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

[vanyel]

I checked in online today and since I had Jamaica on my initial request out in, I choose upper floor and water view (I paid for a king room). Should I have chosen a village on the online checkin form instead of one of the other options? I also have 1 night of room only prior to my package because of free dining dates so I checked in for both. I'm hoping not to have to move - how likely is that?

Any advice?

 

[00zero00]

I checked in online today and since I had Jamaica on my initial request out in, I choose upper floor and water view (I paid for a king room). Should I have chosen a village on the online checkin form instead of one of the other options? I also have 1 night of room only prior to my package because of free dining dates so I checked in for both. I'm hoping not to have to move - how likely is that?

Any advice?

We aren't set to arrive until next Saturday, but we are having a one day, room only also. Now i know how un-informed the phone cast members are so take this with a grain of salt, but I called in my room requests and they said that if at all possible they try to keep back to back reservations in the same room. It is less work on their part for mousekeeping.

They also said, that we do physically have to go to check in on the first day of the second reservation.

 

[EpcotBill]

We aren't set to arrive until next Saturday, but we are having a one day, room only also. Now i know how un-informed the phone cast members are so take this with a grain of salt, but I called in my room requests and they said that if at all possible they try to keep back to back reservations in the same room. It is less work on their part for mousekeeping.

They also said, that we do physically have to go to check in on the first day of the second reservation.

I know it's a rare occurrence but you got a CM who gave you accurate information.

 

[dansdad]

I know it's a rare occurrence but you got a CM who gave you accurate information.

This.

 

[alnem112]

I'll be there tomorrow!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!

 

[Donald - my hero]

I'll be there tomorrow!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!

Take me with you!! I woke up to it snowing and temp is still below freezing out there!!

 

[dis_guy]

Take me with you!! I woke up to it snowing and temp is still below freezing out there!!

Ouch! That's too bad. We're having a nice fall day here. I'm spending it sweeping up tons of leaves from our rather large lawn. 21 days to go!!

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

All in all, it was a great vacation. The service at CBR was wonderful and the resort was as lovely as I remembered. I would definitely recommend the resort.

Hooray! I am so glad! We are going for our first time at CBR in January and I am thrilled to read such a positive trip report! Yay!

 

[wdw4rfam]

Take me with you!! I woke up to it snowing and temp is still below freezing out there!!

Same here, not quite blow freezing, but snowing. We have 32 days to go. Then have to pray for good traveling weather.

 

[Ninja]

You can do online check in without doing the credit card part.
Also, there is a UK number to get through to reservations 0800 1690730. However, if you booked through a travel agent they don't allow you to make any requests.

From a uk phone to cbr you would ring this number
0014079343400
Hope that helps ☺

Ok I'm confused (doesn't take much!) which number should I use from the UK?

Over the years I've had the chance to speak to a couple room assigners and they all prefer that guests do not request specific room numbers. Doing that cuts down the odds on you getting your requests granted as they have no idea why you wanted that room. So after that they are guessing what you want. It is always best to describe what your looking for as that gives you the greatest odds of having your requests granted. For example word your request "Martinique, Murphy Bed and ground floor". There are probably 40 or so rooms that will fit that request instead of only 1 if you request room # XXXX.

What about requesting a building?

Yup. Call housekeeping on check out day from your room and ask for a late check out.



If you are granted a late check out you will need to be out of the room by 1:00PM and there's no fee. If you want later than that then for 3:00PM you will be charged 1/2 of that night's rack rate. Any later than that and you will be charged that night's rack rate in full and will be able to have the room until 11:00AM the next day.

Is this for anyone, regardless of how/where you booked from?

 

[dansdad]

What about requesting a building?

Perfectly fine. Our 2 requests are always Jamaica 45 and upper floor.

this for anyone, regardless of how/where you booked from?

Yup.

 

[titansgal]

what is parking at Disney Springs like? What would be less painful - waiting for the buss at CBR or having a car and trying to find parking spot and fight the traffic?

We did it both ways. We took the bus the first night and it was pretty good. They drop you off at the end near the Christmas shop. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a bus back, but only because we literally just missed it. The other two times we drove (mid-day) and didn't have any problems parking. Don't miss the ramp though as we made that mistake and it was a horrible mess to get turned around. The garage drops you at the complete other end between Splitsville and the movie theater. I can assume it would be crazy in the parking lot on a weekend night, but we didn't have an issue when we went. The system they have in the garage that shows you open spots was awesome!

