Castaway Cay Private Cabanas

[ThePhantomsGirl]

You'd be surprised at how many adults travel on DCL without kids.

I'm one of them!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

To those who have booked a cabana at SB before- is it worth it? I booked one for our 5 night double dip in March. It will be me, DH, and one other couple. Second guessing myself a bit...

 

[FJS961]

We did one cruise without the kids and it was an experience. Stayed in the adult areas of the ship, dined only in suite or Palo/Remy ... visited Serenity Bay for the first time ever ... what a treat.

At one point we were on the bicycle path and came alongside a guy and his 2 kids. He asked us, "are your kids in the club?" We replied that they were home with the grandparents. He almost fell off his bike saying, "You went on a Disney cruise and left the kids HOME?!? ... you can DO that?"

We chuckled.

When we past him again he said, "there goes the happiest couple on the ship" We just might have been

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

My DH and I did a Western without the kids and had a blast. The only downfall was that we weren't able to dock at Castaway. It was DH's 40th birthday, and we were looking forward to finally enjoying Serenity Bay.

So, 2 years later we booked a b2b that INCLUDES a double dip! I am bound and determined to have at least one day in paradise.

 

[acourtwdw]

To those who have booked a cabana at SB before- is it worth it? I booked one for our 5 night double dip in March. It will be me, DH, and one other couple. Second guessing myself a bit...

We had one in October. It was my dsis, dparents and myself. If I had not just had back surgery about 3 weeks before we left for WDW and DCL, I wouldn't have thought the cabana was worth it. We booked it way before I had to have emergency surgery. It was nice for me to have someone take us to lunch since I had some mobility issues. But I don't think we wil do it again. It was just too much money for what it is.

 

[Brandis]

You'd be surprised at how many adults travel on DCL without kids.

Sure, but from what I saw on my 2 previous cruises it surely didn't feel that way.

On our first DCL cruise, in 2008, it was a beautiful sunny day on CC but there were barely more than 30 people on Serenity Bay all day long. We picked the 5 umbrella from the beach entrance and for the first 2 hours or so there was no one staying further up the beach except a group of people doing Yoga under a tree.

On our last visit, last september, it was a bit rainy on CC day, but the temperature was nice and by noon the sun started to come through the clouds but ours was the only cabana on SB to be used that day and even the buffet supervisor, who happened to be our head waiter on the ship, mentioned how quiet SB was on that day and how they had way too much food brought from the ship.

Also, most of the time we had the adult pool area to ourselves as well. It was really nice.

Wondering how it will be on our next cruise, in March.

 

[shelbell77]

Sure, but from what I saw on my 2 previous cruises it surely didn't feel that way.

On our first DCL cruise, in 2008, it was a beautiful sunny day on CC but there were barely more than 30 people on Serenity Bay all day long. We picked the 5 umbrella from the beach entrance and for the first 2 hours or so there was no one staying further up the beach except a group of people doing Yoga under a tree.

On our last visit, last september, it was a bit rainy on CC day, but the temperature was nice and by noon the sun started to come through the clouds but ours was the only cabana on SB to be used that day and even the buffet supervisor, who happened to be our head waiter on the ship, mentioned how quiet SB was on that day and how they had way too much food brought from the ship.

Also, most of the time we had the adult pool area to ourselves as well. It was really nice.

Wondering how it will be on our next cruise, in March.

All five of our previous cruises were without children, as will the next two be. And two of the five were double dips at Castaway Cay. I've never experienced an empty Serenity Bay. In my experience if we don't get there within the first hour or so of being able to get off the ship its difficult to get seating at all. Thats why we're looking forward to our Cabana in April!

 

[Brandis]

Wow, must have been lucky!

Here is a picture from our first visit in 2009 (not 2008 as I said before):

And some from last september:

Buffet area at noon:

Around 12:20 PM:

Around 12:30 PM (Many chairs still untouched):

About 1:30 PM:

But back on topic, we really liked the cabana, even (or maybe just because) it was raining a bit in the morning. Also, my uncle doesn't like to swim and my aunt can't walk very well in sand because of a knee surgery, so they enjoyed having a comfortable place to relax.

I had fun with the innertube provided, as it is clear plastic I used it as a sorts of underwater viewing instrument. Discovered a hermit crab in a conch shell and brought it ashore so my uncle could take a picture of it (of course returned it to the water afterwards:

BTW, those crabs seem to have really good hearing, every time my uncle's camera made the shutter clicking sound, it retreated into the shell really fast and then cautiously and slowy came back out after a few seconds.

 

[FJS961]

Our Dream cruise in March was full yet our first and only visit to serenity bay found it very quiet with very few people out there and a sparse lunch area as well

 

[Reto]

On my Nov 6, 2011 Dream cruise, I was blessed with a SB cabana and I also found SB to be quite empty pretty much all day long. Tons of empty chairs I'm telling you! We had two quick rain showers passing through just after 1pm - other than that it was a fine day. Even one of the SB cabanas (#21) wasn't occupied that day. Perhaps the loudest thing that day was the strong wind

Here's a pic of SB looking north taken at 2:35pm:


Serenity Bay on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Myself enjoying the water at 11:34am: Most chairs on the north end of SB remained empty all day long.


