Castaway Cay Cabana, is it worth it?

[andrencau]

I see some form of this question many times here on the DIS. "Is it worth it?" "What's the point?" "Can I enjoy CC without one?" etc.... I also see statements that "they are way overpriced." That is what I want to focus on. Not the "worth" of it meaning the pros and cons, but the actual price.

When you go to the Port Adventures page, there are actually 2 pages worth of "excursions" for Castaway Cay (24 different adventures as of this post not including a cabana). The list includes prices and length of time that the adventures last. A cabana on the Family Beach is $549 for up to 10 guests.

For my example I am going to use a family of 6 (what we are). You can do the math, I have. For our family, we can have a cabana all day for $91.50 per person. That means 8 PA's are more expensive than a cabana. Many of those 8 adventures have have no interest for our family or they have age restrictions that would leave out parts of our family. If you compare it time wise, which you will have the cabana from disembark to embark, so time could vary. Most likely you are going to get 6 hours out of your cabana at minimum. So if you double all the other PA (just to look at it from a time perspective) 12 of the PA's are now more expensive than a cabana.

In conclusion, I can not decide for you whether a cabana is right for you and your family. I can not tell you if it is "worth" it. I can not tell you if you will enjoy it. I can tell you, the more people that are in your group, the better the value of a cabana becomes. I can tell you if you look at it with the price broken down by individual, it is not as tough a pill to swallow. I can tell you some of the extrinsic value (cool wash rags, drinks, seats, shade, a hammock, "free tubes", "free bicycles", your private slice of paradise) are priceless. I do hope this does not convince a ton of you to choose a cabana so I can always get one, but I do hope it helps others to see that comparatively speaking, it is a great, great deal

 

[Dave2425]

A cabana on the Family Beach is $549 for up to 10 guests.

They are $590.18 (after 7.5% VAT) for up to 6 guests plus an additional $53.75 (after VAT) for each additional guest up to a maximum of 10.

 

[andrencau]

It's $590.18 (after 7.5% VAT) for up to 6 guests plus an additional $53.75 for each additional guest up to a maximum of 10.

Do the PA's on the DCL website have VAT on the price? If not, that is kind of a wash. Also, I should have said that there was a charge for additional people, but my example was for 6. All of that holding true, it is still a good value comparatively wouldn't you say Dave2425?

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Interesting to see it broken down like that. I do the same kind of math when considering a veranda or not, though I usually just break it down to, "How much more is it per night?" Having done the Alaskan cruise, I can tell you for sure that many of the Alaskan excursions are way, way more for a family of 6 than the cabana on CC would be, but that doesn't stop them from selling out.

 

[MrDisneyFan]

I loved it. I hate fighting with crowds and loved the serenity of having literally what felt like a private beach. If it's worth it is so subjective. If you can afford it and book one, I think it's worth it. Our cruise wasn't full ('only' 3500 out of 4000 possible guests) and these photos were taken early in the day so you don't even see a big crowd. But the quiet Cabana beach was pure relaxation...

And of course you still have complete access to the family beach and activities there so you could go on the pelican plunge, snorkel (which we did) or relax quietly on a lounge chair (mission accomplished!). And when you wanted a cocktail or drink you could call a host to bring one to you. It was nice to have access to some sand toys, floating tubes, snacks, bottled water all conveniently right there.

Cabana beach side:

Public/Family Beach area:

 

[Dave2425]

All of that holding true, it is still a good value comparatively wouldn't you say Dave2425?

We think the cabanas are worth every penny.

 

[Postal68]

No matter how you break it down....it's not worth it.

There are plenty of GREAT seating areas on CC and if for some strange reason you don't like where you are or who is around you, you can always move. I don't need people to wait on me, it doesn't kill me to walk to get a drink or something to eat.

that almost $600 would pay off a nice chunk of another entire cruise for my wife and I.

 

[Dave2425]

No matter how you break it down....it's not worth it.

It's worth it for us.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

Totally worth it for us as well. Was a fun little splurge that I would absolutely do again given the chance.

 

[sillecruisers]

I loved it. I hate fighting with crowds and loved the serenity of having literally what felt like a private beach. If it's worth it is so subjective. If you can afford it and book one, I think it's worth it. Our cruise wasn't full ('only' 3500 out of 4000 possible guests) and these photos were taken early in the day so you don't even see a big crowd. But the quiet Cabana beach was pure relaxation...

And of course you still have complete access to the family beach and activities there so you could go on the pelican plunge, snorkel (which we did) or relax quietly on a lounge chair (mission accomplished!). And when you wanted a cocktail or drink you could call a host to bring one to you. It was nice to have access to some sand toys, floating tubes, snacks, bottled water all conveniently right there.

Cabana beach side:

Public/Family Beach area:

Yup. Those images right there illustrate it perfectly. I hate crowds, and I don't enjoy jockeying for a spot on a crowded beach. It just sucks some of the relaxation for me. It is totally worth it, in my opinion. We have already invested thousands into the cruise, airfare, etc. $600 more to ensure a day of relaxation and a little private piece of paradise? Heck yeah.

 

[jetskigrl]

No matter how you break it down....it's not worth it.

