Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT Information & Questions-Old Thread-New Thread Link in Post 1

[erin327]

We definitely had issues during our stay and CBR is not on our repeat list, but we still had a fun trip. If you are up for trying something different, give it a shot. There were things that weren't up to the Disney standard we are used to, but the resort does have some positives. It is still a Disney trip and I like being able to try different resorts. Just know you may need to be more flexible than normal. Enjoy your trip!

 

[nkereina]

Is there sample wording for the fax request letter that others have sent?

There's a thread on the resort board called POR/POFQ Fax Thread run by user Venomhatch. In the first few posts, he lists a template which I copied when I faxed my request to CBR. He also has the CBR fax number listed. I faxed my request on Monday for a Friday arrival, and all my requests were met.

I totally get what you are saying. Keep in mind though, you will always always hear negative reviews more so than positive ones, particularly on the Internet. Kind of that squeaky wheel gets the grease thing.

That may be true on sites like Trip Advisor or other review sites but on here, you DO see a lot of the positive things too. Whenever I return, I always give my honest opinion - good or bad. I have no qualms about saying something was great, or horrific. It seems like a lot of the recently negative CBR reviews (including mine) were from very recent stays, when crowds were higher than projected and also during the height of free dining which I think CBR was underprepared for. Everyone else's mileage may vary, especially if they are going during a less crazy time of year. Same goes for any kind of review.

 

[hcox31]

[QUOTE="Cinder" Ella's Mom;52700456]That may be true on sites like Trip Advisor or other review sites but on here, you DO see a lot of the positive things too. Whenever I return, I always give my honest opinion - good or bad. I have no qualms about saying something was great, or horrific. It seems like a lot of the recently negative CBR reviews (including mine) were from very recent stays, when crowds were higher than projected and also during the height of free dining which I think CBR was underprepared for. Everyone else's mileage may vary, especially if they are going during a less crazy time of year. Same goes for any kind of review.[/QUOTE] yes. There is most certainly more positive on this site than other travel sites. There is always a bias for anything you read on the net and keeping that in mind for any site is good. That being said I'm super pumped to hit our 60 day mark tomorrow and to make FP tonight and do online checkin!!

 

[shana398]

We are DVC members therefore we usually stay in Deluxe accommodations ourselves. However, this trip coming up will be a trip with my DD13 and DD11 and this resort looks like a fun resort for us (we love the look of the beaches and hammocks), however the negative posts lately have gotten me thinking....should I switch and go to a place we know and love. If we stay at a moderate resort we always stay at POFQ, but this time we wanted to try something different, I would even consider switching to CSR because we haven't stayed at that moderate either. I know we will more then likely enjoy the resort because we haven't stayed in a bad Disney resort yet, but like I said before, the negativity has really gotten me thinking.

We have been to Disney five times. We have never had a bad resort or experience until CBR. I have never complained and always been very pleased with our trips. Of course, there are always small things that happen on any trip, and that is to be expected, but we have ALWAYS been very pleased in the past.

I really hate to be so negative about our CBR trip, but the reason I am posting my experience is that I truly hope that no one else will have to experience something like we did. I am glad other people had good experiences.

We personally had a very bad experience with the resort. Our rooms were dirty, very dirty, housekeeping was awful and management did not respond in what I feel was an appropriate way to our complaints. We wasted a lot of time trying to get our problems solved and finally just gave up because we were in Disney and wanted to enjoy ourselves!

I do agree that the time to complain is during your trip, which we did. I do regret not insisting that we change resorts. I wasn't even aware I could do that. I was told the resort was completely booked up and we could not move.

We were told nothing could be done to get us new rooms, and, not wanting to ruin things for my 12-year-old-niece, who had never been to Disney before and didn't know any better and who was having a birthday, I tried to grin and bear it as best I could.

We had one other person with us who hadn't experienced Disney since he was a child, and it was his birthday as well, so we really wanted this trip to be special for them. They both DID NOT get the Disney experience that we are used to with this resort.

I also love POFQ and had a great experience there. If I were you, I would re-book there or really anywhere else. Several other families were complaining when we were there, and several more families are complaining here on this board. It may have just been our building, Martinique. I don't know, but I would not take a chance.

