Great Stirrup Cay Cabana Rental Information Wanted

[SailLaVie]

I was hoping someone could tell me about their experience renting a small cabana? We are sailing next year and are thinking of doing this. Thank you for your help.

[Turtles06]

We rented one last May for our party of five and enjoyed it very much. It provided nice shelter in the morning when it was a little rainy, and I was particularly happy to have it later on when the sun came out. Is there anything specific you want to know?

 

Here's the view from our cabana:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[Sauer-kraut]

Have a look at this thread it has pictures and maps

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2170833&highlight=gsc+cabana

[SailLaVie]

We rented one last May for our party of five and enjoyed it very much. It provided nice shelter in the morning when it was a little rainy, and I was particularly happy to have it later on when the sun came out. Is there anything specific you want to know?

 

 

Anything and everything you care to share!?! LOL For our sailing it's over $400 for the small cabana and while I think it's worth it, my husband does not. Would you do it again? How far is the walk to the food and bar? I love the look of the lagoon, is it pretty close to there? What does it include? TIA

[sparks1093]

You get a $50 food and beverage credit, we used ours to get a bottle of Bacardi net to us after the credit was $50. They provided mixer for it. There is a menu in your cabin when you arrive and you have to turn it in by the time specified (night before I believe). You get some chips and a fruit plate that are in the cabana when you arrive/shortly after. You get bottled water. There is a mini-fridge and small storage unit in the cabana. There is a shower around the back. The walk to the food is about 10 minutes and the walk to the lagoon is 5 or less. There is a tram that takes you to and from the tender area to the cabana and it runs all day. There was a table and chairs and loungers. We felt that it was worth it.

[SailLaVie]

You get a $50 food and beverage credit, we used ours to get a bottle of Bacardi net to us after the credit was $50. They provided mixer for it. There is a menu in your cabin when you arrive and you have to turn it in by the time specified (night before I believe). You get some chips and a fruit plate that are in the cabana when you arrive/shortly after. You get bottled water. There is a mini-fridge and small storage unit in the cabana. There is a shower around the back. The walk to the food is about 10 minutes and the walk to the lagoon is 5 or less. There is a tram that takes you to and from the tender area to the cabana and it runs all day. There was a table and chairs and loungers. We felt that it was worth it.

 

 

Sounds bloody awesome to me! :D Did they bring you drinks or do you have to go get them yourselves? The lagoon looks fantastic and I saw it wasn't far, but wanted to know in actual time how long to get there. I can't wait, I think this will be my favourite stop!

[sparks1093]

Sounds bloody awesome to me! :D Did they bring you drinks or do you have to go get them yourselves? The lagoon looks fantastic and I saw it wasn't far, but wanted to know in actual time how long to get there. I can't wait, I think this will be my favourite stop!

 

After they dropped off the rum we didn't see them again but I did see servers visiting other cabanas. IIRC there is a small bar right at the end of the cabanas heading back toward the food area so it is not a long walk at all.

[SailLaVie]

After they dropped off the rum we didn't see them again but I did see servers visiting other cabanas. IIRC there is a small bar right at the end of the cabanas heading back toward the food area so it is not a long walk at all.

 

 

I have read some people say they had waiters serving them drinks all day, and others that say no, like yourself. I'm going to be exploring and having fun with my kid, my husband will be reading and drinking all day. So, it really doesn't matter to me, but I'm trying to justify the cost for him. ;)

[scaaty]

Anything and everything you care to share!?! LOL For our sailing it's over $400 for the small cabana and while I think it's worth it, my husband does not. Would you do it again? How far is the walk to the food and bar? I love the look of the lagoon, is it pretty close to there? What does it include? TIA

 

 

I'm surprised at the price quote for the cabana. Usually the price is around $250 for the cabana for the day for up to 6 people.

 

We love having the cabana. Very convenient, has a shower in the back to rinse off the salt water, If you have a passing storm, you have a place to sit in without the crowds trying to fit in the public areas. Shade if you're sun sensitive like me. They have a ceiling fan to give you a breeze on super hot days.

 

You don't have to walk to them which your little one may not appreciate. There is a shuttle bus. There are servers who will take drink orders, refill the chips dish, and check if anything is needed.

 

Also, the small cabanas are closer to the water and the lagoon area is a great place for little ones to play in the water. We've even seen small fish close to shore which the kids there that day just loved.

 

I say go for it :D

[Turtles06]

I can't wait, I think this will be my favourite stop!

 

Don't get overly invested in it, as the ships often cannot tender there due to the wind or seas, and the stop is thus frequently missed.

 

I hope you make it! :)

[FreestyleNovice]

$400 for a small cabana is NCL's top (demand) price, quite steep if you ask me. However a cabana is treat on an awesome island, rain or sunshine, wind or no breeze. They go for some 200 on "less desirable" dates/ships at the moment?

 

I would look into sharing a large cabana to save some bucks. Very worth the 200, still worth the 300, not sure about 400..

[Demonyte]

I'm surprised at the price quote for the cabana. Usually the price is around $250 for the cabana for the day for up to 6 people.

