Cabanas on Great Stirrup Cay-Another price increase

[dna529]

I've been looking for the small cabanas to come up so that I could book one for our December cruise (we have always done this every cruise to GSC). They finally were on there today for $499 per small cabana! I don't remember what we paid last year, but it was nowhere close to this. Oh and don't forget, I won't be able to bring my "complimentary" water bottles back on board that we always have leftover from the cabana. Just for comparison, we are going to be in a villa on Carnival's private island which has it's own bathroom and hotub for 8 people for the exact same price next year. NCL small cabanas have no amenities comparable to this. Needless to say, we won't be booking a cruise with GSC as a port stop anymore and this is very disappointing.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Frank Del-FEE-O strikes again and is squeezing that extra $5/passenger out - multiplied a few times over for good measure - gotta make sure your pockets, bank account AND piggy bank are TOTALLY empty!!!!

 

That said - GSC is undergoing a MAJOR renovation this fall so perhaps the small cabanas will be totally redone and end up with some new amenities/perks?

 

But still - $499 is a bit much :eek: GOUGE $$$$$$$$$$

Edited July 17, 2016 by AtlantaCruiser72

[FM]

Darn ... pretty soon it'll come to a point where a "day" at a Cabana will cost the same as a week in an inside cabin.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Darn ... pretty soon it'll come to a point where a "day" at a Cabana will cost the same as a week in an inside cabin.

 

With some inside cabins selling at $499pp, or less, it almost has!

[mking8288]

Thanks for sharing & updating ... what are they charging for the Clamshell nowadays $35 or $40 each, or more.

 

For the record - it was $349 for small ones on GSC and $399 for the large ones - in March 2015 when we successfully tendered. :D Not just another $5, rather $150 more, a wooden shack for 4.

 

It might be more than C.O.L.A. for a 43% price increase in just a little over a year, short of calling it absurd and ridiculous of a 7 hours maxium rental, by almost all ;) - even with priority tender and "skip the long lines" return.

 

Imagine what the newly adjusted price would soon rise to with the "upgrade" ... someone has to pay for it and as long as the kettles see values, they will to the cheerleading investors (check the stock prices lately - not looking upbeat :eek:, better I proved wrong and those who brought share are right - for your wallets, not mine)

 

For reference - zoom in for a closer look: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2015%20NCL%20BA/BA-ShoreEx-032215.jpg

[Zippeedee]

The cabana choices for my November cruise just went online this week. The small cabana is $449 and the large one is $499. I'm happy just enjoying the ocean so the clamshell to keep my stuff out of the sand is fine for me.

[mking8288]

Last week, the GEM has a fire sale, 7 nights NYC-PC-GSC-Nassau for $449 p/p with Inside GTY, plus taxes & fees + DSC. No frills.

 

Now this - captive audience !!

 

Is it still free of 18% or going to added automatically, since they have to restock the towels, beverages and bring over & place the "amenities" there, etc.

 

Well, stay on the ship, it is fully air-conditioned, same and better food than on the private island. Much safer against Zita risk exposure.

[FM]

With some inside cabins selling at $499pp, or less, it almost has!

 

Double darn!! I should switch us to an inside, hang an iPad Pro on one of the walls with a "virtual" reality video of the ocean. It'll save us $5K easy from the Haven Spa stateroom we have booked ... just have to figure out how to give her the whirlpool tub experience without the whirlpool ;) ...

[dna529]

Darn ... pretty soon it'll come to a point where a "day" at a Cabana will cost the same as a week in an inside cabin.

 

I didn't even think about that! We have 2 insides at $519 a person! I should just stay on the ship!

[redfantum]

Ouch! I thought my Sky cruise was bad at $279 for a small. (I paid $250 for a large last year.) Don't forget you get a big $50 food credit!

 

You should be able to bring your water back though, as you have always been able to bring your bottled liquor purchases back from GSC.

[riclop]

I've been looking for the small cabanas to come up so that I could book one for our December cruise (we have always done this every cruise to GSC). They finally were on there today for $499 per small cabana! I don't remember what we paid last year, but it was nowhere close to this. Oh and don't forget, I won't be able to bring my "complimentary" water bottles back on board that we always have leftover from the cabana. Just for comparison, we are going to be in a villa on Carnival's private island which has it's own bathroom and hotub for 8 people for the exact same price next year. NCL small cabanas have no amenities comparable to this. Needless to say, we won't be booking a cruise with GSC as a port stop anymore and this is very disappointing.

 

Totally ridiculous.

[sparks1093]

Well, FWIW you can bring your water back. We brought back the bottle of rum we purchased with our food/beverage credit with no problem. The cabanas are always priced based on anticipated demand and the prices are higher the larger the ship.

[dexddd]

Interesting. On our trip in Dec. when we made it there, about 1/3-1/2 of them were empty.

[Annmeat]

Holy Cow! Have they upgraded the huts in some way since they have been fixing the island up? Like, private bathroom, indoor shower, king sized beds and a genie?

 

I saw the artist's renderings of the posh ones going in at the alleged new Belize resort..are they now like that?

