CarolRick

Is someone kind enough to explain how we could bet please! I just created an account on hot wire and cant find anything regarding betting!!

The bidding website is Priceline.

Hotwire is for selecting unknown Hotels with a given price and given star rating.

Better bidding website does give guidance.

Can a recent passenger tell me where this is being served ??

 

Thank You.....

We were on the April 27 repositioning cruise.

There were 350 elites onboard.

The breakfast was in the Normandie. It was not crowded on the mornings we ate there.

Anyone been on the island sensation power boat adventure which snorkels and goes to sunset beach to watch the airplanes? I cant find any reviews on this excursion.

We have used Capt Bob's power boat excursion and they do go to Maho beach next to the airport. There is a lot of info on this forum.

Have not heard of island sensation.

Dear Capt. Bob,

Thank you for your reassuring post!

My husband and I have booked an excursion with you that's coming up very shortly, and we are very excited! It looks like it will be a wonderful day!

Elisse & Dan

You will have a great day.

This excursion is the best one in St Martin's. You will get to see the Island from a different perspective.

I saw on the news yesterday that the world's largest yacht, the Eclipse, was in New York City. Last month it was in St Martin's and we drove along side it on Capt Bob's excursion. Cost $1.5 billion - has a 70 foot submarine on board and a helicopter with an elevator. Cost $50 million a year to operate.

There a lot of other fantastic yachts there including one of Oprah's.

We were on the excursion with Clydesmom. We were late getting back. We made the ship with no time to spare. And we did not see any planes at Maho. It was rough but, in my opinion, not unsafe.

But we had a great time - the stops were fabulous. Started the day with a "Dutch Breakfast" - a cold Heinekens. We thought the two captains (Fab and Gervais) did a great job. They were very concerned about safety.

We have been to St Martin's at least ten times and this was our favorite tour.

It was a great trip and we have booked again in April with a large group. The only thing I would ask to be different is to get us back at 4 PM. This was as close as we ever came to missing the ship. But it was exciting and we felt very good running up the pier. As you can see, since we booked again,we highly recommend Capt Bob's tour.

Another question on this wonderfully informative thread...Is the Relaxation Lounge on Penthouse Deck Eclipse accessible to all guests or only Aqua Class ? :)

It is available for Spa patrons before/after apptmts and Aqua class.

Please ask if you have more questions. My mom loved cruising from Cape Liberty - it was really the only traveling she could do in later years. I was thrilled I could make it happen for her and I always asked for and got the assistance we needed. The last few times I had my mom in a wheelchair and carried on a large oxygen concentrator, a suitcase of oxygen tubes, and personal carryons. It was a lot of stuff, but people were helpful and once we made it to the cabin, we were all set for a wonderful cruise.

Carol,

That is a great story.

And I am sure made for some great memories. Thanks for sharing it.

We are looking at a Sept 14 night cruise leaving and arriving on a Saturday.We will be driving in from Cleveland(staying Friday night) and want to use a hotel with free parking.

From what I have read it sounds like the Country Inn would be the right choice.

 

What do you think?

Besides stay123.com look at trinityreservations.com. We are from Cleveland and have used the stay/park at Newark. It works well.

So your best deal is really Springhill Suites despite the problems of finding the hotel. If you contact Independent Driver, you can all get back from the pier to the airport for $10/pp. l

Thanks, 138east

That is what we will do.

we have used Independent Driver before and were very pleased.

It looks like the OP is driving to Newark,looking for a park/sleep the 26th, and flying to San Juan on the 27th to catch their cruise. I know folks don't recommend flying the same day as the cruise, but the ships leave about 8 pm from SJ, so an early flight will probably work. I've done this several times from EWR.

We are flying to San Juan from EWR on April 27th to catch the Summit leaving San Juan on April 27th. We did book through RCL Cruise Air. It is a bit risky but the first port call is St Martin's and that would be easy to catch up to. In the past, ships have left San Juan as late as 11 PM awaiting passengers.

Wish we could go early - but work gets in the way.

Thanks for the info on the hotels.

We are taking the Summit repositioning cruise from San Juan to Bayonne. It leaves San Juan on April 27, 2013. We will be staying in Newark on the 26th to catch a flight on the 27th. There are eight of us and we will be getting two rooms.

Stay123 has the Country Inn and Trinity has the Springhill Suites. The CI is about $20 more per room than SS. Last time we stayed at SS, some of our party had a very difficult time finding the SS.

Is the CI easier to find? Which hotel has bigger rooms?

thanks

We have been on 3 cruises with Lindsay. We love her.

We like when she does the 'who has been married the longest' with the audience. One time there was a couple that were married over 70 years.

Last time we saw her was on the Silhouette in Dec '12.

