Is a cabana worth it?

[coloradocutie]

Pack and play.
If you get a cabana, you can request a pack and play so that your little one can take a nap there... and you don't have to cut your beach day off early to go back to the ship for a nap.
It was worth it for us...i feel like the cabana allowed us to really savor the day (admittedly, we don't get much beach time in Colorado... so we didn't mind the price). And the little one took a nap

 

[sillecruisers]

We had one on our first cruise, and while it was "nice", I felt that it kept us from doing other things. We didn't play on pelican plunge. We did spend the morning snorkeling, so we only ended up in the cabana for lunch and a little while after. We didn't ride bikes, explore the island, we just hung out in the cabana (after snorkeling). Snorkeling was my favorite part. Next time we will fill the day with fun activities. There is so much to do on the island, I won't bother hiding out in a cabana next time!

 

[Erin D]

From the perspective of having a place for your child to nap it sounds like a good option for you but I would keep in mind that if it's your first cruise you're going to want to explore and see everything. We just took our first cruise and my travel agent kept telling me how great they were and we should totally do one but I was really glad we didn't. Had we booked it I would have felt like I couldn't leave it in order to get my money's worth and we were already spending enough on other excursions. We had a lot of fun just meandering around the island taking in everything and when we wanted to relax found some chairs to do so in. I also agree about keeping the weather in mind - we cruised in January and it barely broke 60 degrees while we were there.

 

[NCConch]

We finally got one on our third cruise and I loved it. I was one of the first off the ship and the last back on. My wife actually prefers to stay on the ship and use the pools as opposed to the beach. Our teen aged son uses a wheelchair and it is much easier for him to stay on the ship. We tried the beach wheelchair for him once but it was a lot of work. Our daughter just turned 18, so she was the main reason we got a cabana. We have not discussed trying for another when we cruise again in December.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've booked cabanas twice when DS was 3 and really enjoyed it. I just wish they had bathrooms!!! If you need a quiet place with shade and a place for a nap, it is wonderful.

That being said, we booked the cabana when we are on the Dream and the crowds on CC are much bigger. When we went to CC on the Magic, we did not book a cabana (plus my DS was 6 at this time and we did every activity available on the island!) and found there were plenty of chairs and umbrellas available.

 

[krisinparis]

We've booked cabanas twice when DS was 3 and really enjoyed it. I just wish they had bathrooms!!! If you need a quiet place with shade and a place for a nap, it is wonderful.

That being said, we booked the cabana when we are on the Dream and the crowds on CC are much bigger. When we went to CC on the Magic, we did not book a cabana (plus my DS was 6 at this time and we did every activity available on the island!) and found there were plenty of chairs and umbrellas available.

I agree, it could depend on which ship you are on. We visited CC on the Wonder and while the beach area closest to the ship was busy (like the first row of loungers were all occupied), we walked to the far end of the family beach and there was hardly anyone there! It looked like the loungers went back about 4 rows and on our end of the beach about 50% of the first row was occupied and that was about it.

 

[Dvc CA]

I think the cabanas are really a matter of personal taste and expectations. They are very exclusive, and you will see the difference in how your beach is not really crowded compared to the rest of the island. However, if you want to really enjoy the amenities like the slides , the bike rides, the running events, etc, then the cabanas are not for you. We have rented cabanas twice in the past and also passed on them twice in the past. We do have one booked for our cruise on Feb 19th. This is because its my MIL 75th birthday. So, its a special occasion.

At the end of the day, the cabanas are not unavailable because of price but because of exclusivity. If they were available for $50/day, they'd still be impossible to rent. So all thats going on here is that Disney knows their market, and know how to price their product.