first time at Caribbean Beach Resort,what should i know??

[mrFDNY]

hi all,
i have the Caribbean Beach Resort booked for feb 6-14,first time for me at this resort,i have a couple of questions.

1. i see this resort has multible bus stops,are the buses very packed there?are the stops covered ?

2.i read something about a internal bus,what does this mean and do the parks buses stop at all the stops or just one and you have to take the internal bus to that one stop?

3.anything else you think i should know about this resort,tips,or the first time you stayed there anything you wished someone told you about the resort??

4. how often do the buses run,evry 10 mins or so or did you have a long wait if you missed one,did you always get a seat or have to stand on the bus alot??

5.anything else yopu feel you should tell me about this resort?

6. i saw a pic of the food court it looked to be out in the open, It's inside right?

7. i can't get a perrfered room,i tried but was told perfered is non smoking only,yes i'm a bad boy and smoke, is this true or did the cm on the phone make a mistake.and before you flame me the only time i do smoke in the room is when dw and ds are not there and i smoke in the bathroom vent so it doe'st lingure around.otherwise i stand just outside the door and puff away.i got yelled at at pop once cause i was in the non smoking section outside the door in the outside and smoking.someone called the front desk and said the smoke was flowing into there room,understanding that some might have severe medical problems from smoke i only stay in the smoking section and stand outside and smoke to be considerate.

8.if unable to get perfered,what building/section would you stay at???

thank you all for any help with these questions.have a great day all!!!

 

[safetymom]

You will enjoy CBR. You might want to read the FAQ's below and you will learn all sorts of info about CBR.

 

[CleveRocks]

1. i see this resort has multible bus stops,are the buses very packed there?are the stops covered ?

The buses CAN be crowded at times, at other times not bad. CBR can hold more than 2,000 guests, so sure the buses can be crowded some times. I think in my 2 separate weeks there, I had ONE occasion where a bus was so packed the driver stopped to say he was too full, but that there was another bus for the same park about one minute behind him and he was right!

The bus stops are little three-walled buildings. Well, not so little. You'll be protected from rain unless there's a VERY strong wind in just the wrong direction.

2.i read something about a internal bus,what does this mean and do the parks buses stop at all the stops or just one and you have to take the internal bus to that one stop?

Good question, easy answer. Buses to any park (and DTD, water parks, etc.) stop at EVERY bus stop in CBR, no exceptions. The internal shuttle is a bus that only travels within the confines of CBR. Some people use it to go from Old Port Royale (food court/restaurant/outdoor bar/main pool/shops) to their own village if they don't want to walk. I think I used the internal shuttle ONE TIME during my most recent stay: the DME bus dropped us off at the Custom House (the building that is the "main lobby" where you check in, etc.), but since we didn't have any luggage to transport to our rooms the CMs told us to take the internal shuttle to our village/room (if you have your luggage with you, the Bell Services CMs drive you and your luggage in a van to your room).

3.anything else you think i should know about this resort,tips,or the first time you stayed there anything you wished someone told you about the resort??

Nah, I don't think so. It's a great Disney property. Nothing not to love. OK, when you're ready to check out and you want Bell Services to pick up your luggage, reserve this WAAAAY in advance, they tend to get very backed up at checkout time.

4. how often do the buses run,evry 10 mins or so or did you have a long wait if you missed one,did you always get a seat or have to stand on the bus alot??

Every 10-15 minutes is about right. Once we waited about 25 minutes but that was ONCE. And when I say every 10-15 minutes, that's for each park. So you won't get more than 2 or 3 minutes without SOME bus or another passing by.

5.anything else yopu feel you should tell me about this resort?

Nope.

6. i saw a pic of the food court it looked to be out in the open, It's inside right?

Yes, totally 100% inside. There are a few outdoor tables, but the food court itself is completely indoors. That pic was a combo of bright sunlight through huge windows, beautiful Caribbean colors, and the magic of Disney photographers and printers.

7. i can't get a perrfered room,i tried but was told perfered is non smoking only,yes i'm a bad boy and smoke, is this true or did the cm on the phone make a mistake.and before you flame me the only time i do smoke in the room is when dw and ds are not there and i smoke in the bathroom vent so it doe'st lingure around.otherwise i stand just outside the door and puff away.i got yelled at at pop once cause i was in the non smoking section outside the door in the outside and smoking.someone called the front desk and said the smoke was flowing into there room,understanding that some might have severe medical problems from smoke i only stay in the smoking section and stand outside and smoke to be considerate.

I have no clue about the "rules." But thanks for being considerate of others.

