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

[sbarisch]

I am such a flighty first timer. I read the positive trip reports and think "Awesome this sounds like the best hotel ever. We are going to have a blast!" Then I read the negative experience and just like that I start to dread that I have made a terrible mistake. I think it's because it is so much money (for my family at least) and even more planning effort. Resort experience can make a huge impact on my vacation. I guess I just need to take a chill pill, it will like be neither the best or worst experience haha

When is your trip? Keep in mind most of the negative posts are during peak busy season.

 

[Tardisblue]

we leave tomorrow for CBR.....flying into MCO and staying Friday night at the Hyatt there. Will check into CBR Saturday morning! This will be our 5th stay at CBR.

I will report back!

We'll be checking in on Saturday as well. Our first time staying at CBR, looking forward to it.

 

[branfam]

Our bus experience wasn't good but we still had a great time! I love magic bands and memory maker. I really liked fp+. I know now I will plan ours different next time. I put all of ours as early as possible in the day. That meant we were trying to get to every park at rope drop. We are no longer commando touring type of people. That put us at the bus stops at the busiest time of day. The next time we go (hopefully in 2-3 years) I will put our fp after lunch and have a more relaxed morning. I expect crowded buses at park close. I would still stay at CBR again but am at the point where I will try some where new. We always go in June or July. Most wouldn't agree but I would still rank CBR above POR. Everything but the buses was great. We definitely made full use of our mugs. On an unrelated note we tried California Grill for the first time and LOVED it. BOG was great too.

 

[Metz172]

I am such a flighty first timer. I read the positive trip reports and think "Awesome this sounds like the best hotel ever. We are going to have a blast!" Then I read the negative experience and just like that I start to dread that I have made a terrible mistake. I think it's because it is so much money (for my family at least) and even more planning effort. Resort experience can make a huge impact on my vacation. I guess I just need to take a chill pill, it will like be neither the best or worst experience haha

If you review any resort, any meal, any experience you can have at Disney on the boards you will find that one person loved it and another person had the worst possible experience with it, would never go back and warns everyone not to try it.
Everyone has different expectations and levels of what constitutes awful.
If time spent on buses is going to make or break your vacation then you should have your own vehicle no matter which resort you stay at. Keep in mind getting back to your car from the parks can take longer then getting on a bus though.
I think the best thing to do is to figure out what are the things that will make or break your vacation for your family and realize that is going to be different from other families hence the conflicting reports

 

[dpswift]

I don't remember the line ups of stops (even though we go every year) but in MK is POR the last bus stop from entrance? I remember it is and we always joke that we love our resort to much to change it
But we did this year and CBR is new to us. These bus reports have me worried.

I think that the use of mega buses at POP and CBR has caused them to be put in the furthest spots. At least that is how it was a month ago. I finally decided to move up to a moderate only to get a stop further than the values

 

[dis_guy]

I think the best thing to do is to figure out what are the things that will make or break your vacation for your family and realize that is going to be different from other families hence the conflicting reports

I completely agree! We've been staying at CBR since 2008. In that time, it has mostly been "that" moderate hotel that no one wanted to stay at because it was so huge and for goodness sakes don't eat at Shutters, whatever you do! Oddly enough it always seemed pretty full when we were there.

Honestly I just didn't get it. We love the resort (disclaimer: we also love walking- a lot) and even in the early days we found Shutters to be a decent enough place to get a meal on our first and last nights at Disney. So now we have queen beds (admittedly long overdue) and Shutters has really improved, but there is always someone who will complain about this and that. That's fine. You are certainly entitled to have your vacation as you want it to be, after all you are paying for it.

So I'd say, if it looks like it might suit your taste, try it. If you think it's terrible once you get there, Disney will move you to another resort if you want. If it was just "meh", change it up for next time. Goodness knows we are all different. We've visited the other moderates and eaten at some, but to be honest, for us, it just doesn't have the same "vibe" that CBR has. It's reasonable that others will feel the same way about CBR, too.

 

[Donald - my hero]

So I just found a cheaper flight that arrives at midnight on Nov 12th. My question is how hard is it to add an extra night to our package and do u think it would be worth it? The flight would cost $95 per person vs $159 per person. Any advice?

HI! We were at Disney last October - November and our flight also arrived around midnight. We originally planned on staying close to MCO and getting to CBR the next morning ... Then RO discounts came out and we snagged a room at AllStars Sports for 120.00 (tax included) We finally checked in around 1:30-ish (got lost finding luggage :O ) and we were down to catch a cab around 6:30 (face it who sleeps the 1st night?) There is NO way i would pay the cost of adding an entire day to a package for less than 5 hours of sleep , but 120?? NO BRAINER!

