pre cruise hotel question

[angie2003]

I am a little confused. I realize that alot of people stay at a hotel in the port they are departing from the night before boarding - however I just read a wonderful review that mentioned RCCL picking them up at the airport and taking them to the hotel, then picking them up from the hotel the next day and taking them to the ship?? Could someone please give me some additional information on this - I am guessing that I would book the hotel stay through RCCL as well as the transfers? Do you get a choice of hotels or does the cruiseline pick for you? Is it cheaper to do it on your own or do they have reasonable rates?

 

I apologize for my ignorance and twenty questions, just have no idea on this subject. Thank you.

[TheWog]

You book through the cruiseline. It may depend on your port city and the deal the cruiseline has struck with a particular hotel. You may get a choice of one or two different hotels, but usually they will decide for you. If you are staying in a city that has great deals on Priceline you will probably be better off doing it on your own. ASk your TA to price it out for you both ways and see which is better. FLL is an easy city to do on your own. Hotels are a short ride from both the airport and the terminals. Used to be able to get great deals on FLL hotels.

 

For our cruise this past January, I booked the Hyatt Pier 66 in FLL on Priceline for $95.00 for the night. Internet rate was $325.00 for the same night. I arranged my own transportation and it was great. I think RCI was using the Embassy Suites for their passengers at that time, but I don't recall exactly what pricing was, I think it was around $89.00 per person for the night.

 

I would go over and check the precruise hotel board on this site for more info as well.

[angie2003]

Thank you very much for the response. I will take your advice and check both. We will be boarding in Miami so my guess is there will be many hotel choices if I do the booking on my own. It sounds nice to have the convenience of all the transfers all set though :)

[TheWog]

I arranged a car service (well it was actually a van) to pick us up and take us each place we wanted to go - airport to hotel, hotel to pier, pier to airport - and they did it for the 4 of us (2 couples traveling together). It was much cheaper $16.00 per transfer for all 4 of us vs. what the cruise ship wanted to charge. And we got to dictate the times. Cruiseline you usually need to wait for the bus to fill up. Yes, there are a lot of Miami hotels out there. Keep looking.