Caribbean Beach FAQ part V

[jerlove]

Hello all,

After nearly 10 months of waiting we checked into CBR. The reason we chose this resort over the other moderates was because of the fantastic pool area.

The first thing we find out when we check in is that the fantastic pool area will be closed for 3 of our 7 nights!!! No advanced notice given! We were a little disapointed and considered switching resorts but really the reason we did not pick the others was due to the pool. A very nice CM was willing to let us move to POR or POFQ but in the end we decided to stay put after all there was a smaller pool right outside our room.

Just got back from a full day at DHS and the kids want to go for a swim in this very convienent pool out side our rooms door. Take them down to the pool for a swim my son jumps in and gets out very quickly saying the pool is too cold. I put my foot in the pool and the water feels like it is barely 70 degrees. These pools are supposed to be heated to 80. Speak to front desk they say they will have someone look at the pools heater. I just saw a comment from another poster and they mentioned that last week the Aruba pool was too cold for swimming so obviously Disney is not heating this pool for what ever reason.

On the bright side free wi-fi in all rooms now.

Sorry for this rant but this pool thing has just got me all worked up. The main difference I see between a Value and a Moderate for me is the Nicer pool and the Hot Tub which I paid money for and for half of my trip I am not getting to benefit for what I paid extra money for.

Also as a FYI they have something planned for the Aruba 53 54 area as currently they have the entire parking area closed off and are erecting large tents for some sort of private event. They also have areas mapped out for transportation for this event. Any one know what is going on and when it is happening?

 

[tley]

Hello all,

After nearly 10 months of waiting we checked into CBR. The reason we chose this resort over the other moderates was because of the fantastic pool area.

The first thing we find out when we check in is that the fantastic pool area will be closed for 3 of our 7 nights!!! No advanced notice given! We were a little disapointed and considered switching resorts but really the reason we did not pick the others was due to the pool. A very nice CM was willing to let us move to POR or POFQ but in the end we decided to stay put after all there was a smaller pool right outside our room.

Just got back from a full day at DHS and the kids want to go for a swim in this very convienent pool out side our rooms door. Take them down to the pool for a swim my son jumps in and gets out very quickly saying the pool is too cold. I put my foot in the pool and the water feels like it is barely 70 degrees. These pools are supposed to be heated to 80. Speak to front desk they say they will have someone look at the pools heater. I just saw a comment from another poster and they mentioned that last week the Aruba pool was too cold for swimming so obviously Disney is not heating this pool for what ever reason.

On the bright side free wi-fi in all rooms now.

Sorry for this rant but this pool thing has just got me all worked up. The main difference I see between a Value and a Moderate for me is the Nicer pool and the Hot Tub which I paid money for and for half of my trip I am not getting to benefit for what I paid extra money for.

Also as a FYI they have something planned for the Aruba 53 54 area as currently they have the entire parking area closed off and are erecting large tents for some sort of private event. They also have areas mapped out for transportation for this event. Any one know what is going on and when it is happening?

Sorry to hear about the pool troubles!! I hope that things get better for the remaining days of your vacation!

As for the Aruba thing, I think a previous poster mentioned that she was there for a conference and that they had an area similar to what you described setup for them and the buses.

 

[ifightfortheusers]

Just back from an amazing week at CBR. A few things:
There is free wifi in all the rooms. I meant to take a pic of the flyer but forgot. I actually couldn't get wifi at the pool, but rooms were fine. We were in Aruba.
I had read that all the pools were heated, but Aruba was definitely not. We had to head over to the main pool to swim. It was nicely warmed. DD jumped in at Aruba and said she couldn't feel her legs.
There are pool activities every afternoon from 12 to 5 for the kiddos. Games, dance parties, marshmallow roasting on the beach at 5 p.m. My kids participated alot because we were hanging around the resort a bunch this trip. They had fun. BUT . . . if you are looking for a quiet swim, no dice. The pool activities are loud. We could hear them from the Aruba beach.
There were also movies every night near the pool. We didn't watch but did walk by once. They had a bunch of short pool chairs lined up in rows in front of a large blow up screen over to the right of the pool bar near the fountain.
Conferences: I was looking for this information before we left, but couldn't find it. We were there for a conference and wanted to know about buses. They assigned all the conference attendees to one village and the bus stop was a roped off area in the parking lot for the village.
OPR food court was fine. Only disappointment, none of the bays offered Mickey waffles for breakfast. May be because one of the bays was under refurbishment.
Also, the back entrance by Jamaica is definitely for buses only. However, my Garmin tried to take me in that way every time. Probably why people are seen trying to turn in there.
Overall an amazing week at CBR. Can't wait until we can return again!

