LisaT91403

I think the ones with the twin beds and wall are a Grand Suite. That's how the GS was on Quantum and Anthem.

That makes sense. Thank you for the info!

Great photos!

I'm confused about the photos in the Junior Suite category. The first one looks "correct" to me. However, I don't understand the ones showing two twin beds with a wall separating them from the living room area. Is that a different category of cabin?

Hi, although we don't have children we think it would be fine. There is no bad language, there are subtle innuendos but nothing offensive at all.

 

However, others may have different views to this.

Thanks for your quick reply and opinion. Subtle innuendo will go right over my son's head.

Thanks again for sharing your trip with everyone, and for taking the time to provide so much great info! Safe travels home.

we then headed straight off to the afternoon showing of Grease we were booked into. Again this was a great show.

Question about Grease. I realize it is a show with adult themes -- the stage version even more so than the movie. But I am wondering just how "adult" the RCI version is. Are they publishing a warning in the Compass saying that it's for adults? Or did they make a family-friendly version? I know my DS(8) would love the singing and dancing, but I'm not sure if it is too risqué.

We've been in many JS's and most of them the curtain was only decoration....looks like the HOTS JS's don't even have that as it would be by the head of the bed between the couch.

We had JS's on both Oasis and Allure, and the curtain was not just a decoration. It went the entire length of the cabin, and gave us privacy when our son was sleeping on the sofa bed. If they have eliminated this from Harmony, it will be disappointing.

The JS balcony is very big with 2 chairs that recline, 2 footstools and a very small low table so it is impossible to have a meal out there!!!!! The table I had last cruise on the Broadwalk balcony, on the other hand was huge and high.

Is there a curtain that separates the living room area from the bedroom area? They have had this in the other JS's we've been in...but I don't see any evidence of this in the picture you sent.

Would love to get confirmation of age/height restrictions on the Abyss and the big water slides, please, if you can. I have heard rumors for 44" for the Abyss, and 48" for the big water slides, so would just like confirmation from someone on board. Thanks!

I would like to know this as well. We are sailing in December, and my DS(8) will be crushed if he can't go on the waterslides. I would like to know before boarding so that I can manage expectations.

Have a great trip!

EDIT: I just saw the limitations in a previous post...thanks for sharing! DS will be able to do slides and Abyss, so he will be happy. Zip line will have to wait until he weighs more.

We decided to do a quick couple of nights in Vegas next week, and I remembered that this status match was possible. I signed up for MLife on their website, then sent an email asking for status match. On the following business day (even during Christmas week!), I received a confirmation that the status match was granted. The MLife website reflected the upgraded status as well.

I used my new status to book rooms at Vdara, and got a nice 20% discount because of my MLife status. I also got a small discount on some show tickets. I'm looking forward to priority check in, and am hoping for an upgraded room. It's nice to be a "high roller" without having been to Vegas in many years :-)

You might be able to ask the shore excursion desk when you board to pick a cabana location.

 

This is what I did last week on Navigator...I had previously booked our cabana when they came available online in Sept. Then we went to the Excursions desk soon after we boarded and requested a specific cabana #. My first choice was already spoken for they told me, but I got my second choice. This was for a Nellie's OTW cabana. They acted like it was no problem to enter my preferred cabana into their system. Once we got to Nellie's Beach, they looked at a sheet and took us right to the cabana I'd asked for.

How did you figure out what your preferred cabana was? Did you look at a map when you were at the excursion desk?

Let me see if I can attach some pictures......

 

This is our view from our cabana.....I will try to look up the number of the furthest to the left. It looks like it enters from the beach.

Thanks, this helps!

I think the one furthest to the left was what I was envisioning as #1. But it sounds like that is not the case.

We visited Labadee last month, Nellies Beach, and only paid $255 for our cabana. We were traveling with family (including my elderly parents) so having a place for them to "camp" and to have shade was important. We got OW#1 which is the first cabana to the right as you are looking at the ocean. There were a few steps from the cabana to the beach, which was great for us!

