Why did they scale back on Havana on Mardi Gras?

[landsear]

I haven't been on the ship yet, but just based off of the Youtube videos so far, it's drastically smaller than Horizon/Vista/Panorama. What's the rationale?

[mondello]

The only thing I can think of is their priority was the new, exclusive Loft 19 area. Also, with all the other areas in the layout they ran short of space. Seems Havana was more of an afterthought.

[jimbo5544]

9 minutes ago, mondello said:

The only thing I can think of is their priority was the new, exclusive Loft 19 area. Also, with all the other areas in the layout they ran short of space. Seems Havana was more of an afterthought.

 

17 minutes ago, landsear said:

I haven't been on the ship yet, but just based off of the Youtube videos so far, it's drastically smaller than Horizon/Vista/Panorama. What's the rationale?

It is a fair question.  I do ha e to say the Havana pool is a disappointment. They sure did not skimp on the havana rooms tho.  

[bstel]

they can make more money on Loft19

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, bstel said:

they can make more money on Loft19

Remains to be seen. Currently it is $500 for a cabana for a day.  Guess how

many are filled today?

[mexicobob]

9 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Remains to be seen. Currently it is $500 for a cabana for a day.  Guess how

many are filled today?

OK, give up. How many?

[lazydayz]

9 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Remains to be seen. Currently it is $500 for a cabana for a day.  Guess how

many are filled today?

my guess is none.  

[SNJCruisers]

Loft 19 is a wasteland.  The cabanas are overpriced and the rest of the area is only available for those in suites, and the majority of the suites have large private balconies for people to relax on, so Loft 19 would be redundant.  With the size of the Serenity area being 3-4 times the Serenity on any other ship in the fleet, there just wasn't enough room for Havana and it became an afterthought.

Since the Havana area on the Vista Class ships was the most innovative thing Carnival had come up with in years, it's a major disappointment that it became an afterthought on the Excel Class ships.

Maybe things could change on Excel 3, similar to the elimination of the IMAX on the Panorama.

[csm5986142]

On 8/7/2021 at 3:31 PM, landsear said:

I haven't been on the ship yet, but just based off of the Youtube videos so far, it's drastically smaller than Horizon/Vista/Panorama. What's the rationale?

 

Could it be because they used to open the Havana section to all guests after 7 pm in the evening, and they don't anymore (according to a 2019 article I read)?  Just a guess...I really have no idea.  We are booked in a Havana Cabana on Mardi Gras in the spring, but have never been in that area on any of the other ships, so I have nothing to compare it to.  My daughter and I both love to read, so when we saw the great little porch area (and of course hanging chair) we were sold.  🙂

After some of the comments I've read here, I was worried I should try to switch cabins.  But I've been looking at the videos, and the whole area looks quiet and not crowded, which is what I was looking for, as spring break can be kind of crazy packed with kids.  We are not swimmers, so the tiny pool doesn't bother us.

But yes, I definitely agree, scaled back is a good way to describe it, compared to the pictures I'm seeing on the Vista class ships.

[toocrazy]

8 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

 

Could it be because they used to open the Havana section to all guests after 7 pm in the evening, and they don't anymore (according to a 2019 article I read)?  Just a guess...I really have no idea.  We are booked in a Havana Cabana on Mardi Gras in the spring, but have never been in that area on any of the other ships, so I have nothing to compare it to.  My daughter and I both love to read, so when we saw the great little porch area (and of course hanging chair) we were sold.  🙂

After some of the comments I've read here, I was worried I should try to switch cabins.  But I've been looking at the videos, and the whole area looks quiet and not crowded, which is what I was looking for, as spring break can be kind of crazy packed with kids.  We are not swimmers, so the tiny pool doesn't bother us.

But yes, I definitely agree, scaled back is a good way to describe it, compared to the pictures I'm seeing on the Vista class ships.

I agree. We are also booked for Havana room. While the Havana area on other ships does look inviting, we think the scaled back will work in our favor. Of course if we tried Havana on the other ships first we may feel differently. Also, after doing some price comparisons. On some ships the Havana is almost double the cost of a regular cabin. Not so on the Mardi Gras. 

[BrotherCraig]

Better to get a cabin on Deck 17 and just use the Serenity Deck.  That place is massive.

