Nellie's Hillside Cabanas

[The 4 of Us]

Will be sailing on the Allure on June 30, 2013. Just looked and both "Hillside at Nellie's Beach" and "Beach Cabana-Over the Water at Nellies" are both there ready to be booked.

 

We will be traveling with 12 people so obviously we will book 2 cabins. Two people in my party have a difficult time walking long distances. Which cabana which you advise booking? Any other reason to choose one over another?

[khm1]

Woo Hoo - finally Labadee excursions were released last night and I reserved our "Over the Water" cabana. So excited.

 

"Hey Guys,

 

Just book an over the water Cabana for our cruise in October. However it stated only 1 person should book it which I have done, however there are 3 people we are travelling with, how do I add them to get the added benefits like the upgraded food etc. "

 

The way I understand it is, you just book under 1 name and then they contact you on the ship the day before and ask how many people will be in the cabana. There will be six in ours. So.........excited!

 

They just go with you when you go to the cabana in the morning. Everyone will get a wristband to show that they get all of the benefits.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[flowers44]

Some one has said that RCCI called just before departure to add the other people to the cabana reservation. If that does not happen, just stop by Guest Services when you board and put the names on the list. Some posts say that when they check in on Labadee, they are asked how many people will be using the cabana and are given wrist bands for everyone then. Not really sure just how it happens. May happen differently with different ships. I am sure it will all work out when the cruise begins and we are finally onboard.

[Lorey2007]

We are 190 days out and I just booked Nellie's Beach Cabana ZLA6. I hope it's the ones right on the beach with no steps DH has a bad ankle. Can anyone confirm that? All the photo's I've seen look amazing I just couldn't resist I'm so glad I checked Labadee just became available to book today.

[LadyGodiva]

How many hillside cabanas are there on Nellie's Beach?

[Lorey2007]

More pictures.

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In the third picture, you can see two of the hillside cabanas in the left part of the picture. The last two pictures are of Barefoot beach. Pictured is the upgraded buffet included with the price of the cabana and the eating area with tables. The rest of the photos are are on Nellies beach.

 

Is that a cooler I see in the second picture? Your post # 65 if so did it come with some water & ice?

[ginrom]

Is that a cooler I see in the second picture? Your post # 65 if so did it come with some water & ice?

 

Yes. They come with a cooler of Evian water bottles and ice.

[khm1]

Is that a cooler I see in the second picture? Your post # 65 if so did it come with some water & ice?

 

Yes. They gave us a cooler full of ice and three, one liter bottles of Evian.

[f7prez]

Thank you so much to all the Cruise Critic members. Our cruise is 215 days out and i just booked an over the water cabana at Nellie's Beach. if it were not for you guys i wouldn't have bothered looking to see if they were available for another three months. I am so happy to be able to have this surprise for my DW:)

[tkilrainrn]

Thank you so much to all the Cruise Critic members. Our cruise is 215 days out and i just booked an over the water cabana at Nellie's Beach. if it were not for you guys i wouldn't have bothered looking to see if they were available for another three months. I am so happy to be able to have this surprise for my DW:)

 

I second that!:D

[trvlmil]

I just booked an over the water cabana on Nellies Beach for our Explorer Cruise which is 304 days away! :D:D:D

[joeski27]

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Here are some pictures of our cabana on Nellie's beach from last week. We were there on 7/11/12. It was a great day! We really enjoyed the cabana and would definitely do it again. I have more pictures, but none of the hillside cabanas. All of them had a view of the water. None of them were more than about 15 yards from the water. Ours had a ramp to the beach. The one to our left had steps directly into the water. If you paid $200, it is an over the water cabana. I would rather have any cabana than no cabana. I don't think that you can go wrong.

 

So to be clear, is this a hillside or over water cabana ($200)?? Because we booked an over water for January, with the idea that those have great sun exposure. If we end up with the one in your photo then we would undoubtedly be spending quite a lot of our time away from the cabana laying on the beach where we can actually get sun...

[QTMichele]

So to be clear, is this a hillside or over water cabana ($200)?? Because we booked an over water for January, with the idea that those have great sun exposure. If we end up with the one in your photo then we would undoubtedly be spending quite a lot of our time away from the cabana laying on the beach where we can actually get sun...

 

In general, expect shade IN the cabana and sun on the deck portion of the cabana. This may change depending upon the location of the sun and cabana, but you should have a good mix of sun and shade.

[Lionesss]

We walked over to Nellies beach from barefoot beach to do the water slide.

 

I will tell you those of you that are able to book a cabana here you are LUCKY. It was bumper to bumper people. I dont know if it is because of the water park or what, but, it was PACKED.

Pretty though.

Safe travels

Sue and crew

[gvlgolflady]

It has been a long time since I was at Labadee; don't think they had the cabanas when we were there. I have a beachside on Nellies reserved for my

Allure cruise in October. I have read that the water is rocky at one of the beaches. Can someone tell me if you need water shoes at Nellies. Thanks

[joeski27]

In general, expect shade IN the cabana and sun on the deck portion of the cabana. This may change depending upon the location of the sun and cabana, but you should have a good mix of sun and shade.

