Havana Cabana area busy/your experience?

[Halo19]

Hello!

 

Husband and I thought we would book a Havana Cabana room this time around.   Having our own spot on a balcony sounds wonderful.  But!   Is it really worth it to get a balcony vs an inside room?   Im thinking the Havana Cabana area wont be too busy? Especially on port days.   I really dont care if I have my own 'private' area on my balcony, im fine with sharing in the cabana area.  Im just afraid it will end up very busy?

 

And do they still open the pool up to everyone at 7pm, or have they changed it?

 

What has your experience been like?

 

Thanks!

Edited February 26, 2023 by Halo19

[LaRue1975]

We don’t stay in our first Havana Cabana until April but I have done a ton of research and almost all say the Havana area is never crowded. I can confirm that the Havana area is never open to guests not staying in a Havana cabin. They ended the after 7 PM access for everyone a long time ago, pre Covid I think. I am super excited for our first Havana experience on the Vista! 

[Halo19]

2 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

We don’t stay in our first Havana Cabana until April but I have done a ton of research and almost all say the Havana area is never crowded. I can confirm that the Havana area is never open to guests not staying in a Havana cabin. They ended the after 7 PM access for everyone a long time ago, pre Covid I think. I am super excited for our first Havana experience on the Vista! 

 

Thanks!  Ive watched some videos people made and the area always looked pretty empty!  Good to know they stopped the access for everyone!

[ruready]

I stayed in the Havana area last August on the Panorama and it was never busy near any of the cabins.  Pretty low key.  Very quiet except for a few hours in the evening when a band played at the indoor bar.  

[Eskylady]

Hi,

 

We had a Havana Cabana on the Celebration. We were on the opposite side of the bar and quite small pool. Our side was mostly a ghost town.  The other side was populated, but there was always space. The pool seemed more like an afterthought, as in “Opps, we forgot the pool!”, based on the size and location. (It kind of reminded me of a cup of soup with a few solid elements in the broth). The stateroom was nice. I loved sitting on the hanging chair and watching the world go by. Loved the bar, but the poor servers were covering inside and outside at the same time. All this being said, I would book one again in a heartbeat, just not on that class of ship. It’s really nice to have a space of your own and not have to fight to get a deck chair or a drink. Have a great time!

[Halo19]

1 hour ago, Eskylady said:

Hi,

 

We had a Havana Cabana on the Celebration. We were on the opposite side of the bar and quite small pool. Our side was mostly a ghost town.  The other side was populated, but there was always space. The pool seemed more like an afterthought, as in “Opps, we forgot the pool!”, based on the size and location. (It kind of reminded me of a cup of soup with a few solid elements in the broth). The stateroom was nice. I loved sitting on the hanging chair and watching the world go by. Loved the bar, but the poor servers were covering inside and outside at the same time. All this being said, I would book one again in a heartbeat, just not on that class of ship. It’s really nice to have a space of your own and not have to fight to get a deck chair or a drink. Have a great time!

I have read that the Vista class ships did the Havana area much better then the others.  The deck plans do look better too, so we are going to stick with one of those ships!

[maintain242001]

Vista ships Havana is great no matter if you have an inside or outside. Havana on the new ships is a total letdown and a disappointment....you can offset some of the disappointment with a Havana Cabana room, they are nice.

Edited February 26, 2023 by maintain242001

[BethID]

We did it last summer on the Panorama. Loved it. We booked a havana cabana room but honestly we never used it. We were always in the back by the pool. There were always plenty of loungers available, and was rarely crowded. The one thing I wish is that there was more shade; I like to stay pasty white 

We are now booked for a New Years cruise on the Horizon. We booked inside cabins because we just didn't use the outdoor space last year.

You are going to love it. It is so nice to have a quiet area to hang out during the day and not have to fight for a chair. 

[Eli_6]

Stayed in it several times on the Vista.  It is not busy. Love the area!

Edited February 26, 2023 by Eli_6

[csm5986142]

I'm totally in the minority here - we absolutely oved our Havana Cabana on Mardi Gras during a fully packed spring break cruise.  It was always extremely quiet on the Havana deck, with lots of available lounge chairs.  Yes, the pool is small but you'll likely have it all to yourself (we only saw 1 family using it 1 time out of the entire cruise).  I don't use the pool/hot tubs on ships, so the size of the pool is not a factor for me (it's bonus to me if it's hardly used and very quiet).  You can sit out on deck on either side of the ship in the Havana area, so if you want sun vs. shade, you just go to the other side (granted, only one side has a bar).

We would book a Havana room (cabana or inside) every time on the Excel class ships if the price difference weren't so significant.

[Halo19]

Well, we ended up just booking an interior havana on the Horizon. We shall see how it goes!

[five.]

We really enjoyed our Havana interior, it was right down the steps, there was a back stairwell for Havana members. It was great. We prefer Magic over Horizon overall, but if we are going to be on Vista class Havana is the way to go. I won't be trying any of the newer classes.

[RenoNanaOz]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:38 AM, Eskylady said:

Hi,

 

We had a Havana Cabana on the Celebration. We were on the opposite side of the bar and quite small pool. Our side was mostly a ghost town.  The other side was populated, but there was always space. The pool seemed more like an afterthought, as in “Opps, we forgot the pool!”, based on the size and location. (It kind of reminded me of a cup of soup with a few solid elements in the broth). The stateroom was nice. I loved sitting on the hanging chair and watching the world go by. Loved the bar, but the poor servers were covering inside and outside at the same time. All this being said, I would book one again in a heartbeat, just not on that class of ship. It’s really nice to have a space of your own and not have to fight to get a deck chair or a drink. Have a great time!

Yes I agree, I do not like the location of Havana in new ships. Don't think I would book one. Our last 2 cruises have been in Havana, Vista and Horizon, love being At the back of the ship.One was a Cabana and last month we did Aft Balcony which we preferred. Booked one on Panarama in May. It was never terribly crowded except Sea Days. However, they were diligent about Chogs. Never waited more than a couple minutes for a drink. Can't ever go back now, we're Havana snobs LOL

Edited February 27, 2023 by RenoNanaOz

[ninjacat123]

DH and I are booked on Horizon in a Havana Cabana and I'm so excited!  😎

[ksmcdonald]

On 2/26/2023 at 2:27 PM, maintain242001 said:

Vista ships Havana is great no matter if you have an inside or outside. Havana on the new ships is a total letdown and a disappointment....you can offset some of the disappointment with a Havana Cabana room, they are nice.

totally agree!  We had an inside Havana on the Mardi Gras and was very disappointed. Especially after sailing Havana Cabanas on. Istanbul and Horizon.  For inside Havana on the Mardi Gras, the only perk is the pool (no hot tubs) and that pool was closed for repairs 3 of the 7 days. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

8 hours ago, Halo19 said:

Well, we ended up just booking an interior havana on the Horizon. We shall see how it goes!

Youll love it. Thats are plans for future Vista class ships.

 

we got great pricing for the Cabanas on the Horizon and Celebration but they were covid priced.

 

cant spend that kinda money going forward for cabanas. Way too expensive for us.

[ninjacat123]

11 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

Youll love it. Thats are plans for future Vista class ships.

 

we got great pricing for the Cabanas on the Horizon and Celebration but they were covid priced.

 

cant spend that kinda money going forward for cabanas. Way too expensive for us.

I agree!  I wanted to get an interior Havana room but DH said "let's get the Cabana" after seeing the pictures.  I pay for our cruises so I said ok "as long as you pay the difference" which he is doing!😉