Priceline-pre cruise and post cruise....did I do ok?

[skolega]

First time Priceline user. Needed a hotel 3/12/2010 for pre-cruise in FLL. Wanted beach area or downtown 4 star and kept bidding 80-90-100.00 a night with no luck. Saw there were some nice 4 star hotels in Hollywood area and added that area and increased my bid to 115.00. The average price for those areas was 270.00. I won the Westin Diplomat Golf Resort and Spa for 115.00.

Needed a post cruise stay near the airport in Ft. Myers for 3/20/2010 (it was much cheaper for us to fly into Ft. Myers than Ft. Lauderdale). Bid 50.00 for 3 star near the airport and Priceline came back and said if I would increase my bid by 14.00 they could get me a room. Got the Holiday Inn Ft. Myers Airport for 64.00. Average price is 170.00.

Did I do okay?

[pjs9876]

Your prices seem to be about right. maybe a tad high. The Westen should be nice! I assume you went to the ports area and read the previous Priceline bids. I don't think you will see too many for Ft. Myers since it is on the other side of the state. Check Trip advisor for further info on the hotels themselves. I hope you were able to work out your tranportation easily.

Enjoy your cruise.

[YXU AC*SE]

I find http://betterbidding.com/ very useful in gauging what the going rates at both Priceline and Hotwire. YMMV Scott.

[treasure4two]

I do not want to hurt your feelings, but I have found, in the US, that the closer you get to the date, the lower the prices go. I am from Ft. Lauderdale(live in Charlotte now) and you got a great hotel, but we got a 4 star in Dania(right by airport that gave ride from airport to hotel, free buffet breakfast for all guests on Priceline, and ride to dock) for $60.
I learned the hardway also, but you still got great places for better prices than most people will get at the hotels. Also, in Europe, example Copenhagen, people got room for $99 at Mariott, booked 10 months in advance and later the price was $250. Just my experiences.

[skolega]

We rented a car through priceline and are paying about 30.00 a day for one-way rentals and unlimited mileage. The hotel in Ft. Myers will be fine. I just have been bidding for a little over a week and wasn't getting anywhere with the Ft. Lauderdale hotel when I was bidding 80-90-100.00. I even bid for downtown and fll beaches at the price of 130.00 and was rejected. When I added Hollywood into the picture I decided to reduce my bid because I was aware of the Diplomat Golf resort. I think 115.00 is a fair price for the type of resort. We will have our teenage sons and they will enjoy going over to the beach at the other Diplomat. My husband and I will enjoy the quietness of the Golf resort a day before our cruise begins.

[mountainmare]

With priceline as long as you are happy that is all that matters. We're trying to use PL to rent a car in Tampa for the end of January. Right now I'm bidding really low, bidding $12-$15 for economy thourgh midsize. Some people have been getting full size for around $18 (this is not one way). Around the middle of Dec I'll start to up the bids if I don't get anywhere.
I can relate to your eagerness because I like to have everything planned in advance, but when depending on PL you get better deals closer to your stay UNLESS there is a big event--like the superbowl going on.
For hotels I have looked at all the travel sites for deals, and then made a reservation that I can cancel so that I have a place to stay if PL doesn't work out. So far PL has saved alot of money on hotels. This is the first time I'm using them for cars.

[luvcruisn']

Originally Posted by skolega

Bid 50.00 for 3 star near the airport and Priceline came back and said if I would increase my bid by 14.00 they could get me a room. Got the Holiday Inn Ft. Myers Airport for 64.00. Average price is 170.00.Did I do okay?

When PL asks you to add more money to your bid, the other way of doing it, is to find a rebid area, and then increase your bid by $5.00 increments, rather than immediately adding the $14.00.
Good tips for bidding are on betterbidding.com and bidding for travel.com.

[obriendan]

Congratulations! You did well. A rule of thumb from biddingfortravel that I've found works well: If Priceline makes a counteroffer to your bid, wait 24 hours and add one half of Priceline's counteroffer and bid again.

Dan

[mudscraper]

My wife needed a 7 passenger van in Ft. Myers last Sept. for eight days.
The cheapest rate through the car agencies was around $800.00 including fees and taxes.
Using Hotwire the van cost $353.00. Easy Peasy.


Rich

[willowtak]

Skolega what ship are you sailing on and when?

[skolega]

Eurodam March 13, 2010. Sailing with my husband and two teenage boys (13 and 16). We are leaving the two college kids at home to fend for themselves. We have booked two side by side balcony rooms and hope to open the divider to have access.

[willowtak]

I was hoping you were going on the Zuiderdam. I am doing the Zuiderdam and the roll call board is dead. Have a great cruise. Marie

[skolega]

Our roll call isn't too active yet. After Christmas things will pick up. You have a great trip too. We had a hard time deciding on which cruise to take this year. Finally picked the Eurodam....we have only sailed HAL one time before. I am hoping for some kids for my teens to hang with.