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5 Reasons Not to Book a Carnival Vista Family Harbor Cabin

Tracey
Sep 6, 2017
2 min read

There are several advantages to booking a Carnival Vista Family Harbor Cabin. But we noted a few downsides when we sailed in family harbor deluxe oceanview cabin 2489 in February 2017. Here are some of things we didn't like about the cabin and the family harbor area. You can also view my Youtube videos of the family harbor lounge and cabin 2489.

Location

This is the primary disadvantage to booking a Vista Family Harbor Cabin. The family harbor area is on Deck 2 in the back of the ship. The Vista class ships are very big, very long ships. Unless, you book a cabin near the midship elevators where the family harbor area starts, there will be a long walk to your cabin.

Noise

The cabins at the front (midship) of the family harbor area are also under the galley. Passengers that have stayed in these cabins report being awakened in the middle of the night by the sounds of the crew in the galley preparing for the day's meals. Staying in a cabin at the back of the ship, also means that you will feel the vibrations from the ship's mechanical systems. We noticed that the ship's noises were louder at night when the ship tended to sail at higher speeds. We were able to tune the mechanical noises out most of the time. Cabin 2489 is marked with the red box.

Exclusivity..or Lack of

The exclusivity of the Vista family harbor lounge is questionable. Passengers in this area pay a premium for their cabin but it appears that Carnival does very little to ensure that other passengers cannot get into this area. The lounge doors are controlled by your cabin card but that does not stop passengers in the family harbor area from bringing their friends, family, etc... who are not staying in the family harbor area into the family harbor lounge.

Crowded

Depending on when you sail, the lounge will almost always have a lot of people in it. The family harbor area also caters to kids so the lounge will almost always be messy despite the staff cleaning constantly.

Obstructed View

Carnival is not pricing the family harbor deluxe oceanview cabins as obstructed view cabins but some of them are. We stayed in family harbor deluxe oceanview cabin 2489. The view from our window included a railing and an unknown contraption on one side. This really should not be considered a regular full-view cabin.