Again, the only reason I am posting here is so that other people can avoid the experience we had. I hesitated about choosing CBR because I had read a few bad reviews, but I thought, as others have said, Oh, well, you get some negative and some positive reviews. Let's give it a try.

I regret doing that, and I hope I can prevent someone else from feeling the same way.

 

[laura428]

So, I'm wondering if anyone who has provided feedback to Disney, either during or after their trip, had heard anything back. We're set to arrive in just a few weeks for our first CBR stay, and I'm starting to get nervous. We'll adopt the grin and bear it attitude if we have to, but really, no one should have to, and It's incredibly disappointing to see the quality of the Disney experience going down so far.

Would love to hear that they've starting to enact some quick changes to fix the problems.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We have been to Disney five times. We have never had a bad resort or experience until CBR. I have never complained and always been very pleased with our trips. Of course, there are always small things that happen on any trip, and that is to be expected, but we have ALWAYS been very pleased in the past.

I really hate to be so negative about our CBR trip, but the reason I am posting my experience is that I truly hope that no one else will have to experience something like we did. I am glad other people had good experiences.

We personally had a very bad experience with the resort. Our rooms were dirty, very dirty, housekeeping was awful and management did not respond in what I feel was an appropriate way to our complaints. We wasted a lot of time trying to get our problems solved and finally just gave up because we were in Disney and wanted to enjoy ourselves!

I do agree that the time to complain is during your trip, which we did. I do regret not insisting that we change resorts. I wasn't even aware I could do that. I was told the resort was completely booked up and we could not move.

We were told nothing could be done to get us new rooms, and, not wanting to ruin things for my 12-year-old-niece, who had never been to Disney before and didn't know any better and who was having a birthday, I tried to grin and bear it as best I could.

We had one other person with us who hadn't experienced Disney since he was a child, and it was his birthday as well, so we really wanted this trip to be special for them. They both DID NOT get the Disney experience that we are used to with this resort.

I also love POFQ and had a great experience there. If I were you, I would re-book there or really anywhere else. Several other families were complaining when we were there, and several more families are complaining here on this board. It may have just been our building, Martinique. I don't know, but I would not take a chance.

Again, the only reason I am posting here is so that other people can avoid the experience we had. I hesitated about choosing CBR because I had read a few bad reviews, but I thought, as others have said, Oh, well, you get some negative and some positive reviews. Let's give it a try.

I regret doing that, and I hope I can prevent someone else from feeling the same way.

Thank you so much for your post. After I posted this morning I did a lot of thinking about CBR. I decided to go ahead and re-book at POFQ, don't get me wrong, CBR looks like a fun and beautiful resort (especially with the new refurbed rooms), but I was already on edge with going to a larger resort. This is one of the reasons why we love POFQ so much, due to it being so compact. Plus it is a resort that my family already knows like the back of our hands and one that we love to return to when we are not using our DVC points.

 

[bafleyanne]

So, I'm wondering if anyone who has provided feedback to Disney, either during or after their trip, had heard anything back. We're set to arrive in just a few weeks for our first CBR stay, and I'm starting to get nervous. We'll adopt the grin and bear it attitude if we have to, but really, no one should have to, and It's incredibly disappointing to see the quality of the Disney experience going down so far. Would love to hear that they've starting to enact some quick changes to fix the problems.

We have not heard back as of yet. My husband filled out the survey after we left with detailed information about the problems we encountered and our contact info, so I'm hoping we will hear something soon.

I hate to leave a negative review of any resort, especially CBR which has been a favorite of mine since we stayed there on my senior trip in high school! We are normally PO people (have stayed at Riverside and French Quarter both with great experiences) and I think we'll just go back there next time. Disappointing for me since the reason I was so excited to stay at CBR with the renovations was that we haven't been able to stay there because of the double beds in a long time (we did on our honeymoon in a king room but that doesn't work with kids, lol!) I don't think I can convince my husband to give CBR another chance after this. He was very disappointed with the service and felt our stay wasn't "magical" at all.

 

[shana398]

So, I'm wondering if anyone who has provided feedback to Disney, either during or after their trip, had heard anything back. We're set to arrive in just a few weeks for our first CBR stay, and I'm starting to get nervous. We'll adopt the grin and bear it attitude if we have to, but really, no one should have to, and It's incredibly disappointing to see the quality of the Disney experience going down so far.

