Family Cabanas: Just Hype?

[Yinn]

Background: First family cruise ever for us. We’ll be traveling with a couple of Oceaneer Club aged kids. We booked a concierge room on the Dream and we’re coming up on our request date so we’re hunkering down on our requests. We don’t normally book any type of Cabana when we go to WDW but considering it for our cruise given the hype and our room type.

Based on what we’ve been finding it seems to be a bit of a disadvantage in some cases (further away, rocky beach, feeling confined to get value) while an advantage to some (more peaceful, dedicated home base)

A lot of what I could find is from groups of adults, large families, or families with older children.

Question: What are this forums recommendations? Any insight from folks who have gotten the cabana with children in that age range?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Background: First family cruise ever for us. We’ll be traveling with a couple of Oceaneer Club aged kids. We booked a concierge room on the Dream and we’re coming up on our request date so we’re hunkering down on our requests. We don’t normally book any type of Cabana when we go to WDW but considering it for our cruise given the hype and our room type.

Based on what we’ve been finding it seems to be a bit of a disadvantage in some cases (further away, rocky beach, feeling confined to get value) while an advantage to some (more peaceful, dedicated home base)

A lot of what I could find is from groups of adults, large families, or families with older children.

Question: What are this forums recommendations? Any insight from folks who have gotten the cabana with children in that age range?

From the questions in your post, I assume you mean lighthouse point, but you’ll get better answers if you specify which private island. It would also be helpful if you tell us what your ideal day looks like and if you want to do any activities, other than chill in the cabana.

 

[Cfabar1]

Also be aware these are very hard to come by.... I wouldn't count on one...

 

[CamColt]

I'm not in the demographic you are interested in, but I thought I'd share my perspective.

We have been to CC many times and now, LC twice. I have never really had an interest in a cabana, and I don't get the hype. I would rather be out in the sun on the beach, enjoying the islands, and for the price I've always thought no way. Due to some unique circumstances, we ended up with one on our last cruise with 5 adults (2, 50's 3 20's). This was SB on LC, Was it nice? YES! Did we enjoy it? YES! It was a fun splurge for sort of a special trip. I'm really glad we did it. Do I feel the need to go out of my way and try to get one again? Nope!

I wouldn't say I would never get one again. I would if the situation and possibility came along, but I don't feel it's a necessity to enjoy the island, especially in your case being your first visit there.

 

[Yinn]

From the questions in your post, I assume you mean lighthouse point, but you’ll get better answers if you specify which private island. It would also be helpful if you tell us what your ideal day looks like and if you want to do any activities, other than chill in the cabana.

We’re visiting both islands on our itinerary. So either one.

I’m personally not a huge beach person, I struggle even lounging around a pool. Usually the family goes to the local beaches without me, they love it though and usually can hang out playing for about half the day.

Our best memories are usually relaxation after a physically exhausting day. For example, sitting by a fire pit after a full day of skiing. Or watching the zebras on the balcony at Animal Kingdom lodge after a day at the parks. Hiking up some mountains and having a relaxing picnic lunch overlooking something.

Our ideal is finding something that will be distinctive. When we reflect my kids will go “the place with the fishing” “the place where you climb the rocks” but that’s not necessarily the requirement. We love going to WDW and the kids have a blast, but they struggle to distinctly remember the trip from this year vs last year and sometimes that’s ok too.

 

[Cheburashka]

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[NephieRN]

I do think that the hype has been blown out of proportion over the last decade or so with the rise of social media. It’s so hyped up that they’ve become so hard to get, even when in concierge. 10 years ago, i never stayed up until midnight to send in my concierge requests and always was able to secure a low numbered cabana. Now, even when prescheduling my email at midnight, I’ve missed out on securing one.

