Cabanas at castaway cay

[Brhalsey]

How much is it to rent a cabana for the day? And is it worth it? It will be my husband and I, and our two children ages 3 1/2 and almost 2 year old.

 

[Namsupak]

$499 for the family beach cabanas. Definitely worth it. Do a search and there are numerous threads that lay out the pros and cons.

 

[Callymum]

The chances of a First time Cruiser getting one at their Booking window is very slim. They are usually snapped up at Concierge and Gold Castaway members window, if any are left then Silver will usually book the Leftovers.

There is still chances of getting a cancelation before the Cruise if you keep checking right up till the Cruise. You can also put your name on a cancellation list when you board the ship at CService.

As you can see they are like Gold dust and are Coveted.

 

[ItAllStrtdWAMouse]

$499 for the family beach cabanas. Definitely worth it. Do a search and there are numerous threads that lay out the pros and cons.

Do you normally tip the cabana host beyond the auto-tip on the drinks?

 

[Namsupak]

It depends. For us the host has always been our concierge so we just do that at the end in the concierge tip. We have not had a non concierge cabana host as usually they are the ones taking care of that aspect of the island. We have been in the cabanas 4 or 5 times and we always see the concierge people running them. If the person was not our concierge we would probably tip 20-40 depending on how much we used the service of the host. Most of time we just sit out on the beach and relax and use the cabana as a quiet napping/eating place. I don't think we have ever ordered an alcoholic drink while out there.

 

[wl1117]

In our opinion it is TOTALLY worth it. We had one in May with our 4 year old and 5 month old. It was great to have a place to lay the baby down for a nap out of the sun and sand without having to pack everything back up to go the ship. The price includes floats, beach toys, sunscreen, a stocked fridge and a PRIVATE beach. It is so peaceful. I spent the day, kicked back and loving life.

The concierge staff is responsible for the Cabanas. If you are not staying Concierge on the ship, I'd tip accordingly. We were, so we included it into their overall tip. They were fabulous too. Julia even helped my husband bring lunch back to the cabana for me (he couldn't carry it all and I was with the sleeping baby) even though that's "technically" not part of her job.

Towels are also provided there, so no lugging everything from the ship. They pick you up in a golf cart and escort you to your Cabana, as well.

 

[drsg]

Last week we upgraded to Concierge at the port. We had been trying to get a cabana for months, so of course asked for one right away, but there were none. Julia later told us that it has become common for all the cabanas to be pre-booked by concierge guests on the Fantasy and they actually had 4 concierge guests on the wait list this cruise.

 

[wl1117]

Last week we upgraded to Concierge at the port. We had been trying to get a cabana for months, so of course asked for one right away, but there were none. Julia later told us that it has become common for all the cabanas to be pre-booked by concierge guests on the Fantasy and they actually had 4 concierge guests on the wait list this cruise.

You were on the Fantasy last week? Julia is still there? In May, she thought she'd be rotating to the Dream within a few months. We LOVED her so much! She was wonderful to our daughters.

 

[clten]

The concierge staff is responsible for the Cabanas. If you are not staying Concierge on the ship, I'd tip accordingly.

I'm not sure if this is always the case, maybe for concierge guests in cabanas, they are always hosted by the ship concierge. We had a cabana, were not in concierge and we had someone from Guest Services as our host. We weren't going to tip her anyway (whole different story; had many other issues with her regarding the cabana prior to Castaway Cay) but my feeling was that GS is not a tipped position so they would not be able to accept a tip for cabana hosting.

 

[gometros]

When we stayed on 10/5, our cabana host was not concierge.

 

[kcashner]

I've made MANY trips to Castaway Cay before the cabanas were built and had an amazing time. "Worth it" is always a personal decision. The service associated with the cabanas is very nice....so if you didn't spend $500 on a cabana, what else would you choose to do with that money?

People make it sound like you MUST have a cabana to have a great day at Castaway. That's not true. You can cruise in an inside cabin and have a great cruise or you can pay 4 times as much and cruise in concierge and have an amazing cruise. We all make choices, and those choices may change from one cruise to the next. It's just a matter of what YOU want to do.

 

[RRB]

we just completed our 13th Disney cruise and our first with renting a cabana (they weren't built during our last cruise). I know that the cost is high but we will never do another cruise without a cabana. I will scrimp on other things rather than not get a cabana.

 

[drsg]

You were on the Fantasy last week? Julia is still there? In May, she thought she'd be rotating to the Dream within a few months. We LOVED her so much! She was wonderful to our daughters.

She is and was wonderful. On the last morning we needed a little something that should have been imposible to get at the time. She, along with Kemisha's help, tried so hard to get it. When it really was impossible, due to said item already being off the ship, she came up with an alternative that saved the day. Well, as much as disembarkation day can be saved...

 

[drsg]

we just completed our 13th Disney cruise and our first with renting a cabana (they weren't built during our last cruise). I know that the cost is high but we will never do another cruise without a cabana. I will scrimp on other things rather than not get a cabana.

We took pictures both of the "people soup beach" and the nearly empty family cabana beach and although one of us (that would be the 'one' posting right now) thought she didn't care much about a cabana, in looking at that empty beach, found she really did see where it would be money well spent...

 

[gometros]

I'll say one thing about getting a cabana, make sure you get off the ship as early as possible. The day goes by so quickly. Next time we rent one, we won't schedule anything else, even giving up our beloved couples massages to maximize our time in the cabanas.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

I've made MANY trips to Castaway Cay before the cabanas were built and had an amazing time. "Worth it" is always a personal decision. The service associated with the cabanas is very nice....so if you didn't spend $500 on a cabana, what else would you choose to do with that money?

People make it sound like you MUST have a cabana to have a great day at Castaway. That's not true. You can cruise in an inside cabin and have a great cruise or you can pay 4 times as much and cruise in concierge and have an amazing cruise. We all make choices, and those choices may change from one cruise to the next. It's just a matter of what YOU want to do.

Well said!

 

[Brhalsey]

Thanks for all of the information!! Looks like being a first time DCL guest we will not really have a chance at getting a cabana this time around!! They seem to be very very popular! Hopefully the next one!

 

[chelseafc]

Don't give up hope on a cabana. I am a first-time cruiser who was able to grab one 35 days out when someone cancelled. Just keep checking and you may get lucky.

 

[wl1117]

I'm not sure if this is always the case, maybe for concierge guests in cabanas, they are always hosted by the ship concierge. We had a cabana, were not in concierge and we had someone from Guest Services as our host. We weren't going to tip her anyway (whole different story; had many other issues with her regarding the cabana prior to Castaway Cay) but my feeling was that GS is not a tipped position so they would not be able to accept a tip for cabana hosting.

On our May 2012 trip we asked our concierge and he stated that "we are always responsible for taking care of the cabana's". I assumed that meant ALL of them, but I could be assuming incorrectly. We did see 2 of them throughout the day (the 3rd being in charge of the lounge onboard) and never saw anyone else around. However I didn't traipse down the entire beach either. Maybe this is just the arrangement on the Fantasy and Dream, as well.

 

[wl1117]

Don't give up hope on a cabana. I am a first-time cruiser who was able to grab one 35 days out when someone cancelled. Just keep checking and you may get lucky.

Which sailing? Your ticker says 1 month. We canceled an adult cabana on the Nov 15th Dream sailing when we had to change plans. I know someone was probably as happy as I was sad.