[Joebucks]

It was definitely interesting to see. If I had to take a shot in the dark, Loft 19 was the premier private access that they believe can really skyrocket in price. It almost looks like Havana was added in later or changed at some point to still allow for a higher cost room option in-between.

 

9 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Loft 19 is a wasteland.  The cabanas are overpriced and the rest of the area is only available for those in suites, and the majority of the suites have large private balconies for people to relax on, so Loft 19 would be redundant.  With the size of the Serenity area being 3-4 times the Serenity on any other ship in the fleet, there just wasn't enough room for Havana and it became an afterthought.

Since the Havana area on the Vista Class ships was the most innovative thing Carnival had come up with in years, it's a major disappointment that it became an afterthought on the Excel Class ships.

Maybe things could change on Excel 3, similar to the elimination of the IMAX on the Panorama.

 

I agree that the cabanas are expensive. I also think cabanas everywhere are overpriced. $2000 for a week definitely is not inconsistent with cabana pricing. Maybe they did misjudge the demand. Maybe they retweak the perks. One way or another, it will become a cash cow for them.

 

[crewsweeper]

I think they had so many complaints about the Havana deck not being opened to every one, they switched that out for the Landing. And then added the Loft 19 for suite guests or people who can afford to pay for 2 cruises in one.  But there's still enough demand for Havana that they had to stick it somewhere.

[csm5986142]

1 hour ago, toocrazy said:

Also, after doing some price comparisons. On some ships the Havana is almost double the cost of a regular cabin. Not so on the Mardi Gras. 

 

Yes!  I noticed this too.  That was another reason I grabbed the room so quickly. I wish I'd saved screen shots, but I think it was about the same price as an extended balcony cabin (which is what I would usually look for). 

[soulsistah007]

11 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

 

Could it be because they used to open the Havana section to all guests after 7 pm in the evening, and they don't anymore (according to a 2019 article I read)?  Just a guess...I really have no idea.  We are booked in a Havana Cabana on Mardi Gras in the spring, but have never been in that area on any of the other ships, so I have nothing to compare it to.  My daughter and I both love to read, so when we saw the great little porch area (and of course hanging chair) we were sold.  🙂

After some of the comments I've read here, I was worried I should try to switch cabins.  But I've been looking at the videos, and the whole area looks quiet and not crowded, which is what I was looking for, as spring break can be kind of crazy packed with kids.  We are not swimmers, so the tiny pool doesn't bother us.

But yes, I definitely agree, scaled back is a good way to describe it, compared to the pictures I'm seeing on the Vista class ships.

 

Same feelings here, especially with reading! I can't wait to roll out of my bed and onto the patio to read with the ocean in front of me in a quiet space. On a ship with such a large capacity, I don't want the hassle of finding a quiet spot. This is the first time we booked prior to a ship sailing, and our first Havana experience. The pool was not a deal breaker as we don't care much for pools. I've been pleasantly surprised to see that there are loungers outside your porch too!  We only booked in May and already the price has gone up $600. No regrets here!

[Keys2Heaven]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:31 PM, landsear said:

I haven't been on the ship yet, but just based off of the Youtube videos so far, it's drastically smaller than Horizon/Vista/Panorama. What's the rationale?

 

We sailed on the Vista back in 2017. There were many people who were upset that they couldn't use that external part of the ship during the day. So, when I saw how they made that space available to everyone on the Mardi Gras, I figured that design was born from those complaints.

[popeyesChickenSandwich]

22 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Remains to be seen. Currently it is $500 for a cabana for a day.  Guess how

many are filled today?

LOL that's the same price as a cabana rental for the Chelsea Pool at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas!

Definitely unattractive at that price point for myself, and I'm sure many other Carnival patrons.

[SNJCruisers]

As a point of comparison, I just went onto Carnival and did a price comparison on the four ships that you can currently get Havana cabins on.  I picked the first week of May 2022 since it's before the summer rush and after spring break.  Panorama was 924 for  Havana inside, versus 614 for deck 6 inside.  Vista was 1019 versus 609.  Horizon was 959 versus 549 and Mardi Gras was 1054 versus 809.

Aft extended balconies were 1454 versus 1102 on Panorama, 1539/1148 on Vista,  and 1279/ NA on Horizon. 

