Labadee - Columbus Cove Cabanas Tips/Review

[webwise]

We are just back from the Dec 23 sailing aboard Harmony of the Seas.

 

We booked a Columbus Cove Cabana based on the recommendations of others on these boards and were very glad we did so. 

 

The rest of the Columbus Cove beach was covered armrest to armrest in beach chairs, but the Cabana area with only 8 cabanas was not crowded at all!  In addition to the shade of the cabana we had beach chairs under a coconut tree which provided even more shade.  The website says the Cabana is limited to 8 people, but we had no problem at all bringing all 13 in our party to the cabana.  Oneil, our cabana attendant even brought out additional beach chairs to accommodate them.  The cabanas are very close to the Columbus Cove buffet (one of three (I think) that are set up on Labadee).  

 

One item to be aware of is there were stingrays in the water. We were unaware this was a possibility before booking, so thought I'd share it here. I now understand that it is due to the time of year (late December) that we were there.  They were clear in color so are hard to see. When notified, staff removed them from the water using an oar. But, being an ocean, there were always more stingrays not too far behind.  There weren't so many that we could not go in the water, but we did keep an eye out for them.  One person in our party was stung by one on her leg, and while she definitely felt it, she reported that it wasn't overly painful.  Still, good to avoid the stingrays if you're there this time of year.

 

It is a fairly long walk in the heat to Columbus Cove (~15 minutes or there is a shortcut with some uneven steps that takes about half that time). Other options are a boat that gets you close, but taking the tram takes you right to Columbus Cove. Just make sure you are getting on the right tram as not all trams go to Columbus Cove.

 

Finally, a bit on selecting a cabana.  All the cabanas are exactly the same in terms of size. There is no bad cabana and if you have booked one, you are guaranteed to get one. Each has coconut/palm trees in front and the ocean in front of that.  The cabanas are given out to those with reservations on a first come, first served basis. If you are particular about which cabana you get, you'll want to be at the beach early.  On our cruise, within an hour of docking, half the cabanas were occupied and the last cabana was claimed within two hours of docking.  We were the first ones there, so we had our choice.  Cabana #1 is closest the entrance and we figured there would be more foot traffic near the entrance so we avoided that.  Cabana #8 is the farthest in, but is near a pier/wall that we chose to avoid as the view in that direction becomes a bit limited due to the wall.  We chose #5 as it was central (not too close to the entrance or to the pier/wall) but also because when looking at the distance between each cabana, it appeared to us that #5 had a couple more feet on each side between it and the adjacent cabanas.  This meant we had a bit of a wider beach area we could use without intruding on our neighbors which was important for our relatively large group.

 

[Ronaldo807]

Thank you for the review. I did have a few questions if you don't mind answering them.

 

Did you have to bring your print out from the cruise planner to provide proof of purchase?

How was the bar service from your attendant?

Did you tip him or her at the end of the day?

Did they bring or offer to bring any additional floating mats?

Where were the trams located when you got off of the ship? Were they marked as to where they were going?

[webwise]

Hi Ronaldo807,

 

Did you have to bring your print out from the cruise planner to provide proof of purchase?

A receipt for the cabana booking was waiting in my stateroom when we arrived on the ship on embarkation day.  I brought it ashore with me at Labadee, but was not asked for it.  I just gave my name and they checked it off against their list. Probably a good idea to bring that receipt with you though, just in case.

 

How was the bar service from your attendant?

Service was good. Not overly fast, but not slow enough to complain.  It looked like there were two attendants with each responsible for four cabanas.

 

Did you tip him or her at the end of the day?

We did tip our cabana attendant.  He was working hard, we were a big group, and he had brought us extra beach chairs.  We felt it only right to tip.  He mentioned he lived in Haiti.  Ie. he was not a ship employee, so I suspect he did not get a share of the onboard gratuities, but I could be wrong there.

 

Did they bring or offer to bring any additional floating mats?

We didn't ask for additional floating mats, but I would think he would have brought more if we asked.

 

Where were the trams located when you got off of the ship? Were they marked as to where they were going?

The trams (which are really blue tractors pulling a white trailer that consists of several rows of seats) were not marked with their destination as far as I could see.  We asked where the trams were when we were ashore (lots of people around to help) and then confirmed the destination with the driver.  There were two or three stops before Columbus Cove.  The entire ride was probably less than five minutes.

 

 

[indy71]

Webwise,  thank you for your review. I’m glad to hear that everyone in your party was admitted, as we have 10, and I was wondering about that. Also, is it possible that you are describing jelly fish and not stingrays in the water? Just curious...  Thanks, Karen

[webwise]

2 hours ago, indy71 said:

 Also, is it possible that you are describing jelly fish and not stingrays in the water? Just curious...  Thanks, Karen

Yes. Bit of a brain fart on my part. Apologies for the confusion. No stingrays.  Just jellyfish.  Doesn't appear that I can edit my original post or I'd correct it there.

