Another Labordee Barefoot beach question!

[raerenee]

Concierge contacted me today with intro email. He said I need to pick a Cabana now because they sell fast. And in the email it states only a few are left! I called shore side concierge months ago and was told I needed to do this on board. So why did some people get the option of booking way ahead of time and other a week before? And seems like shore side concierge knows nothing!

[Clarea]

Concierge contacted me today with intro email. He said I need to pick a Cabana now because they sell fast. And in the email it states only a few are left! I called shore side concierge months ago and was told I needed to do this on board. So why did some people get the option of booking way ahead of time and other a week before? And seems like shore side concierge knows nothing!

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for Royal's shore side people to have inaccurate information.

Edited January 9, 2014 by clarea

[transam84]

Typically the conciege contacts suites guests 2 weeks prior. If you contact him/ her before he or she may be able to reserve cabanas earlier. I found this out by going to the private island forum on this board. There is a weath of information that has allowed me to better plan for my cruises. Unfortunately vacations are like life, things are not always clear or straight forward. By using information on this board I was able to secure one of two beach front cabanas on barefoot beach. I hope you can secure a cabana. Good luck.

[raerenee]

Typically the conciege contacts suites guests 2 weeks prior. If you contact him/ her before he or she may be able to reserve cabanas earlier. I found this out by going to the private island forum on this board. There is a weath of information that has allowed me to better plan for my cruises. Unfortunately vacations are like life, things are not always clear or straight forward. By using information on this board I was able to secure one of two beach front cabanas on barefoot beach. I hope you can secure a cabana. Good luck.

 

He contacted me today. I sail next week. Oh well. This board has been amazing. They know more than some of the people who work on the ship.

[Ashland]

He contacted me today. I sail next week. Oh well. This board has been amazing. They know more than some of the people who work on the ship.

Correct..because most/many of the (land based) CSR's have never cruised on one of their ships.. Their just providing basic written information as given during their training and ongoing inservice classes.;)

Edited January 9, 2014 by Ashland

[trolleydolly]

Hi.

 

We are going to labadee for the first time in April.

 

We have our 11 year old son with us. Do you think its worth getting a cabana for the 3 of us? He obviously won't want to laze around all day in a cabana though it would be nice for a little while.

 

These of you that have had one do you think its worth it in our situation. Thanks. :)

[transam84]

Hi.

 

We are going to labadee for the first time in April.

 

We have our 11 year old son with us. Do you think its worth getting a cabana for the 3 of us? He obviously won't want to laze around all day in a cabana though it would be nice for a little while.

 

These of you that have had one do you think its worth it in our situation. Thanks. :)

 

I have not had a cabana yet but have one reserved for march. We feel that having the ability to get out of the direct sun, in comfortable accomodations, with a cooler and water and personalized service is worth it. For us it is not about lazing around all day, but having a private area to get out of the sun and be comfortable. :cool:

[melbur]

Concierge contacted me today with intro email. He said I need to pick a Cabana now because they sell fast. And in the email it states only a few are left! I called shore side concierge months ago and was told I needed to do this on board. So why did some people get the option of booking way ahead of time and other a week before? And seems like shore side concierge knows nothing!

 

Many who are anxious to book a cabana contact the ship concierge weeks (if not months!) prior to the sailing. Also, if two ships are in port that day, your concierge will only have 50% allocated to his/her passengers.

[Scotty G]

I called shore side concierge months ago and was told I needed to do this on board. So why did some people get the option of booking way ahead of time and other a week before? And seems like shore side concierge knows nothing!

 

Raerenee, Just to clarify, there are only Concierges on the ship in RCI. No shore side concierges. One of the reasons whoever you talked to was clueless. As others have said, most concierges contact their future guests a week or two before the guest's cruise date.

The only time I have seen this messed up was when a temporary Concierge did nothing to prepare for the cruise that was starting as he left the ship. Amit was not happy!

Edited January 9, 2014 by Scotty G

[ESN]

I was told by 2 different RCI phone reps that cabanas on barefoot beach were sold out for our feb cruise - but found out from concierge via email that that is incorrect

 

 

I think that if you really have your heart set on a cabana- email sooner rather than wait

 

A polite request via email got us a prompt response and reservation for a cabana

[homeschoolmama]

Generally cabanas on barefoot beach are not totally firm until sailing and suite guests get first priority, and it will be confirmed for them. If you are in a suite it would be adventageous to contact the concierge for your ship to reserve. Barefoot beach is also just for suite guests. Booking a cabana doesn't get you on barefoot beach unless suite guests do not fill all the cabanas on that beach. In that case t y e remaining cabanas are released to be reserved. Suite guests get priority for all barefoot beach cabanas.

 

There are other cabanas on nellie's beach and those can be reserved. If more than one ship is in port you may have a greater desire to book one just to avoid the crowds. This would also be true if you are on the largest ships. If just one ship is in port and it is a smaller one, like navigator size, crowds should not be much of a problem. Be aware, though, that even though this is how the ship approaches things, when you actually get on the island some of the workers are not always as informed. If you get a cabana on barefoot beach, and are not in a suite with a gold card, just bring a little paper that confirms your cabana.

theyvare getting stricter about checking for gold cards at barefoot beach.

Sent from my SCH-I915 using Forums mobile app

[Lionesss]

Hi.

 

We are going to labadee for the first time in April.

 

We have our 11 year old son with us. Do you think its worth getting a cabana for the 3 of us? He obviously won't want to laze around all day in a cabana though it would be nice for a little while.

 

These of you that have had one do you think its worth it in our situation. Thanks. :)

 

 

I think it will be an individual preference.

 

We as a family have been to Labadee 4 times with next July being our 5th.

Us on the other hand never selected to get a cabana.....Why?

 

We have always been in a suite and been on barefoot beach even before it was a suite beach and before cabanas:eek:.

 

We have gotten the same area on barefoot beach under the three trees with our three loungers every time.

 

We are usually one of the first ones to walk off the ship.

Walk to barefoot beach (about 10 min.)

Check in

Meet our attendant.

Get our loungers

Do excursion---this year Jet skis again

Go back to beach swim, snorkel, float till lunch

Eat our lunch

Visit the vendors.

Do roller coaste (dragons breath)

Beach volleyball at 1300 under the zip line by adrenaline beach

Go back and swim

 

Get sad eyes pack up and go back to ship.

 

For us the maybe 1-1 1/2 hours of unscheduled activities it would be a waste of money, although they do look mighty comfy.

But others with skin problems (ie skin cancer), those that cannot handle the heat it is a nice service for them.

 

Sea Ya

[trolleydolly]

Thank you! I think we will have to give it some thought. Seems like a lot of money to pay out if you won't be spending that much time in it. If we had young children (who needed to nap in the day) or it was just the 2 of us where we could chill and read we may book one.

 

We would like to explore a little and have a drink here and there.

 

Do you know whether you can just get loungers on barefoot (we are in a suite) and is there a charge??

 

Thanks for your replies. :)

[Lionesss]

There are loungers for all (suite guests) on barefoot beach.

The earlier you get there and stake your claim, the more selection you have.

We tip our attendant at the end of the day for all his help.

 

Sea Ya

Edited January 13, 2014 by Lionesss

[homeschoolmama]

No charge for the loungers at barefoot

 

Sent from my SCH-I915 using Forums mobile app

[cruze daddy]

We sail on March 2nd, we are NOT suite guests. We were able to book 2 cabanas on line MONTHS ago......