 

Fair enough, and I agree that in general one would have a good mix of sun and shade with these cabanas. But I guess our issue is we booked with the idea that the cluster of 4 cabanas on the right side of the beach (from the beach facing toward the water) were the only over water cabanas at Nellies, and specifically we liked them because we knew we could get plenty of sun bathing exposure with them as there are no trees around. (Look at the photos of cabanas from that cluster on this thread - regarding sun there is no comparison). That's why we really have no interest in being in partially shaded (trees) areas like what is found around the cabanas on the other side of that beach. And honestly if this were June or July we were traveling it, we might actually want to have a shaded place to sit in all day, but we'll be there in the vastly more tolerable January, so we are all about being in the sun as much as possible.

 

So again, if we end up over there the best we can do with that is end up grabbing a couple of loungers down in the regular beach area in order to get some normal sunbathing in, and occasionally retreat back to the cabana every now and then. Which of course really stings for the price we are paying. Either way, this all comes back to RCI and the lack of detailed information regarding specifically which Nellie's cabanas are "over water" and which are not, because all photos that are found on RCI's website only indicate the cluster of 4 that I have been talking about. I mean, would it be that hard for RCI to put out a damn map for this so that people who are contemplating dropping big $$$ could make a reasonably informed decision??

[QTMichele]

It has been a long time since I was at Labadee; don't think they had the cabanas when we were there. I have a beachside on Nellies reserved for my

Allure cruise in October. I have read that the water is rocky at one of the beaches. Can someone tell me if you need water shoes at Nellies. Thanks

 

You don't need them, but they are helpful. There are quite a few rocks.

[QTMichele]

Fair enough, and I agree that in general one would have a good mix of sun and shade with these cabanas. But I guess our issue is we booked with the idea that the cluster of 4 cabanas on the right side of the beach (from the beach facing toward the water) were the only over water cabanas at Nellies, and specifically we liked them because we knew we could get plenty of sun bathing exposure with them as there are no trees around. (Look at the photos of cabanas from that cluster on this thread - regarding sun there is no comparison). That's why we really have no interest in being in partially shaded (trees) areas like what is found around the cabanas on the other side of that beach. And honestly if this were June or July we were traveling it, we might actually want to have a shaded place to sit in all day, but we'll be there in the vastly more tolerable January, so we are all about being in the sun as much as possible.

 

So again, if we end up over there the best we can do with that is end up grabbing a couple of loungers down in the regular beach area in order to get some normal sunbathing in, and occasionally retreat back to the cabana every now and then. Which of course really stings for the price we are paying. Either way, this all comes back to RCI and the lack of detailed information regarding specifically which Nellie's cabanas are "over water" and which are not, because all photos that are found on RCI's website only indicate the cluster of 4 that I have been talking about. I mean, would it be that hard for RCI to put out a damn map for this so that people who are contemplating dropping big $$$ could make a reasonably informed decision??

 

I completely agree - Royal needs a map with the cabanas numbered. Not difficult, just lazy. By the way, there were only 4 completed OTW cabanas when I was there in February; however, they were building several more. I'm not sure how they are classifying the new builds, but it appeared as if some would be OTW. I have pictures in my Allure 2012 review - link in my sig; Labadee starts around post 100, I think.

 

Okay, I get that you want sun, but I'm a little confused. Cabanas are typically made as a shelter from the sun. Inside the cabana you will likely find it mostly shaded throughout the day, but each of the cabanas are turned at a slightly different angle so each will vary with the amount of sunlight. The cabanas do have an exposed platform as well - you should find this area to receive the greatest amount of sun, but it's possible to have some shade during part of the day depending upon the angle of the sun and placement of the cabana. I'm not being critical of your wants, and am only trying to make sure you understand what you may get to avoid disappointment.

 

Hope this helps! Good luck.

[flowers44]

QTMichele,

I also have an Over the Water Cabana reserved for our sailing later this month. I enjoyed our pictures on your former post. I noticed in the picture the infamous Ice Chest that, I believe comes with the Cabana rental with 3 large bottles of Evian water inside. The question is - Did you get charged for drinking the water or did it come with the cabana? There are several posts discussing this question. Just wondering what your experience was with the bottles of water.

[joeski27]

I completely agree - Royal needs a map with the cabanas numbered. Not difficult, just lazy. By the way, there were only 4 completed OTW cabanas when I was there in February; however, they were building several more. I'm not sure how they are classifying the new builds, but it appeared as if some would be OTW. I have pictures in my Allure 2012 review - link in my sig; Labadee starts around post 100, I think.

