Resort Thread Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH Resort

[dansdad]

I'm here now and I love the resort, but the hot tub closes at 9. The same time as the parks. The hot tub is a big draw for me and I've never been to a hotel that closes this early, particularly a resort. This is such a chincy move by disney. The trip is great but this leaves sour taste in my mouth.

They started having hard closing times at the pools and hot tubs at all the resorts some time last year. There were always posted hours in the past but as long as you were quiet it was fine no matter how late it was. Not anymore.

 

[mco65]

We just returned from a week at CBR... our first time there. I was impressed with this resort. Its comparable to POR but the pools were nicer (IMO) as was the dining area.. perhaps its just a grass is greener scenario.

We are about at a point where we need something a tad bigger but until i can convince my wife to spend more time at the resort and less at the parks, its a moot point!

 

[dis_guy]

I suspect the CMs are so used to people whining about how big it is when they don't get randomly upgraded into a preferred location it floors them when they get someone like you or me who are accustomed to walking a lot and don't think it's all that massive.

We definitely got the side-eye when we said we were happy to walk from Customs House to Trinidad North.

We have always walked (except once when we had my in-laws with us) to and from Custom House at both ends of our stays. I can't even imagine it being an issue unless it's pouring rain and/or is stormy. Leaving last Saturday it was raining on and off so we just did the walk during an "off" period. No problem. DW and I have step counters and we averaged 25000+ steps each day we were there. If they complain about walking around CBR what in heck do they do in the parks?

I feel the EXACT SAME WAY! I totally feel like I need to defend CBR against "them"

Now, careful! If you're successful in convincing "them", our secret will be out.

I'm here now and I love the resort, but the hot tub closes at 9.

That's a change I don't really like. I understand the reasoning, but I miss being able to head over to soak for a bit after returning from the parks after a long day.

 

[Dug720]

We have always walked (except once when we had my in-laws with us) to and from Custom House at both ends of our stays. I can't even imagine it being an issue unless it's pouring rain and/or is stormy. Leaving last Saturday it was raining on and off so we just did the walk during an "off" period. No problem. DW and I have step counters and we averaged 25000+ steps each day we were there. If they complain about walking around CBR what in heck do they do in the parks?

I have seen more than one "defend" the whining about CBR's size while cavorting about the parks all day with "After all the walking in the parks, I don't want to have to walk to my room." Which tbh just makes me roll my eyes. (The other funny one is people who do the parks before or after a cruise and whine about how "far away" things are on a ship. Um...seriously???)

 

[dis_guy]

I have seen more than one "defend" the whining about CBR's size while cavorting about the parks all day with "After all the walking in the parks, I don't want to have to walk to my room." Which tbh just makes me roll my eyes.

Me too. Here's a big hint for those folks: Get a room very close to a bus stop and you won't have to walk far at all. That's what we do.

 

[Dug720]

Me too. Here's a big hint for those folks: Get a room very close to a bus stop and you won't have to walk far at all. That's what we do.

And even better, pay for preferred so you're close to OPR for your meals.

 

[frisdis14]

Hello, friends! I wanted to report back on my stay at CBR 12/12/16-12/18/16. We had an awesome week and got to try some new things! So fun!! We booked a preferred room under two reservations. The first was a one night room only reservation that was added on later. The second was a package reservation with free dining. We arrived at Customs House around 9am after a very early flight. I had done online check-in and we didn't have to wait at all to get taken care of. My main request was to be able to stay in the same room and then to be on the ground floor. Both requests were granted. We were in Trinidad North in room no. 3109. There was no Murphy bed and no connecting door. The room location was awesome!! We were so close to the Trinidad North bus stop and to Old Port Royale. There was no smell in the room and it was very clean. Mousekeeping was really good, too. We asked for extra towels and washcloths a couple days, and there was a stack left on the table. We found the room to be very quiet- in fact I never remember hearing any neighbors at all. I met a couple on the sidewalks, but otherwise it felt fairly secluded. Bus service was mostly very good. We never had to wait for a second bus because of the first being too full. We had two waits that were on the long side. Once was for the internal shuttle after checking our luggage at the Customs House. The other was after the late seating of Hoop Dee Doo. We made the mistake of taking the boat to MK and waiting for a bus. It was a Saturday night and the line was horrible. In hindsight, we should have taken a boat to The Contemporary and Uber from there. We used Uber a couple times to avoid the transfer at a park ordeal. We had two early morning reservations at MK and EP. We had no problem making either using the buses with plenty of time to spare. We ate at the food court a couple of times. We found it to be pretty good and it was never overly crowded when we there. I hate waiting in a long line to checkout while my food is getting cold and that wasn't a problem this trip. We only had one major hiccup, and that was with the person that checked us in for our package stay. She was apparently fairly new, but she didn't get our dining credits or bands set up correctly. Only mine was able to charge. Only mine and my daughter's would open the door. And the dining credits didn't work at all. Everything we did that day got charged to me. I went to concierge that evening and they credited my account for the dining charges and took them off of our dining credits. It wasn't a huge deal, but it did cause some confusion and frustration (especially for someone else in my party). I have to be honest and say that I'm not a fan of the Customs House set-up. I know a lot of people love it. I prefer all those services to be in one place. It would have been especially nice for us since we were in preferred. Overall, we really enjoyed our first stay at CBR and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again!!

