Castaway Cay Cabana---worth it?

[Deck6crew]

Hello,

First time Disney cruiser this November. Starting to plan our adventures.

Is it worth booking a cabana? Did you book one and wish you hadn't? Did you not book one and wish you did?

Would love to hear your advice.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello,

First time Disney cruiser this November. Starting to plan our adventures.

Is it worth booking a cabana? Did you book one and wish you hadn't? Did you not book one and wish you did?

Would love to hear your advice.

Thanks!

Here's some input from previous threads:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3302709&highlight=cabana+worth

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3236176&highlight=cabana+worth

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3235693&highlight=cabana+worth

 

[Parkerpirates]

We haven't stayed in one yet but have one booked for October. I'm justifying this way:
You get a cabana for about 8 hours. It's $550/day or $68/hr. You are allowed up to 6 people in that rate so that's about $11/per person per hour.
Now consider that parasailing or jet skiing at CC is $95/per hour, per person.
With the cabana you get bike rentals, water floats, snacks, drinks, private part of the beach with hammock, chairs, sunscreen, towels, sand toys and someone to help you when you need it.

 

[geekboy]

I figured it similarly. You have to basically add the Castaway Getaway package for all in your party. In my case, it was 4 adults (Cabin #20 Serenity Bay). I also included the "free" Evian Water and snacks and soda that was included in the cabin.

Personally, I like the sun but not directly laying in the sun on a hot sandy beach all day. Even with the nice Caribbean sea breezes, I find just sitting on a lawn chair all day to be monotonous. The Cabana provides shelter and you can even lay out on the really nice lounging chairs that are on your private deck. Opening the wide doors out to the deck and sitting on the sofa inside is nice and relaxing while watching the waves. A concierge host is just a click of a button and they arrive to fulfill any request. The refrigerator with cold towels and snacks and drinks is an extra nice touch.

Of my 11 sailings, only 1 has been in a cabana and I miss the cabana. There is a price break point where there is value. If you are less than 4 people, the price per person may be untenable. On occasions where i can't get a cabana or it's not economical, I don't spend much time on the beach. I will do the bikes, walk around, jet ski, BBQ, and just generally mill about (including a hike out to the observation tower). The cabana seems like a nice quick retreat without needing to go "all the way" back to the boat for something simple!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

First question as a first time cruiser will you get one as there popular and limited. But if you get one IMHO yes there worth it as a base for the things included the fruit soda safe hammock shower cycle hire float snorkel etc.

 

[AliceIn]

I wasn't sure about a Cabana when I booked our cruise, but my husband really thought it looked great.

After experiencing it, however, I am sold! It was very, very hot and sunny the day that we were on Castaway Cay. The cabana had a ceiling fan, a fridge with cold drinks and chilled, scented towels. It was very relaxing and peaceful in Cabana 3, yet we were pretty close to the restrooms, Pelican Plunge, and the ice cream station. I also really appreciated the privacy and changing area. Having a shower right outside the Cabana really helped with getting all the sand and salt off of us prior to heading back to the ship.

We did make use of the snorkel equipment, floats, and one of my kids went biking. It was comparable or even cheaper than most of our excursions this cruise (we're a family of 5), so I felt it was well worth it.

 

[lorimay]

Love the cabana's, if you can get one do it. You will not regret it.
We have our 4th one booked for November, can't wait.

 

[jetskigrl]

The one time we were able to get one, we absolutely loved the experience.

The problem is, unless you are sailing in concierge, the chances of getting one are very slim (not impossible, but very unlikely). Concierge usually has them all reserved before booking opens for anyone else. Then if one is available, the platinum cruisers have the next shot.

 

[jrabbit]

ABSOLUTELY!!!

the more money you give DCL, the less I have to shell out.

 

[Joel0917]

I've done both...did my first Fantasy voyage and we got the cabana..we loved it..but our 3 1/2 year old needed a place to chill..and our 71/2 year old wasn't quite ready for the big stuff on her own.

this past april we did it and the 5/12 year old and 9 1/2 year old didn't miss it and we didn't miss it at all...

we snorkeld..played on pelican plunge....honestly..didn't miss it at all...and was glad to keep $550 in my pocket.

i don't plan on ever renting one again.

 

[kapoof]

It depends...some will get one and that is their big splurge on the cruise. Our big splurge is cl. Keep in mind you only have the cabana for at most 8 hours, you can still swim and snorkel without one and have a great time. Don't get me wrong, the cabanas are darling and some love the privacy they offer. We found cast away cay to be about a half day thing and were back on board after lunch next to the empty pool and aqua duck so for us 550 bucks wasn't worth it.

