Great Stirrup Cay - Small Cabana info - coming soon

[jdvmd]

Loved your pics and video!

[WaldosPepper]

Thanks for the great video. I cannot believe how much has been done since we were there just eight months ago. It's really coming along very nicely!

 

So glad the weather cooperated ( at last ) and you were able to enjoy a great stay.

[limeyalchemist]

We rented a small one for our visit Dec 17 - did you find it worth the money?

 

Yes, we did. In our case we split the cost between two families, so it did not seem so expensive. For us it was a great value, as we had a great place to get out of the sun, eat, drink Coronas :) and keep the kids away from the crowds. At the end of the day, we enjoyed being able to rinse off in the shower out back.

 

The water pressure did take a nose dive for a few hours but came back by mid-afternoon.

 

The beach is only 100 ft from the small cabanas which is a lot closer than is the case for the large cabanas. There really is no difference between the cabanas other than size. So if you wanted all of the benefits and to save a little, I would go with the small especially if not too many in your party.

 

The small cabanas also are nearer the Lagoon, Bobolink Bar and buffet, so a shorter walk to the food. Just take a left when coming out the cabana, away from the main beach to the small buffet. Going right brings you to the main beach and dock.

 

There is also a bathroom right nearby the small cabanas, which is cleaner generally.

[limeyalchemist]

Thank you so much for your information!

 

We have the large cabana booked (for 2 of us!!) next July. How do you rate the small vs. large as far as room/location (especially with regard to proximity to food and how the beaches are )? I'm seriously thinking about changing to a small cabana but I want to be more certain about that choice. The cost for a small cabana is the same as what I paid for the large cabana way back when.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks again and I'm glad you had a great time! :)

 

I would seriously consider switching to the small. You don't need the space for two, and the beach is a lot closer. The large cabanas are about 250-300 ft from the water, vs 100 ft, plus there are wooden stairs up to the large cabanas as they are up higher.

 

Plus you are closer to the quieter amenities near the lagoon.

 

Hope that helps.

[genman36]

Great video, I am super excited now. We are sailing on the Pearl tomorrow and have a small cabana booked for our stop on Monday. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Genman. :D

[inna61]

How do you know which small cabana is yours? On a first come - first serve basis when you arrive at the beach? Or they are numbered and you book by the number?

Thank you in advance.

[tymike]

I would seriously consider switching to the small. You don't need the space for two, and the beach is a lot closer. The large cabanas are about 250-300 ft from the water, vs 100 ft, plus there are wooden stairs up to the large cabanas as they are up higher.

 

Plus you are closer to the quieter amenities near the lagoon.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Thank you so much for your response and all your review/videos! Even though I paid the same for a large cabana (before the prices changed) I think I just might switch to the small (if available) now that I know more about the location.

 

Thanks again!:)

[limeyalchemist]

How do you know which small cabana is yours? On a first come - first serve basis when you arrive at the beach? Or they are numbered and you book by the number?

Thank you in advance.

 

You will get a letter delivered to your stateroom about two days before arriving. It will indicate which cabana number. The first small one is 12, then 14, ie no 13 and they go up from there.

 

I don't know how they are allocated but it makes sense that the first booked gets the lowest no. and so on.

 

Also in the letter is a food and drink order form. That needs to be turned into the shore excursion desk so that they can prepare your order at least 24 hours in advance. You get $50 credit to use.

[sparks1093]

You will get a letter delivered to your stateroom about two days before arriving. It will indicate which cabana number. The first small one is 12, then 14, ie no 13 and they go up from there.

 

I don't know how they are allocated but it makes sense that the first booked gets the lowest no. and so on.

 

Also in the letter is a food and drink order form. That needs to be turned into the shore excursion desk so that they can prepare your order at least 24 hours in advance. You get $50 credit to use.

 

I just thought of another question (I hate that, makes me feel like Columbo:o) but did the beach area in front of the cabanas ever get really busy? Looks like with the seclusion and all most passengers would miss that it's there.

[limeyalchemist]

I just thought of another question (I hate that, makes me feel like Columbo:o) but did the beach area in front of the cabanas ever get really busy? Looks like with the seclusion and all most passengers would miss that it's there.

 

No - the beach in front if the small cabanas never had more than maybe 50 people on it all day. There were plenty of empty loungers available as you can see on the video.

 

Most passengers never make it that far from the tender dock. So it's a great spot even if you don't rent a cabana.

[sparks1093]

No - the beach in front if the small cabanas never had more than maybe 50 people on it all day. There were plenty of empty loungers available as you can see on the video.

 

Most passengers never make it that far from the tender dock. So it's a great spot even if you don't rent a cabana.

 

Thanks! I can't wait to see GSC in it's present form.

[inna61]

You will get a letter delivered to your stateroom about two days before arriving. It will indicate which cabana number. The first small one is 12, then 14, ie no 13 and they go up from there.

