Are Disney's Castaway Cay cabanas worth the price?

Twelve days before my family and I were set to embark on our first Disney cruise, I got an email that set my heart pounding. We had secured the holy grail of Disney Caribbean cruises: a cabana on Castaway Cay.

For those of you unfamiliar with this cruise ship private island phenomenon, a cabana is a private beach hut that you can rent for the day. Cabanas range from basic wood setups to full-on luxury buildings with bedrooms, air-conditioning and indoor plumbing. Most come with extras like snacks, dedicated food and drink service or access to an exclusive beach area.

After doing a victory dance in my office (good thing I work from home), I started to daydream about what I could expect from this VIP island experience. Would shade, a stocked fridge and a quieter beach be enough to warrant the hefty price tag, or were there other, unexpected upsides of the Castaway Cay cabanas?

Here's what I learned, as well as everything you need to know about Castaway Cay cabanas.

How to book a cabana on Castaway Cay

There's a reason I referred to snagging a Castaway Cay cabana as finding the holy grail. The cabanas sell out in a flash and usually go to people with high status in Disney's Castaway Club loyalty program or people staying in concierge-level suites because they are allowed to book shore excursions before the rest of their shipmates can.

The early booking opportunity is one of the ways I was able to convince my husband that we should shell out for a concierge suite. He wasn't hard to convince because the other benefits of sailing in a concierge suite — like the private sun deck, daily happy hour with free drinks and a guarantee that we wouldn't have to sit with anyone but our family at dinner — are pretty compelling. Getting a better shot at a quiet and comfortable day on Castaway Cay was just the icing on the cake.

I realize that it's possibly irresponsible and a little silly to pay extra for a concierge room in order to pay extra for a cabana, but we did it anyway. Call it "Disney math."

Concierge guests can book their cruise activities 123 days in advance of sailing, while regular passengers without status in Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Club can book 75 days in advance. Castaway Club members who have Platinum status can book 120 days in advance.

Here's the thing about booking a cabana as a concierge guest: You aren't actually booking the cabana 123 days out. Instead, 123 days before your embarkation date, you can email the concierge team, and they'll book your cabana for you when the 120-day window opens up. Concierge guests are in competition with the Platinum members of the Castaway Club, but concierge guests have concierges making the reservation, which might or might not confer an advantage.

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Note that if you have not paid for your cruise in full by the time your booking window opens, you will not be able to make a reservation, so make that final payment early. This is especially true if you booked and are paying through a travel agent. It could take a few days for the payment to register with Disney if it's going through a third party, and that delay could prevent you from booking shore excursions as early as your room class or status in the Castaway Club allows.

The booking window is based on your sailing date, not the date your cruise stops at Castaway Cay, so mark your calendar accordingly.

The on-shore concierge team sent an email four days before reservations opened with all the details we'd need to request a cabana, as well as pricing. Booking opened at midnight, and we just needed to email our requests to the team. I scheduled my reply email ("CABANA PLEASE!") for exactly midnight and waited. And waited.

After two days with no reply, I emailed again, and the concierge team told me that we were on the waitlist. That's right — despite reaching out at the earliest possible moment for any cruise passenger, we didn't initially get a cabana. I opted to stay on the waitlist and hold out hope, which ultimately paid off.

How much do Castaway Cay cabanas cost?

A regular family cabana on Castaway Cay costs $963 for up to six guests, with additional guests costing $56 a head, though guests under the age of 3 are free. You can have up to 10 guests in a regular family cabana. The grand family cabana costs $1,375 and can host 10 people. Up to six additional guests can be added to a grand family cabana for $56 per person.

Though I didn't experience Serenity Bay, the adults-only area of Castaway Cay, because I had my kids with me, cabana rentals there are a bit cheaper at $523 for up to four guests and $56 per person for each additional guest, with a maximum of 10 people per reservation. All guests must be over the age of 18 to access the Serenity Beach area and its cabanas.

What's included in a Castaway Cay cabana?

A Castaway Cay cabana comes with sunscreen, towels, a large bowl of fruit, some light snacks, sand toys and a fridge stocked with water, soft drinks and chilled towels. There's also a Bluetooth speaker, so you can play your own music. Not having to lug snacks, drinks, towels and sunscreen to the beach was a huge plus (and I imagine it would be an even bigger plus for someone with younger kids).

Cabana guests get free snorkel equipment and bicycle rentals, and the cabana beach has plenty of floats for guests to use. It's really nice that these are included, as those rental costs can really add up, especially if you have a large group.

Of course, the cabana itself is also included. We had family cabana number 12. The cabana itself is rustic, especially when compared to the villas at Silver Cove on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island. My family rented a villa on an NCL cruise in January 2023 and our villa had air conditioning, a full private bathroom, a television with a selection of free films and a private bar and buffet.

