Caribbean Beach Resort FAQ Part 3

[kat_balou]

Just thought I'd post another update on the pool. It appears the pool reopen date has been pushed back unfortunately, according to some CMs this is because of training that needs to be done for the new pool to be opened safely. They are now looking at the first week of September sometime, no definitive date has been set.

Oh this is just killing me! (LOL) We'll be arriving 9-7 and it's definately cutting it close!

 

[relcx4]

Aggh, it's killing me too. We arrive on 9/20 so chances are good that it will be open but if it isn't I'll have two disappointed little girls on my hands.

 

[ahecht]

I just returned from my CBR stay, and I wanted to report back here. I will post pictures soon, but I have 1.3GB of pictures to sort through from my trip. Sorry this post is so long.

In short, CBR was wonderful. Check-in was quick and painless. We just missed the Internal Resort Shuttle leaving the Customs House and would've had a 20 minute wait, but an employee suggested we walk across the street to the Barbados bus stop and catch any Internal, Magic Kingdom, or DTD bus to take us to Jamaca.

We were in Jamaca Bldg 41, room 4117, and while we were concerned that it appeared far from everything, it turned out that our walk to the bus stop was very short and quick since the back of our building was adjacent to the parking lot. Our room had a beautiful courtyard view and was very quiet. We were fairly far from the Jamaca pool, but that was a good thing since the pool area always seemed crowded and noisy due to the closure of the main pool and the temporary slide they placed there.

The walk to Old Port Royale across the island wasn't that bad, although all but the most direct path were closed at night. During the day, however, the island was filled with lizards, frogs, turtles, and other animals.

We brought breakfast food with us so we only ate at the food court twice. The breakfast omlets were quite good, but the rotisserie chicken place was terrible -- the chicken was very bland and the mashed potatoes were almost inedibly salty. The service at the burger place was also terrible, and it took nearly 10 minutes to get a hot dog.

The rest of OPR was quite nice, and we enjoyed sitting out on the deck there to watch Illuminations (and some of Wishes, which could be seen directly behind Spaceship Earth when standing in front of Shutters). There were kids activities planned every day including chalk drawing, bingo, sand castle building, Giant Jenga, and movies on the island, but we didn't participate in any of them.

Maid service was very good, and over the course of our stay we were left five towel animals, towel toothbrush and toiletry holders, and the stuffed animals in our room had usually put on baseball caps by the time we returned from the parks. We tipped a couple bucks a day, but I don't know if that had anything to do with it. Our only complaint is that the maid always turned the air conditioner to its coldest setting and left the ceiling fan on which seemed like a waste of power and left our room freezing at night.

For the most part bus service was very good. We tried to arrive at the bus stop at 8am, and rarely had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. There were only two problems with the bus: one day when we arrived at the bus stop at 8:20 to go to Epcot and had to wait 25 minutes as five Downtown Disney and three Magic Kingdom busses went by (and two Magic Kingdom busses were in a row). After 20 minutes we used the bus stop phone to call Disney Transportation and they sent a bus right away. The second problem with the bus was when I was trying to get back from Blizzard Beach at 10am. CBR is the furthest bus stop at BB, so I made sure to tell the Bus CM near the front that I was waiting for CBR before heading back. After 20 minutes I walked back to the front to ask what was going on, and the CM said he had radioed for a CBR bus when I arrived, but would call again. After 40 minutes I walked back again and raised a huge fuss about how long I had been waiting, and they said they would take car of me. Finally, after waiting for 50 minutes they sent a VIP bus (which the driver joked stood for "Very Impatient Person") to take me directly to Jamaca.

On our arrival day after we unpacked we headed to the bus stop. Shortly after we arrived a Muscovy Duck dropped off her 6 ducklings at the bus stop and went off for a swim in the nearby pond. The ducklings seemed very trusting of humans, and promptly went to sleep in the middle of the floor. Every night after that as we walked back to our room the ducklings and one or two adult ducks would come up to us and plop themselves down at our feet hoping for food, and we got to see the ducklings grow during the course of our stay. Unfortunately, on our last full day there a pair of huge Sandhill Cranes took residence in the pond and forced the ducks out. Between the ducks and the frogs, we didn't see many bugs around.

I'll end this post with one piece of advice: on our first couple days there, we kept banging our legs against the wooden posts at the foot of the beds as we walked around the room or got in and out of bed. The posts are just slightly lower than the top of the mattress so they are a bit hidden and easy to run into. The solution was to take a couple of towels, wrap them around the posts, and duct tape them into place.

 

[BellAbbeys Mom]

Welcome home..looking forward to your pics and more info on your trip!!

 

[kaysmommie]

ahecht,
Thanks for posting, please post pics when you can. loved your review. I guess you would go back to CBR then??

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks for the report Ahecht! Can't wait to see your pics!

We love all the little wildlife on the island too!

