If you don't get a cabana on CC.....

[Muppetfan3]

So, have been reading about the lovely cabanas at Castaway Cay. We have been on 12 + cruises (Mostly RC, Few Celebrity, Carnival & HAL) and finally booked our first DCL cruise. Very excited!!!!!! I realize as first time cruisers with DCL, our likelihood of being able to book a cabana at CC is slim to none, but if one would be become available, I would book it in a heartbeat. With all that being said, can someone tell me what the "regular beach chairs" and umbrellas are like? So, DH is partially mobile (has had 2 knee replacements and 3 subsequent surgeries to fix the one, so he still has problems)....so mobility is a bit of an issue as is sitting in a low chair (not only is he a knee replacement patient, he's extremely tall (6'6"). Anyway, so there's that...then we have 2 kids, 11 yo and a 2 yo, very active. I was wondering what would make us all happy. Kids and I are happy to have a place with a tad bit of shade and (guessing a bit of privacy is out of the question) able to play in the water and have a fun day. DH will be happy if he can have some shade and relax and probably swim too. Im afraid of those beach loungers because they aren't kind on his knees....are there other chair options??).

Just wondering if the cabana is worth it (guessing it might be in our situation but not sure how to even book it from what I'm hearing) and if that doesn't work, how do we make the most of our CC day and everyone happy? Also, is there any live music played on the beach or island? Thanks so much for any help!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

CC is great, if you get off the ship reasonably quickly you will get good location, good chairs sad shade by umbrella and made tree shade.

I have been in the beach and had cabana both have there benifits, both good, either are enjoyable.

There is typically live music and some games, and a good meal in cookies. You can win, snorkel, cycle and book port adventures.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So, have been reading about the lovely cabanas at Castaway Cay. We have been on 12 + cruises (Mostly RC, Few Celebrity, Carnival & HAL) and finally booked our first DCL cruise. Very excited!!!!!! I realize as first time cruisers with DCL, our likelihood of being able to book a cabana at CC is slim to none, but if one would be become available, I would book it in a heartbeat. With all that being said, can someone tell me what the "regular beach chairs" and umbrellas are like? So, DH is partially mobile (has had 2 knee replacements and 3 subsequent surgeries to fix the one, so he still has problems)....so mobility is a bit of an issue as is sitting in a low chair (not only is he a knee replacement patient, he's extremely tall (6'6"). Anyway, so there's that...then we have 2 kids, 11 yo and a 2 yo, very active. I was wondering what would make us all happy. Kids and I are happy to have a place with a tad bit of shade and (guessing a bit of privacy is out of the question) able to play in the water and have a fun day. DH will be happy if he can have some shade and relax and probably swim too. Im afraid of those beach loungers because they aren't kind on his knees....are there other chair options??).

Just wondering if the cabana is worth it (guessing it might be in our situation but not sure how to even book it from what I'm hearing) and if that doesn't work, how do we make the most of our CC day and everyone happy? Also, is there any live music played on the beach or island? Thanks so much for any help!

On the Family Beach:

 

[tinkerone]

Lol, I'm reading the first post under yours and trying to figure out what it says.
Don't give up on a cabana, Keep looking right up till the day you cruise. Go to the DCL group for your sailing and let them know you are looking for one as well. If someone there has one and decides to cancel you may be able to co-ordinate a time for them to release it and you to pick it up.
As to the beach, if you can not get a cabana then try and be off the ship ASAP as that will be your best chance to get coverage in the way of an umbrella. The chairs are regular beach chairs but there are lots. The further you go from the ship on the beach the less crowded it will be. Also, if your very lucky, there are some hammocks to use.
Have a great cruise.

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH is 6'3" and both his knees are "bionic." He does just fine with the chairs.

 

[The Sasquatch]

definitely keep trying and try when you get on the boat. The thing is it costs nothing to reserve but that price gets real when its time to sail and you will find that people cancel

 

[phinz]

On the Family Beach:
View attachment 176925 View attachment 176926

Ugh. This is why we don't spend much time at the Family Beach and why we don't really go ashore unless we have a cabana. That's a *lot* of humanity in one place, all sweating and sandy together, when the chairs are full. I did enough crowded beaches as a teenaged surfer. I've gotten spoiled by quiet coastlines (we only go to the OBX in the off season) and comfortable surroundings.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Ugh. This is why we don't spend much time at the Family Beach and why we don't really go ashore unless we have a cabana. That's a *lot* of humanity in one place, all sweating and sandy together, when the chairs are full. I did enough crowded beaches as a teenaged surfer. I've gotten spoiled by quiet coastlines (we only go to the OBX in the off season) and comfortable surroundings.

