Hello were thinking of staying here in June 2017. Were a family of five wondering how people liked this resort and which village is the best to stay in we will be there for 7 days if we choose this resort.
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Disney Caribbean Beach Resort:
- Thread starter couchpotatooo
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ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
When I stayed there years ago we always stayed in Martinique or Trinidad North so we could be close to the food court area and the main pool , but we were mid-way through the bus pick ups so sometimes the buses were more crowded when we would get on. I stayed there this past June and stayed in Jamaica, it was very nice being at the first bus stop (for most all parks) on the route, but it was a bit of a haul to go the to food court area. I suppose a car would be a nice option. It is a very nice resort and the rooms are lovely now with the new decor. But think about what you would like to be close to and request your village accordingly.
popcenturylover
Well-Known Member
We stayed in Dec. 13' & loved it!! We were in Trinidad North. It was close to the main pool (which is pretty cool!!) & food court. The buses were never full when we were there & it was always quiet. This was our one & only moderate stay .We usually stay value since we're usually only there to sleep but, we will definitely go back & stay again sometime. The other thing we enjoyed (that they don't have at the values)after a long day was the hot tubs. The thing we liked least was the food court. Not as many options as the values & the food wasn't as good.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
I've stayed there twice (before and after the room renovations) and loved it both times. It is one of my favorite resorts.
The buses can be a bit hit or miss, but if you take that into account, it's not that bad. And, I've stayed at other moderates (like POFQ) and even Deluxe (AKL) where the service was equally iffy, if not worse. But, it's not nearly as good as the Pop/AoA bus service...not even close.
Trinidad North is extremely popular due to it's proximity to Old Port Royale (the main pool, the food court, the gift shop). Martinique is also nice, but only if you get buildings 24,25,26.
Here's a map, so this makes more sense...
Personally, I'd request your room to be "near the bridge" over in Jamaica or Aruba. Specifically Jamaica 45 or Aruba 51. It's a bit more isolated over there, and tends to have less foot traffic, in my observation...making it feel more remote and quiet near the rooms. There's another advantage regarding buses too, which I'll explain in a moment.
As far as getting to Old Port Royale from Aruba/Jamaica, you cross the bridge. It's a slightly longer, but very nice, walk across the lake to get to Port Royale, but it's not so far that it's out of the question to send a family member to get breakfast and come back to the room with it (I did it several times), for example.
Another advantage of Aruba/Jamaica over the Martinique / Trinidad North options is how the buses actually flow through the resort. Generally (but not universally) Aruba and Jamaica are among the last to pick up, and the first to drop off. This sounds like a bad thing, but it isn't. It means that you spend less time on the actual bus. Once you get picked up, lets say, at Jamaica, generally you have 2 stops and you are on your way, instead of going through the entire loop of 7 stops, like you would at Martinique.
Also, it means that when you are coming back to the resort, you are among the first to drop off, again, instead of having to cycle through the entire resort. A very nice perk after a long day at the park with sore feetsies and tired kiddos in tow...
The routes don't always do this (it depends which of the two entrances to CBR that the buses take), but in both my stays, on average, the buses followed this pattern.
It should be noted that the bus stops are actually across the parking lots from the rooms...so, it's a walk to get to them. Trinidad North and South have the best bus stop proximity to the rooms, with Trini South being the absolute best.
That said, avoid Trini South!
Additionally, though the hours are weird, I'd recommend Shutters if you have a free evening at the resort to burn. It's a table service restaurant at Old Port Royale. The food there is rather unique to other offerings at Disney, and is quite good in my opinion!
The pool is, hands down, my favorite of all the resorts we've stayed at, to exclude the pool at AKL. It's small enough that I felt comfortable allowing my child to play in the zero entry area with me only a few yards away, even when she was younger. The toddler play area, likewise, is a whole lot of fun, with a massive dunk tank. The slides there are not amazing, but good enough.
Another neat thing to do at the pool is to hang out until when Illuminations is going off at EPCOT. You can actually see some of the fireworks from the pool! Very neat experience.