We have a cabana reserved, and I'm wondering if #1 would be a good one to request given our situation. Grandma won't want to use a ladder, and DS(8) will want to be on the beach. Do you think #1 would be a good choice? Did you still have a nice view?

 

Ours had a pretty good view too

 

Chris,

In this picture, is the cabana on the left one of the "OTW" cabanas? Maybe it's #10 that you mentioned not to get? I'm asking because I think that cabana would be great for us...so that we could watch our son play on the beach while we are still in the cabana.

If the kids in our group (ages 5 to 16) want to spend time on the beaches, and at the Water Park, what's the best/closest cabanas to get? Do we want the beachfront ones at Nellie's, or the Palm Cabanas? We don't really care about privacy. Some of us are Suite guests, and some are not.

I'm wondering something very similar.

- My son will be almost 9, and will want to be near the beach and water park.

- Grandma won't use the ladder to get into the water.

- All of us want shade, shade, shade...all day long.

- We don't care about the "best view" or it being "private"; more important is easy/close access to the beach and shade

So given this, do we pick OTW or Beach at Nellie's?

It looks like you need to pay for the cabana if you want to reserve it online. Does anyone know what the refund policy is? I hate to make a commitment more than a year out...so much can happen between now and then!

My issue is that the description in cruise planner is VERY misleading, almost to the degree of cheating.

 

The way it's worded is that by having cabana, you can enjoy one of the three buffets. However, in reality, EVERYONE can go to the buffet, and RCCL just conveniently ignore it. Of course technically it's not "wrong", you just don't call out the "basics" as a "feature".

I agree -- lunch should not be listed as part of the "excursion" because everyone gets lunch, whether they pay for a cabana or not. It's ridiculous that they mention this, and is very misleading.

Having said that, I don't see any problem with the OTW description. When I look at the description for OTW at Nellie's, it says

"Your rental includes two floating beach mats, towels and the great service of a personal cabana attendant. ZL88"

No mention of lunch there. If you scroll down below the pictures, and look in the "Important Notes" section, it says:

"Complimentary buffet lunch available at Columbus Cove Café, Dragon’s Café or Café Labadee.

Rental of the Nellies Beach Cabana does not include access to the Barefoot Beach Cabana Club."

So I think the description is accurate. However, for the Nellie's Beach Cabana, there are problems. It says:

"Your full-day rental includes luxury resort-style lounge chairs for you to either stretch out and lay, a ceiling fan that draws in the gentle breeze, two floating beach mats, a sumptuous lunch buffet at one of the beach cafés, beach towels and a cabana attendant."

The "rental" does not really include a lunch buffet or towels, as everyone gets those. And then under Highlights, it says:

"Lunch: Indulge in a lunch buffet at Columbus Cove Café, Dragon's Cafe or Café Labadee."

How is that a highlight of the cabana rental when everyone gets that? Totally misleading. Under Important Notes, it says:

"No access to Barefoot Beach lunch with this Cabana purchase (lunch buffet at Columbus Cove Cafe, Dragon's Cafe or Cafe Labadee)"

So they do make it clear that you cannot go to the upgraded buffet, but it's still completely misleading to say that lunch is part of your "rental".

Why aren't they consistent with their working between the 2 types of Nellie's cabanas?

If you booked at Nellies beach you will have your choice of the 3 exclusive buffets that are for everyone.

Doesn't "exclusive" mean that something is not open to everyone? Sounds like it's just 3 buffets, and none are exclusive (other than the Barefoot one).

You are so right! It's ALL about supply and demand plus greed with RCI right now. The handwriting is on the wall though; if they keep increasing the prices eventually they will out price the regular cruiser and no one will be able to book them. Let's hope RCI gets it sooner than later. Should be interesting

see what the prices are this Spring 2016. I'm thinking $500s for sure.

I'm not really sure I am in the same camp here :-)

What you call greed, I call capitalism. If I were running a business, I'd raise my prices as I high as I could until I find out what the market will bear. If I reached a point where cabanas were left empty, I'd consider dropping the price assuming that the math made sense (e.g. one empty cabana at the higher prices would still net more money than all cabanas rented at a lower price). There are a limited number of cabanas, so they go to those willing to pay a premium. Why wouldn't a company want to make as much money as they could? They aren't a charity.

