Freaking Out!! re: 2/5 Century cruise

[lakelodge]

We're booked on the 2/5 Century sailing out of Miami, it's been booked awhile and all bought and paid for. I get on Priceline, Orbitz, etc.... RIDICULOUS high hotel prices! (like Day's Inn is 350.00!). Guess what! The Super Bowl is in Miami on that same day! The price of one night's hotel is more than I paid for the whole 5 night cruise! Any suggestions? thanks, Martha

[YD66]

hi lakelodge,

 

i may be way off here, but have you tried calling X to book a room? would they possibly have some rooms blocked at a better rate for their passengers? you may have already tried it so i apologize if this is repetitive.

 

Jeffrey

[rebeccalouise]

I waited and waited for Southwest to open up their April dates and checked daily. When they finally did- I was shocked that I couldn't fly from Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale as I had planned on April 7th ( I picked a five night because of work limitations- can't go any longer). All the tickets were sold- unless I wanted to pay really high prices. I cancelled my cruise- wasn't worth the extra money for air.

Now, I understand why the tickets were sold so quickly!

As for Miami, I can't comment on nice accomodations. I really don't like Miami at all.

[FastFreddie]

There are all kinds of options like staying in WPB or Ft. Lauderdale. Also as suggested if you have any frequent hotel traveler points use them. Call X they might have a block of rooms.

 

Least desirable is flying in the day of departure incase you run into ad weather issues.

 

 

FF

[slotaddict]

I'd take an early flight in the day of the cruise, fly in FLL. We always fly in on an early flight in case of any delays. Our plane left at 6:20 am and we had a plane change in Atlanta(which I normally wouldn;t do) we were on the ship by 12:30.

[cusyl]

If nothing else, rent a van and buy some air mattresses...:rolleyes:

Good luck...that's high season and expensive in Florida that time of year.

[ocngypz]

None of the cruiselines have any hotel space either. It was taken back by the hotels.

 

I've gone as far north as Jupiter.... and it is slim pickins... and full rack rates PLUS.

 

Have you booked air.. or are you driving. If you are driving or haven't booked air, perhaps you may want to look at staying on the west coast... Naples area.. and then driving across the Alley in the morning.

[getfuzzyfan]

Just out of curiosity I did a search on Expedia.ca and found a number of hotels in the $100 range. Not sure of the quality of the hotels but there are hotels to be had nonetheless. Good luck.

[getfuzzyfan]

Just realized I put in the wrong dates in my search ... I had put in May 4 rather than Feb. 4 ... You're right, there isn't much there is there? Sorry!

[lakelodge]

Thanks for all your suggestions and keep em coming! I went back and re read my original post and realized when I said Day's Inn had a room for 350.00 I meant to say 1350.00!! Ridiculous.

 

We are flying in the night before because in Feb the weather is iffy here and I'd hate to miss the ship. Renting a car and driving way out of town might be an option--could go down to South Beach and party all night (but I don't think we could do that anymore we are a little past that age!) I do have some close friends here that have relatives in Miami and we might be able to stay with them.

 

Thanks! Martha

[Rev22:17]

FastFreddie,

 

There are all kinds of options like staying in WPB or Ft. Lauderdale. Also as suggested if you have any frequent hotel traveler points use them. Call X they might have a block of rooms.

 

It's possible but very unlikely. Celebrity probably did not offer pre-cruise hotel packages for that sailing due to lack of space. The reality is that the situation is probably similar at every hotel south of Olrando.

 

JTOL, the OP's best alternative might be to book a hotel in Nassau or Freeport and fly to Miami from there that morning....

 

Least desirable is flying in the day of departure incase you run into ad weather issues.

 

In the past, I would have agreed with the statement without question. Now, with many airlines operating at very high load factors, the odds are not much better if you fly just a day or two early. For my "Mexican Riviera" cruise aboard MV Mercry last February, which was a Monday departure, for example, a snowstorm hit the northeast on Saturday closing all three major airports in the New York area for the weekend. When normal service resumed on Monday, the flights were sold out so those who had booked flights on Saturday and Sunday could not get out until Tuesday or Wednesday. About 200 such passengers joined the ship in Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday (Day 3 of the cruise) and another 150 joined the ship in Mazatlan on Thursday (Day 4 of the cruise). Those of us who had booked flights out of the northeast on embarkation day, OTOH, flew to Los Angeles and embarked as scheduled on Monday (Day 1 of the cruise).

 

If you want assurance of not missing the ship, you probably need to go to the port of embarkation at least three or four days in advance now.

 

Norm.

[getfuzzyfan]

What about a B&B?

http://www.miamiriverinn.com/accomodations.php

http://www.europeanguesthouse.com/

http://www.iloveinns.com/miami-florida-bed-breakfast.htm

[nat9511]

We stayed in Melbourne last year the night before our cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. It was an easy 2 1/2 hour drive to Ft. L. Miami is not that much further. Don't know if anything is available because of Super Bowl but it is worth looking into. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that was very nice for less than $100.

[pork fried rice]

You would need a car and be willing to take a risk, however there are hundreds of little mom and pop motels along A1 and A1A from Homestead to Hollywood (as far north as you wish to go actually) that are not available for online booking and typically don't get booked up very early if at all. Not necessarily the best neighborhoods but it is a room and they won't break the bank.

 

You could also get a Miami or Fort Lauderdale yellow pages and look under motels and start calling. Superbowl has come and gone before and I have yet to see all of these places with No Vacancy signs posted. All the chains are booked well over a year in advance and if you are finding rooms they are way overpriced as they know there is nothing else out there.

 

Best of luck and enjoy Miami.

[DancerOT]

Priceline???

 

Or to quote Jimmy Buffet..."Everyones got a cousin in Miami" - that route always works :)

[Baglady34]

at Bayside.. might be a possibility .. check Ft Laud WEst Palm Beach ,,, we used priceline for a hotel at Miami Airport. .there are lots of smaller chain hotels there.... check Craigs list for a private rental. Good luck

[lakelodge]

Good news!! Our close friend Orlando has a brother and sister in law who have a three bedroom house 20 minutes from the airport and they said they'd be DELIGHTED for us to stay in their guest room. We met them at Orlando's wedding here in Memphis a couple of years ago and they are a really nice couple. They even offered to pick us up at the airport. WOW! Thank y'all SO much for your ideas, some were very creative! Martha

[flamingo21401]

Martha,

That is great news! See you on the ship. We are sailing on the B2B begining on Feb 1st. There are four groups of us staying in 3 different hotels. I will never harp on my sister's plan far ahead habits again. She had us booking rooms last June and making plane reservations as soon as the flights became available. It will be a great cruise.

[AnthonyF]

That is the reason for those high rates..... It is in Miami!!!!! That will be one big party if you can get there......

[luv2kruz]

Have a great cruise!

[stegosaurus1]

Glad to see it worked out!

 

I remember driving back from a work assignment in FL, with the wife and two small kids. We tried to get a hotel room but, guess what? DAYTONA 500 WEEKEND! We didn't get a room until we got to Georgia!

 

Another time, I'm with my daughter going to a family reunion. We're tired and looking for a room in State Park, PA. Guess what? PENN STATE HOMECOMING WEEKEND!

 

Have a great cruise. DW & I'll be flying out of Miami on Feb 3rd after the 11-day Galaxy Carib cruise.

 

Dan