One con to the resort, imho, is that the check in and departure area is quite isolated from the rest of the resort (it's in the Custom House), so keep this in mind when you plan your departure. You ARE going to want to arrange to have your luggage picked up (well, this assumes that you are not driving your own car or renting from the airport during your trip). I actually messed this up one time and had to cart luggage from Port Royale all the way to the Custom House around the lake due to time constraints...not fun...
Another con is that some of the rooms have a glorious view of....parking lots. This isn't the only resort that has this issue, but it is the worst one in this regard, imho...There isn't much in the way of foliage between many of the rooms and the parking lots, if any...so, it's worth asking for a garden view (or even reserving one, if the cost is reasonable). It is NOT, however, worth paying extra for a lake view. The gardens are quite pretty, and due to how most of the buildings are arranged, if you have a garden view, you likely will also have a reasonable view of the lake. But, even if you don't, it really isn't that spectacular a sight to miss out on (unlike, say, one of the deluxe resorts around SSL, where view is one of the perks and is worth paying for).
And, lastly, while they are neat, I'd avoid the Pirate Rooms. They are limited to Trinidad South, which is the furthest from Port Royale and the worst location on the bus route. Heh, that's why they put them there! It's the worst place in the resort, as far as footprint, to stay.
That said, even if you are in Trini South, there's an internal resort shuttle bus that runs the gamut all day and into the night, and you can use that. And, if you are not averse to walking, the distance from Trini South to Port Royale is about akin to walking from the Main Street Train Station to the Castle (I actually measured this a few years ago, and I think I recall correctly, if not, apologies!).
I look forward to going back to CBR one day. Lovely resort. Very quiet. The sandy beaches are nice (though stay away from the water). I highly recommend it! It's a can't go wrong resort, imho!
The buses can be a bit hit or miss, but if you take that into account, it's not that bad. And, I've stayed at other moderates (like POFQ) and even Deluxe (AKL) where the service was equally iffy, if not worse. But, it's not nearly as good as the Pop/AoA bus service...not even close.
Trinidad North is extremely popular due to it's proximity to Old Port Royale (the main pool, the food court, the gift shop). Martinique is also nice, but only if you get buildings 24,25,26.
Here's a map, so this makes more sense...
Personally, I'd request your room to be "near the bridge" over in Jamaica or Aruba. Specifically Jamaica 45 or Aruba 51. It's a bit more isolated over there, and tends to have less foot traffic, in my observation...making it feel more remote and quiet near the rooms. There's another advantage regarding buses too, which I'll explain in a moment.
As far as getting to Old Port Royale from Aruba/Jamaica, you cross the bridge. It's a slightly longer, but very nice, walk across the lake to get to Port Royale, but it's not so far that it's out of the question to send a family member to get breakfast and come back to the room with it (I did it several times), for example.
Another advantage of Aruba/Jamaica over the Martinique / Trinidad North options is how the buses actually flow through the resort. Generally (but not universally) Aruba and Jamaica are among the last to pick up, and the first to drop off. This sounds like a bad thing, but it isn't. It means that you spend less time on the actual bus. Once you get picked up, lets say, at Jamaica, generally you have 2 stops and you are on your way, instead of going through the entire loop of 7 stops, like you would at Martinique.
Also, it means that when you are coming back to the resort, you are among the first to drop off, again, instead of having to cycle through the entire resort. A very nice perk after a long day at the park with sore feetsies and tired kiddos in tow...
The routes don't always do this (it depends which of the two entrances to CBR that the buses take), but in both my stays, on average, the buses followed this pattern.
It should be noted that the bus stops are actually across the parking lots from the rooms...so, it's a walk to get to them. Trinidad North and South have the best bus stop proximity to the rooms, with Trini South being the absolute best.
That said, avoid Trini South!
Additionally, though the hours are weird, I'd recommend Shutters if you have a free evening at the resort to burn. It's a table service restaurant at Old Port Royale. The food there is rather unique to other offerings at Disney, and is quite good in my opinion!
