Everything Labadee Cabanas, including LOTS of pictures!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Yeah, I think that was crazy too.

 

Even though the current price is $350, we locked in at $320 so the different is not huge. Just want to know in general how much more do you think OTW is valued?

 

Since we have 3 people, one of us is DD 4 yr old, I doubt anyone will want to share a cabana with us :)

 

I feel embarrassed with other people anyway since it will not likely be a "relaxed" cabana experience...

Since you have a small child you may prefer a beach cabana just because there is often a ladder entry into the water on many of the OTW cabanas and a big drop into the water . Our cabana mates were in a suite so they had the Concierge reserve us one of the few cabanas with a ramp down to the beach as we had accessibility issues. Also, being a few feet further back from the water would give me peace of mind with a small child . Otherwise, the view from the OTW cabana can't be beat and we loved it! Well worth it, IMHO.

[BugsyCruiser]

I booked a Nellie's cabana on-line. I understand you can go to the Explorations desk and "pick" a cabana or they will randomly assigned one to you.

 

Question: we like a LOT of sun, so which cabana would you suggest to get sun on the deck portion for most of the time there?

 

I've seen pictures and some of them seem to be in the shade and we want to avoid that.

 

Thanks!

Over the water is your best bet for a good amount of sun on the deck

 

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[Mass2Cruise]

Is the normal buffet (burgers, dogs, etc) included or an upgraded one for the price?

[funandsun]

Just the normal buffet for Nellie's cabana guests.

[Annefran]

Booking a cabana and the prices sure have come a LONG way since I first booked one on Barefoot Beach back in January 2012. Nellie's beach didn't even exist at that point in time. I think they may have started construction though. I think I paid $150 for a beach cabana then.

 

I have a had all 3 types of cabanas and my favorites in order are; OTW, beach and then hilltop. I think it's completely unfair that they do not include the upgraded buffet now. You are paying for this expensive day at Labadee and they should include an upgraded buffet with that price. Plus the closest buffet is quite a walk from Nellie's Beach area. I plan on writing a letter to RCI about it soon. Not sure how much good it will do but can't hurt. :rolleyes:

 

My suggestion to RCI is to have an upgraded buffet in the Nellie Beach area too and then the Suite guests can have their own area.

 

I have a Anthem cruise booked for next May and the cabanas haven't showed up online for booking yet. I check every day. Not too happy with the price increase, they are going to eventually out-price themselves if they don't start including better perks with Nellie's cabanas.

[jes Scott]

Having had a cabana in Barefoot (close to the buffet) it was never busy like the lines we noticed in other places. I can't understand the reasoning!

[CAPTQue]

Hi Folks. I've been following this thread religiously. Cabana reservations just opened for my April2016 Oasis cruise and I'm seeing Nellie OTW Cabanas are listed $495..Ouch...!!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Hi Folks. I've been following this thread religiously. Cabana reservations just opened for my April2016 Oasis cruise and I'm seeing Nellie OTW Cabanas are listed $495..Ouch...!!

That is ridiculous! I wonder if they are trying to figure out how much the market will bear? 😲

[BugsyCruiser]

Hi Folks. I've been following this thread religiously. Cabana reservations just opened for my April2016 Oasis cruise and I'm seeing Nellie OTW Cabanas are listed $495..Ouch...!!

So disappointed to see this ridiculous increase in pricing. It was worth 250, it's not worth double!

 

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[Annefran]

So disappointed to see this ridiculous increase in pricing. It was worth 250, it's not worth double!

 

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Totally agree but we as consumers need to let Royal know this is NOT right. Please everyone send them an email or letter now to express your disappointment and concerns. I definitely plan on doing just that. Hey they changed DD, we can hopefully change this too.

[travelgoddess1]

Hi Folks. I've been following this thread religiously. Cabana reservations just opened for my April2016 Oasis cruise and I'm seeing Nellie OTW Cabanas are listed $495..Ouch...!!

 

Wow, talk about price gouging! I would never pay that much for a cabana. :(

[jes Scott]

Hi Folks. I've been following this thread religiously. Cabana reservations just opened for my April2016 Oasis cruise and I'm seeing Nellie OTW Cabanas are listed $495..Ouch...!!

