Hilltop Cabana Labadee - Barefoot Beach

[janeyzee]

We splurged and got a Grand Suite for our Nov 17th Allure cruise and booked an over the water cabana at Nellies Beach. Then I found out that we can switch to Barefoot Beach after we board, through the concierge assigned to suites. So my question is, has anyone had a Hilltop Cabana at Barefoot Beach? And would you recommend it over the water cabanas? I'm thinking we'd love the privacy of a Hilltop Cabana but didn't want to be so far from the water it would be a long trek to and from the beach itself.

 

Any advice would be welcome. Nellies vs Barefoot, Hilltop vs Over the Water, etc.

[gerif]

Can't speak to which type is better as that's a personal preference. However, you cannot switch from a Nellies cabana to a Barefoot one when you board unless one happens to be available after you board. The Barefoot ones might all be taken by the, so how could they say you could switch?

[Yurita]

You should check the private island section... there are tons of labadee cabana questions and advice. Here you go:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=406

[LovesCruising]

My preference - having been in one - is over the water at Barefoot - however they could be gone as another poster has said prior - why not e mail your concierge about availability rather than waiting before you board. Have you already paid for the Nellie's Cabana?

[uncleah]

The hilltops at BB are not far from the beach. They are to the left as you enter BB and up some steps. All of BB is not very big.

 

You'll love the suite and BB is very nice.

[torpeedo]

You can switch from Nellie's to a barefoot beach cabana once you board. The Concierge will refund the Nellie's beach and then charge you for the Barefoot beach. But you can just go in excursions and cancel the Nellies beach right now so no need to wait till you board. You can/should email the Concierge ahead of time and request a cabana. When he will accept requests depends on the ship but I think The Allure might accept ahead but just email and find out.

Hilltops are our favorite as we enjoy some shade and privacy. Since you aren't on our cruise I can tell the the best cabana is H1;), better known as the "white house" because it overlooks all.

[jenninlaca]

On the Allure June 30 sailing we had a hilltop cabana on Nellie's. The way you accessed it initially was to walk through Barefoot beach and up the hill to the cabanas. Our cabana was one of the furthest along that path but it is not a long walk - maybe 2-3 minutes up from Barefoot beach. Our cabana faced out toward the ship, and you could see Barefoot beach (the water) on the right. The view was amazing and the great thing about this location was that you could access Nellie's beach via a 30 second walk down the steps behind where our cabana entrance was. So those cabanas really straddle both locations.

 

Late in the day we took our mats down to Barefoot beach and floated in that water. I have since learned on the other board (private islands) that technically we were not supposed to have access to Barefoot Beach because we were not suite guests, only cabana guests. I didn't know that and nobody said anything. By the time we went to Barefoot most people had already left. But having a cabana even if you are not in a suite does give you access to the upgraded buffet (which I was not impressed with, but I assume it was less crowded than the other one).

 

I would not hesitate to book another hillside cabana, they were great, and $25 cheaper than the over-the-water. It really is not a long walk down to the water and your attendant sets you up with chairs and mats on the beach.

[Ashland]

We have had H5 on Barefoot Beach..it was the last hilltop cabin and very private...however I now believe that the once private deadend walkway continues on to Nellies (not sure)..We loved the cabanas and were lucky to have gotten one (we were only C&A D level at the time in a JS) we were the first ones on the waitlist..but if I had my choice I would have opted for an OW...it was a very "steep" climb and I thought a bit far...JMHO :)

[RCI Cruisers 004]

You should get n Email from one of the concierge's a few weeks prior to your cruise asking if you want to reserve a BB cabana. I would keep the Nellies one you have till you hear from them, then cancel Nellies for the BB.

[loeytalldog]

We had H3 Hilltop Cabana on Barefoot beach a few weeks ago, loved it! In fact, it was our second time booking the exact same cabana that's how much we love it! However, if sun is your main priority not sure one of the hilltops would be best because we found ours to be just partly sunny due to the trees. Also, if you or anyone else in your party does not like climbing stairs or if there are any toddlers would not recommend hilltop.

 

Hope this helps!

[Merion_Mom]

Don't take the hillside cabana if you have any mobility issues.

[janeyzee]

Can't speak to which type is better as that's a personal preference. However, you cannot switch from a Nellies cabana to a Barefoot one when you board unless one happens to be available after you board. The Barefoot ones might all be taken by the, so how could they say you could switch?

 

I was told that no one can pre-book a Barefoot Cabana, that every suite guest who wants one has to book when they board. I also heard that the concierge sometimes contacts guests ahead of time so I'm hoping I can find out for sure from him/her when they call.

[janeyzee]

You should check the private island section... there are tons of labadee cabana questions and advice. Here you go:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=406

 

Thanks for the link, I'm still learning where to look in the this forum, it's so huge.

[janeyzee]

My preference - having been in one - is over the water at Barefoot - however they could be gone as another poster has said prior - why not e mail your concierge about availability rather than waiting before you board. Have you already paid for the Nellie's Cabana?

 

I'd love to email the concierge but I have no idea who it is. I contacted the on-line rep via the Crown and Anchor section of the RC site and they told me that the concierge would contact us about 2 weeks before the cruise which is Nov 17th. If there is somewhere to contact the concierge, I'd love to hear about it. They told me in the C&A chat that I couldn't. And yes I've paid already, they told me to keep that one and switch it once I board the ship (or hopefully if the concierge contacts me, I could do it then).

