Castaway Cay Private Cabanas

[Davids-Coco]

We were in 7. LOVED IT! It wasn't far to go to the bathroom or to cookies too. And it is far enough to be mid beach-ish for the first set of cabanas. It has a great view of the ship too!

 

[princssdisnygina]

Wonder how long it will be before DCL builds 100's of cabana's. DCL must have a frenchman on board, who ever thought people would pay for something that was free(water). I guess pretty soon DCL will charge admission to get on the island, maybe a 20 foot section of beach that's free so nobody can complain. What got me was the people that wanted the buffet brought to them because they didn't like to stand in line. What is the world coming to. I retied young and saved a goodly amount of money so I'm not expressing sour grapes. My money can go for better things,like taking my extended family on a vacaton most years.

REALLY? You don't pay for something that is already free. You pay for the privacy and for the service of a concierge. If you feel like it is something you already get then good thing you don't have to get a cabana should you not want to. However, I LIKE having a private area where the rest of the passengers are not around. I LIKE having everything available to me at my beckon call. I LIKE to be spoiled while on vacation. And I don't believe, if you read again... that people wanted the food brought to them because they didn't want to stand in line, they wanted it brought to them to assure a place to sit for 7 people. (However, the max number in the cabanas is 6). This is just an added luxury Disney has offered and there is no false advertising here. Maybe you should look at the pictures I posted and let me know if you find that somewhere on Castaway Cay? Or where I can get FREE alcohol? Or where I can get FREE canned sodas? Yes, I can get free drinks at the BBQ but that is the only time. Maybe you can show me where I can get FREE tanning lotion, or have an area with loungers, a private shower and FREE rafts and tubes? And personally... spending $390-$500 on a cabana isn't going to prevent me from taking a vacation in the future, I take extra cash to spend for reasons just like this. Good thing you retired young and you have all that money! I, on the other hand, am not retired and still get to vacation once or twice a year. You enjoy the beach with all the kids and I will enjoy the privacy of my cabana and my beach area. Can't take the money with me, so I am going to enjoy it while I have it. No complaints here. If you don't like it, ignore it. Don't be ridiculous.Thanks!

 

[princssdisnygina]

I also asked him about tipping - he said that the host at the cabana would be the same concierge person from the ship (I guess assuming that you're in concierge), so you can tip them as part of the services at the end of the trip.

I can say since I did not stay Concierge that our guy was new to us. AND... he was not on concierge level, he was in charge of the pools on the ship. Of course we were on Serenity Bay but still... he was not one of the guys working Concierge so we did tip him cash.

 

[inkkognito]

Has anyone had problems with smokers in adjoining cabanas? I know it's not prohibited on the beach so I'm guessing it's not in the cabanas either. We rented a cabana at a water park once and had chain smokers on one side who made things rather miserable for us because the smell drifted over to us all day. I'm sorely tempted to do an adult beach cabana on one of our cruises this year but don't want to waste a bunch of $$ to be captive to smoke (with my luck, I'd have a cigar smoker next door).

 

[jenvin]

Has anyone had problems with smokers in adjoining cabanas? I know it's not prohibited on the beach so I'm guessing it's not in the cabanas either. We rented a cabana at a water park once and had chain smokers on one side who made things rather miserable for us because the smell drifted over to us all day. I'm sorely tempted to do an adult beach cabana on one of our cruises this year but don't want to waste a bunch of $$ to be captive to smoke (with my luck, I'd have a cigar smoker next door).

Ooh - good point, I'm curious about this too - we're pretty sensitive to cigarette smell now that we're used to it being prohibited here in buildings, restaurants, and even public parks and beaches.

Re: tipping - thanks to the posters that clarified, I'll bring tip money for sure - I'll post back after our cruise, too.

We're going to be in #4, I hope that's a good spot!

 

[KingRichard]

Which way does the winds blow?

Pick one end or the other based on this?

I would think they are fairly constant from one direction depending on the time of year?

