Is a cabana worth it?

[Carolyn white]

Hi all. So my family and I are taking our first Disney cruise in February on the Wonder. I was wondering if a cabana is really worth it? Or do the umbrellas and chairs work good enough? I will have a 17 month old..so looking for something to keep us shaded when relaxing.
Thanks

 

[TXDCLfan]

Hi all. So my family and I are taking our first Disney cruise in February on the Wonder. I was wondering if a cabana is really worth it? Or do the umbrellas and chairs work good enough? I will have a 17 month old..so looking for something to keep us shaded when relaxing.
Thanks

We did the cabana thing years ago and found that we spent more time away from it than using it. Looking back we feel that they are way over rated. There is plenty of shade to be found for "free" Also I will point out since you are cruising in Feb. it might be cool that day and really no need for a cabana.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi all. So my family and I are taking our first Disney cruise in February on the Wonder. I was wondering if a cabana is really worth it? Or do the umbrellas and chairs work good enough? I will have a 17 month old..so looking for something to keep us shaded when relaxing.
Thanks

It really depends on you.

For me (us), not really.

If we were a large group (at least 5-6 of us) with several generations involved (grandma to babies) it might be. But, for 2 of us, an umbrella and a lounge chair is fine.

 

[amanda ek]

It is worth it to us...we are traveling with 3 children under 3, 7 people total. We request pack and plays set up so we do nap time there....we stayed ALL DAY last trip...definitely got our money's worth. Looking forward to the same experience in 2 weeks for our magic cruise.

 

[princessmommyx3]

For us it is worth it, but we are not really the active type. We like to park in the same spot all day (cabana or not) and just relax while the kids play in the sand and ocean. If you are going to be spending a lot of time away from the cabana then I would save your money. But, if you are like us and don't do a whole lot, it is nice to have the shade, privacy, hammock, shower, refrigerator, private beach, etc. that the cabana provides.

 

[cindyzig]

Hi all. So my family and I are taking our first Disney cruise in February on the Wonder. I was wondering if a cabana is really worth it? Or do the umbrellas and chairs work good enough? I will have a 17 month old..so looking for something to keep us shaded when relaxing.
Thanks

We tried one on our first cruise a month ago. It was really pretty and we liked the accommodations quite a bit along with the sodas, water, etc. I really liked the hammock. However, we are not going to try for one on the cruise I booked for us yesterday. We felt like we were not very close to the action, and surprisingly, we were a bit bored. My son wanted to go on the water slide, check out the kids club, and be with all of the kids. I wanted to meander through the shops, and we saw some other excursions that looked like fun. It was nice to check out though so we won't wonder what we are missing.

 

[bumbershoot]

We felt like we were not very close to the action, and surprisingly, we were a bit bored.

Yes, thank you, that's what I've been missing in how I felt about it. I was bored.


I think it's very much personality-based. I can budget like crazy for something (not meaning being on a budget, but making whatever money we need available), but I want to get *value* from it. Since Castaway has lots of value to begin with for me, I want to spend time on the island. A cabana is so expensive, I want to get the value of the cabana. And the two, for me, compete. Value from the cabana means being int eh cabana. Which means I'm not experiencing the island.

DH and DS went off and snorkeled, and I stayed behind in the expensive cabana. Well, also, the safe didn't work, even after Leslie the host got maintenance to "fix" it, but it wasn't fixed. I wasn't going to leave our stuff in a non-locking safe. So I sat, I read my kindle, I was in the son a little bit.

I could have done that without the cabana.

DH really liked it, DS liked it. I have enjoyed our non-cabana Castaway experiences more than our cabana experiences.

 

[cindyzig]

Yes, thank you, that's what I've been missing in how I felt about it. I was bored.


I think it's very much personality-based. I can budget like crazy for something (not meaning being on a budget, but making whatever money we need available), but I want to get *value* from it. Since Castaway has lots of value to begin with for me, I want to spend time on the island. A cabana is so expensive, I want to get the value of the cabana. And the two, for me, compete. Value from the cabana means being int eh cabana. Which means I'm not experiencing the island.

DH and DS went off and snorkeled, and I stayed behind in the expensive cabana. Well, also, the safe didn't work, even after Leslie the host got maintenance to "fix" it, but it wasn't fixed. I wasn't going to leave our stuff in a non-locking safe. So I sat, I read my kindle, I was in the son a little bit.

