Cruise Plus Hotel Packages

[suntan]

Has anyone booked a hotel through Princess' "Cruise Plus Hotel Packages" program? We are cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale next February and are planning on spending two days in Ft. Lauderdale before the cruise. If you book through Princess, do you get a decent room for the price they are offering or do you get a crappy room? For instance, Princess is offering a room at the Westin Ft. Lauderdale for $98 one night. Your comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.

[Mike2131]

Has anyone booked a hotel through Princess' "Cruise Plus Hotel Packages" program? We are cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale next February and are planning on spending two days in Ft. Lauderdale before the cruise. If you book through Princess, do you get a decent room for the price they are offering or do you get a crappy room? For instance, Princess is offering a room at the Westin Ft. Lauderdale for $98 one night. Your comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.

 

is that for the room or pp? In the past, I have never found cruise line hotel packages to be a bargain. We have always found better deals through the web.

[crusdiva]

Has anyone booked a hotel through Princess' "Cruise Plus Hotel Packages" program? We are cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale next February and are planning on spending two days in Ft. Lauderdale before the cruise. If you book through Princess, do you get a decent room for the price they are offering or do you get a crappy room? For instance, Princess is offering a room at the Westin Ft. Lauderdale for $98 one night. Your comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.

suntan,

It's been years since we did an overnight in FLL with Princess but when we did we were at the Hyatt Pier 66 and it was a great room with views of the port.

Our most recent experiences with Cruise Plus were in more "exotic" ports - Honolulu, Acapulco and Istanbul - and each time we had awesome rooms on high floors with wonderful views.

Hope this info helps

[JGR01]

Part of the question should be 'do you have any VIP-status with any hotel chains" in the FLL area.. or are you looking for cheapest accomodations?

 

Booking independantly with a hotel where you have VIP status will certainly get you a better (best) room.

 

If you want cheap there are plenty of Motel 8's (and such) in the FLL area that would probably be cheaper than the cruise-line prices. BUT with cruise-line prices .. do they include transport to the ship from the hotel?

[cherylandtk]

Princess pre- and post-cruise hotel packages do include transfer between the ship and the hotel. The quoted prices are always per PERSON, not room. We always do the math between buying our own room and/or the transfer cost. In FLL, the Pier is so close to many hotels and the airport, that it is quicker to use a taxi, cost is about the same, for the transfer. Several hotels provide free shuttle to the pier and airport. That said, when we have done the Princess packages, we have been very pleased with our rooms. Bus transfer part usually involves a fair amount of waiting and loading time, but nothing heinous.

[Toto2Kansas]

It is so much less expensive if you make these arrangements yourself in Fort Lauderdale. Princess pricing is just way over the top from what we can find on our own. We always book a hotel in FLL with a free shuttle to and from the airport and the pier. Most come with some type of free breakfast also. Priceline can help out with bargains, also www.valuetrips.com can be a money saver.

I would never think of booking a hotel package with Princess here in the U.S.

[kruisey]

Traveling solo I travel with princess pre cruise......There are always some nice guys and gals at the arrival airport who greet you and lead you to the coach for the hotel.Not knowing the hotels in the different ports find that the Princess picks are usually 4 star and up and clean...Then on sailing day the coach picks one up from the hotel to the ship....or I sometimes pay and take a taxi to the port earlier to beat the rush. Have no worries thats great by me :)

[Host CJSKIDS]

Everytime I've priced out using Princess packages I've always been able to do better on my own. I would price out the hotels they offer on your own as well as others in the area and see how it is. Getting to the port is very easy in Fort Lauderdale so you can book a transfer on your own if the hotel has it or a taxi.

[iancal]

We have found the pre/post hotels to be over priced. We invariably get the SAME hotel for at least a thirty five percent disount. This winter we paid 75 for Marriott Marina (Priceline). I think the closest equiv. on Princess pre-cruise was about 100 per person.

[suntan]

Thank you all for responding. I read the fine print incorrectly. I didn't notice it was "per person" not "per room". You are correct - you can get a better rate if you book on your own. Thanks again.

[naplesam]

Yes, you CAN save $s, but be sure to compare apples to apples! With the Princess package, transfers from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the ship are included in the price. Plus, with Princess, you let THEM handle all of the luggage! I am not saying that makes it better, but depending upon the city and the amount of luggage, etc., it might be worth it to spend a little extra for the service---not a lot more tho! For us it has depended upon the port! In Alaska we have used Princess, but elsewhere we have made our own plans and reservations.

[Coral]

There was one Thanksgiving cruise where I was not getting anywhere with Priceline, Hotwire was showing retail prices and I could not do any better than Princess' price at the Renaissance.

 

I always book my own hotel except for this crise. There must have been something going on in FLL that weekend because Princess' prices were the best.

[iancal]

Last cruise. we got our own bags and 20 minutes later were sitting by the hotel pool. We have some acquaintances who arrived a the same time. They waited 1 1/4 hours until the Princess transfer bus was ready to go. etc. When they found out just how close the hotels were ,they commented that a city bus would have got them to the hotel faster! I think that this is probably port dependent. We travel light so luggage is not a huge issue. We hate waiting, hence we never take the transfers.