Booking Hotels Through Celebrity

[ScottC4746]

We are sailing out of Miami next summer and everything seems very high.  We are Marriott loyal and based on these prices I am looking at possibly using Hotels through Celebrity and have some questions:

 

1. We always come in the day before the cruise.  Will they collect us the day before at the airport MIA and take us to the hotel when booked through them?

2. We like getting to the ship when they first start boarding and while I am sure they offer a bus from the hotel to the port, we would arrange our own so we can get there early.  Is that a problem?

3. Based on what I am seeing on Marriott's website, will they price pretty close to this or will I come out better.

4.  I worked 10 years front desk in Las Vegas and I have seen third party bookings (hotels.com, expedia, etc.) get botched up and while a couple of times a guest had a voucher in their irate little hand, we had no booking and on occasion had to walk them to another hotel because we were over sold.  While I know Hotels by Celebrity is a "third party" if you will, I feel more confident in if this happens they will be there to assist.

[jelayne]

When we have considered booking hotels and transfers through X it was always more costly and transportation less efficient than doing it ourselves.

[ScottC4746]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

When we have considered booking hotels and transfers through X it was always more costly and transportation less efficient than doing it ourselves.

I was afraid of that.  I cannot find a Marriott close to the port for under $600.

[39august]

Yes, less expensive to DIY. 

[chemmo]

20 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

We are sailing out of Miami next summer and everything seems very high.  We are Marriott loyal and based on these prices I am looking at possibly using Hotels through Celebrity and have some questions:

 

1. We always come in the day before the cruise.  Will they collect us the day before at the airport MIA and take us to the hotel when booked through them?

2. We like getting to the ship when they first start boarding and while I am sure they offer a bus from the hotel to the port, we would arrange our own so we can get there early.  Is that a problem?

3. Based on what I am seeing on Marriott's website, will they price pretty close to this or will I come out better.

4.  I worked 10 years front desk in Las Vegas and I have seen third party bookings (hotels.com, expedia, etc.) get botched up and while a couple of times a guest had a voucher in their irate little hand, we had no booking and on occasion had to walk them to another hotel because we were over sold.  While I know Hotels by Celebrity is a "third party" if you will, I feel more confident in if this happens they will be there to assist.

On a few occasions we have been tempted to book through Celebrity for ‘ease’ and found in the end we have preferred to do it independently. Main reasons being:

 

Not only has the price been higher than booking independently we couldn’t always book the exact category of room we wanted (sea view, suite level rooms).

Pick up and drop off from the airport isn’t usually individual. I have memories of sitting on a half filled coach in Rome in Summer waiting for another flight to arrive to fill our coach. It would have been cheaper and more pleasant to book a private transfer.

 

Much as I understand your Marriott loyalty isn’t it worth doing a bit of shopping around? At the end of the day you are only stopping one night. I must confess for a one night pre cruise stay as long as the hotel is convenient, clean and has the facilities you need does the name matter?

[dazey]

I checked serval times to book through Celebrity and never found it to be less or even close.  We do stay at Renaissance(in Ft. Lauderdale and Newark).  The earlier you book the better and always keep checking.

 

We have scheduled taking the shuttle service in Newark and FLL using Celebrity and it works fine but understand it takes more time than using Uber, taxi, etc.  Renaissance(and I guess many other Marriott brands in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale schedule their own van service with a small fee).  I do think in Ft. Lauderdale just grabbing a cab is less money(short ride to port) from hotel and you get there much more quickly as you may end up being the last to be dropped off.

 

Regarding your 1st question about Celebrity taking you to hotel if you book through Celebrity - no.  Most Marriotts(as well as others) have free shuttle to hotel from airport so not a issue.

 

 

 

 

[ScottC4746]

2 minutes ago, dazey said:

I checked serval times to book through Celebrity and never found it to be less or even close.  We do stay at Renaissance(in Ft. Lauderdale and Newark).  The earlier you book the better and always keep checking.

I sample priced a couple of Marriotts with this weekend compared to cruise date next June and it is nearly if not more than double.  Plus with my Bonoy level I can always get bumped up for free at check in if available.

[DaKahuna]

37 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

I was afraid of that.  I cannot find a Marriott close to the port for under $600.

