We decided on CBR, now I need more help!

[lebo]

Thanks everyone for giving me your opinions on which Moderate. I just heard from Melissa at MJ and she got us in CBR with the new discounts. Now for everyone who's stayed here, are there preferred rooms. We would definatly like to be as close as possible to the bus stops/food courts. Will this be an xtra charge for preferring a room in this area?
Thanks again for everyone's responses.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

There are I believe 2 buildings at CBR that are considered to be prefered buildings, and thus carry an upcharge. I think the upcharge is the same as getting a waterview/courtyard view vs standard. I can't remember which buildings, might be Martinique and Trinidad, either way it should be the buildings closest to the main center, Port Royale.

As an fyi, each building should have a bus stop fairly close by. Some buildings may be at the end of the route or beginning, but location of the bus stop (in relation to your building) probably shouldn't be a factor.

If you don't want to pay an upcharge, consider requesting Jamaica. If you look at the resort map it's only a short pleasant walk across the island to port royale, maybe 5 minutes or so. We stayed their last time and really enjoyed it.

[princessimagineer]

if i'm not mistaken, all the islands have bus stops?

Jamaca is in a prime location, its directly accross the bridge from the food court so its far enough that you wont be annoyed with sounds but close enough that its a simple walk. im sure you can find a resort map somewhere online to see what i mean (i think even intercot has them).

have a great time! i looovvveeeddd CBR!

[CleveRocks]

There are I believe 2 buildings at CBR that are considered to be prefered buildings, and thus carry an upcharge. I think the upcharge is the same as getting a waterview/courtyard view vs standard. I can't remember which buildings, might be Martinique and Trinidad, either way it should be the buildings closest to the main center, Port Royale.
Posting on these boards is like walking through a minefield for me. I like getting accurate information to people who ask for it, and sometimes that means correcting some incorrect or partially incorrect information that someone else already posted. So I'm not trying to be nit-picky, I'm just trying to help the OP get the info she's looking for.:mickey:

CBR's rooms are in 6 villages; 5 of these villages have 6 buildings each, and 1 (Trinidad North) has only 3 buildings.

At CBR, "preferred location" means being in one of the 6 buildings closest to Old Port Royale, the complex that has the food court, restaurant, main pool, shops, arcade, outdoor bar, water sports rentals, etc.

The preferred location rooms are in all of the Trinidad North buildings (31, 32 and 33) and half of the Martinique buildings (24, 25 and 26). These 6 buildings have the shortest walk to OPR.

The Ghost was correct about each village having its own bus stop, and therefore that there's no such thing as a village that is closer to a bus stop than any other village is.

There are 3 possible upgrades at CBR. One is preferred location, which we already covered. Another upgrade is king-size bed; these are sprinkled throughout the resort and are not concentrated in any one area. The other upgrade category is water view. This means that if you have your curtains open and look past the exterior corridor you will have a view of some type of water; it might be Barefoot Bay (the lake) or it might be a village's quiet pool, and you have no way of reserving one or the other.

An upgrade must be reserved (not merely requested) in advance and paid for in order for it to be guaranteed. The additional cost is $15-$26 per night (2007 rates), depending on season.

It is NOT accurate that a courtyard view costs extra. Courtyard view is within the "standard" category. Just like you can't be guaranteed lake or pool with a water view room, you can't be guaranteed courtyard view or parking lot view with a standard room. You can request anything you want (and that generally is a good idea), but you can't be guaranteed what I'll call a "sub-category."

If you want to be relatively close to OPR but don't want to pay for a preferred location room (or if they are sold out, as frequently happens), then you can request Aruba or Jamaica. Aruba and Jamaica are mirror-images of each other, each at the foot of the bridge that crosses the lake and ends at OPR. For some reason that I'll never understand, however, most people tout Jamaica and ignore poor ol' Aruba, even though they're identical mirror-images.

I love CBR. Some people complain about how large and sprawling it is. I think that's part of its charm. It's so large that even when it's at full capacity, everyone is sort of spread out, so it never seems overly crowded.

Now, a word or two about buses. It's a mixed bag in terms of village location ....

Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney buses (separate buses, one bus doesn't go to both locations) start at Martinique, and from there go clockwise to OPR, Trinidad North, Trinidad South, Jamaica, Aruba and finally Barbados before leaving CBR and heading to their destinations.

Epcot, MGM (soon to be Disney's Hollywood Studios -- DHS???) and Animal Kingdom buses (separate buses, one bus doesn't go to all 3 locations) start at Jamaica, and from there go clockwise to Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, OPR, Trinidad North, and finally Trinidad South before leaving CBR and heading to their destinations.

I hope you end up loving CBR as much as I do.

[Mariaºoº]

Yes, CBR does have Preferred Rooms located at Martinique 26, 25, 24 and Trinidad North 31 and 32. These locations put right beside Old Port Royale and there is an additional fee for these rooms. I personally wouldn't pay the extra fee for these rooms when you can request Aruba 51 or 52 or Jamaica 45, 46 or 44 and be the same amount of walking distance to OPR as the preferred locations.

From Aruba or Jamaica you walk across a bridge and Caribbean Cay Island to OPR which takes less than 10 minutes to cross. There's caribbean music piped in through the walk so instead of walking you'll be dancing! There are hammocks and play area on the island.

