Caribbean Beach Resort FAQ's Part II

[karenTX]

Thanks for the playground pic...I guess I missed it on your site before! What building in Jamaica is closest to it? 45? Thanks!!

 

[OliverOAS]

The CB is still my favourite resort - maybe because it was my first

But during my last two stays the area under the bed wasn't clean, but the rest of the room .... Hmmm ....

Oliver

 

[Conservative Hippie]

What are would you suggest for us--we're looking for a relaxing, romantic getaway before Baby comes, and I really like the beaches. I'm going to want a water view room, but I wonder if I can specify a lake view rather than a pool view. Trinidad South sounds good--"a resort within a resort." What do you suggest?

Oh, another question...does it share buses with any other resort? Are the bus stops covered?

 

[CleveRocks]

What are would you suggest for us--we're looking for a relaxing, romantic getaway before Baby comes, and I really like the beaches. I'm going to want a water view room, but I wonder if I can specify a lake view rather than a pool view. Trinidad South sounds good--"a resort within a resort." What do you suggest?

You can REQUEST a view of Barefoot Bay rather than your village's quiet pool, but there's NO WAY to guarantee that. You'll only be guaranteed "water view" if you pay for water view ... the nature of the water you have a view of is left up to chance.

You may have read others write something similar to this ... I don't really care for paying for water view at CBR or any other Moderate, because your window and door open onto the exterior corridor. This means that there is a public walkway between you and what you have a view of. So if your curtains are wide open to enjoy the view, then everyone walking by has a great view of YOU.

As for the beaches, they look cool, but keep in mind they are only "cosmetic" -- you can't swim in the water.

Oh, another question...does it share buses with any other resort? Are the bus stops covered?

CBR doesn't share buses with any other resort, but there are 7 bus stops within CBR itself.

The bus stops are covered. They are large and have benches. All of WDW's Moderate resorts have covered bus stops, and all of the Value resorts have uncovered bus stops ... funny how they decide the little things that make a level of resort worth the higher cost ....

And congrats on the coming baby. My best advice to you is SLEEP NOW while you have the chance!

 

[ThinkTink75]

DISNEY'S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

Disney is also reporting the main pool will be closed the summer of 2007, I don't have details on this yet. The main pool will be closed Jan- June 2008.

I haven't read through this whole thread yet but did this headline change? I could have swore there was nothing about summer 2007 when I first subscribed? When we stayed at ASMo the main pool was closed as well. We do not use the pools, but the Fantasia pool being down at ASMo was a huge eyesore. How is the main pool placed in CBR? I have looked at the map but wasn't sure of real life distance to get an idea. Plus since our last trip was in winter and this is the heart of summer we might just try a pool on a day or two. Anyone have more info on this?

 

[MickeyVader]

My wife and I are going to be staying at the CBR for the first time and was wondering which was the last stop on the bus route (leaving for the parks) - Aruba or Barbados. I am assuming that it is between those two because they seem to be near the enterance of the resort.

Thanks

 

[snomofinn]

My wife and I are going to be staying at the CBR for the first time and was wondering which was the last stop on the bus route (leaving for the parks) - Aruba or Barbados. I am assuming that it is between those two because they seem to be near the enterance of the resort.

Thanks

Actually it depends on the bus driver. Sometimes the last stop is Trinidad South, sometimes it's Barbados. I've been on buses that do either one of those. I would say most of the time we stopped at Trinandad South for the last one. We just came back on Tuesday..

 

[CleveRocks]

There is no pre-ordained pattern of whether a bus starts at Jamaica or at Martinique (for pick-ups OR drop-offs). In other words, it's not like all Epcot pick-up buses start at Jamaica and all Epcot drop-off buses start at Jamaica, etc.

Snomofinn is absolutely right. Sometimes the last stop is Barbados (when the first stop is Martinique) and sometimes the last stop is Trinidad South (when the first stop is Jamaica).

I remember one late night on the way home from a park, when the driver asked which of the 2 options we all wanted the first stop to be, by a show of hands. It was about even. He then proposed some sort of singing contest, with the loudest side earning their preference. It was silly and juveline and about the most fun I've ever had. Did I mention that my side won???