Would love to hear that they've starting to enact some quick changes to fix the problems.

I returned Sunday, November 23rd and called Disney Monday November 24th, was given an email address and emailed them on Tuesday, November 25th with my exact concerns.

Disney called me Sunday, November 30th. I spoke with someone named Holly, and she assured me that each and every concern I had would be addressed directly with management at the resort. She was very polite, understanding and helpful. She asked detailed questions, and I gave her detailed answers.

She offered us five one-day park hopper passes to use in the future. We had five people in my party. That was very nice and not at all the reason why I was calling. I kind of hate to post that because I don't want people to think they can call and try to demand free passes. I did not do that at all. I really just wanted to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future.

The one-day passes are not too much use to us because they are not upgradeable, and we are from out of state and usually go to Disney for at least a week to ten days, so it would really only save us maybe an add-on day to tickets, not that I am not grateful. It was a very nice gesture.

I did tell her that I was not the only one who had a less than magical experience, that there were other people complaining from the same building and the same week we were at CBR.

Anyway, she assured me that every concern would be addressed with management. I even gave her specific names of some of the CMs I spoke with and our exact rooms. She seemed to be taking notes. She assured me that all of my concerns would be addressed with resort management, and that was my main reason for calling.

 

[themommy]

Does anyone know if the pool table that was on the dock by the old watercraft rentals is still there?

Thanks bunches! It's almost time! WooHoo!!

 

[nkereina]

I completed the survey after our stay and was very honest about our opinion. No response, although I'm not expecting one. I didn't find it necessary to take the time out to complain while there - it wasn't impacting our stay, more of an annoyance than anything else.

Does anyone know if the pool table that was on the dock by the old watercraft rentals is still there?

Thanks bunches! It's almost time! WooHoo!!

I did not see any pool tables...

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

I returned Sunday, November 23rd and called Disney Monday November 24th, was given an email address and emailed them on Tuesday, November 25th with my exact concerns.

Disney called me Sunday, November 30th. I spoke with someone named Holly, and she assured me that each and every concern I had would be addressed directly with management at the resort. She was very polite, understanding and helpful. She asked detailed questions, and I gave her detailed answers.

She offered us five one-day park hopper passes to use in the future. We had five people in my party. That was very nice and not at all the reason why I was calling. I kind of hate to post that because I don't want people to think they can call and try to demand free passes. I did not do that at all. I really just wanted to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future.

The one-day passes are not too much use to us because they are not upgradeable, and we are from out of state and usually go to Disney for at least a week to ten days, so it would really only save us maybe an add-on day to tickets, not that I am not grateful. It was a very nice gesture.

I did tell her that I was not the only one who had a less than magical experience, that there were other people complaining from the same building and the same week we were at CBR.

Anyway, she assured me that every concern would be addressed with management. I even gave her specific names of some of the CMs I spoke with and our exact rooms. She seemed to be taking notes. She assured me that all of my concerns would be addressed with resort management, and that was my main reason for calling.

Thank-you for giving them feedback. Hopefully it will benefit the rest of us on our future visits!

 

[Jellybass]

We were in Jamaica 4227 and my parents were in 4228. Mousekeeping was never an issue, the lady we had was very good (her name was Nancy). Even still, we won't go back to CBR when we go back to Disney, it is just too spread out. My favorite is POFQ because of it's compact nature and single bus stop (we never shared a bus with POR when we were there) directly to the park was great.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

I just want to chime in...I do find it interesting that even on the DIS boards, there are certain places where normal expectations aren't the same.

Say something negative about one specific aspect of the parks on just about any other section of these boards and it turns into a back-and-forth battle with the defenders trying to say you are wrong, and people that think the same calling them on it.

But here, it seems people can post negative things about the resort, and not have their opinions or motives called into question...and this is a good thing.

I haven't stayed at CBR yet. Honestly it wasn't on out list if it wasn't for Free Dining. The theme never appealed to us (which I guess you might think is odd, with my steampunk sky-pirate persona)...we loved POR, and were planning on POFQ for this trip, but couldn't afford it and meals. We were booked at POP until the FD came our and didn't even blink when the choice to upgrade to CBR with FD was presented.

