Cabanas (Again!) but this time the nitty-gritty day-to-day details for inquiring minds

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Think that is the Oosterdam which got some cabana damage and it hasn't yet been fixed.

No this was years ago.  I’m pretty sure I was talking to someone before the pandemic that said they were sailing on the noordam and they were sad that they wouldn’t have the opportunity for a cabana.

[CruiserBruce]

14 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

No this was years ago.  I’m pretty sure I was talking to someone before the pandemic that said they were sailing on the noordam and they were sad that they wouldn’t have the opportunity for a cabana.

The "years ago" Noordam issue was damage from a very windy storm in Alaska. AFAIK, that was repaired and cabanas are available on Noordam. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

The "years ago" Noordam issue was damage from a very windy storm in Alaska. AFAIK, that was repaired and cabanas are available on Noordam. 

I have a friend on a very long cruise on the noordam but she doesn’t have internet and the cruise isn’t over until may.  I will send her an email.

[POA1]

I'll try to answer this better when I'm at my computer. It's a little complicated for the phone keyboard. We just booked a cabana this morning for our cruise in December. We've had a retreat cabana on every sailing we've been on since 2014 and definitely think they're worth it.

 

Be sure to have the diagram for your ship when you book. You'll be picking a cabana when you reserve it. Try to have your top 3 or 4 choices ready.

 

More to follow...

 

 

 

[HUNKY]

POA1 - Can you now book the cabanas online like a shore excursion?

 

If not, how did you book it?

[CruiserBruce]

43 minutes ago, HUNKY said:

POA1 - Can you now book the cabanas online like a shore excursion?

 

If not, how did you book it?

Call ship's services. Not booked like an excursion. 

[Reagan0712]

We booked a Family Cabana for the sea portion of our Land/Sea in Alaska last year. It was wonderful! Aside from an initial hiccup where the people who had the starboard cabana tried to get our port side cabana the first day everything else was perfect. Our guy, Gus, was very attentive and checked in constantly to see what we needed. Mid morning he’d bring up the Lido menu for us to make lunch selections. Every afternoon at 2 he brought us chocolate covered strawberries. One day it was rainy and we decamped to the Crow’s Nest and he found us there with the strawberries. It is definitely something I’d do again if I was traveling with a group, there were six of us. What was really nice was that we didn’t have to fight the crowds along the rails.

[kopykat]

My only experience with a cabana was this March on the Rotterdam. Our stewards were fantastic. I’d be up there at 5:45 am and hot coffee would appear by 6. Mimosas were offered every morning and sparkling wine in the afternoon along with the strawberries and frozen grapes. The stewards would get us anything we wanted for breakfast and lunch. We would check the navigator app for the lido lunch selections so often did not order off the preprinted menus. The stewards also took our drink orders and made sure they were made the way specified. My sister even commented it that it was better than being in a Neptune as far as the service went. I’ve booked one for my next 3 cruises. If you’d like more info feel free to email me at bakopel at umich dot edu

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I really hope a lot of people are not going to be showing up hours before the cabanas open.  These guys work so hard already.  Please don’t keep adding to the workload or if you do I really hope you tip them a lot and by that I mean at a very minimum $100 plus for a 7 day cruise.

[Shalandara]

On 4/25/2023 at 8:45 PM, POA1 said:

I'll try to answer this better when I'm at my computer. It's a little complicated for the phone keyboard. We just booked a cabana this morning for our cruise in December. We've had a retreat cabana on every sailing we've been on since 2014 and definitely think they're worth it.

 

Be sure to have the diagram for your ship when you book. You'll be picking a cabana when you reserve it. Try to have your top 3 or 4 choices ready.

 

More to follow...

 

 

 

@POA1 -- love the cruisin' bear!

[kopykat]

On 4/26/2023 at 8:51 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I really hope a lot of people are not going to be showing up hours before the cabanas open.  These guys work so hard already.  Please don’t keep adding to the workload or if you do I really hope you tip them a lot and by that I mean at a very minimum $100 plus for a 7 day cruise.

We did $10/day and then an extra $60 at the for a 11 day cruise 

[POA1]

OK... I've finally finished solving the world's problems and had time to answer your queries. Your original post is in an attractive bluish color. I answer Back In Black (just like the easy listening song from 1980.)

 

So, you've booked a Retreat and/or Lido cabana.  Then what?  For that first time (until they learn you) how do the staff know that you are allowed to be there?

 

The cabana attendants has a manifest listing which passengers are assigned to which cabana.

