How far in advance do you make your hotel reservations?

[goeva]

Hi, all

 

I'm currently booked on 12/4 NCL Getaway. I joined our cruise Roll Call and some members have already made hotel reservation last month in April. I have never make hotel or flight reservation this far in advance. I usually make flight reservation 2-3 months and hotel 2-3 weeks prior our trip.

 

Do you get better deals booking this many months in advance? How far in advance do you make your reservation? Do you have any money saving travel tips and tricks you would like to share?

 

Your participation is very much appreciated! :)

Edited May 19, 2016 by goeva

[BlueHerons]

Hi, all

 

I'm currently booked on 12/4 NCL Getaway. I joined our cruise Roll Call and some of the members there have already booked hotel for our December cruise last month in April. I have never make hotel or flight reservation this far in advance. I usually make flight reservation 2-3 months and hotel 2-3 weeks prior our trip.

 

Do you get better deals booking this many months in advance? How far in advance do you make your reservation? Do you have any money saving travel tips and tricks you would like to share?

 

Your participation is very much appreciated! :)

 

If you are staying in Miami you better book your hotel NOW. That is Art Basel Weekend.

 

Otherwise, I have no idea where or what the Getaway is or where is departs from.

 

That is also peak season in South Florida.

 

 

If you are leaving from Port Canaveral, I think it is still off season.

[goeva]

If you are staying in Miami you better book your hotel NOW. That is Art Basel Weekend.

 

Otherwise, I have no idea where or what the Getaway is or where is departs from.

 

That is also peak season in South Florida.

 

 

If you are leaving from Port Canaveral, I think it is still off season.

 

We're flying to FLL and cruising out from Port Miami.

[CruiserBruce]

It is commonly discussed here, that in most cases, you should book now, and watch prices. If the prices fall, then book at the lower price, and cancel the old booking. Florida has a great deal of demand for the hotels in the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area- lots of conventions and other gatherings, as well as the cruise business, and vacationing folks.

 

Most hotels (unless you go the super discount sites) don't require any $$$ up front, so nothing is lost by booking early.

[JohninDC]

You can usually book hotels a year out. No reason to wait - just keep checking for a better deal and rebook if you find one.

[BlueHerons]

We're flying to FLL and cruising out from Port Miami.

 

Either way, book now or you either will not get a room or you'll pay $300 for a skeezy airport motel.

 

FWIW, I book as late as the day of and as far out as six months to twelve months.

 

It depends on where I'm going, the time of year, and the event I'm planning around.

Edited May 19, 2016 by BlueHerons

[OCruisers]

We normally book at least 6 months in advance.

[TerReuv]

I also try to book as soon as I can which is usually a year out since the hotels won't book before then. I find the prices usually cheaper booking so far out and as others have mentioned, if the price goes down, cancel and rebook.

 

Also, I don't want to have to worry about last minute booking in case something is going on in the area that I don't know about.

[Keith1010]

I book them as far in advance as I can.

 

For Miami that is typically 11 months to 12 months out.

 

If the price goes down I followup. Just did a couple of months ago for a reservation.

 

And if prices go up I'm locked in.

 

Keith

[Happy2cruise]

We book a refundable rate as soon as we put a deposit down on a cruise and then keep monitoring the prices. If the price goes down, just cancel an rebook on line or call hotel direct for adjustment.

[Clarea]

As early as possible, as long as we don't have to pay in advance.

[goeva]

Thanks everyone! :)

[goeva]

I started looking for hotel for our December cruise and here are some I found through Orbitz. We're flying to FLL and cruising out from Port Miami. We’ll arrive FLL at 9PM. I’d like to pick up some water and drinks before boarding the ship. Do you know any of these hotel have grocery store or pharmacy within walking distance? If not, I'll ask Uber driver if he or she can make a quick stop on the way to the port.

 

I also checked Hotwire and looks like their mystery hotel deal has Comfort Suites for $145, and Priceline Express has 3 star mystery hotel likely to be Cambria for $153 but of course, both are non-refundable.

 

Which one of these hotel would you pick? Would you book now with Hotwire or Priceline for lower price? Thanks again! :)

 

Check-in 12/3 Check-out 12/4

2 Adult 2 Children, 2 Queen Bed

 

Comfort Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport South & Cruise Port

$187 non-refundable

$198 free cancellation

*Free breakfast, Free WiFi, Free airport shuttle

 

Cambria hotel & suites Ft. Lauderdale Airport South & Cruise

$167 non-refundable

$209 free cancellation

*Free breakfast, Free WiFi, Free airport shuttle

 

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Lauderdale Airport South

$187 non-refundable

$209 free cancellation

*Free breakfast, Free WiFi, Free airport shuttle

 

SpringHill Suites Marriott Ft Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port

$254 free cancellation

*Free breakfast, Free WiFi, Free airport shuttle

 

Hampton Inn & Suites Ft Lauderdale Airport/South Cruise Port

$254 free cancellation

*Free breakfast, Free WiFi, Free airport shuttle

[Happy2cruise]

We just booked the Springhill Suites directly on their website for December and got a rate much lower than you are showing. Maybe rates are more because there are 4. Still you might want to check it out:) Sorry for the misinformation.... Just went and checked your dates and they are showing $218 which is still cheaper than what you posted.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Happy2cruise

[goeva]

We just booked the Springhill Suites directly on their website for December and got a rate much lower than you are showing. Maybe rates are more because there are 4. Still you might want to check it out:) Sorry for the misinformation.... Just went and checked your dates and they are showing $218 which is still cheaper than what you posted.

