Floating Cabana at Coco Beach Club Review

[Violet]

We just got to try out the brand new floating cabanas at the CocoCay Beach Club!  I know there have been a lot of questions about them, so I'm posting a review and I hope it's helpful. 

We were at CocoCay on Sunday, February 9th 2020.  Sadly, we had terrible weather for our stay on CocoCay.  It was very windy all day - 20-30 mph sustained winds with gusts even higher.  One of our cabana attendants told us that they had cancelled ships on two other days just the past week for similar weather.  We had a little sunshine in the morning, but it quickly clouded over and felt a bit chilly all day with the high winds (and we are from Colorado - not Florida - if that helps lends some credibility to my claim that it was chilly  )   Of course, Royal Caribbean cannot control the weather so it was certainly no one's fault.  It just greatly impacted our ability to enjoy the cabana.  

First, these are definitely FLOATING cabanas.  When the water is moving, they are bobbing up and down.  In the morning when the tide was up, they were rocking around a lot.  It felt like being on a boat.  For someone who is easily sea sick, this could be a problem.  In the afternoon as the tide went out, the rocking calmed down considerably (even though the wind did not).  Also, the floating cabanas are very large!  You could easily have the 8 person max on them and not feel cramped.  They are like little apartments.  There are multiple seating areas, 4 loungers (which we didn't sit in but used as a wind break instead) along with a table and chairs.   The slide looks fun, but it was too cold and windy for swimsuits on the day we were there, so we didn't try it.  There is a little changing room with a shower you can rinse off in (no soap or shampoo because the showers drain right into the ocean).  That would have been great if we had decided to actually put on swim suits and get in the water. 

The food and service were fantastic!  As soon as we arrived, our cabana attendants were immediately there to see what we wanted.  They brought coffee and drinks right away (although it was only 8:15am and I wasn't ready for alcohol yet)!  The great service continued all day.   As of right now, they don't take food orders for the cabanas - they just bring you the ENTIRE menu, so I tried everything.  I don't like seafood, so I can't provide much of a review on that (although, I will admit the lobster was good even to me).  The appetizers, chicken, steak and desserts were amazing.  I can only imagine how much better the dining would have been if we weren't wrapped up in towels and hunched over the food, while trying to keep everything from blowing away in the howling wind!    

Everyone wants to know, "Are these cabanas worth the price?" and of course, no one else can really answer that for you.  It depends on your budget and what they cost for your specific sailing.  I will say that I booked this cabana the very first day they became available on Royal's website and I got it for $999.  I never saw it for that price again.  The price will vary a lot depending on how many people they expect on the island that particular day, and all the other factors that Royal Caribbean considers as they adjust prices for everything in the Cruise Planner.  What I CAN answer is "Would you book this again?"  The answer to that question is yes, but with some conditions.  First, I would need to be able to get close to the price I paid this time.  Second, I would check the weather reports religiously leading up to the cruise and if it looked fairly certain that the weather was going to be bad (especially windy), then I would cancel (which you can do with no penalty up to 48 hours in advance).  I can imagine that, on a nice day, the floating cabanas could be so much fun!  I wouldn't want to pay that high price tag again for a day like we had, though.      

I will attach one picture so you can see how large these cabanas are, but Matt already posted several great pictures in the Perfect Day at CocoCay blog, so definitely look at those if you want a better sense of what they look like.   I hope this review is helpful to anyone considering the floating cabanas!  

[basil]

Thank you for the pictcure and your thoughts. When the price was first released for our sailing on the SOTS in April, it was 1499. I want the cababa, but thought it might go down. WRONG!!!  It is now 1999, so much for us getting the cabana.  I have to live through everyone's pictures and posts.  That is as close as I am gonna get!

[Pima1988]

I honestly would not have a problem spending 1600-1800...if...I was traveling with 4 couples, so in essence, it would be 400-450 a couple, or 200 pp.  8 hrs with that service is well worth it to me (we have done the Chill Island Cabanas).  The reason why is that if you look at what the beach passes are going for now, it is @200 pp.  In essence, why not if you are traveling in a group spend that much for a cabana with the higher level service.

Now, that being said, there lies the root of the problem.  If you are a group of 10 than you can't get 1 cabana, and your group is split.  If you are at 6 people than you have to decide is it worth the higher per person.

I would also say that this is where you have to add in a 3rd factor.  Cabin selection on the cruise.  I think 99% of people have a budget set in mind when they book a cruise.  Do you say, let's take an oceanview instead of a balcony so we can splurge on that cabana for the day, or do you say, the balcony for the entire cruise is worth the cost over this cabana, and we will just get one at Chill or Oasis or even the daily pass? Let's be honest, that is always a hot topic...balcony or not?  Some say we spend little time in the cabin and only need it to sleep, shower and change, some say they couldn't imagine sailing without a balcony!  I.E. I know many love the panoramic cabins, but I need a balcony.   It just doesn't appeal to me to see the ocean, and not feel the breeze.

 

[Mydogiselvis]

I have been going back and forth about doing this for my kids and I on our first curise in June. We don't usually get to take nice vacations and my son has been diagnosed with a terminal illness (age 13), so I wanted to go all out, but still. $1400 is a lot for a single mom. Thanks for the great review!

[WAAAYTOOO]

29 minutes ago, Mydogiselvis said: my son has been diagnosed with a terminal illness (age 13)

OMG, I am so sorry to hear this !

[Ampurp85]

@Mydogiselvis I am sorry to here about your son.

If you wanted to really go all out maybe you could link up with another family to see if they are willing to split the cost. Maybe put a post on here or the Facebook page and see what happens.