 

No where close to being double the price.  An extra 300-400 for Vista Class, whether you're in an inside or an aft extended balcony and an extra 245 for MG inside.  The reason for this is because the regular MG inside is an inflated price since it's the jewel of the fleet.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Havana area for 16 days on two different Horizon cruises.  Since the area on the MG has no round loungers, hot tubs, tiki huts and a postage stamp sized pool, we declined to pay the premium on our 3 current bookings on the MG and our 1 booking on the Celebration.  With the Serenity area being so large, it'll be interesting to find out how easy or difficult loungers will be to obtain once the MG ramps up to full capacity. At least the pool in the Serenity area is comparable to the pool in Havana on the 3 Vista Class ships.

[jimbo5544]

32 minutes ago, popeyesChickenSandwich said:

LOL that's the same price as a cabana rental for the Chelsea Pool at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas!

Definitely unattractive at that price point for myself, and I'm sure many other Carnival patrons.

Had dinner last night with a Carnival

mgt friend who told me they were sold out for the entire cruise 

[jimbo5544]

31 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

As a point of comparison, I just went onto Carnival and did a price comparison on the four ships that you can currently get Havana cabins on.  I picked the first week of May 2022 since it's before the summer rush and after spring break.  Panorama was 924 for  Havana inside, versus 614 for deck 6 inside.  Vista was 1019 versus 609.  Horizon was 959 versus 549 and Mardi Gras was 1054 versus 809.

Aft extended balconies were 1454 versus 1102 on Panorama, 1539/1148 on Vista,  and 1279/ NA on Horizon. 

 

No where close to being double the price.  An extra 300-400 for Vista Class, whether you're in an inside or an aft extended balcony and an extra 245 for MG inside.  The reason for this is because the regular MG inside is an inflated price since it's the jewel of the fleet.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Havana area for 16 days on two different Horizon cruises.  Since the area on the MG has no round loungers, hot tubs, tiki huts and a postage stamp sized pool, we declined to pay the premium on our 3 current bookings on the MG and our 1 booking on the Celebration.  With the Serenity area being so large, it'll be interesting to find out how easy or difficult loungers will be to obtain once the MG ramps up to full capacity. At least the pool in the Serenity area is comparable to the pool in Havana on the 3 Vista Class ships.

I asked someone who knows who told me they are watching the HC cabins on the MG.  I had told him my thoughts which are similar to yours back in December 2019.  They are not unaware of the issue.  
 

On a semi related topic, he told me that on the MG almost totally more expensive cabins (suites, extended, specialty) are selling out first, much more so than other ships.  

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, Keys2Heaven said:

 

We sailed on the Vista back in 2017. There were many people who were upset that they couldn't use that external part of the ship during the day. So, when I saw how they made that space available to everyone on the Mardi Gras, I figured that design was born from those complaints.

I think it much more a pool space issue than Anything else.  The obvious thing would have been to copy the Havana area to 8 aft (summer landing).  It does not work becaise they need that pool for all the guests 

[csm5986142]

We board MG in 10 days, and are not in the Havana area this time.  With reduced capacity and way fewer kids, I was not so concerned. 

By next spring break (when I anticipate full capacity and tons of kids) I really wanted the seclusion of a Havana Cabana. 🙂

[popeyesChickenSandwich]

@jimbo5544 Wow! I would not have guessed sold out!
Good for everyone that can afford and enjoy it tho.

[Radio]

On 8/10/2021 at 12:33 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Loft 19 is a wasteland.  The cabanas are overpriced and the rest of the area is only available for those in suites, and the majority of the suites have large private balconies for people to relax on, so Loft 19 would be redundant.  .>SNIP<

 

Loft19 is =Not= available to all suites. . .Just the 32 Excel Suites on Mardi Gras get to use Loft19. There are 148 other suite that are not eligible  (Ocean Suites, Spa Suites, Family Harbor Suites etc. . .)

Radio

[gentlehyena]

We will only Cruise the Vista Class in the Havana area. Were were on the Vista in 2018, we were spoiled by the environment. Adult only ( there were14 yr old twins we rarely saw)  plenty of loungers, attentive wait staff and the room was right around the corner. We’re booked on the Horizon 9/12/ 21 and Panorama 7/2/22. Trying to slip in a other one in maybe Jan 22. So glad to be cruising again !