My family has been lucky enough to reserve a cabana 2 of the times that we have visited Castaway Cay. If you are not familiar with them, they are small buildings with one side open to the beach and lots of great amenities (more on that later). There are 21 cabanas on the family beach (4 were recently constructed) and 4 on Serenity Bay, which the adult-only (18 & up) beach. Cabanas can be reserved under the “port adventures” section on your Castaway Cay day when you log into your online reservation through DCL (details here). Because they are so popular, they are usually sold out immediately when the 120 day booking window opens for concierge and platinum cruisers. I have heard that the Serenity Bay cabanas are booked a little more slowly, and your chances of reserving one of those is probably better if everyone in your party is 18 or older. If you reserve a cabana, your stateroom host will leave wristbands and instructions for getting to the cabana in your room the night before your Castaway Cay day.
Here is a list of benefits of reserving a cabana:
- For the family cabanas, you get a private beach that is reserved for cabana guests only, with plenty of chairs, loungers and umbrellas for everyone. No one right next to you, room to spread out, fairly quiet, etc. Being a crowd-hater, this is probably my most favorite benefit. Serenity Bay cabanas do not have their own private beach, but share the main Serenity Bay beach.
- Tubes and rafts (stored right on the beach), snorkel gear (family beach only) and bike rentals are included in the price.
- Close and private shelter from wind, rain and sun
- an attendant to help you or bring you something at the push of a button
Here is a list of the things you will find inside the cabana:
- changing curtain in the corner for privacy
- fresh water shower
- fresh fruit bowl, small bags of chips (both times for us it was both regular & BBQ Lays potato ships), granola bars (Kashi brand)
- small refrigerator stocked with wet hand towels, Evian bottled water, and cans of co*ke, Diet co*ke & Sprite
- beach towels (nicer than the ones from the ship)
- 2 bottles of Coppertone sunscreen (we asked for & received more from the attendant)
- 1 set of sand toys (we asked for & received 1 more set from the attendant)
- ceiling fans
- music with the ability to control the volume
- golf cart transportation to/from cabana anytime you want to go somewhere
- private hammock
- safe for valuables
- magazines
- Pack & play for babies (if requested)
Before we get to the bad news (price!), I will show you some pictures of the 2 cabanas that I have stayed in which are #5 and #6 on the family beach. FYI, the cabanas on the family beach are numbered 1 through 21, with cabana #1 (the only handicap accessible one) being closest to Cookie’s Too BBQ. The last cabana on the family beach, #21, is the grand cabana, which holds 16 people and costs more. The cabanas on Serenity Bay are numbered 22 through 25.
Let’s start with cabana #5. These photos were taken in November of 2014. The entrance to the cabana area is right next to Cookie’s Too BBQ and is a little gate that looks like this:
Once you arrive at your cabana, you will be greeted with a personalized sign (LOVE this!):
The side of the cabana away from the beach looks like this. That is the door right behind us:
The inside looks like this:
Note the refrigerator and basket of towels in the back:
You get your own private hammock:
Your kids can have their own private sand area:
A great reading spot:
The path to the beach:
View of the cabana from the beach:
Cabana #6 is right next door and is exactly the same except that the porch is a mirror image of #5. Unfortunately my pictures of #6 aren’t as good because I didn’t think to take pictures of the cabana itself and I just had to choose from pictures that I took that day that happen to show parts of the cabana. Here are photos of Cabana #6 taken in October of 2013:
The path to the beach:
The Dream sailed by while we were there:
View from the beach. Cabana #6 is the one in the middle. Note the tubes and rafts stored right on the beach:
Now that I have shown you the good stuff, let’s talk about the bad stuff: Price! Cabanas are not cheap, and many people do not think they are worth the money. I think that they make sense for some people (those with young children, elderly, those who hate crowds, etc) but not for others, such as people who would be off doing other activities most of the day and not spending very much time at the cabana. Here are the current prices as of 5/1/19:
Family Beach cabanas Peak Season: $649 (+12% VAT tax) for the first 6 guests, and up to 4 more guests may be added for $50 (+12% VAT tax) per guest
Family Beach cabanas Off Season: $599 (+12% VAT tax) for the first 6 guests, and up to 4 more guests may be added for $50 (+12% VAT tax) per guest
Serenity Bay cabanas: $399 (+12% VAT tax) for the first 4 guests, and up to 2 more guests may be added for $50 (+12% VAT tax) per guest
Grand Family Cabana #21 (there is only one of these): $949 (+12% VAT tax) for the first 10 guests, and up to 6 more may be added for $50 (+12% VAT tax) per guest
Overall, my family loves having a cabana and we will do it whenever we get the chance. One way we offset the steep cost is to build up our onboard credit prior to the cruise using the tricks I outline here.
You can find links to more cabana reviews in the “Castaway Cay Cabanas” section here on my excursion page.
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