Cabana on Princess Cay....worth it?

[jwave]

I am thinking about getting a cabana for Princess Cay. We have 6 in our party (the exact number they hold), 3 of whom are seniors and 1 child. Do they have a bathroom in them? Anyone have photos?

 

Thanks in advance!

[notentirelynormal]

They don't have a bathroom but it is close by. They don't check to see how many are using them. I booked 2 side by side for our group of 16 last April and it wasn't a problem. You do get a shower, a table/chair set inside with air conditioning, two cots on your porch and 4 more in front. There are many more cots lying around if you wanted more. You get a ride from the tender to the bungalow (and back) and drink service.

[JerseyGuys]

The bungalows are air conditioned which is a big treat. It can get really hot on the beach. The Priority tender tickets are also a big plus especially when traveling with older passengers. The bungalows also offer a golf cart to drive you to the site.

[Cruise Junky]

For 6 I'd say probably worth it. We had it for 4 and it was nice but I was glad I wasn't picking up the tab. Probably wouldn't do it again.

[jwave]

Thank you for the replies. Thanks esp. for the photos Jersey Guys.

[WeBeGone]

Are they worth it/ NO

[caribill]

Thank you for the replies. Thanks esp. for the photos Jersey Guys.

 

Here are some more photos

[ArthurIhde]

hmmm i think it is worth

[JerseyGuys]

are they worth it....for me it's a YES. But so are the Specialty Restaurants like Sabitinni's, so is Chef's Table, etc. Cruise critic is filled with personal choices and likes. The question is a personal opinion.

 

The Bungalow is extravagant (def. = spending much more than is necessary). For me it turns an nice day at the beach into a wonderful day on the beach. Will you have a perfectly wonderful day at Princess Cays without the Bungalow, sure. For a party of 6 it works out to $33 a head, i don't know where you take an excursion for less than that. Springing for the gourmet lunch delivered to the cabana for $50 is another extra you can live without, but personally I don't like standing in long lines waiting for the buffet lunch. When traveling with elderly or children it is a great way to beat the heat, which enables you to spend the entire day at the Cays, thus maximizing your excursion. Again just my personal opinion here.

[H3one6B]

This will be our first time to Princess Cays and I have booked a bungalowf for 6 of us but did not know about lunch for an additional 50......is this per person or does it cover all 6 of us?

[Toto2Kansas]

This will be our first time to Princess Cays and I have booked a bungalowf for 6 of us but did not know about lunch for an additional 50......is this per person or does it cover all 6 of us?

 

From what I have read on the boards here, the $50 additional charge for the gorment lunch is for the first two in the bungalow (in other words, $25 per person), it does not cover all 6 and there is an added charge for the others. My guess or 6 people there would be an added charge of $150 for the gormet lunch delivered.

[dfields1814]

IMHO they may be worth it if you have enough people to divide the cost. We had 6 - barely worth it. But that is my opinion. My wife really enjoyed it. She would say it was worth it. My biggest problem is that the beach directly in front is not all that good for swimming.

[amistad]

are they worth it....for me it's a YES. But so are the Specialty Restaurants like Sabitinni's, so is Chef's Table, etc. Cruise critic is filled with personal choices and likes. The question is a personal opinion.

 

The Bungalow is extravagant (def. = spending much more than is necessary). For me it turns an nice day at the beach into a wonderful day on the beach. Will you have a perfectly wonderful day at Princess Cays without the Bungalow, sure. For a party of 6 it works out to $33 a head, i don't know where you take an excursion for less than that. Springing for the gourmet lunch delivered to the cabana for $50 is another extra you can live without, but personally I don't like standing in long lines waiting for the buffet lunch. When traveling with elderly or children it is a great way to beat the heat, which enables you to spend the entire day at the Cays, thus maximizing your excursion. Again just my personal opinion here.

JerseyGuys, I am in agreement with you, I think it makes for a better day. Can you tell us what the gourmet lunch is? I don't remember that option when we rented a cabana in 2008. What does that include and what is the expense? Thanks

[jwave]

to everyone for their opinions. I think I think along the JerseyGuys way. This is a special trip for our family and if I can make a nice day, a great day, it will be worth it.

 

I, too, would love more info in the picnic. I think the older members of our group would love that.