The pool is, hands down, my favorite of all the resorts we've stayed at, to exclude the pool at AKL. It's small enough that I felt comfortable allowing my child to play in the zero entry area with me only a few yards away, even when she was younger. The toddler play area, likewise, is a whole lot of fun, with a massive dunk tank. The slides there are not amazing, but good enough.
Another neat thing to do at the pool is to hang out until when Illuminations is going off at EPCOT. You can actually see some of the fireworks from the pool! Very neat experience.
One con to the resort, imho, is that the check in and departure area is quite isolated from the rest of the resort (it's in the Custom House), so keep this in mind when you plan your departure. You ARE going to want to arrange to have your luggage picked up (well, this assumes that you are not driving your own car or renting from the airport during your trip). I actually messed this up one time and had to cart luggage from Port Royale all the way to the Custom House around the lake due to time constraints...not fun...
Another con is that some of the rooms have a glorious view of....parking lots. This isn't the only resort that has this issue, but it is the worst one in this regard, imho...There isn't much in the way of foliage between many of the rooms and the parking lots, if any...so, it's worth asking for a garden view (or even reserving one, if the cost is reasonable). It is NOT, however, worth paying extra for a lake view. The gardens are quite pretty, and due to how most of the buildings are arranged, if you have a garden view, you likely will also have a reasonable view of the lake. But, even if you don't, it really isn't that spectacular a sight to miss out on (unlike, say, one of the deluxe resorts around SSL, where view is one of the perks and is worth paying for).
And, lastly, while they are neat, I'd avoid the Pirate Rooms. They are limited to Trinidad South, which is the furthest from Port Royale and the worst location on the bus route. Heh, that's why they put them there! It's the worst place in the resort, as far as footprint, to stay.
That said, even if you are in Trini South, there's an internal resort shuttle bus that runs the gamut all day and into the night, and you can use that. And, if you are not averse to walking, the distance from Trini South to Port Royale is about akin to walking from the Main Street Train Station to the Castle (I actually measured this a few years ago, and I think I recall correctly, if not, apologies!).
I look forward to going back to CBR one day. Lovely resort. Very quiet. The sandy beaches are nice (though stay away from the water). I highly recommend it! It's a can't go wrong resort, imho!
Last edited:
ryguy
Well-Known Member
The above post is pretty spot on. The knock for a long time at CBR was that the rooms were tired and worn, but they were recently renovated so that takes care of that. Truthfully all the moderates with the exception of French Quarter are massive, so the size complaint and bus problems really relate to all of them.
DisneyJunkie
Well-Known Member
I've stayed at one resort other than any on the deluxe list, and it happened to be Caribbean Beach. The short of it is: I wouldn't want to stay there again.
The reasons: Too far a walk from our room to the main shopping/dining area especially if filling up your refillable mugs. Took too long to get to our destinations away from the resort (primarily due to having multiple bus stops within the resort itself before it leaves resort property), and too long to get back to our bus stop for the same reason. The beds were too small, and we prefer to have our room be contained within another building so there's as little outside contact as possible and so we don't have parking lot light shine through the shades (which it did even with them closed).
The reasons: Too far a walk from our room to the main shopping/dining area especially if filling up your refillable mugs. Took too long to get to our destinations away from the resort (primarily due to having multiple bus stops within the resort itself before it leaves resort property), and too long to get back to our bus stop for the same reason. The beds were too small, and we prefer to have our room be contained within another building so there's as little outside contact as possible and so we don't have parking lot light shine through the shades (which it did even with them closed).
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
We'll be staying at CBR for the first time in November (preferred room, which means we'll be in Trinidad North or Martinique, making the walk to Old Port Royale a non-issue), so I've been reading everything I could about it.
If staying at CBR, and especially if you plan to visit Old Port Royale on a regular basis (where the main feature pool, gift shop, concierge desk and food court are located), then I would avoid the most far-flung rooms (e.g., Barbados and Trinidad South -- my understanding is that the Trinidad South pirate rooms are so unpopular that guests are often offered a "free upgrade" to them, but don't accept one without understanding the downsides -- full beds instead of the queen beds to which all other rooms at CBR were recently upgraded, and the most remote possible location). As others said, standard rooms in Aruba or Jamaica near the bridge are some of the best-situated standard rooms at the resort.