 

[titansgal]

We just returned home last night from an amazing 14 night stay. We loved our third stay at CBR! Here are the highlights:

Went straight to Blizzard Beach and used our tickets and meal plans on the first day. While we were there, we got our text that our room was ready around noon. We quickly realized that we didn't get any of our room requests so we went by front desk and nicely asked if there were any other rooms available. She worked her magic and put us in room 2339 in Martinique (standard building, but directly across path from preferred building). It was top floor (we wanted ground), but it was awesome. It also had a murphy bed which was a nice bonus.

Housekeeping was good the entire stay. Twice they knocked on our door at 8:30am to clean while we were still in bed, and twice we came back mid-afternoon for a break and they hadn't been there. So, I don't think they had a set time to work on our room (I'm sure it depended on those checking out around us), but they did clean every day and always did a good job.

TV was a little annoying. We love to watch Stacey give us "The must dos" and we usually have the TV on that channel whenever we are in the room. Several times it would get pixelated and then say no signal. Maybe it was just our room, but we still found it to be a pain. We love our Stacey!!!!

Bus service was fabulous. We never waited more than 5 minutes at the resort for a bus. Usually it was 2 minutes tops. It did take a little while to go through all of the bus stops, but we planned about 10 minutes for that into our daily wake up time. Most nights leaving the park we had a bus waiting for us. With 10 park days, we only actually waited for a bus three times. Our longest wait was at Disney Springs for about 10 minutes, and that was because we literally just missed the bus.

The pool was great. Although I understand that they have to close it when there aren't any lifeguards on duty, I wish it was open later than 10:00pm. My daughter loves slides and if we wanted to swim at night, we had to leave the parks early. I wish it was open until 11:00, but I guess that they have to cut it somewhere

We saw a huge raccoon one night climbing in and out of trash cans. We were walking to the main building and it about scared the life out of me. It obviously had a routine though, and wasn't bothered by us at all. It was about 10 feet from us and just kept going about it's business. EEEEKKK!

We loved being able to see the Epcot fireworks from the pool and Martinique beach. One night my daughter just enjoyed laying in the hammock and watching them. It was a nice way to end a busy day!

We only bought a meal in the food court one morning. We did toast our own bagels a few times, and never had an issue finding either a toaster or a table. Several nights we had issues finding a coke machine that actually had ice in it, but usually the coke fountains were working pretty well and seemed well filled. I don't think I ever tried to get a drink, only to find it empty. We were going to eat dinner at the food court one night, but truthfully, none of the food items looked especially great. They didn't look bad, they just didn't appeal to us. We ended up picking up a Giordano's pizza instead

All in all, it was a fantastic stay. We loved every minute of it and would recommend it to anyone. Sadly, we will be at Coronado in June as we booked a bounce back offer and wanted to try some place new. We will be back to Caribbean Beach soon though I hope!

 

[blackpearl77]

We made it!! Checked in today around 2:30. Requests we made were Barbados connecting rooms and second floor. We paid for water view. The past 4 trips we have requested that and always got it. Not this time. We got Aruba first floor and not connecting rooms not near each other. Bridge is out ( as you all know) for aruba. They said they are 100% sold out and there were zero rooms in Barbados and Martinique. They said they could move us closer to port royal to not near each other rooms but they wouldn't be water view and we already paid extra for that. And we would lose the difference in $$. So we stayed in Aruba. Boat runs from the beach right infront of us. There is a step but you still have to walk through the wet sand a little. No problem for me but some might have a problem. But fast pontoon boat. But today it closed at 7. Sign said dusk and front desk told us 8. So missed it going back. Took the shuttle back from port royal. It's a white van and it drops you at the parking circle so it's closer than going to the bus stop. Make sure you get the right shuttle - there is one for Aruba and one for Jamaica. We didn't see the sign on the back side of the van since it was dark and the van door was open and got on the wrong one. But disappointed we didn't get either of our requests. And the room smelled like musty celery. I know...weird... But it really smelled strange kind of like celery but really strong smell. DH thinks it's cigarette smell. The air conditioner was off and it was very damp the sheets were damp. Called housekeeping waited 2 hours. She sprayed some Febreze on the rug (I was laughing to myself - I said it smelled and she comes in squirt squirt! Haha) and changed the sheets. Called manager can't move rooms all sold out. Really bummed with the customer service today. They just kept repeating they are only requests you aren't guaranteed anything. We are sold out. Guess we've just been luckier in the past. This is our sixth stay here and every stay in the past has been perfect! Oh and we are a corner room in Aruba 51 and it has a trundle bed for those wanting a trundle. Splash pad was open and my son used it. Rented stroller was there waiting for us. Bags showed up while we were gone between 5-7. Tomorrow first day at the parks and all will be awesome! Just wanted to report in. Still love the CBR no matter what!!!!

