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Booking a Labadee Cabana


spabsie
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Hey everyone. I just called Royal to inquire about booking a Labadee cabana on our 12/1/13 cruise on Allure. The pre cruise dept lady told me in no uncertain terms that cabanas are first come first serve when you get on the cruise, but I remember reading before that others here have booked them ahead of time. :confused:

 

Am I nuts here? I know there is suite restrictions, but I am hoping to snag one even though we are just in an ov balcony so our little one can be shielded from the sun throughout the day.

 

thanks everyone.

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Hey everyone. I just called Royal to inquire about booking a Labadee cabana on our 12/1/13 cruise on Allure. The pre cruise dept lady told me in no uncertain terms that cabanas are first come first serve when you get on the cruise, but I remember reading before that others here have booked them ahead of time. :confused:

 

Am I nuts here? I know there is suite restrictions, but I am hoping to snag one even though we are just in an ov balcony so our little one can be shielded from the sun throughout the day.

 

thanks everyone.

 

We reserved and paid for our over the water cabana at Nellie's Beach on line prior to our cruise on Allure last August. I remember booking it 6 or so months prior to sailing?? It was fabulous. Worth every penny IMHO. Maybe what the RCI rep meant was that you can't reserve a certain one. Not sure but I would definitely call back and speak to someone else. Enjoy your cruise. We loved Allure!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

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If you can't book one, either prior to the cruise, or once onboard...have no fear! There is PLENTY of shade free for anyone to use! You don't need a cabana to get out of the sun! And, since Labadee now has a pier, it's super easy to head back to the shp during the hottest part of the day, if you choose!

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Sorry. Should have started with log into your "My Cruises" account and pull up your reservation. Then pull up shore excursions for your cruise and go to Labadee excursions. The cabanas are available for reserve as a shore excursion for non-suite guests. :D:):D

 

We reserved one (OTW) on Nellie's Beach quite some time ago for a December sailing.

Edited by Coralc
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Sorry. Should have started with log into your "My Cruises" account and pull up your reservation. Then pull up shore excursions for your cruise and go to Labadee excursions. The cabanas are available for reserve as a shore excursion for non-suite guests. :D:):D

 

We reserved one (OTW) on Nellie's Beach quite some time ago for a December sailing.

Hmmm....Sounds like the OP talked to an RCI rep that knows her product well :rolleyes:

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Nellie's Beach Cabanas can be booked on line prior to your cruise. I don't think you can select a specific cabana as they are assigned upon arrival.

 

Barefoot Beach cabans are for Suite Guests and can only be booked once on board.

Edited by MR NW GUY
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Nellie's Beach Cabanas can be booked on line prior to your cruise. I don't think you can select a specific cabana as they are assigned upon arrival.

 

Barefoot Beach cabans are for Suite Guests and can only be booked once on board.

 

You can't select a specific one, but there is a difference in cost for Over the water (OTW), Hillside and Beach Cabanas.

 

Since we have paid an additional charge for OTW, I am fully expecting that is what we will receive. :D

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Does that include junior suites? If so, how do you book once on board?

 

No, it is GS and above. We booked a Nellies Hillside and had a great location. It was a walk but we were right next to the Barefoot Hillside cabanas and we could access Barefoot beach a little easier than Nellies Beach. We could have gotten lounges set up for us on Barefoot but we decided to stay in the cabana most of the day and just relax.

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Nope, not the Jr. Suites is my understanding. You book it onboard with the Conciege.

 

Actually if you are in a suite(we were in a GS) you can email your concierge prior to the cruise and ask to reserve one- they will get back to you confirming that. For our cruise this past March I emailed about 2 weeks or more prior to the cruise & got one reserved.

 

Pat

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Last year we booked two cabanas on Nellie's (prior to boarding) and there was a limit of six people in each.

 

I read somewhere that now there is a limit of 5 people. Does anyone here on CC know if this really has changed?

 

I really hate to call because you have to call because chances are, they don't know and will just make something up - as the OP has already discovered!

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Last year we booked two cabanas on Nellie's (prior to boarding) and there was a limit of six people in each.

 

I read somewhere that now there is a limit of 5 people. Does anyone here on CC know if this really has changed?

 

I really hate to call because you have to call because chances are, they don't know and will just make something up - as the OP has already discovered!

