cabanas?

[hlb76]

I was looking at Carnivals web site and they say they offer cabanas for $99 near the cruise center. Anyone have any experience with this? Thought they sounded nice and the price was nice as well. We are trying to decide what to do while there.

[fitters]

We were just in Grand Turk last week and I did not see any cabanas......maybe I missed them?

[twinkletoes4445]

Here's Ziggy's photos from HMC. I believe there are 12 or so cabanas (we were in the turquoise one) and they stretch along the length of the beach. We paid $219 for the cabana (which is for up to four people) and we reserved it 9 months or so in advance. We also added on the butler package, but I think that you can only do that on HAL.

 

From what I've read in the past, the cabana is about the same price on Carnival. Unless they've changed, and they may have, you have to book the cabana once you're on your Carnival ship. The other Carnival cruisers have posted that they made a beeline to the excursion desk as soon as it opened (the day they got on the ship). The price was the same as we paid ($219) or possibly a little less. I'm not sure what the $99 cabana would be. I've not heard anyone mention that price before.

 

 

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=ziggy+hmc&start=0

[Zeta3]

We are heading to Grand Turk on our cruise, I was interested in the poolside cabanas too but I haven't seen any information about them on HAL. I will see what I can find out when we get ther ein a couple of weeks.

[NCTribeFan]

HMC has the cabanas. I haven't seen them in Grand Turk, though.

 

You can also rent clamshells at HMC, which is sufficient in the winter. The cabanas are pricey unless you have several people to share. MHO, of course.

[Zeta3]

Grand Turk has cabanas by the pool.

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?portcode=GDT&excursionname=Poolside+Cabana+Rental&excursioncode=440025

[twinkletoes4445]

Whoops...I was having a "senior" moment. I thought the question was concerning the cabanas at HMC. Sorry! :)

 

The cabanas at GT look very nice. :)

[mntravler]

We are also looking at these for our Feb cruise.

[NCTribeFan]

Ah. I thought they would be on the beach, like they are at HMC. I avoid places like Margaritaville, so I wouldn't have seen them by the pool there. Sorry!

 

There is quite a lot of shade on the beach and the chairs there are free, but if Margaritaville and it's pool is a must, then $99 for 4 isn't that bad, I guess.

 

If you haven't been there, be aware that the food and drink prices are VERY high. I think we paid close to $30 plus tip for 2 margaritas and a plate of not-very-good nachos, and terrible service. Drinks were stong, though!

[Zeta3]

Just back from our cruise. The cabanas in Grand Turk are indeed set up around the pool at Margaritaville. The rate was $99 for the day. We did not rent one because we were there in the morning and we were the only ship in port so there was no crowd at all and really nothing going on at the Margaritaville pool. The weather was also very nice so we spent our time at the beach and had no problem getting multiple clamshells togther. If there was a large crowd at Grand Turk it might be nice to have one of the cabanas to relax in particularly when the weather is a bit hotter. Otherwise I don't think it is really worth it.

[wdblake]

My stepson booked a cabana through our Holland America ship for $99. They are poolside but the pool is very close to the beach. The cabana contained a table with 4 chairs, a ceiling fan, a metal tub on a stand in case you wanted you ice up some beers, a small table with silverware in case you order food from margaritaville. There is also a pager button you can press to get waiter service from margaritaville. There is an outdoor shower as well. There is a front porch with a few loungers. We thought it was worth it because we had 10 in our group and it gave us a place to cool down when we wanted to. I guess it all denpends on your group size vs value. Margaritaville is a little pricey ($10 hamburgers and about $8 a frozen drink) but hey it's vacation. The Grank Turk cruise center is awesome and one of the cleanest places we have seen. They also had some of the best liquor prices of our entire cruise. Be sure to look for sponge coral and brain coral along the beach!