Another thing to be aware of is that, unlike all other WDW resorts, the check-in building for CBR (Custom House) is separate from the rest of the resort and far from Old Port Royale, which can prove a bit annoying if you have other business to take care of in the gift shop or at the concierge desk around the time you check in or out. (In other moderate resorts, you'll find the check-in/check-out desk in the "main" building wherever the food court and gift shop are located.) If you're arriving and departing by Magical Express, you'll be dropped off (or picked up) at Custom House. To get to/from Custom House you'll need to take the internal resort shuttle bus (which circles the resort continuously), or a Bell Services van if you have luggage, unless you want to take a long walk!
Even taking the downsides into account, we're looking forward to our stay at CBR!
If staying at CBR, and especially if you plan to visit Old Port Royale on a regular basis (where the main feature pool, gift shop, concierge desk and food court are located), then I would avoid the most far-flung rooms (e.g., Barbados and Trinidad South -- my understanding is that the Trinidad South pirate rooms are so unpopular that guests are often offered a "free upgrade" to them, but don't accept one without understanding the downsides -- full beds instead of the queen beds to which all other rooms at CBR were recently upgraded, and the most remote possible location). As others said, standard rooms in Aruba or Jamaica near the bridge are some of the best-situated standard rooms at the resort.
Another thing to be aware of is that, unlike all other WDW resorts, the check-in building for CBR (Custom House) is separate from the rest of the resort and far from Old Port Royale, which can prove a bit annoying if you have other business to take care of in the gift shop or at the concierge desk around the time you check in or out. (In other moderate resorts, you'll find the check-in/check-out desk in the "main" building wherever the food court and gift shop are located.) If you're arriving and departing by Magical Express, you'll be dropped off (or picked up) at Custom House. To get to/from Custom House you'll need to take the internal resort shuttle bus (which circles the resort continuously), or a Bell Services van if you have luggage, unless you want to take a long walk!
Even taking the downsides into account, we're looking forward to our stay at CBR!
TB4244
Well-Known Member
We're staying at CBR in November too, having previously stayed at POR. We've read a lot of pros and cons for this resort and decided to take the plunge. Many have pointed out that the bus service is a bit so-so but no worse than POR which services both riverside and FQ, plus the whole loop around it on certain journeys anyway. So we weren't particularly worried.
I've heard good things about shutters so we've planned that in for an evening meal.
We don't tend to spend much time at the resort as we like to get the maximum out of our stay as we can. We're mostly in the parks all day (and night) until they insist we leave!
Fingers crossed that we enjoy our stay.
I've heard good things about shutters so we've planned that in for an evening meal.
We don't tend to spend much time at the resort as we like to get the maximum out of our stay as we can. We're mostly in the parks all day (and night) until they insist we leave!
Fingers crossed that we enjoy our stay.
patch553
Well-Known Member
we are booked to stay in may 17 and are buzzing. weve previously stayed at all the other moderates and wanted to complete the set, whilst reviewing many peoples thoughts the main issue sounds like being how spread out it is but people say the same at AoA and that didn't bother us at all,having seen lots of photos from people trips on here or trip adviser etc, the whole place looks beautiful and some what romantic of a night so we are really looking forward to our vacation
Thanks for all the reviews we stayed at POR last time and we were pretty far in the back of that resort and had a nice walk but it wasn't bad so maybe I will ask for Aruba or Jamaica and take a chance. Bus service will be a challenge. I think the best bus service we had was when we stayed at POP. Will be there March 12-25 hope it's not to busy.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
I mentioned in my review that I had to cart luggage from Old Port Royale to the Custom House around the lake one trip, and you reminded me why (it was my first trip, so, I get a pass for being silly!)
I had to go to the gift shop that morning to get pickup items from the parks (you can have on park and Disney Springs purchases shipped to your hotel as long as your checkout date is more than 24 hours from time of purchase).
It was a lot of stuff (I had let a few days build up there), and we had an early departure on DME...so, we brought our luggage with us so I could put the items in our luggage.