There are plenty of GREAT seating areas on CC and if for some strange reason you don't like where you are or who is around you, you can always move. I don't need people to wait on me, it doesn't kill me to walk to get a drink or something to eat.

that almost $600 would pay off a nice chunk of another entire cruise for my wife and I.

But you can say that about any excursion. Many people choose to pay the same amount for their family to parasail for 5 minutes or jetski for an hour. Just because it isn't worth it to you (for very good reason, based on your feedback), that doesn't mean it isn't worth it to someone else.

It is an excursion like any other one. Whether or not that is how a person wants to spend their excursion dollars is up to them.

When we had one, my mother was with us. Because of her medication, she can't be out in the sun very long. And since she has asthma, she needs a place to get out of the wind. Having a cabana allowed her to spend the entire day on CC with us instead of being stuck on the ship. So yes, the Cabana was worth every penny (to us).

Based on our first experience, we enjoyed it enough to say it is worth it for us to book one again (if we are ever given that chance, since they are so hard to book if you aren't sailing concierge).

 

[TinkRose]

My sister does the math the same way, but then adds port adventures too. She does like that the bikes and snorkeling gear are included. We have to limit our sun exposure so that gives her another reason to get a cabana. I'm only going to the beach to swim or snorkel in the morning so it's not worth it to me. We both live very close to lots of nice beaches so I don't care about a cabana but for her it makes it feel more like a vacation than what you could do anytime here.

They do seem too small for 10 people, I think 8 would be the max unless there are some little kids. She was going to share a cabana with my brother but it was already crowded with his family of 6 so she got one that day for her family of 4 plus our other brother and his son who were left out of the original 10. Luckily that day there were 2 empty cabanas that the CM's were practically begging us to take. DH and I went to SB.

 

[andrencau]

No matter how you break it down....it's not worth it.

There are plenty of GREAT seating areas on CC and if for some strange reason you don't like where you are or who is around you, you can always move. I don't need people to wait on me, it doesn't kill me to walk to get a drink or something to eat.

that almost $600 would pay off a nice chunk of another entire cruise for my wife and I.

I understand what you are saying about not worth it to you. I was just stacking it up against any other excursion/port adventure, by no means is it an outrageous luxury as it is presented in many threads. Postal68, do you do any excursion/port adventures on your cruise? If so, just compare it side by side.

 

[Happy100]

Would it be worth it when you are on the Magic? Less people on CC less crowded.

So it appears everyone is saying it is worth it because of the beach being less crowded vs. the family beach. So are you paying for the access to the "private" beach or the cabana?

Serenity bay is always empty so for me if I am interested in less crowding we venture over to Serenity bay. Of course our son can't go but when he was younger he would go to the club on the island for a couple hours so we could enjoy Serenity bay. Now that he is older he is very interested in bike riding, snorkeling and the planned games put on by CC staff so for us the Cabana isn't worth it.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

Cabanas sound WONDERFUL to me, and I do not doubt that they are well-worth the price for many cruisers, especially with families. For me, no matter how I try to look at it (I find the OPs PA comparison a smart and fair one, BTW), I still can't get past the sticker shock of $600 to spend a day on the beach. It's much the same to me as the difference between a verandah and an inside cabin - I enjoy the verandah, but no matter how I look at it I know I'll enjoy my trip without it too, so I'll spend that money elsewhere. I'm just glad that all those who cruise on DCL have the chance to make such "tough" choices!

 

[undertheradar]

Trying to see if it is "worth it" is a personal thing. We book a cabana because it gives us a shaded place to relax. Someone else will spend what we do on the cabana on drinks on the cruise. It is all personal choice.

 

[phinz]

And some of us will spend much more than the cost of a cabana on drinks on the cruise and *still* spend the amount for a cabana, because, to us, no matter how you break it down, it's worth every penny.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

In my opinion, it would be fun to do a cabana one day as a splurge, but I think comparing its pricing to an excursion is like comparing apples and oranges. For an excursion, you have actual activities that you would not get to experience otherwise. For cabanas, you are getting a much nicer seating area, a less crowded beach, etc., but the actual activities--Pelican Plunge, swimming, etc.--are things everyone can do for free.

I'm not saying it is not worth it because I have never done it to know, but I don't think of it as an excursion.

 

[undertheradar]

In my opinion, it would be fun to do a cabana one day as a splurge, but I think comparing its pricing to an excursion is like comparing apples and oranges. For an excursion, you have actual activities that you would not get to experience otherwise. For cabanas, you are getting a much nicer seating area, a less crowded beach, etc., but the actual activities--Pelican Plunge, swimming, etc.--are things everyone can do for free.

I'm not saying it is not worth it because I have never done it to know, but I don't think of it as an excursion.

Can you put a price on the golf cart ride, . What about those nice chilled towels? Don't forget that the cabanas get an hour of bike rental, floats, and snorkeling equipment.

 

[Trera]

We did a cabana for the first time in March and loved the experience. We will book one every time going forward if it is available or we are in concierge! we have a 2 year old DD and it is much easier to keep an eye on her on the cabana private beach area. We also order a portocrib to be delivered and she naps in there for an hour or two mid day while we relax.

To each their own I guess but we find the money well spent for a pampered, quite and relaxing beach day! JMHO