Advance Hotel Booking

[cainlr]

We are cruising out of San Juan next Nov. How far in advance do hotels need to be booked for pre and post cruise? When I checked on Expedia.com most hotels listed only a few rooms available.

[Ashland]

We are cruising out of San Juan next Nov. How far in advance do hotels need to be booked for pre and post cruise? When I checked on Expedia.com most hotels listed only a few rooms available.

 

Absolutely no reason to book this far in advance...most probably won't even be available...I would suggest booking directly with the hotel chain you're going to use and not a 3rd party like Expedia etc for San Juan.

 

For our May pre-cruise in San Juan there was a special price booking in December for my May timeframe at the Sheraton Old San Juan...so I booked it (no pre-payment)...then in February I noticed the price went down so I called the Sheraton main booking number they cancelled my original reservation and booked me at the new discount price...great deal. I ended up with a Junior Suite for less than the regular category room I had booked originally...So don't be in too big of a hurry to book and if you do don't pre-pay and keep watching prices and make sure of the cancellation policy.

 

The Old Town Sheraton's location couldn't be better...a hotel you might want to consider.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Ashland

[cainlr]

Thanks. Old Town Sheraton, is one of the hotels I was looking at. I have a lot of Expedia points can get a room almost free or for very little. I will watch the hotel's web site and see what kind of deal I can get.

[Ashland]

Thanks. Old Town Sheraton, is one of the hotels I was looking at. I have a lot of Expedia points can get a room almost free or for very little. I will watch the hotel's web site and see what kind of deal I can get.

 

I know nothing about Expedia points...but doubtful using the hotel website in your case is going to beat "almost free or very little"....just know what the cancellation policy is with Expedia and your points. Best of luck.

[slidergirl]

I also recommend against using a 3rd party OTA like Expedia, just like I recommend against using a 3rd party for airlines. You are just putting a layer of "management" in-between you and the hotel. If anything goes wrong with your reservation - like you show up and it's wrong - you have to call your OTA and have them try to sort it out with the hotel. I've got plenty of experience from the Front Desk side of that equation. As much as I would love to resolve things myself for the person in front of me, due to the payment methods and the fact that someone else booked this for the guest, I had to have the guest call the OTA and then get on conference call with them. Never fun.

Just in case, I just looked on Expedia for rooms 11/20-23 in SJU - the Sheraton OSJ was there. Not sure why you couldn't see it. What dates were you looking for? One thing - Expedia only offered one rate per room that I could see. On the hotel's website, there are more room types and more rate choices per room...

[Ashland]

I also recommend against using a 3rd party OTA like Expedia, just like I recommend against using a 3rd party for airlines. You are just putting a layer of "management" in-between you and the hotel. If anything goes wrong with your reservation - like you show up and it's wrong - you have to call your OTA and have them try to sort it out with the hotel. I've got plenty of experience from the Front Desk side of that equation. As much as I would love to resolve things myself for the person in front of me, due to the payment methods and the fact that someone else booked this for the guest, I had to have the guest call the OTA and then get on conference call with them. Never fun.

Just in case, I just looked on Expedia for rooms 11/20-23 in SJU - the Sheraton OSJ was there. Not sure why you couldn't see it. What dates were you looking for? One thing - Expedia only offered one rate per room that I could see. On the hotel's website, there are more room types and more rate choices per room...

 

Apparently the OP wants to use some Expedia points...see above.

[slidergirl]

Apparently the OP wants to use some Expedia points...see above.

 

OP also said they would keep an eye on rates on the hotel website. There are times when the redemption value of using points is not a good choice vs paying cash. So, it is a good thing to also look at the hotel's site. Plus, the Expedia site only gives one rate for a few room types - the hotel site may give a better type of rate for a room that better matches the OP's need. Options, always options. I do the same thing with I book rooms - I'll look at the points redemption for places I want to stay at vs paying a combination of points & cash or straight cash. My difference is that I'm using the hotel chain's frequent guest points and not a 3rd party OTA.