 

Do you go up on just after embarking and introduce yourselves?  (Sidebar -- does the reservation rental even cover embarkation day?)

 

They'll greet you when you arrive. The reservation starts as soon as you can get to CabanaLand.

 

Some of the retreat areas look more sectioned off than others -- so is there a special way to access them (as in key card?).

 

Some (I think all the non-Pinnacle ships) look like they have stair access from open deck below in addition to the same level access.  Is this true or is that for staff movement only?  (I'm wondering about ease of access from the retreat cabanas to the either of the Lido pools (inside or outside).  

 

Typically, you can get to the Retreat Area by a doorway from inside the ship or by the exterior stairs you referenced. On some ships, you take an elevator up to the cabana level from the deck that has the Crow's Nest to the deck where the cabanas are.  (I believe this is on the Vista Class ships with cabanas only.)

 

There is signage indicating that it's a private area. You may have the occasional person pass through, but they'll be asked to leave if they loiter. If they return, they're thrown into the brig and flogged.*

 

I hear/read people saying they have breakfast and lunch there.  Do you (can you) get food from Lido/Dive-In/Pizza and bring it up?  If you do (because you have *very* particular wants/desires or just cannot make up your mind until you see the food in person at the Lido because you are very indecisive) do you get a pained look from the attendants because you bypassed them?  

 

There's a breakfast menu for the cabanas. It's very similar to the room service menu. 

 

There's a daily lunch menu from the Lido. You can also order from the Dive-In or NY Pizza.

 

You simply tells "your guys" what you want and when you'd like it delivered. Bear in mind that things like pizza will be traveling from the aft of the ship up to the front where the cabanas are located. They'll also come up a deck or two. (This is my way of letting you know that your pizza might not be piping hot. The Dive-In food travels better.

 

If you want to go to the Lido - say... because you want to make your own salad. - the cabana stewards won't mind. We usually just tell them that we're eating elsewhere that day. (Don't want them to worry!)

 

If you do go the route of having them bring food and/or drinks, what can you get and from where?

 

See above regarding food.  You can also get snacks from the Explorations Cafe. You'll need to check out the selection on your way to the cabana.

 

 And how?  Similar to ordering at a restaurant?  Standing "orders" possible?  "Timed" order, as in we are going to be there at 1 but place the lunch order earlier? How long does it take to get things (I realize that complex orders/wants might impact that as well as number of people asking for something all at the same time).

 

I'm not sure how to answer this or what, exactly, you're asking.  If you are a super-duper, cabana-planna who operates with military precision, you probably *could* place a standing order for a Bloody Mary at 10:00 AM daily. However, it would be up to you to be there at 10:00 AM daily which seems kinda non-vacationy to me. 

 

Cabanas only accommodate 2 or 4 guests. However, there are usually only 2 cabana stewards, so not everyone can have everything simultaneously.

 

More than anything I'd love to know if you can get the afternoon tea service as they do in the MDR but at your cabana.  Seriously.

 

Doubtful. Tea service has trolleys of lil' cakes and oh-so-tiny sandwiches. If tea is your bag, (Ha! I crack myself up.) go to the MDR for tea. On the other hand, if you want hot or iced tea, that's completely do-able.

 

Speaking of attendants, is it the same staff everyday or does it rotate?

 

Same attendants, but there's usually a fill-in person to cover breaks. If you are on a multi-segment sailing, you might have a person swap out on turnaround day.

 

Do you really get 20% offers on spa services?  There are several things listed on the fact sheet as amenities but other forum threads seem to indicate they haven't really been available post-pandemic.  The one my husband really wants to know about is the frozen grapes -- he could care less about chocolate covered strawberries but offer him frozen grapes and he is beyond heaven.

 

Yes, to the spa services discount. You used to be able to arrange for massages up in the Retreat area, but we last sailed in 2018, so someone else may have more recent information.

 

WRT the frozen-fruit-of-the-day: It varies. If your husband really has his heart set on frozen grapes (on a stick!) he can probably put in a standing request.

 

Poohby Joe, enjoying a glass of bubbly and frozen grapes.

While I'd never leave anything truly worth anything lying out and about anywhere outside our cabin, can you leave things in your cabana for a short time?  So, bring up the bag with the daily reading/entertainment but leave it there if you pop down to the spa for an hour or such?  And yes, I realize that they close up the cabanas each day so I'm not talking about leaving things overnight or for the whole trip.  For this question it is really about the retreat cabanas as the lido ones definitely do not look secure.

