Amber Cove Poolside Cabana review

[Ralphinsc]

Hey guys, we rented cabana P8 on our recent cruise to Amber Cove on April 4, 2022. Just thought I'd share some thoughts and a video review of the cabana.

 

Once we left the ship, we ran across a desk on the way to the pool where they had a representative to greet us and get us registered and signed in for our cabana. Whoever books the cabana gets one ticket and they escorted to go sign in and get the key. The key is either returned to the sign in desk at the end of the day or lweft in the cabana. 

 

We had eight in our party and that was the listed number for the rental. Each cabana comes stocked with snacks and drinks. Ours had several local styles of chips, cookies, chocolate, candy, and drinks (non alcoholic). Each cabana also came with dedicated private wait service for food from the restaurant and alcoholic drinks. Bar drink and restaurant prices were a little high but the drinks were plenty strong and the service from George was impeccable. With the included food and drink, we had all that we needed at our fingertips. We ordered nachos from the restaurant and a bucket of beer and a few coco locos. We still walked out after six hours with sodas in hand to finish on the walk through the shopping area and back to the ship. The cabana is decently stocked. The servers keep a running tab throughout the day and you pay the bill before you leave. All prices include gratuity, but of course we left extra cash for George!

 

The cabanas came with eight wristbands, which were used to access the area and also were usable for unlimited zip line access. Only three of the eight of us rode the zipline and it was pretty fun and zippy for a short run. a great zip line for a first timer and will worth the value if you want to purchase it separately at $20 for an all day pass. The water slides in the area were lots of fun too. They had a lot more zip to them than I expected and were quite a fun ride. Of course, as a 42 year old, let me assure you that I only was riding these attractions for "research" purposes, and NOT because I am a giant kid in a grown up body. LOL!

 

The cabana also comes with air conditioning, a television, two loungers under and umbrella up on the top deck, two couches and a chair inside, a shaded hammock underneath the deck, and four reserved loungers poolside. There is a great mix of shaded seating, air conditioned seating, and full sun seating. The area is roped off along with VIP reserved seating on one side of the pool, with the wristband being needed to access the area. The cabana itself is not fully enclosed, but it closes up enough to where the AC can cool the main room down a bit. You are right on top of the music and it is a loud party atmosphere. We had a person definitely sleep in the hammock but some might find it hard. All the chairs, loungers, and hammocks were comfortable. We did not watch the TV at all so we couldn't report on that. there is a mag lock safe for valuables that works just like any room or cabin safe. There is no bathroom in the cabana; you use either the shared public bathroom or restaurant bathroom. I'd recommend water shoes or flip flops for the concrete, as it gets quite hot in the direct sun.

 

Overall, I thought the value was great for all that we got. Our total food and drink tab was less than $250 for eight people over six hours and the cabana itself rented for $325. With all the includes extras in snacks, non alcoholic drinks, zip line passes, reserved premium loungers, and hammock; we would defnitely rent this again if doing a port/pool day.

 

I have included a walkthrough video so you can get an idea of all the amenities and the atmosphere of the cabana. I'll be glad to answer any questions!

 

Amber Cove Poolside Cabana P8 walkthrough

[jlabs03]

Thanks for the review and the video. I had the poolside cabana booked but was on the fence because I was worried about the noise. Based on your video I switched our cabana to the ocean cabana. 

[Ralphinsc]

47 minutes ago, jlabs03 said:

Thanks for the review and the video. I had the poolside cabana booked but was on the fence because I was worried about the noise. Based on your video I switched our cabana to the ocean cabana. 

 

You are welcome. I wanted to make sure that I caught the music and the noise in the review, even if it didn't make for the best video. It worked fine for us, but it definitely is not everyone's cup of tea. We likewise decided against the Ocean cabanas because they are so far away from everything else and we really did not like the water quality in Amber Cove as compared to most other Caribbean ports. 

[jlabs03]

11 hours ago, Ralphinsc said:

 

You are welcome. I wanted to make sure that I caught the music and the noise in the review, even if it didn't make for the best video. It worked fine for us, but it definitely is not everyone's cup of tea. We likewise decided against the Ocean cabanas because they are so far away from everything else and we really did not like the water quality in Amber Cove as compared to most other Caribbean ports. 

