Cabanas on castaway cay

[charlie52]

Not sure what to expect on castaway cay. Are there cabanas there for rent?

 

 

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[ducklite]

Yes but they sell out quickly. You need to try for one the minute your booking window opens, which will vary by your cabin and how many times you've cruised with DCL before.

[moki'smommy]

Yes, there are cabanas...but we went to Castaway at least a dozen times before the cabanas were built. You don't need a $500 cabana to have a great day.

[ducklite]

Yes' date=' there are cabanas...but we went to Castaway at least a dozen times before the cabanas were built. You don't need a $500 cabana to have a great day.[/quote']

 

I agree with this (although they aren't $500). The cabana can be a nice added touch, but certainly isn't a requirement to have a great time.

[charlie52]

No cabanas are listed in port adventures. Is this where you would find them? Our cruise isn't until the end of August of next year, should I assume they are already booked?

 

 

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[ducklite]

No cabanas are listed in port adventures. Is this where you would find them? Our cruise isn't until the end of August of next year, should I assume they are already booked?

 

 

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No, the earliest they can be booked is 120 days out.

[moki'smommy]

Cost varies with location and number of guests. Without verifying, I believe they start at $400 and go up from there.

Edited September 28, 2014 by moki'smommy

[charlie52]

Thank you for the information. I am finding Disney to be a completely different animal than Celebrity, our usual cruise line...so far less than impressed with the information on their website.

 

 

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[moki'smommy]

We've cruised Celebrity as well as DCL. Yeah, DCL's web site is OK as long as you know where to look and what to call what you are looking for. Of course. in that case. you wouldn't need to be looking. And their telephone support is not as good as Celebrity.

 

However. each line has things to recommend them. We find the service on DCL to be amazing and the atmosphere to be more suited to our younger family (read that, we were the youngest of 8 at our Celebrity dinner table and the next youngest was 70. Our 20 year old felt like every day was Thanksgiving with the grandparents.)

 

DCL's kid programming and entertainment are great, and frankly we love the CMs.

[Ex techie]

The DCL website is atrocious.

Full of contradictions, old information and inaccurate policies.

 

If only anyone were brave enough to ask the CEO Karl to try to book a cruise on his own, restaurant bookings, excursions and packages, then they might see the problems.

 

Too many buffer zone self important people involved to actually make a difference though.

 

ex techie

[lozak42188]

I am planning to book a cabana on castaway cay since we're a family of 6. I booked our cruise for next year 2016 and we are concierge guest. It's our first cruise and were wondering since we are able to book activities 120 days before the cruise if I need to let Disney know we want a cabana or do I have to book it on my own. Also do we have to pay the cabana upfront or can we give the money when we sail? How does this work?

 

 

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[moki'smommy]

I am planning to book a cabana on castaway cay since we're a family of 6. I booked our cruise for next year 2016 and we are concierge guest. It's our first cruise and were wondering since we are able to book activities 120 days before the cruise if I need to let Disney know we want a cabana or do I have to book it on my own. Also do we have to pay the cabana upfront or can we give the money when we sail? How does this work?

 

 

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Since you are cruising concierge, you can contact the shoreside concierge a few days before your booking window opens and let them know what you want in terms of cabana, adult dining, excursions, etc. They may "encourage" you to book on your own, but that is their job! They will book it thru their system the second the window opens.

 

Whatever you book will be charged to your onboard account and paid when on the ship. You can cancel up to 3 days before embarkation on line with no penalties. After that, various penalties apply depending on what you might opt to cancel.

 

Do note that your cruise must be paid in full before you can book excursions, adult dining, cabana, spa, etc.

Edited January 27, 2015 by moki'smommy

[lozak42188]

Awesome! Thank you so much!

 

 

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[mattypatty03]

I agree with this (although they aren't $500). The cabana can be a nice added touch, but certainly isn't a requirement to have a great time.

 

Cabanas on Serenity (Adults only) are $399. Family Beach Cabanas are $499. That is about as close to $500 as you can get. :)

[Shmoo here]

Cabanas on Serenity (Adults only) are $399. Family Beach Cabanas are $499. That is about as close to $500 as you can get. :)

 

The prices are higher than that now. Family beach cabanas are $590, and Serenity Bay is $420. The increase is due to the new Bahamian VAT of 7.5% effective 1/1/15.

[Nectarologist]

I am planning to book a cabana on castaway cay since we're a family of 6. I booked our cruise for next year 2016 and we are concierge guest. It's our first cruise and were wondering since we are able to book activities 120 days before the cruise if I need to let Disney know we want a cabana or do I have to book it on my own. Also do we have to pay the cabana upfront or can we give the money when we sail? How does this work?

 

 

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In addition to the other person who replied, if you know the # cabana you want let them know. Nothing will be promised but there is a good chance you'll get it. I asked for #4 and got it. It also matters if you go on the newer ships or not since the newer ships have a lot more people. But as concierge you should have no problem. I was on the Magic in early December and there were actually at least 2 cabanas that went unrented.

