Is a Cabana Worth It If Ship Leaves Ocean Cay at 7:00p.m. vs. 11:00p.m.?

[tymike]

Hi all,

So...some of you may remember my struggle to book an Ocean Cay cabana for my October, 2020 sailing on the Meraviglia.  Well, now I have one, but after reading that different sailings have different departure times I checked mine and we sail at 7:00 P.M.    I'm guessing that means no light show/parade etc.  I'm a little disappointed about those things but mostly wondering if it's still worth it to keep the cabana.

 

I definitely want it for shade in the day, but we seem to be losing at least 4-5 hours on the island that day.

 

Thoughts as to whether I should keep it...or if anyone has had a cabana, please feel free to chime in as to the value vs. the cost.

Thanks as always!

[aprilF]

I'd look at it this way, those 4-5 hours you are losing will not be in intense sun so I dont feel as if that should make too much of a difference.  In fact, as light fades and temperature starts to drop you might welcome the last bit of warmth from the sun.

 

Unless there was someone in my party that is pretty sensitive to the sun, I dont think Id do a cabana at OC.  There doesnt seem to be many amenities for the price other than shade.  And there is shade to be had on OC if you are willing to be flexible about where you sit and not be right at the water line, which you wouldnt be anyway if you were in a cabana. 

 

Also, be aware that currently passengers arent allowed to disembark until about 3 hours off of the time you reach port.  I have no idea if they are trying to streamline this so that customers get fuller advantage of the time "at port" in OC but you may be taking three hours off the front of your visit as well.  Depending on when you get there that could make a pretty big difference as to what sun exposure you are receiving/ missing.  If you decide to keep the cabana based on when you are leaving, Id keep an eye on when people are allowed to disembark closer to the last chance you have to dump the cabana.

 

PS-I know it doesnt sound like it but I am a cabana girl.  Love a cabana when visiting certain places.  🙂

[Touringmom]

The beaches shut down at 5pm when we were there last week. 

[Hlitner]

The reality of Ocean Cay is that it pretty much dies out by 5 (even when we had an 11pm departure).  In fact, most of the services at the YC Beach area are closed at 5.  We went back to our ship (Divina) around 4:30 and the island was already becoming somewhat deserted.   A small crowd came back out (after dinner) to dance with some of the locals and wait for the light show (which we could see perfectly from our cabin balcony).  I would guess that there were fewer then 200 passengers on the island in the evening.  There is a reality to the operation.  Although the island has some of its own staff, they really depend on additional staff from the ship.  And those staff also need to get back aboard to handle their normal jobs.  So while some of the YC waiters did work at the YC beach, they had to back to serve dinner at Le Muse.   

 

We were surprised that more passengers did not go back onto the island after dinner.  When we looked at from our balcony around 9pm, other then the small group who were parading and partying with some of the local staff...the island looked to be empty.  But when you think about it, there is really very little to draw folks back onto the island.  It is possible to see the light show (which we thought was no big deal) from the ship and there was not a lot more happening on the island other then the silly walk led by a few locals.   The buffet was closed and we only saw one of the food trucks that appeared to be open (there might have been other food trucks open that we could not see from our balcony)  And keep in mind that all the food trucks seemed to have the same very basic menu (something MSC might consider changing in the future).

 

Hank

[tymike]

Thank you so much for all your answers!  I'm feeling less 'needy' of a cabana, but I will take the advice to hang onto it until closer to departure to see what (if anything) changes about actual time on the island and what is available during that time.

As it stands now the extra money for the cabana seems unnecessary but I'll see what the future holds.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and observations.  Very helpful!

[jhaagens]

I'm starting to feel the same...  My husband is half-Norwegian and our teens burn easily, so I reserved one for shade and a little extra luxury on our April cruise.  But pondering if it would be just as good to use umbrellas and save that money for drinks for Mom and Dad.

[CRAustin]

Cabanas close down at 5 pm.  I've been once but that is my understaning, will be there next week in a YC cabana will let you know for sure.

[tymike]

Thanks all again for your responses.  So, if cabanas close at 5:00 and we don't get on the island til about 10:00 a.m. (if lucky!) then it may be a bad bet to spend the money.  I might hang onto it for a while (we don't cruise til 10/20) to see if MSC ups the benefits/perks with a cabana...but I am definitely considering cancelling.   

Thank you CRAustin for following up after your upcoming cruise!  I hope you have a great voyage!

[ready2cruzagain]

3 hours ago, jhaagens said:

I'm starting to feel the same...  My husband is half-Norwegian and our teens burn easily, so I reserved one for shade and a little extra luxury on our April cruise.  But pondering if it would be just as good to use umbrellas and save that money for drinks for Mom and Dad.

 

We were there on a very sunny day and rented an umbrella, cost us $12 as we booked it in advance online.  The umbrellas are nice in that they can be moved or you can move your chair if need be since the loungers are not sitting on top of each other.  If wanting to just stay out of the sun I would rent a couple of umbrellas.  You do have to pick it up at the rental station (in a bag) and set it up yourself but it comes with instructions and very easy to set up. 

[tymike]

10 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

 

We were there on a very sunny day and rented an umbrella, cost us $12 as we booked it in advance online.  The umbrellas are nice in that they can be moved or you can move your chair if need be since the loungers are not sitting on top of each other.  If wanting to just stay out of the sun I would rent a couple of umbrellas.  You do have to pick it up at the rental station (in a bag) and set it up yourself but it comes with instructions and very easy to set up. 

Great information!  Thank you.

 

  Hmmm...$12 ( or free for YC) for shade and a lounger vs. the very high cost of a cabana...

Food for thought!  Glad I don't have to decide tonight!

 

I'd love to hear from anyone what has actually used a cabana to find out how much a difference (if any) having a cabana made for the days' enjoyment.

[ready2cruzagain]

10 minutes ago, tymike said:

Great information!  Thank you.

 

  Hmmm...$12 ( or free for YC) for shade and a lounger vs. the very high cost of a cabana...

Food for thought!  Glad I don't have to decide tonight!

 

I'd love to hear from anyone what has actually used a cabana to find out how much a difference (if any) having a cabana made for the days' enjoyment.

6 of our friends had a Cabana but when we talked nothing special.  I think we got the better deal😂

[Shippy]

From how the pictures look, these cabanas are grossly overpriced.....however...since my husband is very sensitive to the sun and really had no desire to even go on the island, I rented one.

a bit more shade than an umbrella plus more comfort for him with a couch.

[rikitikitavii]

16 hours ago, tymike said:

Great information!  Thank you.

 

  Hmmm...$12 ( or free for YC) for shade and a lounger vs. the very high cost of a cabana...

Food for thought!  Glad I don't have to decide tonight!

 

I'd love to hear from anyone what has actually used a cabana to find out how much a difference (if any) having a cabana made for the days' enjoyment.

We had a YC cabana December 13th.  It is rather small, one sofa lounger and two chairs. Came with snorkel gear and floats pads for 2, plus champagne and water.  I felt it is over priced at $450, ideal for 4 people, 6 is too many.  Had to be out by 5pm.  It was cool and windy, rain came as we were leaving.

We are doing Divine in March and will get umbrellas instead of cabana.