The best travel deal you ever paid for?

[808blessing]

Wow! If I could be so . ^

 

[potterfanatic]

I’m traveling to NYC in for a long weekend in August. I got a Hilton garden inn a block from time square for $115 a night.

 

[jujubiee4]

The best deal, hands down, was my December 2018 10-Day cruise on the NCL Dawn. We affectionately refer to it as the "Unicorn Cruise" because it was magic and we will never see the like of it again. It was a last-minute deal on SkyAuction. Back before Covid SkyAuction would run NCL specials for sailing dates from Oct-early December. I hope they bring them back!

Here was my deal:
10-Day Dawn Cruise from San Jose, PR
Visiting:
Aruba
Curacao
Bonaire
St. Lucia
Barbados
Antigua
St. Maarten
Tortola, British Virgin Islands

$299.00 per person for an outside GTY cabin INCLUDING free unlimited bar and 4 specialty dining meals. We ate at the steak house, the French restaurant, the Tepanyaki Grill and the Brazilian restaurant.

$250.00-ish per person in required tips for the booze and extra food

So ... $1000 for a 10-day cruise with unlimited booze and fancy meals.

BUT WAIT! There's More!

It also included unlimited WI-FI on board. Now, the WI-FI was pretty crappy, but it was better than nothing.

BUT WAIT! There's EVEN More!

It ALSO included FREE PREPAID GRATUITIES.

We ended up paying maybe another $1000 in excursions. My DH likes to dive which is pretty expensive but we also did a bunch of beach days which were much cheaper.

Our bottom line was $2000 for a 10-Day cruise which included absolutely everything.

What is this SkyAuction? are they still around or do you think they will ever come back?

 

[robinb]

What is this SkyAuction? are they still around or do you think they will ever come back?

They are still around. You need to be VERY careful when you book with them and understand ALL the fine print and extra charges. For instance, some weeks have additional charges over the auction/buy it now price. Many people don't read everything and then are disappointed by "gotcha" pricing that is actually spelled out in full. That being said, there are some great deals to be had. I also booked a week in a 1BR timeshare at Wyndham Cypress Palms on Skyauction for $220 all-in two weeks before a trip a few years ago.

 

[jujubiee4]

Is

They are still around. You need to be VERY careful when you book with them and understand ALL the fine print and extra charges. For instance, some weeks have additional charges over the auction/buy it now price. Many people don't read everything and then are disappointed by "gotcha" pricing that is actually spelled out in full. That being said, there are some great deals to be had. I also booked a week in a 1BR timeshare at Wyndham Cypress Palms on Skyauction for $220 all-in two weeks before a trip a few years ago.

Is the gotcha stuff regarding fees and stuff or more like you were put in a room over garbage
bins? Sounds like a site that is good if you can leave soon?

 

[robinb]

Is


Is the gotcha stuff regarding fees and stuff or more like you were put in a room over garbage
bins? Sounds like a site that is good if you can leave soon?

I'm not sure what you mean. Any hotel/resort/timeshare that has rooms over garbage bins will put someone in that room. We call that "The Priceline Room" in our family because hotels will often give the better rooms to the customers who pay more. I don't mind because I'm usually paying at least 40% less. My cabin on the Dawn was on the lowest deck and just off the entrance back onto the ship. It's not where I would normally pick, but it was just fine. My 1BR was beautiful at Wyndham Cypress Palms and I was actually upgraded to a Deluxe 1BR.

The fees are the things to really pay attention to. Often they will have a price for the auction and then once you read the fine print you'll see there is an additional charge for certain weeks or that the hotel will charge you some additional fee when you get there. You also need to understand the type of unit you are buying. For instance, the 1BR I bought didn't have a designation so I knew that it could be a standard 1BR or a deluxe 1BR with a lanai. I was ready for either one, but I would have been disappointed if I was expecting the bigger 1BR and was assigned a smaller one.

Here's an example of an auction with a date surcharge:
http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/3426060

 

[jujubiee4]

I'm not sure what you mean. Any hotel/resort/timeshare that has rooms over garbage bins will put someone in that room. We call that "The Priceline Room" in our family because hotels will often give the better rooms to the customers who pay more. I don't mind because I'm usually paying at least 40% less. My cabin on the Dawn was on the lowest deck and just off the entrance back onto the ship. It's not where I would normally pick, but it was just fine. My 1BR was beautiful at Wyndham Cypress Palms and I was actually upgraded to a Deluxe 1BR.

The fees are the things to really pay attention to. Often they will have a price for the auction and then once you read the fine print you'll see there is an additional charge for certain weeks or that the hotel will charge you some additional fee when you get there. You also need to understand the type of unit you are buying. For instance, the 1BR I bought didn't have a designation so I knew that it could be a standard 1BR or a deluxe 1BR with a lanai. I was ready for either one, but I would have been disappointed if I was expecting the bigger 1BR and was assigned a smaller one.

Here's an example of an auction with a date surcharge:
http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/3426060

Thank you. This is a great explanation.