Well, it's not always like that. I have other pictures (just not as good, so I posted the "better" picture)

 

[phinz]

That's still too many chairs piled up on top of each other. Yuck.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We sit further down the beach and away from the water-almost towards the walk way. Not great if you have kids in the water, but much quieter when you just want to sit, snooze or the kids are playing in the sand. We also found it shady in that location. The chairs- couple of loungers and sand chairs-in the family area, I believe, are the same at the cabanas, the ones near the water. The cabanas have in them though, more typical outdoor furniture with a sofa, chair and a couple of loungers with wooden frames. We have done the cabana and done w/o the cabana. They are expensive. Either way, we always have a good time on CC.

 

[Muppetfan3]

Awesome tips! Thank you!!! I appreciate the pics also. This is good. sounds like if the cabana doesn't work out, at least I can plan a strategy of getting there as early as possible. I'm sure we'll have a great time. We love cruising and one of my favorite things is visiting private islands. So excited to finally go on DCL and experience Castaway Cay. Sounds like it's the best of the best! Excited to go!

 

[Trera]

The cabanas are great if you can get one. We didnt have one until about cruise 5 and now we get one every time.

Good Luck

 

[darnheather]

I thought the family beach was lovely. We had no trouble getting chairs with shade and didn't leave the ship until around 1030 or 11. There was a time when I was one of three people in the water. It's about the same number of chairs at the pool on the ship or at least it felt that way to me and I am not a people person at all. It's a gorgeous place what's to complain about?

 

[bumbershoot]

I feel like a big part of your question is about the actual chairs. FWIW on the beach the chairs/loungers are exactly the same at the cabanas vs not.

Up at the cabana there's a big furniture-type lounger thing, but I doubt if it's much higher than the beach ones. And there were stairs up to the cabana after walking there (we were taken there on a golf cart, but after that we were on our own), then maybe stairs going down, and a path to the beach. I'm not sure how much of a difference there is for a cabana, in terms of being rough on knees.

(had a cabana once, that's enough for me! nothing of value (using "value" to mean "what you get for the money") in it for me!)

 

[phinz]

If you want to see what a cabana looks like in 360* camera format, click the following links for 360* pictures I took a couple of years ago. You can click and drag around to see everything around you.

https://www.thesphere.com/474505

https://www.thesphere.com/474513

 

[jenf22]

We got a cabana on our first cruise and loved it. I stressed about getting a cabana the second time, never did get one, and still had a blast on CC. We were on the Fantasy the time we didn't get a cabana and our experience wasn't like the photo above. We found a set of chairs that was shaded by trees (and maybe an umbrella) and were never crowded by others. We had a kiddo with us and spent a lot of time in the water and never found it crowded. So I don't think we'll ever even try for a cabana again. I tried every single day and it kind of ruined my time leading up to the cruise.

All of that said, if you want a cabana my advice is to ask on your meet-up thread and see if there are any cruisers who can book early that wouldn't mind grabbing one for you (assuming they see one). That's how we got one on our first cruise. Someone picked one up for us when they could book and then when us first time cruisers could book, we arranged a time for her to drop it so I could pick it up. It worked for us, but I imagine it doesn't always if there's a waiting list for concierge since they get priority.

Good luck!

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

Lol, I'm reading the first post under yours and trying to figure out what it says.
Don't give up on a cabana, Keep looking right up till the day you cruise.

As a lowly silver Castaway member I have been checking the website multiple times a day hoping one of them opens up. LOL! Part of me hopes one doesn't open up because then I'll save $590, the other part of me is like GIMME GIMME!

Does anyone have a favorite spot to sit on the family beach? I've only ever been to Serenity (since I did not have children before) and I'm curious on opinions.

 

[BCV23]

Just to clarify, the furniture in the cabanas is nothing like the lounge chairs on the beach. Much easier on those os us with picky knees. Cabana 1 has no stairs at all. Both entrances are ramped. The cabanas we've had on the adult beach did have more stairs. Cabana 2 has only a couple stairs IIRC.

 

[RedSox68]

You also get a hammock with your cabana -- which my daughter spent most of the day in!

 

[Skiton]

Ugh. This is why we don't spend much time at the Family Beach and why we don't really go ashore unless we have a cabana. That's a *lot* of humanity in one place, all sweating and sandy together, when the chairs are full. I did enough crowded beaches as a teenaged surfer. I've gotten spoiled by quiet coastlines (we only go to the OBX in the off season) and comfortable surroundings.

That's still too many chairs piled up on top of each other. Yuck.

First-world problems.