Edit to say: it's def cigarette smell. Left for breakfast and I can smell it on us!

 

[kwbrad]

We made it!! Checked in today around 2:30. Requests we made were Barbados connecting rooms and second floor. We paid for water view. The past 4 trips we have requested that and always got it. Not this time. We got Aruba first floor and not connecting rooms not near each other. Bridge is out ( as you all know) for aruba. They said they are 100% sold out and there were zero rooms in Barbados and Martinique. They said they could move us closer to port royal to not near each other rooms but they wouldn't be water view and we already paid extra for that. And we would lose the difference in $$. So we stayed in Aruba. Boat runs from the beach right infront of us. There is a step but you still have to walk through the wet sand a little. No problem for me but some might have a problem. But fast pontoon boat. But today it closed at 7. Sign said dusk and front desk told us 8. So missed it going back. Took the shuttle back from port royal. It's a white van and it drops you at the parking circle so it's closer than going to the bus stop. Make sure you get the right shuttle - there is one for Aruba and one for Jamaica. We didn't see the sign on the back side of the van since it was dark and the van door was open and got on the wrong one. But disappointed we didn't get either of our requests. And the room smelled like musty celery. I know...weird... But it really smelled strange kind of like celery but really strong smell. The air conditioner was off and it was very damp the sheets were damp. Called housekeeping waited 2 hours. She sprayed some Febreze on the rug (I was laughing to myself - I said it smelled and she comes in squirt squirt! Haha) and changed the sheets. Called manager can't move rooms all sold out. Really bummed with the customer service today. They just kept repeating they are only requests you aren't guaranteed anything. We are sold out. Guess we've just been luckier in the past. This is our sixth stay here and every stay in the past has been perfect! Oh and we are a corner room in Aruba 51 and it has a trundle bed for those wanting a trundle. Splash pad was open and my son used it. Rented stroller was there waiting for us. Bags showed up while we were gone between 5-7. Tomorrow first day at the parks and all will be awesome! Just wanted to report in. Still love the CBR no matter what!!!!

Thanks for checking in, sorry things are starting a little lousy
Hopefully the smell is gone and the room will be great the rest of the trip!

 

[blackpearl77]

Thanks!!! If anyone needs to know anything CBR related while I'm here I'll try and remember to check in here!

 

[vicarrieous]

We just returned home last night from an amazing 14 night stay. We loved our third stay at CBR! Here are the highlights:

Went straight to Blizzard Beach and used our tickets and meal plans on the first day. While we were there, we got our text that our room was ready around noon. We quickly realized that we didn't get any of our room requests so we went by front desk and nicely asked if there were any other rooms available. She worked her magic and put us in room 2339 in Martinique (standard building, but directly across path from preferred building). It was top floor (we wanted ground), but it was awesome. It also had a murphy bed which was a nice bonus.

Housekeeping was good the entire stay. Twice they knocked on our door at 8:30am to clean while we were still in bed, and twice we came back mid-afternoon for a break and they hadn't been there. So, I don't think they had a set time to work on our room (I'm sure it depended on those checking out around us), but they did clean every day and always did a good job.

TV was a little annoying. We love to watch Stacey give us "The must dos" and we usually have the TV on that channel whenever we are in the room. Several times it would get pixelated and then say no signal. Maybe it was just our room, but we still found it to be a pain. We love our Stacey!!!!

Bus service was fabulous. We never waited more than 5 minutes at the resort for a bus. Usually it was 2 minutes tops. It did take a little while to go through all of the bus stops, but we planned about 10 minutes for that into our daily wake up time. Most nights leaving the park we had a bus waiting for us. With 10 park days, we only actually waited for a bus three times. Our longest wait was at Disney Springs for about 10 minutes, and that was because we literally just missed the bus.

The pool was great. Although I understand that they have to close it when there aren't any lifeguards on duty, I wish it was open later than 10:00pm. My daughter loves slides and if we wanted to swim at night, we had to leave the parks early. I wish it was open until 11:00, but I guess that they have to cut it somewhere

We saw a huge raccoon one night climbing in and out of trash cans. We were walking to the main building and it about scared the life out of me. It obviously had a routine though, and wasn't bothered by us at all. It was about 10 feet from us and just kept going about it's business. EEEEKKK!

