Priceline question

[DonnaD]

Hey, was thinking about bidding on a motel in Tampa area (precruise), but saw that they do not gaurantee two double beds. We are a family of four. How have y'all dealt with that? Do they usually provide a room with two double beds, or is that up in the air?
Any help would be appreciated.

Donna

[imlulu]

We used Priceline before. We are a family of 4. We got double beds. You can hotel to confirm a few days before and ask if double beds.

No longer cruiseless...donations still accepted! Miracle 2/2005

Last cruise
Sensation 2/17/03

[thebird]

Donna,
Same for us last summer with Priceline. Four of us traveling, got 2 double beds, DID call the hotel to request/confirm this.


Sensation 5/15/2004

[superjerryw]

Very few hotels really guarantee anything. The size of the beds, number of beds, smoking or non-smoking, most hotels will tell you these are requests they will try to accomodate, but do not guarantee.

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;3;19;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500

Donuts, is there anything they can't do....

[DonnaD]

Hey, Thebird,
We are going on the Sensation too - July 5. Tell me how you like it when you get back! Do you have a precruise hotel you like yet?

Donna

[mepers]

I have used Priceline before and what I do is call the hotel after I get my confirmation from Priceline. For instance I bid on two nights in Anaheim, California and since it is my honeymoon, we wanted a king size bed. I called the hotel and they made the change for me.

Mindy Plavin
Mepers Enterprises
http://www.wrappers4you.com

[TexasAlexus]

First let me say that I love Priceline and use them for hotel stays often. I just got a pre-cruise hotel in Waikiki the other day for our cruise in June, for 57.00 per night (it's 159.00 on the hotel's website)So far we have not had any problems getting 2 double beds. Like the other posters said, call the hotel after you get your confirmation and make the request. Last year in Florida, we even requested a roll-away because we had our 3 children with and the request was honored no problem. They even assigned us a room that had a view of the ship when we opened our curtains the next morning. It was awesome!

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=dc143c&cdt=2004;1;17;19;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600 http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=dc143c&cdt=2004;6;9;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-1000  6/9/04 Norwegian Wind to Hawaii
 1/17/03 Celebration

[gkny]

Hi Everyone, We used Priceline for a hotel in Boston. We called and double checked our reservations. When we got to the Hilton we had only a choice of a smoking room or a disabled room since Everything was sold out. I made the reservation over a month before we arrived so we had no choice but to take the disabled room because we don't smoke. When you take a shower all the water runs through the bathroom since there is no railing. Thats our experience with Priceline. Have a good day.

[imatarb]

Yep, I worked in the hotel industry, and everything is a REQUEST and the hotel does its best to see that all requests are met. Obviously, you are a family of four, so you may take precedence over a single traveler requesting two beds.

Wouldn't hurt to call the hotel beforehand and reiterate your request, though.

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[b]Monarch of the Seas - 1994
Royal Majesty - 1996

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;5;9;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Until VICTORY is ours

[DonnaD]

Thanks all for the good info. Can't wait till July!

Donna

[JohnnyO]

A little tidbit of info for the future.....

Try your best to get checked in as early as possible(ask hotel what their check-in time is)....That is the time that you will get most, if not all, of your requests honored....

Here is how it was at the hotel that I worked...You see, there are alot of people that had reservations indicating a room type that they didn't want when they actually arrived at the hotel....so, of course and only because it was available earlier(check-in time) in the day, they had their request(change) honored....if we were booked solid that day....they would basically look for a reservation that did not have a specific room type listed, but were put into the requested room type that the guest in front of you wanted and switch the two reservations around. This is because, and only because the second person did not have a specified room type.....

The hotel that I worked at NEVER had a specific room type for the reservations made through Priceline, Travelocity or any of the other online discount agencies.

I am trying to get across the point that it is important to call the hotel prior to leaving to specify your room type request when making reservations online....if there is any question as to a guarantee or not....remember the first-come-first-served-rule and get there as early in the day that you can or as early as the hotel accepts check-ins....

The "Stay-over Factor" plays a huge part in people getting their specified room type even if they have a guaranteed room type.....the stay-overs are people who had a resv. for a certain amount of days and choose to stay an extra day or two for any number of reasons. Unfortunately, our policy was to give precedence to the person who was already in the hotel at the time and honor their request even if a Platinum Member was to get that room on the day of their departure.....as you can tell this would create a huge problem if we were booked.....Luckily, it was also the hotel chain policy to guarantee the guest a room at another hotel, at no cost to the guest, if this ever happened.....sadly, because we were the newest and "nicest" hotel in town, not all of the guests with prior reservations were happy about getting a free room at a "lesser" hotel.....

Hopefully all this info helps someone in the future....

P.S. Please remember that all hotels are not the same and this was just how things really were at the hotel that I worked....make sure to find out your hotels' policies if they don't have a room or specific room type that you have asked for.....they may differ...also SuperJerryW is correct....


JohnnyO

[DonnaD]

I think I solved my dilema by booking at a place that is all suites. Each room has a king size bed and a couch that makes into a queensize. The Sailport. Any opinions on that one? Looked good on the web.

Donna

[JohnnyO]

Heck no....Perfect way to avoid all of your concerns....Congratulations!

JohnnyO

[Meishie]

I refer to the Better Bidding Site, I think it is Biddingfortravel.com, but I could be mistaken, but TRY IT! I got such great advice from there, and I am going to search it today for Miami hotel and bid tips.

Triumph 4/03
Adventure of the Seas 11/03