Value Trips finally posted 2019 rates

[NoWhiners]

Lots of dates in Jan thru Mar not included.

[bettyboop16]

I was looking at the prices. Much higher than I paid last April.

[Hollyann]

I would NOT recommend Valuetrips - 

I had booked Hyatt 17th Place for November 10, 2018 with Valuetrips.  I booked it in January 2018, called the Hyatt about 2 weeks before my November 10, 2018 trip to confirm and then when I got off of the airplane in Ft. Lauderdale, I had an email (from Valuetrips that had a BUNCH of grammatical errors) stating that I would be picked up by 17th place, but taken to Hyatt Plantation - 30 minutes the WRONG way in rush hour traffic.  Then when I was dropped off at Plantation, the driver did not want to pick me up at 10:00 am to take me to the ship (which was now 25 minutes away).  Finally he said that he would for $10 a piece instead of the usual hotel fee of $7 apiece.  Grudgingly we agreed because we knew we had to get to the port.  

Long story short, Hyatt Plantation was extremely nice - was even about $10 less per night.  After calling Hyatt 17th place after the cruise, he said if we were bumped that day and it was Hyatt's fault that they would have paid for the room.  Then he told me that they had told Valuetrips 8 days earlier that we would be bumped and that it was Valuetrips fault that we were not warned earlier.  I do believe him (and I am pretty skeptical about things) at that point, he had no reason to lie. He did sound upset about what I said about the driver (Tony) not wanting to come back at 10 to take us to the port.  

 

I don't usually deal with 3rd party vendors. After seeing good reviews on Cruise Critic about Valuetrips, I thought we'd try them. Will not use Value trips again = PLUS I wanted to warn others.

[nhraformula00]

We have never had a problem with them in the last 3 years. 4 stays both coming and going for a cruise. Sorry to here you had problems.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Guess they were not able to contract for high season.

 

There have been a few threads lately where the Hyatt on 17th is bumping people that booked via Valuetrips & other 3rd party booking sites.  Someone just posted the other day that around 10 people got moved over to Plantation. 

 

Just keep in mind that value trips may be less, but the hotels are going to move those who booked via a 3rd party site before they book someone who booked directly.

[Cheezus]

If the worst case scenario is ending up in Plantation, barely 20 minutes from the port, then it's probably not that big of a deal.  It's not like Plantation is a bad spot or far away.  Tons of restaurants, a Total Wine, and easy drive to the port.

 

What might annoy me the most is that if you are not getting a free night/refunded, then the price you paid for 17th street still might be more than the going rate in Plantation.  So you may end up actually overpaying for the hotel as opposed to getting a sweet deal.

[kdakda]

21 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

Lots of dates in Jan thru Mar not included.

Where are you finding this info???   I go to the ValueTrips site and am still only seeing the 2018 rate.    

Although I'm quite concerned about several other posts that describe being 'walked' to another Hyatt.   We've booked thru ValueTrips twice and had great stays, but don't like to read about these recent experiences.

[capriccio]

32 minutes ago, kdakda said:

Where are you finding this info???   I go to the ValueTrips site and am still only seeing the 2018 rate.    

Although I'm quite concerned about several other posts that describe being 'walked' to another Hyatt.   We've booked thru ValueTrips twice and had great stays, but don't like to read about these recent experiences.

http://www.valuetrips.com/AMS/FL/F17.htm#Today's Super Value rates

[kdakda]

6 minutes ago, capriccio said:

http://www.valuetrips.com/AMS/FL/F17.htm#Today's Super Value rates

This seems bizarre to me ----    when I click on this link, I still see the 2018 rates.     

Thanks for trying!

[capriccio]

2 minutes ago, kdakda said:

This seems bizarre to me ----    when I click on this link, I still see the 2018 rates.     

Thanks for trying!

Check the small print under the chart.  It starts with the December 2018 blackout dates and then lists those for 2019 up until early November (boat show weekend).

Edited November 26, 2018 by capriccio

[kdakda]

7 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Check the small print under the chart.  It starts with the December 2018 blackout dates and then lists those for 2019 up until early November (boat show weekend).

I STILL wasn't seeing anything about 2019, but decided to try 'refreshing' one more time and the new rates suddenly appeared!!!!!  Thanks very much!    Wow, those rates for winter/spring really are a lot higher.   I'm so hesitant to book through ValueTrips now, after reading about problems with guests who had 3rd party bookings.  

[capriccio]

kdakda - glad you were finally able to see the rates and blackout dates.  Looks like most weekends from December through early April are blacked out.  Hyatt must feel that they'll have no problem filling their rooms on those dates without discounting.

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, kdakda said:

I STILL wasn't seeing anything about 2019, but decided to try 'refreshing' one more time and the new rates suddenly appeared!!!!!  Thanks very much!    Wow, those rates for winter/spring really are a lot higher.   I'm so hesitant to book through ValueTrips now, after reading about problems with guests who had 3rd party bookings.  

 

I saw you posted your question, came back to give you the link and see that you got the new rates.