 

We've never had anything go missing in 38 CabanaDays, so I feel pretty confident. We've left our stuff in the cabana if we popped out for a bit. If we are going to be gone for any period of time, we simply drop our belongings in our stateroom. We're usually midship, so we're never far from home.

 

Lastly... If you really want to make the most of your cabana experience, couple it with a beverage package. The Crow's Nest Bar and The Explorations Cafe are located nearby and you can order alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and coffee drinks to your cabana. Also alcoholic coffee drinks are a fine way to start your day.

 

When choosing your cabana, bear in mind that the non-Pinnacle ships' cabanas that overlook the Lido Pool get some pretty good airflow. The port & starboard ones have a view but less airflow. On the Pinnacle class ships, there's a plexiglass divider that dampens the airflow to the center cabanas. We prefer the the ones overlooking the pool unless we're on the Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, or Koningsdam. For example, we're in a starboard cabana in December on the NS.

Thanks in advance!

 

You're welcome, waaaay in arrears.

 

*-Not really, but it would be cool.

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by POA1

[Shalandara]

Wow, POA1! 

 

That's an amazing array of answers. I think you covered all the bases and then some!  (And I love your visuals!)  It just makes me even more looking forward to my cruise.

 

[Copper10-8]

For a second, definitely short of a minute, I thought this thread was about the nitty gritty/day-to-day details of cannabis on HAL, but then I came to my senses................👮‍♂️

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

For a second, definitely short of a minute, I thought this thread was about the nitty gritty/day-to-day details of cannabis on HAL, but then I came to my senses................👮‍♂️

Would there be ways to check for people bringing pot onboard?  Someone on my last cruise said there was people smoking weed in the cabanas after hours.  I find it hard to believe you could get it on the ship but I'm not about to test that 😉.

[BermudaBound2014]

@POA1 this post wins the internet 🤣🤙😂

[Copper10-8]

1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Would there be ways to check for people bringing pot onboard?  Someone on my last cruise said there was people smoking weed in the cabanas after hours.  I find it hard to believe you could get it on the ship but I'm not about to test that 😉.

 

The only fer sure way to located Mary Jane is through the use of dope detection dogs at the screening process!

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

OK... I've finally finished solving the world's problems and had time to answer your queries. Your original post is in an attractive bluish color. I answer Back In Black (just like the easy listening song from 1980.)

 

So, you've booked a Retreat and/or Lido cabana.  Then what?  For that first time (until they learn you) how do the staff know that you are allowed to be there?

 

The cabana attendants has a manifest listing which passengers are assigned to which cabana.

 

Do you go up on just after embarking and introduce yourselves?  (Sidebar -- does the reservation rental even cover embarkation day?)

 

They'll greet you when you arrive. The reservation starts as soon as you can get to CabanaLand.

 

Some of the retreat areas look more sectioned off than others -- so is there a special way to access them (as in key card?).

 

Some (I think all the non-Pinnacle ships) look like they have stair access from open deck below in addition to the same level access.  Is this true or is that for staff movement only?  (I'm wondering about ease of access from the retreat cabanas to the either of the Lido pools (inside or outside).  

 

Typically, you can get to the Retreat Area by a doorway from inside the ship or by the exterior stairs you referenced. On some ships, you take an elevator up to the cabana level from the deck that has the Crow's Nest to the deck where the cabanas are.  (I believe this is on the Vista Class ships with cabanas only.)

 

There is signage indicating that it's a private area. You may have the occasional person pass through, but they'll be asked to leave if they loiter. If they return, they're thrown into the brig and flogged.*

 

I hear/read people saying they have breakfast and lunch there.  Do you (can you) get food from Lido/Dive-In/Pizza and bring it up?  If you do (because you have *very* particular wants/desires or just cannot make up your mind until you see the food in person at the Lido because you are very indecisive) do you get a pained look from the attendants because you bypassed them?  

 

There's a breakfast menu for the cabanas. It's very similar to the room service menu. 

 

There's a daily lunch menu from the Lido. You can also order from the Dive-In or NY Pizza.

 

You simply tells "your guys" what you want and when you'd like it delivered. Bear in mind that things like pizza will be traveling from the aft of the ship up to the front where the cabanas are located. They'll also come up a deck or two. (This is my way of letting you know that your pizza might not be piping hot. The Dive-In food travels better.

