Ocean Cay Cabanas - YC Oveanview vs Non-YC Cabana

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We are a family of 4 (41, 38, 9, and 7) and will be in Ocean Cay next month (before the renovations) and I'm trying to decide between a YC oceanview cabana versus just a regular cabana. (unfortunately the beachfront YC cabanas are already sold out)

 

From what I've read, the YC beach area is pretty rocky and I don't think with the oceanview cabanas my kids would be able to play on the beach. 

 

However, if I'm reading things correctly, it doesn't seem like the regular cabanas come with any service (but the YC ones do).

 

Can anybody offer any prospective on this that can help me make the right decision for our family?

 

Thank you!!

[TrinaLC]

I think kids would probably enjoy other beach areas more, unless they are really into bouncing around in a small slice of ocean on a small beach. (The beach part is sandy, the entry to the ocean rocky.)  I would say this even if you were able to rent a beachfront YC cabana. 

 

So if your focus is on the kids, maybe rent a “regular” cabana on the lagoon, which is a great beach/swim experience for kids. 
 

And plan to walk over to the YC area for lunch … and if you bring some Yeti type barware, for refills-to-go of your favorite adult beverages. (Or you could grab the YC tram to get to/from.)
 

There may be some cabanas that are closer to the YC area so I’d look for those. 

Edited February 11 by TrinaLC

[TrinaLC]

I’ll try to upload a map - red is the YC area, green would be great locations to rent a non-YC cabana

 

 

[Two Wheels Only]

I would book the ocean view Yacht Club cabana for the service but would walk to Bimini beach for the softer sand. Even when we've had an ocean front Yacht Club cabana, we've walked around and enjoyed Bimini beach.

Edited February 11 by Two Wheels Only

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

I’ll try to upload a map - red is the YC area, green would be great locations to rent a non-YC cabana

 

 

This is super helpful, thank you!

 

If we just got lounge chairs on the YC beach, would that be suitable for my kids or is the non-YC area still better?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, Two Wheels Only said:

I would book the ocean view Yacht Club cabana for the service but would walk to Bimini beach for the softer sand. Even when we've had an ocean front Yacht Club cabana, we've walked around and enjoyed Bimini beach.

How long of a walk is that?

[TrinaLC]

Honestly, the YC beach is just not great for swimming/kids. It is a narrow stretch, with rows of beach chairs, and a small slice of ocean cordoned off for swimming. 
 

Also, I’ve never seen a need to rent cabanas at the YC beach. There is plenty of shade (umbrellas, trees), and bar staff circulate for drinks. I’d rather eat in the restaurant than be served in a cabana. (They are not great - small, open … not luxurious like some other private islands have.)

 

You could forego a cabana completely. Park yourselves in the YC lounge chairs but then go spend a few hours by the lagoon. 

Edited February 11 by TrinaLC

[TrinaLC]

4 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

How long of a walk is that?

If you are just walking over to the lagoon to swim, not far at all - see the map. I just don’t know where cabanas are located. Might or might not be further. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

Honestly, the YC beach is just not great for swimming/kids. It is a narrow stretch, with rows of beach chairs, and a small slice of ocean cordoned off for swimming. 
 

Also, I’ve never seen a need to rent cabanas at the YC beach. There is plenty of shade (umbrellas, trees), and bar staff circulate for drinks. I’d rather eat in the restaurant than be served in a cabana. (They are not great - small, open … not luxurious like some other private islands have.)

 

You could forego a cabana completely. Park yourselves in the YC but then go spend a few hours by the lagoon. 

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

If you are just walking over to the lagoon to swim, not far at all - see the map. I just don’t know where cabanas are located. Might or might not be further. 

I looked at the map, just not sure of the scale in terms of distance.

[Two Wheels Only]

7 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

How long of a walk is that?

 

Not far.

 

The ocean view cabanas face the big rocks (the grey ring in the top left) but you can walk "down" to Bimini Beach.

 

 

[TrinaLC]

Cruisematic, if you made YC your “headquarters”. It would be about a 5-8 minute walk to the near side of the lagoon beach for family swim time. TwoWheels only, does that seem about right?

[Two Wheels Only]

4 hours ago, TrinaLC said:

Cruisematic, if you made YC your “headquarters”. It would be about a 5-8 minute walk to the near side of the lagoon beach for family swim time. TwoWheels only, does that seem about right?

 

I prefer Bimini Beach (left side of the map image) to the lagoon. On one trip, I swam across the lagoon and back and I was exhausted....seriously out of shape and a bit dehydrated. ☹️

 

At certain times, there is a bit of seaweed in the lagoon so that's another reason why I prefer Bimini. 

 

A Yacht Club guest can easily travel to either location so it's probably best to explore and see which is better for them. There are still beaches on the island that I have never set foot on. I plan to explore more on my next trip. 

[Knicks1130]

YC Cabanas are a waste.... not needed

[texangal39]

On 2/12/2024 at 12:14 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I prefer Bimini Beach (left side of the map image) to the lagoon. On one trip, I swam across the lagoon and back and I was exhausted....seriously out of shape and a bit dehydrated. ☹️

 

At certain times, there is a bit of seaweed in the lagoon so that's another reason why I prefer Bimini. 

 

A Yacht Club guest can easily travel to either location so it's probably best to explore and see which is better for them. There are still beaches on the island that I have never set foot on. I plan to explore more on my next trip. 