 

One good thing about hilltops, they are cheaper than over the water so we might switch to one of those. I think I'd like the privacy.

[janeyzee]

Hilltops are our favorite as we enjoy some shade and privacy. Since you aren't on our cruise I can tell the the best cabana is H1;), better known as the "white house" because it overlooks all.

 

hahaha glad I won't be competing with your for H1. I'll keep that one in mind and see if I can get it, thanks.

[janeyzee]

I would not hesitate to book another hillside cabana, they were great, and $25 cheaper than the over-the-water. It really is not a long walk down to the water and your attendant sets you up with chairs and mats on the beach.

 

Great, thanks for the advice. I'm leaning towards the Hilltop Cabana after the comments in here.

[janeyzee]

You should get n Email from one of the concierge's a few weeks prior to your cruise asking if you want to reserve a BB cabana. I would keep the Nellies one you have till you hear from them, then cancel Nellies for the BB.

 

Thanks, I think that is what we'll do.

[janeyzee]

We had H3 Hilltop Cabana on Barefoot beach a few weeks ago, loved it! In fact, it was our second time booking the exact same cabana that's how much we love it! However, if sun is your main priority not sure one of the hilltops would be best because we found ours to be just partly sunny due to the trees. Also, if you or anyone else in your party does not like climbing stairs or if there are any toddlers would not recommend hilltop.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Great, thanks, all of that helped a lot. We don't care about the sun, we live in Florida and get lots of that. We just want some relaxation and privacy from the crowds. No mobility issues, no kids, so the Hilltop sounds fine to me.

[janeyzee]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll go check out the Private Island link now. Guess I should have started there but this forum is so huge, I'm never sure where to go to find what I need. But y'all have been a big help. Thanks!

[jdvmd]

Just curious if you kept the Hillside Cabana and what your experience was.

[janeyzee]

Just curious if you kept the Hillside Cabana and what your experience was.

 

Haven't been on the cruise yet, we leave 11/17/13. I can't wait to try the cabana but not sure if we'll keep the over the water or switch to a hilltop. I'll talk to the concierge and then decide after we board, unless they contact me ahead of time, then I'll decide quicker!

[jahannah]

On the Allure June 30 sailing we had a hilltop cabana on Nellie's. The way you accessed it initially was to walk through Barefoot beach and up the hill to the cabanas. Our cabana was one of the furthest along that path but it is not a long walk - maybe 2-3 minutes up from Barefoot beach. Our cabana faced out toward the ship, and you could see Barefoot beach (the water) on the right. The view was amazing and the great thing about this location was that you could access Nellie's beach via a 30 second walk down the steps behind where our cabana entrance was. So those cabanas really straddle both locations.

 

Late in the day we took our mats down to Barefoot beach and floated in that water. I have since learned on the other board (private islands) that technically we were not supposed to have access to Barefoot Beach because we were not suite guests, only cabana guests. I didn't know that and nobody said anything. By the time we went to Barefoot most people had already left. But having a cabana even if you are not in a suite does give you access to the upgraded buffet (which I was not impressed with, but I assume it was less crowded than the other one).

 

I would not hesitate to book another hillside cabana, they were great, and $25 cheaper than the over-the-water. It really is not a long walk down to the water and your attendant sets you up with chairs and mats on the beach.

 

Jenn: Do you remember what number your cabana was? We are trying to figure out our preference on the hillsides on Nellie's Beach.

[jenninlaca]

Looking at a map, I believe we had H5, which is the furthest one up the hill. It may have been H4 but I think it was H5. It was not a long walk either way. H4 and H5 are on the hill between Nellie's beach and Barefoot Beach. Unless someone in your party has mobility issues you will not have a problem. The views from these cabanas were great, I would definitely get one again.

[jahannah]

Looking at a map, I believe we had H5, which is the furthest one up the hill. It may have been H4 but I think it was H5. It was not a long walk either way. H4 and H5 are on the hill between Nellie's beach and Barefoot Beach. Unless someone in your party has mobility issues you will not have a problem. The views from these cabanas were great, I would definitely get one again.

 

Thanks! You're the best!:)

[janeyzee]

Just curious if you kept the Hillside Cabana and what your experience was.

 

No hilltop cabana for us. Hubby hurt his leg/knee a week before the cruise and had a cane so we couldn't climb up the hill. Our concierge told us that the beach cabanas were the best ones for someone using a cane so we took his advice. We had the first one inside the gate of Barefoot Beach, not much walking at all for Darrell. I looked at the hilltop walkways and was so happy the concierge switched us to one on flat ground.

 

We were in S1 (I assume the S is for Sand)

 

W1 to W4 Over the Water Barefoot Beach Cabanas

 

W5 and W6 Over the Water Barefoot Beach with B2 on the right, on the sand. Guess the B stands for Beach Cabana because it's closer to the actual water. Ours were Sand Cabanas because we were farther back. That's just my assumption, not really sure what the S was for.

 

Couldn't go wrong with any of them IMHO. Even the hilltop ones looked nice but hubby couldn't climb. He didn't even go in the water because he wouldn't have been able to come back out through the shifting sand. He sat in the cabana, read a book, drank Red Stripe and was happy happy happy.