Oceania Cabanas

My wife and I just returned from a 1/2/07 cruise on the Regatta. We decided several months ago to rent a Cabana for the entire cruise based on limited information on Oceania’s webpage and some reports from other Cruise Critics. Since good information on the Cabanas was hard for us to find I thought I would write this report of our experience.

For those of you who are not familiar with Oceania’s Cabanas they are small, semi-private, areas located on the forward Sky Deck just behind the glass windshield. There are eight Cabanas and they take-up the entire forward area of the Sky Deck. The Cabanas are available for rent for the entire cruise for $500 (for a 10-day cruise anyway) in advance on Oceanic’s webpage. If there are any unrented Cabanas, they can be rented by the day for $50 during port days and $100.00 for sea days. I believe most, if not all, eight Cabanas were rented in advance of our cruise.

When we first arrived in our cabin we found a canvas tote bag on the bed that contained some skin sun care products, one Oceania sun visor, one Oceania baseball cap, and two very nice “Oceania Cruises” monogrammed beach towels (to take home). Other amenities in the Cabana Package include:

• Balinese day bed for two
  
• Full waiter service all day including lunch delivered from the Waves Grill. (The excellent and friendly waiters would stop by frequently and ask if wanted anything, even if we just wanted ice water. Also, the Junior Head Waiters would visit everyday to make sure we had anything we wanted.)
  
• Fresh fruit skewers served in the morning (or later if we did not arrive until afternoon)
  
• Ice cream served in the afternoon
  
• One 10-minute chair massage per person, or in our case, I let my wife have my ten minutes so she got a 20-minute massage down in the main Salon.
  
• 25% discount on Mandara Spa services during port days

Two other items that were listed has being included, but were never offered, nor did we ask about, were “iced wrapped towels”, and “afternoon tea with sweets.”

We used our Cabana nearly everyday and really enjoyed it. It was great having a reserved private space outside with service that really made you feel special. The view from all but the two end Cabanas is straight forward since there are canvas curtains on both sides of each Cabana for privacy. These curtains can be pulled back if the adjacent Cabana(s) is empty and you want more visibility or airflow. Incase the sun is too strong there is a semi-transparent top that can be easily extended over part or all of each Cabana.

The usefulness of the Cabanas is very dependent on the weather. They are great for warn weather cruises, but would not be very useful for cruises that would have many cold or cloudy days.

Based on our experience we will rent a Cabana during our next Oceania Cruise as soon as we decide when we can go again!

just wonder if you ever saw 4 people in one?

Marian

just wonder if you ever saw 4 people in one?

Marian

No, just two maximum.

I'm not tempted by the cabanas for my upcoming Oceania bookings because we have a veranda. However, if there were an itinerary I really wanted to do and it wasn't in the budget, I think we'd be happy with one of the "secret" C's and a cabana.

I can see how having a cabana would be nice on a transatlantic or re-positioning cruise. But on a port intensive cruise it seems like a real waste of money primarily because you will be off the ship most of the day. We only have 1 sea day on our Barcelona to Athens cruise in August and we certainly intend to be on land at every port. So, I think it sort of depends on your itinerary as to whether the cabana would be of benefit. What do you think?

Hi all -

On our trans-Atlantic cruise last March only one cabana was occupied most of the time. The view is indeed great - straight ahead.

Here is a picture for those of you who have not seen the cabanas:

We had one of those very generously sized balconies at the stern of the ship and did not consider renting a cabana. See

http://www.juergen.smugmug.com/gallery/1371495/1/64707813

I can see how having a cabana would be nice on a transatlantic or re-positioning cruise. But on a port intensive cruise it seems like a real waste of money primarily because you will be off the ship most of the day. We only have 1 sea day on our Barcelona to Athens cruise in August and we certainly intend to be on land at every port. So, I think it sort of depends on your itinerary as to whether the cabana would be of benefit. What do you think?

I agree, if you plan to be off the ship nearly every day then renting a Cabana would probably not be worth the money. In our case, we used the Cabana even during port days because we would only go off the ship in the mornings and were usually back on in time for lunch; therefore, we used the Cabana nearly every day.

I was so very glad to see a positive thread about the Cabanas. We have booked one on our upcoming back-to-back cruise and I thought we would have to sneak into it in the dark of the night in order to avoid the angry mobs who are against the Cabanas taking away their viewing stations.

