Cocoa Cay Overwater Cabanas

[Hutchinj]

Going to book a Cocoa Cay Overwater Cabana for an upcoming cruise in 2023. Even though the price right now is outrageous at $1799, my hope is we'll be able to take advantage of a future sale price if I keep checking the Cruise Planner site. Sales often occur around holidays so I'll be particularly vigilant then.

 

We will have 8 or 9 people sharing the cost so that will help ease the pain of this bucket list item. Hey, ya only live once, right?

 

But when do you find out what Cabana # has been reserved for you? At the time of booking? Sometime before your cruise? On your sail date? Is it possible to request a specific cabana #? I ask because there are some overwater cabanas that are much less desirable than others. See the cocoa key map, below. Looks like units #4, 7, 14, and 17 are stuck behind the other cabanas while units #5, 6, 15, and 16 are furthest out with better views.

 

Want to make sure we get the best bang for our (considerable) buck!

[BecciBoo]

We did the beach club day pass and we were invited onto one of the floating cabanas, this was the view and it wasn't an end one.  I don't think any of them have bad locations at all.  If we could get peeps together to rent one we would...nobody's been interested so far.

[Hutchinj]

Looks great BecciBoo. I'm sure any overwater cabana would be fun but there's little doubt that #'s 4, 7, 14 and 17 have a less satisfactory view with other cabanas in front of you.

 

But I'm going to go ahead and reserve one and hope for the best cabana # and a future sale price, all contingent on sharing the cost with 3 other couples, of course. 😉

[BecciBoo]

But those face out toward the water like a fan sort of, they really aren't bad...if I were reserving I'd pick the end ones too, but just saying they all looked really nice and our friends were enjoying theirs immensely.

 

We loved just the day pass but we got them for just $58.99 pp, now we aren't even doing them again on our next 2 cruises.  The pool is fantastic and the lobster sandwich is great but for triple the price...not!  We're just going to stake out a spot at the big pool and brave the swim up bar crowds.

Edited July 18, 2022 by BecciBoo

[Hutchinj]

2 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

But those face out toward the water like a fan sort of, they really aren't bad...if I were reserving I'd pick the end ones too, but just saying they all looked really nice and our friends were enjoying theirs immensely.

I'm sure you're probably right. I'm just being picky. It's almost $2K after taxes, after all.

 

There is no way to reserve a specific cabana unfortunately, and won't know which one we've been assigned until we sail and then it's too late to cancel for a refund if we don't like the location.

[BecciBoo]

This has a good view of them at :45

Edited July 18, 2022 by BecciBoo

[theLCC1]

Hi,

 

We just had an OTW Cabana and it was a great experience. To answer your question..

 

We had a Jr. Suite and did not have concierge access but I would imagine if you are in a suite your concierge can handle the logistics for you so these answers apply to a non-suite:

 

1. You find out what cabana you have when you get on board.

2. We went directly to the excursion desk when we got on board and asked for a specific cabana. They moved us without issue. We were one of the first to board and were lucky in that the cabanas were not sold out.

3. All cabana locations are good but some are great - I was particular about the cabana I wanted and was glad to make the change.

 

Good luck and enjoy your day. It was a great experience and I would do it again! Let me know if I can answer any other questions!

 

[BecciBoo]

Another good one:

 

[Hutchinj]

16 minutes ago, theLCC1 said:

1. You find out what cabana you have when you get on board.

2. We went directly to the excursion desk when we got on board and asked for a specific cabana. They moved us without issue. We were one of the first to board and were lucky in that the cabanas were not sold out.

3. All cabana locations are good but some are great - I was particular about the cabana I wanted and was glad to make the change.

Thanks so much. This is quite helpful. We're not suite guests this time but will definitely hit up the excursion desk ASAP if we don't like our cabana assignment. Nice to know it's possible, anyway.

 

Just curious... which overwater cabana did you end up with?

[OCSC Mike]

$1799 is actually a very low price for these. They can get to $3499 when only a few are left close to sailing during peak season.

 

We had one for our extended family of 8 in late May & the experience was absolutely amazing! Enjoy!

[Hutchinj]

4 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

$1799 is actually a very low price for these. They can get to $3499 when only a few are left close to sailing during peak season.

 

We had one for our extended family of 8 in late May & the experience was absolutely amazing! Enjoy!

Thanks much, Mike. Glad you enjoyed it. Makes me hopeful it will be worth it.

 

It's still pricey for me but I booked it anyway and will cross my fingers in hopes for a SALE before we SAIL. 🙂

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, Hutchinj said:

Thanks much, Mike. Glad you enjoyed it. Makes me hopeful it will be worth it.

 

It's still pricey for me but I booked it anyway and will cross my fingers in hopes for a SALE before we SAIL. 🙂

It would be pricey for me too, but finances & value are always relative. That said, when you consider it’s for 8 people, it’s not as expensive as it may first appear. I’ve seen random $199pp excursions on different islands that couldn’t possibly compare.

