Castaway Cay cabanas question

[Disneypeach]

Hey all,
I did a search but didn’t see this situation

I’ll be solo on a Treasure cruise later this year in concierge (my first time concierge).

I just found out my best friend will be on the same cruise with a dear friend who has a terminal condition and this cruise will be for them and the family to make memories while the friend can still go. I’m not part of this family group (I know of the family from my friend but have never met them). I would be uncomfortable pushing into the trip, but since I’m concierge I would be able to put my name in to try to secure a cabana at Castaway Cay. I know this is a total long shot.

Question: If I were to secure a cabana could I check in with 5 extra people not linked to my reservation? Could I then leave to allow another family member to join the family? Or is this ‘swapping’’ of people not allowed? As long as they didn’t exceed the cabana limits would this work?

I’m sure my friend would be willing to help pay but I don’t want to broach the subject if this is not even possible to do.
Thanks y’all

 

[OhThePain]

Can you swap? No. Can you get away with it if you tried? Probably. The price for a Family Beach cabana includes 6 guests and Serenity Bay includes 4. You can add up to 4 more guests on FB or 6 more on SB for $50-$60 per guest. In other words, you can have a max of 10 guests in either cabana. Just add and pay for the extra guest(s) instead of trying to cheat the system.

Also, I suggest booking it before you discuss it. Being Concierge does not guarantee you will get a cabana. It is a lot easier to have it booked and decide to cancel than to not request it and then wish you did.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

hmmm... I don't know about this one. Maybe family cabanas? But on Serenity, they seemed to know exactly who we were. I would secure a cabana first and then dig into this deeper and see if any of this is possible. You will have up to 3 days before you cruise to give it up.

 

[Cheburashka]

I recommend just booking the cabana for yourself and all of them, showing up as the lead guest at check-in, and then leaving the cabana to them after the cabana host lets you in. There is no rule saying you have to be in the cabana.

I would not try to swap yourself out for someone else. Just pay the extra for another person.

 

[Disneypeach]

Thanks for the replies all

Let me be clear…I’m not trying to cheat the system. Not asking about overloading the cabana but rather trying to set up a surprise for the special family who have no chance to do this themselves since they are not concierge or pearl. I would leave the cabana so one of the other family members could become the 6th person.

 

[OhThePain]

Thanks for the replies all

Let me be clear…I’m not trying to cheat the system. Not asking about overloading the cabana but rather trying to set up a surprise for the special family who have no chance to do this themselves since they are not concierge or pearl. I would leave the cabana so one of the other family members could become the 6th person.

So... cheating the system. In any instance where you are making the reservation and check in and then take off your wrist band to give to someone else after being checked in, is cheating the system. The option to have as many as 10 people assigned for the cabana is there for you. Trying to avoid paying that extra cost, which is what you are trying to do, is... cheating the system.

 

[Disneypeach]

I’m not trying to avoid extra cost. Just trying to do something nice for the family of a terminally ill person for what will probably be their last trip together. There would be NO extra people…only the six of them…I leave them to enjoy their time together. I’m NOT part of their family trip. All I’m trying to do is set this up since they can’t.

 

[Pinkjgray]

It seems there’s some confusion. You’re not cheating the system. As a concierge guest, you can reserve the Cabana without paying for it until the day of. I recommend booking it as soon as the concierge window opens. You’re welcome to invite anyone, as long as you don’t exceed the maximum number of guests allowed.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It seems there’s some confusion. You’re not cheating the system. As a concierge guest, you can reserve the Cabana without paying for it until the day of. I recommend booking it as soon as the concierge window opens. You’re welcome to invite anyone, as long as you don’t exceed the maximum number of guests allowed.

The question seems to be can OP reserve the cabana with 5 others, but then the sixth person in the other group be switched out for OP.

I agree, the OP doesn't necessarily have to remain at the cabana, but switching out the guests isn't allowed, so 6th person (from other group) should be included at the extra cost.

 

[Erica1016]

This is just a curiosity question as we've never booked a cabana and it isn't likely we would. Do you have to have all the guest names at the time you reserve?

 

[OhThePain]

The question seems to be can OP reserve the cabana with 5 others, but then the sixth person in the other group be switched out for OP.

I agree, the OP doesn't necessarily have to remain at the cabana, but switching out the guests isn't allowed, so 6th person (from other group) should be included at the extra cost.

I've thought about this some and think I understand better. The way I am reading it is that there are 6 people in the friends' group plus the OP. The OP is asking if they can reserve the cabana and essentially just go with them to check in for the cabana at the desk and that is as far as they go (like the could immediately head back to the ship without going any farther than the check in desk). I guess if the OP never puts on a wrist band and never enters the cabana area, since they have no intentions of going anywhere near the cabana, there is a chance they might let them. OP, I guess you could let the Concierge team know on the ship ahead of time and hope for the best. At worst it'll cost an extra $56 or whatever.

 

[ShaneDJ]

Do you have to have all the guest names at the time you reserve?

All of the cabana guests must have their name on the cabana reservation because all cabana guests must have a wristband, but you can add your guests in the Concierge Lounge while on the ship.

On one DCL cruise we were concierge and we booked a cabana. But when on the ship, we had friends in a different stateroom who were non-concierge and we wanted them to join us in the cabana.

On the ship, we talked with one of the concierge hosts and asked to add our non-concierge guests to our cabana reservation. They required our friends’ stateroom number and the number in their party, and the concierge host documented the non-concierge guests and had wristbands for them.

Also, the concierge hosts stopped by our cabana a couple of times during the day to make sure all was in order.

 

[Disneypeach]

Thanks y’all. I don’t think I was clear in what I was trying to say originally. I wanted to figure out if my friend and I could do this as a “gift” We pay for it but give it away to the family.

I appreciate y’all’s help and suggestions.

 

[RedHead0186]

This is just a curiosity question as we've never booked a cabana and it isn't likely we would. Do you have to have all the guest names at the time you reserve?

No.

You will need to have all guests names before going to the cabana, likely the day before as that's when concierge will arrange wristbands (each cabana guest needs to have a wristband). But you don't need to have all the names at the time of booking.