Twelve days earlier than my household and I had been set to embark on our first Disney cruise, I received an e-mail that set my coronary heart pounding. We had secured the holy grail of Disney Caribbean cruises: a cabana on Castaway Cay.
For these of you unfamiliar with this cruise ship personal island phenomenon, a cabana is a non-public seashore hut that you would be able to hire for the day. Cabanas vary from primary wooden setups to full-on luxurious buildings with bedrooms, air-conditioning and indoor plumbing. Most include extras like snacks, devoted food and drinks service or entry to an unique seashore space.
After doing a victory dance in my workplace (good factor I make money working from home), I began to daydream about what I might anticipate from this VIP island expertise. Would shade, a stocked fridge and a quieter seashore be sufficient to warrant the hefty price ticket, or had been there different, sudden upsides of the Castaway Cay cabanas?
Here is what I discovered, in addition to all the pieces you could learn about Castaway Cay cabanas.
Tips on how to ebook a cabana on Castaway Cay
There is a purpose I referred to snagging a Castaway Cay cabana as discovering the holy grail. The cabanas promote out in a flash and often go to folks with excessive standing in Disney’s Castaway Membership loyalty program or folks staying in concierge-level suites as a result of they’re allowed to ebook shore excursions earlier than the remainder of their shipmates can.
The early reserving alternative is likely one of the methods I used to be capable of persuade my husband that we must always shell out for a concierge suite. He wasn’t exhausting to persuade as a result of the opposite advantages of crusing in a concierge suite — just like the personal solar deck, each day blissful hour with free drinks and a assure that we would not have to sit down with anybody however our household at dinner — are fairly compelling. Getting a greater shot at a quiet and comfy day on Castaway Cay was simply the icing on the cake.
I understand that it is probably irresponsible and somewhat foolish to pay additional for a concierge room with a view to pay additional for a cabana, however we did it anyway. Name it “Disney math.”
Concierge friends can ebook their cruise actions 123 days upfront of crusing, whereas common passengers with out standing in Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Membership can ebook 75 days upfront. Castaway Membership members who’ve Platinum standing can ebook 120 days upfront.
Here is the factor about reserving a cabana as a concierge visitor: You are not really reserving the cabana 123 days out. As an alternative, 123 days earlier than your embarkation date, you may e-mail the concierge crew, they usually’ll ebook your cabana for you when the 120-day window opens up. Concierge friends are in competitors with the Platinum members of the Castaway Membership, however concierge friends have concierges making the reservation, which could or won’t confer a bonus.
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Word that when you’ve got not paid in your cruise in full by the point your reserving window opens, you will be unable to make a reservation, so make that ultimate fee early. That is very true if you happen to booked and are paying by a journey agent. It might take a couple of days for the fee to register with Disney if it is going by a 3rd occasion, and that delay might stop you from reserving shore excursions as early as your room class or standing within the Castaway Membership permits.
The reserving window relies in your crusing date, not the date your cruise stops at Castaway Cay, so mark your calendar accordingly.
The on-shore concierge crew despatched an e-mail 4 days earlier than reservations opened with all the small print we would have to request a cabana, in addition to pricing. Reserving opened at midnight, and we simply wanted to e-mail our requests to the crew. I scheduled my reply e-mail (“CABANA PLEASE!”) for precisely midnight and waited. And waited.
After two days with no reply, I emailed once more, and the concierge crew advised me that we had been on the waitlist. That is proper — regardless of reaching out on the earliest potential second for any cruise passenger, we did not initially get a cabana. I opted to remain on the waitlist and maintain out hope, which in the end paid off.
How a lot do Castaway Cay cabanas price?
A daily household cabana on Castaway Cay prices $963 for as much as six friends, with further friends costing $56 a head, although friends below the age of three are free. You possibly can have as much as 10 friends in a daily household cabana. The grand household cabana prices $1,375 and may host 10 folks. As much as six further friends could be added to a grand household cabana for $56 per individual.
Although I did not expertise Serenity Bay, the adults-only space of Castaway Cay, as a result of I had my youngsters with me, cabana leases there are a bit cheaper at $523 for as much as 4 friends and $56 per individual for every further visitor, with a most of 10 folks per reservation. All friends should be over the age of 18 to entry the Serenity Seashore space and its cabanas.
What’s included in a Castaway Cay cabana?
A Castaway Cay cabana comes with sunscreen, towels, a big bowl of fruit, some gentle snacks, sand toys and a fridge stocked with water, gentle drinks and chilled towels. There’s additionally a Bluetooth speaker, so you may play your personal music. Not having to lug snacks, drinks, towels and sunscreen to the seashore was an enormous plus (and I think about it could be a good greater plus for somebody with youthful youngsters).
Cabana friends get free snorkel gear and bicycle leases, and the cabana seashore has loads of floats for friends to make use of. It is very nice that these are included, as these rental prices can actually add up, particularly when you’ve got a big group.
In fact, the cabana itself can be included. We had household cabana quantity 12. The cabana itself is rustic, particularly when in comparison with the villas at Silver Cove on Norwegian Cruise Line’s personal island. My household rented a villa on an NCL cruise in January 2023 and our villa had air con, a full personal rest room, a tv with a collection of free movies and a non-public bar and buffet.