 

If you want to go to the Lido - say... because you want to make your own salad. - the cabana stewards won't mind. We usually just tell them that we're eating elsewhere that day. (Don't want them to worry!)

 

If you do go the route of having them bring food and/or drinks, what can you get and from where?

 

See above regarding food.  You can also get snacks from the Explorations Cafe. You'll need to check out the selection on your way to the cabana.

 

 And how?  Similar to ordering at a restaurant?  Standing "orders" possible?  "Timed" order, as in we are going to be there at 1 but place the lunch order earlier? How long does it take to get things (I realize that complex orders/wants might impact that as well as number of people asking for something all at the same time).

 

I'm not sure how to answer this or what, exactly, you're asking.  If you are a super-duper, cabana-planna who operates with military precision, you probably *could* place a standing order for a Bloody Mary at 10:00 AM daily. However, it would be up to you to be there at 10:00 AM daily which seems kinda non-vacationy to me. 

 

Cabanas only accommodate 2 or 4 guests. However, there are usually only 2 cabana stewards, so not everyone can have everything simultaneously.

 

More than anything I'd love to know if you can get the afternoon tea service as they do in the MDR but at your cabana.  Seriously.

 

Doubtful. Tea service has trolleys of lil' cakes and oh-so-tiny sandwiches. If tea is your bag, (Ha! I crack myself up.) go to the MDR for tea. On the other hand, if you want hot or iced tea, that's completely do-able.

 

Speaking of attendants, is it the same staff everyday or does it rotate?

 

Same attendants, but there's usually a fill-in person to cover breaks. If you are on a multi-segment sailing, you might have a person swap out on turnaround day.

 

Do you really get 20% offers on spa services?  There are several things listed on the fact sheet as amenities but other forum threads seem to indicate they haven't really been available post-pandemic.  The one my husband really wants to know about is the frozen grapes -- he could care less about chocolate covered strawberries but offer him frozen grapes and he is beyond heaven.

 

Yes, to the spa services discount. You used to be able to arrange for massages up in the Retreat area, but we last sailed in 2018, so someone else may have more recent information.

 

WRT the frozen-fruit-of-the-day: It varies. If your husband really has his heart set on frozen grapes (on a stick!) he can probably put in a standing request.

 

Poohby Joe, enjoying a glass of bubbly and frozen grapes.

While I'd never leave anything truly worth anything lying out and about anywhere outside our cabin, can you leave things in your cabana for a short time?  So, bring up the bag with the daily reading/entertainment but leave it there if you pop down to the spa for an hour or such?  And yes, I realize that they close up the cabanas each day so I'm not talking about leaving things overnight or for the whole trip.  For this question it is really about the retreat cabanas as the lido ones definitely do not look secure.

 

We've never had anything go missing in 38 CabanaDays, so I feel pretty confident. We've left our stuff in the cabana if we popped out for a bit. If we are going to be gone for any period of time, we simply drop our belongings in our stateroom. We're usually midship, so we're never far from home.

 

Lastly... If you really want to make the most of your cabana experience, couple it with a beverage package. The Crow's Nest Bar and The Explorations Cafe are located nearby and you can order alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and coffee drinks to your cabana. Also alcoholic coffee drinks are a fine way to start your day.

 

When choosing your cabana, bear in mind that the non-Pinnacle ships' cabanas that overlook the Lido Pool get some pretty good airflow. The port & starboard ones have a view but less airflow. On the Pinnacle class ships, there's a plexiglass divider that dampens the airflow to the center cabanas. We prefer the the ones overlooking the pool unless we're on the Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, or Koningsdam. For example, we're in a starboard cabana in December on the NS.

Thanks in advance!

 

You're welcome, waaaay in arrears.

 

*-Not really, but it would be cool.

 

 

 

 

You're still my hero Brian!  😉

[Florida_gal_50]

Just now, Copper10-8 said:

 

The only fer sure way to located Mary Jane is through the use of dope detection dogs at the screening process!

I'd sure hate to try that but I'm a rule follower. I guess these people were smoking then eating a ton of food and leaving a huge mess for the stewards the next day after they left it clean the night before.  Thanks for the answer.

[BermudaBound2014]

4 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Would there be ways to check for people bringing pot onboard?  Someone on my last cruise said there was people smoking weed in the cabanas after hours.  I find it hard to believe you could get it on the ship but I'm not about to test that 😉.

There are people smoking weed on every cruise I’ve been on the last 10 years. Across all lines. It’s illegal of course 🤣😂.