 

[kbmo4444]

Has anyone had problems with smokers in adjoining cabanas? I know it's not prohibited on the beach so I'm guessing it's not in the cabanas either. We rented a cabana at a water park once and had chain smokers on one side who made things rather miserable for us because the smell drifted over to us all day. I'm sorely tempted to do an adult beach cabana on one of our cruises this year but don't want to waste a bunch of $$ to be captive to smoke (with my luck, I'd have a cigar smoker next door).

Ooh - good point, I'm curious about this too - we're pretty sensitive to cigarette smell now that we're used to it being prohibited here in buildings, restaurants, and even public parks and beaches.

post #7 on the following thread answers the smoking question http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2592723&highlight=cabanas+smoking

 

[jenvin]

post #7 on the following thread answers the smoking question http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2592723&highlight=cabanas+smoking

Thank you!

 

[princssdisnygina]

Ooh - good point, I'm curious about this too - we're pretty sensitive to cigarette smell now that we're used to it being prohibited here in buildings, restaurants, and even public parks and beaches.

Re: tipping - thanks to the posters that clarified, I'll bring tip money for sure - I'll post back after our cruise, too.

We're going to be in #4, I hope that's a good spot!

Smoking is not permitted in the cabanas but it is outside the cabana.

 

[inkkognito]

Thanks for the link. I see that it's prohibited around the cabanas, at least in theory. In practice, does anyone know if it's actually enforced? If so, I would be much more likely to book a cabana.

On a somewhat related noted, did anyone notice the really dumb smoking area they set up by Cookies 2? We noticed several smokers standing right near the big covered table area. When we got close, we saw that an ashtray was set up right there. Why on earth would DCL lure smokers right to where people are eating? That one was a head scratcher for me. Can't blame the smokers in that instance because they were doing what they should technically do.

 

[princssdisnygina]

Thanks for the link. I see that it's prohibited around the cabanas, at least in theory. In practice, does anyone know if it's actually enforced? If so, I would be much more likely to book a cabana.

On a somewhat related noted, did anyone notice the really dumb smoking area they set up by Cookies 2? We noticed several smokers standing right near the big covered table area. When we got close, we saw that an ashtray was set up right there. Why on earth would DCL lure smokers right to where people are eating? That one was a head scratcher for me. Can't blame the smokers in that instance because they were doing what they should technically do.

Not sure about it truly being enforced... but we were told when we arrived there was not smoking in the cabana, that it had to be on the beach. They didn't watch us like a hawk? No. My dad and sis smokes but they obey the rules and try to be considerate of others so I would hope others would do the same. There are only 4 cabanas on Serenity Bay anyway so to us it wasn't a huge deal.

 

[two-foxes]

Wonder how long it will be before DCL builds 100's of cabana's. DCL must have a frenchman on board, who ever thought people would pay for something that was free(water). I guess pretty soon DCL will charge admission to get on the island, maybe a 20 foot section of beach that's free so nobody can complain. What got me was the people that wanted the buffet brought to them because they didn't like to stand in line. What is the world coming to. I retied young and saved a goodly amount of money so I'm not expressing sour grapes. My money can go for better things,like taking my extended family on a vacaton most years.

Congratulations on saving your money for an early retirement. That is an admirable thing to have done, especially in these days. An overtime shift is paying for our cabana splurge, but that $499+tips won't enable us to send our entire extended family on a vacation. But I'd like to know where you vacation if you can do it!

And "far better things" are a matter of opinion, you know!
For some, being able to be waited on hand and foot for a few hours falls into that category. And considering I am at the beck and call of a 3 year old and a 1 year old for the majority of my waking hours, the cabana seems like a "far better thing" to me! Even for just a few hours

 

[ededmd]

Smoking is not permitted in the cabanas but it is outside the cabana.

It wouldn't seem so from the DCL reply (post #7 from the link):
The cabana area of the island will be non smoking.

But inkkognito has it right - will it be observed and/or enforced if not observed?