The themeing is fantastic at CBR! Very lush, tropical foilage, bright painted buildings and caribbean music. At OPR you'll find Shutter's (sit down restaurant), Food Court which is out of this world delicious with many different offerings, arcade and two shopping area's... a straw market and Trading Post. One has more caribbean and pirate themed souvenirs, bathing suits, towels and coconut postcards. The other has more traditional Disney souvenirs, luggage, strollers, first aid, etc....

Each island has their own private pool which we have always found to have to ourselves. The laundry area is also located by each private pool. The main pool is located in OPR which is themed very well with cannons squirting water, waterfall, slide and hot tub. Banana Cabana (poolside bar) is also located by the main pool with delicious drinks! You'll also find a ping pong table located by the bar.

The marina is also located by OPR where you can rent bicycles and many different watercraft. I highly recommend renting at least one or the other to really see CBR. There's a pathway that goes around the whole resort...a little over a mile long I believe that is wonderful to ride along on bicycles with plenty of picture taking opportunities.

Each island also has their own beach with hammocks and a few have playgrounds for children. You can also see the higher up fireworks of Illuminations from CBR as well as half of SpaceShip Earth.

The bus service here is fantastic! Each island has their own bus stop. Jamaica is one of the first stops on many loops and usually the first to be dropped off when returning from the parks. There's also an internal bus that will take you from island to island to OPR as well. One thing that I have found is that if you just miss a bus don't fret because one will be right behind the one you just missed. The bus stops are covered with benches and soda machines.

I could go on and on about CBR. It truly is a fantastic resort!!!

I'll be there again in just 7 days! WooHoo!!!

[tundramom]

Just to add on... we stayed in Martinique 25, very convenient, first on/first off the bus (at that time). HOWEVER, Martinique 25 is also considered a flood zone building. In the rare (unless you travel with us) event that there is a hurricane you will be evacuated from your building. For us that meant coming back to a letter on the bed (3PM and already raining hard!), not being able to get an answer at the front desk, having to pack everything up, running thru a deluge(with the luggage) to OPR (which was an absolute madhouse), before being able to contact someone for a new room assignment. Which by the way was Aruba, and was just as convenient as Martinique 25:)

[mousetrapper]

Aruba and Jamaica are mirror-images of each other, each at the foot of the bridge that crosses the lake and ends at OPR. For some reason that I'll never understand, however, most people tout Jamaica and ignore poor ol' Aruba, even though they're identical mirror-images.


I think maybe the reason Jamaica has been touted as ideal is that at one time, buses stopped at the Jamaica bus stop first -- so that meant you were first to be picked up in the morning, and first to be dropped off in the evening. So wonderful when you're eager to hit the parks in the a.m., and can't wait to hit the sack in the p.m. after a long day in the parks.

We did stay at Jamaica our last time at WDW in 2005, however, and that wasn't the case, so the bus schedules/stops may have changed.

Others may have better info on this.

We still would request Jamaica, however. We find it easy to walk to OPR and to our bus stop. CBR is overall just a great resort -- beautiful theming, spread out so it's quiet, comfortable rooms, good food court, etc.

[DDuck66]

We always stay at Jamaica because it is located directly across the bridge from the Food Court. It is a short walk. Every "island" has its own bus stop so you dont have to worry about that. We have also been known to drive our car over to Port Royale (Food Court/Shop) in the morning when the parking is good, so that we can use the car to move our packages back to the room that we have delivered to the Shop. It is a Great Resort all around!!!!

[PetefromRI]

You guys seemed to cover the discription of the resort pretty well.I like to call the CBR-"The Poor Mans Poly".We absolutly love it there.Just don't get stuck in Trinidad South or else you'll have to book a flight on SW to get to OPR.We're staying at POFQ in May for the first time only because the main pool at CBR will be down for rehab from Jan.-May 2008.We're looking forward to a great time nonetheless as I've heard only great things about that resort also.Have Fun!

[Mariaºoº]

You guys seemed to cover the discription of the resort pretty well.I like to call the CBR-"The Poor Mans Poly".We absolutly love it there.Just don't get stuck in Trinidad North or else you'll have to book a flight on SW to get to OPR.We're staying at POFQ in May for the first time only because the main pool at CBR will be down for rehab from Jan.-May 2008.We're looking forward to a great time nonetheless as I've heard only great things about that resort also.Have Fun!


Actually, Trinidad North is the Good Section. Trinidad South is the one that is far out. There are people who like to be secluded in Trinidad South, especially couples without children.

[PetefromRI]

Maria O,
Thank you so much for the correction.I might have had people after my head with that advice.You are correct,Trinidad North is the closer one.I'm going to edit my post right now.

[Melanie]

We liked Trinidad South. Yes, it's 'out there', but the walk was refreshing and the internal shuttle came in handy a few times as well.

CBR is a great resort! We look forward to returning one day. :sun:

[Mariaºoº]

You guys seemed to cover the discription of the resort pretty well.I like to call the CBR-"The Poor Mans Poly".We absolutly love it there.Just don't get stuck in Trinidad South or else you'll have to book a flight on SW to get to OPR.We're staying at POFQ in May for the first time only because the main pool at CBR will be down for rehab from Jan.-May 2008.We're looking forward to a great time nonetheless as I've heard only great things about that resort also.Have Fun!


I've been told that they will be adding in slides to the quiet pools in Jamaica and I believe Barbados while the renovations are being done to the main pool. I'm hoping to get more details when I check-in to CBR in just 3 more days! WooHoo!