First of all, Im biased I love CBR. But Ill 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 North 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 CMs really work hard to keep the eating area clean. Im 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 CMs 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 didnt have to leave!) and were very friendly.
Both gift shop areas were fully and neatly stocked and were also staffed with very friendly CMs. 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. Didnt 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 CMs 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 Id had room in my suitcase
oh yeah, my Ohio weather might not be helpful, though
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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 didnt do either at all this trip certainly couldve, 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 didnt 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.
Im just always amazed how friendly all the CMs 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 didnt really notice that myself, but it made me realize the benefit of the spread-out nature of CBR. With several villages of buildings, its 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 cant think of anything Id change there well maybe just to be able to stay longer each time.
There are a lot of very complete reviews of CBR, so Ive tried not to duplicate them. I know everyone has their own favorites for their own very valid reasons, but for us, theres just no substitute for CBR!
I have some new photos of the resort in the link below.