That being said, I’m one that truly loves the cabanas (I’ve only been to castaway, so no info on lighthouse) They are worth every penny to me. I am not a beach person but my family is. I can enjoy the sun or shade in the cabana while my family plays in the water and on the beach with almost no one around. It’s a relaxing place to spend the day away from the hoards of people on the “public” beaches. It’s close to cookies too so easy to bring food back and eat in the cabana. Chairs, umbrellas, a hammock, floats, sand toys, snorkeling, and biking are all included with your cabana as well.

Now, if you’re the type of people that want to do all the activities offered (snorkeling, biking, pelican plunge, characters, hermit crab races, excursions, etc.) it’s probably not worth it as you’ll be away from the cabana most of the time. So it really just depends on what you want to do with your beach day.

My recommendation is to request a cabana with your 130 day requests. If you decide you don’t want it, you can cancel it. But you almost certainly won’t be able to get one if you don’t do it now but decide later you do want one.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

If you're going to request one, make it Castaway.

Lighthouse family cabanas are quite a distance from the main area and there are lots of entertainment offerings, a splash pad, etc that Oceaneer age kids will want to do. The kids club there is great, too. Also, the bike path isn't open yet and we don't have an ETA, so you may not be getting the full offering from that cabana.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Also not in your demographic now, but I was when my kids were little. Just a Castaway Cay experience, I don't visit Lighthouse next week-concierge, but did not request a cabana. We enjoyed the cabana on the family beach when the kids were young, and enjoyed when we didn't- you can always find a place to set up shop. They are a quiet place to rest, eat and relax. If your time is spent mostly on the beach, not on excursions, well worth it. They have now out priced me, the family ones anyway- I will never say never, but I need a special something to be celebrating to justify the cost.

 

[Flossbolna]

Since you say your family enjoys being active, that’s an option on the islands, too. There is a nature walk to the lighthouse at Lighthouse Point and to an observation tower on Castaway Cay. You can rent bikes, go snorkeling, there are active excursions etc. it sounds like that might be more your family‘s style.

 

[Dug720]

I'm not in the demographic you are interested in, but I thought I'd share my perspective.

We have been to CC many times and now, LC twice. I have never really had an interest in a cabana, and I don't get the hype. I would rather be out in the sun on the beach, enjoying the islands, and for the price I've always thought no way. Due to some unique circumstances, we ended up with one on our last cruise with 5 adults (2, 50's 3 20's). This was SB on LC, Was it nice? YES! Did we enjoy it? YES! It was a fun splurge for sort of a special trip. I'm really glad we did it. Do I feel the need to go out of my way and try to get one again? Nope!

I wouldn't say I would never get one again. I would if the situation and possibility came along, but I don't feel it's a necessity to enjoy the island, especially in your case being your first visit there.

Also not in the demographic (solo adult...occasionally cruise with my parents).

The time I took my parents on the Magic, I managed to snag a SB one on Castaway (LP didn't exist then...at least not for Disney) even not being concierge. I had thought it would just be a nice splurge for us, but we ended up in the circumstance that my dad was having hip replacement surgery a month or so after the cruise (not planned at the time of booking or my snagging the cabana), so having that place - and especially the golf cart that would come pick him up if he needed to use the restroom or when it was time for lunch was a lifesaver and allowed us to stay on Castaway much longer than we would have otherwise.

But it's definitely not a thing I *need* to enjoy the beach.

 

[RedHead0186]

If it's your first time to the island, I would recommend not getting a cabana. If you get a cabana, you might feel that you have to be in the cabana all the time to get your "money's worth." Or you might just want to spend a ton of time there because they are nice. But, if you do that, you don't get to explore the island at all. Our first time to Lookout Cay we deliberately didn't try for a cabana for that reason-we wanted to see the new island and explore.

If you don't care about exploring, but really just want a private, shaded area for the family to gather, then do for it. But if you want to check out the island then I'd say maybe skip it.

