Using Hotel instead of Parking at Port

[elektrawmn]

Not sure where to post this question.

 

I need input regarding the Snooze & Cruise packages several hotels offer. We will be in Tampa a day before NCL Dawn leaves and found a hotel + parking for the week for only $10 more total than what we would pay for to park at the port.

 

Can anyone offer information about doing this?

[Bonnie J.]

No way we would do this! We only stay in hotels that offer FREE parking for our cruise and usualy a free shuttle to & from the port. The Comfort Inn is $89 with free parking up to 14 days. There are other hotels you should look for!

[sail7seas]

Do you care if the lot is secured? Is there a guard of some sort?

[LHT28]

Check the Florida Departures forum

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

 

We have left our car at Embassy Suites in Miami for 30 days ...no hotel stay

We booked through a 3rd party site & we paid the hotel in advance it was worth the $7 pd

 

It survived fine but the lot at the hotel had a gate attendant

 

We parked close to the front of the building so the doorman would notice anyone trying to break in

 

we also leave our car at the hotel before we fly out to wherever we are going

 

You have to do what works best for you

[elektrawmn]

No way we would do this! We only stay in hotels that offer FREE parking for our cruise and usualy a free shuttle to & from the port. The Comfort Inn is $89 with free parking up to 14 days. There are other hotels you should look for!

 

Is that Comfort Inn in Tampa? I couldn't find one with the free parking, as well as shuttle

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

A lot of people do it ...

[janetz]

Not sure where to post this question.

 

I need input regarding the Snooze & Cruise packages several hotels offer. We will be in Tampa a day before NCL Dawn leaves and found a hotel + parking for the week for only $10 more total than what we would pay for to park at the port.

 

Can anyone offer information about doing this?

 

 

Check this site. One night stay and includes parking for while you are gone.

 

http://www.trinityreservations.com/

[DanJ]

I guess the first question is do you either need to or plan to stay in a hotel the night before anyway? If you are staying at a hotel anyway, it might be a good plan. Be sure though to compare what the hotel's cheapest rate is compared to their park and cruise rate. Also make sure that rate includes round trip transfers to the port and back. Also where the hotel is located is a big factor. I'm not really interested in half hour shuttle rides to get my car after a cruise when I'm facing a drive home. Let alone however long you may have to wait for a shuttle to come get you.

[elektrawmn]

Check this site. One night stay and includes parking for while you are gone.

 

http://www.trinityreservations.com/

 

Thanks... just checked it out. It seems like the reservation we have at Chase Suites for 109 is the best deal we've found. Hotel for 1 night and parking for up to 14 days, as well as free shuttle to AND from port.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[Bowie MeMe]

For an upcoming trip to Asia covering 30 days, I found the cheapest option was to pick up a local rental car for 24 hours and drive to the airport and turn it in ($52 one way) and on return 2nd rental car from the airport to local agency ($63 -- difference in fees is the charges put on for airport rental). This is transportation for 3 adults plus luggage from 2 homes. Shuttle service per person of $60 each way and taxi one way fare of $90 (2 taxis needed because don't live in same town but can pick up easily enough if driving). And parking was $10 in unsecured open lot x 30 days.

 

Really too far to ask friends to drop off -- and then pick up.

 

Rental car at $120 was the choice.

[Bowie MeMe]

We have stayed the night and then had shuttle to airport. In our area (Baltimore Washington) the hotels near international airport Dulles are fairly high. I also don't like the jerk start. Pack up go to hotel unpack for night stay pack up and go to flight. It's Ok but I prefer to sleep in my own bed that night.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Not sure where to post this question.

 

I need input regarding the Snooze & Cruise packages several hotels offer. We will be in Tampa a day before NCL Dawn leaves and found a hotel + parking for the week for only $10 more total than what we would pay for to park at the port.

 

Can anyone offer information about doing this?

 

Have you checked with your insurance company to see if you are covered if anything happens to your car in an unsecured hotel parking lot?

[hancock]

Another good website for park and cruise hotels is http://www.stay123.com.

[sail7seas]

Sometimes when we see 'adventure movies', there is a little part they remove from under the hood that keeps the car from starting. I forget what it is called but apparently it is fast and easy to pull out and replace when you return. Maybe if you take that part, it will give you peace of mind.

 

Surely one of our auto mechanically inclined friends here know about what I'm speaking. :D :confused:

 

[LHT28]

Sometimes when we see 'adventure movies', there is a little part they remove from under the hood that keeps the car from starting. I forget what it is called but apparently it is fast and easy to pull out and replace when you return. Maybe if you take that part, it will give you peace of mind.

 

Surely one of our auto mechanically inclined friends here know about what I'm speaking. :D :confused:

 

 

Seriously :eek:

 

Do you do that when at the mall also??

[elektrawmn]

Have you checked with your insurance company to see if you are covered if anything happens to your car in an unsecured hotel parking lot?

 

 

Good question!

[cb at sea]

If it's more to park at the hotel....just drive to port! You won't incur taxi or shuttle fees, and you'll save time, to boot! Leaving your car at the port is no more dangerous or safe than leaving it at a hotel, or other parking venue.

