Priceline free hotel nights with cruise?

[oceanseagle12]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I figured this board the most likely to find an answer....

 

I have never used pipeline to book a cruise before, but this time doing so saved me over $300. That doesn't even include their offer for free hotel nights, which at the time, I viewed as a possible bonus because I'm not sure how it works.

 

Based on the cost of my cruise, I supposedly qualified for one night using their express hotel. Has anyone used this offer before and can explain exactly how it works?

Edited June 30, 2013 by oceanseagle12

[oceanseagle12]

So none of the other savers have used this offer?

[aubreyc1988]

I am currently thinking about booking a cruise through there but have idea how the deals work

[maureencruiser]

maybe google it to see what others had to say

[oceanseagle12]

I've searched but not had any luck. I came up with information about the bonus cash offer, but this is for their express deals, so it isn't the same. Perhaps this particular program is too new. This is my one complaint about the deal- they really ought to have more info available. Normally I would insist on it before booking, but I would have booked this even without the hotel offer and needed to book before the other offers expired. Oh well, even if it is worthless, I still got a great deal!

[afoss]

I just booked a cruise on Priceline to Alaska in June and also got a free room. HOWEVER....you need to book it through Priceline Express deals. This doesn't give you as many "options" to book. ALSO, we were a family of 4 and priceline failed to tell us that ANY room at ANY hotel THEY put us in only has one bed.

 

We got a very nice hotel but it was a super small room with a double bed. Luckily had a king size bed room left along with a rollaway BUT we had to pay the difference.

So, in the long road, we spent MORE money on a hotel room doing this than if we had booked something ourselves. Just beware

[oceanseagle12]

Thanks. Was there a certain value off the express deal? Did you go in to the express deals like you normally would, and enter a voucher number or something? (so you were able to chose location?)

[afoss]

Yep, here were my instructions:

 

1. Search your itinerary and select any priceline.com Hotel Express Deal®

2. Enter your Coupon Code at checkout on the Payment page

3. Look for your savings reflected in the Summary of Charges

 

I got an email with my coupon code then followed the above directions.

 

Hope this helps. I got to choose "downtown" as location which was a large area but very happy with the hotel itself.

Edited July 7, 2013 by afoss

[oceanseagle12]

It helps a lot. So you don't know how much off until you select the property? This whole thing seems like a gimmick. Lol, at least I knew this might be the case going in, and didn't factor this into my decision. :)

[afoss]

Sorry-- here's the first part of that email. Our cruise was $2600 so I got $160 for a hotel room. Unfortunately in Seattle, hotels are expensive so I used the $160 coupon for a $200 hotel room. $40 out of my pocket plus the extra the hotel charged me because I needed a bigger room. ugh

 

Thank you for booking your cruise with Priceline.com, and congratulations on qualifying for our “Free Hotel Stay” promotion!

 

Priceline “Free Hotel Stays” are earned as follows:

Total Price Express Deal Coupon Value

$700 – $1,000 up to 50% (up to $40) off a 1-night stay

$1,001 – $2,500 $80

$2,501 – $3,500 $160

$3,501 – $4,000 $240

$4,001 – $5,000 $320

$5,001+ $400

 

You may redeem the value of your Coupon for a one night or longer stay.

[oceanseagle12]

Oh don't apologize! Thank you for the information, that helps me a lot!! I might use it for a room near the airport the night before we fly out.

[afoss]

It's a good deal if it's only for 1 or 2 people and location isn't a huge factor. We just had 4 people so that made it a pain since you only get a room with one bed. Good luck!!!!

[SHARON GRIMM]

We booked one of our cruises through Priceline and they gave us around $55.00 toward a hotel stay which was about what the hotel cost was where we stayed. You get a hotel voucher which you can use anytime within I believe it was a one year period.

[VerdeTX]

I'm glad to see some were able to use the Priceline credit to their advantage. Ours ended up costing us more. We are traveling with friends who did not book with Priceline and made their hotel reservations already. We planned to share a car. However, even though I selected an area close to their hotel, the one we got was at the other end of the "area" -- 20 miles away. That means we have to rent our own car, and a small detail you don't find out until you pay is that the hotel charges 30/night to park!!!!!!

 

So, we used a $400 Priceline voucher and will end up spending more than if we had just booked the same hotel as our friends and paid full price. Tell me, how does that make sense?

 

I called and tried to cancel, only to be told that my reservation is non-refundable. I had to pay $200 on top of the 400 voucher, so I'll be out the 200 if I don't use the reservation and I'll pay at least 150 more because of the car if I do use the reservation. Needless to say, not booking with Priceline again.

[PoppyandNana]

Sorry-- here's the first part of that email. Our cruise was $2600 so I got $160 for a hotel room. Unfortunately in Seattle, hotels are expensive so I used the $160 coupon for a $200 hotel room. $40 out of my pocket plus the extra the hotel charged me because I needed a bigger room. ugh

 

Thank you for booking your cruise with Priceline.com, and congratulations on qualifying for our “Free Hotel Stay” promotion!

 

Priceline “Free Hotel Stays” are earned as follows:

Total Price Express Deal Coupon Value

$700 – $1,000 up to 50% (up to $40) off a 1-night stay

$1,001 – $2,500 $80

$2,501 – $3,500 $160

$3,501 – $4,000 $240

$4,001 – $5,000 $320

$5,001+ $400

 

You may redeem the value of your Coupon for a one night or longer stay.

 

BEWARE of the fine print on the hotel promo. We were looking at a cruise costing over $5000 which entitled us to a hotel voucher worth $500. However, you have to actually spend AT LEAST $250. This means I would have to spend $750 for a pre cruise hotel stay. The $500 voucher is then applied resulting in the minimum out of pocket of $250. Same ratio applies to lower voucher amounts.

 

Also, the voucher must be used in a single hotel stay. You do have one year to use it but the fine print still applies. CAVEAT EMPTOR. We booked with another online TA

[jerry9k]

i recently booked a cruise on priceline. the charges for taxes and port charges were twice what the cruise line requested. is this cheating the customer. it seems your better off booking directly with the cruise line