 

The practice became so prevalent on Carnival that they introduced dogs. Not sure if the dogs are trained to sniff weed or something much more dangerous. 

[POA1]

4 hours ago, Shalandara said:

Wow, POA1! 

 

That's an amazing array of answers. I think you covered all the bases and then some!  (And I love your visuals!)  It just makes me even more looking forward to my cruise.

 

As always, happy to help! The lovely Mrs. POA1, @Huskerchick loves the retreat cabanas. The cabana hotline is our first call after we receive our booking confirmation. I love that you can pick a cabana when you book now. In days of yore they were assigned right before boarding. (You could request your top 3 choices, but you had to email the ship's coordinator. He or she, in turn, sent your request to the ship. The ship got back to the coordinator who wrote to you with confirmation.) The new process is far better.

Edited April 29, 2023 by POA1

[Florida_gal_50]

On 4/25/2023 at 5:28 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I have a friend on a very long cruise on the noordam but she doesn’t have internet and the cruise isn’t over until may.  I will send her an email.

My friend has returned from the noordam.  She was on a long cruise probably at least 6 weeks.  There was nothing resembling cabanas on the ship.

[Shalandara]

So, weeks after my trip I am finally getting around to commenting/updating this thread.  Mostly so that anyone searching the forums gets answers/information.

The retreat was amazing.  We had it for the full 14 day cruise -- there were only 4 of us booked for the entirety.  Yes, it was windy on the first few days.  But since we missed ports early on (and also had all the sea days for the later half) the cost (admittedly lower then) was worth it.  The attendants were amazing (we had Ross, Michael, and Alexi).  Just having a place to always know I could go and have a seat was worth it.  If I was grabbing lunch from Lido or the Taco Bar (I do it as a salad actually) I would just carry the plate up to the Retreat since I knew there was a table, and utensils, and drinks available.  We are light on the "needy" side, and not much into drinking.  So after the first few days they learned not to offer us the bubbly (but always reminded us that we did pay for it as the package).  They learned that hubby liked the frozen grapes (but alas they were seeded) and I liked the frozen strawberries.  Hubby tended not to eat lunch up there (he's a picky eater and needed to see what the food was before getting it) -- I loved putting in lunch orders and having it delivered. 

One time hubs had gone down to the cabin to get a new book, and on the way back got a smoothie from a bar on the way back.  The crushed look on the attendant faces when they told him they could have gotten the drink for him was comical.  But I made up for hubby's lack of proper use of them with my requests.  Although they seriously questioned the fact that I rarely ordered dessert with lunch.  But even my specified "only these things in a salad" happened.

I did get almost a tea service up there.  I asked for the plate of goodies from the tea from the Dining room but not the tea.  And it happened!  Granted just the sweet treats and not the savory ones (I did not complain at all at that).  And the next day they surprised me by getting it without me asking!

After we hit the full sea portion of the trip a few more people started booking by the day, and it did get slightly harder to get attention at times -- but only slightly.  They had come to learn our schedule and likes and dislikes by that point and had refills on our bottled water and my lemonade addition.  But I have to say I felt oddly special in that we were always called by name but the newcomers were just addressed as "sir/madam".

 

Before the TA we had already booked the retreat for our next trip (Rotterdam in Feb 2025) betting on it being a good thing.  After having experienced the Retreat we are glad we booked before the price went up.  It fits our needs and personalities just fine.  A not-crowded place, dedicated seats, ease of getting things, a good enhancement to vacation. Yes the weather can play havoc with it a bit.  Windy at times.  Slightly too hot on certain days (we were forced onto a more southerly route for the TA which actually proved to be quite nice).

A big thank you to @POA1 for going so in depth and sharing the ins and outs of cabana life.

[WriterOnDeck]

Thanks for coming back with you experience!

 

I'm on a 12-day holiday cruise on the Zuiderdam now and we are really enjoying our cabana. The area usually is not crowded so we get lots of attention. As it is a holiday cruise, I knew it would be full and with lots of kids. It is nice to know we have a quiet place to go.

[Petronillus]

On 4/29/2023 at 2:30 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

There are people smoking weed on every cruise I’ve been on the last 10 years. Across all lines. It’s illegal of course 🤣😂.

With all the hullabaloo about smoking, this comment surprises me. How surreptitious can you be when exposed on the starboard side of the aft pool on the Lido deck? As for using in your cabana, wouldn't the staff be all over you in an instant for violating the no-smoking restrictions, whether tobacco or cannabis?