Panorama Havana Suite- need advice!

[bassspanker]

I may have the opportunity to upgrade my Cloud 9 spa suite to a Grand Suite or Havana Cabana Suite on the Panorama. At first glance the Havana Suite looks AMAZING with the huge patio. But I have some concerns.
1. I think I'd miss the balcony experience, and the lack of privacy is bothersome since anyone can walk past your patio. I can't tell- is this walkway restricted to Havana wristbands only? Or do they only enforce in the pool area?
2. I thought I read somewhere that wristbands to the Havana area are only enforced during the day. But I haven't been able to confirm this. If drunk rowdies from anywhere on the ship can come carousing past my patio at any hour of the night, that may be a deal breaker for me.

Can anyone here share their experience? Am I overly concerned?

[Spike2015]

I may be able to answer your questions from when I sailed on the Panorama.

 

Only other Havana guests can walk past your patio (the gate was locked) We were in 5204 I think and there was only one cabin past us. In a week we saw only our neighbors

 

In the Havana area it is was Havana guests so noise and traffic past the balcony.

 

I loved this area. You have Ocean Plaza close by for snacks and breakfast! If I booked the Panorama or the Vista this is where I would want to be!

 

[sanmarcosman]

Guests with wristbands will walk past your patio as they please. When we walked past the patios we were glad we booked an aft facing Havana balcony. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by sanmarcosman

[crazy4themouse]

We have done a Havana cabana on Vista several times, and it's absolutely wonderful!! And I think we've seen maybe half a dozen people total walk past our patio. Most Havana guests head to the pool area via the inside hallways, from our observations. It has always been very rare for us to see anyone when we're sitting outside, and we do love to sit out there and read on the patio. 

 

And I can't speak for how it is on Panorama, and maybe we've just been lucky, but we've never seen any rowdy people in the pool area. Quite the opposite -- the peace and quiet are what we *love* about Havana!! We've never seen anyone try and crash the area who didn't belong there, day or night. 

[mslhb]

We just had our 1st Havana experience in June. I had the same debate about the Grand suite and was glad we chose Havana instead. Did not miss the traditional balcony. There was very little foot traffic and what there was was other Havana area guests so it felt very communal. Loved the swing on the porch area. So comfortable and I sat out there a lot. Don’t think we would have used the Havana area near as much if we were on a different deck. Loved just walking out our gate and being in the pool/hot tub or just taking in the morning view. The Havana area on the Vista class ships is for sure a home run in my book!

[ASR1996]

We were in our first Havana Cabana cabin this past month on the Panorama and I had the exact same concerns as you.  It turned out to be amazing and I will stay in these cabins every chance I get whenever possible. The patio was amazing, we used it a lot and I read on it several hours every day.  I can honestly say I saw three or four people, at most, walk by our patio the entire seven days and there were no rowdy guests at all that we saw. On this cruise the wristbands were enforced. The pool and the hot tubs were perfect and never crowded. We decided to stay on board the whole trip and on the port days we were the only two people out by the pool. It was great. The proximity to the Java Blue Café, the Vista Dining Room, the Lido Market Place, the Limelight Lounge and the Ocean Plaza was perfect for us. 

 

I hope you have a great time whichever cabin you decide on.  

[nycny]

I agree with the comments with respect to the Panorama -- absolute favorite cabins on both the Vista and Horizon and I would book again in a heartbeat -- especially the extended aft balconies.  BUT, after sailing in the same cabin type on the Mardi Gras I will not book Havana on any of the Excellence class ships (Mardi Gras and Celebration).  Area on Mardi Gras was incredibly small and very little privacy or sun on the balcony.  After using the Havana area everyday on the Vista and Horizon, we relocated to the Serenity area on Mardi Gras.  Hope this helps.

[Illbcruzn4life]

54 minutes ago, nycny said:

I agree with the comments with respect to the Panorama -- absolute favorite cabins on both the Vista and Horizon and I would book again in a heartbeat -- especially the extended aft balconies.  BUT, after sailing in the same cabin type on the Mardi Gras I will not book Havana on any of the Excellence class ships (Mardi Gras and Celebration).  Area on Mardi Gras was incredibly small and very little privacy or sun on the balcony.  After using the Havana area everyday on the Vista and Horizon, we relocated to the Serenity area on Mardi Gras.  Hope this helps.

Sorry to hear that. We fell in love with our Havana cabana on the Horizon so much we booked one on the Celebration. I see in the videos the pool is smaller and looks lime there are no hot tubs either plus with the loungers lined up against the glass doesn’t look like there is much of a walkway in the area. 😕

[UPNYGuy]

if it is the Havana Cabana suite, look at the deck plan carefully. these cabins are right next to the band stand in the havana bar. you will hear music radiate through the walls at night if you are a light sleeper. IMHO the cabanas farther up the starbord side (like 3 down) are in a better spot. This is 5207 on the Horizon, and should be in the same spot on the Panorama. (we were on the other side on Panorama and had a fire hose in front of us)

Edited July 8, 2022 by UPNYGuy
edit

[fabby50]

The first year the Panorama was in the water, I wanted to book a Havana suite.  I thought I did, but the website wasn't really clear at that time and we ended up with an aft Havana balcony instead.  Although the balcony was great, I was not a fan of the cabin layout.  There was no couch, only a small chair and it just felt cramped and small.  It also wasn't on the same deck as the Havana area, so not as easy access to the pool, etc. as I thought when we originally booked.  Did make me book another trip though 🙂  We are booked in a Havana suite for the September 3rd Panorama cruise and I all really looking forward to it!  I would not spend the extra money to book another Havana aft cabin again.

