Pre and Post hotels

[PHOENIXfire]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available. Is this exposing my amature status :cool:. Am I supposed to be booking these a year in advance and this is the norm :confused:. I am counting on the cruise critic experts and hoped that anyone would have told me to book these a year in advance. Is this because the hotels are not releasing these rooms for resevations and is there a way to get access to these rooms via a third party or am I locked out because I should have booked 2 years in advance ????? I thought this was going to be fun but between the flights, deviations, transfers, hotels, excursion planning, saftey, drink plans,meal timing around port time and dinner reservation I thought I was going to rely on Oceania but I can save $5,000.00 doing this myself, But it maybe worth the money to let Oceania handle everything. Man, do I sound like the ugly american or what. Another thing I am finding is flying home to AZ from Rome on May 1 2013 is taking 2 days with a layover in Heathrow of 14 hours. Is the May Day holiday effecting the flights for this timeframe. I need a hug and a drink right now!

[wripro]

Sometimes hotels do not release rooms that far in advance so I wouldn't worry. You would have to worry even less if you let your TAA handle it all.

[dundeene]

I agree. . . get yourself a good travel agent. They will help you put it all together.

 

I am not a TA but these flights look pretty good from Rome to Ariz just to give you an idea

 

Leave Wed, May 1 Total time: 17hr 20min 1 stop with plane change in Newark

 

United Airlines 41

Economy Boeing 767

4,279 mi 9hr 50min

 

Depart

9:50 AM

Rome , Italy

Fiumicino airport (FCO) Terminal 5

arrive

1:40 PM

Newark, NJ , United States

Newark Airport (EWR) Terminal B

Change of planes. Time between flights: 2hr 15min

 

 

Depart

3:55 PM

Newark, NJ , United States

Newark Airport (EWR) Terminal C

Arrive

6:10 PM

Phoenix, AZ , United States

Sky Harbor Airport (PHX)

 

United Airlines 1635

Economy Boeing 737

2,127 mi 5hr 15min

[Bruin Steve]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available. Is this exposing my amature status :cool:. Am I supposed to be booking these a year in advance and this is the norm :confused:. I am counting on the cruise critic experts and hoped that anyone would have told me to book these a year in advance. Is this because the hotels are not releasing these rooms for resevations and is there a way to get access to these rooms via a third party or am I locked out because I should have booked 2 years in advance ????? I thought this was going to be fun but between the flights, deviations, transfers, hotels, excursion planning, saftey, drink plans,meal timing around port time and dinner reservation I thought I was going to rely on Oceania but I can save $5,000.00 doing this myself, But it maybe worth the money to let Oceania handle everything. Man, do I sound like the ugly american or what. Another thing I am finding is flying home to AZ from Rome on May 1 2013 is taking 2 days with a layover in Heathrow of 14 hours. Is the May Day holiday effecting the flights for this timeframe. I need a hug and a drink right now!

 

Russ,

Don't panic...

There is plenty of availability for hotels in Barcelona and Rome...

Many hotels, though, likely don't release rates too far in advance...

 

However, we usually don't have that much trouble booking something reasonable this early...I'll usually book something on a cancelable rate, then keep looking in case something opens up I like better...

 

The first question I might ask is how are you going about your search?

There are plenty of good tools that can help you find hotels...Best is probably TripAdvisor.com...You can plug in the city and dates and it will give you available hotels and tools for finding rates...as well as ratings and reviews...

 

Then, what are you looking for in a hotel? Five-Star? Value? Location?

 

I've visited both cities several times...

 

My advice for Barcelona is to find something close to the Placa Catalunya (the main hub of transportations systems and walking distance to most major tourist sights and a great location for many restaurants and shopping). There are a good many hotels around this area...When we did the Nautia out of Barcelona in 2009, we stayed at the Continental...a fairly "funky" three-star, but an incredible location right off the Placa and VERY reasonable prices...Many Cruise Critic members stay there...Another, little nicer hotel in the same area is the Le Meridien...but prices are a bit higher...Many Cruise Critic members also recommend the 1898...and the owners of the Continental also have a slightly nicer hotel ("Palacete")just across the Placa...We were able to make our reservations at the Continental a year in advance. They appear to be bookable for April 2013 right now:

http://www.hotelcontinental.com/web/

 

In Rome, when we disembarked Marina last August, we stayed at the Residenza Farnese:

 

http://www.residenzafarneseroma.it/

 

A great location near the Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navona...We were very impressed with this small boutique hotel...They, however, appear to only be accepting reservations through September 2012 at present...Does NOT mean they are sold out...just they have yet to open up bookings for more than three months in advance...

