Double Dip and Cabanas sold out for Platinum

[ITGirl50]

We are platinum and are going on a double dip in September and tried to get a cabana on one of the days and they were sold out. We were online at exactly 120 days out (kept refreshing the browser until midnight) and no cabanas for either day. I honestly thought being a double dip we could get one.

Do they allow concierge guests book a cabana on both Castaway Cay days? So they could get one on both days?

We will put our name on a waitlist when we get on board, I was just surprised there weren’t any for two days. We have gotten one as platinum before and there was just one day on CC.

 

[dcassetta]

Do they allow concierge guests book a cabana on both Castaway Cay days? So they could get one on both days?

Yes.

 

[Cheburashka]

All cabanas are almost always sold out to concierge on all cruises, including for double dips. They're much harder to get than they were several years ago.

 

[ITGirl50]

All cabanas are almost always sold out to concierge on all cruises, including for double dips. They're much harder to get than they were several years ago.

It seems to be that way now. We will see if people cancel the second day. I do love the cabana. It’s great on a rainy day. I’m not willing to pay double for concierge for the ability to spend more on a cabana. It is what it is. We are trying RCL Wonder of the Seas next year. Concierge suite for the same price as a regular room on DCL. Kid is grown so we are losing interest in DCL. The only thing I still love is Castaway Cay.

 

[lklgoodman]

It seems to be that way now. We will see if people cancel the second day. I do love the cabana. It’s great on a rainy day. I’m not willing to pay double for concierge for the ability to spend more on a cabana. It is what it is. We are trying RCL Wonder of the Seas next year. Concierge suite for the same price as a regular room on DCL. Kid is grown so we are losing interest in DCL. The only thing I still love is Castaway Cay.

Same for us. We're doing Alaska 2023 on NCL, we did Alaska on DCL in 2014. We got a suite with tons of perks for what an inside would cost on DCL. It'll be our first non-DCL cruise.

 

[cwis]

All cabanas are almost always sold out to concierge on all cruises, including for double dips. They're much harder to get than they were several years ago.

Them being difficult to book being probably the reason many people hoard them, just to be safe. And then you have a cabana. And then why not enjoy it? Sure sounds like a fun thing to do at Castaway Cay.

Plus: if I were Concierge, I would probably book both, and cancel one if the weather turns out to be much more enjoyable one day than the other.

 

[ITGirl50]

Them being difficult to book being probably the reason many people hoard them, just to be safe. And then you have a cabana. And then why not enjoy it? Sure sounds like a fun thing to do at Castaway Cay.

Plus: if I were Concierge, I would probably book both, and cancel one if the weather turns out to be much more enjoyable one day than the other.

I think they should charge for them when booking. Then it would stop the nonsense of just holding them.

 

[cwis]

I think they should charge for them when booking. Then it would stop the nonsense of just holding them.

Or make them somehow non refundable until 14 days before departure or whatever. Not sure the cost of having to pay for them straight away would offset the benefit of having a cabana for sure.

DW and I have thousands booked in vacations we're not sure we'll go on but, just in case, up to a point we sometimes joke about it that we should consider it being an extra savings account.

 

[Cheburashka]

Them being difficult to book being probably the reason many people hoard them, just to be safe. And then you have a cabana. And then why not enjoy it? Sure sounds like a fun thing to do at Castaway Cay.

I don't think many people release their cabanas if they're still taking that cruise. It's not uncommon for people to change cruise dates and drop them, but I haven't heard of many accounts of people just deciding not to use the cabana on a cruise they still have booked. I lucked into a cabana onboard once (last October, when the passenger numbers were still very low), and know firsthand how much one can add to your experience on Castaway Cay. Instead of just doing a few hours worth of activities & lunch on CC and then heading back onboard, I'll happily relax on the island the entire day.

I don't think they're being hoarded and then dropped. I think word has simply gotten out and they're in genuine high demand.

Plus: if I were Concierge, I would probably book both, and cancel one if the weather turns out to be much more enjoyable one day than the other.

If I could afford to book Concierge during the expensive school vacation periods when I can usually cruise, I would book the cabana for both CC days. Why not enjoy it on both days, if you can afford it?