8.if unable to get perfered,what building/section would you stay at???

Check out this map:http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/cbrmap.htm
Maybe try for Aruba (especially Building 51) or Jamaica (especially buildings 45 and 46). As you can see, they are closest to the bridge that takes you to OPR. I think anywhere in Aruba and Jamaica is better than anywhere in Barbados and definitely better than anywhere in Trinidad South, if you're just going by "closer to OPR is better."

ENJOY CBR!!!

-- Eric

 

[MEK]

you will be fully informed when you arrive at CBR. I read a lot of negative posts here about CBR. I thought it was great. There are a few areas that are a bit far from OPR. They are Trinidad South and Barbados. Trinidad South is actually much farther than Barbados. It was probably 1/2 mile. If you don't have a car and don't want to walk, you probably don't want to stay there. All the other areas were OK. Jamiaca was nice.

OPR food court is actually inside. It is a bit small, but I don't think you will have any problem since you are not going at a terribly busy time.

CBR is big and has a lot of bus stops. The bus transportation seemed fine to me when I was there in August. Go to allears.net to look at more pictures of CBR. One thing I can tell you is that the resort is much far nicer than it looks in any pictures. I would not hesitate to go back.

 

[safetymom]

I have loads of pictures of CBR on my website listed below. I also have the map that they give you at check in on my site also.

 

[Jamesbyr]

We went to CBR when it first opened. Small rooms. Better to request a second floor room: there are fewer people passing by your windows.

 

[safetymom]

CBR has the largest rooms of the moderates.

 

[Msslaydbug]

This resort gets a bad rap around this board most of the time, but we really enjoyed it. Just now that it is a long walk to and from the food court. We were right across the pond from it. In the morning we took into consideration it was a longer walk and really enjoyed our time walking around. We would cross over the bridge and look for the turtles and fish under the bridge. It was a nice peaceful walk most of the time. Can't help you with the buses because we always rent our own car !

 

[iliketoby]

I didn't take the bus, but I did see the busstops. There is a slightly covered area with a bench, but it was the open kind of covering, where the plexiglass is not in front of you as well as behind. There wasn't enough room on the bench for all the folks waiting.

I know they told me about an internal bus when I checked in, but that's all I know, I didn't really listen.

The food court is indoors.

I don't think any one section is better than another, but some are closer to the food court.

 

[CleveRocks]

Go to allears.net to look at more pictures of CBR.

Just FYI, that great website is allearsnet.com.

-- Eric

 

[darel]

This year,was our first time to stay at CBR.We liked it just fine,but,yes,there is that but! We were not as pleased with the food court as much as we are with the value resorts food courts.There wasn't as much of a food variety to pick from as is at the value resort food courts.Not as big as the others either.We actually only ate at the CBR food court 2 times.Last year,we stayed at POP and this year,we went back over to POP 2 times to not only eat there in the food court,but also to play games in the arcade.Why?You ask.Because the arcade at CBR does not have any games whatsoever that gives out tickets that can be redeemed for prizes and such.Yeah,I know,you're thinking,what's the big deal with games and tickets?Well,these games have skill applications,and well,they are just plain fun to try.Plus what kid of any age wouldn't want to play games for prizes?
As for the resort itself,I think it is a very nice place to stay at.There are a few extra ammenities just for CBR,that are not offered at POP and the ASResorts,such as,beaches at every section of buildings,hammocks reclining chairs,& playgrounds at each beach.Surrey bike rentals and regular bikes also.Boats to rent,watercraft,as they are called.In the rooms,there are fridges,blow dryers,irons and boards.The rooms are just a little bit bigger than the value resorts,but not much.I guess for me,the biggest factor now is the price.It did cost me a little over $1000,with my AAA discount to stay there.
The resort is quiet and very relaxing.That,for me,was nice.
But even with all that,there is still something about the value resorts that seems to set with us a little better.I really can't put it into words,maybe it's the atmosphere that we feel.
Bottom line:would I stay at CBR again?
Yes,we would,but the few extras that seems to increase the price,to me is really not worth it,to pay more than what the value resorts cost.So,yes,I would stay there again,but only if at the time of making my reservations,that a better than AAA discount would be available.If not,then I probably would not.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We really enjoyed our stay at CBR and would stay there again. Enjoy!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've stayed at CBR twice and enjoyed it both times. We didn't have any problems with the busses, they seemed to come quickly each time we needed them. As someone else said, the food court didn't have as many options as the one at ASMo, but the room (340 sq ft, largest of the moderates) was plenty big enough for our family of 4.

Steph