 

Just back from Explorer of The Seas Grand Suite. Also had bad answers from RCL reservations that advised me originally that cabanas were complimentary for GS, WRONG.

 

Our concierge, Mahmoud, emailed us 4 days before sailing and I inquired. He advised:

 

"I hope this email finds you well. I would like to inform you that we have 4 Cabana categories and price is depend on which one

 

Over water Cabana are 250 $.

Beach or Hiltop Cabana 225 $

Standard Cabana 175 $

 

Note that included in the price are two bottles of Evian water and that cabana occupancy is up to 6 person. "

 

We decided not to get one since only two of us. BAREFOOT Beach is for Grand Suite and above only. First priority for cabana rental through concierge.

 

NELLIES beach next to BAREFOOT has cabana rentals as well available for online booking under excursions.

 

We were happy with our decision to simply go to beach. Plenty of shade, staff, BBQ area all close knit and great. Cabanas didn't have even fans in them. All you get extra is cabana and ice chest with TWO waters. To us the cabana was unwarranted expense.

 

When you get off there is also a 6 pass golf cart that will drive you right to Barefoot. GOLD CARD ( not gold status ) for SUITES grants entrance to all private SUITE sections on ship and island. Jr Suites are NOT considered suites other than in marketing name. Mis-leading category all lines use. Should be abolished as false marketing. You get known of the suite amenities in a JR.

 

CRUISE was GREAT and Labadee best it has ever been. Loved it.

 

George in NY

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Just back from Explorer of The Seas Grand Suite. Also had bad answers from RCL reservations that advised me originally that cabanas were complimentary for GS, WRONG.

 

Our concierge, Mahmoud, emailed us 4 days before sailing and I inquired. He advised:

 

"I hope this email finds you well. I would like to inform you that we have 4 Cabana categories and price is depend on which one

 

Over water Cabana are 250 $.

Beach or Hiltop Cabana 225 $

Standard Cabana 175 $

 

Note that included in the price are two bottles of Evian water and that cabana occupancy is up to 6 person. "

 

We decided not to get one since only two of us. BAREFOOT Beach is for Grand Suite and above only. First priority for cabana rental through concierge.

 

NELLIES beach next to BAREFOOT has cabana rentals as well available for online booking under excursions.

 

We were happy with our decision to simply go to beach. Plenty of shade, staff, BBQ area all close knit and great. Cabanas didn't have even fans in them. All you get extra is cabana and ice chest with TWO waters. To us the cabana was unwarranted expense.

 

 

thanks for the updated info. In January 2013, we received three waters. Guess they're cutting back (really- how much does a bottle of water cost!).

 

There ARE ceiling fans in the cabanas on Nellie's beach.

 

We really, really enjoyed the cabana (yes, we would still enjoy the beach without the cabana) and are doing it again in January 2014. We have two booked already.

 

There are 11 of us - that's why I was wondering if there would be an issue. Glad to know it's still 6 in a cabana.

Edited by MS52
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Actually if you are in a suite(we were in a GS) you can email your concierge prior to the cruise and ask to reserve one- they will get back to you confirming that. For our cruise this past March I emailed about 2 weeks or more prior to the cruise & got one reserved.

 

Pat

I agree, but if you don't get an email or have the insight to email them, you have to wait until you are on board for Barefoot Beach cabana's. There is not an option to book Barefoot beach cabanas online prior to the cruise, just Nellie's.

Edited by MR NW GUY
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I agree, but if you don't get an email or have the insight to email them, you have to wait until you are on board for Barefoot Beach cabana's. There is not an option to book Barefoot beach cabanas online prior to the cruise, just Nellie's.

 

We actually had a Nellie's OTW beach cabana reserved for our past cruise and when we contacted the concierge and confirmed that we had a Barefoot Beach cabana we cancelled the Nellie's. For our 4/2015 Quantum cruise we already reserved an OTW one on Nellies - will try for a Barefoot one when we contact the concierge - but that is so far away:D

 

Pat

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thanks for the updated info. In January 2013, we received three waters. Guess they're cutting back (really- how much does a bottle of water cost!).

 

There ARE ceiling fans in the cabanas on Nellie's beach.

 

We really, really enjoyed the cabana (yes, we would still enjoy the beach without the cabana) and are doing it again in January 2014. We have two booked already.

 

There are 11 of us - that's why I was wondering if there would be an issue. Glad to know it's still 6 in a cabana.

