Free “Luxury” One Night Pre Cruise Hotel, Breakfast and Transfer to Ship Question

[mpclaw]

My wife and I are booked on our 1st Regent  cruise departing Miami,  March 25. As part of our package we see we were promised  “luxury overnight hotel stay, breakfast and transfer to the ship” 

 

Our TA Advises that the hotel(s) Regent uses In Miami are full and they are refunding  $150 per person in lieu. In checking availability for Miami hotels at the four-star and up level range from about $550 a night to over $3000. With Regent’s  “allowance”, that will get us at the Marriott courtyard near the airport, breakfast at McDonalds and an Uber to the Ship. A Check of rates show no hotels as being sold out. Just very pricey.

 

I am wondering had there been “room” what hotel does Regent use in Miami? Any other suggestions?

 

 

[Boats07]

7 minutes ago, mpclaw said:

My wife and I are booked on our 1st Regent  cruise departing Miami,  March 25. As part of our package we see we were promised  “luxury overnight hotel stay, breakfast and transfer to the ship” 

 

Our TA Advises that the hotel(s) Regent uses In Miami are full and they are refunding  $150 per person in lieu. In checking availability for Miami hotels at the four-star and up level range from about $550 a night to over $3000. With Regent’s  “allowance”, that will get us at the Marriott courtyard near the airport, breakfast at McDonalds and an Uber to the Ship. A Check of rates show no hotels as being sold out. Just very pricey.

 

I am wondering had there been “room” what hotel does Regent use in Miami? Any other suggestions?

 

 

We have not sailed on Regent yet, but have three booked cruises and this is what we have found on Regents site.

Log into Regent and click on Manage this Booking

click on My Itinerary 

scroll down and it should show a calendar of your itinerary 

the first day should show Pre and name of the hotel

 

You can also call Regent to confirm the information you received from your TA.

 

Hope this works for you

 

[mpclaw]

Regent has already informed us the hotel is fully booked in Miami, and have issued us a $150 per person credit and told us were on our own.

[bennett2005]

The message from travel agent does not ring true.  I would contact Regent direct and use a different travel agent in future 

[Steve Q]

2 hours ago, mpclaw said:

My wife and I are booked on our 1st Regent  cruise departing Miami,  March 25. As part of our package we see we were promised  “luxury overnight hotel stay, breakfast and transfer to the ship” 

 

Our TA Advises that the hotel(s) Regent uses In Miami are full and they are refunding  $150 per person in lieu. In checking availability for Miami hotels at the four-star and up level range from about $550 a night to over $3000. With Regent’s  “allowance”, that will get us at the Marriott courtyard near the airport, breakfast at McDonalds and an Uber to the Ship. A Check of rates show no hotels as being sold out. Just very pricey.

 

I am wondering had there been “room” what hotel does Regent use in Miami? Any other suggestions?

 

 

We are also booked on our first Regent cruise departing on this same date. I am guessing that you will also be aboard this same cruise——Miami to Rome on the Explorer. Regent booked us at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. Looks like it is some distance to the pier, but hopefully the hotel is a nice one. Good luck.

[rallydave]

10 minutes ago, Steve Q said:

The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood.

The Diplomat was one of the top hotels in the Miami Beach area when it was built about 60 or so years ago.  Can't say what it is like now but, can say with the traffic down to the cruise port, probably over an hour transit time.  It is right on the ocean so have fun.

[Sunprince]

There is something going on with the (excessive) pricing on Miami hotels, especially on certain weekends. Perhaps special events?  We are departing Miami in April and need to stay over a Saturday night. Decent hotels are ranging from $500 to $2000+ per night.  The four seasons, mandarin etc are all over $1000.  I am not sure if Regents hotels are really full or if Regent just won’t pay the higher price ( would think they have a contract for lower?).  If booking on your own, check the various discount hotel sites as they often have non-refundable rates at substantially lower rates than the hotel website.  

[rallydave]

1 minute ago, Sunprince said:

There is something going on with the (excessive) pricing on Miami hotels, especially on certain weekends. Perhaps special events?  We are departing Miami in April and need to stay over a Saturday night. Decent hotels are ranging from $500 to $2000+ per night.  The four seasons, mandarin etc are all over $1000.  I am not sure if Regents hotels are really full or if Regent just won’t pay the higher price ( would think they have a contract for lower?).  If booking on your own, check the various discount hotel sites as they often have non-refundable rates at substantially lower rates than the hotel website.  

From after New Years thru the end of April or so is the high season in South Florida with the high prices your have found  This is the time of year when snowbirds come  to South Florida to escape the snow and ice.  Once you get to March/April the snowbirds are joined by spring breakers making availability even worse and prices even higher.

 

If you want to stay on the water, you will pay for those privileges.  Simply staying away from the water and off Miami Beach will result in high season rates but, not the exorbitant ratesyou described.  Speaking for myself, '.for the night or two before or after a cruise, really don't need the 5 or 6 star hotel; a simple clean 2-4 star will do just fine for a nite or two.   Good luck and suggest you check near the MIA airport for reasonable and acceptable hotels.

[asnaleah]

We choose the Diplomat for our pre-cruise stay when sailing from Fort Lauderdale. It was updated around 4-5 years ago if memory serves. Beautiful pool area and right on the beach. There was an excellent steak restaurant off the lobby and a great lobby bar. No experience since Covid, but I hope it is still nice!

[wishIweretravelling]

We encountered this on our November Explorer cruise. No, the credit doesn’t cover a decent hotel. We used points to get ours. We booked close to the departure date, and there were no hotel rooms left in their contract block.  Buried deep somewhere on the website is the disclaimer that hotels may not be available for cruises booked within 30 days of departure, or something to that effect.

