker outside of their cabin.  Not even on their balcony.  It's extremely rude and should be against the rules of cruising. As far as the noise from the bar and music and singing from the dining room, that's just the way it is sometimes when someone chooses a cabin near those areas.  That's why researching and cabin selection are really important.

[SDPadreFan]

I think this is one of the potential problems with the Havana concept. Because it is a small area and only a small cluster of people who can use it each cruise, at any given time there can be issues. You "might" have a wonderful selection of fellow passengers but you might also have a "not so wonderful" selection of fellow passengers. With the standard cabins (or even the spa cabins), there is a smaller chance you might have poor cabin mates. If you have rowdy passengers near you around the pool area one day, it's easy to move somewhere else. If you have uncouth tablemates for dinner, that can generally be mitigated by a conversation with the maître d'.

 

But with Havana - you feel like you've paid for a somewhat exclusive experience and unless you get what you are expecting, you will understandably feel cheated (and even angry for some). But to me - that is the potential problem with the concept. Personally, I have not considered any of the Havana offerings for just this reason.

[aztekpm]

Never had this problem on a Carnival cruise yet, but, did on my last NCL cruise and security did nothing, even though multiple people complained.  He and his GF thought the lido was their personal oasis.  LOL it was my first 'get off my lawn' moment, but, in all seriousness it was annoying and made it very noisy & uncomfortable for others.

[dave_k58]

2 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Look, You can obviously spend your cruising do;Lars where ever you want.  Based on your replies, it seems you are more disparaging Carnival cruisers more than Carnival.  I hope your future cruise line choices work out better for you.  Thanks for giving your thoughts. 

Against my better judgement, I booked a cruise on Spring break on the Panorama. I hope that my worries are in vain. PS - the demographics of the cruisers is a huge part of determining how enjoyable a cruise is. Just my opinion. 

[jimbo5544]

4 minutes ago, dave_k58 said:

Against my better judgement, I booked a cruise on Spring break on the Panorama. I hope that my worries are in vain. PS - the demographics of the cruisers is a huge part of determining how enjoyable a cruise is. Just my opinion. 

Havana area is a home run.  Best Carnival idea in a long time.  The op complains about Carnival cruisers not the Havana area.  

[Amadawn1]

We were in Havana Cabana 5203 on the Vista for the 12/7/19 sailing.  We had no issues with loud music from the Havana bar.  Maybe it was our room location?  We also had a full week of quiet, relaxing enjoyment of the Havana pool area.  No boom boxes, loud or obnoxious guests in the Havana area.  It was wonderful.  My only complaint would be that my next door neighbors left their room service tray next to our stateroom door each morning.  Maybe to make it look like it wasn't theirs?  Smile. You're on candid camera!  But that happens all over all the ships.  I would book a Havana cabana again.  Maybe a Havana balcony next time around.  Awesome location.

[JCinATL]

4 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

  It's extremely rude and should be against the rules of cruising. 

 

It is, in fact, against Carnival's rules.  It's not listed in a very prominent place; I found it while reading ALL the fine print to find something else that I was looking for.

[Northhou]

Was in Cabin 5206 for the 1/4/2020 sailing and absolutely had a great time.  Room was super quiet and Havana pool area was quiet and relaxing.  The Havana bar was noisy and glad our room was away from it.   Spoiled now and will stay in Havana in the future when I’m on a ship that has it.  

Edited February 23, 2020 by Northhou

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, scpirate said:

Are royal and ncl the carnival equivalent.i suggest celebrity.was our best cruise yet.msc second best even though it has its own quirks and 5500 passengers on board.

It was more of a rhetorical question on cruising in general.