Caribbean Beach FAQ Part IV

[tinkerbell313]

Hello All! Me, my wife and two daughters (5 and 7) will be travelling to Disney World and staying at the CBR on August 26 - Sept 2. This will be our first trip to Disney World as a family. We are very excited! We are also excited to be staying at the CBR!

Now I have booked our trip, but I was wondering if it was worth calling ahead to see if I can try and get a room in a certain area within CBR? Can this be done? Have others tried calling ahead and had success? I have signed up for a Standard view room.

My girls are soooo excited after seeing pictures of the pool. I would love to stay in an area close to the main pirate pool, a bus stop, food, beach access and a good view of the Illuminations fireworks. Am I missing anything? Hah! Now this may sound like alot but I figured it would be worth asking here since you all seem very helpful. I look forward to any and all of your suggestions.

Also, please let me know of any good tips you might have for CBR Noobies!


Thanks for your time!

- manooly

We stayed at CBR the first week in June. When we made initial reservations, we only requested connecting rooms. We called in a month later and requested Jamaica or Aruba. We did not request a section. Two days prior to arrival, I did online check in (to expedite the check in process).

Upon arrival, I went to pick up my packet and and was pleasantly suprised to see that we got Jamaica 45. There are several buildings in Jamaica (as with all the countries at CBR) and Jamaica 45 is the closest to the bridge to Old Port Royale. We also got our connecting room. Jamaica has its own beach, its own swimming pool (although the main pool is much better), and a little playground area on the beach. I think all the countries have their own pools and stuff. But, Jamaica is the closest to the bridge without the noise and walking traffic. Also, the bus stop was right across the parking lot. The Jamaica bus stop was the first stop for the disney busses returning to CBR from the parks (at least the week we were there).

My suggestion...call in and add the request to your Reservation that you want Jamaica 45 and you want a corner room. We had 4502 and our friends had 4501. 4501 is a corner room on the first floor...and it had two windows and was so much lighter (with the natural light) than 4502. I think the unofficial guide also recommends to get corner rooms.

While there is no guarantee...they do try to get you what you want.

Have a great time.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

How much does it cost to do laundry at CBR? TIA!

I believe it's still $2 per load for the washer and $2 per load for the dryer.

 

[jeanylaser]

I don't know anything about CBR we didn't stay in this hotel before! And for my Birthday in January 14, 2010! And I requested a room nearest to the bus stop!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hello All! Me, my wife and two daughters (5 and 7) will be travelling to Disney World and staying at the CBR on August 26 - Sept 2. This will be our first trip to Disney World as a family. We are very excited! We are also excited to be staying at the CBR!

Now I have booked our trip, but I was wondering if it was worth calling ahead to see if I can try and get a room in a certain area within CBR? Can this be done? Have others tried calling ahead and had success? I have signed up for a Standard view room.

My girls are soooo excited after seeing pictures of the pool. I would love to stay in an area close to the main pirate pool, a bus stop, food, beach access and a good view of the Illuminations fireworks. Am I missing anything? Hah! Now this may sound like alot but I figured it would be worth asking here since you all seem very helpful. I look forward to any and all of your suggestions.

Also, please let me know of any good tips you might have for CBR Noobies!


Thanks for your time!

- manooly

First of all, congrats on booking a stay at the CBR. We love it!

As far as calling ahead, I've done that all three times we have stayed and I've gotten at least one out of three of my requests. We've stayed in Jamaica 41, Martinique 23 and Martinique 24 (preferred) and were pleased with all three locations. The only reason we stayed preferred last trip was because that's all they had left available.

When I make my requests, I make them in the following order: 1) preferred village; 2) courtyard view; 3) upstairs. Put your requests in the order of your priority. In other words, if your first priority is location, put that first.

The walk to the main pool isn't that far no matter which village you are in but Jamaica, Aruba and the non-preferred buildings in Martinique are all pretty close.

As far as being close to a bus stop, each village has their own bus stop so you're walk will never be very far. Same goes for the beaches.

We've seen the fireworks from Old Port Royale, the island, the Martinique beach and the Jamaica beach.

I don't know anything about CBR we didn't stay in this hotel before! And for my Birthday in January 14, 2010! And I requested a room nearest to the bus stop!

Since all villages have their own bus stop you're never far from one.

 

[manooly]

Thanks so much for your replies! I just called about my CBR reservations and put in a room request for Jamaica bldg 45 and Aruba bldg 51 both on the 2nd floor. Does this sound good? The person taking the call said it shouldn't be a problem and I should get one of my requests no problem. Now I am really excited!!! My girls will love walking across the bay everyday to the big pirate pool and to grab something to eat. And we'll also be close to the Jamaica beach and playground. I hope it works out!

Anyways, I'm also curious about internet access. I believe it said that this was extra the the CBR. Is this true? And how much extra is it? I was planning on bringing my laptop on our vacation.


Also, I keep hearing about this Garden Grocer thing? Does this mean I can put an order in for a 12 pack of beer and my Twisted Tea and have it delivered right to my room? Hah!!! If so, how do I go about this and how much does this service cost? Can you buy regular groceries like milk, cereal, etc. too?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time!

- manooly

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks so much for your replies! I just called about my CBR reservations and put in a room request for Jamaica bldg 45 and Aruba bldg 51 both on the 2nd floor. Does this sound good? The person taking the call said it shouldn't be a problem and I should get one of my requests no problem. Now I am really excited!!! My girls will love walking across the bay everyday to the big pirate pool and to grab something to eat. And we'll also be close to the Jamaica beach and playground. I hope it works out!