 

[buzznina]

I have seen more than one "defend" the whining about CBR's size while cavorting about the parks all day with "After all the walking in the parks, I don't want to have to walk to my room." Which tbh just makes me roll my eyes. (The other funny one is people who do the parks before or after a cruise and whine about how "far away" things are on a ship. Um...seriously???)

Don't get me started I seem to defend all the Mods especially against the deluxe lovers. Our family also love the deluxes but we find the Mods gives us everything for much less $$. It bugs me when they use the words "huge", "gigantic" or "it takes forever to get anywhere", yet in the same breath, they say that they love the Epcot resorts because "it's only a short 10-15 minute walk to Epcot" How can the same or most of the times a shorter walk be "forever" at CBR or POR and a short walk at the Epcot resorts? Another big pet peeve, is when a poster gives their opinion on a resort like their transportation, or getting around the resort, but has NEVER stayed there There has been some winning posts like one poster stayed in the preferred bldg at POR and complained about the walk to the FC. Another line I remember was "I am a jogger and found the walk to be to far" Let me say that the only shape that I am in is "round" and have never had issues with walking at any resort. Thanks for the vent vine

 

[Dug720]

Don't get me started I seem to defend all the Mods especially against the deluxe lovers. Our family also love the deluxes but we find the Mods gives us everything for much less $$. It bugs me when they use the words "huge", "gigantic" or "it takes forever to get anywhere", yet in the same breath, they say that they love the Epcot resorts because "it's only a short 10-15 minute walk to Epcot" How can the same or most of the times a shorter walk be "forever" at CBR or POR and a short walk at the Epcot resorts? Another big pet peeve, is when a poster gives their opinion on a resort like their transportation, or getting around the resort, but has NEVER stayed there There has been some winning posts like one poster stayed in the preferred bldg at POR and complained about the walk to the FC. Another line I remember was "I am a jogger and found the walk to be to far" Let me say that the only shape that I am in is "round" and have never had issues with walking at any resort. Thanks for the vent vine

Yep. It sure FEELS longer than anything at CBR!! Of course, that may be because the last 3 times I did that I was in like Mile 24 of a marathon...

 

[dis_guy]

Yep. It sure FEELS longer than anything at CBR!! Of course, that may be because the last 3 times I did that I was in like Mile 24 of a marathon...

Lol, I know exactly what you mean. I've done many long distance cross country ski events like the various Birkebeiners, 50k and even more! After 40k I find just keeping the legs moving takes a conscious effort. After each one I swear never again, but well, you know...

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Lol, I know exactly what you mean. I've done many long distance cross country ski events like the various Birkebeiners, 50k and even more! After 40k I find just keeping the legs moving takes a conscious effort. After each one I swear never again, but well, you know...

LOL -- been there, done that!!

I've got friends going next month with a 2 1/2 year old girl -- which non-preferred would you recommend? I was thinking Jamaica.

Tom

 

[huggybuff]

Just back from Barbados, room 1330. Non-connecting and no Murphy bed. It was my first stay at CBR and I very much enjoyed it despite the cancellation of my race. I was very close to the bus stop for Barbados and also with easy walking distance of Custom House on arrival night and departure morning. I liked the theming more than POR and overall feel of the resort much more. I will disagree with previous posters about Shutters. It was so dark in there and the menu just didn't speak to me. But that was the night I was bummed about the race cancellation, so..... Boatwrights' menu is just much more to my taste but that's not enough reason not to stay at CBR again in the future. Thanks for all the expert insight on this thread. I learned a lot before my stay that came in handy!

 

[Sweet Pea Reed]

I'm here now and I love the resort, but the hot tub closes at 9. The same time as the parks. The hot tub is a big draw for me and I've never been to a hotel that closes this early, particularly a resort. This is such a chincy move by disney. The trip is great but this leaves sour taste in my mouth.

Ahhhh, bummer. Does the main pool and village pools close at 9:00 also? I'll be there in a month, and planned for a couple dips in the pool after visiting the parks, so long as the weather is relatively nice.

 

[goofy4tink]

Ok. I enjoyed my stay at CBR, I really did. I was in Trinidad South, bldg 38. I don't mind walking. I have no issue with the death march from AoA LM rooms to the buses! I've been on the backside of POR, no issue with the walk to the food court.
But, it's a hike to the food court fro bldg 38! It's a bit longer than the walk from BW to the IG. But...once at the IG, I'm at my destination! At the food court? Nope. Not to mention I like to brush my teeth and such before heading out after breakfast.
And I can't see me walking to the Customs House, for DME, with my bags.
It is a large, spread out resort. But it's beautiful. As long as you know what the layout of the resort, going in, you'll be fine.