 

Again, I would find SOMETHING as a fall-back, then keep looking ...as hotels open up dates, you may find something you like better...

 

On airfare, you may find that British Airways, for example, is a little late in releasing flight, but that should be around now...it's usually around 11 months in advance on most airlines...Chances are there are no direct flights Phoenix to Barcelona or Rome to Phoenix, but try a little flexibility...I usually end up calling my preferred airlines and asking for a buit of help with routing...But, you may just want to allow Oceania to book the flights for you...We usually just give them the dates we want to trael and let them book it...There may be a small deviation fee, but I doubt you save $5,000 doing your own flight...Hotels, yes, you save a lot not using their hotel packags, but on airfare, im my experience, it's fairly close--unless I am using Frequent Flyer miles...

 

Good luck...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'd also think it's a wee bit early to book hotels--usually they don't have their booking open as long in advance as airlines. I don't know this for sure, but have found it to be true in the past. I'll be going thru the same thing for our Nov.2013 Crossing from Barcelona, so I'm interested in the answer.

[DOJO466]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available. Is this exposing my amature status :cool:. Am I supposed to be booking these a year in advance and this is the norm :confused:. I am counting on the cruise critic experts and hoped that anyone would have told me to book these a year in advance. Is this because the hotels are not releasing these rooms for resevations and is there a way to get access to these rooms via a third party or am I locked out because I should have booked 2 years in advance ????? I thought this was going to be fun but between the flights, deviations, transfers, hotels, excursion planning, saftey, drink plans,meal timing around port time and dinner reservation I thought I was going to rely on Oceania but I can save $5,000.00 doing this myself, But it maybe worth the money to let Oceania handle everything. Man, do I sound like the ugly american or what. Another thing I am finding is flying home to AZ from Rome on May 1 2013 is taking 2 days with a layover in Heathrow of 14 hours. Is the May Day holiday effecting the flights for this timeframe. I need a hug and a drink right now!

Too bad you don't live near us, I'd invite you over for cocktails to discuss your "booking problems"...First of all..do not book "O"'s hotels..save DIY. Barcelona Hotel I suggest Hotel Jazz..transfer from airport to hotel 35 euro..transport hotel to port less than that. Definately do the deviation find your most comfortable (:eek:) flights on Kayak.com, present it to "O" if you don't like the plan do not accept it. You may have to pay extra for something that does not take 2 days to return home. If you are like us we will be taking the drink plan ($50 pkg). Restaurant reserves can be done online depending on your room category.

In short..I love planning my cruises,ports,tours etc..to me that is the joy of travel. If you need any other info please feel free to contact me at debocon at metrocast dot net. We are doing Rome to Venice on the Riviera in Sept. We have an apartment near the Pantheon (there are 4 of us) that we got for less than $250 euro per night. Deb

[Tempo]

I think if you keep at it for a while you will find out you can take care of things your self.

I just check one airline that only took 17 hours to get back to AZ.

The other poster is correct a lot of hotels do not list that far out. But if emailed direct you can find out when the will be ready to book. I did the same thing when we did the cruise out of Barcelona an it worked out fine.

[Paulchili]

Too bad you don't live near us, I'd invite you over for cocktails to discuss your "booking problems"...First of all..do not book "O"'s hotels..save DIY. Barcelona Hotel I suggest Hotel Jazz..transfer from airport to hotel 35 euro..transport hotel to port less than that. Definately do the deviation find your most comfortable (:eek:) flights on Kayak.com, present it to "O" if you don't like the plan do not accept it. You may have to pay extra for something that does not take 2 days to return home. . Deb

I agree with Deb - definitely book your own hotel.

If you are booking with major US chains (Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental, etc.) then their booking is open into early June 2013 at present. That is not the case for most European chains and independent hotels - they release their rates later.

The only thing that I would add to Deb's comment is that I find ITA as the best airline search tool for both flights and prices (cannot book there, just search).

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/search.htm

Also, why not stay for free in both cities? Hyatt, IC, Marriott and Hilton all have promotions that will give you lots of points (or with Hyatt 2 free nights anywhere) with opening a credit card with Chase - often the first year of the CC is free and you receive annual free nights with several of these hotels.