[Eli_6]

On 7/5/2022 at 3:43 PM, bassspanker said:

I may have the opportunity to upgrade my Cloud 9 spa suite to a Grand Suite or Havana Cabana Suite on the Panorama. At first glance the Havana Suite looks AMAZING with the huge patio. But I have some concerns.
1. I think I'd miss the balcony experience, and the lack of privacy is bothersome since anyone can walk past your patio. I can't tell- is this walkway restricted to Havana wristbands only? Or do they only enforce in the pool area?
2. I thought I read somewhere that wristbands to the Havana area are only enforced during the day. But I haven't been able to confirm this. If drunk rowdies from anywhere on the ship can come carousing past my patio at any hour of the night, that may be a deal breaker for me.

Can anyone here share their experience? Am I overly concerned?

With a Grand Suite, you get in to the Havana area.

 

Drunk rowdies won't caravan past your patio because it is blocked off from the other areas.  I have stayed in the Havana area 3 times and most of the time the area was pretty much empty at night. 

 

IMO, it is 6 of 1, a half dozen of the other. I would prefer the balcony on the GS to the patio on the Havana Suite, but I think the Havana location is better because you can just walk right out to the Havana area. I also like the Havana Suite better than the Grand Suite.  But, again, it is 6 of 1, a half dozen of the other.  

Edited July 8, 2022 by Eli_6

[Eli_6]

And when I say I "like" the Havana Suite better, I meant in terms of the decor.  I like the decor of the Havana rooms much better than Carnival's regular decor. 

[Mr305]

Have an Ocean Suite for an upcoming Carnival Horizon cruise.  When there’s 4 in the room, where does the 4th person sleep?  Is there a pullman or rolling in bed?

[bassspanker]

Hey everyone, just wanted to circle back and thank everyone for their comments a few weeks back. We went ahead and booked the Havana Suite for Oct. 1

 

Interesting comment about being close to the band, so we'll see how it works out, hopefully not too loud. But I'm a musician, so I'll likely be out late listening to the band anyway.

 

Really looking forward to this, since it's our first time to book anything nicer than a regular balcony cabin on any cruise line.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 7/7/2022 at 12:20 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

Sorry to hear that. We fell in love with our Havana cabana on the Horizon so much we booked one on the Celebration. I see in the videos the pool is smaller and looks lime there are no hot tubs either plus with the loungers lined up against the glass doesn’t look like there is much of a walkway in the area. 😕

Comparing the Havana area on the Vista Class ships to the Excel Class ships is night and day.  We sailed there on the Horizon in 2018 and 2019.  It was deck five aft with a beautiful view, large pool, two hot tubs and two tiki huts that you could cool your feet in.  On the Excel Class, the area was an afterthought because the bean counters were more concerned about the Loft 19 area and selling the cabanas there.  The Havana area got relegated to deck 8, with a postage size stamp pool that is smaller than one of the hot tubs in the Vista Class Havana area.   With the size of the Serenity area on the Excel Class, that is the place to go to get away from unruly kids.  I would change cabins and use the money you save towards other peripheral stuff like Cheers, specialty dining or excursions.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 7/9/2022 at 1:51 AM, Mr305 said:

Have an Ocean Suite for an upcoming Carnival Horizon cruise.  When there’s 4 in the room, where does the 4th person sleep?  Is there a pullman or rolling in bed?

Drop down and sofa bed?

[jimbo5544]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Comparing the Havana area on the Vista Class ships to the Excel Class ships is night and day.  We sailed there on the Horizon in 2018 and 2019.  It was deck five aft with a beautiful view, large pool, two hot tubs and two tiki huts that you could cool your feet in.  On the Excel Class, the area was an afterthought because the bean counters were more concerned about the Loft 19 area and selling the cabanas there.  The Havana area got relegated to deck 8, with a postage size stamp pool that is smaller than one of the hot tubs in the Vista Class Havana area.   With the size of the Serenity area on the Excel Class, that is the place to go to get away from unruly kids.  I would change cabins and use the money you save towards other peripheral stuff like Cheers, specialty dining or excursions.

I have sailed on Havana cabins in both, on both classes of ships (5 times on Vista Class and once on the MG),  While I agree and was disappointed when I saw the renderings as well as when we explored the MG before she sailed on a TA event, we kept out booking that we completed on the 6/25 sailing.  I do have to say that the HV rooms on the MG exceeded by downplayed expectations.  I would not hesitate to sail in this area again.  It still has the most quiet area (sans Loft19) on the ship and the smaller pool still gets it done.