 

[Lilylogan]

I used to work for AAA and there was a deal with Disneyland for travel industry employees - 3 nights at the Grand Californian plus park tickets for 2 adults was like $300. Flights on Southwest were $59 each way - this was non stop from Baltimore to LAX. So our air was $118 per person and the hotel/tickets was $300. We also did a 7 night Disney cruise last minute for $25 per person/per night plus tax so like $300 ish total per person for a cruise/food for a week.

Oh another good one was as a travel employee I could get the Atlantis, Bahamas for $100/night but they would just place you in any room, which is still a great deal. I emailed the Atlantis rep to book it and told her it was our honeymoon. When we got there we were upgraded to a huge suite with 2 balconies overlooking the water park/ocean, regular rate for that suite was like $1000+/night.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I’ve scored a few mistake airfares that were honored, including (all RT) $5 LAX-HNL (in 2005) and about $50 LAX-AMS (in 2008). I’ve also had plenty of other flight deals, including sub-$200 to Hawaii, sub-$100 to Florida, etc. - all within the past decade. Also so great international deals like RT$700 in premium economy in Singapore Airlines LAX-BKK (en route to HKT). Since we were one of the few who paid for premium economy, they upgraded us to Business both ways! A trip I will never forget.

In the 2000s, I scored a ton of Priceline deals: $25 for the Sheraton Waikiki, $65 for the Hilton Waikola Village, $25 for the Disney All Stars, etc. No resort fees then - its $50 alone at the Hilton today! Plenty of great deals in the 2010s as well, although not as good or recent due to Priceline changing its business model.

My best deals were all-inclusive resorts: for two adults/two kids, $100 at Dreams Punta Cana (2014), $85 at grand palladium puerto Vallarta (2015- Christmas).

My two best-time deals: both were $300 night including taxes/fees for two adults/two kids: Fiesta Americana Los Cabos (Christmas 2016) and Excellence Punta Cana (Christmas 2013). Pricey, but about 1/4 of the normal rate... and worth every penny. All-inclusive resorts that were out of this world, with anything and everything you wanted to eat and drink included.

 

[moesy4]

Our trip is yet to come...fingers crossed it works out! We had booked a cruise with Royal Caribbean during their kids sail free day in a family interior. It was out of Galveston which would've have some transfer fees and only had 3 stops, plus it was on a 15 year old ship. We were still excited, we love to cruise, and with the kids sail free it was $1,600 including taxes and fees. Because of Covid, Royal Caribbean offered a lift and shift deal where you could "pick up" your cruise and move it a year later and as long as it was the same type of sailing (ie. Western Caribbean) you could pick any cruise at no additional cost.
We ended up booking the Symphony of the Seas, which is one of their newest ship, out of Miami with 4 stops including their private island. The cost per person would've been close to what we paid for all 5 of us, plus we will save a lot flying into Miami. It is for next April, so fingers crossed it works out!
As far as vacations we have already taken, I think our best was our trip to Virginia. We flew into DC on crazy cheap flights on points, which I know doesn't count for this thread but it would've been about $100 RT a person. We had a cheap car rental, we stayed at an Airbnb right on the Chesapeake Bay with incredible views, private pier, swimming area, etc. for $85/night. We used our ASTC reciprocal membership to get in free to a bunch of museums. It was a great trip and super cheap!

 

[runwad]

Back in 2007 Disney Cruise Line would at certain times put up 7 day cruises for insane prices for 2008 cruises. I remember a thread where people would list days and times they got these special priced cruises. I think I stalked for a week and finally snagged one. Got 2 inside cabins for my family for $3200 total for a July cruise. That was a great price!! And then to sweeten the deal, the Disney credit card was giving you a $200 gift card for every card you opened and at the time they'd let you open 3 per person. I opened 3 for me and 3 for DH and got $1200 to use towards our cruise bringing the total down to $2000 for 7 days for 2 rooms. Then when I transferred the reservation to a travel agent I got enough onboard credit to pay all the tips. That was a deal for our family of 5. Cruised for 7 days on the disney magic for 2k. Best deal ever!!

 

[TCRAIG]

First time to WDW - 1972 - airfare from Ct to Orlando and back, airport transportation to Our hotel, 4 nights at The Contemporary and 5 books of tickets….$200.

 

[LovesTimone]

We love to take our boat over to the gulf coast. A hotel with parking that accommodate boats, is costly... We found a Comfort Inn for 29.00 a night, and if you stay there you can launch your boat for free, at the marina that sits right behind it. Which its 20.00 a day to launch. Now its not fancy, really basic, the rooms are clean and bed is pretty comfortable. It's all we need for the weekend on the water.

We have gotten some pretty sweet deals through our CC offers.

I scored the Westin in Atlanta for 44.00 a night, a few years back, I think it was suppose to be 440.00 a night, and booked it for 3 nights, and it came with breakfast/ brunch each morning... Which was like 50.00 a person.. We saw a Braves Game, Went to the World of Coke and the Aquarium.