Serenity Bay on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Looking from cabana #19 onto SB at 2:38pm:


Serenity Bay Cabana #19 on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

The northernmost chairs at 10:28pm - they remained like that all day long:


Serenity Bay on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

We went to the BBQ just a bit after 12 noon and had no difficulties finding an empty table.

The best tip I can give to everyone wanting to have a quiet space (even without a cabana!) is to walk as far north as possible on SB. Yes, it will be a longer walk down to the BBQ and the restrooms, but your chair location will be as quiet as it gets on CC.

I, for myself, loved my cabana. It was the first time I had one and I'm definitely planning to go after one for my Nov. 10 Fantasy cruise. I liked having a place to drop my stuff and leave my valuables in the safe. Also loved having the sunscreen being provided - can't have enough of it on my European skin. And Nelson from Honduras was such a nice guy! I ran into him a couple times on the ship after our CC stop and he always had time for a little chat.

Finally, some pics of cabana #19:

Looking over to #20 and #21:


Serenity Bay Cabana #19 on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Cabana #19 in the foreground, #20 to the left of it:


Serenity Bay Cabana #19 on Disney's Castaway Cay Island - Front View by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Beach access, conveniently located between #18 and #19:


Serenity Bay Cabana #19 on Disney's Castaway Cay Island - Beach Access by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

Looking straight out of #19 to SB:


View from Serenity Bay Cabana #19 on Disney's Castaway Cay Island by Reto Kurmann, on Flickr

And for those of you preferring a video - here's a walk through my cabana and then down to the water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMZILbWqtyI

 

[gometros]

I think a lot of it depends on what time of the year you cruise. We cruise mostly in the fall, when schools are open. Definitely more adults traveling without kids then. While I've never really seen SB packed, you had to get up early to get a hammock, although you could get one eventually later in the day. I haven't been to Castaway Cay on the Dream, so I don't have a feel for what the additional passenger capacity feels like, so it'll be interesting to see the difference in September.

 

[DVC Jen]

Thanks for all the photos - beautiful

 

[TheQueenMum]

Can anyone tell me in infants (children under 2yrs) count as 'people' for the purposes of cabana rental? Will I have to pay $50 each of them if we have 6 adults?

Thanks!

 

[ibouncetoo]

Can anyone tell me in infants (children under 2yrs) count as 'people' for the purposes of cabana rental? Will I have to pay $50 each of them if we have 6 adults?

Thanks!

Yes you will have to pay for infants.

Our cabana had a pack-n-play in it when we arrived (had a 22mo old with us), I wasn't expecting that and was delightfully surprised. Though, when placed in it after lunch my great nephew said..."Sleep? WHY?"
(he had a point!)

.

 

[TheQueenMum]

Thanks for the super-quick reply!

 

[Mazz519]

Heres a question that Im sure has been asked a million times. How far out can you book a Cabana ? And how is it done ? Thanks

 

[Reto]

Heres a question that Im sure has been asked a million times. How far out can you book a Cabana ? And how is it done ? Thanks

Cabanas can be booked by logging into your reservation and then on the port adventures page for Castaway Cay. But beware, they go real fast! You have to log in right at the minute booking opens.

How early you can book depends on what level you are in the Castaway Club (or how many times you've cruised with DCL so far). First-time cruisers may book at 75 days before departure, Silver Castaway Club members (1-5 cruises) at 90 days out, Gold members (5-10 cruises) at 105 days and Platinum members (more than 10 completed cruises) at 120 days. Note that in order to book a cabana, you must have paid your cruise in full.

 

[speedo]

But beware, they go real fast! You have to log in right at the minute booking opens.

You are not kidding I was on at midnight last night at 120 for concierge and already half were booked. I was able to get #6 last night. Out of curiosity I I checked availability this morning and all but 2 on serenity bay were booked.

Do you think there were that many people online booking these at midnight at120 days out or do you think some of the cabanas are held back? Either way I am glad I got up in the middle of the night because I would have been really disappointed to find out from concierge that there were none left this morning.

Anyone have any reviews of #6. Also I read on WDWinfo it says the cabana host is no longer included in the price. I suppose it is not a big deal just curious if the amenities changed for 2012? or maybe WDWinfo has bad information? http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-port-castawaycay.cfm

 

[Annette_VA]

I just watched the video from the link above & saw that the cooler is stocked with regular Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc. Has anyone had any luck getting drinks switched out? We'd only drink Diet Coke & water. I'd love to be able to have our fridge stocked w/ just those. Think it's possible?

 

[kritter]

We were concierges last time next cruise we will be gold but not concierges what are the chances in Nov. of getting a cabana on the Fantasty?

TIA!!