The amount of time you're on the island also might make a difference. We got a cabana on an Eastern Caribbean route on the fantasy a couple years ago. Our ashore time was 10:30am to about 4:00pm. We ended up docking a little late, so couldn't get off the ship until closer to 10:45, meaning we didn't get to the cabana until a little after 11. Then about an hour later it was time to go to lunch, then we wanted to do some shopping, so we didn't get a ton of time in the cabana itself. We did enjoy it, but agreed we wouldn't do one again on CC unless we had a longer day (which is why we're so excited to have one on the EBTA in a couple weeks, that ashore time is 8:30am-6:00pm, so we'll get lots of cabana time!)

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We've been to CC 3x now. We are not beach people. It's enjoyable for an hour or so, and then we're bored. For our most recent trip, 2 of us did the 5K while the other 2 swam in the snorkel area looking for fish for about an hour. Then we ate and had about 45 minutes to spend just sitting around. Neither kid was happy about that (ours are older, Vibe age). They didn't want to go back in the water, play in the sand, pelican plunge, none of that. But we had booked an afternoon hike/kayak excursion, so we couldn't go back to the ship. We all really loved the excursion, we learned all about the plants on the island, and then while kayaking we found starfish, conch, sea slugs, sea cucumbers.

Our other 2 trips to CC I didn't book any excursions, we just explored, did a little swimming, and one time we rented a hobiecat sailboat for 30 minutes (not sure if they have those anymore). If I ever am back on CC, I would probably book more kayaking or other active excursion, maybe do the 5K myself, and probably find a way to have lunch back on the ship ... I don't really enjoy the food on the island.

Anyway, all that to say ... I don't think we would personally get much benefit out of a cabana, not at this age and not when the kids were younger either. But, like others said, it all depends on what you want to get out of your beach day.

 

[Yinn]

My recommendation is to request a cabana with your 130 day requests. If you decide you don’t want it, you can cancel it. But you almost certainly won’t be able to get one if you don’t do it now but decide later you do want one.

Thank you, we decided to do this. We sent in the request at 12:00am for it and figured we can always cancel it and make someone else happy about the sudden availability if we canceled.

If it's your first time to the island, I would recommend not getting a cabana. If you get a cabana, you might feel that you have to be in the cabana all the time to get your "money's worth." Or you might just want to spend a ton of time there because they are nice. But, if you do that, you don't get to explore the island at all. Our first time to Lookout Cay we deliberately didn't try for a cabana for that reason-we wanted to see the new island and explore.

If you don't care about exploring, but really just want a private, shaded area for the family to gather, then do for it. But if you want to check out the island then I'd say maybe skip it.

The amount of time you're on the island also might make a difference. We got a cabana on an Eastern Caribbean route on the fantasy a couple years ago. Our ashore time was 10:30am to about 4:00pm. We ended up docking a little late, so couldn't get off the ship until closer to 10:45, meaning we didn't get to the cabana until a little after 11. Then about an hour later it was time to go to lunch, then we wanted to do some shopping, so we didn't get a ton of time in the cabana itself. We did enjoy it, but agreed we wouldn't do one again on CC unless we had a longer day (which is why we're so excited to have one on the EBTA in a couple weeks, that ashore time is 8:30am-6:00pm, so we'll get lots of cabana time!)

Exactly one of the things we were concerned about. Feeling as if we NEED to get our moneys worth from it. We didn't even think about the amount of time, so that's a great point. Shore time is 8:30-4:45 so not quite a full day but not a short one either.

We've been to CC 3x now. We are not beach people. It's enjoyable for an hour or so, and then we're bored. For our most recent trip, 2 of us did the 5K while the other 2 swam in the snorkel area looking for fish for about an hour. Then we ate and had about 45 minutes to spend just sitting around. Neither kid was happy about that (ours are older, Vibe age). They didn't want to go back in the water, play in the sand, pelican plunge, none of that. But we had booked an afternoon hike/kayak excursion, so we couldn't go back to the ship. We all really loved the excursion, we learned all about the plants on the island, and then while kayaking we found starfish, conch, sea slugs, sea cucumbers.