If we're ever in the same situation i would follow this in a heartbeat. There was no-one at either check-in counter and i'm sure that the chatting up we did with the CM got us an amazing upgraded view!

 

[gluestickgirl]

Yep, I was pea #66.

DH and I are looking forward to staying at CBR. Our last stay at POR had us waiting for the buses quite a bit and while we stayed very close to the CS there we never once used it for a meal and only used our free resort mugs twice! I think I'm mostly looking forward to the theming at the resort. We also plan to swim this time around!

We've had good luck w/ the buses at POR but our mugs always barely get used... I love the CBR pool, and that it's right next to the restaurant area. It's a hike to get from the POR quick service to the pool! And #66 - you were almost around from the beginning!

 

[momto4obkids]

We just got back from our first trip on site and it was very interesting.

We stayed at CBR from June 7th to 13th. I had used touringplans.com to fax our request. We requested connecting rooms in Jamaica, building 45.

We got Non-connecting rooms in Jamaica 43. It was a fine location, extremely close to the Jamaica pool. The walk to OPR with 10 people(including a very slow 17 month old) took 8 minutes. The only problem was that our rooms where right above the smoking area! Luckly there were only two occassions that anyone was smoking. One evening a couple of guys sat down there with their liquor bottles and cigars.

After about 3 days of dodging housekeeping and groundskeepers in their golf carts, we had to go complain about the unsafe driving. The last straw was when we drove to OPR and there was a groundskeeper coming in the other end of the parking lot in her cart. We had a 12 passenger van, so my husband stopped to let her go, so he could back in to a space. She threw her hands up in the air and was yelling something. It made him furious. He was sitting there trying to be nice and wait for her to go through and that is how she was acting. None of them stopped at any of the stop signs, so it made it hard to dodge them in such a large vehicle. I also got to listen to one housekeeper sitting in a parked cart outside of our building with a few other housekeepers saying some not so nice things about guests...very loudly.

If you have a vehicle it's hard to find a parking space near your building in the evening. If we weren't back before 8pm or so we had to park down at Jamaica 46 and walk over to our building 43.

The food court was really buisy any time we went over there. Most people would go for the burger and chicken strip window, so if we didn't get that, it was usually pretty quick to get the food. We didn't have any issues finding a table to sit at though.

We only took a bus once in our trip. We drove all other times.
We waited for a MK bus for about 10 minutes, not bad. But, on the way back to the resort it was an interesting experience. We got to the bus stop and there was an extended bus sitting there. The bus driver wasn't even ready to pull off yet, he wasn't even in his seat. They wouldn't let us on it. The thing wasn't even full at all!! So, we had to wait about 10 minutes as we watched 3 POP busses pass by. By then there were lots of people waiting at the CBR stop. Our bus came and they packed us in like sardines! The bus driver then proceeded to run a red light and scrape every curb at every bus stop until we got to Jamaica. He came in from the other side of the resort, so i think it was 3 or 4 stops?

While it was a beautiful resort, and we had a great vacation, we didn't let any hiccups ruin it, but I doubt we will go back to stay at any Disney resort. I think we will stick to villas or a condo.

The only one I think I would give a shot is the Poly, that's my dream resort!

 

[dansdad]

We just got back from our first trip on site and it was very interesting.

We stayed at CBR from June 7th to 13th. I had used touringplans.com to fax our request. We requested connecting rooms in Jamaica, building 45.

We got Non-connecting rooms in Jamaica 43. It was a fine location, extremely close to the Jamaica pool. The walk to OPR with 10 people(including a very slow 17 month old) took 8 minutes. The only problem was that our rooms where right above the smoking area! Luckly there were only two occassions that anyone was smoking. One evening a couple of guys sat down there with their liquor bottles and cigars.

After about 3 days of dodging housekeeping and groundskeepers in their golf carts, we had to go complain about the unsafe driving. The last straw was when we drove to OPR and there was a groundskeeper coming in the other end of the parking lot in her cart. We had a 12 passenger van, so my husband stopped to let her go, so he could back in to a space. She threw her hands up in the air and was yelling something. It made him furious. He was sitting there trying to be nice and wait for her to go through and that is how she was acting. None of them stopped at any of the stop signs, so it made it hard to dodge them in such a large vehicle. I also got to listen to one housekeeper sitting in a parked cart outside of our building with a few other housekeepers saying some not so nice things about guests...very loudly.