 

Thank you, Happy2cruise! I went on their site to check as soon as I saw your post. Directly from their website is still cheaper than Orbitz. The price I posted already included tax and fees.

[Casey30043]

I usually book our hotel the day I book our cruise. I have always book on the hotel's website and have gotten much better deals than the travel sites claim you are getting.

[cjmayes51]

We cruise every other year, longer cruises usually out of Ft Lauderdale. I book usually a room at 7-9 months out if I find something I like, because most of our cruises are in March. I see more & more that people will book 3-4 rooms with the idea of cancelling later. I hope everyone knows this helps with the issue of higher costs & no availability. On my next March 2017 cruise, many, many, people on our message board have 3-4 rooms on hold! They plan on cancelling if something better comes up but I think this also keeps room rates higher until last minute, If 10,000-15,000 people are cruising out of Port Everglades on a Saturday & 10% of cruisers follow this rule of booking multiple rooms with the idea of cancelling later, does this help or hurt our chances for a fair price.

For our March 2015 we had a room booked in Dania for the night before our cruise. We booked in May 2015 but in Oct 2014, for 2 days, Orbitz had the usual H I Express 17th St on sale for $119- I cancelled & took a good price for a good hotel in one of the best areas for cruisers, 2 days later prices went back to $219.00 & I didn't see much change later. :confused:

 

Charlie

[Roz]

Before I even book the cruise I check air and hotel availability and prices. If the cruise is more than a year away, that's not possible, but when they open up I jump on them immediately. I can't answer your poll, because when I book my cruise, I book the air and hotel immediately or book them as soon as they're available. I wouldn't book a cruise 11 months out and then wait until a few wks. before to book a hotel. Foolish, IMO.

 

Roz

[erinmarie424]

I booked my hotel for my September cruise a couple weeks back and when I looked again yesterday a new hotel popped up that was $20 less than the one I originally booked so I cancelled the first and booked the new one. I typically do a search on these boards and check out trip advisor for reviews first. I use hotels dot com and it's easy and quick to pull up an old search to see if there is better pricing or another hotel added. I always book refundable rates unless the trip is only a week or two away.

 

 

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[brookie848]

If you are staying in Miami you better book your hotel NOW. That is Art Basel Weekend.

 

Otherwise, I have no idea where or what the Getaway is or where is departs from.

 

That is also peak season in South Florida.

 

 

If you are leaving from Port Canaveral, I think it is still off season.

 

Do you think there is any way we could get a sticky at the top of the page with the various events (especially in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale)? Or could someone direct me to a calendar showing where these major events would be listed?

 

So often, people ask about staying a particular weekend and you locals are helpful enough to warn about big events (boat shows, music festivals, food festivals, etc.). I would love to have a place where this information is housed so I know to avoid or be mindful of certain weekends.

[Happy2cruise]

Thank you, Happy2cruise! I went on their site to check as soon as I saw your post. Directly from their website is still cheaper than Orbitz. The price I posted already included tax and fees.

You're very welcome:)

[goeva]

Do you think there is any way we could get a sticky at the top of the page with the various events (especially in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale)? Or could someone direct me to a calendar showing where these major events would be listed?

 

So often, people ask about staying a particular weekend and you locals are helpful enough to warn about big events (boat shows, music festivals, food festivals, etc.). I would love to have a place where this information is housed so I know to avoid or be mindful of certain weekends.

 

I found this site that shows upcoming events and there are so many events in Miami all year round...

http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/events

Edited May 22, 2016 by goeva

[BlueHerons]

Do you think there is any way we could get a sticky at the top of the page with the various events (especially in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale)? Or could someone direct me to a calendar showing where these major events would be listed?

 

So often, people ask about staying a particular weekend and you locals are helpful enough to warn about big events (boat shows, music festivals, food festivals, etc.). I would love to have a place where this information is housed so I know to avoid or be mindful of certain weekends.

 

I did one several years ago and it was a sticky.

[Moonarino]

I always try to book several months ahead now, and directly with a hotel.

 

We just booked the Springhill Suites directly on their website for December and got a rate much lower than you are showing. ...

 

... I have always book on the hotel's website and have gotten much better deals than the travel sites claim you are getting.

 

Ditto that.

 

@ goeva, for some weird reason I couldn't quote your post. As Happy2cruise and Casey said, I never use travel websites anymore, except to get a comparative idea of which hotels to look for. In nearly 20 years of online shopping I've never found a "better" price on hotels.com, booking.com, expedia, orbitz, travelocity or anything like that.

 

Nowadays I look up the area and date desired on Tripadvisor, find the best deals, read reviews and so on, and then go to a hotel's website (or call) to make the actual reservation. The advantages are:

 

- I can get full quotes with the various discounts the hotel offers, and go with the best one. I have often saved $10-20/night doing that.

 

- Never a ha$$le about changing or cancelling a reservation, right up to the day before or even the day of.

 

- We can make specific requests about room type, location and special needs (extra pillows, etc).

 

Disadvantages: None that I've ever encountered, and I'm free of any fine-print worries that those travel websites have bitten me on more than once.

 

Last I knew, all of those 2-3 dozen travel websites are now owned by just 4 Big companies. And not so long ago, two of those Bigs were on the verge of merging. I won't get into details here, as CC is owned by one of those Bigs. :)

Edited May 22, 2016 by Moonarino

[goeva]

Thank you for sharing your experience, Moonarino! :)