Help! Not sure what to do now!

[ssatterly]

I have the Freedom booked for Feb 4th 2007.. Leaving from Miami!!! Woo hoo!! That i am looking so very forward too.. BUT here's what i need help with! I just found out that the Super Bowl is that same Sunday!! IN MIAMI!!!! So now I know it will be next to impossible to find a hotel for the Sat. night before the cruise and if i do It will be very expinsive!! Same way with the flights...So what I am wondering should i brave it and go for that date OR should I change the date and go a few weeks after Super Bowl.. Now If i change it my TA will charge me a $50 fee for any changes made... I am so confused right now...Also the closest date that is the same price for the cruise is in April..I need help.. Thanks so very much!

[lauren0309]

Why can't you book your flights as soon as they are available. They start posting 330 days out. My cruise isnt till January 7th and I already booked my flights. Also the same with the hotel. Start looking in another month or two. I'm sure you can find something.

[TrinaLC]

Ditch a TA who would charge you $50 for a change like that.

 

Book directly with the cruiseline.

[RevSmith]

Have you checked the hotels. How about staying a little north...Boca etc. You can take a limo down, or rent a car...it won't be expensive...check that angle.

[KelJ]

I have the Freedom booked for Feb 4th 2007.. Leaving from Miami!!! Woo hoo!! That i am looking so very forward too.. BUT here's what i need help with! I just found out that the Super Bowl is that same Sunday!! IN MIAMI!!!! So now I know it will be next to impossible to find a hotel for the Sat. night before the cruise and if i do It will be very expinsive!! Same way with the flights...So what I am wondering should i brave it and go for that date OR should I change the date and go a few weeks after Super Bowl.. Now If i change it my TA will charge me a $50 fee for any changes made... I am so confused right now...Also the closest date that is the same price for the cruise is in April..I need help.. Thanks so very much!

 

As an alternative, you could fly into Ft. Lauderdale and then take a limo to the Miami pier in the morning. I'd book the hotel NOW and book the airfare as soon as you can. We are cruising in December and have our airfare and hotel booked already.

[superjerryw]

I have to agree that you should get a new travel agent as soon as possible. That being said, going in April sounds like a much better idea so it might be worth paying the $50. Even if you can get airfare and a hotel reservation right now you are likely to pay more because it's Superbowl weekend. In addition, imagine how chaotic things are likely to be in Miami that weekend. Do you really want to be there at that time. I can envision mobs of people at the airport, shortages of taxi's, etc. Going in April would also seem to help in terms of avoiding travel delays caused by winter weather.

[CruisinDawn]

Give it a month at least until you can research the hotel/flight situation. If it looks like prices are going to be higher then you are comfortable with CANCEL your cruise with that TA and get a new TA without the a change fee. A good TA will only hold you to the cruise lines penalties, not create their own.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[cb at sea]

I'd check booking the hotel thru RCCL--they may have lower prices than you might find on your own, seeing as this it Superbowl Week!--Worth a try!

[HurricaneSally]

I would switch. Everything is going to be much higher because of the Super Bowl and it's not like the hotels and airlines don't know it already.

[bouhunter]

Well, I just did a quick search at Hiltons site. HAMPTON INNS were running 349.00-649.00 per night on 2/3/07:eek:

[Don Pedro]

You had better check the availability of the Freedom for a future date. Rumor is that it balcony cabins are sold out for quite a while.

 

Also, you might be more comfortable flying into Ft Lauderdale and staying at a hotel there. Then head to Miami the morning of the cruise. But, you should be working out your hotel and flight arrangements as soon as posssible. The superbowl will be a distant memory when you return from the cruise and Miami will be in its typical state of normalcy.

 

Miami is accustomed to hosting large conventions, so hosting the superbowl may seem more dramatic to you than it does to the city.

[booze brothers]

I'd pay the T/A the $50. fee and then dump him/her. They may wave the fee if they know you're looking elseware. I also think I'd change the date.

[GMoney]

Lots of good advice from folks. If it were me, I'd look for a hotel more north, because I think the travel infrastructure in both MIA and FLL will be significantly tapped. Check places like Boca, Palm Beach (you may even be able to fly in here), Pt St Lucie, Stuart - I'd even go as far north as Orlando and Tampa. I would then drive to the MIA port early on departure morning.

 

Try using kayak.com or sidestep.com as travel search engines for your hotel, car and plane.

 

Once you have a sense of the alternatives, you can make an informed decision. If the costs fall in your budget, then great. If not, you may need to make the change. Good luck.

[teajak]

It will be a mess, especially in Miami. Three years ago we had a cruise booked out of LA on super bowl week-end. The SB was in San Diego and it was still a mess.Ft.Lauderdale will be just as bad as far as price and availability are concerned.You will have trouble getting to the port,finding a room,getting a flight. If you can change it why start your cruise with all that hassle? I would bite the bullet and change, pay the $50.00 andfind a new TA.

[zotzer]

This is an example of an instance where I would do the pre-cruise hotel & transfers (and maybe even the air) through RCI. It's in their best interest to get you on that ship.

 

Tracy

[HappyFamilyNJ]

If I were you, I would fly into Fort Myers (west coast), stay somewhere in that area or further south in Naples. From Naples to Miami is just a little over an hour on "Alligator Alley" I-75. You won't run into Super Bowl pricing there.

[Cam6959]

If you do the RC Pre cruise it will be about $80 a person. At a nice hotel with transfers to and from the airport and ship. Just ask your TA or another TA to arrange that. Or you can stay where I am staying: at the aiport Marriott for $154 with transfers from the airport and to the ship, free breakfast for two and free cocktails (1ea). I have to find my own way to the airport after the cruise. There are still options out there just hunt around a little.

[momofslg]

I agree with others about flying into an airport north of Miami. I checked out flying in October from Columbus Ohio to Miami and the price was 325pp, to fly into West Palm Beach it was 169pp. I am almost certain that you could rent a car and get a room for the savings.

[ssatterly]

Well i am still trying to decide but still not sure what to do yet. The cabin i want is still there for the date in April.. So who knows....I just wish i could decide what to do.

[ocngypz]

You aren't cancelling, you are moving your deposit to a different date.

 

Why don't you talk to your agent?

 

As far as hotel space is concerned. All I can say is that I had huge group blocks of space in Jacksonville for my company. Well.. don't you know..about 3 months prior to SUperbowl... the hotels all called and took back my space!

I was scrambling becauseI had hundreds of people to accommodate in the Jacksonville area at the same time as the Superbowl.

 

I would try to fly into Ft Myers as well. Rent a car.. and drive across the alley in the morning. And it is more than 1 hour from Naples!! I used to live there and would make the trek a couple times of month over to Miami.

[sandbag7]

$50. Woohoo.

[ssatterly]

well $50 to change my ressie with the TA and a total of $100 more in cruise fee's... The cruise is $50 more per person as well... So its a total of $150 more....

[JLC@SD]

Call your TA and tell them you just discovered the info about the Super Bowl and if they didn't tell you about it, ask them how could they book you without knowing. Then advise them that since they we "negligent", they should waive their $50 fee.......;)...and rebook you.

[glen tev]

Ditch a TA who would charge you $50 for a change like that.

 

Book directly with the cruiseline.

Amen,Go direct to RCCL

[ssatterly]

Most hotels that I have allready called are sold out and the few who were not we so expensive that I almost fell in the floor. Like $300 and up a night.