We used our Hyatt card free nights (2 for each of us) for 3 nights in Sydney where the Park Hyatt starts at $800/night - not a bad deal for free nights (OK, they were not entirely free - they cost $37.50/night as the annual fee on the card is $75). :D

[muddsmom]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available. Is this exposing my amature status :cool:. Am I supposed to be booking these a year in advance and this is the norm :confused:. I am counting on the cruise critic experts and hoped that anyone would have told me to book these a year in advance. Is this because the hotels are not releasing these rooms for resevations and is there a way to get access to these rooms via a third party or am I locked out because I should have booked 2 years in advance ????? I thought this was going to be fun but between the flights, deviations, transfers, hotels, excursion planning, saftey, drink plans,meal timing around port time and dinner reservation I thought I was going to rely on Oceania but I can save $5,000.00 doing this myself, But it maybe worth the money to let Oceania handle everything. Man, do I sound like the ugly american or what. Another thing I am finding is flying home to AZ from Rome on May 1 2013 is taking 2 days with a layover in Heathrow of 14 hours. Is the May Day holiday effecting the flights for this timeframe. I need a hug and a drink right now!

Could you give me a price range? I am a slow traveler and spend a great deal of time in Rome. I would be glad to help if you can give me some idea. I highly recommend you stay in the city center and there should be no problem finding a room for April, 2013.

[su-arizona]

Don't despair, and don't buy the Oceania pre/post hotel packages. They are needlessly expensive (like their shore excursions) and the hotels they use are usually not in a convenient location. In Barcelona, we really like the Hotel Jazz, which is just a block from Placa Catalunya and the hop-on hop-off bus - which is a good introduction to the city. I posted a review and photos of the hotel on Trip Advisor - it has lots of reviews I'm sure. I just check the Jazz web site, and they are not booking 2013 dates yet - you should have no trouble getting in; just keep checking back!

 

In Rome, I recommend you stay in the area of the Pantheon - again easy to get to all the interesting sights, and neighborhood restaurants. Check on Trip Advisor for hotels, since there's a big price range in that area.

 

And if you still need a drink and a hug, we're just up the road in Fountain Hills. It is a long flight back from Rome or Barcelona, but since you probably can't get to PHX non-stop from either, your longest flight should be around 10 hours, probably to Newark or JFK. And the Oceania air deviation works very well and has saved us money on air every time...

[dundeene]

This is a tricky subject for new comers because we need to make sure they are comparing apples to apples when they consider cost.

 

Yes it may seem that Oceania is charging $500 for a hotel you could book for half that on your own. . . . but consider with Oceania pre-book hotel package

 

I night hotel $500 Oceania cost includes

 

very nice breakfast for two, transfer from the hotel to ship, you can fly a day earlier without paying air deviation fee (if you like the flights Oceania books), sometimes a quick orientation tour around the city before going to the hotel

 

Sooo. . . .

Breakfast for 2 with tax and tip $50 at a upper tier hotel

Transfer to ship $69x2 $138

Air deviation $125 x2 $250

Hotel room $250 plus VAT $300

 

Now it does not look so outrageous.:rolleyes:

[PHOENIXfire]

Wow, thanks so much for the information, suggestions and hints. I am having my fathers day margaritas by the pool as I type :rolleyes:. I am feeling so much better and relieved to hear that the Europe hotels dates for 2013 may not be posted yet. I thought I may have been doing something wrong. Thanks for eveyone talking me down from the ledge :). We really want to stay at the Hotel 1898 in pre Barcelona for two nights 4/19 to 4/21 and the Hotel Ponte Sisto post Rome 4/28 to 5/1. We are on the Riveria April 21-28 2013. I will keep monitoring these to see when the rooms come available and call them directly next week to make an appeal for information on these dates. This is a special trip for us (25th anniversary) and our first time to Europe so I do want it to be nice. Actually I will contant our T/A and give her all our want and needs and let her do here thing. Regards to all. PS love Fountain Hills. We are in Chandler.

[azlove2cruise]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available. Is this exposing my amature status :cool:. Am I supposed to be booking these a year in advance and this is the norm :confused:. I am counting on the cruise critic experts and hoped that anyone would have told me to book these a year in advance. Is this because the hotels are not releasing these rooms for resevations and is there a way to get access to these rooms via a third party or am I locked out because I should have booked 2 years in advance ????? I thought this was going to be fun but between the flights, deviations, transfers, hotels, excursion planning, saftey, drink plans,meal timing around port time and dinner reservation I thought I was going to rely on Oceania but I can save $5,000.00 doing this myself, But it maybe worth the money to let Oceania handle everything. Man, do I sound like the ugly american or what. Another thing I am finding is flying home to AZ from Rome on May 1 2013 is taking 2 days with a layover in Heathrow of 14 hours. Is the May Day holiday effecting the flights for this timeframe. I need a hug and a drink right now!