[JerseyGuys]

i haven't done the delivered lunch yet. But I'll let you know the details as I sail this coming Sunday October 24th.

[Cruise Raider]

I really don't think $200 is worth the price...the Princess Cays are so beautiful and they have it set up so well that if you get there early, there is plenty of loungers in the shade. Heck, we spent most of our time in the water and then went over to get something to eat, there were really no lines to speak of and had no trouble getting a table to sit down and eat (although there was someone rude enough to smoke in the eating area...yuk!).

I don't think we would bother to spend any money for a place to relax as it wouldn't ....couldn't...have improved our trip any! A simply marvelous day at the Princess Cays....all in the loungers that were provided for no charge. Beside spending most of our time in the water, we also did a bit of shopping and also played some ping pong. There was a great band in the bar next to the ping pong table, also a nice place to sit and enjoy the shade. Just my humble opinion.

[pjs9876]

We have rented the bungalows a couple of times. I love 'em. What about the new "adults only" bungalows. I haven't seen anyone post new info. They are a little extra. Last I knew they were not finished but that has been awhile. Anyone stayed recently?

[joyride]

I am also wondering if anyone has rented the "Santuary" Bungalows and how they may differ from the regular ones for the added $50.

 

Someone said that the beach by the bungalows is not that good for swimming. I would like to know how far the water is from the bungalows, and in what way is the beach not so good?

 

I am traveling with friends, a girl's trip - we do it every year. One of the girls really wants to do this and even offered to pay for it.. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I really don't want my friend to waste her money...I think that we would all like the quiet, and the personal service..feeling pampered, etc., but I've always had a nice time on Princess Cays just going with the flow...

 

I will be interested to hear what Jersey Guys have to report when they get back in a couple of weeks. If you can...take some pics of the Sanctuary bungalows, and give us more details on the gourmet lunch...

 

Thanks!

[caribill]

I am also wondering if anyone has rented the "Santuary" Bungalows and how they may differ from the regular ones for the added $50. No children allowed.

 

Someone said that the beach by the bungalows is not that good for swimming. I would like to know how far the water is from the bungalows, and in what way is the beach not so good? First picture in post #7 shows how close the water is (left side of the picture). Very rocky at that part of the beach.

 

 

 

See above

[sabookkeeper]

We had one of the Sanctuary Bungalows on our cruise in January. We did not feel it was worth the extra money. There is nowhere to access the water, so we had to walk back to where the regular bungalows were. It is an adults only area, but we never really saw a lot of kids when we booked the regular bungalows on previous cruises.

 

There is absolutely no difference between the regular bungalows and the sanctuary bungalows. I would save your $50.00 and get the gourmet lunch delivered. It is definitely worth the money!

 

Darlene

[jwave]

We are renting a kayak, are they far from the rentals? How about the buffet or the bathrooms?

[Northender]

I am also wondering if anyone has rented the "Santuary" Bungalows and how they may differ from the regular ones for the added $50.

 

Someone said that the beach by the bungalows is not that good for swimming. I would like to know how far the water is from the bungalows, and in what way is the beach not so good?

 

I am traveling with friends, a girl's trip - we do it every year. One of the girls really wants to do this and even offered to pay for it.. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I really don't want my friend to waste her money...I think that we would all like the quiet, and the personal service..feeling pampered, etc., but I've always had a nice time on Princess Cays just going with the flow...

 

I will be interested to hear what Jersey Guys have to report when they get back in a couple of weeks. If you can...take some pics of the Sanctuary bungalows, and give us more details on the gourmet lunch...

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, Joyce. We did it with the CBs in April. We split the price with RichNY and had a great time. All the others joined us and pulled togther some loungers at the beach area. A few folks walked about 50', picked up the rations which included burgers, dogs, fruit, ribs, cookies, etc.:D The bar was about 10 feet from our bungalow. I think you guys would enjoy it.

The pics above a very good. Personally I don't see any reason to pay for "service" as everything is so close by. Hi to DH:):)

 

You are going to love the Ruby:cool:

[joyride]

Hi Adele, great to hear from you - hello to all of the cruise buds out there!