 

 We ran into that issue on a sailing out of Miami last February and ended up flying to FLL, staying in a hotel there, and taking Lyft to the port.  It worked out cheaper than flying to Miami and staying in a hotel there. 

 

However, for our upcoming cruise in September, I found a couple of hotels, ALoft, AC, and Courtyard all in the Brickell area for under $300. (senior rate). 

 

Edited June 15 by DaKahuna

[Liao]

1 hour ago, ScottC4746 said:

I was afraid of that.  I cannot find a Marriott close to the port for under $600.

Try Intercontinental it’s a very nice hotel and short drive to the pier 

[Lastdance]

26 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We ran into that issue on a sailing out of Miami last February and ended up flying to FLL, staying in a hotel there, and taking Lyft to the port.  It worked out cheaper than flying to Miami and staying in a hotel there. 

 

However, for our upcoming cruise in September, I found a couple of hotels, ALoft, AC, and Courtyard all in the Brickell area for under $300. (senior rate). 

 

We are staying in the Brickell area again for our Oceania cruise to Portugal.  since we will be driving to a resort in Algarve, there is no need for us to spend such high prices for two nights.   

[mahasamatman]

1 hour ago, ScottC4746 said:

We are Marriott loyal and based on these prices I am looking at possibly using Hotels through Celebrity

 

Note that you will get no loyalty benefits or points for a stay booked though Celebrity.

[Tierun]

Stay by the airport. The Uber ride is about 15 minutes to Port Miami and cost $20-$30.
 

Checking prices, I’m looking at the Marriott Biscayne Bay for tonight and the only room over $500 is the presidential suite at $650. However with AAA discount a regular room is under $300, normal price is $380. Also why not just use points?

[NMTraveller]

22 minutes ago, Liao said:

Try Intercontinental it’s a very nice hotel and short drive to the pier 

That is the one we stayed at several years ago.  A very nice hotel.

[Liao]

1 minute ago, NMTraveller said:

That is the one we stayed at several years ago.  A very nice hotel.

I stayed two nights in December, was great and location is perfect 

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, ScottC4746 said:

We are sailing out of Miami next summer and everything seems very high.  We are Marriott loyal and based on these prices I am looking at possibly using Hotels through Celebrity and have some questions:

 

1. We always come in the day before the cruise.  Will they collect us the day before at the airport MIA and take us to the hotel when booked through them

 

No

 

2. We like getting to the ship when they first start boarding and while I am sure they offer a bus from the hotel to the port, we would arrange our own so we can get there early.  Is that a problem

its not a problem

1 hour ago, ScottC4746 said:

3. Based on what I am seeing on Marriott's website, will they price pretty close to this or will I come out better.

keep in mind that hotels By celebrity generally charges by the person. Most hotels in the US charge the same whether single or double occupancy. So because of that, Hotels By celebrity may come out quite a bit more expensive than booking directly with the hotel.

[Marie51]

I was looking at hotels by Celebrity for our cruise this September in Fort Lauderdale. I found them to be the same price as I could get anywhere else and a lot of their rates are nonrefundable which I would never book.

I ended up at the Marriott website booking a hotel near the Fort Lauderdale airport and since then I have twice canceled and rebooked as the prices keep dropping. Started out at one price and now it’s $60 cheaper.

hopefully rates will drop closer to your cruise time.

 

[cruisetonowhere10]

5 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

I sample priced a couple of Marriotts with this weekend compared to cruise date next June and it is nearly if not more than double.  Plus with my Bonoy level I can always get bumped up for free at check in if available.

It might be somewhat misleading to look at a June date this year as a guide for next year.  While I tend to do this too for a sense of price you might be better off looking at dates closer to next June (wherever they are booking at this point) as there are so many factors that could influence the price.  For example, if you have several events (sporting, concerts, etc) over a weekend you may be seeing prices increased due to demand, capacity, opportunity….

 

We use Hyatt if we can and I find I can sometimes play a game of where to use points (we get Chase travel rewards points) and it is advantageous for me to do a 1:1 transfer of points from Chase to Hyatt and book that way versus direct through Chase travel rewards.  Since you have so much time, you might be able to play with some options…

 

Also, if staying outside the port area can save several hundred dollars, a slightly more expensive Uber/Lyft etc is probably well worth it.