In distinction, a Castaway Cay cabana is a straightforward wooden construction that will be at dwelling at any summer time camp. It doesn’t have air con, solely a ceiling fan. Home windows have wood shutters, however no glass or display. One aspect of the cabana is open to the gorgeous seashore, although there are folding doorways you may shut.
Inside, the cabana has a snug sofa and chairs, in addition to a small curtained-off altering space. A small closet with a secure is a great addition as a result of there isn’t any actual solution to safe the cabana itself. However, it is fairly foolish to convey any valuables to the seashore. (All purchases on Castaway Cay are made along with your cruise card, so that you need not convey money or bank cards.)
The cabanas all have a porch that overlooks the seashore and personal cabana-only cove. The porch has two loungers and a chair with an ottoman. Every cabana additionally has a hammock and outside freshwater bathe, in addition to further lounge chairs on the seashore. Cabanas should not have personal loos, although a cabana-only restroom is a brief stroll away. Cabana friends get lunch on the similar buffet (Cookie’s Too) as friends on the household seashore.
Every cabana additionally has a button you may push to get service, resembling drinks or snack refills. The cabana attendants had been largely concierge employees, so we acknowledged their pleasant faces. We did not use the button to get additional service on our cabana day, however the identical crew members we noticed working within the cabana space supplied wonderful service once we had been on the ship. I can solely think about they had been equally useful and attentive on the island.
Here is one factor that isn’t included in a cabana on Castaway Cay: crowds. As I floated blissfully alone within the water of the cabana seashore, I might see the adjoining household seashore. It was a madhouse. After we walked to lunch later, my impression was that the household seashore was extraordinarily loud and crowded. In contrast, the cabana space was quiet and serene.
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Who ought to ebook a Castaway Cay cabana
Since there are solely 4 of us in my household, the cabana was an indulgence. For bigger teams, a cabana would make your seashore day a lot simpler. You’d have loads of seating shut collectively in addition to a gathering place. Plus, a bigger group might extra simply share the fee.
If you happen to’re touring with somebody who wants a daytime nap, a cabana can be an enormous plus. I can attest to that as a result of I took a nap on our sofa. It wasn’t exhausting to make the cabana quiet, cool and darkish. Whereas I might hear some seashore noise, it was quiet sufficient for me to sleep. When you have a white-noise app in your telephone, you possibly can join it to the cabana’s speaker to dam outdoors sounds.
Whereas there isn’t any air-conditioning to blast in a Castaway Cay cabana, it is a wonderful solution to settle down from the Bahamian warmth. If you happen to’re touring with somebody who’s delicate to warmth and solar (like yours actually), a cabana may very well be the distinction between a full seashore day and heading again to the ship early.
What’s not nice a couple of cabana on Castaway Cay
Our cabana expertise was not solely Mickey bars and Dole Whip. It missed the mark in a couple of respects.
For one, sure cabanas are set shut collectively. As a result of it is so exhausting to ebook a cabana, you must take what you may get. We might hear different households of their cabanas, and I noticed a number of youthful youngsters going to the unsuitable cabana once they left the water.
The altering space can be not probably the most personal. It is within the nook with a curtain to cowl the 2 open sides, nevertheless it’s additionally subsequent to a window, with a giant hole between the curtain and the wall. It wasn’t a giant deal to shut the window, however theoretically if somebody actually, actually wished to, they’d be capable to see in. Do not anticipate to lounge round in your birthday go well with.
Disney thoughtfully shares cabanas with sunscreen (together with a baby-friendly components), so friends do not should lug it from the ship. Sadly, the Coppertone sunscreens supplied weren’t reef secure. It is disappointing that Disney wasn’t enthusiastic about defending ocean reefs — particularly as they promote snorkeling on Castaway Cay.
Lastly, the method for getting a cabana — and your odds of getting one — are additionally a draw back. There’s clearly an enormous demand, and I want Disney merely had extra of them.
Are Castaway Cay cabanas price it?
For my anti-social household, the cabana on Castaway Cay was 100% price it. To have a quiet seashore and never fear about discovering shade or a lounge chair or dropping sight of our children within the crowded water was effectively definitely worth the value of admission. The stocked fridge and snacks had been additionally extra “price it” than I anticipated. We did not should stroll to one of many buffets on the island to get a drink or one thing to eat outdoors of lunch. Additionally, the fruit within the fruit bowl was amazingly good.
My daughter and I ran the Castaway Cay 5k that morning, and it was extremely handy to drop our belongings on the cabana, run after which come again to alter. My husband and son might benefit from the seashore whereas we ran relatively than maintaining a tally of our stuff. Rinsing off the sand and salt within the freshwater bathe was additionally so handy, and it made for a pleasing stroll again to the ship relatively than a sticky, sandy hike.
Regardless that I’ve skilled extra luxurious seashore cabanas and villas, a cabana on Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay is the very best expertise I’ve had. The relative quiet of the cabana seashore, ease of accessing snacks and never having to lug all the pieces we would have liked for a full seashore day made the day really feel like an precise seashore day. We left our Castaway Cay cabana feeling relaxed and recharged.
When you have the standing or the suite and may get a cabana in your Disney cruise, I encourage you to go for it. It is undoubtedly definitely worth the cash.
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