I figured I would take the resort shuttle to Port Royale, but now I recall...they wouldn't let me bring luggage onto the resort shuttle. I don't know if they have changed this policy in recent years (this was 2010, first stay at CBR), but...it was an unpleasant surprise for me.
No time to wait on bell services, so me and a 5 year old huffed it with four suitcases around the lake on a hot mid August morning...
Not...fun...
Lesson? Plan better...but ESPECIALLY for CBR. It is the only resort that has this issue.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
Yes, exactly. It is no worse than bus service at PORS when it is servicing both resorts. In fact, when I stayed at POFQ, I actually found it more frustrating to try and predict when and if our bus was going to turn and do the whole PORS circuit or not.
CBR bus service is understandably a bit more spread out than, say, POP, but it is fairly regular and consistent. Therefore, once you get a feel for how long you should give the busses, it becomes fairly easy to predict.
But, it ain't POP bus service...not even close...
Yeah we will have our car with us might have to use it a few times this trip never have had to use it before but getting to some place takes a couple different buses sometimes and can really eat up the time.
Which village and rooms if you have stayed there do you like best. I don't want a view of the parking lot.
chrisbarry
Active Member
As a fellow family of five...I don't think you can fit at Caribbean Beach? Unless they added trundles or those pull down beds like at Riverside.
TheMouseFan
Well-Known Member
They recently added the pull down beds. Our family of 5 fit comfortably back in June.
We came home today and spent 2 of 5 days there. The info above matches our experience.
We had a rental since my wife and I needed it for work during the trip. I prefer a car at the moderates we've visited. It makes things more convenient for us, but others may have a different experience based on their needs. The biggest benefit to us this trip was knowing we had a cooler with water and cokes on ice in the parking lot that we purchased at Publix on the way from MCO. $3 for a cooler more than paid for itself in the saving we realized buy drinks off porperty. More importantly we drank more water, in the heat when needed, instead of talking ourselves out of buying something because of the price. WE also kept dry shoes and a change socks in the car in case the monsoons ever showed up. They didn't but we knew we had dry shoes and socks that we didn't have to carry around or go back to the resort for.
I did take a bus to Epcot on the first day of F&W, while my wife had the car off property. It wasn't bad. I just missed one and had to wait about 30 minutes. But they were pretty full getting to the Port Royal stop. I'd absolutely let them drive us home in a bus from Epcot if we were closing the park down, whether I'd had any alcohol or not. Another benefit to using the bus is not having to avoid other drivers there on vacation, that panic when Google maps chooses to reroute them at the last second, or for no reason. I don't know what it is, but Google maps has sent me to make more U-turns on purpose around WDW than every other place I've used it combined.
We had a rental since my wife and I needed it for work during the trip. I prefer a car at the moderates we've visited. It makes things more convenient for us, but others may have a different experience based on their needs. The biggest benefit to us this trip was knowing we had a cooler with water and cokes on ice in the parking lot that we purchased at Publix on the way from MCO. $3 for a cooler more than paid for itself in the saving we realized buy drinks off porperty. More importantly we drank more water, in the heat when needed, instead of talking ourselves out of buying something because of the price. WE also kept dry shoes and a change socks in the car in case the monsoons ever showed up. They didn't but we knew we had dry shoes and socks that we didn't have to carry around or go back to the resort for.
I did take a bus to Epcot on the first day of F&W, while my wife had the car off property. It wasn't bad. I just missed one and had to wait about 30 minutes. But they were pretty full getting to the Port Royal stop. I'd absolutely let them drive us home in a bus from Epcot if we were closing the park down, whether I'd had any alcohol or not. Another benefit to using the bus is not having to avoid other drivers there on vacation, that panic when Google maps chooses to reroute them at the last second, or for no reason. I don't know what it is, but Google maps has sent me to make more U-turns on purpose around WDW than every other place I've used it combined.
Princess Leia
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hijack this thread, but my friends and I are looking at staying at CBR next November, and a couple were wondering if the beds had been upgraded from full size to queen size? Thanks