Retreat cabanas

[jtl513]

I was just thinking tonight that if HAL ever put the Nieuw Amsterdam or the Eurodam in Alaska, what a view that would be from the Cabana Club! Might be a bit cold but a nice warm blanket, hot chocolate, and a camera would be heavenly.

When stopped at a glacier the ships tend to either face the glacier head-on or have it in about the 10 o'clock position. Therefore, you could have a very poor view from the cabanas on either deck 11 or 9.

[slp123]

I was just thinking tonight that if HAL ever put the Nieuw Amsterdam or the Eurodam in Alaska, what a view that would be from the Cabana Club! Might be a bit cold but a nice warm blanket, hot chocolate, and a camera would be heavenly.

 

When we meet on board I have a better suggestion for an Alaskan cruise--I love HAL but a smaller ship in Alaska makes a big difference as to what you get to see. But we are way off topic now for this discussion.:p

[Krazy Kruizers]

I was just thinking tonight that if HAL ever put the Nieuw Amsterdam or the Eurodam in Alaska, what a view that would be from the Cabana Club! Might be a bit cold but a nice warm blanket, hot chocolate, and a camera would be heavenly.

 

I have to agree with John -- the majority of the times that we have done Alaska -- the ships have had the port side facing the glaciers the longest. Thus only a couple of the Retreat Cabanas would really be able to see the glacier -- and only in one of them could you sit there and not be blocked by anything else. If the port side of the ship does face the glacier -- then those people sitting in the Retreat Cabanas closest to the starboard side won't have a view.

[sijid]

Do the cabanas open up on the first day? We reserved a retreat Cabana fo the week, and are wondering if we can be there for Sailaway.

 

Also, how strict are they about the hours open?

[Dynamictwo]

Yes, we had a family retreat cabana on the Eurodam and while there was no service on the first day, we stayed in our cabana and enjoyed the afternoon. We have a family cabana again on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2+ weeks. We booked an inside cabin but were surprised today when HAL called to offer us an upgrade to a spa balcony cabin. That didn't take long to decide on and yes we are repeat multi-star guests. I guess they needed the inside cabins for resale. But we LOVED the amenities that came with the retreat cabanas; $450 total for 4 people for an entire cruise is a bargain! That's around $15+ a day per person-- we made that up in bottled water, champagne, fruit and choc. strawberries, and delivered lunches. There will always be those who can't appreciate being spoiled.

[wdw1972]

Yesterday I booked a retreat cabana for March when my adult son & I are cruising on the Eurodam. Bottled water is free there?? I understand we get glass of champagne at 3pm but figured they'd charge us for the bottled waters ;-)

 

Sue/WDW1972

Zuiderdam 11/23/10

Eurodam 3/5/11

[Dynamictwo]

Yes, we were given as much bottled water as we wanted. I can't say if that is a normal benefit, but we did get it one year ago on the Eurodam.

[terigo]

Yesterday I booked a retreat cabana for March when my adult son & I are cruising on the Eurodam. Bottled water is free there?? I understand we get glass of champagne at 3pm but figured they'd charge us for the bottled waters ;-)

 

Sue/WDW1972

Zuiderdam 11/23/10

Eurodam 3/5/11

 

At a cost of $299.00 for the week for the cabana and its amenities, the bottled water is not free..... you paid for it.

[slp123]

At a cost of $299.00 for the week for the cabana and its amenities, the bottled water is not free..... you paid for it.

 

When you book a cabana for a week on the upper deck what you have paid for is not the cabana, not the bottled water, not the reserved chair, but rather you have chosen to have an experience that is above the level of service and amenities provided on a line like HAL or lines that are equivalent such as Princess or Celebrity. What you are getting is a 6 star experience -- pampering, service, space, privacy, all inclusive amenities -- on a 4-5 star line which provides good but nonetheless lesser service and certainly not all inclusive.

 

If you look at it as free water and strawberries and someone who brings you lunch--then it is overpriced. If you look at it as described above, it is a steal.

 

And either point of view is perfectly correct and that's why some people find it a bargain and others in over-priced indulgence.

[dawnprincess]

When you book a cabana for a week on the upper deck what you have paid for is not the cabana, not the bottled water, not the reserved chair, but rather you have chosen to have an experience that is above the level of service and amenities provided on a line like HAL or lines that are equivalent such as Princess or Celebrity. What you are getting is a 6 star experience -- pampering, service, space, privacy, all inclusive amenities -- on a 4-5 star line which provides good but nonetheless lesser service and certainly not all inclusive.

 

If you look at it as free water and strawberries and someone who brings you lunch--then it is overpriced. If you look at it as described above, it is a steal.

 

And either point of view is perfectly correct and that's why some people find it a bargain and others in over-priced indulgence.

 

Perfectly stated! We enjoyed The Sanctuary twice on Princess and will be sailing in a week on the Eurodam and have rented a Cabana for the length of the cruise. We rarely go in the pool and mostly cruise for relaxation. We also LOVE to read and the regular pool areas are just too noisy for me to concentrate on my book. I agree -- it IS a steal! :D

[schoolinmy3]

Cabanas are great places to take a snooze :) We had one on the Eurodam in May and as you can see my husband enjoyed it. Also my daughter still talks about the chocolate covered strawberries.

[schoolinmy3]

I found a couple more pictures from our retreat cabana on the Eurodam. We had one of the two family cabanas as there were 5 of us.

diane

[jengianfrancesco]

thinking of getting a cabana on our cruise via NA in December. Do all the cabanas have glass from top to bottom or are you up against a railing.

 

Wasn't sure what the main difference is as well between the Lido and Retreat cabanas other than location.

[slp123]

thinking of getting a cabana on our cruise via NA in December. Do all the cabanas have glass from top to bottom or are you up against a railing.

 

Wasn't sure what the main difference is as well between the Lido and Retreat cabanas other than location.

 

If you follow this discussion back a page or two, there was a pretty detailed discussion of the cabanas.

[slp123]

There is a second thread on this topic called "Retreat Cabanas--what is it" in case the info here doesn't cover something.