Eurodam Retreat Cabana

[RC Pup]

I am interested in knowing more information about retreat cabanas. Cost? Location? Worth the price?

[gainesvillegatorgirl]

We are just back from the 3/6 Eurodam sailing and had one of the retreat cabanas. It was, without a doubt, the best $300 we spent on the entire vacation. I read a lot of threads saying similar things before we went and I was a little unsure as to how a little room with two curtained walls could be so fantastic, but I'm glad we took their word for it and booked.

 

The cabanas are on essentially the highest part of the ship that any passengers will go to; they are the only outdoor portion of Deck 11 forward, and very, very few people used the stairs up to Deck 12 forward.

 

Every morning we would eat breakfast on our balcony, then head up to our cabana. The retreat area stewards, Iver and Jasyn, were absolutely wonderful. They would immediately come over and fill our ice bucket, which was filled with two of the large (nearly $4 if taken from the minibar in the room!) waters. The loungers in the shade of the cabana and in the open, sunny portion of the retreat are both incredibly comfortable, and if you get up for more than about ten minutes, pillows are fluffed and towels are replaced. Though some pictures make it look as though the view from many of the cabanas would be primarily of the roof of the lido pool area, this is not the case; from both of the loungers in our cabana, Naples, we had sweeping views of the water.

 

The retreat was always quiet and uncrowded; even if the occupants of every single cabana happened to be present at once, there would be a TON of space for the number of people. Jasyn and Iver would start offering glasses of (surprisingly good) champagne as early as 2:30-3pm some days, and never batted an eye when I guiltily asked if I could have another. They absolutely spoiled my SO after he scarfed down the plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries they brought the first day, putting fresh strawberries in our fruit basket thereafter and bringing him a second plate of the chocolate-dipped ones every day! Other guests were asking them for diverse food items and pitchers of water or tea, which always seemed to arrive quickly. I asked Jasyn for a bottle of malt vinegar (to put on fries, try it!) one day after spotting them in the MDR the night before - he returned about an hour later, looking exhausted but victorious. Apparently he had had little idea what I was requesting and no idea where to look for it. We were consistently amazed at the attentive but completely unobtrusive service - we truly felt like VIPs all day, every day in the retreat.

 

The ONLY drawback to the retreat was that it closes around 5 every day. We were never asked to leave or made to feel uncomfortable for staying longer, but everyone seemed to realize that the cabana stewards had other obligations they needed to get to after that time. My SO and I basically had to take turns dragging each other out at the end of the day to go to happy hour.

 

I absolutely urge you to book a retreat cabana, and have two suggestions - one, don't even think about booking for one day; we frequently discussed how longingly we would have stared up at the retreat for the rest of the cruise had we only had one day there. Further, you can only pre-book if you do so for the whole cruise, and at least on our cruise, it appeared that ALL of the cabanas were pre-booked and thus would not have been available for anyone wanting a single day. Second, if you're not getting one of the corner family cabanas (which looked spectacular!), go for one of the ones facing aft rather than port or starboard; the cabanas on the sides of the boat have a plexiglass wall in place of one of the open sides and had almost no air circulating when we stepped into them.

 

Sorry for writing so much but I am so in love with the Retreat right now - I will be there in my head all day tomorrow even as my body is in law school :( Let me know if you have any other questions!

[gainesvillegatorgirl]

Sorry for me sitting there looking so goofy, but here are two pictures - one of the whole cabana, and one of the view from the lounger (taken, unfortunately, on our one cloudy day - I was too busy relaxing to get many good pictures!)

 

[janiceah]

I couldn't agree more with gainesvillegatorgirl. We had a Family Retreat Cabana on the 2/27 cruise.

 

There were probably two that weren't booked for the entire week when we got on but on the 1st day lots of people stopped to ask about them & by lunch they were all booked & we never saw one empty for the rest of the week.

 

We were also spoiled & I agree about that being the best $$ we ever spent.

 

If you like serenity & getting away from the crowds, if you like being pampered & never having to worry about where you will find the chair then these are perfect. I honestly would not book a cruise again without having one which basically leaves me with two ships to choose from.

 

Usually we are beach people that like relaxing somewhere & reading for a week so looking for a chair every day on our NCL cruise was not fun for me. Plus I like sun for a few hours but then need shade after that. The cabanas gave me a special place that was only ours & on a ship of 2000 pax that's a really wonderful thing. I want to say that the corner family cabana for four was $430.

 

We did usually stay past 5 but always told Iver & Derrik to just not worry about us knowing they had to move on.

 

I hate to tell everyone to book one of these as that means we would never get one again. ;)

[510picker]

Ditto to what others have said. Best $300 we spent on the cruise. Do a search and you will find lots of info on the Retreat cabanas.

 

A toast to the Retreat cabanas!!

 

[Jimbo]

Just wondered for those going to reserve one of these how you are assured of not getting one of those starboard or port side view facing retreat cabana's. Those ones looked horrible with no air flow?

 

We were afraid to take a chance , so we opted not to reserve one last week.

 

Jimbo:)

[510picker]

Just wondered for those going to reserve one of these how you are assured of not getting one of those starboard or port side view facing retreat cabana's. Those ones looked horrible with no air flow?

 

We were afraid to take a chance , so we opted not to reserve one last week.

 

Jimbo:)

 

I spoke with people that had those cabanas and they said airflow was not a problem. I wouldn't hesitate to any of the Retreat cabanas.

[signora]

What's the diff between the Lido and the Retreat cabanas? Also, can you get one for just two people?

[Former Goalie]

What's the diff between the Lido and the Retreat cabanas? Also, can you get one for just two people?

We had Cote d'Azure for a recent sailing. We loved that Cabana, the sea breeze was wonderful. We had a little hesitation the first day (Saturday, which is technically a day you aren't renting the cabana yet), as it was pretty much a parade of people using the stairs from the deck below, and that Cabana is near the head of the stairs. That traffic was greatly reduced after that day.

For those concerned about renting a side cabana and air flow, I don't think that should be a big concern, especially when the ship is moving. There is a vent at the top of the cabana, and the side of the cabana is not flush to the plexiglass, there is a separation of about a couple of feet. Some might even prefer the side cabanas for the wonderful sea views. Additionally, IMHO most time will be spent out of the cabana, in the central area.

Lido Cabanas vs. Retreat Cabanas: the Lido Cabanas are much, much, less private - they are on the Lido (pool) deck, and there would be a lot of passengers going by the cabana at most times. And, the air flow seems like it would be much less than two decks up at the Retreat. For a family that likes to use the pool, a Lido Cabana might be a better option, if you can live with the privacy and air flow issues.

We agree with other posters, a Retreat Cabana was money well spent, we loved it. Jayson and Iver, the stewards, were so attentive and personable. We certainly would book again.

We were two people, so renting for that number is no problem, as a matter of fact I think that is the suggested number.

[gf42]

I was told that the retreat cabanas are for two people and the family retreat cabanas are for four people. Does anyone know if they will allow extra people in them ? For example can a family of three occupy a retreat cabana or six in a family retreat cabana ?