If you have a vehicle it's hard to find a parking space near your building in the evening. If we weren't back before 8pm or so we had to park down at Jamaica 46 and walk over to our building 43.

The food court was really buisy any time we went over there. Most people would go for the burger and chicken strip window, so if we didn't get that, it was usually pretty quick to get the food. We didn't have any issues finding a table to sit at though.

We only took a bus once in our trip. We drove all other times.
We waited for a MK bus for about 10 minutes, not bad. But, on the way back to the resort it was an interesting experience. We got to the bus stop and there was an extended bus sitting there. The bus driver wasn't even ready to pull off yet, he wasn't even in his seat. They wouldn't let us on it. The thing wasn't even full at all!! So, we had to wait about 10 minutes as we watched 3 POP busses pass by. By then there were lots of people waiting at the CBR stop. Our bus came and they packed us in like sardines! The bus driver then proceeded to run a red light and scrape every curb at every bus stop until we got to Jamaica. He came in from the other side of the resort, so i think it was 3 or 4 stops?

While it was a beautiful resort, and we had a great vacation, we didn't let any hiccups ruin it, but I doubt we will go back to stay at any Disney resort. I think we will stick to villas or a condo.

The only one I think I would give a shot is the Poly, that's my dream resort!

Thanks for your honest review.

 

[Kevin355]

I am such a flighty first timer. I read the positive trip reports and think "Awesome this sounds like the best hotel ever. We are going to have a blast!" Then I read the negative experience and just like that I start to dread that I have made a terrible mistake. I think it's because it is so much money (for my family at least) and even more planning effort. Resort experience can make a huge impact on my vacation. I guess I just need to take a chill pill, it will like be neither the best or worst experience haha

You can always find something "bad" about a vacation. You will always find more good about a vacation. In all of my trips to WDW, I have never not enjoyed myself. I find myself getting up around 6:00AM without a clock, take a nice stroll along the lake, watch the animals in the lake, enjoy the smells, and realize that I am not going to have someone try to resist arrest or worry about getting poked with a needle. I go to the parks and I have a good time. My wife always says that "You are going to get a job here when you retire." I hope so. My expectations are always met because the only expectation that I have is to enjoy myself.

CBR is just a relaxing resort. This year the wife and I have scheduled 4 park days and 2 resort days. All is well at CBR.

 

[Danni123]

Hi, I have a question about the wifi. Is the connection strong enough to be able to use face time or skype?

 

[dansdad]

Hi, I have a question about the wifi. Is the connection strong enough to be able to use face time or skype?

I know this isn't going to help but.......sometimes yes and sometimes no. Our family calls it iffy instead of wifi. It all depends on how many others are on it at the same time.

 

[ricosuave]

My REVIEW- (Got back June 2nd)
ONLY CON:
Check in was awful. I did online check in and it took an hour and a half before we were off to our rooms. Got to the rooms, the magic bands didn't work. Took 2 managers to fix this issue. We were STARVING and I kept saying, "Can we just go eat and then come back?" Oh it will just be one more minute.....it was bad. The manager gave us one extra FP+ for 4 days out of a 5 day ticket. Whatever
We used TP room request feature and requested Martinique Blgd 26, ground floor. We got Trinidad North Bldg 31, 2nd floor. SOOOO, it didn't work for us.

PROS:
POOL- The pool was great! The kids pretty much swam in it everyday. They were very strict in the splash pad area. If they are even a tiny bit over the height requirement (must be under 48"), they are not allowed on the pirate ship structure. Lots of activities that the kids loved. It was hard to find loungers. Seemed like everyone was saving them with a towel and a pair of flip flops on them. Lots of towels. On our last day, we checked out at 11:00 am and had 2 carry ons by the pool. DME came to pick us up at 3:45 pm, so we just used the shower/ bathroom/ changing area by the pool. There was 1 shower, no hair dryer, and lots of larger stalls.

ROOM- Trinidad North 31 (Preferred) was super close to the main pool. We cut through the parking lot to get to the food court. Our room was 3155 and we could see Epcot fireworks from our balcony. Room was clean, no issues, no towel animals at all (we tipped $4-$5 each day). We did ask the maid for extra coffee and some body lotions (we forgot at home) and she brought them right away. You have to ask for the body lotions. They don't put those out and act like they're giving you gold lol. Must be a big secret or something. Martinique 25 and 26 are definitely the closest bldgs to the main lobby/ Old Port Royale.

