Advice on Hyatt night before cruise

[Luckymommyx2]

I am seriouly considering booking a room at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport the night before our cruise. I have two toddlers and the fact that we wouldn't have to shuttle to another hotel would be worth the extra money, to me. Plus my children are absolutely captivated by airplanes so a room with a view of the runway would be great! I have checked travelocity, cheapticket and about every discount site I know of and they are all showing no availability for my date. I called the Hyatt's 800# and they quoted me a $160 rate. The hotel's internet site gives an internet only rate of $129. Do you think that is the best I'm going to find and do you think it's really worth it?? We're not going until May 2003 and I didn't expect to have to make a decision on this so soon but I guess the rooms fill even quicker than I thought!

 

[shelly3girls]

We are cruising in January also with two toddlers. I agree about the convenience and I have the same question about the price. I was only able to find the price of $160 even on the internet. Where did you find the cheaper quote and is this worth it? We are not arriving in Orlando until 6:30pm and I will never be able to get the kids out of bed in the morning unless they are asleep by 8:00 (yes, they are very late sleepers!).

 

[peg2001]

$129 is pretty good for the MCO Hyatt so if budget is not a big concern, I say stay at the Hyatt. Especially with two toddlers, it will be easier.

I will reserve an airport hotel through Priceline and end up taking a shuttle. This will be a bigger hassle as I have 2 young children as well but for me, the cost savings is worth it.

Peg

 

[Luckymommyx2]

shelly3girls,
I went to the section of special offers and they had internet only rates there. I called the Hyatt mco directly and they advised me that a cancellation any time would be at least $50 if I booked through the internet. I was also quoted the $160 rate which included 1 in-house movie and that also included tax, which my $129 internet rate did not. I'm not sure which way to go since the internet rate would end up being $141 with tax. There is a lot of time between now and May 2003 for something to come up and I would hate to forfeit the $50 or the entire room charge! I have not checked Priceline.com which may be an option but I'm not exactly sure how it works. I hope this all makes sense!

 

[peg2001]

Don't use Priceline unless you know exactly how it works! It isn't too complicated but people can get "burned" if they don't understand the restrictions and limitations. I feel comfortable using them for hotel rooms, for example, but do not feel comfortable using them for air flights.

For hotel rooms, you get to choose the location (e.g., MCO area), date, quality level (e.g., 2 stars, 3 stars, etc.), and name a price (your bid). If your bid is accepted, your credit card is billed immediately and don't expect a change or refund for any reason. Only then will you find out which hotel accepted your bid.

I suggest reading the information on www.biddingfortravel.com before using Priceline.

Peg

 

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Originally posted by Luckymommyx2
There is a lot of time between now and May 2003 for something to come up and I would hate to forfeit the $50 or the entire room charge!

I wonder if travel insurance would cover that.

 

[din]

We stayed the night at the Hyatt. It was very easy to get to, and in addition, flying from the west coast we checked and had dinner without having to deal with transportation. By the way we booked our own using points.

That may something that you may to consider to get your room.

 

[apple]

I would stay at the Hyatt. We sailed a couple of weeks ago and stayed at the Hyatt the night before. It was worth the money to me. We didn't have to go some where else to sleep and then back to the airport the next morning to get on the bus to the port. Also what I loved the best is the morning you sail you just leave our bags in the hall by your room and DCL will pick them up for you and you check in for the bus ride in the Hyatt lobby. Go for it, its worth the extra money.

 

[Ashley24]

Can you still have DCL pick up your luggage if you are not using their bus but using a towncar instead???