 

Hello fellow AZ cruiser! It's a scorcher out there, but that's what pools and icy drinks are for! Yes, all this planning can be a bit daunting. I found loads of tips from these boards. We just got back from our very first Mediterranean cruise in May and flew Delta from PHX to ATL to FCO and then FCO to JFK to PHX. I booked my flights as soon as they became available. Nice and easy. In fact, that darned Trevi fountain really works it's magic because we decided when we got back to Phx that we had to go right back again. So, we booked another cruise for Apr/May. I had to wait to book my outbound flight (we're flying Delta again) and then of course my return wasn't showing up in their inventory. So, I had to call back to try to switch it out. I just did so yesterday. So, now we're all set. Same thing with our pre and post cruise hotel stays. We're doing a cruise that departs from Rome and ends in Venice. So, I booked my Rome hotel and Venice hotel. I didn't have a problem with my dates, though? Like you, I prefer to book everything far in advance.

[dundeene]

Wow we are cruise-mates.

We are staying at the Art's Hotel in Barcelona with 2 other couples on our cruise. we met on the rollcall:D

 

Do thread searches on the Oceania line to get most questions answered. Don't be scared to ask for needed information. I have found the regulars on this thread like JimandStan, Jancruz, Mura, Don and so many others to be helpful and very knowledgeable.

My time spent on CC made my 1st cruise on Oceania an A+ experience!

[juli2020]

Wow, thanks so much for the information, suggestions and hints. I am having my fathers day margaritas by the pool as I type :rolleyes:. I am feeling so much better and relieved to hear that the Europe hotels dates for 2013 may not be posted yet. I thought I may have been doing something wrong. Thanks for eveyone talking me down from the ledge :). We really want to stay at the Hotel 1898 in pre Barcelona for two nights 4/19 to 4/21 and the Hotel Ponte Sisto post Rome 4/28 to 5/1. We are on the Riveria April 21-28 2013. I will keep monitoring these to see when the rooms come available and call them directly next week to make an appeal for information on these dates. This is a special trip for us (25th anniversary) and our first time to Europe so I do want it to be nice. Actually I will contant our T/A and give her all our want and needs and let her do here thing. Regards to all. PS love Fountain Hills. We are in Chandler.

 

We stayed at the Hotel 1898 before our cruise in May. We were able to book the hotel 10 months before our cruise. As the time got closer to the cruise...the prices went up. Book at least a superior room. The hotel was clean, modern and in a great location. Hotel 1898 always gets good reviews. You can book online with Hotel 1898.

Another hotel in a great location is the Mandarin Oriental which is gorgeous. There were no rooms available 10 months out. That would have been our first choice.

 

Rome:We stayed at Rome Cavalieri which is about twenty five minutes from the center of town. Location was not important to us as we have been to Rome before. The Cavalieri is a beautiful property with lovely grounds.

 

We are already booking our air/hotels for our cruise in May 2013. Got a great rate at the Ritz-Carlton in Istanbul. Sometimes you can get a great rate far out and at other times you can get better rates as the time gets closer.

[muddsmom]

Don't despair, and don't buy the Oceania pre/post hotel packages. They are needlessly expensive (like their shore excursions) and the hotels they use are usually not in a convenient location. In Barcelona, we really like the Hotel Jazz, which is just a block from Placa Catalunya and the hop-on hop-off bus - which is a good introduction to the city. I posted a review and photos of the hotel on Trip Advisor - it has lots of reviews I'm sure. I just check the Jazz web site, and they are not booking 2013 dates yet - you should have no trouble getting in; just keep checking back!

 

In Rome, I recommend you stay in the area of the Pantheon - again easy to get to all the interesting sights, and neighborhood restaurants. Check on Trip Advisor for hotels, since there's a big price range in that area.

 

And if you still need a drink and a hug, we're just up the road in Fountain Hills. It is a long flight back from Rome or Barcelona, but since you probably can't get to PHX non-stop from either, your longest flight should be around 10 hours, probably to Newark or JFK. And the Oceania air deviation works very well and has saved us money on air every time...

