Cruise Line Approved Hotels

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Been There, Planning That said:

 

After decades of independent travels around the world, often staying in three star hotels where little English was spoken, we have reluctantly graduated to the stage of life and mobility issues where we need to keep things easy, and convenient and therefore much more expensive. 

 

After independent travels our next step was bus specialized tours where others arranged everything.  Then river cruising and the comfort of one unpacking and great tours.

 

We're now at the hand-holding cruise hotel and ship excursion stage and are content.

 

We agree, cruise line hotels are usually chains either at airports or well away from city centres and pricier than on line.  But our goal is to enjoy a couple of nights pre cruise in warmth and sunshine.  We manage on usually expensive and limited hotel dining.

 

I should add we started travelling in the early 60s long before the ease of internet searches.

 

Ruth

 It is great that you are still travelling & doing what you want 

If it means having some hand holding  I am all for it

 We started out back in the late 60's travelling by motorcycle...  some of the hotels  well let's just say they were  budget friendly  at the time  ..now if only I could back to packing as light as I did back then 😉

 

We have now graduated to nicer accommodation on  cruise ships  ..we still do mid priced hotels  in the port city

 

 

Enjoy life  it has an expiry date

[aungrl]

On 6/6/2020 at 4:08 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

I like European hotels, preferably historic ones. And I adore eating out. I have plenty of days at home to cook.

 

View from my room at my favorite hotel in Rome (building on the left is the Pantheon) on my most recent stay:

 

 

Do you mind sharing the name of the hotel?  I'm always looking for hotel recommendations in Rome and this looks like a perfect location.  TIA!

[PORT ROYAL]

Here is another thread with Rome Hotels which may assist.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by PORT ROYAL

[aungrl]

4 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Here is another thread with Rome Hotels which may assist.

 

 

Thanks for this!  I have a hard time with finding answers to specific questions on CC.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, aungrl said:

 

Do you mind sharing the name of the hotel?  I'm always looking for hotel recommendations in Rome and this looks like a perfect location.  TIA!

 

Albergo del Senato -- truly a wonderful hotel. I've stayed there numerous times since I first found it in 2006.

[aungrl]

17 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Albergo del Senato -- truly a wonderful hotel. I've stayed there numerous times since I first found it in 2006.

Thanks!!

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

Are there really that many business people having a tough time finding a hotel? If there's any crowd I would think might be a little more choosy of where they are staying, I would probably think it's business travelers. Most business travelers travel often and have a preference of what they like. It is probably not too uncommon either that they would have a loyalty status that would get them perks. Upgrades, points, late checkout, breakfast, etc. Booking through a third party often negates those perks.

 

I think this is more for the crowd who don't travel often and/or don't care about the cost.

 

I can only speak for myself but yes it is (was) easier to travel & book for business trips than for personal vacations.   The hotel brands I stayed at when traveling for business were for the most part large well known chains with many properties.  Location to attractions or whatever was not an objective.  For some trips I didn't even do the booking.   And I was always happy to pick up points with those places, as you say.   Anyway, when I traveled for business the objective was a lot different than when we are on vacation.   

 

 

[iancal]

My point was rather straightforward.  Business hotels often have increased vacancy during Fri-Sun.  They reduce the room rates, offer weekend specials, the lot.  It makes it very attractive to the cruise line to pick up blocks of rooms for pre or post rates. It provide the cruise line with better profit margins on that end of the business.

 

That is why my advice is that if you are considering a cruise hotel package and IF the location is important to you, do NOT assume that it is in are close by to a tourist centric area that you want to visit.  

 

We have picked up lots of Priceline bidding wins on great business hotels on weekends in particular.  And taken advantage of lots of weekend specials since we typically have a rental car.

 

We have used hotel points often.  Last year in downtown Toronto for a night and last year in Sydney for five nights.  Still have some from my working days and from our post retirement credit cards.  Chains like Marriott, Accor, etc have many properties.

[Markanddonna]

• I agree that location  is the key if you want to visit the sites but all the previously wise advice on price might be inaccurate for post coronavirus travel. Changes will require all of us to do intensive and up-to-date research. It will be interesting to see how travel will be in the future.

[marco]

Cruise line approved hotels?   Kind of like cruise line approved shops.

[PORT ROYAL]

3 minutes ago, marco said:

Cruise line approved hotels?   Kind of like cruise line approved shops.

 

Agree.

A few years ago we did a part WC, and the Cunard price for 3 nights pre-cruise HK tour in a standard room, was identical to booking a suite direct in the same hotel staying 4 nights with a personal tour guide with car for the same sights and duration.