 

Our attendant was the best. He brought tons of food and drinks, sometimes before we even had to ask. When we ran out of bottled water he showed up with a whole case. He even went to get the snack shack food in addition to the Beach Club filet & lobster b/c we mentioned how much we liked the chicken sandwiches & funnel cake on our last Cococay visit.

 

If you find an even lower price, great! If not, and I know it’s just one man’s opinion based on one trip, you should be looking forward to it regardless.

[rockmom]

2 hours ago, Hutchinj said:

Going to book a Cocoa Cay Overwater Cabana for an upcoming cruise in 2023. Even though the price right now is outrageous at $1799, my hope is we'll be able to take advantage of a future sale price if I keep checking the Cruise Planner site. Sales often occur around holidays so I'll be particularly vigilant then.

 

We will have 8 or 9 people sharing the cost so that will help ease the pain of this bucket list item. 

 

 

 

Check to see the max allowed, I think it might be 8 people.  

[rebeccac]

We're only sailing as a couple, so the cabanas were completely out of the question for us price-wise, but just out of curiosity, if you book a cabana, they sell out (which all cabanas are gone for our December cruise) and then find a lower price, are you guaranteed to get the new price or is it possible that other people have since gotten on a wait list and you could loose your cabana all together once you cancel your original booking?

[OCSC Mike]

52 minutes ago, rockmom said:

Check to see the max allowed, I think it might be 8 people.  

That is my understanding. Good catch.

[theLCC1]

We wanted #16 and it was perfect!  #11 would be one of my choices as well. 

[theLCC1]

10 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

That is my understanding. Good catch.

They will allow an additional (or two if I remember correctly) for a fee of $50 per person. 

[BirdTravels]

#18

[WrecklessProductions]

5 hours ago, rebeccac said:

We're only sailing as a couple, so the cabanas were completely out of the question for us price-wise, but just out of curiosity, if you book a cabana, they sell out (which all cabanas are gone for our December cruise) and then find a lower price, are you guaranteed to get the new price or is it possible that other people have since gotten on a wait list and you could loose your cabana all together once you cancel your original booking?

We are also traveling there in December and considering booking one. Ultimately,I’d be happy with going out there for an hour or 2 opposed to having it the entire 8 hours. But I understand they aren’t able to accommodate that. So I too plan to closely watch the prices to see if they drop at all. And I also figured the day of,there may be some last minute deals. I’d sure hope so at least.

[WrecklessProductions]

8 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

We did the beach club day pass and we were invited onto one of the floating cabanas, this was the view and it wasn't an end one.  I don't think any of them have bad locations at all.  If we could get peeps together to rent one we would...nobody's been interested so far.

How did that work for you guys,the getting invited in? Was there like a access gate to check everyone in,or could you come out there on your own?

[OCSC Mike]

13 hours ago, theLCC1 said:

They will allow an additional (or two if I remember correctly) for a fee of $50 per person. 

That makes it even more cost effective if true & you can certainly fit another 1-2 people. 👍

[not-enough-cruising]

21 hours ago, Hutchinj said:

Looks great BecciBoo. I'm sure any overwater cabana would be fun but there's little doubt that #'s 4, 7, 14 and 17 have a less satisfactory view with other cabanas in front of you.

 

But I'm going to go ahead and reserve one and hope for the best cabana # and a future sale price, all contingent on sharing the cost with 3 other couples, of course. 😉

We were in OTW Cabana 4 yesterday. ALL the Cabanas have an unobstructed view out into the ocean, there are none that have their view obstructed by any other cabana. 

[Hutchinj]

24 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

We were in OTW Cabana 4 yesterday. ALL the Cabanas have an unobstructed view out into the ocean, there are none that have their view obstructed by any other cabana. 

Great to know. Thanks much!

 

I'll keep checking the Cruise Planner site and if the Cabanas ever go on sale, I will attempt to book another one in my wife's name and if successful only then will I cancel the existing one. We shall see!

[BecciBoo]

14 hours ago, WrecklessProductions said:

How did that work for you guys,the getting invited in? Was there like a access gate to check everyone in,or could you come out there on your own?

Guy and podium at entrance, checks your rez and issues a bracelet, takes your lunch time preference and in you go.  My advice, be the first off the ship and you can easily snatch the white umbrellas/loungers at the bar.  I  rode the shuttle from right at the gangway over there and got 2 of them.

[theLCC1]

On 7/18/2022 at 5:37 PM, WrecklessProductions said:

How did that work for you guys,the getting invited in? Was there like a access gate to check everyone in,or could you come out there on your own?

We informally 'added' one additional person to our cabana and she just joined us from the Beach Club whenever she wanted (meaning we told the cabana attendant we may have 9 instead of 8). We did not need a wrist band to get back to the cabanas and there was no formal check. We also had friends swim over from the beach club just to say hi and hang out with us for a little while. It was much more relaxed than I thought it would be and we never had to provide a list of names of who would be using the cabana --- in fact they allowed a friend of ours to go onto the cabana before I even checked in, he just told them my last name, which worked out well.