 

[Annamae]

Apple:

We are staying at the hyatt the night before for same reason you did. Thought it would be less of a hassle. I was told it was a really nice hotel, is that true? Also, what time did the bus come to get you? Were there more than one? Did you have to sign up for them? Any other details would be great. I really like to know what to do before we get there. My TA wasn't much help. Thanks

 

[apple]

The hotel was very nice. The pool was great too, the whole pool was heated like a hot tub. We liked our stay there and will do it again if we have too. You put your luggage outside your door around 8:30 or 9:00. You check in the lubby around 9:30 or so. By 10:00 you are going to the bus. There will be alot of other people there too. DCL had about 6 to 7 buses.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Happy 4th of July everyone! I wanted to thank everyone for their replies so far. I just got off the phone with Hyatt reservation. I went ahead and booked a room for the night before our cruise. I got the $160 rate which includes taxes and one in house movie. I also requested a runway view for the kids (okay, for me too)! I'm really looking forward to starting our vacation a day early, not having to get up in the wee hours of the morning to catch our plane and to just soak in the the great Disney atmosphere. I guess this means I'm going to be changing my countdown timer! Next up...trying to decide if I'm doing the DCL transfers or going through Happy Limo. Thanks again guys--you're the greatest!!!

 

[dznynut]

We stayed at the Hyatt the night before our Wonder cruise in December. It was well worth the peace of mind. I was worried about flying in the day of the cruise. What if there was a flight delay, would we be too tired to enjoy the first night of the cruise...?? The only problem was that the rooftop pool was closed during our stay. My son really wanted to swim and watch the planes. Oh well!

We are in the planning stage of doing the 7 night Western Caribbean cruise in June or July of 2004. I think we will again fly in the night before and stay at the Hyatt. It was so nice and easy in the morning. I liked hanging out at the airport the night before. Lots of neat shops and good food.

I booked our room on line and kept checking for a better rate. About a month before our stay, they had an internet only rate of $109 + tax. Pretty good for the peace of mind we got!

 

[Michelle]

We love the Airport Hyatt and have stayed there many times after arriving late from the West Coast before a cruise the next day. You can't beat the convenience of getting your bags and heading right to the Hyatt elevator.

If you have AAA they also have AAA rates that can save you some as well.

I did luck out with a Priceline bid of $25 for one night last December and got the Airport Hyatt, but I don't think that will be happening this year. That's okay, we'll still stay there before our December cruise this year too.

 

[4crusinransiers]

We will be staying there After our cruise, as we do not fly out till early the next morning....I used priceline at a rate of 76.00

 

[mcnuss]

Thanks to this very informative thread, I just made a reservation at the Hyatt for the night before our cruise. We had been booked into the Hampton Inn using my Hilton points, but I have Hyatt points too and had not realized the convenience of staying there. So I did the big switcheroo and now we're all set.

I am a little confused about the luggage thing? If I've booked it myself, how does DCL know that we're there and to include us in their transportation count? Help?

 

[Annamae]

Hi all. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We did. Thanks for the reply apple. I'm really glad I booked there too, we will be flying in from the westcoast and because of time changes a 4 hour flight gets us there 8 hours later, so we will be arriving late afternoon. I'm with Mcnuss, how does disney know where to get us? Do you sign in, do you register like at the resorts and get to walk on the ship or do we have to check in on the ship also. You said there was 6 or 7 buses for DCL, all at the Hyatt or from other hotels too? Will we have to stop at other hotels too.? Thanks for indulging my questions. Anyone fly America West recently? Any problems?

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

The Hyatt is inside the airport terminal. All other hotels near the airport are at least a two-mile drive from the terminal. The bus that leaves from the Hyatt is the airport-to-port bus. No, it doesn't go to any of the other airport hotels.

As for how they know to get your luggage... when you check in at the Hyatt, identify yourself as a Disney Cruiser. They'll give you a sheet of paper with all the information you need to know.

 

[mcnuss]

Thanks for clearing up that confusion dave_from_marietta. I knew the Hyatt was attached to the terminal, yet somehow I did not put it all together that we would just go to the buses there!

ABMc

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Can anyone answer the question about bags at Hyatt if using Happy Limo instead of DCL transfers? I'm not sure if we're using Happy Limo or DCL. There will be eight of us--four of which will be toddlers so I want to go with what is most convenient. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!