 

I don't know how they are allocated but it makes sense that the first booked gets the lowest no. and so on.

 

Also in the letter is a food and drink order form. That needs to be turned into the shore excursion desk so that they can prepare your order at least 24 hours in advance. You get $50 credit to use.

 

Thank you for the great info!

[kato92]

Curious.....if you have the ultimate beverage package, what would you use the $50 credit for? Isn't the food free?

[johnql]

Curious.....if you have the ultimate beverage package, what would you use the $50 credit for? Isn't the food free?

Not all food is free (included). See below for the items that can be ordered for the cabanas.

 

[kato92]

Thank you. I can see spending that money on good food.

[artman10]

Not all food is free (included). See below for the items that can be ordered for the cabanas.

 

 

 

 

Can you use the $50 island credit on alcohol? Since there is a buffet I don't think there would be much more we would want to eat... If it can do we HAVE to pre-order?

[limeyalchemist]

Can you use the $50 island credit on alcohol? Since there is a buffet I don't think there would be much more we would want to eat... If it can do we HAVE to pre-order?

 

Yes, in my review from last week (above), we used the $50 credit for 12 bottles of premium beer. We ordered Corona. There are a variety of options for alcohol to order.

 

You get a pre-order form delivered two days ahead and check your selection and return to the shore excursion desk one day ahead. Obviously, you can order much more than $50 worth provided you are willing to pay.

Edited December 1, 2013 by limeyalchemist

[artman10]

Yes, in my review from last week (above), we used the $50 credit for 12 bottles of premium beer. We ordered Corona. There are a variety of options for alcohol to order.

 

You get a pre-order form delivered two days ahead and check your selection and return to the shore excursion desk one day ahead. Obviously, you can order much more than $50 worth provided you are willing to pay.

 

Is it just free up to 50 then you start paying or does it get applied at the end of the trip?

 

 

Artman Family

NCL Sky December 16-20

[seaotter15]

Hello! Thank you so much for this info! Just this morning I booked a small cabana for Christmas Day, so your info has been perfect. I do have one question - was there a place to rent snorkel equipment?

[limeyalchemist]

Is it just free up to 50 then you start paying or does it get applied at the end of the trip?

 

 

Artman Family

NCL Sky December 16-20

 

Yes it's free up to $50. I had a $50 credit on my overall account in board, although they never charged me for the $50 of beer that I ordered, as I had pre-paid. If you go over $50 it just gets charged to your ship account.

[johnql]

Can you use the $50 island credit on alcohol?

Yes, absolutely. I cropped the menu image since the previous poster wanted to know about food and I wanted to make sure the image was still readable. Here are the full menus for the cabanas, including all the alcoholic offerings. (Hopefully, it's legible.)

 

 

[limeyalchemist]

Hello! Thank you so much for this info! Just this morning I booked a small cabana for Christmas Day, so your info has been perfect. I do have one question - was there a place to rent snorkel equipment?

 

Yes the place you go to when you first arrive is the snorkel center. This is where you are directed to to check in for the cabana. You can rent the whole set-up to snorkel or you can rent bladder vests which are required to snorkel I believe.

 

I don't know about cost, sorry.

[artman10]

Yes, absolutely. I cropped the menu image since the previous poster wanted to know about food and I wanted to make sure the image was still readable. Here are the full menus for the cabanas, including all the alcoholic offerings. (Hopefully, it's legible.)

 

 

 

Thanks for that!

 

 

Artman Family

NCL Sky December 16-20

[CavalierX]

So not sure what happened, but got $50 worth of beer, and was credited $50 on my account, even though I pre-paid. The bummer is that on the last day, the invoice said $50 unused GSC credit. So it appears that I did not get $50 free.

 

I noticed a mysterious $50 "unrefundable credit" on my account after we stopped at GSC, though we ordered food from the menu. I went to the OBC desk on Friday, and was informed that it would get used up as normal credit for the rest of the cruise, but was not valid for alcohol or gambling. I bought several things on Saturday (including food at the Shanghai Noodle Bar and pictures), but the $50 was never used. I wrote it off as a clerical error related to the cabana credit, because we never used it entirely up -- the food we ordered did not quite reach the $50 mark.

[limeyalchemist]

I noticed a mysterious $50 "unrefundable credit" on my account after we stopped at GSC, though we ordered food from the menu. I went to the OBC desk on Friday, and was informed that it would get used up as normal credit for the rest of the cruise, but was not valid for alcohol or gambling. I bought several things on Saturday (including food at the Shanghai Noodle Bar and pictures), but the $50 was never used. I wrote it off as a clerical error related to the cabana credit, because we never used it entirely up -- the food we ordered did not quite reach the $50 mark.

 

Thanks. We had the exact same issue, and I reached the same conclusion, though it would have been nice to get to use that $50 credit.