 

We had an OTW cabana last week at Nellie's Beach. There were 5 of us so can't say what the limit officially is.

 

We had 4 waters (large size bottles) in our cooler and our cabana did have a fan. Our attendant gave us 4 floats to use and when we asked got 2 masks for snorkeling as well.

 

We very much enjoyed the cabana and it was great for this trips glad we booked it, but next time will probably pass and find a shady spot on the beach. There is no right or wrong answer on whether to get a cabana or not as all situations are different.

Edited by akcruz
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I just noticed Nellie's cabana bookings had opened for our November 2014 Oasis cruise. I booked three since there are 15 of us. The site said six people are allowed. Two in the group are in suites so when the time gets closer I will try to do Barefoot Beach, which we had last time (pre-Nellie's) and then cancel the Nellie's. The Nellie's beachfront were $225.

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We very much enjoyed the cabana and it was great for this trips glad we booked it, but next time will probably pass and find a shady spot on the beach. There is no right or wrong answer on whether to get a cabana or not as all situations are different.[/quote]

 

EXACTLY! We had the cabana and enjoyed it very much and are doing it again in January but if we decided to spend the $$ elsewhere, I know we would enjoy the beach without it.

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The only reason we've booked a cabana is for that little bit of extra privacy. We'll be there in a little over 2 weeks with my sister and her husband. She had to have the lower part of her leg amputated 8 years ago and she now wears a prosthetic lower limb which isn't noticeable to people when she's dressed in trousers and walking (or limping!) about. But last time we were at Labadee on the beach she found it very upsetting on her lounger on Nellie's beach. While taking off her false limb people were staring - and she was doing it as discreetly as she could. And on her lounger although she tried to cover up the end of her leg, again people would actually stand and gawp at her. So rude and so inconsiderate. She isn't sensitive about it and will happily answer questions when people are interested and speak to her about it, but on this day it was a very uncomfortable experience and she felt like a circus freak. We couldn't believe how ignorant some people could be. One man even shouted over to someone else to come have a look. Incredible!

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Hey everyone. I just called Royal to inquire about booking a Labadee cabana on our 12/1/13 cruise on Allure. The pre cruise dept lady told me in no uncertain terms that cabanas are first come first serve when you get on the cruise, but I remember reading before that others here have booked them ahead of time. :confused:

 

Am I nuts here? I know there is suite restrictions, but I am hoping to snag one even though we are just in an ov balcony so our little one can be shielded from the sun throughout the day.

 

thanks everyone.

 

Call again. We booked a cabana already for our Jan 12, 2014 Allure cruise. Also booked it for our March 2014 Celebrity Silhouette cruise. If you aren't in a top suite and do not book now, you will not get one.

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I agree, but if you don't get an email or have the insight to email them, you have to wait until you are on board for Barefoot Beach cabana's. There is not an option to book Barefoot beach cabanas online prior to the cruise, just Nellie's.

 

 

If you are staying in a Suite, you can e-mail the Concierge prior to the cruise and he/she will reserve a cabana for you....we have done this twice now with much success...and on the first evening you introduce yourself to the Concierge and he will tell you exactly which Cabana you were assigned to, you confirm it and your sea pass account will be charged.

I have witnessed people requesting cabanas on the that first evening and were told the desirable ones were all taken.

 

Nellies beach,,,you can reserve one through the website excursions with no problem, very early.....as soon as excursions are available for booking. It is first come first serve as to exactly which one you will be assigned....least that is what I have been told...we have been to barefoot Beach 3 times now, 4th time coming up....

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If you are staying in a Suite, you can e-mail the Concierge prior to the cruise and he/she will reserve a cabana for you....we have done this twice now with much success...and on the first evening you introduce yourself to the Concierge and he will tell you exactly which Cabana you were assigned to, you confirm it and your sea pass account will be charged.

I have witnessed people requesting cabanas on the that first evening and were told the desirable ones were all taken.

 

Nellies beach,,,you can reserve one through the website excursions with no problem, very early.....as soon as excursions are available for booking. It is first come first serve as to exactly which one you will be assigned....least that is what I have been told...we have been to barefoot Beach 3 times now, 4th time coming up....

Thanks for the tips. I did send two emails. The 2nd email resulted in a positive reply that we would be taken care of, but not a specific cabana confirmation.

Edited by MR NW GUY
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