 

Okay, I get that you want sun, but I'm a little confused. Cabanas are typically made as a shelter from the sun. Inside the cabana you will likely find it mostly shaded throughout the day, but each of the cabanas are turned at a slightly different angle so each will vary with the amount of sunlight. The cabanas do have an exposed platform as well - you should find this area to receive the greatest amount of sun, but it's possible to have some shade during part of the day depending upon the angle of the sun and placement of the cabana. I'm not being critical of your wants, and am only trying to make sure you understand what you may get to avoid disappointment.

 

Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

Hey sorry to have been confusing in my posts. I guess the key things about cabanas that drew us to them are 1) the privacy factor - being able to have our own, private spot where we could enjoy the beach and get sun but in a more exclusive and comfortable location, 2) the amenities that of course come with the cabana, and 3) specifically with those over water cabanas on the right side, seeing as how in every single photo I had seen there is overall uninterrupted sun in the open lounger area of the cabana (the deck portion), as there are obviously no trees around them whatsoever.. As I had alluded to, we are really big fans of being able to lay out in the sun as much as possible, and those cabanas in particular seemed by all accounts to offer the best of both worlds. That is the whole reason we immediately opted for those cabanas (not so much for the water view, but for the sun exposure that they offered versus, for example, some of the more inland cabana options).

 

So, with all of this in mind, I had no hesitation whatsoever going with one of those cabanas, under the assumption that only the four on the right side of beach (nearest to Barefoot) were the only over-water cabanas at Nellies. Now come to find out that it appears we have a 50/50 chance of landing one of those cabanas. And as I said if we do end up with one of the others, it appears that the only way we'd be able to get a few hours of solid sunbathing would be to walk down to the beach area and grab a couple of chairs, and then head back to cabana every now and then to relax with a drink. And we've already decided that if that's what we'd need to do, then so be it. Just would be a real shame, so at any rate we'll surely be up extremely early to be the first ones off the ship in hopes of getting our pick of the cabanas :rolleyes: Don't get me wrong, normally I wouldn't be nearly as picky about such things, but $200 is a solid chunk of change in my book.

[armywifefisher]

I booked mine and my cruise is over 380 days away:eek:

[QTMichele]

QTMichele,

I also have an Over the Water Cabana reserved for our sailing later this month. I enjoyed our pictures on your former post. I noticed in the picture the infamous Ice Chest that, I believe comes with the Cabana rental with 3 large bottles of Evian water inside. The question is - Did you get charged for drinking the water or did it come with the cabana? There are several posts discussing this question. Just wondering what your experience was with the bottles of water.

 

The water is included! Drink away. ;)

[QTMichele]

Hey sorry to have been confusing in my posts. I guess the key things about cabanas that drew us to them are 1) the privacy factor - being able to have our own, private spot where we could enjoy the beach and get sun but in a more exclusive and comfortable location, 2) the amenities that of course come with the cabana, and 3) specifically with those over water cabanas on the right side, seeing as how in every single photo I had seen there is overall uninterrupted sun in the open lounger area of the cabana (the deck portion), as there are obviously no trees around them whatsoever.. As I had alluded to, we are really big fans of being able to lay out in the sun as much as possible, and those cabanas in particular seemed by all accounts to offer the best of both worlds. That is the whole reason we immediately opted for those cabanas (not so much for the water view, but for the sun exposure that they offered versus, for example, some of the more inland cabana options).

 

So, with all of this in mind, I had no hesitation whatsoever going with one of those cabanas, under the assumption that only the four on the right side of beach (nearest to Barefoot) were the only over-water cabanas at Nellies. Now come to find out that it appears we have a 50/50 chance of landing one of those cabanas. And as I said if we do end up with one of the others, it appears that the only way we'd be able to get a few hours of solid sunbathing would be to walk down to the beach area and grab a couple of chairs, and then head back to cabana every now and then to relax with a drink. And we've already decided that if that's what we'd need to do, then so be it. Just would be a real shame, so at any rate we'll surely be up extremely early to be the first ones off the ship in hopes of getting our pick of the cabanas :rolleyes: Don't get me wrong, normally I wouldn't be nearly as picky about such things, but $200 is a solid chunk of change in my book.

 

I hear you about the money - $200 for a cabana is something this frugal shopper considers before making a decision.

 

I hope you get exactly what you want. I wish I knew what the newest cabanas are like, but I don't. I'll be back there in November, but I'm guessing you're cruising before then? (I'm on Tapatalk and can't see sigs and an too lazy to go back and see if you mentioned a date lol)

[joeski27]

I hear you about the money - $200 for a cabana is something this frugal shopper considers before making a decision.

 

I hope you get exactly what you want. I wish I knew what the newest cabanas are like, but I don't. I'll be back there in November, but I'm guessing you're cruising before then? (I'm on Tapatalk and can't see sigs and an too lazy to go back and see if you mentioned a date lol)

 

 

Nope its ok, we're not sailing until January 13th of 2013 :)

[flowers44]

The water is included! Drink away. ;)

Thanks for clearing that up. I will enjoy my water.