 

[LuvsTinker]

Thanks for all the updates Counting down the days and hoping the pool will be open

 

[Debs Hill]

Can't wait to see your photos!!!!
What exactly is on 'the island'? Is there a children's play area? Any idea how long to walk there from Trinidad South!? Sounds lovely with all the little animals you saw!
Debsx

 

[Sandi]

Along with the cute little animals is a 4 foot long black snake. DD13 and I were walking from OPR to our room in Aruba -- and I was on a conference call with a client -- when this snake came out of a bush right in front of us on the sidewalk. DD stopped and pointed and I kept talking and walking. I didn't see it until I was nearly on top of the snake. Yikes! My client had a good laugh after that -- but my cover was blown.

 

[LuvsTinker]

Along with the cute little animals is a 4 foot long black snake. DD13 and I were walking from OPR to our room in Aruba -- and I was on a conference call with a client -- when this snake came out of a bush right in front of us on the sidewalk. DD stopped and pointed and I kept talking and walking. I didn't see it until I was nearly on top of the snake. Yikes! My client had a good laugh after that -- but my cover was blown.

We've seen a snake there also - I think he was going after a cute bunny

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I've heard of snakes at WDW. A friend of mine had one in her room at SSR last year. A little one, but still!

There's a thread out there now about a gator at POR!

 

[ClaraBug]

I am waiting to see the pictures too!

 

[ahecht]

Thanks for the nice comments.

ahecht,
Thanks for posting, please post pics when you can. loved your review. I guess you would go back to CBR then??

If I stayed on property again, I would definately like to stay at CBR again. However, assuming that car rental prices stay low, renting a nearby vacation home is looking much more tempting for my next trip.

Can't wait to see your photos!!!!
What exactly is on 'the island'? Is there a children's play area? Any idea how long to walk there from Trinidad South!? Sounds lovely with all the little animals you saw!

The island contains a main walking path, two small paths that go along the edge of the island and feature fake cannons pointing at the various villages, a sandy area with hammocks where they occasionally show kids movies at night, and a path lined with flowers and multiple gazebos with glider benches in them.

 

[who me?]

The more I read / think about the bus service the more I am picturing us standing around endlessly waiting for a bus and/or spending too much time on one trying to get to the parks from CBR. I am sure the first day or two it is fun enough to check out the sights but coming home at 10 pm with two pooped kids and a cranky husband is more than I want to think about as part of my 'vacation'.

Although my budget is telling me otherwise, I am trying to figure out if renting a car is something I should consider. They seem to be fairly inexpensive considering the alternative.

Q: Does anyone know if you have to pay for parking at the parks if you are staying at a resort ?

Thanks!

 

[aribelle]

The more I read / think about the bus service the more I am picturing us standing around endlessly waiting for a bus and/or spending too much time on one trying to get to the parks from CBR. I am sure the first day or two it is fun enough to check out the sights but coming home at 10 pm with two pooped kids and a cranky husband is more than I want to think about as part of my 'vacation'.

Although my budget is telling me otherwise, I am trying to figure out if renting a car is something I should consider. They seem to be fairly inexpensive considering the alternative.

Q: Does anyone know if you have to pay for parking at the parks if you are staying at a resort ?

Thanks!

Parking is free for resort guests (and for annual passholders whether they stay on or off site).

We have an AP so even though we stay offsite we get free parking. We have seen the lines for the buses while we're waiting for a tram, and I have to say, I would never do the buses even if we did stay on site!

There are a lot of great deals out there for rental cars....check out mousesavers.com they usually have the most codes to try, but also check out Disboard's Transportation section, as they often have codes to share as well.

Personally, I would never rely on public transporatation at home, so I'm definitely not going to do so on vacation. But I'm also one of those people who can't imagine life without a car....whereas my sister didn't get a driver's license until she was 27 and had her second child (hupping to babies onto a bus was too much for her, lol).

 

[britfish]

we will have a can of coffee delivered w/ our items from Garden grocer, do we need coffee filters for the coffee pots? also, what type of coffee cups do they supply in the room? thanks!

 

[declansdad]

The more I read / think about the bus service the more I am picturing us standing around endlessly waiting for a bus and/or spending too much time on one trying to get to the parks from CBR. I am sure the first day or two it is fun enough to check out the sights but coming home at 10 pm with two pooped kids and a cranky husband is more than I want to think about as part of my 'vacation'.

Although my budget is telling me otherwise, I am trying to figure out if renting a car is something I should consider. They seem to be fairly inexpensive considering the alternative.

Q: Does anyone know if you have to pay for parking at the parks if you are staying at a resort ?

Thanks!

We just got back and the longest we waited for a bus either way was about 20 minutes. The usual wait was less than 10. Even if you end up doing a resort loop, it doesn't take too long.

We may look at renting a car next summer, but only because we want to go to Seaworld and such. Renting a car to se it parked at Disney seems like a waste to me.

 

[ahecht]

we will have a can of coffee delivered w/ our items from Garden grocer, do we need coffee filters for the coffee pots? also, what type of coffee cups do they supply in the room? thanks!

I don't know about filters, but the coffee cups are styrofoam.

 

[declansdad]

we will have a can of coffee delivered w/ our items from Garden grocer, do we need coffee filters for the coffee pots? also, what type of coffee cups do they supply in the room? thanks!

If you bring your own coffee, you will need filters.

 

[jsyrek10]

nice resort