We loved being able to see the Epcot fireworks from the pool and Martinique beach. One night my daughter just enjoyed laying in the hammock and watching them. It was a nice way to end a busy day!

We only bought a meal in the food court one morning. We did toast our own bagels a few times, and never had an issue finding either a toaster or a table. Several nights we had issues finding a coke machine that actually had ice in it, but usually the coke fountains were working pretty well and seemed well filled. I don't think I ever tried to get a drink, only to find it empty. We were going to eat dinner at the food court one night, but truthfully, none of the food items looked especially great. They didn't look bad, they just didn't appeal to us. We ended up picking up a Giordano's pizza instead

All in all, it was a fantastic stay. We loved every minute of it and would recommend it to anyone. Sadly, we will be at Coronado in June as we booked a bounce back offer and wanted to try some place new. We will be back to Caribbean Beach soon though I hope!

Do they deliver? We are hoping to do a delivery while we are there Glad you had a nice stay. We are excited to go in November.

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

We made it!! Checked in today around 2:30. Requests we made were Barbados connecting rooms and second floor. We paid for water view. The past 4 trips we have requested that and always got it. Not this time. We got Aruba first floor and not connecting rooms not near each other. Bridge is out ( as you all know) for aruba. They said they are 100% sold out and there were zero rooms in Barbados and Martinique. They said they could move us closer to port royal to not near each other rooms but they wouldn't be water view and we already paid extra for that. And we would lose the difference in $$. So we stayed in Aruba. Boat runs from the beach right infront of us. There is a step but you still have to walk through the wet sand a little. No problem for me but some might have a problem. But fast pontoon boat. But today it closed at 7. Sign said dusk and front desk told us 8. So missed it going back. Took the shuttle back from port royal. It's a white van and it drops you at the parking circle so it's closer than going to the bus stop. Make sure you get the right shuttle - there is one for Aruba and one for Jamaica. We didn't see the sign on the back side of the van since it was dark and the van door was open and got on the wrong one. But disappointed we didn't get either of our requests. And the room smelled like musty celery. I know...weird... But it really smelled strange kind of like celery but really strong smell. DH thinks it's cigarette smell. The air conditioner was off and it was very damp the sheets were damp. Called housekeeping waited 2 hours. She sprayed some Febreze on the rug (I was laughing to myself - I said it smelled and she comes in squirt squirt! Haha) and changed the sheets. Called manager can't move rooms all sold out. Really bummed with the customer service today. They just kept repeating they are only requests you aren't guaranteed anything. We are sold out. Guess we've just been luckier in the past. This is our sixth stay here and every stay in the past has been perfect! Oh and we are a corner room in Aruba 51 and it has a trundle bed for those wanting a trundle. Splash pad was open and my son used it. Rented stroller was there waiting for us. Bags showed up while we were gone between 5-7. Tomorrow first day at the parks and all will be awesome! Just wanted to report in. Still love the CBR no matter what!!!!

Edit to say: it's def cigarette smell. Left for breakfast and I can smell it on us!

Oh, that's not a great start, I'm sorry! Here's hoping things get better! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

Hi Everyone,
We are going to CBR January 23-30 and I'm sooooo excited! It will be me, my DM (older, but active, in good health!) DS (8) and DD (5). My DH won't be able to come due to his work schedule, but he's not as big a Disney fan as I am, so I don't totally mind! We are hoping to get a Murphy bed so that my DM can have her own bed if she wants to.
One of the things I'm most excited about is the resort and its pools, especially the main pool with its great theming and slides.
My question is: Do you think we will be able to use the pools in January? Or will it be too cold? We are Canadians, so even 50 degrees will seem balmy to us compared to the 0 degrees we will have in Canada at that time!
Thanks, in advance, for your help! I'm a LONG TIME lurker but new poster and have always really appreciated the information, friendliness, and helpful nature of everyone here on the DISBoards!

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

Thanks!!! If anyone needs to know anything CBR related while I'm here I'll try and remember to check in here!

Thanks!!

This isn't totally CBR related, BUT .... did you see the refillable mug designs? Any new colours this time around?

And, do the CBR bus stops have the new electronic bus wait times signs yet?

Hope you're having lots of fun!