Castaway Cay Cabana, is it worth it?

[Trera]

We think the cabanas are worth every penny.

Agreed!

 

[Bree]

I always read these threads and come to the same conclusion. It's a personal opinion. There is value for some and it is a waste of money for others.

They are cute and maybe someday I might splurge for concierge and get one. For now I will take that money and spend it on club level rooms for my WDW trips which I think are worth it at this point of my life.

 

[Donna3271]

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.

YES!!! This is a totally subjective question. Some love it, some prefer to explore the Island, stay on ship, etc... A personal choice.

To the OP... Regardless what you decide, Castaway Cay is a beautiful place and a wonderful experience. Only you know your budget, and if it is worth it to you. No wrong decisions. We've had a Cabana, and we haven't. Either way, it was a great day.

 

[OhThePain]

My wife and I had a cabana on SB in September. We were one of the first off the ship and headed back to the ship about 30 minutes before all aboard. That means it cost us $25 an hour, per person, for us to rent the cabana (SB cabanas were $400). For us, the privacy, the ability to easily go back and forth from shade to hammock to beach, etc. at our leisure, without having to deal with trying to find chairs or hammocks, the ability to play music (on my ipad) without having to wear headphones or invading others privacy, to be able to get drinks when we wanted without having to go anywhere or wait for someone to come take our order, to get a ride for lunch or the bathroom, etc. etc. etc.... Basically all the conveniences of having a cabana made the $25 an hour well worth it for us.

I do see the other side of the coin on how many don't think the cost is worth it. That's one of the things that makes DCL (and WDW) great, is that there are so many options and ways to personalize how you choose to vacation that there is no right or wrong way to do things.

 

[over50visits]

I cannot believe people pay hundreds of dollars for a CD with pictures on it!!! We take lovely pictures, CMs are happy to take pics at meet and greets, etc.....

On the other hand, many cannot believe I happily pay $200 for a single meal at Remy, and $400+ for a cabana at SB.

Worth it is in the eye of the beholder. There is no question with the long list of amenities, the comfort, and the location, cabanas are well worth it. And people who don't get them have a fantastic time at CC. To each his own.

 

[phinz]

I cannot believe people pay hundreds of dollars for a CD with pictures on it!!! We take lovely pictures, CMs are happy to take pics at meet and greets, etc.....

On the other hand, many cannot believe I happily pay $200 for a single meal at Remy, and $400+ for a cabana at SB.

Worth it is in the eye of the beholder. There is no question with the long list of amenities, the comfort, and the location, cabanas are well worth it. And people who don't get them have a fantastic time at CC. To each his own.

You spend $200 at Remy?











Amateur.

 

[kiford]

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.

Absolutely true. "Worth" is a judgement that often cannot be broken down into dollars and cents and compared to something else of equal cost. I wouldn't take a cabana for free. We like to be warm but beaches bore me. Concierge? Nice, but I wouldn't pay much more for it. I have to have a balcony. I wouldn't pay to upgrade to a Cat 4 (got a free upgrade once - could have cared less). We have no problem spending hundreds of dollars at Remy. I would never bother to bring my own alcohol on board to save money. We do spa treatments and know that we pay more than what we would pay at spa at home. Never buy photos. Etc., etc.

Value is a personal perception of what you get for what you pay including consideration of what else you could do with the money, if you can afford it, and what's important to you or makes you happy.

All someone else can do is tell you their experiences, what they got for the money, what they liked or disliked and then each person has to make their own judgement of whether it's of value or "worth" it.

 

[over50visits]

You spend $200 at Remy?

Amateur.

At a minimum....

 

[kiford]

At a minimum....

Well, that covers the wine, although not the tip

 

[Dave2425]

All someone else can do is tell you their experiences, what they got for the money, what they liked or disliked and then each person has to make their own judgement of whether it's of value or "worth" it.

I completely agree. The problem with these "worth it" discussions is people will say something isn't worth it even though they've never experienced it. You see it all the time with concierge, cabanas, Remy, Palo, etc.

 

[PhillyCruiser]

We think the cabanas are worth every penny.

Ditto!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

It really comes down to for some folks is paradise and well worth the price and I can fully see why it would be worth the price. To us, we just don't feel its worth spending that amount of money...........give us a lounge and umbrella on Serenity bay and we are happy as a couple of clams!