[sunset@sea]

We also went to Castaway Cay without a cabana when our son was five or six months old and had a nice time (he's six now). But this last cruise we went with our three young children (6,4,4) and we loved the cabana. Really. It was so convenient.

 

The only complaint I have about the cabanas is that, for the price, they should let you "order in" from Cookies rather than having to traipse down there trying to figure out where to sit and corralling kids, etc. It's not like the menu is so extensive, it would be hard. It was worse because no one could tell me whether any of the food was safe for my son who has a tree nut allergy. Turns out he only wanted to eat fruit anyway which worked.

[moki'smommy]

 

The only complaint I have about the cabanas is that, for the price, they should let you "order in" from Cookies rather than having to traipse down there trying to figure out where to sit and corralling kids, etc. It's not like the menu is so extensive, it would be hard. It was worse because no one could tell me whether any of the food was safe for my son who has a tree nut allergy. Turns out he only wanted to eat fruit anyway which worked.

 

While the ability to order food to be sent to your cabana might be nice, you are told from the beginning that this service is not available. You must go to Cookies with the rest of the masses.

 

As to the allergy issue--your head server dropped the ball there. They will send a special meal for a guest with allergies. You just have to tell them the evening before what time you wish to eat. If you are on the newer ships, they will also need to know which food outlet you will use. (Cookies or Cookies, too). You arrive, identify yourself, and they pull out your allergy safe meal.

[Loonbeam]

As I understand it, one of the reasons they don't do food delivery is there were problems with people ordering food, going into the water then coming back and eating food at wrong temps, etc. If the line delivers the food it increases their liability or the staff has to keep coming back to see who is there at the time, etc.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

The prices are higher than that now. Family beach cabanas are $590, and Serenity Bay is $420. The increase is due to the new Bahamian VAT of 7.5% effective 1/1/15.

 

And I just learned on another board that there is NOT a bathroom with the cabana so you have to either walk or page the cabana host to come and get you on a cart to go to the general public bathrooms. Wowza. I wasn't interested in one anyway, but if I'm paying that kind of money, there better be a bathroom attached.

[moki'smommy]

And I just learned on another board that there is NOT a bathroom with the cabana so you have to either walk or page the cabana host to come and get you on a cart to go to the general public bathrooms. Wowza. I wasn't interested in one anyway, but if I'm paying that kind of money, there better be a bathroom attached.

 

Correct, there is no plumbing for a bathroom in each cabana. And Loonbeam is correct about the food service issue of spoilage due to the hot sun. People would order food for noon. The CM would bring it and no one is there as they've gone to the water, are playing on the beach, etc. Since there is danger of bacterial growth in the food if left out, the CM was not permitted to leave the food, so he removes/wastes it. Then the family comes back and is angry because their food "was not delivered."

 

Unhappy guests, wasted food, more work for CM. DCL found it easier to say "no food delivery to cabanas." The beverages in the fridge will not spoil, so are OK. You are welcome to go to Cookies or the Serenity Bay food outlet, get your food, and take it back to your cabana. Guess they figure that you'll eat it right away if you bring it back. And you can send one family member to get food for everyone if he can carry that much!

Edited February 11, 2015 by moki'smommy

[GreyStr0ke]

I have an upcoming cruise on the Dream in May and long story short, had some issues with the website when my day opened for activity selection. Thus I missed out on a cabana rental. However, when I look at the list of activities for Castaway Cay I see a list of all the sold out cabanas but there are three of them not listed nor are they able to be selected. It shows all the cabanas except for #13, #16, and #21. Anyone know why these wouldn't be appearing?

[Shmoo here]

I have an upcoming cruise on the Dream in May and long story short, had some issues with the website when my day opened for activity selection. Thus I missed out on a cabana rental. However, when I look at the list of activities for Castaway Cay I see a list of all the sold out cabanas but there are three of them not listed nor are they able to be selected. It shows all the cabanas except for #13, #16, and #21. Anyone know why these wouldn't be appearing?

 

I believe 16 is held for concierge bookings onboard, and 21 (the new 21) is part of the new, bigger cabana and is (from what I understand) held for weddings, or large party reservations onboard.

 

#13 - I don't know.

[Cashe]

I will be there in May. The 14-18? We just had cabanas open last week, 19&20. They were there for a couple of days. Anyway, we are concierge and booked at 120 days and all cabanas were sold out at midnight on day 120 except for those two that popped up last week.

 

There is no 13.

 

Concierge told me that 17 is kept for weddings when I booked a few weeks ago and requested 17. 16 is held for on board concierge guests who want to book and 21 is the large party cabana. I believe it is 850 for the day.

[Shmoo here]

I will be there in May. The 14-18? We just had cabanas open last week, 19&20. They were there for a couple of days. Anyway, we are concierge and booked at 120 days and all cabanas were sold out at midnight on day 120 except for those two that popped up last week.

 

There is no 13.

 

Concierge told me that 17 is kept for weddings when I booked a few weeks ago and requested 17. 16 is held for on board concierge guests who want to book and 21 is the large party cabana. I believe it is 850 for the day.

 

It's $899 for up to 10 guests ($966.43 with the VAT). Additional guest (up to 16 max) are $50.00 each.