I got a weekend for 2 over at the beach... down near Lover's Key, pretty fancy place for 300.00 total for 3 nights some sweetheart deal weekend which included the Room, Brunch each day for 2, and a spa massage for 2... I can't remember the name, it has changed names a bunch of times... It was the off season which meant it wasn't crowded so really nice.

I know we have gotten some other deals over the years. I have seen some deals as well we skipped on.

 

[sdoll]

I just booked an 8 night cruise for 2 in September for $1103 including gratuity. This should be very interesting. Not really sure if we will go to the ports they claim we will be going to. I don't really care!! A day on a vacation is better than a day at work.

 

[bearzabout]

We have enjoyed traveling for 4-5 months every year, and we could not have done it without finding good bargains. I have taken advantage of many great deals over the years, but my best bargains are found by renting excess inventory at timeshares. I have stayed in them all over the country and rarely pay over $45/night for a condo with no additional fees and no timeshare shakedowns. Sometimes we pay less and I can’t believe the comfort we get for just over the cost of a campsite.

 

[LovesTimone]

We have enjoyed traveling for 4-5 months every year, and we could not have done it without finding good bargains. I have taken advantage of many great deals over the years, but my best bargains are found by renting excess inventory at timeshares. I have stayed in them all over the country and rarely pay over $45/night for a condo with no additional fees and no timeshare shakedowns. Sometimes we pay less and I can’t believe the comfort we get for just over the cost of a campsite.

that's amazing... Are the deals so good because they are long term?

 

[LovesTimone]

We love to take our boat over to the gulf coast. A hotel with parking that accommodate boats, is costly... We found a Comfort Inn for 29.00 a night, and if you stay there you can launch your boat for free, at the marina that sits right behind it. Which its 20.00 a day to launch. Now its not fancy, really basic, the rooms are clean and bed is pretty comfortable. It's all we need for the weekend on the water.

We have gotten some pretty sweet deals through our CC offers.

I scored the Westin in Atlanta for 44.00 a night, a few years back, I think it was suppose to be 440.00 a night, and booked it for 3 nights, and it came with breakfast/ brunch each morning... Which was like 50.00 a person.. We saw a Braves Game, Went to the World of Coke and the Aquarium.

I got a weekend for 2 over at the beach... down near Lover's Key, pretty fancy place for 300.00 total for 3 nights some sweetheart deal weekend which included the Room, Brunch each day for 2, and a spa massage for 2... I can't remember the name, it has changed names a bunch of times... It was the off season which meant it wasn't crowded so really nice.

I know we have gotten some other deals over the years. I have seen some deals as well we skipped on.

OP to the post above..

I remembered a couple more..

I was on VBRO, and found a cabin in NC it was 3 bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 10 person hot tub, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, wide range views, in October, high end kitchen ... super nice, very much high end for sure, for 89.00 a night.. So I booked it, then I got to thinking about it, I thought that can't be right. So I email the owner, she was so happy that I let her know, that she honored the price... normally it books for around 300 to 400 a night. It was really really nice... and we had a great time. It's way outta of our price range now..

Marriott Riverfront Savannah GA, for 59 a night, we were meeting some friends for a long weekend... Which I thought was a great price with the location.

One more - It was a tour of Ireland including hotel and air and the tour 8 nights... 1,200 a person... It was going to be a girls trip- 6 of us. My Dad got sick, and I decided not to go, so a friend of one of the other girls took my place... I was glad that I did not go, as they had quite a few issues with the tour, and what was promised and what they actually got.

 

[LovesTimone]

I’m traveling to NYC in for a long weekend in August. I got a Hilton garden inn a block from time square for $115 a night.

Great Price, Well done!


I think if its the same one we stayed at overnight a few years ago, you got a great deal. We were on the last flight back to Orlando, with an airlines that shall be nameless forever more to us, and they cancelled several flights stranding us in NYC, at least they let us know early that they were not flying and the hotel we were at could not find us another room to stay there, and we grab the probably one of the only rooms around at Hilton garden inn and it was like well over 300.00 for the night.

 

[sdoll]

t

We have enjoyed traveling for 4-5 months every year, and we could not have done it without finding good bargains. I have taken advantage of many great deals over the years, but my best bargains are found by renting excess inventory at timeshares. I have stayed in them all over the country and rarely pay over $45/night for a condo with no additional fees and no timeshare shakedowns. Sometimes we pay less and I can’t believe the comfort we get for just over the cost of a campsite.

This is how we travel too. This year has been the most difficult at finding deals. I still get them but not as good as I normally do. I ended up with a ton of airline vouchers and points and plan on a family vacation to Hawaii next year. I hope I can score some great deals for our trip.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

This last year has had a lot of deals:
-Just over $100/night at the Courtyard in Waikiki (and no resort fee).
-$100/night at Hotel Distil in Louisville (Marriott Autograph Collection)

My favorite in more normal times was our cruise on Oasis of the Seas. We booked an interior promenade view (1 step above interior) and about 45 days prior to sailing they dropped the price on balconies to below our rate. Was able to call and get us moved to a boardwalk view balcony as a free upgrade (same rate). The agent actually was making a point that they couldn't refund the difference in rate. The next day the balcony rate went up $600.