 

I haven't had any issue with the HP or VT, but one person said she called HP to verify her reservation and they had it. I think if you can get the HP confirmation number, not VT, you may be in better shape. I agree with the people who posted that the difference in price isn't that big,  so you could just join the Hyatt loyalty club and book the room directly using that method. Those clubs usually guarantee the lowest rate. This is probably what we will do when we go in 2020. Otherwise, there are some other good choices for us--Holiday Inn Express on 17th, a Hampton Inn and Courtyard, both in Plantation. They both have airport shuttle and are near a Duffy's and a Total Wine. I have points thru Marriott  I can use. And I'm thinking we could take the shuttle back to the airport, then grab either a cab or Uber from there--should reduce the cost. Hampton Inn claims they have a free shuttle to the port, but I can't confirm that. Maybe someone here knows?

 

Good luck

ML

[Cheezus]

Plantation to PE is a $20 Uber. Not worth transferring at the airport to save a couple bucks. 

[Ashland]

I too have not had any problems booking the Hyatt Place with ValueTrips and will do so again for our post-cruise Snowbird itinerary next October...I think those rates are fine as compared to Embassy Suites.

[Hollyann]

Our biggest problem with being bumped is that after an 8 hour travel day, we FIRST had to go to the 17th street hotel to drop off their passengers and then had to go through rush hour traffic to go to the Plantation hotel. So it added 45 minutes to our day and we did not know about the area. There was another couple with us that booked through Valuetrip.  I asked the driver and he said there were 13 rooms in all that were bumped. 

 

Then, not knowing were we were, the driver gave us grief about picking us up for the port at 10 am - until we promised to pay him $10 apiece for the 3 of us.  More unwanted stress.  Later after we checked in, the hotel said it would be $35 - $40 to get to the port so it was comforting to find that out.

 

The Hyatt Plantation was about $10-$12 less than we had agreed to pay at 17th street.

 

All in all not bad IF we had known about it.  But we did not know that Plantation was within walking distance of a Target so that we could pick up our two bottles of wine, etc..  Having been up since 4:00 am and getting there at a different hotel at 5pm was not in our plans.

[Cheezus]

I'd take Plantation over 17th street regardless. Lots of great stuff within walking distance or a short Uber.. 

[Cruisesfun65]

Hyatt Place no longer offers free breakfast to those not booked directly and members of WOH.

 

Through 3rd parties it's now $11 per room (up to 4 guests) per day.

[Paulinda]

How good are those breakfasts?  We stayed last year at the Embassy suites and the breakfast was just ok.  I'd just as soon walk to a nearby place.

[NoWhiners]

17 hours ago, Cheezus said:

Plantation to PE is a $20 Uber. Not worth transferring at the airport to save a couple bucks. 

 

Thanks for this. I wasn't sure what the Uber rate would be but you're right, that's not bad and eliminates one step.

[Cheezus]

12 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Thanks for this. I wasn't sure what the Uber rate would be but you're right, that's not bad and eliminates one step.

 

😊 I think more cruisers would find Plantation a great option. It's a straight shot to the port on the highway and just a few minutes away.  More restaurants and what not than 17th Street area, too. Uber is readily available and for a few bucks you can go to all sorts of restaurants and things to do.  Cheaper hotel rates don't hurt either. 

 

I'm not a big fan of 17th Street. It's just a couple of shopping centers and not that walkable either. 

[SteerageJoe]

I know one major problem with the Plantation area: It is on the wrong side of I-95!!  When I-95  traffic is bad it gets very bad to drive east.

 

The other thing is simply the fact that the area is typical suburban and you could go anywhere in America for that experience. There is nothing special, or Fort Lauderdale or Port Everglades about it - and you are miles away.

 

At least at 17th street one is close to the Port and you can walk to see cruise ships and water and sea-based activities and restaurants and such. Other than that I agree there is nothing special about the 17th St area. It is a convention area next to the Port with plenty of amenities and that is just fine for most cruisers.

 

All just my opinion though! I totally get all points of view.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by SteerageJoe

[VermeulT]

I too reached out to them several times about booking for January.  Thanks to you all I finally see rates and I'm not only not impressed but highly disappointed.  $40 off?  There's not much value there.... 😞

[capriccio]

Just now, SteerageJoe said:

At least at 17th street one is close to the Port and you can walk to see cruise ships and water and sea-based activities and restaurants and such. Other than that I agree there is nothing special about the 17th St area. It is a convention area next to the Port and that is fine for most cruisers.

 

 

And if you get into Fort Lauderdale in the afternoon or are spending more than one night, from a 17th Street area hotel you have ready access to the sun trolley (www.suntrolley.com) to the beach and are within walking distance of the water taxi (www.watertaxi.com) stop at the Hilton Marina.  Not to mention you will be avoiding the traffic as others have mentioned.

 

Full disclosure - I live on the beach north of Fort Lauderdale but my lawyer's office is in Plantation.  It is a lovely suburb, not a tourist destination (unless all you want to do is shop at nearby Sawgrass Mall ), so it would be fine for a late arrival, early departure as long as you don't mind the increase in your commute time especially if you are going to the Port on a weekday.

[NoWhiners]

26 minutes ago, SteerageJoe said:

I know one major problem with the Plantation area: It is on the wrong side of I-95!!  When I-95  traffic is bad it gets very bad to drive east.

 

The other thing is simply the fact that the area is typical suburban and you could go anywhere in America for that experience. There is nothing special, or Fort Lauderdale or Port Everglades about it - and you are miles away.

 

 

We would be arriving on a Saturday late evening/night and going to the port the next day. Will the traffic be better on a weekend? We are only spending the night before we cruise and only want to go to Duffy's and buy some wine, scenery will be on the cruise