 

Back to the thread.  Think prices should increase beyond the current level, as this will ensure an improvement in the cruise experiences, and ending the slow decline dictated by price.  

Cunard will then become CUNARD again.

Happy to pay extra to ensure we get the Cruise wished for on Cunard.

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I can only speak for myself but yes it is (was) easier to travel & book for business trips than for personal vacations.   The hotel brands I stayed at when traveling for business were for the most part large well known chains with many properties.  Location to attractions or whatever was not an objective.  For some trips I didn't even do the booking.   And I was always happy to pick up points with those places, as you say.   Anyway, when I traveled for business the objective was a lot different than when we are on vacation.   

 

 

When I was traveling for business our travel department did the booking (unless there was a last minute trip or a change) - they had the leverage to get the best rates - on air as well as hotels.

[Hlitner]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Albergo del Senato -- truly a wonderful hotel. I've stayed there numerous times since I first found it in 2006.

We have actually been looking at that property for a three night stay in October.  Do you recommend any specific room or suite?

 

Hank

[iancal]

We had a group that traveled frequently.  We were supposed to book hotels through our approved corporate travel agency.  To save money.   In our area we declined.  My PA called five of the most commonly used hotels and got a rate.   All but one of those five had a rate that was exactly $50. CAD less per night than our 'approved' agency rate.  I was responsible and had the regional P&L.  Guess what we did???

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have actually been looking at that property for a three night stay in October.  Do you recommend any specific room or suite?

 

Hank

 

I generally am in Rome solo and I just ask for one of their solo or regular double rooms with a view of the Pantheon and the piazza. They always say they cannot 'confirm' a Pantheon view...but I have always gotten one.

 

If you want a more special experience, they have a wonderful room -- I believe it is on the 4th floor, with a lovely long & narrow terrace with pots of plants along the side of the building but with a lovely side/front view of the Pantheon. I stayed there with my mom; she loved the terrace. Several times we sat out there and had wine before dinner or an al fresco lunch. But then, the del Senato does have a lovely terrace on the top floor as well.  If you want the specific room number I can see if I still have it somewhere...

 

[PORT ROYAL]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I generally am in Rome solo and I just ask for one of their solo or regular double rooms with a view of the Pantheon and the piazza. They always say they cannot 'confirm' a Pantheon view...but I have always gotten one.

 

If you want a more special experience, they have a wonderful room -- I believe it is on the 4th floor, with a lovely long & narrow terrace with pots of plants along the side of the building but with a lovely side/front view of the Pantheon. I stayed there with my mom; she loved the terrace. Several times we sat out there and had wine before dinner or an al fresco lunch. But then, the del Senato does have a lovely terrace on the top floor as well.  If you want the specific room number I can see if I still have it somewhere...

 

 

Sounds like 402

[Hlitner]

Thank you both.  Now the waiting game continues as that trip to Rome is to take the Regal Princess from Rome to Singapore (Oct 17).  Whether or not that cruise happens is a real big question mark.  You can be sure we are not booking anything with non-refundable deposits :).   I do love the location of that hotel since the Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori are our favorite hang-outs.  In Rome we prefer to keep things within walking distance :).

 

Hank

[clo]

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

When I was traveling for business our travel department did the booking (unless there was a last minute trip or a change) - they had the leverage to get the best rates - on air as well as hotels.

When Bob worked for Levi Strauss there was a department that did the deals with hotels in a range of cities worldwide. A number of times, when we were no longer living in SF, but he was traveling there for meetings, he would stay at the Fairmont. He had late check-in one night after a poker game with some of his old friends. The single room was actually a six room suite in the original part of the hotel 🙂

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Thank you both.  Now the waiting game continues as that trip to Rome is to take the Regal Princess from Rome to Singapore (Oct 17).  Whether or not that cruise happens is a real big question mark.  You can be sure we are not booking anything with non-refundable deposits :).   I do love the location of that hotel since the Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori are our favorite hang-outs.  In Rome we prefer to keep things within walking distance :).

 

Hank

 

I had a BTB Med cruise on Celebrity in mid-October (one of my favorite times of year to do the Med....).  It was a 10-day Venice to Venice followed by 9-days Venice to Barcelona. 

 

Even though I'd love to go SOMEWHERE by October, I'm not convinced, so just did their "lift and shift" deal.

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I had a BTB Med cruise on Celebrity in mid-October (one of my favorite times of year to do the Med....).  It was a 10-day Venice to Venice followed by 9-days Venice to Barcelona. 

