DKNE Posted September 28, 2015 #1 Share Posted September 28, 2015 So we have an opportunity to book the Family Habour Oceanview on the Vista for $80 more than just our regular Oceanview for $80 more. Thing is the Family Harbours are under the galley. Even though the Vista isn't built yet, with reviews, other ships, people say to stay away from the rooms below the galley. Wondering if it is worth the $80 to switch to a Family Habour Oceanview (we have 2 kids who will be 13 and 11 on the cruise sailing). Clearly having a Family Harbour with all the perks....family area, movie nights, family breakfast area, etcetc is cool to have, but having the galley above us...is that a perk lol However another thing is, we are also hoping for a deal that will allow us to get a deal where we can get an 'balcony for the price of an oceanview' like we did on the Breeze. Not sure what to do. Any tips? Or should we just book the Family Harbour to secure a super neat room on the Vista and if we do get a great rate to upgrade to a balcony, so be it? Thanks ! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virginiab Posted September 28, 2015 #2 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I would snap up the family harbor room myself. Sure, some areas under the galley will be noisy at odd hours; many others will not be noisy. Unless you have someone extremely sensitive to noise, I'd just stock up on earplugs, just in case of noise, and book the cabin. The cabin looks really neat! I never travel without earplugs. You never know who will be in the next cabin or the hotel room next to yours and how loud they will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKNE Posted September 28, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I did just grab the Family Harbour ! :D Apparently our room is under the dining room and not the galley! I am excited !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted September 28, 2015 #4 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I think you made a good decision. I would not expect too many zero/low cost upgrade deals on the Vista the first year. You didn't say if you were on a Europe or Caribbean sailing. On the Caribbean sailings the "specialty" staterooms (Havana & Family Harbor) seem to be filling fast, even though those sailings are a year+ out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKNE Posted September 28, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I think you made a good decision. I would not expect too many zero/low cost upgrade deals on the Vista the first year. You didn't say if you were on a Europe or Caribbean sailing. On the Caribbean sailings the "specialty" staterooms (Havana & Family Harbor) seem to be filling fast, even though those sailings are a year+ out. We are on the 8 day eastern exotic caribbean! And apparently the 6pm first seating dining is already 'waitlisted' for our sailing, this is for Jan 2017 !!!! :eek: I am glad we booked the Family Habour room. We have over 480 days till sailing. I have never booked a cruise this far in advance! But we are excited as we are sailing with 2 sets of friends with their families as well!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted September 29, 2015 #6 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Don't forget to come back and tell us how you liked it!:) I really felt I was taking a big gamble to book a Havana Cabana (And a suite at that) on a ship that all I had to go by was conceptual drawings, and no first hand reviews. I booked months ago and I'm glad I did, because besides 2 sailings that have a few interior cabins for the Havana area, there are no Havana Cabins to be had. Of course some may open up when final payment due date arrives. The down side, was when I booked, there were only the cabins aft, on deck 5 that were considered "Havana" which meant the pool area would be blissfully uncrowded. Apparently demand was so high, they added additional cabins on aft portions of decks 6, 7, & 8 (Maybe even more) to "Havana". I don't think it's going to be quite the oasis I originally thought. I think the Family Harbor is a great concept & perfect for families. If the reviews are positive I think DH & I will take DS, DDiL, & DDGS on a cruise in 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam_Eagle Posted September 29, 2015 #7 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I think you'll be fine. As you already found out, all the FH Oceanviews are under the MDR. Only the FH Suites & Coves are under the galley. I booked on day 1 into a FH Interior, but I quickly moved to a FH Deluxe Oceanview for the small price difference. I would've loved to get a FH Suite, but the price difference was just too much, and the FH Coves sold out quickly since there are only 4. Given that the Vista sailings have been bookable for 6 months now, plus how popular it has been, I'm really not surprised that a dinner seating is waitlisted already. I booked at 645 days out, by far the farthest out I've booked a cruise. An active roll call makes the time fly by though, and I'm already more than a third of the way there. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKNE Posted October 1, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I am really happy with our choice, especially that the family deluxe oceanview habours have 2 washrooms !! Our one set of friends that we are travelling with also booked a family habour ocean view too! We had the 2 washrooms on the Disney Dream and it was so handy !!! Can't wait! Only 470 days! lol Thanks for all your help, really appreciate it ! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cashya Posted October 1, 2015 #9 Share Posted October 1, 2015 We booked a fh ocean view on the vista too. I'm really looking forward too. For the noise, we've had a cove balcony on the breeze and we did not had a lot of noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trvlgirlmq Posted November 17, 2015 #10 Share Posted November 17, 2015 wondering if some of you have additional info on the family harbour ocean views we are booiked into deluxe family harbour, but it seems its mostly for family the agent on carnival explained how 5pm to 9am others are not allowed in that area, how there is a special lounge etc, but is it more for families and children> we can go to regular deluxe ocean view im concerned and dont even understand what the lock down time means..... why is this i also dont know if there is a pool in that area or no? should two seniors stay in that area not only due to it being a family area but why take this space from families with children if that is what its for... any help please on this family harbour section which is supposed to be special This area is designed specifically for family groups with children. The rooms are all the Deluxe OV with the 2nd bathroom. The lounge has video games, board games, movies, snacks and provides a continental breakfast each day. There is no pool or special access to one. If I did not have children I would not choose to stay in this area. I do actually have kids (younger teens) but we are still not staying in this area. The hallways may be louder and the lounge will probably not be a peaceful place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam_Eagle Posted November 17, 2015 #11 Share Posted November 17, 2015 This area is designed specifically for family groups with children. The rooms are all the Deluxe OV with the 2nd bathroom. The lounge has video games, board games, movies, snacks and provides a continental breakfast each day. There is no pool or special access to one. Agreed. The Family Harbor area seems to be set up similar to the Havana area. Only those staying in that area have access to it during certain times. As the name "Family Harbor" implies, this area is geared more towards families. Games, snacks (including a 24-hour ice cream machine), private concierge for booking excursion/specialty restaurant reservations, etc. Depending on the sailing, I fully expect the Family Harbor area to be somewhat filled with the noise of kids in the hallways. Since I'm on a special sailing (NYC-Miami repo), I don't think there will be as many younger kids as there would be on a more traditional sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSaints1 Posted December 31, 2015 #12 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Would this be a good choice for a DH and DW with no kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steph7021 Posted December 31, 2015 #13 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Would this be a good choice for a DH and DW with no kids? No. I wouldn't even consider it. I have teens and am glad I can book Havana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSaints1 Posted December 31, 2015 #14 Share Posted December 31, 2015 What do you get with the Havana staterooms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam_Eagle Posted December 31, 2015 #15 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Would this be a good choice for a DH and DW with no kids? Not unless you want to be surrounded by younger kids. The FH is geared towards kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSaints1 Posted December 31, 2015 #16 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Hmmm...... We don't mind kids but not everywhere so maybe Celebrity would be better for us, less kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam_Eagle Posted December 31, 2015 #17 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Hmmm...... We don't mind kids but not everywhere so maybe Celebrity would be better for us, less kids. I'm not saying the Vista is not a good choice, just the Family Harbor area, which is dedicated towards kids, may not be the best area. The Havana area is also a restricted area that is kid-free, or at least it's a 12+ area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSaints1 Posted January 1, 2016 #18 Share Posted January 1, 2016 What do you get with the Havana is it like the Haven a ship with in a ship and does the amenities include the interior staterooms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steph7021 Posted January 1, 2016 #19 Share Posted January 1, 2016 What do you get with the Havana is it like the Haven a ship with in a ship and does the amenities include the interior staterooms It includes a bar area and pool that is exclusive until 5pm. We are booked in a cabana but there are interiors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSaints1 Posted January 1, 2016 #20 Share Posted January 1, 2016 So it's kind of like a ship within a ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steph7021 Posted January 1, 2016 #21 Share Posted January 1, 2016 So it's kind of like a ship within a ship? No, I really wouldn't say that. Have you seen the deck plans? It's just a small area....not the same as NCL if that is what you are asking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisesfun65 Posted January 1, 2016 #22 Share Posted January 1, 2016 We have a FE ocean view booked with a 13-yr old on the last Med cruise. For some reason I'm not expecting a lot of really young children on this sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilnoia Posted January 14, 2016 #23 Share Posted January 14, 2016 We booked a FH deluxe OV for the 9/23/16 sailing! We'll be travelling with two little ones (2 and 4 by then). My husband and I have done a few cruises, but always on the cheap and without an ocean view, so I'm very excited about this. I wonder if there will be any other families with little ones on our cruise...otherwise I guess my kids will get a lot more attention at Camp Carnival. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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