Carnival Vista's Havana (Lanai) Staterooms: Pros and Cons

Lanai Area on the Carnival Dream (Dream Class)

        For many months cruisers like me waited anxiously to learn more about the new Carnival Vista's amenities, features, itineraries, and dining. This past week, on January 22, Carnival unveiled many of the Carnival Vista's amenities and European homeports. I spent part of my day studying the renderings and reading Carnival's press releases to try to learn more about this new class of ships - the Vista Class.  The Carnival Vista is going to have many features not seen previously on Carnival vessels, but one feature that stood out to me is the "Havana Staterooms" on the ship's Promenade Deck. 
          Based on the details Carnival has released and the Carnival Vista's deck plans there will be multiple staterooms on Carnival Vista's Promenade Deck. Some of these staterooms are given the name "Havana Cabana" because the have a "balcony" that is like a patio that the guest can step out onto their own part of the Lanai.  Some of the staterooms are considered a part of this Havana themed area and others are interior rooms. Based on Carnival's booking engine these rooms are divided into "Havana Interior", "Havana Cabana", and "Havana Cabana Suites". Most of my focus in this post about the Carnival Vista will be on the "Havana Cabanas" and suites, but I will discuss the "Havana Interior" rooms briefly as well. 

---

Pros

---

Access To The Outside Havana Pool Area
           One of the perks Carnival is giving Carnival Vista cruisers that stay in these new "Havana Staterooms" on the Promenade Deck is access to the Lanai's aft Havana Pool area. Based on the renderings this area will consist of a pool, some hottubs, and many deck chairs. This area is intended only for cruisers staying in the Havana Staterooms. In addition, to the perk of access to this area, it [the outside area] is not far from the staterooms. This means the walk will be minimal for these cruisers to be able to get outside and enjoy the pool on a nice sunny day!

For Havana Rooms With The Patio: Lanai Access
              For those staying in a "Havana Cabana" that has a patio/balcony you will be able to quickly get to the Lanai. Depending on which side of the ship your stateroom is on will determine which other Promenade and Lanai features you can quickly access. For those staying in an interior "Havana Stateroom" you will not have much farther to walk, but those with patios will have a slightly less walking time.

The Havana Bar Is Close
              The theme of this area of the ship is Havana and on the Carnival Vista you will find the Havana Bar extremely close to these staterooms. For those that want to partake in the Havana Bar, this is a huge plus because of your stateroom's proximity to the bar. 

AFT Elevators:  A Quick Ride Up To The Lido
               For people like me that enjoy the buffet, you are relatively close to the aft elevators. This means you just have to walk to the aft elevators and then you can go up to any decks serviced by the aft elevators. If I were using these elevators I would probably be going to the Lido Buffet for breakfast or lunch! 


           

Cons

---

For Rooms With The Patios
              The ideas of having a Lanai patio seems exciting, but I have a few safety concerns. First, it appears from the ship's renderings that the patio rail separating the Lanai and patio appears low. A person could easily get over this rail and try to enter another person's room via their balcony door. Cruisers staying in this room should keep this in mind and make sure you to keep your patio door locked at all times, even when inside the stateroom. The security is my biggest concern with these new patios on the Lanai, but hopefully Carnival has a plan to make sure that the balcony stateroom doors are able to be properly secured and a plan to help keep people off of someone's patio. 
(UPDATE 2/15/16:  John Heald, Carnival's Brand Ambassador, posted this Facebook post that discusses some elements of security for this balconies. Click Here To View the post.)
               The patio areas will not be as private has having a regular balcony. This is because people walking by could easily look onto a balcony and see you sitting on it. With all rooms, you may get noise from passengers walking by or from a public area so make sure you are prepared for a little bit of noise (note: you can experience noise on any cruise ship and with any room depending on a variety of factors). 

              Would I book one of the Carnival Vista's new "Havana Staterooms"?  The answer is probably yes.  The benefits of these rooms appears to outweigh the negatives and I think it would be neat to try a room with a patio.  This is a neat addition to cruising and the Carnival Vista appears like it will be an exciting ship. 
               I acquired some information from Carnival's official press release and renderings.  For Carnival's press release on the Carnival Vista:  Click Here   For the Carnival Vista's webpage:  Click Here
               As always, if I made a mistake please let me know. Since the Vista is a brand new class of ship the new programs and features could be interpreted in different ways until cruisers have a firm understanding of how the new programs will work.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you think something could be interpreted incorrectly or if I need to make a correction. Thank you and I hope to see you someday on the Carnival Vista!