I'm Considering Havana Aft-View Extended Balcony and could use advice.

[Craxe77]

Hi all, My wife and are are up for our 2nd cruise ever and first with Carnival sailing on the Carnival Horizon in late 2022. We are sailing with friends  and I have reserved a 2nd deck balcony room 8 doors down from them. I noticed that a few Havana Aft-view rooms on deck 7 are open and have seen a review that the pool area was great and not crowded. Our friends don't want to move their room but from our last cruise experience we couldn't enjoy soaking by the pool due to crowds, especially in the pool. 

 

Questions :

Is the Havana area of the ship worth it?

Is it hard to travel  from deck 7 aft  to deck 2 Midships?

Lastly, how do you communicate on ship to another party about where you are and what you may be doing? (leave messages)

 

Thanks for any advice you may give

 

[Jasonsterling]

The Havana area is very nice and far less crowded in my experience- great view off the back of the ship. It's not any harder traveling down to 2 from 7 then traveling anywhere else on the ship- lol elevator down and a little bit of a walk, not bad. If they carry a phone I believe you can text each other free now through Carnival app or some such- if not there's a nominal charge to sign up to do so, you may want to try that. If not then maybe just arrange in advance to meet up periodically at a set spot. Keep in mind that the exterior Havana pool area is strictly limited access to Havana passengers. Your friends will not be able to join you there. The interior Havana bar is open to everyone though. I think you'll have a great time on that ship! 

[dallasdan]

Havana area is great.  Pool area wasn't crowded at all.  You can text to others on board through the carnival app for no extra charge.  Just be aware that sometimes the text takes a long time to receive.

[Top_of_the_Cube]

For communicating:

 

If you are carrying a device that can access wifi, download the Carnival HUB app.  It is free.  You can go ahead and download it now, and once you get on the ship you can connect to the ship's wifi, again for free.  The HUB will give you information about the ship and activities and menus, and allow certain reservations and such.  I understand that the HUB has been greatly enhanced since I last sailed.  The HUB will not connect you to your e-mail or social media or the internet.  You will need to purchase a separate internet package for that.

 

As for communicating while on the ship, the HUB has a feature that will allow you to text with other passengers.  The text feature was a nominal fee, $5 on my last cruise, per person good for the length of your trip.  To text someone, they have to have the text feature activated and accept your invitation to connect.

 

Frankly, it did not work well for me, but a lot of folks didn't seem to have any problems with it.

[aaconsumer55]

Havana definitely worth it.  I would not sail on Vista class in a non-Havana room.  

[xDisconnections]

2 hours ago, aaconsumer55 said:

Havana definitely worth it.  I would not sail on Vista class in a non-Havana room.  

I’d probably do the same.

[Jenjer]

Havana won us over to Carnival. I would try and get your friends to upgrade to the Havana also or they will miss out.   The pool and hot tubs are not crowded at all. there is a bar and plenty of shaded areas for people to just chill.   During the day the staff do check to make sure all guests are in Havana rooms thats how they keep it special, I think it was open to everyone at 7

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

17 minutes ago, Jenjer said:

think it was open to everyone at 7

Havana area has been closed to non-Havana guests since Nov, 2019.  

[Sugar67]

We had an extended aft balcony in the Havana area on the Vista.  Honestly, it is the only time I felt we wasted money on a balcony.  In 7 days, we spent a grand total of 3 hours out on the balcony because we were always down by the Havana pool.  We originally had booked an interior Havana on our upcoming October 2021 cruise but quickly changed to another area when we saw that the Havana area is now on the side of the ship.  The pool looked extremely small and no hot tubs.  We are booked for an interior Havana room in January 2023.  

 

Also, if your friends are not booked in the Havana area, they will not be allowed to visit you in the pool area.

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Sugar67

[Eli_6]

On 7/2/2021 at 10:20 AM, Craxe77 said:

Hi all, My wife and are are up for our 2nd cruise ever and first with Carnival sailing on the Carnival Horizon in late 2022. We are sailing with friends  and I have reserved a 2nd deck balcony room 8 doors down from them. I noticed that a few Havana Aft-view rooms on deck 7 are open and have seen a review that the pool area was great and not crowded. Our friends don't want to move their room but from our last cruise experience we couldn't enjoy soaking by the pool due to crowds, especially in the pool. 

 

Questions :

Is the Havana area of the ship worth it?

Is it hard to travel  from deck 7 aft  to deck 2 Midships?

Lastly, how do you communicate on ship to another party about where you are and what you may be doing? (leave messages)

 

Thanks for any advice you may give

 

Yes, the Havana is worth it!  We loved it!!!  We have stayed in Havana twice and are scheduled to go out for a third time on August 7th.  We had an aft view balcony on one sailing and a corner vista balcony on the other. 

 

I would try to get one of the center rooms of the aft view rooms if possible as they are bigger than the aft views on the end...at least on the Vista.  

 

My last cruise on the vista getting an elevator was really difficult (we were with a disabled person), but my last cruise on it was at Christmas and we were at full capacity so that may or may not be an issue for you.  There was also something slightly weird in midship on floor 6/7 if I remember, but I don't think it will affect you.  But just to go down to deck 2 midship probably would not be an issue so long as you just go down the rear-ship elevators or stairs and head to mid-ship so long as there are no issues with people hogging the elevators.  If you can take the stairs, that seems to be the faster option but 6 floors of stairs is a lot if you go up and down them several times a day.

 

When I traveled with a big group, we used the texting option. It was not much to just have everyone use it...I think only maybe $5-10 per person for the entire cruise and then you can communicate via the Hub app text option. However, there were issues with connectivity at times where we would send texts and sometimes people would not get them until hours later.  But most of the time it worked.     