We have a cabin with a veranda but have chosen the Cabanas as our special place to go to relax, away from our cabin and away from all the people, after a long day in port. Someplace we can kick off our shoes, put up our feet and enjoy the amazing scenery without having to fight for deck chairs or deal with noise and the hustle bustle around us.

This is MY cruise, the one I've always wanted, and the Cabana is well worth it's price to me.

My wife and I are doing the 12 day Caribbean cruise March '08 on Regatta. After reading this thread I called our TA and had him book a cabana for us for the cruise. It was the $500 rate even though it is 12 days as opposed to 10 days. Is it worth the money? Not sure but I know that it will be fun and different. Anyway, anyone else on this cruise? Too many days to wait!!!

Mark & Janet

My wife and I are doing the 12 day Caribbean cruise March '08 on Regatta. After reading this thread I called our TA and had him book a cabana for us for the cruise. It was the $500 rate even though it is 12 days as opposed to 10 days. Is it worth the money? Not sure but I know that it will be fun and different. Anyway, anyone else on this cruise? Too many days to wait!!!

 

Mark & Janet

It sounds heavenly. Another reason to switch to Oceania!! Please be sure to give a complete review when you return.

And have a wonderful cruise!!

Can you pick the one you want or is it assigned

Can you pick the one you want or is it assigned

In our case it was preassigned, but I do not know if that is SOP or just for our cruise.

I emailed Oceania to see if I could reserve my choice of cabanas ahead of time. I received a very nice answer telling me that I could go to the purser's desk upon arrival on the ship and request the Cabana I wanted.

Guess I need to get on the ship early!

Sptrout,

I booked a cabana for an entire 35 day cruise. I am traveling with my Mom and Dad. If you could please answer two questions I'd be indebted. Do you receive massages every day or just once per cruise? Is there room to occasionally pull a chair into the cabana so all three of us can sit for a little while, or is it too small and we need two cabanas? Thanks for answering the question and thanks for the information.

Jack

Sptrout,

 

I booked a cabana for an entire 35 day cruise. I am traveling with my Mom and Dad. If you could please answer two questions I'd be indebted. Do you receive massages every day or just once per cruise? Is there room to occasionally pull a chair into the cabana so all three of us can sit for a little while, or is it too small and we need two cabanas? Thanks for answering the question and thanks for the information.

Jack

JackfromWA,

All the Cabanas except the two on the ends are small. The double size lounge chair takes-up nearly all the space. There is room on both sides for a very small table that is used to hold drinks, etc. I suppose you could pull-in a small chair if you could find one, but it will be very tight. If one of the adjacent Cabana is empty, you could open the divider and then there would be plenty of room.

As for the massages, it is just one 10-minute session per person, per trip. If your 35-day trip is actually several smaller cruises back-to-back, then I assume you could get a massage for each segment.

Just off the Panama Miami LA thru the Panama Canal

Of all the great things that Regatta has is those unnessary Cabanas

that hardly get used by its owners and during the crossing of the canal really cut the visiabilty to all the other passengers to see the canal from the port of the ship

If fact the blue protection windows also hinder the view and they should be retractable or taken down

Get rid my them for the money there are not worth it

jazzyman

Sptrout, thanks for the reply about the size and amenities. I really look forward to trying the cabanas. In searching the boards I've noticed that passengers who purchased the cabanas all enthusiastically recommend them, but passengers who haven't loathe them. I think I'll love it and since I couldn't get a balcony cabin this will give my parents and I our own balcony.

In searching the boards I've noticed that passengers who purchased the cabanas all enthusiastically recommend them, but passengers who haven't loathe them.

I don't think that is quite accurate....On a recent cruise we sailed, there were 3 cabanas pre-reserved. All 3 parties tried them for a day, then decided not to use them again. In chatting with a couple of these folks, they thought that they were too hot, too confined, and weren't really worth the money. All cabanas remained unused for the remainder of the cruise.

I appreciate you sharing your experience and it is great to know that if I am disappointed I can cancel. I really wanted a balcony but they are sold out on my trip (35 days Hong Kong to Athens) and this seemed a reasonable alternative. Thanks again for sharing your experience with me and others about the cabanas.

Jack