 

[AquaDame]

I think they should charge for them when booking. Then it would stop the nonsense of just holding them.

I don't think it would stop the nonsense, but I'm sure DCL wouldn't mind the interest free loan. If they made them nonrefundable then maybe folks would stop doing it, but the folks booking concierge aren't typically living paycheck to paycheck. They can handle having extra money out of pocket for four months while they solidify plans.

 

[ITGirl50]

I don't think many people release their cabanas if they're still taking that cruise. It's not uncommon for people to change cruise dates and drop them, but I haven't heard of many accounts of people just deciding not to use the cabana on a cruise they still have booked. I lucked into a cabana onboard once (last October, when the passenger numbers were still very low), and know firsthand how much one can add to your experience on Castaway Cay. Instead of just doing a few hours worth of activities & lunch on CC and then heading back onboard, I'll happily relax on the island the entire day.

I don't think they're being hoarded and then dropped. I think word has simply gotten out and they're in genuine high demand.



If I could afford to book Concierge during the expensive school vacation periods when I can usually cruise, I would book the cabana for both CC days. Why not enjoy it on both days, if you can afford it?

Because other people want to enjoy them too. They limit the number of times you can eat the Palo brunch and dinner because of limited capacity. Why not the cabanas too?

 

[chrisnb]

Because other people want to enjoy them too. They limit the number of times you can eat the Palo brunch and dinner because of limited capacity. Why not the cabanas too?

The cabanas were originally built for a perk for concierge guests, and with 44 rooms on old ships it has always kind of worked out , with how many concierge guests want them. but now the Wish with 77 rooms there is a lot of disappointed concierge guests

 

[ITGirl50]

The cabanas were originally built for a perk for concierge guests, and with 44 rooms on old ships it has always kind of worked out , with how many concierge guests want them. but now the Wish with 77 rooms there is a lot of disappointed concierge guests

We are on the Dream, but I can imagine there will be disappointed concierge guests on the Wish.

 

[Cheburashka]

Because other people want to enjoy them too. They limit the number of times you can eat the Palo brunch and dinner because of limited capacity. Why not the cabanas too?

Because concierge guests typically pay at least twice as much to cruise, so it makes sense that they get the most access to booking cabanas as a perk. You also can't predict the precise weather in advance, and it would be awful to book it for only one day and then have that day be rained out or too windy to even dock at CC.

Also, the Palo & Remy comparison isn't really analogous, because you can book as many additional meals onboard as you want, and for dinners they almost always have availability onboard every night. Not like cabanas, which take great good luck to get onboard.

I wish cabanas were easier to get, too, but given what concierge guests pay especially in high season, it makes sense that they always have the best chance to get that perk on any CC day. If I paid that much to sail concierge, I'd probably change cruise dates or downgrade to a cheaper category if I failed to reserve a CC cabana.

 

[cwis]

This cabana thing has gotten up to the point to the answer of the question “why do you sail Disney Cruise Line?” has only one acceptable answer “because it's the only line that offers that nice public transportation called «Concierge Staterooms» that brings us to our lovely cabanas”.

 

[MomOTwins]

I don’t think Disney views last minute cancellations of the cabanas as a real problem—they can always fill any vacant cabanas via the waitlist on the ship. They would rather keep their cash cows, I mean, valued concierge guests, happy. The concierge room prices continue to astound me, especially in some of the new Wish rooms where you are paying 5 figures PER day. Of course it makes sense that Disney wants those people to have whatever they want.

 

[randumb0]

I wonder if Lighthouse Point will have more cabanas

 

[lopo1974]

When I booked our B2B Concierge Wish sailing for this August, the price compared to a Family Verandah was no more than $2000 more. Granted it was opening day for Gold. We were 0 for 2 in our Cabana request. There will be a lot more sad/unhappy Concierge guests vs happy on the Wish when it comes to acquiring Cabanas.

 

[Sakura1017]

DCL knows that demand is high for cabanas. They will probably keep on increasing the price since they know people will still pay higher prices for it.

 

[ITGirl50]

RCLs are $1200 on the beach and over $2k over the water. but concierge suites are cheaper than DCL.