 

 

 

When I saw the price for NOS next March and saw OTW at $320 I was not surprised. The supply is short and demand is high. I think $495 is crazy and would never pay that. Ever. But, looks like Royal is testing the limits because someone reported $350 shortly after the $320 was released also. So each time they release a little farther out the pice is increasing. The only way they will get the real message is if no one buys. And I am afraid someone will always be willing to pay. So until no one is buying at that price it will continue to increase. [emoji22]

If I want to send an email, who do I send it to?

[JMG]

We have enjoyed the Cabanas while doing a RCI cruise. Our next stop at Labadee will be with Celebrity. Does Celebrity list the cabanas as excursions or do you have to inquire once on Board. I have been told methods so I am confused as to how Celebrity handles this procedure.

 

Thanks for starting this thread Chris....it needs a sticky!

[Mass2Cruise]

Has anyone had luck with getting on the waitlist for a BB cabana once on board? What category of room were you in? Supposedly if those don't sell, you don't have to be in a GS or above to get one? And if so, what ship were you on? Assuming it would only work on Non Oasis class as those have more GS and above and have a bigger pool of people to book them through the concierge. Thanks.

[BugsyCruiser]

We have enjoyed the Cabanas while doing a RCI cruise. Our next stop at Labadee will be with Celebrity. Does Celebrity list the cabanas as excursions or do you have to inquire once on Board. I have been told methods so I am confused as to how Celebrity handles this procedure.

 

Thanks for starting this thread Chris....it needs a sticky!

 

Good morning! Since Celebrity is owned by RCI it's pretty much the same procedure. I have also read many reports where people have been able to book them in advance and those that haven't. They are showing for the Navigator cruise I have booked(which sadly I am cancelling) but it also says "onboard only" which tells me when you try to book it, it's going to come back with a message saying it can't complete the booking.

 

It is very confusing and I wish they would make up their mind and stick with one method for booking.

 

I still say that due to the ridiculous price increase RCI did for the cabanas that no one should book them and let them sit empty and hopefully Royal will get the message and lower the prices. Unfortunately I am seeing people on various roll calls still willing to book them which will just encourage Royal to keep the pricing at sky high levels

[travelgoddess1]

Good morning! Since Celebrity is owned by RCI it's pretty much the same procedure. I have also read many reports where people have been able to book them in advance and those that haven't. They are showing for the Navigator cruise I have booked(which sadly I am cancelling) but it also says "onboard only" which tells me when you try to book it, it's going to come back with a message saying it can't complete the booking.

 

It is very confusing and I wish they would make up their mind and stick with one method for booking.

 

I still say that due to the ridiculous price increase RCI did for the cabanas that no one should book them and let them sit empty and hopefully Royal will get the message and lower the prices. Unfortunately I am seeing people on various roll calls still willing to book them which will just encourage Royal to keep the pricing at sky high levels

 

For clarification -- when I booked ours on Monday, it also said "onboard only" but as I clicked through the pages, it accepted the booking and my cc information and gave me a receipt. The bookings also show on My Cruises, so I think I'm good to go. And this was prior to the price going up!:)

 

I agree, it's confusing.

[tilyous]

Same here, my recent (last week) online cabana booking for an upcoming Grandeur cruise said "onboard only" as well and gave me a receipt. I looked at my CC account a few days later and RCCL took my money already. If there is a problem at the cruise, there is gonna be a BIG problem.

 

As far as the cost goes, $250 would have been better but $350 is still worth it IMO. Especially if I can get the upgraded buffet and cabana (BBW6 or NB4) I want since we are in a suite.

 

Fingers crossed (and toes).

 

For clarification -- when I booked ours on Monday, it also said "onboard only" but as I clicked through the pages, it accepted the booking and my cc information and gave me a receipt. The bookings also show on My Cruises, so I think I'm good to go. And this was prior to the price going up!:)

 

I agree, it's confusing.

Edited September 25, 2015 by tilyous

[travelgoddess1]

Same here, my recent (last week) online cabana booking for an upcoming Grandeur cruise said "onboard only" as well and gave me a receipt. I looked at my CC account a few days later and RCCL took my money already. If there is a problem at the cruise, there is gonna be a BIG problem.