Mickey Waffles are being served in the Shutter's Kitchen beyond the Deli, because the normal shop is under refurbishment.

 

[billlaurie]

Great seeing these current posts since we are leaving in 2.5 weeks. I was going to ask for Aruba or Jamaica based on stuff I've read here but the Aruba pool situation sounds terrible.

 

[RHMH]

Great seeing these current posts since we are leaving in 2.5 weeks. I was going to ask for Aruba or Jamaica based on stuff I've read here but the Aruba pool situation sounds terrible.

Hello - We enjoyed Martinique it was close to the bus stop, pool and food court.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We will be staying at CBR for the first time 2/11-2/18. After reading this thread, which we are so happy to have found due to the enormous amount of useful info, we are wondering if we should make a room request or just let the chips fall and hope we'll get an "upgrade." This is our third trip, first time in 2006 at SOG and again in 2010 at POP. We love the extras and the "Disney vibe" you get staying on Disney property and would never go back to SOG. We loved POP but with two boys now 9 and 12 we thought we could use a little more space. It's the first time for us on the DDP (free!) and we are very excited about that! Another first, we decided to drive this time from Maryland instead of flying. Wish us luck!

We made some requests - connecting rooms and ground floor (we had a wheelchair for my grandfather plus he's not too good on the stairs now and two strollers) other than that we decided to let it fall where it may with the idea that if we didn't like where it fell we'd ask if there were other options at check-in since we didn't do online check-in. We had a wonderful CM at check-in and we got both our connecting rooms and ground floor and a wonderful location in Jamaica 44 on the inner courtyard which was a nice view - literally steps from the quiet pool, walking through the courtyard between 44 and 45 deposited you basically at the entrance to the bridge, and you couldn't get too much closer to the bus stop either. So needless to say I was quite pleased with where things fell for us.

 

[billlaurie]

Martinique sounds perfect but we don't want to pay extra to stay there. Has anyone been "upgraded" there without having to fork over extra cash? We plan on doing the online check in since we will be arriving very early in the AM. After driving all night, we're hoping we will be as lucky as others on the thread and have a room ready and waiting for us! Sounds like Jamaica is the best "non-preferred" village. I'm torn between asking for it or just seeing what happens when we check in. I am worried about getting put in Aruba due to the cold pool and the parking lot situation. In 2006, my daughter stayed in CBR with her school dance group. The rest of the fam stayed at SOG, but I remember visiting here at CBR and there was a similar parking lot-bus thing going on with their group. Wouldn't want to have a room right next to that!

 

[RHMH]

Martinique sounds perfect but we don't want to pay extra to stay there. Has anyone been "upgraded" there without having to fork over extra cash? We plan on doing the online check in since we will be arriving very early in the AM. After driving all night, we're hoping we will be as lucky as others on the thread and have a room ready and waiting for us! Sounds like Jamaica is the best "non-preferred" village. I'm torn between asking for it or just seeing what happens when we check in. I am worried about getting put in Aruba due to the cold pool and the parking lot situation. In 2006, my daughter stayed in CBR with her school dance group. The rest of the fam stayed at SOG, but I remember visiting here at CBR and there was a similar parking lot-bus thing going on with their group. Wouldn't want to have a room right next to that!

Hi - ask for building 21, we stayed in room 2116 - it's a non preferred. If you have a chance to watch our You Tube Video under our ticker, you may be able to see the court yard in front of our room.

 

[billlaurie]

Thanks for the tip. I thought all of Martinique was preferred!

 

[Dopey Fan]

Martinique sounds perfect but we don't want to pay extra to stay there. Has anyone been "upgraded" there without having to fork over extra cash? We plan on doing the online check in since we will be arriving very early in the AM. After driving all night, we're hoping we will be as lucky as others on the thread and have a room ready and waiting for us! Sounds like Jamaica is the best "non-preferred" village. I'm torn between asking for it or just seeing what happens when we check in. I am worried about getting put in Aruba due to the cold pool and the parking lot situation. In 2006, my daughter stayed in CBR with her school dance group. The rest of the fam stayed at SOG, but I remember visiting here at CBR and there was a similar parking lot-bus thing going on with their group. Wouldn't want to have a room right next to that!