Since I will be Aurea on my next sailing we are considering a cabana because it will be Spring Break and more than likely very crowded as I believe our sailing is nearly sold out. Are the regular cabanas assigned or is it first come?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

9 minutes ago, texangal39 said:

Since I will be Aurea on my next sailing we are considering a cabana because it will be Spring Break and more than likely very crowded as I believe our sailing is nearly sold out. Are the regular cabanas assigned or is it first come?

They are assigned.

 

Just a heads up, every single cabana on two upcoming MSC cruises for me booked extremely fast, so if you're even thinking about it I would book one now and then cancel later if you change your mind.

[smile145]

I rented a Ocean View YC Cabana and loved it.  I had no desire to be on the YC beach for reasons others stated.  It was a very quick, 5 mins or less, walk from my Cabana to Bimini beach which was great for swimming and empty of people when I was there.  I did not attempt to go to the lagoon, wanted the open ocean.

 

The Cabana had a flag to put up to call the server for any drink service (all included as they are anywhere in YC).  The Cabana had electric outlets to charge phones, a ceiling fan, sofa and chairs, cooler which was stocked with water, bottle of champagne, glasses and various snacks (fruit plate, nuts).  We went to the YC restaurant for lunch and did not order food to the cabana.  It was very private, direct view to ocean without people in front, no chairs or any people close by.

[Two Wheels Only]

2 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

They are assigned.

 

Just a heads up, every single cabana on two upcoming MSC cruises for me booked extremely fast, so if you're even thinking about it I would book one now and then cancel later if you change your mind.

 

I agree.

On one of my sailings, all YC cabanas were sold out long before the cruise and we didn't get one. Since then, I book mine even earlier. For my World America cruise (largest YC, most YC guests), I booked my cabana over 2 years in advance.

[morpheusofthesea]

I believe you have to choose ahead of time the number you want, so your personal butler can prepare it before you get off the ship. There are 14. 1-6 are beach side of Ocean House, #6 being closest to OH and #1 furthest but with best unobstructed view of the surf. #7 is on the Oceanview side closest to OH and #14 the furthest but closer to the NON YC beach which many prefer. There are like 35? other cabanas. The problem one might encounter outside the Yacht Club area cabanas are that the reserved cabanas do not give one exclusive use of the area surrounding these cabanas. Many times other cruisers take up residence in your cabana thinking it is first come first serve and when asked to move do not speak English (all of a sudden). When forced to move out they take up residence just a few feet away and turn up the boom box for your listening pleasure. Things are not always like the picture in the brochures.

P.S. The boom box would not be tolerated on the YC section.

Edited March 8 by morpheusofthesea
ps

[texangal39]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I believe you have to choose ahead of time the number you want, so your personal butler can prepare it before you get off the ship. There are 14. 1-6 are beach side of Ocean House, #6 being closest to OH and #1 furthest but with best unobstructed view of the surf. #7 is on the Oceanview side closest to OH and #14 the furthest but closer to the NON YC beach which many prefer. There are like 35? other cabanas. The problem one might encounter outside the Yacht Club area cabanas are that the reserved cabanas do not give one exclusive use of the area surrounding these cabanas. Many times other cruisers take up residence in your cabana thinking it is first come first serve and when asked to move do not speak English (all of a sudden). When forced to move out they take up residence just a few feet away and turn up the boom box for your listening pleasure. Things are not always like the picture in the brochures.

P.S. The boom box would not be tolerated on the YC section.

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and booked the cabana for my upcoming sailing. Looking forward to it. Hope I don’t have to evict anyone but it’s a good thing I’m not shy or afraid to be firm but polite. Plus I have serious RBF which is helpful in confrontational situations. It would be nice if MSC added chalkboard name plates to the front/side of the cabana so that it is clear they are reserved for someone. This would make it easy to identify your cabana and most people wouldn’t park themselves in a reserved cabana with a sign containing someone’s name.

Edited March 8 by texangal39

[GPPhilly]

You do not get to pick your cabana number.  You can request it from the concierge but they assign them at their discretion. 

 

 

[Two Wheels Only]

45 minutes ago, texangal39 said:

It would be nice if MSC added chalkboard name plates to the front/side of the cabana so that it is clear they are reserved for someone.

 

 

 

I wouldn't want my name on the cabana but there is a sign that shows that the cabana is reserved.

 

I've seen the sign for cabanas that were in the Yacht Club area as well as and outside of the Yacht Club area. 

[GPPhilly]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:57 AM, Knicks1130 said:

YC Cabanas are a waste.... not needed

I disagree with this statement.  While they are quite pricey, we very much enjoy the cabanas.  We need the shade and it provides better shade then the umbrellas.  We enjoyed eating our lunch in the cabana.  

[texangal39]

46 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

 

I wouldn't want my name on the cabana but there is a sign that shows that the cabana is reserved.

 

I've seen the sign for cabanas that were in the Yacht Club area as well as and outside of the Yacht Club area. 

Well, there goes my theory that maybe people were unaware and taking up cabanas that weren’t theirs because of a lack of signage 🤣

[texangal39]

50 minutes ago, GPPhilly said:

I disagree with this statement.  While they are quite pricey, we very much enjoy the cabanas.  We need the shade and it provides better shade then the umbrellas.  We enjoyed eating our lunch in the cabana.  

I agree that this is based upon individual preferences. I prefer more shade than the umbrellas can provide as a woman of a certain maturity🥵 I also noticed they are now selling the use of an umbrella for my cruise 😳

Edited March 8 by texangal39