These are the reasons why I originally booked the poolside cabana but for us the quiet is worth the walk.

[Andy1850]

Where you able to pick your cabana? If so, when?

[kctwinmommy]

Thanks so much!! We're on a cruise in November with 3 other couples. We had booked the one in Grand Turk before, but that's sold out this time. So we're not sure what we're doing there. I saw this one though, and it only had 1 left. I booked it and then asked our group, figuring I could always cancel if they didn't want it. But they all said yes! The music vibe seems similar to what it's like at Margaritaville in GT.

[Ralphinsc]

On 4/24/2022 at 5:51 PM, Andy1850 said:

Where you able to pick your cabana? If so, when?

 

We didn't pick our exact cabana number. We got the closest of the four poolside cabanas due to being off the boat before the others who had booked. All four cabanas were fairly close together, so I don't believe any one was a better location. 

[mslhb]

On 4/14/2022 at 8:32 PM, Ralphinsc said:

 

You are welcome. I wanted to make sure that I caught the music and the noise in the review, even if it didn't make for the best video. It worked fine for us, but it definitely is not everyone's cup of tea. We likewise decided against the Ocean cabanas because they are so far away from everything else and we really did not like the water quality in Amber Cove as compared to most other Caribbean ports. 

Thanks for the video! Really helps understand the noise level. Was the music that loud with someone shouting/hosting the whole day? We currently have a pool cabana booked but now debating whether my group can handle that level of liveliness!

[Theosprey247]

Thank you for the review. 

[Ralphinsc]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:38 AM, mslhb said:

Thanks for the video! Really helps understand the noise level. Was the music that loud with someone shouting/hosting the whole day? We currently have a pool cabana booked but now debating whether my group can handle that level of liveliness!

 

It was like that pretty much the whole day with the DJ and contests, etc. Definitely not a "quiet" place. Quite the lively atmosphere. We enjoyed it, but it is certainly not for everyone.

[Michelle66]

I just booked this for our Horizon 9/2023 cruise, and the music seems like a fun party day! I looked at the ocean ones but they are so far away from the pool and wouldn’t get in the ocean I am sure! Thanks for the video I know they sell out fast so wanted to get it booked! There are only a few of them right?

[Jfultz81]

I know that it says 8 max, but we have a group of 10.  I know not everyone will want to zipline, so do you think they would allow us to add two additional people?

[Michelle66]

3 hours ago, Jfultz81 said:

I know that it says 8 max, but we have a group of 10.  I know not everyone will want to zipline, so do you think they would allow us to add two additional people?

From what I read you have a wrist band and that is how they let you in the area. Maybe if you can switch around the bands and only 8 at a time but I wouldn’t think they would let you have more otherwise they wouldn’t set a limit. I am sure they police it but I won’t be there until September to check it out. Why not reserve 2 so you know you have the space? I reserved one just for the hubby and I thought it was pretty reasonable and splitting between 10 will be real cheap 😄

[cruiser3017]

Is the cabana rental only available to Carnival cruisers?  All of the reviews I have seen have been by people on Carnival cruises.  The website for the Amber Cove Port mentions the cabana rentals, but has no information on how to go about renting them.  My NCL cruise is stopping at Amber Cove, but we don't have the pool / port area  or cabanas listed as one of our excursions.

[Michelle66]

I am pretty sure it is since that area I believe is owned by Carnival so only their ships have access…which is also Princess and whoever else they own….hehe It was a fun pool day we had a Cabana in September.

[cruiser3017]

On 10/29/2023 at 4:00 PM, Michelle66 said:

I am pretty sure it is since that area I believe is owned by Carnival so only their ships have access…which is also Princess and whoever else they own….hehe It was a fun pool day we had a Cabana in September

After researching this some more, some people say that even though our itinerary says "Amber Cove" that they really go to Taino Bay in Puerto Plata, and not Amber Cove.  I hope not, because the Amber Cove port looks a lot nicer/more fun than the Taino Bay port.