Fantastic Hotel with the Pantheon right out your front door. Rooms are lovely, especially the ones overlooking the Pantheon and the roof top deck with bar service has one of the best views in Rome. Very special hotel and right in the middle of everything. http://www.albergodelsenato.it/

[ksps cruise fan]

:eek: I started looking at Pre and Post hotels for Barcelona and Rome for the end of April 2013 and am finding most all of my first choices not available.

 

As everyone is telling you, European hotels do not deal in reservations as far in advance as US hotels. However, you'll find you can get booking information earlier by dealing directly with the hotel than by dealing with a booking site (e.g. Venere). Write an email or FAX the hotels that interest you and see what happens.

[letvl]

I can strongly second the Albergo del Senato - stayed there on several

trips to Rome - IT IS THE PERFECT LOCATION

[wripro]

dundeene,

 

Your analysis is not quite accurate imo.

 

1. Many hotels you book on your own will include breakfast.

2. A transfer you pay for yourself is not per person, it's per taxi and in Barcelona should cost no more than $30 from airport to hotel and even less to the pier.

3. Are you saying that if you book a hotel through Oceania you do not have to pay an air deviation fee? I am not aware of that policy and would love to have it clarified. My belief was that deviation fees related to flying other than on the day of embarkation or disembarkation and not to hotels.

4. And finally I have found that hotels booked on your own cost even less than 50% of what Oceania (or any cruise line) charges.

[Paulchili]

dundeene,

 

Your analysis is not quite accurate imo.

 

1. Many hotels you book on your own will include breakfast.

2. A transfer you pay for yourself is not per person, it's per taxi and in Barcelona should cost no more than $30 from airport to hotel and even less to the pier.

3. Are you saying that if you book a hotel through Oceania you do not have to pay an air deviation fee? I am not aware of that policy and would love to have it clarified. My belief was that deviation fees related to flying other than on the day of embarkation or disembarkation and not to hotels.

4. And finally I have found that hotels booked on your own cost even less than 50% of what Oceania (or any cruise line) charges.

 

+1

In addition, this equation changes even more if you use miles to fly (no deviation fee at all) and points to book hotels (no hotel charge) - as we almost always do.

You may only be left with transfer from airport to hotel and to pier - these are per taxi, not per person - far less than $500.

As always, YMMV

[dundeene]

First; on our next cruise it was not a better deal to take Oceania's air or hotel.

 

But. . .

I was giving some estimates to remind 1st timers to consider all of the costs.

 

If you look at my original post is states that the deviation fee is not needed to fly in a day prior if you have the hotel package with Oceania. And if you accept Oceania's routing. This is my personal experience. saves $250

 

I am sure that Jancruz can confirm or correct this as she has access to correct information directly from the source.

 

As to breakfast many hotels do not include a full cooked to order or full hot breakfast buffet as Oceania hotels do. We are staying at the Art's Barcelona with no breakfast provided on our next cruise.

 

Barcelona is a cheaper/tighter city than many ports. In Civitavecchia a taxi to Rome may not be as reasonable as taking the Oceania transport.

 

I am not suggesting that Oceania air or pre/post hotels are the right choice for everyone. Only that the entire package is weighed against the cost without it;)

[Bruin Steve]

I've got to step back in here and agree with wripro and Paul...

 

I think those figures in trying to rationalize Oceania's hotel package pricing are just that--a rationalization...

 

I have actually used hotel packages with Royal Caribbean and with Celebrity on a few occasions...but, in one case, because it was a "freebie" on a promotional deal (with no opt-out credit) and, in the other three cases because the "premium"--the difference between booking on my own or through the package--was moderate--in the $20 to $40 range--and I figured it was worth the SMALL premium for the coordination aspects...

 

But, one problem with Oceania's packages, IMHO, is that they are WAY out of line...At every analysis, the "premium" has been far too high...

 

It might be an issue that they just don't sell a lot of these so they haven't got the bargaining power with the hotels and such...but, every time I've analyzed a package with Oceania, it comes out as so far out of line as to be beyond consideration--even if one accounts for breakfasts and transfers...

 

For example, in Istanbul, Oceania wanted (IIRC) $699 per person for the Conrad... We booked the Conrad ourselves...and got it for under $200 per night (got a great deal, but one can get great deals like that shopping around on one's own)...Obviously, breakfast and the cab from the airport cost us quite a bit less than $1200!!

