Vista Cove Balcony or Havana inside

[dcassetta]

We are considering a cruise on Vista and the title says it all.  The cabins are similar in price.  We do enjoy have a balcony and find the cove balcony very appealing as it is so close to the water.  But, the Havana area has nice amenities.  I wonder though if all of the loungers get reserved very early in the morning so that the premium for the Havana area would not be worth it. Also, are people permitted to smoke in the Havana area, as they may also affect our decision.  Thanks!

[mkcurran]

I'm interested in seeing the replies. I have the same question for the Panaorama.

[Eli_6]

When I had a Havana room, the Havana area was relatively unoccupied.  There were an abundance of free loungers. It is very nice. I personally would go with the Havana inside room, but have never done a cove balcony so have no basis of comparison.  

 

There is no smoking in the Havana area or on balconies. I think the only place you can smoke is the casino. And it is enforced as I almost was fined on my second carnival cruise because I did not know you could not smoke on your balcony and they saw me on camera.  

[Eli_6]

Here are a couple of pics from the Vista Havana area in October 2018.  This was pretty much the busiest it ever got.  

[Eli_6]

[nissach]

We had a cove booked for our Panorama cruise in March.  We decided to move to Havana area(inside) to take advantage of this area and the fact that there should not be many kiddos there and much less crowded than the regular pool area.  We are excited about the Havana area.

Hopefully we made the right decision.

Edited December 17, 2019 by nissach

[Joe817]

We loved our cove balcony. Spent a LOT of time out there. The lifeboats were above us which kept the sun out of our eyes, and the rain off of us. I'd do another cove balcony in a heartbeat, after we get a few more cruises under our belts. Can't go wrong with a cove!  And the water is so blue! 

[dcassetta]

Thanks for the responses, although both sound great, so I am still torn!

[nissach]

13 minutes ago, dcassetta said:

Thanks for the responses, although both sound great, so I am still torn!

I guess it really depends on how much you like to use the pool areas and how much time you plan to spend on your balcony?

For us, we love balconies, but decided for this cruise to try out the Havana area(inside) and see what it is like to have a whole area with no fighting for lounge chairs or space and our own bar.  We fully expect to love it!

We paid pretty much the same price for an interior Havana as a cove balcony.

[bjd2]

We have done a Havana Cabana on the Vista, and a Havana Interior on the Horizon. We would do the interior again anytime! The Havana area was our balcony as we had access to loungers anytime. We're doing a Lido balcony on the Panorama in March as we have friends/family who aren't in the Havana area. We look forward to seeing what this class of ship is like without being in the Havana.

[CarolSW]

We sailed on the Vista last year at this time, and we are CURRENTLY on the Vista as I write this.....both times in the Havana section.  I will say that the Havana pool is much more occupied THIS year than it was last year, and for some reason, my fellow passengers are much louder this year.  We are fortunate to be in a balcony, and we hear the folks above us ALOT while we are all on our respective balconies.  Hear these same folks at the Havana pool when we were there.  I guess it’s a “neighbor” issue and not so much a Havana thing.   IMHO our corner aft on Freedom was much more quiet that these Havana balconies on Vista.  We will be in our first cove balcony on Vista this coming Spring Break.  The proximity to the water seems amazing.  We had a peek at one of these coves cabins earlier in the cruise when we did a quick cabin crawl with some new friends we met on this current cruise.  

[bakersdozen12]

We just had a Havana interior on the Vista the week before last, and it was so worth being in an interior in order to have access to the Havana pool! Coves are my favorite rooms on ships that have them, but on Vista class ships, I will take an Havana interior over a cove balcony any day. 

[nissach]

59 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

We just had a Havana interior on the Vista the week before last, and it was so worth being in an interior in order to have access to the Havana pool! Coves are my favorite rooms on ships that have them, but on Vista class ships, I will take an Havana interior over a cove balcony any day. 

Good to know.....cannot wait to get on the Panorama and enjoy the Havana area!

[mexicobob]

A Cove Balcony, in my opinion, is the best cabin at sea. Being that close to the water is special. That being said, the ones toward the front can get spray at times. So you have to pick these cabins with care.