 

 

There is no such thing as "usually the price is X". The price is based on the ship, meaning that the prices are lower for smaller ships and higher for megaships - and prices also vary by demand. Plus on top of all that NCL raised all excursion prices earlier this year.

 

I booked a large cabana for our upcoming Getaway cruise for $389 (IIRC) before the prices were raised, it was about $50 higher right after the raise and now it's back down to $399 - but the price of small cabana is still on the right-after-the-raise level at $419.

[Saraphine]

How do they assign the cabanas? Can we request a specific one on the first day onboard at the excursions desk? We were thinking of taking the first tender to the island to lay claim to a couple of clam shells in a prime location, but quite frankly the cost of the cabana might be worth it if I can spend the first morning of my vacation relaxing in bed rather than setting an alarm and rushing the family onto a tender! :p

[sparks1093]

How do they assign the cabanas? Can we request a specific one on the first day onboard at the excursions desk? We were thinking of taking the first tender to the island to lay claim to a couple of clam shells in a prime location, but quite frankly the cost of the cabana might be worth it if I can spend the first morning of my vacation relaxing in bed rather than setting an alarm and rushing the family onto a tender! :p

 

They are assigned randomly. Ours was listed on the confirmation when we arrived in the cabin (we had purchased the cabana online).

[ncklhaus]

The small cabana was wonderful. We had one last year when we were on Breakaway. It was $349 then. We are going on Breakaway again in April and the cabana is $419. Still worth every penny. And we had servers bringing us drinks all day. The chips and dips were delicious. You can have refills all day. We used the $50 credit to get shrimp cocktail platters delivered to the cabana.

[SailLaVie]

I'm surprised at the price quote for the cabana. Usually the price is around $250 for the cabana for the day for up to 6 people.

 

We love having the cabana. Very convenient, has a shower in the back to rinse off the salt water, If you have a passing storm, you have a place to sit in without the crowds trying to fit in the public areas. Shade if you're sun sensitive like me. They have a ceiling fan to give you a breeze on super hot days.

 

You don't have to walk to them which your little one may not appreciate. There is a shuttle bus. There are servers who will take drink orders, refill the chips dish, and check if anything is needed.

 

Also, the small cabanas are closer to the water and the lagoon area is a great place for little ones to play in the water. We've even seen small fish close to shore which the kids there that day just loved.

 

I say go for it :D

 

It does sound absolutely wonderful. I keep looking at pics of the lagoon and I can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else on that island. Having the cabana to come back to when in need of shade, food, and rest is too hard to resist. Thanks so much for sharing.

[SailLaVie]

Don't get overly invested in it, as the ships often cannot tender there due to the wind or seas, and the stop is thus frequently missed.

 

I hope you make it! :)

 

 

Thanks, my fingers are crossed and I'm feeling positive. :)

[SailLaVie]

$400 for a small cabana is NCL's top (demand) price, quite steep if you ask me. However a cabana is treat on an awesome island, rain or sunshine, wind or no breeze. They go for some 200 on "less desirable" dates/ships at the moment?

 

I would look into sharing a large cabana to save some bucks. Very worth the 200, still worth the 300, not sure about 400..

 

 

I totally hear ya! It's a steep price to pay and I hope that it's worth it.

[SailLaVie]

The small cabana was wonderful. We had one last year when we were on Breakaway. It was $349 then. We are going on Breakaway again in April and the cabana is $419. Still worth every penny. And we had servers bringing us drinks all day. The chips and dips were delicious. You can have refills all day. We used the $50 credit to get shrimp cocktail platters delivered to the cabana.

 

 

 

I'm totally sold on this idea and it's a done deal! I haven't really heard anyone complain after the fact, so that's a positive thing right there. People bringing my husband drinks while he reads is all I need to justify it to him. He works so hard and only gets one really good holiday a year, and I promised him a very relaxing holiday this time. (We did Disney and Universal Florida last vacation)

 

I think that's what we are going to do too... getting some shrimp and possibly the charcuterie platter for a little variety. We have the UBP so, we don't need to spend money on alcohol.

 

Thanks for the information.

[FreestyleNovice]

I totally hear ya! It's a steep price to pay and I hope that it's worth it.

 

You will love the cabanas, that's for sure :D

[TSUmom]

We have booked our small cabana for our April cruise. I believe it will be money well spent and look forward to a relaxing day on GSC. I am just hoping we make it there this time, we have missed it twice so maybe the 3rd time we will be able to see and enjoy GSC.

[jfkny]

I am on the Breakaway right now. We had the small cabana reserved for GSC, but sadly we could not tender to the island because of the wind and waves. It was however a warm and sunny day. We were so disappointed, but from what I have been reading, this happens often this time of year.

[maryisme]

We have also booked a small cabana for February. We have the UBP - is that valid on the island as well? Thanks!

[LrgPizza]

We have also booked a small cabana for February. We have the UBP - is that valid on the island as well? Thanks!

Yes

[maryisme]

Thank you LrgPizza!