Talk to me about Vista Havana vs regular balcony

[momof3cruisers]

I currently have an aft wrap plus a regular aft balcony right next to it on a 48 hour hold. Deck six, Havana. For mid November out of Port Canaveral.
 

On the cruise would be myself, my husband, our two sons (22 and 23) and the older son’s service dog. Max, the dog is a big part of the appeal to this cabin/balcony set up. My son’s main concern is his dog not having any room to play. This big balcony situation would give him some breaks from working. And, I have always wanted to try out the Havana area. My sons are very chill young men. They don’t party or act obnoxious etc. Not the type to get into Lido deck crazy shenanigans, more the type to sit in the sun listening to a book. 
 

Here is my dilemma; those two cabins are around $6,000 total. Two regular balconies on deck 9 (which is under the lido I believe but the only deck that shows two cabins next to each other) is $3,500. So….is Havana that much better? And share your thoughts on the value of a ginormous balcony. I’ve never paid this much for a cruise, even for the reg balcony price. 🤨

[ninjacat123]

6 minutes ago, momof3cruisers said:

I currently have an aft wrap plus a regular aft balcony right next to it on a 48 hour hold. Deck six, Havana. For mid November out of Port Canaveral.
 

On the cruise would be myself, my husband, our two sons (22 and 23) and the older son’s service dog. Max, the dog is a big part of the appeal to this cabin/balcony set up. My son’s main concern is his dog not having any room to play. This big balcony situation would give him some breaks from working. And, I have always wanted to try out the Havana area. My sons are very chill young men. They don’t party or act obnoxious etc. Not the type to get into Lido deck crazy shenanigans, more the type to sit in the sun listening to a book. 
 

Here is my dilemma; those two cabins are around $6,000 total. Two regular balconies on deck 9 (which is under the lido I believe but the only deck that shows two cabins next to each other) is $3,500. So….is Havana that much better? And share your thoughts on the value of a ginormous balcony. I’ve never paid this much for a cruise, even for the reg balcony price. 🤨

What about a balcony and an interior?  The service dog can come over and visit.  I have a Havana Cabana booked for Jan 2025 on Horizon but I have read reviews that the Havana interiors are great and a cut in cost.  DH dug his heels in and said he wanted a Havana Cabana. I said ok big boy, pony up the difference.  There you go!  Hope you can find a way to have doggy area as well as not pay so much.  Have a great cruise!!

[Stallion]

After trying the Vista Havana Interior a year ago, I loved it. My biggest complaint about Carnival is the ridiculously over crowded pools in early afternoon. The Carnival Havana is like cruise on an entirely different class of cruise ship.  I liked it so much I upgraded to the center aft balcony on Deck 7. Can't wait. I start out in the Havana area and then move to main pool in late afternoon. I still like the action at the main deck especially when it gets a little more mellow in the afternoon with a band playing.

 

It doesn't look like Carnival will be building more ships with the premium Havana like on the Vista with a main pool and two large saunas. Since the Vista is moving out of Galveston I thought I'd better take advantage now;. 

 

I will say one concern I've heard is that the aft balconies don't get much shade-which might be tough on the dog, although an aft wrap might be different.

 

Another thing to consider is that your 22 and 23 year old's won't be able to invite their friends they meet and join them in the Havana pool area but that age is a great age to cruise anyway.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Stallion

[pe4all]

Can't help you with Vista, but we had the aft wrap on Horizon. (7459). We are balcony snobs, and could never sail without one.  Had the L-shaped non-Havana balcony booked, then saw the Havana aft wrap open up and booked it for only $250 more - but this was during covid when Horizon was at 60% capacity.  The Havana area was well worth it.  Even at partial capacity the main areas on Horizon were jammed.  Havana area was always a great place to escape the crowds.  The aft wrap was humongous - there will be plenty of room for your son's service dog to romp a bit, especially if you can open up the balcony divider next to it also.  Having your own "private" pool, loungers, etc. may be worth the extra cost if you can swing it.  

[Cruisin 2 Relax]

Have had the Havana aft wrap on the Vista, it is worth it.  Since the balcony curves there is almost always a shady spot.  The balcony has several seating options with loungers and chairs.  Add on top of this the Havana area seclusion.  No need to worry about chair hogs there.  Your balcony overlooks the Havana area so you can check it out before heading down. 

[Eli_6]

I totally think the Havana area is worth it.  I would stick the kids in an inside Havana room, though to save money.  

[threewide]

We are booked on the Horizon. 
 

May 2024.

Booked 9471, from what I’ve seen it is very private and lots of shade, deck ten overhangs the balcony by a few feet to keep out the hot afternoon sun. 
 

[momof3cruisers]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:29 PM, Stallion said:

 

 

Another thing to consider is that your 22 and 23 year old's won't be able to invite their friends they meet and join them in the Havana pool area but that age is a great age to cruise anyway.

They are best friends and I can’t imagine them caring but if they do, I guess they’ll have to meet elsewhere. 😎

On 5/20/2023 at 9:06 AM, Eli_6 said:

I totally think the Havana area is worth it.  I would stick the kids in an inside Havana room, though to save money.  

That’s a thought but they both really need at minimum a window. An inside would be too closed in.  Part of the reason for leaving MN at that time of year is the lack of light. 

[LuckyStar]

I love the Havana area.  I have sailed with inside and patio, which your dog would love, I would think. If I were to choose Havana, i would prefer to be on Deck 5, closest to the pool.  If you got an inside and a patio, you would have lots of room for the dog if that configuration would work for you. 

[TexasJohn82]

We stayed in the Havana Cabana Suite in April 22 on Vista and the Cabana part was fantastic, you don't get a lot of foot traffic across the front so that wasn't an issue, and we really enjoyed the ability to walk from our room to the pool via the balcony.  The Havana area is great, several nights where we had had it to ourselves.

A few notes 

• There is no way to lock the balcony sliding door from the outside so you have to leave it unlocked when going back and forth (but again not a lot of traffic so not a big deal)
• You will hear the music from the Karaoke in the Havana club from your balcony (we didn't really hear it in the state room)
• The suite was nice (very large bathroom and large sitting area, the balcony is no different than the others) but I wouldn't do it again as it wasn't worth the price difference from just a regular Cabana

[jimbo5544]

The Havana experience on a Vista class ship is far superior than a regular cabin.  The exclusive use of the Havana pool area makes it worth the price by itself.  The aft wraps that are included in the Havana area are the best balconies on the ship, bar none.  The 6th floor aft wraps are the biggest of the aft wraps (balcomies get smaller due to the slope of the aft of the ship as you go up.  GRAB IT