[fdnycruiser]

As rally dave has mentioned, it’s the height of snowbird season, and everything near the water (including Vero) is booked solid. Florida became extra popular due to the Covid . This year is even busier than before, even in the off season. We’re on that March 25th cruise, and I believe they were using the Diplomat. We didn’t need the hotel, so took the credit. Good luck with your search. Hopefully something will open up with decent pricing 

[Pcardad]

6 hours ago, mpclaw said:

My wife and I are booked on our 1st Regent  cruise departing Miami,  March 25. As part of our package we see we were promised  “luxury overnight hotel stay, breakfast and transfer to the ship” 

 

Our TA Advises that the hotel(s) Regent uses In Miami are full and they are refunding  $150 per person in lieu. In checking availability for Miami hotels at the four-star and up level range from about $550 a night to over $3000. With Regent’s  “allowance”, that will get us at the Marriott courtyard near the airport, breakfast at McDonalds and an Uber to the Ship. A Check of rates show no hotels as being sold out. Just very pricey.

 

I am wondering had there been “room” what hotel does Regent use in Miami? Any other suggestions?

 

 

We are always assigned the 4 Seasons...

[Sunprince]

1 hour ago, fdnycruiser said:

As rally dave has mentioned, it’s the height of snowbird season,

FYI, not many snowbirds are going to Miami to pay over $1000/night for a hotel. Snowbirds either own their own property in Fl or "snowbird" in other areas of Fl (such as Naples, ForMyers, St Petes etc). So I do agree, that winter rates in MIA are much higher than low season (same as anywhere), but I don't believe its because of the snowbirds (defined as retired northerners seeking warmer climes). Perhaps we are just defining snowbirds a little differently. 

[rallydave]

1 minute ago, Sunprince said:

but I don't believe its because of the snowbirds (defined as retired northerners seeking warmer climes).

Don't believe the above is a valid definition of snowbirds.  Snowbirds could be retired however equally possible is that they are still working and simply on vacations for a week or two and thus able to pay the high rates mentioned.  Retired people like Wendy the Wanderer who come down to Florida for weeks and months would likely rent Condos by the month and not a Four Seasons type hotel.

[SusieQft]

30 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Snowbirds could be retired however equally possible is that they are still working and simply on vacations for a week or two and thus able to pay the high rates mentioned.

I have never heard the term Snowbirds used except for people living in the north during the summers and in the south during the winters, generally in their own accomodations, either permanent, rented, or mobile.  Perhaps there is some regional variation in the definition?

[Sunprince]

Definitely the correct definition of a "snowbird". Check out the urban dictionary  or other sources. A good % of Florida's winter economy is from "northerners" seeking warmer climates in the winter. "Snowbirds" also go to Arizona, Palm Springs etc for winter months. They do not stay in the typical hotels and not for a few days or a week. It's longer term . A snowbird is not the same as a "vacationer" seeking a quick winter holiday. 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Sunprince

[islandchick]

We are on Splendor for the TA cruise beginning of April. They are putting us up in the AKA Brickell. 

[Pudgesmom]

5 hours ago, Pcardad said:

We are always assigned the 4 Seasons...

We are headed out early April in a named suite. Our assignment to East Miami looks very disappointing. Four Seasons is the type of hotel we expected. What would you recommend?

[Brownie54]

We are also on the Splendor sailing on April 5, sailing with you, and we booked our own hotel and took the credit. We are flying into Miami on April 3 (Covid testing at BWI before we fly) and we’re staying at the JWMarriott on points. We will get ourselves from the airport to the hotel to the ship!

See you on board!

 

 

[cuddles115]

20 hours ago, islandchick said:

We are on Splendor for the TA cruise beginning of April. They are putting us up in the AKA Brickell. 

Stayed in AKA Brickell prior to Splendor cruise in February.  Nice, clean hotel in a good neighborhood.  You need 2 elevators to get to the lobby and room.  The breakfast buffet is poor.  They have 2 busses to the port.  Make sure you get on the first bus.  The second leaves about an hour later.

[SWFLAOK]

The definition of snowbirds has changed since the pandemic began. Snowbirds are no longer retired people who look for a place to stay  for the winter months. They are already working from home, and they can work from any place they can afford to stay in Florida. In our condo complex, we've had many younger working couples living here for the winter. Some are leaving next week, and they are sad to be going back north. Our property value has gone up about 40 percent in the last 6 months, but we can't afford to move elsewhere in this area if we still want to take Regent cruises.

[giustot]

Regent booked us at the AKA Brickell March 12th prior to the March 13th Explorer cruise. Just checked the price of a room there for the same night, $1609.00 including tax and fees, but not breakfast. That's insane. The other top Miami hotels are in the same price range. The hotel rate is more than the daily cost of two people cruising in a PH suite. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by giustot

[asnaleah]

I would love to see a picture of your room!

[mrstanley]

Prior to our February cruise on the Splendor we had booked a room ourselves at The Intercontinental Hotel . Booked it 10 months before cruise. Rate was $450 per night. Our F1 suite didn’t include the one night stay in Miami. Hotel rates at luxury hotels worldwide are insane now.

[Gpilon]

8 hours ago, giustot said:

Regent booked us at the AKA Brickell March 12th prior to the March 13th Explorer cruise. Just checked the price of a room there for the same night, $1609.00 including tax and fees, but not breakfast. That's insane. The other top Miami hotels are in the same price range. The hotel rate is more than the daily cost of two people cruising in a PH suite. 

We have the included room, breakfast and transfer for our March 17 Splendor cruise, with arrival March 16 for the one night stay. I just checked the AKA Brickell website to view how much a room would be if we paid, and a Bay View room lists at $482.00.