Castaway Cay Private Cabanas

[pixie08]

Hi, first time posting to a forum. I have been diligently reading all 39 pages of posts and thanks for the load of information. My extended family are going to cruise on the Dream in October (if everyone can finally pick a date!) and I was excited about the cabanas in the cruise planning DVD - however, very disappointed to learn here that they only made 1 handicap accessible, seems like an odd ratio, 1 in 20. My MIL uses a wheelchair and oxygen and with the extended family being a Polish/Irish mix needless to say they need some shade! We are not booking the concierge level so I guess at the moment we are stuck racing to the Guest Services/Shore Excursion/whatever-new-place-they-come-up-with-between-now-and-October desk when we board. Since I'd rather not see my FIL wheelchair racing with my MIL to the desk, I am the most likely candidate for the job - so the question is, in your expert opinions, would there be any trouble for me to book the handicap cabana if I reference their stateroom?

Also, seems a bummer that the cabins get rented out in number order; since we are a large group I would rent 2 and wanted them to be next to each other. I find it hard to imagine I would be able to get #2 on embarkation day.

Also in your expert opinions for those who were at the cabana's, how high were the stairs? The pictures may be deceptive but it looked like we might be able to "bump" her up the stairs since she's just in a manual chair. It only looked like there were maybe 2 from the beach side which seems manageable. But I'm sure I'm over looking something

TIA and I can't wait to hit the Bahamas!

There is a cabana with a ramp, for wheelchairs. Passporter.com has a video of it.

 

[miztressuz]

There is a cabana with a ramp, for wheelchairs. Passporter.com has a video of it.

sorry I may have been confusing with all my questions. I was wondering about the stairs in case we can't get the HC one. The HC accessible cabins are going quickly so I'm sure I'll be in competition with someone. (we finally booked, Oct 9 on the Dream! yea Bahamas! 7 months seems so long right now)

Passporter.com and passporterboards.com seem to be having problems. Every time I try I get "underconstruction" or database errors Was looking forward to the video. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[princssdisnygina]

sorry I may have been confusing with all my questions. I was wondering about the stairs in case we can't get the HC one. The HC accessible cabins are going quickly so I'm sure I'll be in competition with someone. (we finally booked, Oct 9 on the Dream! yea Bahamas! 7 months seems so long right now)

Passporter.com and passporterboards.com seem to be having problems. Every time I try I get "underconstruction" or database errors Was looking forward to the video. Thanks for the tip though.

The stairs up into the cabanas from the outside (non-beach area) are pretty high I think to bump up a wheelchair. The ones to the beach aren't too bad. My concern would be the width of the stairs. see the pic below...

Entry to the cabana...

Stairs to the beach...

 

[miztressuz]

Thanks for the up close picture of the front, I agree they do seem a bit narrow. But they do have the double handrail and only 3 steps so maybe we'll have a good week and she can get up without the chair. We are fortunate that she can still walk and move on her own but just not far and stairs give her pause.

I hope people who have rented recently keep posting. I am excited about this new addition to the island as my MIL is concerned about getting onto the beach and then being comfortable in the sand. A cabana should alleviate that so she can watch the grandkids enjoy the beach. But if the service is poor (like a few others have posted) we may save the money.

Also hoping against hope that someone reports DCL uping the max occupants to 12 so we'd only have try for 1 instead of 2. But I have my doubts we will be so lucky

Actually that prompts another question, they understandably rope off the beach area. Do you think if those of us in the group not lucky enough to get into a cabana could setup up on the beach just on the other side of the rope, and those on the private beach or in the cabana would be able to interact? You know just talking and watching the kids play in the water? Or is there kind of a buffer zone that would prevent that? Not trying to skirt the rules, we wouldn't encroach onto the private side. But if the areas were close enough that might be one option for us.

 

[Kaitysmom]

Just there last week - I vaguely remember a fence and rope dividing the beach area. You could probably socialize at the edge but I think I'd just go out to the other area for a bit if I wasn't staying inside the cabana. There was a bar with several loungers right near the roped off area.

We were on the Magic so it really wasn't crowded on the beach - maybe it's different with the Dream?

We loved the cabana - for us, it was worth the price. We were asked at least three times if there was anything we needed. We rang the bell once to ask a question and there was someone there in less than a minute. They couldn't have been any more accommodating while we were there. I had read the negative reviews as well so I was a bit reluctant but we were really impressed!

 

[cinjam]

We are on the Magic's 4/9/11 sailing. We want to book a cabana for our CC day. We are not concierge. I understand I must go to guest services when we board see if we can book.

I have the bottom fishing booked in the event I cannot get the cabana (it's one or the other for us). I have two questions:

1) Is there anyone who is also on that cruise, who is concierge, who can look to see if there is any availability as of right now?
2) What is the cancellation policy on the CC excursions? I don't want to get on board and get the cabana only to find out a can't cancel the CC fishing without a charge.

Thanks for the help!

 

[princssdisnygina]

Thanks for the up close picture of the front, I agree they do seem a bit narrow. But they do have the double handrail and only 3 steps so maybe we'll have a good week and she can get up without the chair. We are fortunate that she can still walk and move on her own but just not far and stairs give her pause.

I hope people who have rented recently keep posting. I am excited about this new addition to the island as my MIL is concerned about getting onto the beach and then being comfortable in the sand. A cabana should alleviate that so she can watch the grandkids enjoy the beach. But if the service is poor (like a few others have posted) we may save the money.

