Search

3 Reasons to Book a Carnival Vista Family Harbor cabin

Tracey
Sep 11, 2017
2 min read

We booked Carnival Vista family harbor deluxe oceanview cabin #2489 for a 6 day Western Caribbean cruise in February 2017. While there were some disadvantages, we found several compelling reasons that families sailing with kids should choose a family harbor cabin. You can also view my Youtube videos of the family harbor lounge and cabin 2489.

Perks

Passengers in the family harbor area enjoy an exclusive lounge. Breakfast, afternoon snacks, and evening snacks are served daily. There are large TVs, a refrigerator with healthy snacks, a cappuccino machine, and the usual drink machines. There are dedicated Playstation game consoles. On a Vista class ship, there will typically be lots of kids. This means that it can be hard to get a console in the kids camp. Our son was able to enjoy the consoles in the family harbor lounge during the early afternoon hours when the lounge tended to be empty. Guests staying in the Family Harbor area also receive:

Free night of Carnival Night Owls. The cost for Night Owls is about $7 an hour if your child is staying at the kids camp after 10 pm. If there is a Night Owls party, there is a flat fee of around $17.
Kids eat free in the specialty restaurant. If you plan a family dinner in one of the specialty dining venues on the ship and you're staying in the family harbor area, kids eat free.

Location

The Vista family harbor area is at the back of the ship on Deck 2. This makes the Lido deck a very convenient ride on the aft elevators up to Deck 10. The elevator doors open and the Lido buffet is right there along with the 24 hour Pizzeria, the Tides Pool Bar, and the Seafood Shack. Walk through the buffet to get to the Lido pool and the Water Works on Deck 12 forward.

When you get off the aft elevator, the Tides Bar is opposite the Lido buffet.

When you walk out to the open deck, Pizzeria del Capitano is on the right.

And the Seafood Shack is on the left.

Cabin Size

I'm not sure about the size of the regular Vista family harbor oceanview cabins but the category FJ family harbor deluxe oceanview is definitely a larger cabin. It holds 4 passengers. The window is surprisingly spacious. Our 7-year old used the throw pillows from the cabin to make his own private area in the window.

The sofa bed all made up for a child. There is also a Pullman bed that comes out of the wall at the head of the king bed.