The Retreat

[obro]

For our upcoming cruise on Neiuw Amsterdam we were offered a Retreat cabana for extra cost. Does anybody have any insight into this?

is it worth it?

[CruiserBruce]

We have had Retreat Cabanas 6 times on 4 ships, including N. Amsterdam, once, and one booked on N. Amsterdam for next May. We obviously like them, but only you can decide on if it is "worth it" to you.

 

Do you have specific questions?

[obro]

2 hours ago, obro said:

For our ,cruise on Neiuw Amsterdam we were offered a Retreat cabana for extra cost. Does anybody have any insight into this?

is it worth i t?

thank-you, i cant find any official info on the cabana's. food? drinks?

[obro]

I can't find any "official" info on these cabana's? food/drinks? waiters? thank-you for your insights.

[CruiserBruce]

 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

We booked a lido cabana for our cruise on the NA in march the price was the same this time as last april and the same on that info above. Last year the menu was the same as the lido buffet just scaled down a bit and the dive-in menu, drinks was the bar menu, ( you pay for drinks) in the afternoon we were offered sparkling wine, always large bottles of water on ice in the cabana every morning 

[Petronillus]

Okay, this may be a silly/dumb question, but herd goes . . .

 

DW & I are booked on a PC crossing on the Oosterdam in February. I just tried scouring the HAL website, and I can't for the life of me figure out how one goes about booking a retreat cabana. (To be clear, I'm talking about the a cabana in "the Retreat" on the Sports deck, deck 11, and not about Half Moon Cay.)  Please point me in the right direction. TYIA.

[BaxCruiser]

7 minutes ago, Petronillus said:

Okay, this may be a silly/dumb question, but herd goes . . .

 

DW & I are booked on a PC crossing on the Oosterdam in February. I just tried scouring the HAL website, and I can't for the life of me figure out how one goes about booking a retreat cabana. (To be clear, I'm talking about the a cabana in "the Retreat" on the Sports deck, deck 11, and not about Half Moon Cay.)  Please point me in the right direction. TYIA.

Call Ship Services 

HAL_Cabanas_AP17997_lo.pdf

[Petronillus]

Many thanks to BaxCruiser for the pdf file. Should I have been able to find this on the HAL website?

 

Considering that the friends DW & I are traveling with and we are booked in side-by-side verandah cabins. I'm trying to assess whether we would be likely to make good enough use of the cabana to justify the extra charge ($699 for each couple or $999 if we can snag a 4-person family unit). I understand that it's a subjective matter, but any recommendations would be welcome. 

[BaxCruiser]

10 minutes ago, Petronillus said:

 Should I have been able to find this on the HAL website?

 

 

Hi Petronillus - I wrote to HAL, and that's the PDF they sent me.  I couldn't locate those details on the website 😉

We have a group of 10 traveling, and we were considering multiples, but have decided to hang on our aft veranda instead, if we want a bit of a retreat.  

[HAL4NOW]

1 hour ago, Petronillus said:

Considering that the friends DW & I are traveling with and we are booked in side-by-side verandah cabins

 

Would it help to open the divider between balconies? 

[dot73]

I rented a retreat cabana a few years ago when the prices were still reasonable. I enjoyed it as I had previously been to all the ports we were stopping at and just wanted to stay on the ship and relax.  The staff at the retreat cabanas were excellent. They would happily go to the Lido or burger place where they probably didn't have to go to the end of the line; they also would get you drinks or specialty coffee from the Crow's Nest. The only thing I didn't like was the long walk (almost the entire length of the ship) to use the pool. I also did not like having to leave the cabana at 5:00 p.m. It would have been nice just to enjoy the peace and quiet as the sun went down.

[oceanmom]

Already booked a retreat cabana for 4/2021 Panama Canal.

[sevenseasnomad]

The Retreat Cabanas are wonderful.  However, the prices have gone way up apparently over a few months.  We paid slightly more than $500 for 7 days on April Oosterdam cruise.  We had four adults, and we shared the cost, which made it very reasonable.  All of us agreed we would have gladly paid double for the service which was excellent.  Our steward brought us breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch (from either the Lido or Dive In), and afternoon snack with champagne.  Besides the chilled waters and fruit awaiting us each morning, the stewards also grabbed us ice cream, complete with toppings.

 

On Oosterdam, the two family cabanas have 4 loungers, buffet table, large dining table with 4 chairs, sofa with two ottomans and side tables.  The cabana was spacious and well-appointed.  I should mention that we opted to stay in an outside category cabin and used the cabana as our "balcony."  It worked well for us; however, if someone books a balcony cabin, I'm unsure how this extra space could benefit, unless, of course, you want to be totally spoiled by the cabana stewards.  

[ASIWISH]

By any measure, in my humble opinion, they are worth it.

[DebbieMacG]

I’m about to cruise with HAL for the first time, I need an accessible cabin but only an inside was available so I’m delighted that I could book a cabana, as others have said I’m going to use it as my balcony 😀

[TheJurea]

I booked a family size cabana on the Oosterdam Feb Panama Canal cruise last week and she said it was the last family size available.

apparently the cabanas book fast.

it was incredibly exspensive, but we don’t spend on excursions so save money there.

This is what I found for inclusive to the cabana.

[CruiserBruce]

There is only two Family Cabanas. There are far more regular cabanas.

[TheJurea]

what I am curious about is this,

the cabanas are from 8-5pm. But surely that’s just the service is that time. Not that one cannot go sit there without service.

surely we may use the cabana during sunsets, without expecting service? Or star watching at night?

we are city people and are totally excited to watch the stars we cannot see at home.

[CruiserBruce]

Cleaning is done after 5pm. Sometimes this includes putting the furnishing away. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes there are events in the cabana area that are separate from the daytime cabana operations...we have been to a couple of cocktail parties in the cabana area, separate from the fact we had rented a cabana.

 

So yes, you may go there after 5pm, but it may, or may not be, practical for you to stay. There are other areas where you can see the stars.

[*Miss G*]

I am an early riser so I am usually there before the attendants or while they are washing the deck and setting up.  Sometimes I stay after they have left.  They don’t mind.  Especially after the first day when they’ve gotten to know you.  😊

[TheJurea]

Ah, I understand.

Thank You both.

I’ve found cruising and vacationing in general is about flexibility. 
Being willing and able to adjust to “current” conditions (cruise pun intended 😊)

[molemaui]

Are the basic two person cabanas covered for shade? Like many, I could not find many specifics about the cabanas on the website. 

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, molemaui said:

Are the basic two person cabanas covered for shade? Like many, I could not find many specifics about the cabanas on the website. 

Yes, fully covered. 

[molemaui]

Thanks! Fully worth it then.