I subscribed to this thread and kept an eye on it for awhile before our cruise (we just came off a 7 night Western Caribbean). After much debating, we decided to go in with another family and split the cost of a cabana on the family beach. As there were seven of us, our total cost was $550, and let me tell you, it was not at all worth it.
We arrived at the cabana check-in site, only to be greeted by two apathetic (or one step above unfriendly) cast members, one of whom asked, "Do you need a ride to the cabana, or can you walk?" Sensing that giving us a lift was too much trouble, I replied that we could walk and asked the way. He pointed in the general direction of a map and said, "Go over there and take a right." Um...ok.
We got to the cabana and met up with our friends, then perused the drink menu. Then we wondered how one goes about getting a drink. Well, someone will probably come to greet us and show us around, we'll just ask them... Any minute now... ... Nope, we had to go hunt down our cabana attendant ourselves. I walked down to the attendant's "hut" and - hand on heart - when the girl saw me coming she turned and went into the building. I literally had to chase her down. She was friendly enough, but not too interested in the fact that I had to come to her, rather than the other way around. She walks back to the cabana with me and points out some of the features. Including the place where our call button should be, but isn't. Curious. I ask, "Well, can't we just give you our drink order now?" She says ok, takes the order, then leaves. (On her way out, my friend asks if we can just order our lunch, and he is told no.)
FORTY FIVE MINUTES GO BY. Someone goes to hunt down the attendant and actually finds the cabana manager, who calls in the drink order. When the server arrives with our long-awaited drinks, she apologizes and tells us that, apparently, the attendant went on her break without actually putting in our order. I ask her to please send the manager to us. At this point, our friends have to leave for their jet-ski excursion. One of them asks an attendant if they can be given a ride to the excursion point, which is all the way across the island, and he is told no. They must get on the trolley like everyone else. Despite the row of golf carts lined up next to the cabana check-in booth.
Meanwhile, the manager arrives at our cabana, with a call button in hand. She says she's not sure what happened to the original, but this one works to page her directly when we press the button. By this point, it is after one o'clock. We have been in the cabana for two hours. Not wanting to engender any ill will in the woman who is now in control of the delivery of my future cocktails, I attempt to address our concerns in a friendly tone. I say that perhaps we need to clarify what, exactly, my party can expect for our $550. I voice my concern that, so far, the answer to our every request (none of which seems beyond the scope of what we were promised, or what we expected after reading previous reviews) has been an unwavering NO. (Oh, I forgot to mention that they discontinued the pitchers of punch, because "not enough people were ordering them." Wait, I thought they were included upon arrival. ?? Not that I wanted punch, necessarily, but it's just another "no" to add to the list.) Needless to say, my address was not well-received. I am told that the manager "already apologized" to my friend for the delay in our drink delivery and that he accepted her apology. And that it was she (the manager) who refused transport to the excursion point, although no explanation was given as to why. I realized that this woman really didn't have much interest in my concerns, so I thanked her for stopping by and I went to meet my family down the beach. I saw her again once, when my friends returned from their excursion and pressed the button to request more chips, which were promptly delivered. As we were leaving
Castaway Cay for the day, we were boarding the tram when we noticed a cast member standing near the golf carts. We called to him that we were cabana guests, and asked if he'd take us back to the ship. When he said sure, we couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation.
Later that afternoon, the delightful girl from Guest Services who arranged the cabana rental for us called to ask how our day was and if we enjoyed our cabana. I had no choice but to relay the events of the day, and I told her that she should call my friends to ask them about their experience. Her response was, "What happened to you today is completely unacceptable." She told me that she'd call our friends for their feedback, then speak with a manager and get back to us. She called back later to offer
DCL's apology and a refund of our cocktail charge for the day ($25-ish), and $75 to split between the two families. I thought it was better than nothing, but my friend said it was a bigger insult than if they had just done nothing.
So, here is my humble opinion, for what it is worth:
I wouldn't waste $500 on a cabana rental again. We will definitely take another
Disney cruise, but next time we'll take our daughter to the kids' play area and just go to Serenity Bay for a little while. The cabanas are spacious and nice, but absolutely not worth the money, especially considering the lack of service. I know there haven't been many negative reviews, and some (for whatever reason) will take my post personally and feel the need to defend DCL, but I really would hate for anyone else to be as disappointed as we were. I'm hoping my friend dizzi (our cabana mate) will chime in, so everyone will know I'm not alone in my opinion. For $500, I don't think it's asking too much of DCL when I expect:
1) To be taken directly to my cabana by the host who checks me in, be it on foot or in a cart.
2) To be driven by golf cart back to any location I'd like to go, seeing as there are several available to drive cast members all over.
3) To not have to wait 45 minutes, for anything.
4) To have my lunch delivered directly to the cabana, if I request it.
5) To have reasonable concerns addressed and corrected by a member of the management staff.
The Good
You're definitely separated from the rest of your fellow cruisers. Oh, except for when they're wandering down the path, peering into the cabanas just to "check them out" because there is no one at the gate, checking wristbands. (That's right, anyone can walk right in.)
You'll get some "free" sunscreen and bottled water. (I refuse to count the canned soft drinks as a perk, because when you go to get your lunch, you have to pass right by the soda station, which is also "free.") You also get "free" chips and fruit. (But again, you can get chips and fruit at the lunch line.)
In my experience, the cabana area was not at all noisy. It's not too far from Pelican Plunge, but it's not directly in front of it. In fact, I never even heard any noise from there at all.
The cabanas are just past the massage cabanas if you know where those are. 
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