Our other 2 trips to CC I didn't book any excursions, we just explored, did a little swimming, and one time we rented a hobiecat sailboat for 30 minutes (not sure if they have those anymore). If I ever am back on CC, I would probably book more kayaking or other active excursion, maybe do the 5K myself, and probably find a way to have lunch back on the ship ... I don't really enjoy the food on the island.

Anyway, all that to say ... I don't think we would personally get much benefit out of a cabana, not at this age and not when the kids were younger either. But, like others said, it all depends on what you want to get out of your beach day.

This is an extremely helpful post and sounds very close to our style. We looked into the Kayaking as well as that sounded fantastic, unfortunately my youngest isn't old enough to do it. 2 of us will be doing the 5k first thing in the morning and lunch, we're back and forth on whether we're ok with the island cafeteria food or if we want to go back to the ship.

 

[rwthompson82]

We have had cabanas on CC 4 times and LC once. Our kids are now 13 and 10.

For me, I would say CC is okay. When my kids were younger having the shade to nap was priceless. But the beach area itself is quite shallow, especially towards the far end. When we were at CC last (3/28) we did not have a cabana and it was a great day. I will say I also like having the included bikes and snorkels - if you plan to do both of those things for a family of 4, that can be close to $300 already. In all of our times there, I have also found the service to be mediocre. The call button usually goes into the void and the drink servers are not attentive (probably due to low density of guests). I could go either way about booking one again.

We loved the LC cabana. One of our top beach days. We had Cabana 4 and did not find the beach to be rocky at all, though I agree towards the higher number cabanas that could be the case. The snorkeling was not amazing, but at least somewhat interesting there. There is a private place to get lunch (i.e. cabanas only) which has ribeye, snapper amongst other things. There is also a tablet to order drinks and a bar close by that serves them. That said, we did miss out on most of the main part of the island, but we did take 45 minutes or so to take the tram over, have a look, and come back. I would do this again in a heartbeat.

In either case, if your kids want to do the supervised/checked-in kids club activities you will need to shuttle to drop them off/pick them up... although on CC this is walkable, on LC it is not. Our kids never liked them (despite liking the clubs on the ship), so that has not been a consideration for us.

 

[cruisehopeful]

If you are undecided on booking day, I would book it. You'll have plenty of time to research activities and if you want it or not. Just cancel if you don't want it. Tons of people will be happy for you to cancel.

 

[tvguy]

Our kids were 12 and 16 when we were on Castaway Cay. BEFORE Cabanas were there. We spent all morning snorkeling. Had lunch. Spent all afternoon riding the rental bikes on the trails. We didn't have time to sit in a Cabana, or just sit on the beach, too many other things to do.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Also know that there are many shaded area on CC and the unbrellas and loungers are included. Having a cabana doesn’t mean you have to sit in the sun. We have our preferred area where there are not many people, it’s shaded and near bathrooms. We’ve had a cabanas twice, as a concierge guest and as a platinum guest. Both times had awful service. No one answered the call button, couldn’t get the attention of the bar server on the beach to order drinks and when asked to get a ride back on the golf cart, they never came for us. At 3:45 we started walking back to the tram as all aboard was at 4:00. The price is so high at this point and the service non-existent that I don’t even try to get cabanas anymore.

 

[Yinn]

We ended up putting in for it. We figured if we didn’t get it, it’s a moot point anyway. We got confirmation today on our plans for the family cabana. So now it’s just a matter of figuring out if we want to keep it, but we’ve got several months for that.

It was a great suggestion from @NephieRN and it takes a lot of the pressure off. Thank you

 

[BamaBornNemoNut]

We ended up putting in for it. We figured if we didn’t get it, it’s a moot point anyway. We got confirmation today on our plans for the family cabana. So now it’s just a matter of figuring out if we want to keep it, but we’ve got several months for that.

It was a great suggestion from @NephieRN and it takes a lot of the pressure off. Thank you

I might be on your cruise. Dream 8/25. Put in a request for family cabana but didn’t get one. If you decide to cancel and the cruise matches, please post back