 

Of course, the other part of this is, booking yourself, you have a far wider choice of hotels...Oceania picks some expensive hotels (of course, as demonstrated above, even those expensive hotels aren't quite as expensiove as what O charges!)...But, booking yourself allows you to pick from a wide range...You may be okay with a somewhat less luxurious hotel...or with a small boutique hotel...or you may find a great deal at some other 4 or 5 star hotel...or sometimes even at the SAME hotel O is using...

 

And, since most hotel reservations are fully cancelable, you can keep shopping around until you find the best deal...

 

And, though some hotel rates don't include breakfast, a good many, especially in Europe, do...and, if not, no one is forced to spend $50 per person for breakfast, you can usually walk down the street to some local cafe or bakery and pick up a coffee and a croissant for a few dollars...Beside, who wants to gorge on breakfast the day they are boarding a cruise ship? Wait for lunch!!!

 

And, most ports, taxis or train from the airport to your hotel are fairly cheap...I can ALWAYS do much better than cruise ship transfers--and have a private car and driver rather than wait around for them to fill up a bus...

 

So, choose whatever embarkation city it is, do a hotel search on TripAdvisor and check prices at several hotels...Find one to your liking and within your price range...arrange your own transportation or grab a taxi...and, in the rare cases where your hotel does not include breakfast, be prepared to find a nice local breakfast...and I can almost guarantee you will save a VERY LARGE amount below the Oceania hotel package prices...

[Paulchili]

First; on our next cruise it was not a better deal to take Oceania's air or hotel.

 

But. . .

I was giving some estimates to remind 1st timers to consider all of the costs.

 

If you look at my original post is states that the deviation fee is not needed to fly in a day prior if you have the hotel package with Oceania. And if you accept Oceania's routing. This is my personal experience. saves $250

 

I am sure that Jancruz can confirm or correct this as she has access to correct information directly from the source.

 

As to breakfast many hotels do not include a full cooked to order or full hot breakfast buffet as Oceania hotels do. We are staying at the Art's Barcelona with no breakfast provided on our next cruise.

 

Barcelona is a cheaper/tighter city than many ports. In Civitavecchia a taxi to Rome may not be as reasonable as taking the Oceania transport.

 

I am not suggesting that Oceania air or pre/post hotels are the right choice for everyone. Only that the entire package is weighed against the cost without it;)

 

I am sorry but I am not buying this either.

I am with Steve and wripro on this one.

Even in ports like Rome, where the port is farther away, we have arranged for a private transfer with 6 or 8 people for about 35 - 40 Euro/pp (or so) - in other cities it may even be less. O's hotel packages are not only very expensive but are PER PERSON - whereas your own hotel booking/transfers are per room/taxi.

I cannot see a situation where you could come even close to brake even.

Now, if you tell me that someone is willing to pay that money simply for the convenience (whatever their reason is) - that's a different matter, as long as they know what their options are.

[macor]

Phoenixfire -- thank you for asking some of the same questions we had. We also were thinking that everything was booked in Barcelona.

We are on the same cruise with you in April. This will be our second Oceania cruise and I know our first was so enjoyable because we were so well informed by Cruise Critic.:)

 

My husband went to school up in Flagstaff and we have very good friends in Phoenix. Looking forward to the CC meet and greet , I know you are on the roll call. We are spending a week in Marbella, Spain before we get to Barcelona for three nights and then cruise. Who knows, we may end up at the same hotel. Thanks everyone for the information!

[chocchic]

Dundeene,

I bought into the same rationale for our cruise this spring but I think it was a mistake. The hotels did NOT include free breakfast. In fact our Barcelona hotel (Intercontinental booked thru O) tried to get us to upgrade our rood in order to get free breakfast. The real problem is that there is no flexibility. O will set a time that it's bus will pick you up from the hotel and transfer to the ship and you are stuck with that time. For us it was something like 1030AM for a 5pm cruise. I had paid for the hotel in order to see the city and we really didn't have much time for that. On the day we arrived they moved it back an hour but that really still wasn't enough. Wripro - i do believe Dundeene is correct in that air deviation is waived if you are adding hotel thru O book so I kind of thought the hotel wasn't so expensive - but if you add in the extra cost of taxis to get out to dinner, go sightseeing or do just about anything plus breakfast then it isn't such a great bargain. When we stayed at Rey Juan Carlos in Barcelona we took taxi into town to sightsee. Then returned to hotel to actually check in and make sure our luggage had made it to room and then had to take taxi back into town for dinner. Front desk said there were no restaurants close by. I also was not at all satisfied with the level of service at the hotels we booked thru O. I would much prefer small hotel that has staff that care.