[Eli_6]

1 hour ago, Jenjer said:

Havana won us over to Carnival. I would try and get your friends to upgrade to the Havana also or they will miss out.   The pool and hot tubs are not crowded at all. there is a bar and plenty of shaded areas for people to just chill.   During the day the staff do check to make sure all guests are in Havana rooms thats how they keep it special, I think it was open to everyone at 7

I agree with this. IMO, a Havana interior room is better than a regular balcony.  They will miss out if not in a Havana room.  You will want to be in the Havana rather than the regular pool and your friends won't be able to come.  We actually had this problem when I cruised with family who didn't want to pay for Havana and I feel like it made the experience not as fun. 

[Craxe77]

I followed the advice here and booked the room. I also encouraged my friends to look into it to see if they were interested. They were and now we all are in the Havana area. It’ll be a much more enjoyable experience now. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

2 hours ago, Craxe77 said:

I followed the advice here and booked the room. I also encouraged my friends to look into it to see if they were interested. They were and now we all are in the Havana area. It’ll be a much more enjoyable experience now. 

Glad everyone chose the Havana. We will enjoy the Havana twice on the Panorama in 2022.

[lazydayz]

We are enjoying our aft extended Havana balcony now on the Horizon 

[lazydayz]

[mollygirl]

On 7/5/2021 at 10:21 AM, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

Havana area has been closed to non-Havana guests since Nov, 2019.  

It is open at 7 to all guests.

[californiatripman]

Feb 2020 cruise on Panorama was not open to non Havana guests at anytime 

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

33 minutes ago, mollygirl said:

It is open at 7 to all guests.

You are wrong unless the just changed it back again.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cruiseradio.net/why-carnival-is-changing-havana-rules-on-vista-class-ships/amp/

[mollygirl]

8 minutes ago, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

You are wrong unless the just changed it back again.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cruiseradio.net/why-carnival-is-changing-havana-rules-on-vista-class-ships/amp/

Well I hope you’re right.  I will be in a Havana cabin in Aug on the Horizon and will find out then.  I was going on some of the YouTube videos that mentioned it opening at 7.

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

14 minutes ago, mollygirl said:

Well I hope you’re right.  I will be in a Havana cabin in Aug on the Horizon and will find out then.  I was going on some of the YouTube videos that mentioned it opening at 7.

Yeah.  I booked a Havana interior for Oct-2020 & rebooked to Sep-2021 when the first was canceled.  Even before the recent rate hikes, the cost of a Havana interior was about the same as a standard balcony.  I would not have splurged without the exclusivity.  I prefer smaller ships anyway but everyone raves about the Havana area.

[bluesea4me]

I have a havana cabana reserved on the horizon (the one with the patio), but my cruise person at carnival said I wouldn't like it as you can hear the havana bar all night.  It is cabin 5228.  Has anyone stayed in a cabin near that to help me?  HE's trying to book me into a balcony  on 8 or 9 instead

[bdever]

3 minutes ago, bluesea4me said:

I have a havana cabana reserved on the horizon (the one with the patio), but my cruise person at carnival said I wouldn't like it as you can hear the havana bar all night.  It is cabin 5228.  Has anyone stayed in a cabin near that to help me?  HE's trying to book me into a balcony  on 8 or 9 instead

DO NOT MOVE!!!! You are in a REALLY good cabana!!!! You can’t hear a thing from Havana Bar! I question his motivation for trying to move you in all honesty.

[bluesea4me]

4 minutes ago, bdever said:

DO NOT MOVE!!!! You are in a REALLY good cabana!!!! You can’t hear a thing from Havana Bar! I question his motivation for trying to move you in all honesty.

 

4 minutes ago, bdever said:

DO NOT MOVE!!!! You are in a REALLY good cabana!!!! You can’t hear a thing from Havana Bar! I question his motivation for trying to move you in all honesty.

I did as well.   My significant other has never EVER cruised before and he hates crowds (hehe) so I'm trying to get a cabin that will provide shade (he burns easily) and still allow us to spend a bit of time together (I can lay in the sun...he can read a book in the shade near the havana pool.)    I have also been questioning it.  So much so, that I am actually going to get a new pvp (my last one retired so he must have been assigned--and I don't care for him).   

[dezertcruzer]

The best cruise my husband and I have ever had was Thanksgiving 2018 on the Horizon in a Havana cabin.  Our friends also had a Havana cabin, and we spent all day every day back there in the Havana area.  We enjoyed it soooo much!  It was never crowded.  It had the most comfortable seating areas in the shade where we could sit, read, and converse, then we could take a dip in the pool or the hot tubs whenever we wanted.  Even when semi-full it was never loud or rowdy.  The Havana Bar was right there so it was easy to get whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.  We absolutely loved it.

[bdever]

3 minutes ago, bluesea4me said:

 

I did as well.   My significant other has never EVER cruised before and he hates crowds (hehe) so I'm trying to get a cabin that will provide shade (he burns easily) and still allow us to spend a bit of time together (I can lay in the sun...he can read a book in the shade near the havana pool.)    I have also been questioning it.  So much so, that I am actually going to get a new pvp (my last one retired so he must have been assigned--and I don't care for him).   

In all honesty, yes, when I read that I was thinking oh no, sounds like you need a new PVP but I didn’t want to assume anything. You will find that your cabana is so close to the pool area and is partially shaded and offers partial sun too at all times that you can actually just lounge on the cabana in between dip trips to the pool and hot tubs! I only mention that for the occasional sea day where your SO might find the Havana pool deck too crowded. It has happened so use that Cabana as your stand by to get away from the crowd but still lounge by the pool at the same time.