Do they sell diet cokes at the duty free store at the Pan Am Pier? Am I allowed to bring these on board? I asked Celebrity today and the woman told me that I could bring on Pepsi products because they don't sell it onboard. I prefer Coke products but will bring on Pepsi if I can't get on Coke. We are on the Celebrity Millenium January 24.

The store had diet coke available and we were allowed to bring it on.

Here's the flyer X hands out (probably RCI too). I think it's pretty clear.

 

Is this still the policy on Celebrity?

This was from a post of April 10, 2010.

We toured with Woody in Dec. We were 2 cars. He contracts with Tana, for the second car if needed. It's best if you're no more than 4 people in each car. Additional people have to sit in the back, outside. You can not hear what's being said, and it's a bumpy ride.

 

We all had a great day. We made a few stops along the way for photos, or walks on the beach. Our last stop was the "real, off road adventure". Down a rocky path to a secluded beach. We ate at that beach, and had a swim.

 

We all carried toilet paper and sanitizer. It's not that he doesn't want to make bathroom stops, it's an off road tour and there aren't many places to stop. If you can't wait, there is always the woods.

 

All in all, a great day. I highly recommend him

 

Linda

Linda, Thanks so much for the info. What was the charge? Thank you...

Can you tell me what star level this hotel was. We've stayed there a few years ago, pre cruise and would consider going back there for just a "land vacation". Loved the hotel!

On Priceline the Stellaris is a resort.

On Hotwire, I believe it is 4 stars.

My cruise isn't until Nov 2011 but am hoping to get the Sheraton. Never used priceline before but saw that I needed to bid for a 3.5* hotel. Do I need to select a zone or area when placing my bid?

Yes, you need to bid a zone. Betterbidding dot com is a good resource on how to bid priceline.

So my first Priceline experience has not really been a good one. I'm assuming my fault for lack of research but thought I'd post for other's benefit.

 

Was trying to get 3.5 star in area 8 and THOUGHT there were no 3.5 stars in several other areas, including Rio Grande. Was using those non 3.5 star areas to change my bid while increasing $$.

 

Well, there is a 3.5 star in Rio Grande area - Rio Mar Beach Resort is apparently now a 3.5 star. I had read on bidding for travel that it was a Resort level.

 

So I don't know if we'll stay there. Will add a large transport/cab bill and this is just a one night precruise.

 

There's no add'l charging for a simple no show is there?

We have stayed at Rio Mar precruise for one night. We rented a car from Charlie's; they pick you up at the airport. We drove to Rio Mar (about 45 minutes) and did a rainforest tour in the morning. Took the rental car back to Charlie's on Ashford Ave (Condado area) on cruise day. It is doable and the Rio Mar is very close to the rain forest.

We cruise on Feb. 12, 2011. Are we better off trying Priceline now or waiting until closer till Feb.?

We would love to stay at the Marriott Stellaris - are there any hints to getting in there?

We have the Marriott for both precruise and postcruise stay in Feb. We bid in early July, resorts for San Juan.

Are fees and taxes included in Priceline final bid?

Taxes are added to your accepted bid.

Hello All,

 

I'm sorry if this question has been asked a million times before. I have never used Hotwire or Priceline before and I can not find the answer in this thread.

 

I would like to bid on Priceline on a hotel in Old San Juan. I understand about bidding "resort", but I am afraid that it will not be in Old town. Is there something I am not seeing? I would appreciate all help.

The area you bid is San Juan. This area includes Isla Verde (by the airport), Condado, Old San Juan and areas in between. There is no gaurantee that you would get OSJ. If you look at betterbidding.com, it will give you an idea on the hotels that have been 'won' for the San Juan area.

Courtyard By Marriott San Juan Miramar

$99.00 - $118.15 with taxes

3 Star

02/05/2011

 

Finally got something!

Donna,

Congratulations. You have been working on this.

The Miramar is an excellent hotel and you got a great price.

I know - we got $130 for Jan 16 -18 at the Marriot, but I can't find anything for Jan 7-9. Hate to pay full price. =)

I went up to $155 for resort for Feb 25th, post cruise.

At $150, there was an offer to increase bid by $20.

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

One night

Priceline bid: "San Juan" and "resort"

 

Marriott San Juan Resort and Stellaris Casino

Winning bid $116.00 $137.43 with taxes

 

Have been bidding the same criteria for Jan 14th up to $147.00 to no avail.

That has been our experience. Sunday is easier to win than a Friday. We have a precruise Sunday resort for $110 and the Friday resort is $155.

This was our first bid for Resort for Sunday, Feb 13 and won at $110 plus taxes.

We had been bidding 3.5 stars hoping for The Sheraton Old San Juan. Bid was up to $98 with no win. Changed to the Resort bid.

Our post cruise Resort for Feb 25th was won at $155. This was for a Friday night. On Saturday there are a couple of cruise ships leaving which I think causes the higher prices.