Cabana Questions

[EMc&DrS]

We were hoping to reserve a cabana for a day or two during our upcoming cruise, but when I called ship services I was told we could not do that until we are onboard.  The agent did offer me a cabana-for-two for the week.  I haven't decided if we need to spend the money to have it for the week.  My question--I know we can't bring extra guests into the cabana area, but would our daughter and her husband be allowed to use our cabana when we are not using it?  The agent I spoke with at ship services said it shouldn't be a problem, but I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with sharing a cabana within a family?  

 

We will be on Oosterdam, and we love relaxing outside all day, but do prefer the quiet areas better than anywhere near the main pool.  Is a cabana for the week a nice splurge, or do you end up feeling isolated up there in the front of the ship?  We loved our cabana on MSC Seaside, but it was part of the yacht club experience and the private pool/bar/grill were just steps away.  We did a cabana on the Celebrity Reflection in the lawn area and found it relaxing, but somewhat boring after a while.  You also feel somewhat on display in the Celebrity cabanas as people are walking directly behind them all day long and the grass area in the middle is open to everyone (as it should be!) Thoughts?

[CruiserBruce]

Yes it is a nice splurge. The standard cabana is for 2 people. Probably won't be a problem if your daughter uses it only when you are not there. But please do follow the rules.

 

The area is quiet and fairly private. That is the point of the Retreat area. We love the Retreat cabanas.

 

A search on the board will get you many threads on the Retreat cabanas. 

[newbe4]

Hmm

The cabana will be in your name. So when you check in the stewards will introduce themselves. we rented two retreat cabanas for this reason. We had four people. We were not always there at the snow time but I wanted to be respectful of the space. 

[sevenseasnomad]

Splurge.  Rent it for the week.  You won't regret it because the staff spoil you beyond belief.  The problem with renting for a day or two is that all the cabanas may already be rented for the week, in which case, you're out of luck.

 

We've rented the family cabanas twice and will be on Oosterdam in 18 days.  We have one of the family cabanas again, and all of us consider it money well spent.  There may be some passengers who disagree, but we feel totally pampered for the hours it's open.  Enjoy.

[cruzin4us]

My parents rented a cabana (family) but when we got on board, HAL admitted they made a mistake.  We sucked it up,  cried for a couple of minutes and then me moved on into one of the smaller cabanas.  They removed one of the lounge chairs for us and put in a larger table with 4 chairs.  We wanted to play board games, etc.   The service is wonderful and I found the cabanas to be a bargain.    You basically have full time waiters that will do anything for you.   Get you food, drinks, fruit, etc.   We tipped them well.  If one of the family cabanas are available I would snag it in a heartbeat.  Basically, it's like having an aft wrap around balcony at a fraction of the cost.....views are incredible. 

Edited March 12, 2019 by cruzin4us
added pics