BUT, this thread and the previous one (any word from Dansdad? I do hope nothing serious happened) got me excited...Disney magic and all that...hearing the wonderful reviews from those that love the resort.

But the negative reviews are just as important...helps keep expectations grounded. Our last stay at POR did have a few bumps...I honestly thought the Mousekeeping at ASMv had more fun with DD's stuffed animals and it was always a thrill to come back to the room to see what had been done, at POR, not so much.

But knowing that we might have to be on the lookout for these negatives helps manage expectations...I know DW is already going in with the "it's not the resort I hoped for" attitude, though she seems to have tried to shed that, the Free Dining savings seems to be sinking in now that we are almost there (and she sees there was NO WAY, we could have afforded it without that).

Almost to single digits and the plans for this have been driving me crazy, started with bringing a niece, then she dropped when no free dining, then when changed they had already made other plans, so another girl in our girl scout troop was to go, made the reservations then a couple months later couldn't raise enough for just her tickets so dropped, and turned out for the best as she has JUST now gotten over a horrible illness that has caused her to miss three weeks of school and is still not fully up to health.

And DD has been needing this distraction after losing another friend to suicide back over Columbus day...the day I was able to make the FP+ reservations...wasn't much celebrating or excitement like we had been planning...yes, this trip can only be great compared to what we have gone through this year.

 

[Alexis772]

Here now in Jamaica 45- 3 days so far and everything has been perfect. Granted our requests of connecting rooms in Aruba or Jamaica close to walkway to opr. Rooms are nice and mouse keeping is adequate (exactly what I expect each day- no extras but no complaints either). Busses have been good except for a 25 minute wait on Sunday to go to Epcot (we saw several other busses though- and I think we missed one by just a few minutes before we got there). I love how close we are to opr! We have also watched the high fireworks from epcots illuminations twice from the hammocks on the beach!

This is our first stay here and I would come back and recommend this resort to anyone! (We have only stayed on property one other time and that was at ASMu).

 

[themommy]

I completed the survey after our stay and was very honest about our opinion. No response, although I'm not expecting one. I didn't find it necessary to take the time out to complain while there - it wasn't impacting our stay, more of an annoyance than anything else.



I did not see any pool tables...

Ok. Darn it! There used to be one lone table. Thanks for replying!

 

[themommy]

Almost to single digits and the plans for this have been driving me crazy, started with bringing a niece, then she dropped when no free dining, then when changed they had already made other plans, so another girl in our girl scout troop was to go, made the reservations then a couple months later couldn't raise enough for just her tickets so dropped, and turned out for the best as she has JUST now gotten over a horrible illness that has caused her to miss three weeks of school and is still not fully up to health.

And DD has been needing this distraction after losing another friend to suicide back over Columbus day...the day I was able to make the FP+ reservations...wasn't much celebrating or excitement like we had been planning...yes, this trip can only be great compared to what we have gone through this year.

It sounds like you all need this badly. I am sure that you will all have a great time! Sending you some major pixie dust!!

 

[Connie96]

I guess FB has spoiled me. I sure do wish that DIS had a "like" button on each individual post. I rarely have any thoughts useful enough to justify an actual reply but I do like to let you all know that I am reading and appreciating...

 

[Airship Ariadne]

It sounds like you all need this badly. I am sure that you will all have a great time! Sending you some major pixie dust!!

Thanks...and you are so correct. Year started off pretty good, but has just turned into a big pile of stress.

 

[metz72]

I chose CBR after reading the previous thread which was filled with positive reviews. It seems to me that the refurbishment on top of free dining was maybe not well thought out. I have no worries about our stay in June right now. I do appreciate the honest postings. Certainly I will be watching to see if the not good reviews continue. I don't think there is a reason to switch yet though.

 

[erin327]

Does anyone know if the pool table that was on the dock by the old watercraft rentals is still there?

Thanks bunches! It's almost time! WooHoo!!

Yes! It is still there! We left on Sunday, November 23rd. We had rented a surrey bike during our stay. I noticed the pool table there when we arrived to rent the bike and thought we should check it out when we returned the bike. I forgot all about it until I saw your post tonight.