Family Harbor on the Vista
Carnival’s newest ship, the Vista, has two new stateroom categories not found on any of their previous ships. The Havana cabins are for passengers 12 and older and include exclusive daytime use of a pool and deck area. Family Harbor has some cabins that hold up to 5 people and comes with entry to the exclusive Family Harbor lounge, concierge service, and other perks beneficial to families with young children such as a night of free babysitting at Night Owls and free meals for kids at the premium restaurants.
nautical flag themed bedding
Family Harbor is found at the back of deck 2. Cabins and hallways in the Family Harbor area have a nautical decor exclusive to that area of the ship.
nautical flag letter chart
Pillows and bedding have nautical flag letter symbols. In addition to letters of the alphabet, nautical flags also have other meanings. Some, like diver down, signal what you are doing. Others like yes or no are used for communication with passing vessels. Some are signals for help.
inside cabin 2423 holds just 2 passengers, but some have drop-down bunks and hold up to 4
Like any area of the ship, the least expensive way to get into Family Harbor is with an inside cabin. Inside cabins hold two to four passengers, with the majority accommodating 3 or 4. All cabins in the Family Harbor area include the perks exclusive to that area, which means they cost more than similar cabins without extra perks.
Deck Plans Carnival Vista Deck 2 (click photo for larger image)
There are a couple fully accessible interior cabins that hold up to 3 passengers and some interior cabins have connecting doors to the cabin next to them. There are two sets of connecting cabins that hold 3 passengers each and two sets that hold 2 passengers each. Interior cabins don’t have a lot of space so passengers booking these for a family will likely appreciate the use of the Family Harbor Lounge.
deluxe oceanview cabin 2420 holds a maximum of 4 passengers
For more space and a view, Family Harbor has oceanview rooms that hold two to four passengers and deluxe oceanview cabins for three to five. Two beds are standard in each room. The extra beds come in the form of drop down bunks that fold out of the ceiling and a couch that converts into a bed.
deluxe oceanview cabin 2418 holds 5 passengers
The majority of the oceanview cabins hold 3 people, though there are several – mostly accessible – cabins that hold just two and one that holds 4. The deluxe oceanview cabins mostly hold 4 or 5 people, but there are a couple just for 3. You can put less people in a cabin than the maximum that it holds, but not more.
deluxe ocean view cabins and Family Harbor suites have an extra partial bathroom with tub and sink
The deluxe oceanview cabins have an extra partial bathroom with a tub and sink, which comes in handy when you have four or five passengers staying in the same room.
cove balcony cabin 2419 sleeps 4
There are just 4 balcony cabins in the Family Harbor area. These are all cove balconies, hold 4 passengers, and have a connecting door to a suite. The connecting suites hold 5 people each so a total of 9 could book into these pairs of cabins. The interior space of the cove balcony cabins is less than in the oceanview cabins because the balcony occupies part of the space allotted to that cabin. Cove balconies are wrapped in a metal shell with watertight doors into the cabin and an open windowlike view from the balcony to the sea, which is fairly near since these cabins are located on deck 2. Balconies on higher decks are more open with just a plexiglass barrier across the seaside edge.
look up from this suite cove balcony to see the lifeboats, down to see the water
Connecting doors stay locked between cabins if unrelated parties book the two that connect, but if families or other people traveling together have booked both cabins the doors are unlocked so they have inside access from one cabin to the next without going out into the hallway. Cabins without connecting doors are preferable if available when you are not sailing with the people next door because you can hear your neighbors more through the door than through a solid wall.
people can order cabin decorations like these in suite 2417
Suites in the Family Harbor area have balconies half again as long as the cove balcony cabins, and the cabin itself is also that much wider making it more spacious. The suites also have the extra partial bathroom with a tub like the deluxe oceanview rooms. Each suite has a maximum passenger limit of 4 or 5 people.
Family Harbor Lounge
Maximum passenger limits per cabin are the same with or without a portable crib because even though a crib means extra bed space could be available, the baby counts as a person for lifeboat space. Maximum passengers allowed on board is limited by the lifeboat capacity so not all rooms on the ship can be booked up to the maximum allowable capacity of people for that room at the same time and extra people over the stated limit for that room are not allowed. A ship could be booked full and still have a few empty cabins if the lifeboat capacity is reached before all the cabins are full.
snacks area in the Family Harbor Lounge
The Family Harbor Lounge is only open to passengers booked into Family Harbor cabins. It is open 24 hours a day. The lounge has breakfast and snacks available daily.
tables in the Family Harbor Lounge
It has concierge service, computers, video games, and family movies as well as a selection of board games to keep kids and families entertained.
sitting area in the Family Harbor Lounge
For more blogs about cabins on the Vista see Vista Cabins or Havana Cabins.
hallway decor in the Family Harbor area
For a complete list of blogs about cabins on other ships see My Cruise Stories Ships and Cabins page.
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