 

[MickeyVader]

Thank you for the info. I wasn't sure if there was a "pre-ordained" route - so now I know. I guess aking for an island in the middle would be the best choice.

 

[snomofinn]

I remember one late night on the way home from a park, when the driver asked which of the 2 options we all wanted the first stop to be, by a show of hands. It was about even. He then proposed some sort of singing contest, with the loudest side earning their preference. It was silly and juveline and about the most fun I've ever had. Did I mention that my side won???[/QUOTE]


We had a driver last week who I think was late for a hot date! We were coming home from the Magic Kingdom and there were about 10 people on the bus and he asked were we where all getting off, and there was probably only about 3 stops, so that's all he went to! just the 3 stops that everyone was getting off at! It was sorta funny because passing up the stops you see the people pointing and screaming to stop! MK was open to midnight that night and it was only about 9:00 pm!

 

[deejohn]

We were in Barbados on both of our trips, and found that Barbados was the last stop when leaving (so our next stop was the Parks!!!). On the way back we were usaully 2-3 stops.

Barbados is the futherest from the center/main pool, so you should consider that too.

 

[catbertdave99]

Just back from CBR a few minutes ago -- it was great again!! I'll have lots of photos to add and a trip report in a day or so, but everything was great!

 

[SkcMom]

Awesome! Glad you had a good time!! I can't wait for the pictures!!

 

[Tikitoi]

Just back from CBR a few minutes ago -- it was great again!! I'll have lots of photos to add and a trip report in a day or so, but everything was great!

Glad to hear everything was great for you! I cant wait to see your new photos and read your trip report, since we will be staying here in September!

 

[bethnburke]

How do we find out if the pool will be closed summer of 2007? I just made reservations for July 1 & 2 because DS (6) fell in love with the pool! This is short trip and we were planning on doing all the stuff we never get to when we go into the parks everyday - hanging out by the pool, doing the pirate cruise, character meals, etc. If the pool is closed DS will be so disappointed.

I called CBR and the CM didnt know anything about the pool being closed this summer. When do they make these decisions and will I know in enough time to change my reservations?

Thanks

 

[MiaSRN62]

CleveRocks : Aruba and Jamaica are as close as you can get to the food court/mail pool without paying extra for a preferred location room.

Some of these areas are but not all.
We were in Jamaica # 41 and it was very far away. But #45 was pretty close as Cleverocks said.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

I haven't read through this whole thread yet but did this headline change? I could have swore there was nothing about summer 2007 when I first subscribed? When we stayed at ASMo the main pool was closed as well. We do not use the pools, but the Fantasia pool being down at ASMo was a huge eyesore. How is the main pool placed in CBR? I have looked at the map but wasn't sure of real life distance to get an idea. Plus since our last trip was in winter and this is the heart of summer we might just try a pool on a day or two. Anyone have more info on this?

We are staying at CBR on our first night (May 25th)and then moving to Ft. Wilderness. I would like to know when they are closing the pool. The pool is the main reason my dd wanted to stay there. When we first made the ressie, I saw the post about the pool being closed in 2008, so I thought we were okay. Today I read the post again see that it may be closed THIS YEAR. I hope we get some news soon. I know SafetyMom will post as soon as she knows for sure.

 

[lazidazi07]

Sorry if someone has already asked this, but
the busses stop at Old Port Royale, right?

 

[safetymom]

Yes there is a bus stop outside of Old Port Royale.

 

[catbertdave99]

First of all, I’m biased – I love CBR. But I’ll try to give as objective a trip report as possible.

We arrived on a Saturday morning about 10:30 am. Although the Custom House seemed busy, I was helped within 2-3 minutes of getting in line to register. The CM was very helpful and friendly, and check-in went very quickly – our room was even ready… until the “key-cutting” computer locked up on everyone. This presented a delay while a CM who obviously was the “computer” guy worked hard to get it up and running. Finally, in order not to delay us further, they issued temporary keys and our tickets separately, and asked us to check back later that day at our convenience. Everyone was very nice about it, and the computer was back up and running later when I stopped back there.