[elektrawmn]

It has nothing to do with safety. We will be arriving in Tampa on Saturday, driving in from Atlanta. We'll be overnight in the hotel and it just seemed more economical to find a hotel that included the parking. Didn't want $80 hotel plus $84.00 for terminal parking, when we can get hotel including weekly parking for $109.

[MrsPete]

No way we would do this! We only stay in hotels that offer FREE parking for our cruise and usualy a free shuttle to & from the port. The Comfort Inn is $89 with free parking up to 14 days. There are other hotels you should look for!

I believe the OP meant that staying at the hotel AND parking at the hotel would cost only $10 more than parking at the port alone.

 

No one would be stupid enough to pay more to park at the hotel. It does mean going through an extra step (riding the shuttle) on embarkation day and again on debarkation day.

 

Yes, I've parked at the port, and it's a good choice. Our drive to the port is eight hours -- more than we'd be comfortable doing "day of", so we're going to pay for the hotel anyway. You can consider that your parking is "free" or that your hotel is "free", but the bottom line is that it'll save you pay less when you do this.

 

Sometimes you'll have to wait to get on the hotel shuttle, so here's what we do: My husband'll drive us (in our car) to the port terminal. The kids and I'll get out with all the luggage. While we get the luggage labeled and handed over to the porters, he returns the car to the hotel. Because he is one single person with no luggage, he always gets on the very first shuttle (when they say, "We can take one more butt, but no more luggage"). At the port, he jumps out of the shuttle and finds us in line. Efficient.

 

Also, some hotels charge a small fee (think $5) per person for the shuttle, so by using the above-mentioned method, we pay only for him. Again, efficient.

 

Some hotels have a sign-up for shuttle timeslots. You should ask when you make your reservation, and if your hotel handles things this way, go ahead and get an early timeslot.

Seriously :eek:

 

Do you do that when at the mall also??

The other poster was suggesting removal of the distributor cap. Some hikers do this when they leave their cars at a remote trailhead for days at a time.

 

Clearly, there's a big difference between leaving your car in the mall parking lot (with people milling about, and the possibility that you could return to your car any minute) vs. a hotel where people know you're gone (because your car hasn't moved for days and you have that hang tag with your return date) for the rest of the week.

 

I've never heard of anyone's car being vandalized while parked under these conditions, but it's not an impossibility. We do try to park under a street light with the car "backed in" so it's very visible, but it's not something we spend stress over.

[elektrawmn]

Our drive to the port is eight hours -- more than we'd be comfortable doing "day of", so we're going to pay for the hotel anyway. You can consider that your parking is "free" or that your hotel is "free", but the bottom line is that it'll save you pay less when you do this.

 

.

 

Exactly. :D

[jmf123]

Another good website for park and cruise hotels is http://www.stay123.com.

 

And I'll add this website: parksleepfly.com. Some hotels offer up to 30 days parking, and they may offer a shuttle to the port- with or without return service. (You can always take a taxi back to the hotel after your cruise to pick up your vehicle). Complimentary breakfast may be included as well. :)

[cuyahoga11]

Holiday Inn Rocky Point

Park and Cruise package

Parking included

Breakfast buffet included

Shuttle to and from port included

[SusanSmithJr]

Sometimes when we see 'adventure movies', there is a little part they remove from under the hood that keeps the car from starting. I forget what it is called but apparently it is fast and easy to pull out and replace when you return. Maybe if you take that part, it will give you peace of mind.

 

Surely one of our auto mechanically inclined friends here know about what I'm speaking. :D :confused:

 

 

Not too mechanically inclined, just used to living in bad neighborhoods.

 

You are talking about removing the ignition wire that connects the coil to the distrubtor. Easy peezy if you know what you're doing.

 

If you are going to do it often, it is better to install a secret ignition kill switch. That way your hands won't get dirty, and you won't ruin the ignition wire.

 

The kill switch can be made from a switch you have laying around, I once made one with a wall switch. Or you can buy one specificly for the purpose for less than $10, complete with directions. Or you can pay an auto mechanic to install one for you. If they charge more than $20 for part and labor, you have an expensive mechanic.

 

When the kill switch is in the off position and someone tries to start the car, it will not start, as if there is no gas. The lawful driver needs only to flip the switch, under the hood or inside the car hidden elsewhere, and the car starts as normal.

[Trainer]

I sometimes use the rental car option, for example later this year our cruise leaves from

Ft. Lauderdale but we return via air to Miami Airport (ugh). We live about five hours from Port Everglades, so we will drive down the night before cruise and stay overnight. We return the car to Hertz and they deliver us to the port. Two weeks later we fly into Miami, get a rental car and drive home, turning in the car the next day. Our corporate rate (and others) provides for no drop-off fee so it is cheaper than leaving car in parking lot, even in a discount lot. Also it means I can leave my car at home in its own garage where I don't have to worry about it. We've done this before and I like it. (The ugh is because I hate MIA.)