Hotels in Europe

[Sky Sweet]

I have always booked our own pre and post cruise hotels because when you book through the cruise line you pay by the person instead of the room, so it usually winds up costing more.

 

However, the current dollar/euro situation has created a new twist to this situation.

 

If we had booked our hotel in Barcelona through the cruise line for our upcoming cruise the price would not have changed for us because it would have been guaranteed in American dollars.

 

However, since we booked it on our own, the price in euros is still the same, but it is now substantially more in American dollars.

 

Ironically, in this particular situation it would have cost more at the time to book it through the cruise line, but we will now be paying more than if we had.

 

While it is too late for us now, with the current dollar/euro situation, I think it is a good idea to book hotels in Europe through the cruise line, and then monitor the situation because you can always cancel the hotel portion of your cruise package if you find a better rate on your own.

[Cruise Junky]

I think it depends on what kind of hotel you're booking. How much is the cruise line charging for a stay in Barcelona? We paid 135 Euro for our hotel and it was very highly rated. The exchange rate would have to get a whole lot worse before the cruise line could compete with that. We've always found cruiseline pre/post stays an absolute rip off.

[Bruin Steve]

I have always booked our own pre and post cruise hotels because when you book through the cruise line you pay by the person instead of the room, so it usually winds up costing more.

 

However, the current dollar/euro situation has created a new twist to this situation.

 

If we had booked our hotel in Barcelona through the cruise line for our upcoming cruise the price would not have changed for us because it would have been guaranteed in American dollars.

 

However, since we booked it on our own, the price in euros is still the same, but it is now substantially more in American dollars.

 

Ironically, in this particular situation it would have cost more at the time to book it through the cruise line, but we will now be paying more than if we had.

 

While it is too late for us now, with the current dollar/euro situation, I think it is a good idea to book hotels in Europe through the cruise line, and then monitor the situation because you can always cancel the hotel portion of your cruise package if you find a better rate on your own.

 

Your take is almost too general...

 

First, the reason the cruise line hotel packages cost more is not that it's per person...The charge is what it is...The reasons they cost more are:

 

1) They make deals with specific hotels that have the room to accommodate a large number of guests which limits who they deal with...and they have to negotiate a rate a considerable length of time in advance...They actually have far less flexibility than you have on your own and it can affect the rates they get. They (and their hotel partners) are also taking into consideration the possible fluctuation in currency rates...and they tend to err on the conservative side.

 

2) The cruise lines also have to factor in other costs...They typically include the ground transportation with the hotel package...plus, they need to hire personnel--usually a local "agent" to coordinate the package--the agent typically meets you at the airport, directs you to the bus or van, gets you to the hotel...

 

3) The cruise line also has to factor in a small (or, in some cases, large) premium or profit for its own account.

 

Most of the time, if the cruise line has guessed correctly, this package will cost you more than what you can do on your own AT THE SAME HOTEL...Only occasionally will unforeseen fluctuations in rates cause you to get aworse deal "on your own"...

 

Also, "on your own" you have far more flexibility in finding cheaper rates at OTHER hotels...

 

That said, the real reason for booking the cruise line's hotel package (We've done this several times as well as booking our own several times) is that there is some value to having the cruise line deal with all of the logistics...and often that is worth the premium...

 

At times, especially with Celebrity, we've found the premium to be quite small...

 

But, it also depends often on what sort of hotel you are willing to stay at...We like nicer hotels, so we're not necessarily looking for bargains...but some folks are willing to stay at a far lesser hotel than what the cruise line offers, so they may save considerably more money...

 

Curiously, not all cruise line deals are so close in value to what Celebrity offers...

When we cruised with Oceania a couple of summers ago, we thought their hotel packages were outrageous...In Venice, they offered the Gritti Palace for $699 per person for ONE NIGHT--a whopping $1400 for one night at this hotel...A nice hotel, but hardly worth that price...We booked the Anastasia, a very nice 17-room boutique hotel right next to San Marco, for 130 euros per night!!!...Looking at our next Oceania cruise for June 2009, we noted in Istanbul, they are offering the Conrad for $449 per person for a one night stay--about $900...When we did that last Oceania cruise, we opted for our own booking at the Conrad...and booking it almost a year in advance, got it directly from Hilton for $113 per night!!! The rates aren't available yet for July 2009, but just checking the rates at the Conrad for THIS JULY, booking only a couple of months in advance, we know we could get it for about $269 per night...I think Oceania just looks at these hotel packages as a major profit center...

 

If you are worried about currency rate fluctuations, there are other ways to deal with it as well...

 

For our upcoming Stockholm to Harwich cruise on the Constellation, our reservation at the Stockholm Hilton Slussen was prepaid at the booking date--we got a much lower rate that way. Of course, there are risks in doing this as well--it's non-cancelable and sometimes those exchange rates do move the OTHER way...

 

I've generally learned not to concern myself that much with the rate fluctuations...One great thing about cruising is that about 80 to 90% of our costs are fixed in US Dollars--the cruise fare is set at booking in US dollars, the airfare is in US Dollars, shore excursions through the ship are pre-purchased in US Dollars, our tips and on-board account are in US Dollars...The only things subject to fluctuation are our pre- and post-cruise hotels, pre-and post-cruise meals and entertainment, local ground transportation other than cruise line transfers, and money spent in port outside of ship excursions...

 

One one prior cruise, I did a spread sheet of the budget and found that we were spending approximately $14,000 on the trip (and we were doing about 7 total nights of pre- and post-cruise stay in Madrid and London), but only around $2,000 of this was in local currency...So, even if the US Dollar dropped 10% in value from planning until the trip, the total negative effect would be only around $200...even if it dropped 20% (that would have been an historical level), we were talking only $400 on a $14,000 vacation...really not that much to worry about...As it were for that trip, the dollar dropped, then recovered just before our dates and was actually in better shape when we finally went...

 

Bottom line, don't sweat this stuff...

 

Also, BTW, remember that MOST hotel reservations are cancelable up to 24 hours prior to the date...So, you can book something and keep on looking...

[Karynanne]

Bruin Steve, I agree with logic regarding European hotels.

 

We have booked hotels using Priceline. We research the hotels in the catagory and areas in the city we want to stay in, and if we find we're comfortable with the hotels in the specific catagory and area...then we'll bid on them. We haven't been disappointed yet. We're pleased with the price, and the hotels are paid in advance.

[hcat]

hotels.com is also an option--all pre-paid in US dollars at time it is booked...we tried that & it worked

 

we also did Ok last yr by booking early directly with Atrium palace in barcelona & loved that hotel...