We stayed in Aruba, but were just as close to the Jamaica pool as the Aruba pool. So, if the pool in your village isn't comfortably heated you may want to check out the pool in the village next door.

 

[jcemom]

Martinique sounds perfect but we don't want to pay extra to stay there. Has anyone been "upgraded" there without having to fork over extra cash? We plan on doing the online check in since we will be arriving very early in the AM. After driving all night, we're hoping we will be as lucky as others on the thread and have a room ready and waiting for us! Sounds like Jamaica is the best "non-preferred" village. I'm torn between asking for it or just seeing what happens when we check in. I am worried about getting put in Aruba due to the cold pool and the parking lot situation. In 2006, my daughter stayed in CBR with her school dance group. The rest of the fam stayed at SOG, but I remember visiting here at CBR and there was a similar parking lot-bus thing going on with their group. Wouldn't want to have a room right next to that!

We were upgraded to Martinique, building 25, last January. It was such a wonderful location, I think I would pay for preferred next time (and I've never paid for an upgraded location before).

 

[mrFDNY]

Hi gang,

Just booked. Having stayed at cbr many times, we booked it again. Staying feb 15-22. I Can't wait!! Shh, its a surprise. Taking our 19 month old for his 2nd trip and our 11 year old thinks were flying in to vermont, he has no idea that were really flying into DISNEY!!!!!!!

 

[jade1]

Hi gang,

Just booked. Having stayed at cbr many times, we booked it again. Staying feb 15-22. I Can't wait!! Shh, its a surprise. Taking our 19 month old for his 2nd trip and our 11 year old thinks were flying in to vermont, he has no idea that were really flying into DISNEY!!!!!!!

Congrats, I see MK open til 1AM every night that week, is that because of Pres week?

Also have you stayed in Pirates room (Trin S)? If so is it much of a walk to H House? Thanks.

 

[mrFDNY]

Congrats, I see MK open til 1AM every night that week, is that because of Pres week?

Also have you stayed in Pirates room (Trin S)? If so is it much of a walk to H House? Thanks.

Yes, its a busy time and the more crowds the later the parks stay open. Never have stayed in a pirate room before, the resort is large and i would imagine its a 10-15 minute walk. However maybe someone here that has stayed in one can clarify that.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi - ask for building 21, we stayed in room 2116 - it's a non preferred. If you have a chance to watch our You Tube Video under our ticker, you may be able to see the court yard in front of our room.

I just watched your youtube video and really enjoyed it! It gets me so excited for our trip and CBR.

 

[billlaurie]

We were upgraded to Martinique, building 25, last January. It was such a wonderful location, I think I would pay for preferred next time (and I've never paid for an upgraded location before).

How'd you get the upgrade???

 

[dansdad]

Also have you stayed in Pirates room (Trin S)? If so is it much of a walk to H House? Thanks.

What do you mean by H House?

 

[dansdad]

How'd you get the upgrade???

I believe it's called pixie dust.

 

[dredick]

We just got back today from staying at CBR. We stayed in Jamaica 4424. We did not ask for a water view but we had a great one! We were almost right across from the bridge and had a quiet pool right next to us too! The walk to the main pool and food court was about 5 min. Of course, the main pool was down after our 1st day. We did get into it our 1st day but it was very cold! Our quite pool was MUCH warmer. We also only had a 3 min walk to our bus stop. Never had to wait more than 15 min for a bus, and our buses where never packed. Full, but not packed. There is a lot of construction and touch ups going on right now (worse at MK) but that is to be expected this time of year. I would say the food court was no better or worse than any other Disney resort we stayed at. I am glad we did not do a pirate room. They are so far away from everything. Maybe if my kids were younger? All in all, great trip and we really enjoyed CBR!

 

[aubriee]

What do you mean by H House?

I think he meant Custom House--where you check in at. It's over across from Barbados. Here's a map. Click on it twice to enlarge it.

http://allears.net/acc/cbrmap.jpg