The room was neat and clean, with a small towel animal pen holder left for us. We had paid for a preferred location and had a great room, Trinidad 3128, a first floor room which opens onto a courtyard, which then overlooks the lake. It was terrific. Mousekeeping did a great job with the room; one day the light over the table had a bulb out, and I left a note with our tip – it was replaced by the time returned. Everything else worked the way it should and looked nice.

The Old Port Royale food court was great again – lots of variety in choices. They were out of the shorter, fatter refillable mugs, but they had lots of the taller car-style refillable mugs. They were expecting a new delivery of the shorter mugs this week, I think. No problem for us; we used them a lot through the week, and I can use this kind in my car now.

Servers at the food court counters were very friendly, and the cashiers were remarkably friendly – even joking with me multiple times. It was spring break for us, and probably for lots of others, so the resort was full, but the lines were never unbearable at the various food court counters, and the cashier lines were surprisingly short – they always had just about all the registers running.

The CM’s really work hard to keep the eating area clean. I’m always surprised how clean Disney World is, but the food court and outdoor eating area at Old Port Royale (OPR) was just really great. There are CM’s walking past cleaning all the time.

The Guest Services/Concierge desk in OPR had some really great staff. They helped me with a couple of things, including seat selection for my flight home (wish I didn’t have to leave!) and were very friendly.

Both gift shop areas were fully and neatly stocked and were also staffed with very friendly CM’s. We paid them back for their friendliness by buying some shirts, hats, etc.

Bus service was excellent. We just missed a bus on one occasion, but another arrived about 15 minutes later – our longest wait. We found most buses returned to the resort through the back entrance, stopping first at Jamaica; occasionally they would return in the front and stop at Martinique first. Didn’t matter to us, but I know that can be a hot topic on the boards here. Bus drivers were generally fun and friendly – there were a couple who were really quiet, but most had some fun with the passengers en route.

There were several high school sports teams, mostly lacrosse and a couple baseball, who were staying at the resort. They were no problem, although the bus ride home from the parks at night could be really loud if we got on with one of the teams. The teams seemed to be staying mostly in Aruba and Barbados, with some perhaps in Jamaica – just judging by where they got off. They were always polite at OPR and were usually kept busy during the day. Just a little rowdy on the buses.

I like to start my day by walking with a refillable mug of coffee around the lake each morning, and I noticed CM’s out early replacing plants, filling in sidewalk cracks, and cleaning literally everything. Part of why I enjoy CBR so much is the bright colors and great landscaping and foliage – it was great to see them out taking care of it every day. I would gladly have taken home the plants they were replacing if only I’d had room in my suitcase… oh yeah, my Ohio weather might not be helpful, though….

The main pool was often crowded, and seemed to be where the sports teams hung out at CBR, so we spent more time at our quiet pool than the main one. The quiet pool was never crowded; in fact, a couple times we were the only ones there. Pools were clean, so were the pool decks.

On our previous visit to CBR, we spent a lot of time on the beach and renting boats on the lake. We didn’t do either at all this trip – certainly could’ve, but we just did other things. None of the beaches seemed real crowded, and they were clean and freshly raked every morning… just makes everything look so nice. Parking lots seemed to be in good shape, although we didn’t drive.

On our departure day, I called bell services for a ride to the Custom House. Right on time, a CM arrived with a van and took us and our luggage to the Custom House in plenty of time for our Magical Express pickup.

I’m just always amazed how friendly all the CM’s are and how clean and bright everything looks. Something really hit us on this visit that made us appreciate CBR more, though. Six years ago, we had stayed at WL on our first trip to WDW. My DS13 and I took the boat from MK to WL one day and walked around the lodge and grounds. He made the comment how much more he likes CBR because the lobby and grounds of WL were so loud. I didn’t really notice that myself, but it made me realize the benefit of the spread-out nature of CBR. With several villages of buildings, it’s easy for us to really escape the crowds and get rest when we need to. The quiet pools are an awesome refuge and really relaxing with so few people in them. Walking around the lake in the morning is, for me, a really special time. I really can’t think of anything I’d change there – well maybe just to be able to stay longer each time.

There are a lot of very complete reviews of CBR, so I’ve tried not to duplicate them. I know everyone has their own favorites for their own very valid reasons, but for us, there’s just no substitute for CBR!

I have some new photos of the resort in the link below.