Horizon Havana

[bluey258]

We are looking to book the Horizon for next year.

Please tell me about the Havana cabins on deck 5 and aft deck 9. I can’t make up my mind after all the reading I have done. Please help me by giving me the good, bad, and ugly. Lol

I love the idea of uncrowded pools and hot tub. We have not cruise Carnival since 2017 which feels like a lifetime ago. I will take all the help you can give me.

Thanks

[Elaine5715]

It is a beautiful area.  Non Havana guests are no longer allowed access to the pool at any time.  

[UPNYGuy]

17 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

It is a beautiful area.  Non Havana guests are no longer allowed access to the pool at any time.  

this is correct. Also, the Havana suites are NOT worth it. They are right by the band stand, and you hear the music. IMO 5207 is in the best spot. You cannot hear the goings on in the bar, and don’t have any obstructions in the glass. That is the cabin DW and I try to book. 
 

IIRC, the cabin directly on the other side (port side, this cabin is starboard) has a fire hose box in front of it. We ended up there on Panorama and would have booked 5207 if it were available. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by UPNYGuy

[CruizinSusan70]

Inside cabin on deck five, specifically one of the sideways cabins are fantastic.  Did them for 8 days on the Horizon out of NYC in Aug of 2018 and for another 8 out of MIA in Aug of 2019. Great value.  No need to pay extra for balcony since the Havana area is exclusive. Use the savings towards Cheers or excursions.

[UPNYGuy]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Inside cabin on deck five, specifically one of the sideways cabins are fantastic. 

 

be careful what inside cabins you book, as some are next to the Havana bar, and you can hear the band, music. 

 

[pirate4me2]

The Havana area on Horizon, Vista, and Panorama is amazing. I love it, and if I cruise those ships that is the only area I will book. The private outside deck with pool and bar makes it so you rarely have to leave, and then when you do if you book a cabin on 5 you are right there on the Promenade deck with all the "good" spots close by! 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, UPNYGuy said:

this is correct. Also, the Havana suites are NOT worth it. They are right by the band stand, and you hear the music. IMO 5207 is in the best spot. You cannot hear the goings on in the bar, and don’t have any obstructions in the glass. That is the cabin DW and I try to book. 
 

IIRC, the cabin directly on the other side (port side, this cabin is starboard) has a fire hose box in front of it. We ended up there on Panorama and would have booked 5207 if it were available. 

Unlike some of the Spa balconies, these are still usable if it rains or you want some shade

[bluey258]

Thanks everyone!! Did anyone have Soot on balcony on deck 9?

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, UPNYGuy said:

 

be careful what inside cabins you book, as some are next to the Havana bar, and you can hear the band, music. 

 

5205 and 5208, which are the two sideways cabins in the Havana area are the furthest away from the bandstand.  As a matter of fact they are right behind the elevators and we never had any problems whatsoever.  The sideways layout of the cabin gave us more useful room than the standard inside cabin.

[bluey258]

Well I did it booked Deck 9 aft!! 

Thanks everyone!!

[snowdogsmm]

We had an extended aft on deck 8 and loved it.  Thought next time deck9 would be better because they have a little more shade.  did not have any noise issues.

[nybumpkin]

40 minutes ago, bluey258 said:

Well I did it booked Deck 9 aft!! 

Thanks everyone!!

You asked about soot - we had an aft deck 8 wrap and didn't see soot. Here's a link to my 2018 review with pics: 

 

[eltigre]

Going soon on the Panorama in 5202. Thoughts please on location?

[CruizinSusan70]

26 minutes ago, eltigre said:

Going soon on the Panorama in 5202. Thoughts please on location?

It's the cabin closest to Ocean Plaza.  There is a YouTube video of that cabin from the Horizon you can check out.  Stayed in 5205, so can't give any first hand information about your cabin, just that instead of relaxing on your lanai, you could be in the Havana area staying in an inside cabin and save money.

[LuvCruiSun]

2 hours ago, bluey258 said:

Well I did it booked Deck 9 aft!! 

Thanks everyone!!

We loved deck 9 aft on Panorama. We did not have any soot at all. Deck 9 is completely covered. There are stairs back there that go to the Havana area too.

[HI IM KYLE]

Glad you booked deck 9. I think the cover above is really underrated. We went in August, and it was nice being in the shade while being on the balcony. Everybody else below us was in the sun all the time. Never had to worry about soot. I can't remember the exact room but we were smack dab in the middle. I think the Havana area is the best part of the ship. Enjoy!  

[IMSAILING]

We are booked in 5210 on the Horizon in May  - just about to make final payment 

[Pellaz]

9 hours ago, bluey258 said:

Thanks everyone!! Did anyone have Soot on balcony on deck 9?

 

We had soot on our Havana patio and pretty much the entire aft part of the ship on our Horizon cruise in October.  My friend John was more annoyed by it than I was; we just decided not to leave any clothes in the uncovered part of the patio.    Note that this is very wind-dependent; under certain wind conditions (sideways to direction of travel) you should experience no soot issues at all.  

 

BUT otherwise we LOVED the Havana area, and alas, we can't get a similar room on our Oct 2023 sailing.   😞   

The uncrowded hot-tubs and pool, the bar servers and heavy pours, the chilled fruit service on the Havana deck twice a day....   The Havana deck staff were awesome and one of them donned a suit and goggles and helped me try to find a lady's gold earring in the pool.  

[ishap]

I sailed the Horizon a few years ago and had a Havana Cabana.  In my opinion, it ended up being the best cruise I have done to date!  I loved the uncrowded Havana pool and hot tub.  Plus, if you stay on 5, a little secret not known to many is that in the Ocean Plaza area they have a small breakfast buffet and light lunch time foods.  So you can avoid some of the crowds by stopping by there for breakfast when you get up without having to go up to Lido.

[georgiacat]

We had cabin 9473 on Horizon last September and loved it.  Fully covered balcony.

 

 

[UPNYGuy]

18 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Unlike some of the Spa balconies, these are still usable if it rains or you want some shade

correct, but you are better off in a regular Havana Cabana vs a Cabana Suite unless the bathroom really matters, and you don’t mind hearing music in your cabin at night. 

[eltigre]

4 hours ago, ishap said:

I sailed the Horizon a few years ago and had a Havana Cabana.  In my opinion, it ended up being the best cruise I have done to date!  I loved the uncrowded Havana pool and hot tub.  Plus, if you stay on 5, a little secret not known to many is that in the Ocean Plaza area they have a small breakfast buffet and light lunch time foods.  So you can avoid some of the crowds by stopping by there for breakfast when you get up without having to go up to Lido.

Unfortunately there is no longer food / beverages in the Ocean Plaza 😞

[pirate4me2]

16 hours ago, bluey258 said:

Well I did it booked Deck 9 aft!! 

Thanks everyone!!

Yay! You'll be spoiled after this cruise! 

[bluey258]

4 hours ago, georgiacat said:

We had cabin 9473 on Horizon last September and loved it.  Fully covered balcony.

 

 

This is the cabin we booked!! is it on end? deck plan has cabin number as 9475 but when you push to book it put it as 9473. hope that made sense. 

[TN Roz]

We had a Havana aft balcony on the Vista a few years ago and have one booked on the Horizon for later this year.Love the Havana area on this class of ships! There were times that we were the only people in the pool. We felt like we had our very own personal bar server. The Havana area on Mardi Gras is much smaller and IMHO is not worth the additional money.