I could have done that without the cabana.

DH really liked it, DS liked it. I have enjoyed our non-cabana Castaway experiences more than our cabana experiences.

I had the same experience when my DH and DS took off for awhile. I wanted to put some things in the safe and wander out to the water or by the beach. But, I couldn't get the safe to work either. In fact, I also wanted to use the restroom facilities too, but I was afraid to leave our stuff including electronics behind. And, my DH took forever to come back because he got side tracked by the shops, so I found myself just sitting there staring at a tiny lizard in the cabana waiting. It was not the relaxing solitude I envisioned, and I really was annoyed when I found out that he was wandering through the shops and I was not. Haha.

But, it was beautiful and worth trying once. I am sure that it really suits other people's personalities and family needs and is worth the expense depending upon what one wants to do while on the island. We actually talked ourselves out of concierge on the cruise I just booked for the family even though we enjoyed the perks on the last one. I am like you, and I need to see value, and it was great but didn't really seem to be worth the huge price difference.

 

[RDP]

We have booked a cabana for our last three cruises. It is expensive but it's worth it from our point of view. We like the solitude, shade, comfort and privacy the cabanas provide. We treat the cabana as an " excursion" the whole family can enjoy.

 

[Trera]

We have booked a cabana for our last three cruises. It is expensive but it's worth it from our point of view. We like the solitude, shade, comfort and privacy the cabanas provide. We treat the cabana as an " excursion" the whole family can enjoy.

This^^^^^^^^

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

It's a personal preference. For us, it was totally worth it. DH isn't fond of the beach, I very much am. He hung out in the cabana, I got to enjoy a very secluded beach area. We're both introverts, so we enjoyed a quiet place all to ourselves amidst the hustle and bustle (and crowds) of the cruise. The kids also had a ball (6 and 15).

For others who enjoy activities and being in the middle of it all, I can see how it wouldn't be worth it. The cost was high, but we viewed it as our excursion for the day.

Good luck!

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

We have booked a cabana on our last two and I have one booked already for our next two. I have to have shade and it's a nice retreat when you want to relax and read. For us it is worth it!

 

[Skiton]

We loved it. We were a group of 8, though. We loved the more private beach just as much as the actual cabana. It was quieter and much easier to keep track of the kids. Also, we're beach people, so we were there pretty much the entire day. My biggest qualm was the weather, I worried that it would be cold and rainy in January, but we lucked out and it was beautiful. So for us, yes, worth it.

 

[TestingH2O]

We treat the cabana as an " excursion" the whole family can enjoy

This. None of the other CC excursions interest is, and we do like having a home base. Plus DD still naps, and this way we don't have to cut our beach day short. We have a February cruise booked, and we don't plan to get a cabana for that trip. We will see how it feels to fly solo.

 

[rwthompson82]

I think with the young child, it's worth it.

We sailed when my DD was 2 years, 10 months, and we had to cut our beach day short to go back and nap.

We got one (after checking availability 3-4 times per day) for our cruise in February. DD will be 4.5, DS will be 15 months. We will also have my parents and MIL, but we would have done it if it was just the four of us as well.

It is a lot of money (especially in Canadian dollars), but for us it gets us an extra 3-4 hours on the beach, snorkeling gear, float and bike rentals.

 

[dclpluto]

A cabana will definitely be worth the price if hit the powerball.

 

[phinz]

For my wife, who spontaneously combusts in the sun, it's worth every penny.

 

[lorimay]

For us, its worth it. I was disappointed on our Fantasy cruise in 2014, when we couldn't get one. We are always there in the cabana till the last possible second. We have been fortunate enough to have one 4 of our last 5 visits to CC.

 

[Waylander]

For me its worth it. We went on multiple excursions last cruise and the cabana was the only one that I commented that we would definitely do again. I like having a home base reserved and the privacy (lack of crowds) on the cabana beach. It is expensive - but if you look at it as an excursion for the whole family like RDP - then it isn't as expensive as it first seems.

 

[Mr. Green]

Take a look on YouTube as I have seen lots of videos showing and touring the Cabana's. For us, it would not be worth the expense based on the videos alone due to we are a very active family that likes to do activities, swim, beach, etc. That may not be true for everyone, but it's your decision. Again, I think those videos provided a lot of information, size, and location to see if it would really be worth spending the money for one.