 

any details? Because I can't see them renting out a single one at that rate.

[deliver42]

It's still supply and demand. If people would stop using them, the price will go down. As long as there is a market, the price will keep going up.

[SheehanDJ]

It's still supply and demand. If people would stop using them, the price will go down. As long as there is a market, the price will keep going up.

 

This right here.

 

Royal did the same thing on their private island, cabana's used to be $200 with in 6 months they were going for $400. I was never lucky enough to get one, but even at $200 I thought it was high but still a price I would have paid. Even at the $400 price point though they are still selling out. I haven't checked in ages but it wouldn't surprise me if they were even higher now.

[roger001]

Opinion. To pay five hundred bucks to sit in one of those shelters is insane. The island is about fun in the sun, splashing in the water, walking around looking. If we were only going to go sit in a shelter and look at the beach from there, we could do the same thing from the ship which has all the amenities and more and already paid for. Five hundred???? Wow!!!! I had no idea. But hey! Suppy and demand. What ever the market will bear for NCL.

Edited July 18, 2016 by roger001

[Annmeat]

This right here.

 

Royal did the same thing on their private island, cabana's used to be $200 with in 6 months they were going for $400. I was never lucky enough to get one, but even at $200 I thought it was high but still a price I would have paid. Even at the $400 price point though they are still selling out. I haven't checked in ages but it wouldn't surprise me if they were even higher now.

 

I think Royals SHACKS are now 450. We used to order one of the 12 they had on Cocoa Cay ( been 5 years) for 199. It included champagne, private dining, snorkel gear and mats for floating ,bottle of water and ....a roof with loungers. We used it when one of our children had some now-resolved health issues. They were not special in any way but I would have to order via precongierge as the sold in a flash. I thought that was a crazy price

[ltjn]

Not entirely true about the Royal Caribbean Cabanas on Labadee. We had their Over the Water 1 (OW1) last December and $250 for the Suite Area at Barefoot Beach. Yes, they have increased the price now to $500 for OW.

 

When we were in Labadee in December only 6 (out of 20 or so) of the cabanas were rented. The only time all the cabanas on Barefoot Beach Suite Area are fully booked is when the Oasis and Quantum Class are docked. Considering that the really big suites start $4000 and go up to $13000 per person on the average. Royal has no problem booking them then. It just depends on your disposable income. This is a great example of the haves and the have not's. :D

 

All the cruise lines know their break even point. Those cabanas have been bought and paid for numerous times, since their inception. Royal will use local people for assistance on Labadee. I doubt they are paying a sizable wage.

 

Included amenities, 6 bottles of water, fruit, water mat, and loungers. That was it!

Edited July 18, 2016 by ltjn

[dna529]

Holy Cow! Have they upgraded the huts in some way since they have been fixing the island up? Like, private bathroom, indoor shower, king sized beds and a genie?

 

I saw the artist's renderings of the posh ones going in at the alleged new Belize resort..are they now like that?

 

any details? Because I can't see them renting out a single one at that rate.

 

Based on the pics and description, they aren't any different than before.

[dna529]

We enjoyed having a space for the kids to come back to out of the sun after playing in the water. I don't care how much money I have, I would rather save that money to pay for one person's next cruise fare.

[Sissaaaaaa]

I've been looking for the small cabanas to come up so that I could book one for our December cruise (we have always done this every cruise to GSC). They finally were on there today for $499 per small cabana! I don't remember what we paid last year, but it was nowhere close to this. Oh and don't forget, I won't be able to bring my "complimentary" water bottles back on board that we always have leftover from the cabana. Just for comparison, we are going to be in a villa on Carnival's private island which has it's own bathroom and hotub for 8 people for the exact same price next year. NCL small cabanas have no amenities comparable to this. Needless to say, we won't be booking a cruise with GSC as a port stop anymore and this is very disappointing.

 

You can most definitely bring the water back onboard with you, if there is any left over. As for the fee, our large cabana in December is $499. Are you sure you didn't book a large? The smalls are $449.

[dna529]

You can most definitely bring the water back onboard with you, if there is any left over. As for the fee, our large cabana in December is $499. Are you sure you didn't book a large? The smalls are $449.

 

Wouldn't this be against the new water/beverage rules?

 

You're right about the price. I was so shocked by the price being in the $400 range- it is 449 for a small. I'm still not paying it.

[firefighter15]

I had one of the large ones in February and it was a great day. It was nice having a waiter and snacks. Along with the fan and the hammock which was relaxing. $500 is a crazy amount of money to rent it for a few hours. I thought when i spent $350 on it last time that was pricey but i cannot stomach another 150 for the same thing. Its a shame because that was one of my favorite things NCL had going for it.

[sparks1093]

Wouldn't this be against the new water/beverage rules?

 

You're right about the price. I was so shocked by the price being in the $400 range- it is 449 for a small. I'm still not paying it.

 

No, because you got the water from NCL and they know it. Plus security doesn't look at bags coming back from GSC, they just ding your card. As I said we had no issues bringing the remainder of our rum back onboard.