 

[dansdad]

Hello, friends! I wanted to report back on my stay at CBR 12/12/16-12/18/16. We had an awesome week and got to try some new things! So fun!! We booked a preferred room under two reservations. The first was a one night room only reservation that was added on later. The second was a package reservation with free dining. We arrived at Customs House around 9am after a very early flight. I had done online check-in and we didn't have to wait at all to get taken care of. My main request was to be able to stay in the same room and then to be on the ground floor. Both requests were granted. We were in Trinidad North in room no. 3109. There was no Murphy bed and no connecting door. The room location was awesome!! We were so close to the Trinidad North bus stop and to Old Port Royale. There was no smell in the room and it was very clean. Mousekeeping was really good, too. We asked for extra towels and washcloths a couple days, and there was a stack left on the table. We found the room to be very quiet- in fact I never remember hearing any neighbors at all. I met a couple on the sidewalks, but otherwise it felt fairly secluded. Bus service was mostly very good. We never had to wait for a second bus because of the first being too full. We had two waits that were on the long side. Once was for the internal shuttle after checking our luggage at the Customs House. The other was after the late seating of Hoop Dee Doo. We made the mistake of taking the boat to MK and waiting for a bus. It was a Saturday night and the line was horrible. In hindsight, we should have taken a boat to The Contemporary and Uber from there. We used Uber a couple times to avoid the transfer at a park ordeal. We had two early morning reservations at MK and EP. We had no problem making either using the buses with plenty of time to spare. We ate at the food court a couple of times. We found it to be pretty good and it was never overly crowded when we there. I hate waiting in a long line to checkout while my food is getting cold and that wasn't a problem this trip. We only had one major hiccup, and that was with the person that checked us in for our package stay. She was apparently fairly new, but she didn't get our dining credits or bands set up correctly. Only mine was able to charge. Only mine and my daughter's would open the door. And the dining credits didn't work at all. Everything we did that day got charged to me. I went to concierge that evening and they credited my account for the dining charges and took them off of our dining credits. It wasn't a huge deal, but it did cause some confusion and frustration (especially for someone else in my party). I have to be honest and say that I'm not a fan of the Customs House set-up. I know a lot of people love it. I prefer all those services to be in one place. It would have been especially nice for us since we were in preferred. Overall, we really enjoyed our first stay at CBR and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again!!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your stay. I know this doesn't help you now, but for future stays and anyone else reading this; you could have taken care of your charging and dining credit issues at the Concierge Desk at OPR. You didn't need to go to The Custom House.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

I know when I see that phrase, and I see it a lot, it makes me cringe.

They only time we have ever used the Internal Shuttle was our first trip. We got off Magical Express, checked in and was pointed to the Internal bus stop to get to Jamaica. Once we got our bearings and realized we just went 75% around the resort we realized that was crazy. On that first trip before we realized there was a Concierge Desk at OPR I walked from our room in Jamaica to the Front Desk for a Birthday Button and it took about half the time it took to ride the Internal Bus when we checked in. Never stepped foot on it again.

We never used the internal shuttles, I cringe when I see all the wine and cheesers complaining about the resort being too spread out "it only has 2 story buildings, so even though it has the same number of rooms as CSR and POR, it has so many more buildings that you have to walk a route equivalent to the Kilimanjaro Safari ride." For us, there was nothing more relaxing than walking back to room in Aruba from either the nearby bus stop, or from the pool bar, or Shutters, or the pool bar, or the food court, or the pool bar. Hey, you said pool bar 3 times -- we liked the pool bar!!!!

Tom

 

[dis_guy]

wine and cheesers

Perhaps that should be: "whine and cheesers". I just love that expression for some reason.

 

[Eswift]

Ahhhh, bummer. Does the main pool and village pools close at 9:00 also? I'll be there in a month, and planned for a couple dips in the pool after visiting the parks, so long as the weather is relatively nice.

Yes those are the ones I'm taliking about. It's pathetic

 

[frisdis14]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your stay. I know this doesn't help you now, but for future stays and anyone else reading this; you could have taken care of your charging and dining credit issues at the Concierge Desk at OPR. You didn't need to go to The Custom House.

Thanks! Actually, we did take care of getting things fixed at Old Port Royale. We just had to go back to Customs House early that morning to check-in for our second reservation. We were told that concierge hours at Old Port Royale had been reduced. We had EMM at MK that morning so we had to get it taken care of really early. But, we just stopped in Old Port Royale when we got back from MK that evening and thankfully concierge was still open.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Is it really possible that all rooms (except Pirate) are already sold out for the last 2 weeks in October?? I'm seeing no availability online.