 

[clemsonlongs]

We just returned from a 4 night Dream cruise with our 21 mo old and 4 year old. For our family of 4 the cabana was a must. Being a fair skinned bunch we found the hot sun too much for an all day adventure but we still wanted to spend as much time as possible off the boat. The cabana host also put a pack n play in the cabana for our 21 mo old to nap in which maximized our beach day. We also had shelter from a midday storm that produced a lot of lightening and rain in a very short time.

We took advantage of most of the amenities: snorkeling, snacks, sunscreen, water/soda, a quiet place to eat and the floats. It was very humid when we went so we did not bike ride but we hope to when we return in May of 2015. Now that we've had a cabana I can't imagine a trip to CC without one!

 

[Srdiana]

I just came off of the cruise. We got a cabana on the family beach. Was worth it for us. The beach is private so you can keep an eye on kids easily. Fridge has pop water fruit snacks. And cool rags which my 5 yr old felt was cool. Also you get free bike rental free floats sunscreen hammock a shower . My son and mother n law took a nap in the middle of the day.

 

[CarolyninCO]

At MCO waiting for our flight home. . We had a cabana yesterday and LOVED it, for all the reasons previous posters have stated.

Someone in the elevator asked us if concierge is worth it. I listed some of the amenities, and she didn't seem very impressed. But later I thought more about it and realized that, for us, it's much more about the experience. And for everyone that would different. For the Royal Tea we did, it's not the jewelry, doll and picture my daughter got, it was watching her face as she danced with the princesses.

Of course... I loved everything on the cruise so im not very objective!

 

[bbn1122]

We had our 1st Cabana on 8/24/14 and we loved it!

We had some thunder storms around 2:30p and everyone pretty much left the island....I would say 75%. We just went to our Cabana and relaxed ...got a drink out of the fridge and waited out the rain. About 30 minutes later we were back in the water.

We loved our location...#6... Close to to Pelican Plunge, bathroom, Cookies Too....it was great.

So, relaxing, shady, comfortable.....it was so nice to get lunch and bring it back to the Cabana.

Private beach....plenty of chairs, loungers, floats and tubes.

My DHubby, who is not a big spender....loved it and said for now on ...Cabana!

 

[savage1117]

We had our 1st Cabana on 8/24/14 and we loved it! We had some thunder storms around 2:30p and everyone pretty much left the island....I would say 75%. We just went to our Cabana and relaxed ...got a drink out of the fridge and waited out the rain. About 30 minutes later we were back in the water. We loved our location...#6... Close to to Pelican Plunge, bathroom, Cookies Too....it was great. So, relaxing, shady, comfortable.....it was so nice to get lunch and bring it back to the Cabana. Private beach....plenty of chairs, loungers, floats and tubes. My DHubby, who is not a big spender....loved it and said for now on ...Cabana!

Yay!! I'm so glad to read this we have cabana 6 for our first cruise on 11/1/14.

 

[wajones2]

This will be our 3rd Disney cruise & our 2nd time to have a family beach cabana. Our first cruise was very last minute and I had no idea about Castaway Cay or cabanas. DD was still napping and wasn't one to get in the water, and DH isn't into the beach either. We spent maybe 2 hrs on the island. 2nd cruise, I researched and wanted to try a cabana. I snagged one 3 days prior to sailing when someone cancelled. I was very nervous given the cost for a family of 3, so I went to our meet board and offered to share the cabana. We were able to find a family of 2 that wanted to share which helped my nerves and bank account. We all loved the cabana...wasn't so much what came with the cabana, but having a place of our own for the entire day. And yes, we spent the entire day on castaway. DH said cabana was only way to go for him - he isn't much of beach person, but I am. So we each were happy and spent the day together. We have cabana booked for upcoming November sailing, and I have no nerves or regrets about spending the extra on the cabana on our small family of 3.

 

[over50visits]

Is it worth it? The sixty-four thousand dollar question.

Some couples spend $200 and up to eat one dinner at Remy; some spend hundreds of dollars (!) for pictures of their cruise, some spend thousands extra to have a stateroom with a balcony they will sit on for perhaps a total of 5-10 hours, some spend hundreds of dollars for the Atlantis swimming area when the next day they will be at CC, a world class beach.

Yes, it's worth it. Take an wonderful day at CC and, with a cabana, transform it into an amazing, magical day. There is no question the cabana experience is way, way better. Disney knows it and charges you up to $550 for one day (each cabana if rented 4 days a week makes them well over $100K per year).

Choose your splurge. If you choose this one, you'll remember it forever.