When to book hotel for cruise out of PC?

[darnheather]

Right now hotel rates for our August cruise are absolutely out of sight. Ramada at MCO $212 anything in PC is $250 and up (without breakfast or shuttle). Are these the best prices I'll see or should I wait until May or June to book?

 

[happycamper47]

Not sure what dates you are looking at, but as far as PC, if it's anywhere around a rocket launch they will be high. I know friends looked for a room in November and $300 was the going rate for the weekend they wanted.

 

[darnheather]

Not sure what dates you are looking at, but as far as PC, if it's anywhere around a rocket launch they will be high. I know friends looked for a room in November and $300 was the going rate for the weekend they wanted.

August 4th with checkout on the 5th.

 

[CisforCookie991]

Check the cancellation policies for the hotels. Most will let you cancel up to a couple of days before without a penalty unless you booked a non refundable rate. I frequently book the hotels as soon as I know I’m going then keep an eye on the rate and cancel/rebook as necessary. A few months ago I booked hotel rooms for a trip later this year even though the rate seemed a little high. A few weeks later, the hotel booked up entirely and is still booked. So higher than I would’ve liked but at least I have a reservation.

 

[anricat]

I book a refundable room right away and then keep shopping every so often to see if I can get a better deal. Sometimes, unfortunately, I don't.

 

[tvguy]

Right now hotel rates for our August cruise are absolutely out of sight. Ramada at MCO $212 anything in PC is $250 and up (without breakfast or shuttle). Are these the best prices I'll see or should I wait until May or June to book?

I haven't booked a hotel in that area in 5 years, but having spent 8 nights in the past couple of months, $212 isn't out of sight price wise anywhere in the U.S. IMHO. 7 nights where at Holiday Inn Expresses, which tend to be on the lower end of the price scale.

 

[lklgoodman]

We've done 6 cruises leaving from PC(3 in March, 3 in Jan). We've booked hotel and transport with GoPort. Usually spend around $350 for a room with 2 queen beds at a Marriott by MCO. We've booked with them and stayed at Hampton Inn and it was cheaper. This was all before covid. First few times we used GoPort it was great. But the last 2 times they never showed up at the hotel to pick us up to take us to the port.(And we were at the meeting spot 10 mins before our time). I had to call them and then wait a long time for them to get us. Afterwards I read a lot of reviews that this happens often. So while you can get a cheaper rate with them, know that they may not pick you up so be ready to call them if it happens. Never had a problem after the cruise with them transporting back to MCO.

 

[happycamper47]

August 4th with checkout on the 5th.

Too early for a launch, but you're in tourist/cruise season. As others have said, book it and then watch for lower rates as you get closer.

 

[Freeman867]

As others have said, book a refundable rate now to lock that in. Keep watching the rates as the day approaches and if a better rate pops up, book it and cancel your old reservation. Nothing to lose in this scenario.

 

[mmouse37]

I always book the hotel as soon as I book the cruise and just keep watching the rates. I cancel and rebook if the price goes down. Most hotels have an option of booking a refundable room so no worry you will be out your money. Most only need a credit card to hold the room but don't actually charge the room until you are there.

I do the same thing with car rentals.

MJ

 

[Clarkson U]

Depending on where you are looking - that weekend time frame is summer graduation for UCF in East Orlando and FIT in Melbourne, so you could be competing with some of those folks. It is also weekend of summer move outs from many of the apartments and dorms in the area so many times parents (like us) have booked rooms a full year in advance knowing that we need to go and help our children move out of current housing and bring home their stuff for a few weeks until they move into different housing in the fall. If you have your own car, I would look at places in Titusville, FL or further south in Melbourne, FL area and see if they are cheaper than around the airport.

Otherwise, book something now that is cancellable and refundable and keep checking rates and change/adjust each time you find a cheaper rate. That weekend is also the last weekend in FL before most K-12 schools open around August 10th so you are running up against a lot of demand that weekend.

 

[darnheather]

I haven't booked a hotel in that area in 5 years, but having spent 8 nights in the past couple of months, $212 isn't out of sight price wise anywhere in the U.S. IMHO. 7 nights where at Holiday Inn Expresses, which tend to be on the lower end of the price scale.

I just stayed 5 minutes from Reagan for $100 in a really nice Hilton.

 

[tvguy]

I just stayed 5 minutes from Reagan for $100 in a really nice Hilton.

Impressive. Motel 6 is $79 a night before taxes here. And I am actually old enough to remember when Motel 6 WAS still $6 a night.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

After I booked our December 2022 cruise, I began looking for hotels. It was pretty far in advance when I started looking, I'd say at least 10 months out, if not further. I thought prices were high. I thought prices would come down and kept an eye on it. Well, prices didn't come down. It was in the $212 range when I started looking, then it was almost $100 more than sold out (no rooms available for my dates) but thankfully I found another hotel and jumped on it because I could tell hotels were filling up. I booked hotel for December cruise in July. We have another cruise in June 2023 and I booked that hotel well in advance.

 

[crauen]

We are cruising on the Wish around that time (August 4th departure) and also found cash rates to be on the high side. We got around this by using points for our rooms. If you have any hotel or credit card points this can be a good use for them. We got two nights at our pre-cruise Hyatt in North Orlando for 8,000 points a nights. Hyatt in particular still uses a fixed award chart that can be a very good deal when cash rates are high, including the Hyatt at MCO. We are visiting family in Orlando before the sailing so we looking for a hotel closer to their house. Also with all the recent travel disruptions we figured getting in two days in advance would give us a larger cushion of time if there are airline issues.

 

[darnheather]

We are cruising on the Wish around that time (August 4th departure) and also found cash rates to be on the high side. We got around this by using points for our rooms. If you have any hotel or credit card points this can be a good use for them. We got two nights at our pre-cruise Hyatt in North Orlando for 8,000 points a nights. Hyatt in particular still uses a fixed award chart that can be a very good deal when cash rates are high, including the Hyatt at MCO. We are visiting family in Orlando before the sailing so we looking for a hotel closer to their house. Also with all the recent travel disruptions we figured getting in two days in advance would give us a larger cushion of time if there are airline issues.

I'll check and see if I have any points available. Good idea.

 

[auntlynne]

What they all said. I’ve kicked myself for not booking rooms when the rates seemed high, only for them to go higher.

 

[loislane]

Book sooner rather than later so you know you have a room. You can keep shopping around for a better room/rate. We booked the Hyatt at MCO direct through Disney at a better price than I could get on my own. Was right around $200-$210. We stayed there for our previous cruise as well, but were able to use credit card reward points for the room that time.