In contrast, a Castaway Cay cabana is a simple wood structure that would be at home at any summer camp. It does not have air conditioning, only a ceiling fan. Windows have wooden shutters, but no glass or screen. One side of the cabana is open to the beautiful beach, though there are folding doors you can close.

Inside, the cabana has a comfortable couch and chairs, as well as a small curtained-off changing area. A small closet with a safe is a smart addition because there's no real way to secure the cabana itself. On the other hand, it's pretty silly to bring any valuables to the beach. (All purchases on Castaway Cay are made with your cruise card, so you don't need to bring cash or credit cards.)

The cabanas all have a porch that overlooks the beach and private cabana-only cove. The porch has two loungers and a chair with an ottoman. Each cabana also has a hammock and outdoor freshwater shower, as well as additional lounge chairs on the beach. Cabanas do not have private bathrooms, though a cabana-only restroom is a short walk away. Cabana guests get lunch at the same buffet (Cookie's Too) as guests on the family beach.

Each cabana also has a button you can push to get service, such as drinks or snack refills. The cabana attendants were largely concierge staff, so we recognized their friendly faces. We didn't use the button to get extra service on our cabana day, but the same crew members we saw working in the cabana area provided excellent service when we were on the ship. I can only imagine they were equally helpful and attentive on the island.

Here's one thing that is not included in a cabana on Castaway Cay: crowds. As I floated blissfully alone in the water of the cabana beach, I could see the adjacent family beach. It was a madhouse. When we walked to lunch later, my impression was that the family beach was extremely loud and crowded. By contrast, the cabana area was quiet and serene.

Related: Visiting a cruise line's private island? Don't make these mistakes

Who should book a Castaway Cay cabana

Since there are only four of us in my family, the cabana was an indulgence. For larger groups, a cabana would make your beach day so much easier. You'd have plenty of seating close together as well as a meeting place. Plus, a larger group could more easily share the cost.

If you're traveling with someone who needs a daytime nap, a cabana is also a huge plus. I can attest to that because I took a nap on our couch. It wasn't hard to make the cabana quiet, cool and dark. While I could hear some beach noise, it was quiet enough for me to sleep. If you have a white-noise app on your phone, you could connect it to the cabana's speaker to block outside sounds.

While there's no air-conditioning to blast in a Castaway Cay cabana, it is an excellent way to cool down from the Bahamian heat. If you're traveling with someone who is sensitive to heat and sun (like yours truly), a cabana could be the difference between a full beach day and heading back to the ship early.

What's not great about a cabana on Castaway Cay

Our cabana experience was not entirely Mickey bars and Dole Whip. It missed the mark in a few respects.

For one, certain cabanas are set close together. Because it's so hard to book a cabana, you have to take what you can get. We could hear other families in their cabanas, and I observed several younger kids going to the wrong cabana when they left the water.

The changing area is also not the most private. It's in the corner with a curtain to cover the two open sides, but it's also next to a window, with a big gap between the curtain and the wall. It wasn't a big deal to close the window, but theoretically if someone really, really wanted to, they'd be able to see in. Don't expect to lounge around in your birthday suit.

Disney thoughtfully stocks cabanas with sunscreen (including a baby-friendly formula), so guests don't have to lug it from the ship. Unfortunately, the Coppertone sunscreens provided were not reef safe. It's disappointing that Disney wasn't thinking about protecting ocean reefs — especially as they promote snorkeling on Castaway Cay.

Finally, the process for getting a cabana — and your odds of getting one — are also a downside. There's clearly a huge demand, and I wish Disney simply had more of them.

Are Castaway Cay cabanas worth it?

For my anti-social family, the cabana on Castaway Cay was 100% worth it. To have a quiet beach and not worry about finding shade or a lounge chair or losing sight of our kids in the crowded water was well worth the price of admission. The stocked fridge and snacks were also more "worth it" than I expected. We didn't have to walk to one of the buffets on the island to get a drink or something to eat outside of lunch. Also, the fruit in the fruit bowl was amazingly good.

My daughter and I ran the Castaway Cay 5k that morning, and it was incredibly convenient to drop our belongings at the cabana, run and then come back to change. My husband and son could enjoy the beach while we ran rather than keeping an eye on our stuff. Rinsing off the sand and salt in the freshwater shower was also so convenient, and it made for a pleasant walk back to the ship rather than a sticky, sandy hike.

Even though I've experienced more luxurious beach cabanas and villas, a cabana on Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay is the best experience I've had. The relative quiet of the cabana beach, ease of accessing snacks and not having to lug everything we needed for a full beach day made the day feel like an actual beach day. We left our Castaway Cay cabana feeling relaxed and recharged.

If you have the status or the suite and can get a cabana on your Disney cruise, I encourage you to go for it. It's definitely worth the money.

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