I'm pretty sure the cabanas on the Disney island were $549 when I went in January. I couldn't get one. They sell out really quickly, and mainly people with "status" or suites get them. So if Royal goes to that price and I can actually book one without being in a suite, then I say it's great :-)

For your sailing on Harmony of the Seas, the Nellies Beach OTW Cabanas are available to book on line. They are currently (as of yesterday) $495.

 

Edit - Just checked and they are $495. The Beach Cabana at Nellie's are now $395.

 

Good luck.

I see them online, and saw them last week as well. But the website doesn't seem to allow me to actually book. Are you seeing something different?

As for pricing, I know that cabanas at Aulani are $325, and I think they were $550 when we did our Fantasy cruise. Seems like the market will bear this type of pricing.

Yes. There were 8 of us, 4 couples. One couple in each of our two cabanas was in a suite and they went to the Concierge with our needs. When we checked in for the cabana we had two cabanas next to each other at Nellie's with the ramps to the beach. They tried for BB, but there were not two OTW cabanas available together with handicap access at BB. We did have the upgraded buffet.

Thanks for the info. I will try to reserve online if it comes up for our sailing, and then will contact the concierge via email or when we get onboard.

If you are Diamond or above or in a suite you could see if the concierge could reserve one for you. On the Oasis in May the Suites Concierge reserved two OTW cabanas for us next to each other with handicapped access as we had several people in our group who could not access the water with the ladders on some of the cabanas. We had a shared ramp between our two cabanas that took us right down to the beach instead of directly into the water. For us that was perfect.

I'm curious about this. We will be sailing on Harmony in Dec. 2016, but will not be in a suite. Of the 4 people in our party, 3 are Diamond and 1 is D+. I would love to do OTW, and realize that we won't be able to reserve Barefoot. But with my 79-year old mom and 8 year old son, I don't think the ladder would work (especially for Grandma!)

So if I'm reading what you wrote correctly, you reserved an OTW cabana on Nellies, and then asked the concierge for a specific number? Or one with handicapped access?

The only think I can see for my Dec. 2016 Harmony cruise is a "Beach Bed" on Adrenaline Beach. Does that mean that the cabanas are sold out? Or possibly not available yet?

I don't think you would have been disappointed. I encourage you to try the dining room at least 1 night. You will be pleasantly suprised. Not able to get time off when I want it, I have done many 3/4 days out of LA on both lines. No such thing as a bad cruise. Summer rates are high when you book kinda late. You might check right before you were planning to leave and see if the rates have dropped since your plans seem fluid, check The Inspiration too. Oh, and the cabins are larger than RC. Have fun whatever you decide.

I'm sure we'd have fun. You know why? Because we'd make it our business to have fun. You have to go in with the right mindset.

I have price tracker set up, so if the prices drop, I will know. We can leave at the last minute. Thanks!

You may have missed it because I edited my post, but if you paid $500 per person then that's way too much. It that is the total cost for your entire family, then that isn't too bad.

Sorry, I hadn't seen the edit. It's $469 per person, plus taxes & port charges. I guess that's what happens when it's the last week of summer vacation!

I'm going to pass on it for now, but will keep my eyes peeled for a better deal some other time.

Don't let the comments on here lower your expectations so much that you end up hating it before you even get on board. Go and have a good time.

I think it's the price point that's really the deal-breaker right now. I think I could still have a good time, even without bells & whistles. But I don't want to pay almost $500 for a 3-night cruise that I could do some other time for 1/2 (or 1/3) the price. Doing it on the cheap would be a better way to enjoy it :-)

Thank you all so much! You Carnival folks are really nice :-)

I guess I'm used to paying around $200/night for our 7-day cruises, so it didn't seem so bad. However, this is really a different kind of ship (and cabin)...so it's not worth it.

I really do appreciate everyone's help! Thanks again.