Anyways, I'm also curious about internet access. I believe it said that this was extra the the CBR. Is this true? And how much extra is it? I was planning on bringing my laptop on our vacation.


Also, I keep hearing about this Garden Grocer thing? Does this mean I can put an order in for a 12 pack of beer and my Twisted Tea and have it delivered right to my room? Hah!!! If so, how do I go about this and how much does this service cost? Can you buy regular groceries like milk, cereal, etc. too?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time!

- manooly

Yeah for making the requests. Hopefully, you'll get what you want.

I think that internet access is $9.95 for a 24 hour period. Be aware that, unless your laptop is really small, it probably won't fit into the room safe. I have a couple pictures of the room safe in my trip report if you want to take a look.

I have never ordered groceries from garden grocer but have read a lot of great things about them. Since we drive, we are able to bring along extra colas, milk, waters, etc. But, I am thinking about ordering this year just so I'll have extra space in the car. You should check out their website www.gardengrocer.com. They did have a large variety of foods to choose from. I think I remember reading that there is a $40.00 minimum order.

If you decide not to go with the grocery delivery, the food court and the store at Old Port Royale have milk, beer, wine coolers, colas and more available for purchase.

Hope this helps.

Lisa

 

[jeanylaser]

thanks for the info! I will enjoy the CBR!

 

[Diznejen1]

Does anyone know if we are able to decorate the windows at CBR? I seem to remember windows with the blinds in between the glass panes...so Im not sure how decorating works? Can anyone help?
TIA! Jennifer

 

[mickeystoontown]

Does anyone know if we are able to decorate the windows at CBR? I seem to remember windows with the blinds in between the glass panes...so Im not sure how decorating works? Can anyone help?
TIA! Jennifer

I was able to put some window decorations up on our CBR window. I didn't do much though. Just four lime green Mickey heads with our names on them. For the life of me, I can't remember if there were blinds in the newly refurbed rooms. I don't think there are blinds. I know I have pictures of the windows in my trip report. The link is in my signature.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yep there are blinds on the windows. Here's the link to a picture of the windows. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2193921&page=3

 

[jeanylaser]

great pictures! I think that CBR is the right hotel for my birthday! on January 14, 2010! I love CBR!

 

[safetymom]

I have been over at CBR lately taking lots of pictures to post on my website. Keep in mind that the courtyard tables are all smoking areas. So if you don't like smoke I wouldn't request a courtyard room. That's a shame because it is my favorite room request.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I have been over at CBR lately taking lots of pictures to post on my website. Keep in mind that the courtyard tables are all smoking areas. So if you don't like smoke I wouldn't request a courtyard room. That's a shame because it is my favorite room request.

I think it's a shame too. I always like requesting a courtyard view because the bright umbrella tables were so pretty.

 

[jeanylaser]

yeah me too! That is my favorite room request too!

 

[Ashlander]

We stayed at CBR two years ago and loved it. We were going to have to stay at POR since ther are 5 of us, but now that my parents are coming we are switching to CBR. I'm so excited because we loved our first visit and with the new pool we will have even more fun. On our first visit we got a preferred room in Martinique. Do you think it is work the extra $$$ for a preferred room? I have 3 young ones (7,6 & 4) and my 2 yr old niece. I liked being close to the food and the pool, but would not mind saving the $$ if it is not worth it.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

For our CBR stay, I'm going to either order some water from Costco for delivery, or use GardenGrocer for water and a few food items. Also, I'm planning to ship a FedEx or UPS package to the resort rather than pay for an extra bag on the airplane.

Does CBR deliver these items to your room - since the resort is so spread out - or do you need to go to the check-in area to pick stuff up?

Also, how does the ME pick-up work? Do you need to get yourselves and your bags back to the main check-in area? Thanks!

 

[jeanylaser]

I wonder about the online check-in at CBR! I am

 

[KELLY]

I read some where that they did some diffrent things for Halloween at CBR. Does anyone know when and what they offer? We will be staying there the week of Halloween if that helps.

 

[tinkerbell313]

We stayed at CBR two years ago and loved it. We were going to have to stay at POR since ther are 5 of us, but now that my parents are coming we are switching to CBR. I'm so excited because we loved our first visit and with the new pool we will have even more fun. On our first visit we got a preferred room in Martinique. Do you think it is work the extra $$$ for a preferred room? I have 3 young ones (7,6 & 4) and my 2 yr old niece. I liked being close to the food and the pool, but would not mind saving the $$ if it is not worth it.

We stayed in Jamaica 45...right next to the bridge. All we had to do was walk over the bridge and we were right at OPR...closer than some of the Martinique rooms. Also, Jamaica ais the first bus stop for pick up and drop off (great especially after a day in the parks)

 

[rkmassa]

We stayed at CBR two years ago and loved it. We were going to have to stay at POR since ther are 5 of us, but now that my parents are coming we are switching to CBR. I'm so excited because we loved our first visit and with the new pool we will have even more fun. On our first visit we got a preferred room in Martinique. Do you think it is work the extra $$$ for a preferred room? I have 3 young ones (7,6 & 4) and my 2 yr old niece. I liked being close to the food and the pool, but would not mind saving the $$ if it is not worth it.

We just returned from our trip and stayed in Martinique, but not the preferred building. We thought it was a short walk to the food court and pool. We had originally requested Jamaica, and were a bit disappointed to find we had Martinique. After just a day, we realized the walk was much less than we thought, and we were quite happy with our room assignment. We will be requesting Martinique from now on. My husband and I discussed if the preferred rooms were worth the extra money for our next trip, but after adding up the money for preferred we decided we could use the money we saved in better ways. The 3 to 5 minutes of time saved was not worth all that money.