 

[lildeb724]

and the snorkeling area?

 

[outahere]

and the snorkeling area?

They are close to Pelican Plunge but on the far opposite end of the beach from the snorkeling area (at least a couple hundred yards).

 

[princssdisnygina]

It wouldn't seem so from the DCL reply (post #7 from the link):
The cabana area of the island will be non smoking.

But inkkognito has it right - will it be observed and/or enforced if not observed?

This is what we were told from our concierge when we arrived at our cabana. He said... you cannot smoke inside the cabana but you can outside the cabana. He even brought my dad and sis an ashtray.

 

[chefct]

Thanks

When my wife spoke to concierge this past Tuesday to book our cabana for our upcoming cruise, she asked about tipping the cabana host. She was told that the cabana hosts on the island are the actual concierge team from the ship, you tip them at the end of your cruise, just like your stateroom host and service team.

 

[DVC4US]

When my wife spoke to concierge this past Tuesday to book our cabana for our upcoming cruise, she asked about tipping the cabana host. She was told that the cabana hosts on the island are the actual concierge team from the ship, you tip them at the end of your cruise, just like your stateroom host and service team.

But if you are not staying in a concierge cabin then you would do not need to tip concierge at the end of the cruise. So those people would need to take money onto the island to tip the concierge person for the cabana. I plan on taking money just in case it is not the concierge person I have on the ship. Also, even though I love and appreciate all the shore side concierge people they don't always know exactly what is happening on the ship and CC.

 

[chefct]

REALLY? You don't pay for something that is already free. You pay for the privacy and for the service of a concierge. If you feel like it is something you already get then good thing you don't have to get a cabana should you not want to. However, I LIKE having a private area where the rest of the passengers are not around. I LIKE having everything available to me at my beckon call. I LIKE to be spoiled while on vacation. And I don't believe, if you read again... that people wanted the food brought to them because they didn't want to stand in line, they wanted it brought to them to assure a place to sit for 7 people. (However, the max number in the cabanas is 6). This is just an added luxury Disney has offered and there is no false advertising here. Maybe you should look at the pictures I posted and let me know if you find that somewhere on Castaway Cay? Or where I can get FREE alcohol? Or where I can get FREE canned sodas? Yes, I can get free drinks at the BBQ but that is the only time. Maybe you can show me where I can get FREE tanning lotion, or have an area with loungers, a private shower and FREE rafts and tubes? And personally... spending $390-$500 on a cabana isn't going to prevent me from taking a vacation in the future, I take extra cash to spend for reasons just like this. Good thing you retired young and you have all that money! I, on the other hand, am not retired and still get to vacation once or twice a year. You enjoy the beach with all the kids and I will enjoy the privacy of my cabana and my beach area. Can't take the money with me, so I am going to enjoy it while I have it. No complaints here. If you don't like it, ignore it. Don't be ridiculous.Thanks!

Well Said

 

[mousebrat]

We just got back from the Magic today and LOVED our cabana. Absolutely worth it.

Danny was our concierge on the ship and at the cabana, so we did not encounter the tipping issue.

With respect to smoking, the materials that we received with our cabana wristbands stated that there was no smoking in the cabanas or on the cabana decks - it was only permitted on open beach areas. Not sure about enforcement, but if someone were to light up, you could page the concierge and ask that the policy be enforced. We did not have any issues.

There is a pathway that runs behind the cabanas with easy access to the restrooms and Cookies Too. Cabana 1 is a few yards from the concierge entrance to the path and thus a few yards from the restroom. The restroom is a few yards from Cookies Too. It is all very close for the first several cabanas. We were in #5 and thought it was perfect. The higher numbered cabanas are further away and would be a hike.

While we were there, all the cabanas were booked. The private beach did not seem crowded at all. There were plenty of chairs, tubes, floats, sand toys, etc. There is a roped off area in the water that extends from the private beach, so even the water is not crowded. It was great for our little kids because the water was very shallow even far from the shore.