Should I "name my price" for Port hotel??

[eeyoregon]

Need some advice from someone who has used Priceline or Hotwire or ?? travel engine and bid on a hotel in Cocoa Beach/Port Canaveral area.

1.) Which area do you search in? I want to be as close to the port as possible. Which is better: Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, or??

2.) Do you stick with a 3 star or better hotel?

3.) Have you ever done this and ended up at a hotel that does not have parking available while you cruise? We will have a car to leave.

We will be spending less than 8 hours in the hotel by the time we get in that night and then leave for port bright and early. Thank you in advance for any help, tips or suggestions.

 

[mmouse37]

Hi There...

I have done Priceline for two different stays at the port and each time I bid for a 3 star hotel. I only used the Cocoa Beach area.

One time was in September and we bid $45 and got the Holiday Inn Ocean Front....the other time was in November and we also bid about $45 and got the DoubleTree Suites. Both hotels were showing over $100 a night at their hotel chain websites.

Both hotels were nice and on the ocean but they were not the closest hotels to the port....that part is tough to guarantee, especially when you use Priceline. But, we were not really far away and I don't know if they allowed parking or not as we had a rental that we returned after dropping off people and luggage at port.

Hope this helps!!!

 

[tink2020]

I think it really has to do with the time you are traveling, as well (which makes sense). I kept reading about these great rates, looked into biddingfortravel and betterbidding sites, etc and the best I could do (for weeks) was $80 at a 3-star cocoa beach hotel. I got the impression that since we're going in the summer, that's not going to go down to $45. (I hope all those people were right!).

So, with taxes, etc we're paying $80 for the Doubletree Oceanfront. I was not ecstatic about the price, but it's better than rack rate. I just wanted to let you know in case it makes a difference, also to mention which hotel we got (since I never hear anyone talk about it).

 

[Vanvmom]

We've never done Priceline for a cruise, but I did it for Disneyland area twice and was horribly disappointed both times. First time was the Hyatt Orange County - no where near as nice as I expected from a Hyatt (or have experienced with Hyatt's in the past). Second time was before our West Coast Magic to Mexico cruise and although our room was a "non-smoking suite" it smelled strongly of smoke, and no other rooms were available. Considering the short time you'll be in the room, you could luck out and be just fine. The parking issue is something you'd just have to be willing to take a chance on. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[TheWog]

Here are some sites to check out. This will give you an idea of how to bid and what the going rates are.

www.betterbidding.com
www.biddingfortravel.com
www.biddingfun.com

The one in the middle is probably the best, but the moderator can be a bit cranky if you don't follow the rules exactly. These sites helped a great deal when I got the Hyatt Pier 66 in FLL last winter for our RCI Cruise. Rack rate was $345.00 per night, and won it for $95.00.

Good luck.