 

As far as the cost goes, $250 would have been better but $350 is still worth it IMO. Especially if I can get the upgraded buffet and cabana (BBW6 or NB4) I want since we are in a suite.

 

Fingers crossed (and toes).

 

If you're in a full suite, you still get the upgraded buffet, regardless of your beach location. :)

[BugsyCruiser]

Same here, my recent (last week) online cabana booking for an upcoming Grandeur cruise said "onboard only" as well and gave me a receipt. I looked at my CC account a few days later and RCCL took my money already. If there is a problem at the cruise, there is gonna be a BIG problem.

 

As far as the cost goes, $250 would have been better but $350 is still worth it IMO. Especially if I can get the upgraded buffet and cabana (BBW6 or NB4) I want since we are in a suite.

 

Fingers crossed (and toes).

 

If you're in a suite more than likely you will be at Barefoot Beach.

 

I have to respectfully disagree that it's still worth the major price increase. The upgraded buffet does not justify a near 50 percent increase price or in the case of the over the water cabanas, double the price it was.

 

As some others have said on here the only way Royal Caribbean will get the message that this price increase was wrong is if people stop booking them and they sit empty. If people keep booking them there's no incentive to lower the prices and all the incentive to possibly raise them even higher.

Edited September 25, 2015 by Bugsy4271

[travelgoddess1]

I don't think anyone is disagreeing that the price is now too high. And I haven't seen a post where anyone has paid the higher price, although maybe I missed something. Several of us were fortunate to pay the lower fee, which was, in my case, $250. (If you are a Gold card holder, you may enjoy the BB buffet, regardless of where you spend the rest of your day, including at a cabana at Nellie's Beach.)

 

I hope that no one pays the higher price for the cabanas, and I agree that it will most definitely send a message.

[BugsyCruiser]

I don't think anyone is disagreeing that the price is now too high. And I haven't seen a post where anyone has paid the higher price, although maybe I missed something. Several of us were fortunate to pay the lower fee, which was, in my case, $250. (If you are a Gold card holder, you may enjoy the BB buffet, regardless of where you spend the rest of your day, including at a cabana at Nellie's Beach.)

 

I hope that no one pays the higher price for the cabanas, and I agree that it will most definitely send a message.

Just pointing out that usually the gold card holders will be at Barefoot Beach first unless that's all booked up then yes they would have a shot at any available Nellies Beach cabanas.

 

I haven't seen anyone say they booked at the higher price but I'm seeing people on various roll calls trying to justify paying it because they want one. Like I said if people do book it these higher prices it just encourages Royal to keep the prices this high.

 

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[TheGaDawgFan]

They must have found out that Disney charges $549. :eek:

[jes Scott]

Just pointing out that usually the gold card holders will be at Barefoot Beach first unless that's all booked up then yes they would have a shot at any available Nellies Beach cabanas.

 

I haven't seen anyone say they booked at the higher price but I'm seeing people on various roll calls trying to justify paying it because they want one. Like I said if people do book it these higher prices it just encourages Royal to keep the prices this high.

 

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I booked before the increase to 495. It was 320 and said online only, but let me purchase, charged my card, have receipt and on my itenerary now.

 

I have confusion about "gold card" if you are c&a isn't your sail pass gold? But that's not the same as gold for a suite? Just looking for clarification.

[BugsyCruiser]

I booked before the increase to 495. It was 320 and said online only, but let me purchase, charged my card, have receipt and on my itenerary now.

 

I have confusion about "gold card" if you are c&a isn't your sail pass gold? But that's not the same as gold for a suite? Just looking for clarification.

 

If you're in a suite the sea pass will actually be gold colored. It is indeed not the same as gold level in crown and anchor.

[spazzyjanet]

I wanted feedback on the over-the-water with kids. We will have 5, 8, and 10 year-old kids with us in the cabana (along with my 66-year-old Dad). How deep is the water here? Do they sell floaties or should we pack some? I read reviews of the excursion on RCL's website and a few of them mentioned having kids with them with no issues, but I'm just trying to get a picture for what to expect. Thanks!