 

Even though I'd love to go SOMEWHERE by October, I'm not convinced, so just did their "lift and shift" deal.

We are also not convinced :(.  DW and I have waffled back and forth on the subject.  Our final pmt was to be later this week but it now appears that Princess has changed that until mid-August.  So now, we have more time to ruminate on the subject.  But the thought of being in Rome (and some other parts of Europe) when most tourists are at home does motivate me to want to travel.  For decades we have been contrarians and tend to do things when others are in hiding.  But COVID-19 is a major consideration for folks in our age group.  But I also am considering the likelihood that there will not  be a safe/effective vaccine for years (if ever) and this virus is probably endemic (here to stay for a few years).  So what to do?  Go to ground for the rest of our lives (we are not getting younger) or take some calculated risks.  Tough call.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

....  But the thought of being in Rome (and some other parts of Europe) when most tourists are at home does motivate me to want to travel.  ...

 

Hank

You nailed it - I am now thinking of a Fall trip to Italy - when Rome wil have few others than Romans, and Venice will be notable for the Venetians.  

 

The thought of the flight gives pause - but perhaps 8 or so hours on a plane and three on a train (well masked) is not as crazy as a week or more on a ship in total immersion.

Edited June 9, 2020 by navybankerteacher

[clo]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Go to ground for the rest of our lives (we are not getting younger) or take some calculated risks.  Tough call.

"Go to ground" is a relative term, isn't it? We've traveled a lot. Not as much as you probably but more than most, I'm guessing. If we never did another intl. trip I don't know that our hearts would be broken. Aren't we lucky?

[Hlitner]

37 minutes ago, clo said:

"Go to ground" is a relative term, isn't it? We've traveled a lot. Not as much as you probably but more than most, I'm guessing. If we never did another intl. trip I don't know that our hearts would be broken. Aren't we lucky?

For us it is not a question of a broken heart.  We have been avid travelers for over 50 years and fanatical cruisers for about 45 years.  Even at a senior age we have not given up our "spirit of adventure" and love of travel.  Perhaps some would call the travel thing our passion.  I am not ready to toss aside what we enjoy and spend the remainder or our life in a safe rocking chair.  An old friend once told me he would rather die doing what he loved then die with regrets for what he did not do/achieve.   We have friends who can spend hours explaining why they do not do the things they want to do.  For us. if we want to do it we just do it.

 

Hank

[sanger727]

On 6/7/2020 at 11:27 AM, ldubs said:

 

Haha, I know.  People tell me I'm lucky to be able to cruise or do other things.  I agree.  I'm lucky I had the opportunity to work my a$$ off to be able to do those things. 😃😃

there are people out there who work their butts off and still don’t make enough to cruise. That’s where the lucky part comes in. Perhaps blessed or fortunate are better words. Now, I’m not one of them. But I do recognize that I am fortunate to have gone straight into a career path straight from college that was a good fit for me and that pays well enough to fund a comfortable lifestyle. But it’s still only one vacation a year in a balcony or less room money.  Not multiple vacations a year in suites.

 

back to the issue of the thread. To me this seems similar to shore excursions. There are people who book a cruise without considering what to do in port and just wait till they are on the ship to peruse packaged shore excursions. No price shopping, no research, just one stop and done. That’s the same mindset as being offered a hotel and transfer to the ship combo. If you are not inclined to spend time researching a city on where to stay, what to do, how to get to the port; and the price of a packaged combo is acceptable then it’s worth the extra to some people.

[cruisemom42]

8 hours ago, clo said:

 If we never did another intl. trip I don't know that our hearts would be broken. Aren't we lucky?

 

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

For us it is not a question of a broken heart.  We have been avid travelers for over 50 years and fanatical cruisers for about 45 years.  Even at a senior age we have not given up our "spirit of adventure" and love of travel.  Perhaps some would call the travel thing our passion.  I am not ready to toss aside what we enjoy and spend the remainder or our life in a safe rocking chair.  An old friend once told me he would rather die doing what he loved then die with regrets for what he did not do/achieve.   

 

In this one, I'm with Hank. 

 

I was also bitten by the travel bug early, and I would say travel is my passion. I cannot imagine what could take its place in my life. Do I regret not being able to travel this year? Sure do. And I keep travel regrets a long time -- I still regret not getting to Leptis Magna in 2010. Heck, I still regret my parents not taking me with them to Egypt in 1974 when I was a kid...

 

Everything would seem much of a sameness to me without travel. Cathy, maybe if you imagined someone telling you that you could never again cook or eat anything other than very mediocre food, you might have an appreciation for how I would feel.