Enjoy your choices!

AKK

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

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.

I don't even consider Castaway Cay's package for the bike rental, floats, and snorkeling equipment as an excursion, even though they market it as one. It's just equipment rental to me. I wasn't aware of the golf carts, but that still would not make me think of it as an excursion. But like I said, I don't know about the value of it since I have never done it.

 

[coloradocutie]

For some it is priceless to have your little one be able to take a nap in a pack and play in the cabana!

 

[LSUfan4444]

If I am cruising, no I don't think it's worth it.

I get the desire to want to be secluded and avoid crowds, but if thats what I want I don't go on a cruise. At times I don't want to deal with the masses, and I like having the extra security to leave some of my belongings more "in the open" but I don't feel that what you get is equal to the cost. It doesn't mean I don't think that they aren't nice and I certainly think there are some benefits, just not at that cost. They cost what they do because they are in such high demand and they know people will pay it, not because of the value they provide. But, like others have mentioned it is a personal decision.

Another thing is that we are the parents of a single child, so your group size demographics and such can play a part. If you are traveling with small kids, do they like meeting other new kids or keeping to themselves? Siblings??? Do they get along, etc.

For the record, I also don't think verandas are worth it either. I prefer walking around an empty ship in the morning to get my coffee just like I enjoy the walk to get my coffee while at WDW. But, thats me. When I cruise I almost do so for the social interaction. When I go to Sedona, Az or Turks & Caicos I go for seclusion and privacy.

 

[hanscarlet]

we were lucky enough to get one as silver members and I would say it's worth it but there are some regrets in that I decided to also do the CC 5K.. after the 5K was over and I got back to the ship to change, we really didn't get to the cabana until 9:50 - 10am... then unfortunately for us it started to overcast around 1:00pm and full out rainstorm at 2:30. We were lucky to have the shelter of the cabana and we missed the crowds heading back to the ship because we could wait it out in the cabana.... however, if I do the math, we spent a total of 4.5 hours in it for $600... eh... I think next time I will skip the CC 5K and just get an early spot on the beach, .... and of course half of me is just saying this because I am sad we won't get one for our next cruise since they are usually all booked when we go as silver on the Magic next year and of course we're about 99% sure we're going to be booking concierge on the Dream for 2017 because we want a cabana

ETA: if I didn't have kids I wouldn't get one, the Serenity Beach is quiet enough where you don't need one

 

[IrishDancer512]

My wife and I had a cabana on SB in September. We were one of the first off the ship and headed back to the ship about 30 minutes before all aboard. That means it cost us $25 an hour, per person, for us to rent the cabana (SB cabanas were $400). For us, the privacy, the ability to easily go back and forth from shade to hammock to beach, etc. at our leisure, without having to deal with trying to find chairs or hammocks, the ability to play music (on my ipad) without having to wear headphones or invading others privacy, to be able to get drinks when we wanted without having to go anywhere or wait for someone to come take our order, to get a ride for lunch or the bathroom, etc. etc. etc.... Basically all the conveniences of having a cabana made the $25 an hour well worth it for us.

I do see the other side of the coin on how many don't think the cost is worth it. That's one of the things that makes DCL (and WDW) great, is that there are so many options and ways to personalize how you choose to vacation that there is no right or wrong way to do things.

Thanks for this post! Very helpful to me in trying to decide on the cabana for our first cruise.

 

[RebelHawk]

We made our first Castaway Cay stop this past January. We were there with two other families for a total of 9 people. We figured the best way to keep everyone together was to get a Cabana. After that experience we have booked another Cabana for our Oct trip with only one other family for a total of 6 people. For our December trip it is just my wife and I, we are going to try out the Serenity Bay Cabanas and see how that works. Of course that will be our last DCL cruise for the foreseeable future. We are going to jump lines and check out RCL and Celebrity for a comparison.

Bottom line for us, worth every penny for a Cabana!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We love the cabanas for all the reasons others have stated. It is a personal decision and choice. For us it is vacation-maybe the only one for that year. So a splurge, for us. But any way you want to look at it, a day on Castaway Cay is awesome, whether you have a cabana or not. Enjoy your trip!

 

[ludari]

I've heard great things about the cabana's at CC but since I cruise alone I cannot justify the cost. I am hoping when I cruise in 2017 with my friends that we all agree to get one and split the cost.