BUSSES- Were awesome!! I was so worried about this bc of the reviews I would read, but I swear, it's like they knew we were coming. If we were going to MK that day, we'd walk down to the bus stop and the bus would roll up. That fast!! The longest we had to wait was for a bus BACK to CBR from DTD. It was 20 min. We literally had zero wait the rest of the time. Martinique and Jamaica are the bldgs to stay in bc they were always first to be picked up and dropped off, so those people always had a seat.

FOOD- Was so good. Lots of choices. We ordered a large pizza several times on this trip for $15 and it was really good. They had the best steamed broccoli that I've ever had (and I don't really like broccoli). Got the kids Mojo pork a lot bc the adult size was too much food. You can get the kid's meals without the bucket and it's $1 less. We had a ton of buckets! They'll also let you try an item before you order, which was nice. Ice cream was eh. There were always plenty of seats. We never had an issue finding a table.

STAFF- Of course you run into a few that seem to hate their jobs, but overall, they were great. On the second night we were there, my DD's ear hurt really bad after swimming. It was 9:30 am and I went to get swimmer's ear drops from the gift shop ($5 if anyone is wondering). They were out. The gift shop manager DROVE HER CAR over to POP Century bc they had a few bottles left and brought it back for me. How's THAT for service! They could've easily said, "Oh we're out" and that's that. I made sure to fill out a cast member card with her name and how much we appreciated her going out of her way.

TIP---------There is a concierge desk in between the food area and gift shop at OLD PORT ROYALE. You can go there to pay on your magic bands with gift cards, etc., Take care of any magic band issues, AND to check out. They were very helpful. We thought we had to go back to the Custom House to check out and to pay on our magic bands. Nope!

Hope this review helps some folks! (We also decided that we like CBR way more than POR)

 

[ChristineOH]

Hi, I have a question about the wifi. Is the connection strong enough to be able to use face time or skype?

I would guess it varies throughout the resort, but we were in Barbados building 13, and the wifi worked well there. Yes, you could facetime. I found it much better than in the parks.

 

[disneycruisegal]

Please do update. I stayed in CBR over 2 decades ago so I do not remember much about it. Since then we have only stayed value. I was soo disapointed when we were at POP in May to see that CBR had the furthest walk to the bus stop at MK. My boys and I are staying at CBR in Nov and DH and I are at POFQ end of dec.

Yeah, that walk from Magic Kingdom to the very last bus stop is a killer!! That's our least favorite thing about staying at CBR in my opinion. But it's def not a deal breaker for me. We visited this past Jan/Feb and in Oct, we had no issues with the buses other that the usual. The bus you want pulls always as you are walking to the bus stop. We try not to be at the parks at rope drop...way to crowed. We know ahead of time that if we leave at park closing or just after fire works that the buses will be really crowed, that's just the way it is, in my opinion. We usually stand anyway on the bus home to allow for moms or dads with kids to sit, so its no biggy. The longest we have ever waited at a bus stop was when we stayed at The Beach Club of all places.

 

[dpswift]

Yeah, that walk from Magic Kingdom to the very last bus stop is a killer!! That's your least favorite thing about staying at CBR in my opinion. But it's def not a deal breaker for me. We visited this past Jan/Feb and in Oct, we had no issues with the buses other that the usual. The bus you want pulls always as you are walking to the bus stop. We try not to be at the parks at rope drop...way to crowed. We know ahead of time that if we leave at park closing or just after fire works that the buses will be really crowed, that's just the way it is, in my opinion. We usually stand anyway on the bus home to allow for moms or dads with kids to sit, so its no biggy. The longest we have ever waited at a bus stop was when we stayed at The Beach Club of all places.

Yes I have heard that the deluxe buses often take forever. I am used to long walks to buses because we normally stay at POP. I just thought even with an upgrade to moderate I would be slighty closer lol.

Thank you for giving up your seats to the elderly and young parents. We did not see enough of that last trip. I know that some people can be quite ill and not show it however it is hard to believe a double bus full of people no one was well enough to give their seat to a 4 year old

 

[denise5374]

Checked in this morning, did online check in and got to CBR about 930am. Requested Aruba or Jamaica, was assigned to Barbados. Asked CM to be moved and she worked hard to fulfill my request, we were put into Aruba 55, good location. Our checkin CM great, Karla from TX.

Our room wasn't ready until about 1030am.

The resort looks great!

 

[Goose4lax]

Unlike Cinderella waiting for midnight so I can make some FP+ for our August trip. We are getting that much closer to our stay at CBR!

 

[eeyoresnr]

what are the choices for requests when you do online checkin?