[hummy0605]

Hi we are a group of 10 and noticed you said your group was able to use 1 cabana. Just wondering if thats the norm or if they may turn 2 away? Also what did did you get off ship to be able to get your pick of cabanas? Can you come and go as we wanted to do the zip line as well. Sorry for question overload. We are going on 4th may cruise

[indy71]

1 hour ago, hummy0605 said:

Hi we are a group of 10 and noticed you said your group was able to use 1 cabana. ... Can you come and go as we wanted to do the zip line as well. We are going on 4th may cruise

Hummy0605, I’m sorry i can’t answer your question, as we haven’t traveled yet. I was responding to the OP,  who said they got 13 people in theirs without a problem. I’m not going to assume that we will be able to have 10, but I’m now more hopeful than I was before. I do know that you can come and go as you please. Some in our group are planning to do the zipline, as well. We are traveling February 17, so I’ll try to remember to report back. Have fun!

[webwise]

3 hours ago, hummy0605 said:

Hi we are a group of 10 and noticed you said your group was able to use 1 cabana. Just wondering if thats the norm or if they may turn 2 away? Also what did did you get off ship to be able to get your pick of cabanas? Can you come and go as we wanted to do the zip line as well. Sorry for question overload. We are going on 4th may cruise

Hi Hummy0605.  

 

From what I saw, it was pretty laid back and no one was counting to make sure no group was larger than eight people.  We had no problem with 13.  I would imagine that with 10 you'll be perfectly fine.

 

We were one of the first people off the boat when it docked and took the tram directly to Columbus Cove (after a brief stop to have our photo taken at the Labadee sign with the ship in the background).  It was probably close to 20 minutes until the next cabana was claimed.  Within the first hour after we arrived at Columbus Cove, about half the cabanas were spoken for.  Note that only part of our group was there at the beginning (just to reserve the cabana), the rest came in shifts over the next couple of hours.  Also keep in mind that there is no "bad" cabana.  In my original post, I described why we preferred to be towards the middle rather than in Cabana 1 or Cabana 8, but had we ended up with one of those, our day would have been just as wonderful.

 

You can definitely come and go as you please.  Everyone with a Columbus Cove cabana (and those in their party) is given a wristband to wear upon arrival to the cabana area to identify you as being allowed in the area.  As people in our party arrived, I just confirmed that they were part of our group and they were given wristbands.  No questions were asked.  

 

Have a wonderful time!  You should have a great day there.

[FloridaMac]

How much was the basic cost of the cabana?  They aren't listed yet for our cruise on the cruise planner.  Thanks

[Ronaldo807]

18 hours ago, FloridaMac said:

How much was the basic cost of the cabana?  They aren't listed yet for our cruise on the cruise planner.  Thanks

 

It fluctuates based on sailing, time of year, etc. so the pricing will be different for everyone. We paid $249. Keep in mind that these are Columbus Cove Bungalows. The cabanas are located elsewhere on the island and are more expensive.

[vacationlover_mn]

Sounds nice!

[Tharper1]

When are the Columbus Cove cabanas or Bungalows posted on the cruise planner site? We are sailing 6/1 and they are not  showing as an option to select.

[Ronaldo807]

On ‎4‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 8:31 AM, Tharper1 said:

When are the Columbus Cove cabanas or Bungalows posted on the cruise planner site? We are sailing 6/1 and they are not  showing as an option to select.

 

It's possible they are already sold out. We booked our bungalow roughly 9 months in advance.

[Tharper1]

You are correct, I was able to verify they were sold out.

[3eaglesfam]

On 4/9/2019 at 3:42 PM, Ronaldo807 said:

 

It fluctuates based on sailing, time of year, etc. so the pricing will be different for everyone. We paid $249. Keep in mind that these are Columbus Cove Bungalows. The cabanas are located elsewhere on the island and are more expensive.

When you booked your cabanaa did you have to put all the peoples names in the booking?  It shows 250.00 per cabanaa on my sailing next year but when I try to book and I put in all 4 of us it changes the price to 1000.00 total.

[Ronaldo807]

4 hours ago, 3eaglesfam said:

When you booked your cabanaa did you have to put all the peoples names in the booking?  It shows 250.00 per cabanaa on my sailing next year but when I try to book and I put in all 4 of us it changes the price to 1000.00 total.

No, you just select 1 person to reserve it for your entire party (unless you are trying to reserve multiple bungalows). When you put in 4 and the website shows $1000, it thinks you are trying to reserve 4 bungalows.