Horizon June or July 2019...havana cabana or balcony?

[RMac713]

Looking to try Carnival for the first time (had one booked before but canceled due to various reasons). Have sailed DCL 3 times, 4th in July to get "grand slam". But need to see if we like the cruises because they are cruises, or because they are DCL. Only way to do that is to try another one! Just me and my husband; we'll both be 55 next summer.

Looking at Havana Cabana or balcony. Both are available. Will have 2 sea days to enjoy them. Just can't decide if the cabana set up is worth the people possibly walking by in the evening, or we should get a balcony on 6 and just walk down a flight of stairs to enjoy the pool, hot tubs, etc.

Any opinions welcome...

[ksmcdonald]

We loved our Havana Cabana on our Vista cruise last year. Loved the fact that we could enter our cabin from the outside lanai patio and from inside the hallway door. We spent most of our days in the Havana Pool area. Hots tubs were never crowded, bar was never crowded, comfy chairs in the sun and shade. The only people we saw walking down the side deck were people in Cabanas. Maybe in the evening, when open to the public, people would walk down to see the patios, but we were never out on the patio in the evening. No big deal of us either way as we both love to meet new people and strike up a conversation. Maybe this would not be your thing if you wanted total privacy and alone time. Deck 5 was very convenient to go out and put your name at the check-in desk for anytime dining. Also, down one deck for comedy club and casino. Down two for dining room. We only took the elevator when going to Lido deck.

[WeLuv2Cruz13]

We are going July 11th and got the Havana aft room. Go to YouTube and look at Vista videos. Amazing views!

[LizzieTrowbridge]

Looking at Havana Cabana or balcony. Both are available. Will have 2 sea days to enjoy them. Just can't decide if the cabana set up is worth the people possibly walking by in the evening' date=' or we should get a balcony on 6 and just walk down a flight of stairs to enjoy the pool, hot tubs, etc.

Any opinions welcome...[/quote']

 

I have not sailed on Horizon or Vista yet, but just booked an aft Havana Balcony on deck 7 for November. I had the same dilemma about choosing an aft balcony or a Havana Cabana. Both seem amazing and honestly I know I would have enjoyed either. In the end, I chose the aft balcony for 3 reasons:

 

1. The VIEW, I love stepping out on my balcony and seeing the ocean, photographing sunsets/sunrises, and looking at the stars. While the Cabanas look amazing, I decided the glass panel between me and the ocean would make it so I couldn't take photos from my balcony(which I love to do).

 

2. Aft Havana balcony was about $400 less expensive than Havana Cabana on my sailing when I booked.

 

3. I chose deck 7 to be sure I get my steps in-figured if I was on deck 5, I wouldn't get as much exercise walking to the Havana pool-ha ha

 

Looking forward to seeing some Horizon reviews come in soon!

[LakeWobegon]

Booked a Havana Aft Balcony and inside stateroom across the hall (for 12 and 14 year olds) on our Panorama cruise in 2020. We too debated on the Cabana vs Balcony. We too were somewhat initially creeped out by the fact people could walk right by your lanai. But I doubt it really would be an issue and be convenient to enter your room that way. Still, we went with the Aft Balcony as I love to be able to sit out on the balcony and watch the wake. Would also be fun to be able to watch the goings on at the Havana below. Also realize there will be lost privacy with those above you being able to see you below, but still, the view is what sold us.

[LizzieTrowbridge]

Would also be fun to be able to watch the goings on at the Havana below.

 

Hadn't thought of that! Great point :)

[riclop]

Looking to try Carnival for the first time (had one booked before but canceled due to various reasons). Have sailed DCL 3 times' date=' 4th in July to get "grand slam". But need to see if we like the cruises because they are cruises, or because they are DCL. Only way to do that is to try another one! Just me and my husband; we'll both be 55 next summer.

Looking at Havana Cabana or balcony. Both are available. Will have 2 sea days to enjoy them. Just can't decide if the cabana set up is worth the people possibly walking by in the evening, or we should get a balcony on 6 and just walk down a flight of stairs to enjoy the pool, hot tubs, etc.

Any opinions welcome...[/quote']

Havana cabana is the way to go and there is not much traffic at all.

[SNJCruisers]

Are you going to be spending more time on your lanai or balcony or spending more time down on deck 5 in the Havana pool area? If your answer is the pool area, then save money and book an inside. Use that money that you saved for Cheers, gratuities, specialty dining or excursions. Just a thought.....

[RMac713]

My husband insists on a balcony of some sort. He loves sitting out there. On our canceled carnival we had booked a spa balcony. So an inside is out.

I am debating 6 or 8 day, and both deck 5 lanai and many aft cabins are available in 2019. Even aft wrap cabins, which look wonderful but too much for just two of us, I think. I think I'd get an aft on deck 6 to be close to the fun if we went that route. Of course if we get a cabana we can just walk down to the pool area and watch the wake at night, too.

[iamsteph]

We had an aft Havana on the Vista. Would not do again unless cheap. I LOVE sitting outside on the balcony, especially at night. However, the afts do not have any sort of protection from the elements when it rains and the sun BEATS down on you. It was way too hot. Because there is no overhang, there is also a lot less privacy. We barely used the balcony, but we definitely used the Havana area a lot.

 

So we have a Havana inside booked on our upcoming Horizon cruise, and will be using the price difference to enjoy ourselves for a couple days in NYC prior to cruising. :)

[WeLuv2Cruz13]

:cool:I don't think that will be a problem for us in the sun. We love it! It is nice to have protection in the rain though which we had a couple days on last cruise. If that happens I guess we will just need to hit the Havana bar! Looking forward to the aft view ! 83 days!

[sk84fungirl]

We are in the process of booking Horizon for July 2019. For my cabin, it will be Havana balcony. Just not sure which level just yet. Agent is working on it. Our itinerary has two sea days and SO loves to chill on the balcony.

[Slctx]

Just got off the April 15 Med sailing and had Havana cabana 5237 (2nd to the end aft). This wasn't really a hang out by the pool kind of cruise, we only used the pool area one afternoon. The pool area was never very crowded and we enjoyed our time out there. If we book Horizon or Vista again, we will choose a Havana balcony cabin on 6 for a couple of reasons. First, our cabin was extremely hot, as in the AC didn't appear to work at all. The weather was unseasonably warm and the cabin was sweltering at night. We asked them to come check it several times and were told everything was fine. We spoke with our neighbors who were experiencing the same problem. It would have been much more comfortable if we had been able to keep the slider open, but that wasn't really an option as you are exposed to an open walkway. Secondly, I missed having the view that a balcony affords. The cabanas face a large sheet of plexiglass that isn't as nice to look through.

 

We didn't hear any of the music from the Havana bar from inside our room. Folks in an inside Havana cabin said it was quite loud in their room. The people in the cabin next door (5239) said that they were awoken several nights in a row by loud clanging noises, but we did not hear it. They said it was coming from the area on the other side of them (crew only entrance).

[LizzieTrowbridge]

If we book Horizon or Vista again, we will choose a Havana balcony cabin on 6 for a couple of reasons. First, our cabin was extremely hot, Secondly, I missed having the view that a balcony affords.

 

Thanks so much for this feedback from your experience on Horizon. I have an aft Havana balcony booked for November on deck 7. I thought deck 6 might have too much noise coming up from Havana Bar below, but deck 6 seems nice because it is so close to the pool area.