Also hoping against hope that someone reports DCL uping the max occupants to 12 so we'd only have try for 1 instead of 2. But I have my doubts we will be so lucky

Actually that prompts another question, they understandably rope off the beach area. Do you think if those of us in the group not lucky enough to get into a cabana could setup up on the beach just on the other side of the rope, and those on the private beach or in the cabana would be able to interact? You know just talking and watching the kids play in the water? Or is there kind of a buffer zone that would prevent that? Not trying to skirt the rules, we wouldn't encroach onto the private side. But if the areas were close enough that might be one option for us.

I don't see why you couldn't set up on the other side? OH... and the steps going into the cabana... there are 4, you can't really see the one at the bottom.

We are on the Magic's 4/9/11 sailing. We want to book a cabana for our CC day. We are not concierge. I understand I must go to guest services when we board see if we can book.

I have the bottom fishing booked in the event I cannot get the cabana (it's one or the other for us). I have two questions:

1) Is there anyone who is also on that cruise, who is concierge, who can look to see if there is any availability as of right now?
2) What is the cancellation policy on the CC excursions? I don't want to get on board and get the cabana only to find out a can't cancel the CC fishing without a charge.

Thanks for the help!

I believe the CC excursions have to be canceled before you even board the ship? It is either that or 72 hours prior to the excursion.

 

[cinjam]

Thanks princssdisnygina. I am going to call DCL tonight and find out for sure.

 

[outahere]

We are on the Magic's 4/9/11 sailing. We want to book a cabana for our CC day. We are not concierge. I understand I must go to guest services when we board see if we can book.

I have the bottom fishing booked in the event I cannot get the cabana (it's one or the other for us). I have two questions:

1) Is there anyone who is also on that cruise, who is concierge, who can look to see if there is any availability as of right now?
2) What is the cancellation policy on the CC excursions? I don't want to get on board and get the cabana only to find out a can't cancel the CC fishing without a charge.

Thanks for the help!

Even Concierge guests can not see cabana availability online, it has to be done through the land-based Concierge team. The cancellation policy on all excursions is three days prior to the sailing date, not the excursion date.

 

[kyla]

Great thank you! Were you offered snorkling gear? Also I have heard that the buffet at the adult beach often has steak or other offerings that the other doesn't. Did you happen to notice this?

We were there Feb 1 and SB did have steaks whereas the family beach did not.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

We were there Feb 1 and SB did have steaks whereas the family beach did not.

Thank you for confirming this information. I appreciate it.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Just wondering how everyone was going with booking onboard. Are you finding availability or are the cabana's mostly booked by concierge guests?

 

[two-foxes]

We had cabana #4 on our 2/27-3/3 Dream cruise. I found it to be absolutely lovely, quiet and perfect! I think it was about worth the money paid...we never did "ring the bell", and my only request of Lynda, our CM, was that we get the bowl of fresh fruit that was advertised, but not in our cabana, for my kids. We got all our drinks on our own, as the bar is a short walk from the cabana...and we were able to use the fridge to order a few drinks, and keep them cool. We grabbed lunch at Cookies Too (blah food), and another staff was in our cabana a short time later to grab our dishes.

The beach was PERFECT! Very quiet, shallow water and floats easily available. The family beach, just a few feet away, was quite crowded, and I was relieved to be able to have my boys play in the sand without the crowds. All in all, we WILL do it again. Simply, with our little ones, it is the easiest way to go!

 

[danjulia]

We had cabana #4 on our 2/27-3/3 Dream cruise. I found it to be absolutely lovely, quiet and perfect! I think it was about worth the money paid...we never did "ring the bell", and my only request of Lynda, our CM, was that we get the bowl of fresh fruit that was advertised, but not in our cabana, for my kids. We got all our drinks on our own, as the bar is a short walk from the cabana...and we were able to use the fridge to order a few drinks, and keep them cool. We grabbed lunch at Cookies Too (blah food), and another staff was in our cabana a short time later to grab our dishes.

The beach was PERFECT! Very quiet, shallow water and floats easily available. The family beach, just a few feet away, was quite crowded, and I was relieved to be able to have my boys play in the sand without the crowds. All in all, we WILL do it again. Simply, with our little ones, it is the easiest way to go!

Were you concierge (i.e. did you book in advance?) or did you book onboard? Just wondering...

 

[mdinowitz]

We were among the first people to guest services on the 2/20 Dream cruise, and were put on a wait list (the CM said that we were the first on the list), but by the first evening we were told that all of the cabanas were reserved by concierge guests. It's still worth a try though, each cruise will be different. We still had a GREAT day at CC, and saving the $500 wasn't so bad either. We'll try again on our next trip.

 

[noladave]

We were on the Magic last week (got off Saturday), and they were sold out early.

We were in boarding group 9, but didn't board until group 11 (waiting on family), and went straight to guest services. For some reason #16 was booked, but 15 and 17 were free, so our families got both of them. Anyone booking after group 11 could not get one.

Best advice is to get there as early as possible. More and more people are finding out about these great cabanas. Pricey, but worth every penny!

 

[two-foxes]

Were you concierge (i.e. did you book in advance?) or did you book onboard? Just wondering...

We were concierge and booked 120 days out.

 

[castawayfan]

We also just got off the Magic. We were in boarding group 1. We went directly to Port Adventures and could have had any Cabana after Cabana 7. By the way, we loved the Cabana and would do one again in a heartbeat. We had perfect weather and just loved it.

 

[noladave]

another picture of the cabanas from the ship..

#17 is all the way to the left.

(it's a wide picture)

 

[RDS912]

We scored cabana #3 both castaway days on the July 5th Dream

It looks like yhey might start booking them on the web, When I clicked on shore excursions they popped up, but no availability