 

We decided to book the Cabana. It might be sort of a crazy splurge for just us 3 girls, but what the heck. I've been to Princess Cays so many times, and have always had a very nice time wherever we landed. I think since this is our first stop on the cruise, it will be really nice to just have our own little spot to relax and unwind. I don't know how much we will need the A/C in February...but it will be nice to enjoy and stay for the whole time there.

 

Also, if we meet some other folks, we can invite them to stop by and have a party like you guys did. The roll call for our 2/13/11 Ruby cruise is rather small, but you never know what will happen in the next few months!

[JerseyGuys]

Just back from the Ruby Princess Cruise, first stop was Princess Cays where we booked a Bungalow. Here's my update.

 

We booked the regular Bungalow, not the Sanctuary. The Price was $199 for up to six people. This included 6 Priority Tender Passes, and transportation on a golf cart down to the Bungalows from the pier on the Cay. The cost to add the gourmet lunch to the bungalow is $25 a head. That added $150 for a party of six. We did not take this option.

 

The assignments are made of the bungalows are made in advance. We had not choice in which bungalow we received. This has changed from the last time I used the Bungalows where they gave you a choice, first come first served. Not much of an issue, except if you want more privacy you don't want to be the first or second bungalow, in my opinion .

 

The Priority tender tickets are a BIG plus. The handed out tender tickets in the main dining room, first come first serve. With the priority tender tickets you simply walk off the ship. Big advantage.

 

When you arrive at the island you are directed at the Water sports Hut to a staging area for the ride to the cabanas.

 

We were driven to the Bungalow #3 by a friendly Driver. Ours was a lime green JASMINE. THere are 18 standard Bungalows. There a restroom between Bungalow 12 and 13. At this location is also a smaller bar. After Bungalow 18 is the Sanctuary area.

 

The Bungalow comes with six reserved chaise loungers. There is a table with 4 chairs inside. The bungalow is air conditioned. That is a big plus to escape the heat once and a while. The bungalow had bug spray (not needed) utensils, hand sanitizer, shampoo and lotion, a clock and a Picture frame as a gift. There were six beach towels and tissue boxes. There are two (2), I repeat two 110 electrical outlets on both sides of the doors for power, ( cell phone charges, portable sound systems etc). There is a cold water outdoor shower on the bungalow which is great to freshen up before going back to the ship.

 

The Bungalow also comes with a bar server who gets drinks for you. Reminder your Coke cards from the ship are not valid on the Cay.

 

Lunch which was served a short distance away was buffet style. Potato salad, hamburger, chicken, hot dogs, ribs, fruits, salad. The lines were long at first but moved quickly.

 

We had six people in our cabana, but two additional new friends hung out there also. We simply pulled some additional chaises from nearby. We met a wonderful couple from SF next door who we became friends with.

 

Overall. In my opinion the bungalow is worth it. With a large group, you end up sitting outside the majority of the time time to socialize, but it is good to eat in and change clothing it. Most of your time will be spent outside. We had a brief 15 minutes of rain so it was great everyone could store their belongings in the bungalow. Its nice when traveling with a group to have a small "personal space" to hang out in. The beach area in front of the bungalows is rocky entering the water. Once out about 10 feet the rocks disappear, and it is a beautiful quiet area to swim in versus the main beach area.

[sabookkeeper]

Hi Adele, great to hear from you - hello to all of the cruise buds out there!

 

We decided to book the Cabana. It might be sort of a crazy splurge for just us 3 girls, but what the heck. I've been to Princess Cays so many times, and have always had a very nice time wherever we landed. I think since this is our first stop on the cruise, it will be really nice to just have our own little spot to relax and unwind. I don't know how much we will need the A/C in February...but it will be nice to enjoy and stay for the whole time there.

 

Also, if we meet some other folks, we can invite them to stop by and have a party like you guys did. The roll call for our 2/13/11 Ruby cruise is rather small, but you never know what will happen in the next few months!

Hi: You will definitely enjoy the bungalow. We rented the sanctuary bungalow last year, but it was not worth the extra $50.00. We always splurge and get the gourmet lunch. I am trying to remember everything that was in it...salads, sea food (we don't eat sea food so they substituted it with some appetizers), ribs, hamburgers, hotdogs chicken, fesh fruit and deserts. We only went in the bungalow to eat as it was nice and cool with the air conditioner. To us it is worth the money, but everyone will have their own opinion on this.

 

Darlene