Pre-Cruise Hotels --- booking question

[advancescout]

Hi All,

 

Question about booking pre-cruise hotels through Norwegian.

 

It looks like they charge per person, per night. Does anyone know if their prices are competitive?

 

I know they include all the necessary transfers, but I am still not sure if that makes it worth it.

 

Anyone have any suggestions or experience? Any good previous threads on the topic (I looked and didn't find much)?

 

Thanks!

[Sally Forth]

They work out to be more expensive. The transfers are handy if you don't know the city at all or if you have a large group or are traveling someone (like my mom) who might have problems carrying her own luggage.

 

There is the advantage of having the NCL rep in your hotel, but the one time I had to ask for help, the person just sent me over to the hotel's front desk anyway.

 

Viv

[snow1]

Congrats on you wedding and what a great honeymoon!!

We booked pre and post cruise out of Seattle on our own. You're right, NCL does charge by the person. They wanted double the price that we were paying at the Sheraton. I know they include transfers.....but double!!! Call up NCL and they will give you the prices of all the hotels that they use. Plus.....NCL tells you what time the pick up will be. Ours was 2 hours after we had to check out of our room.:eek:

[blindrid]

We always select our own as we like the flexibility and typically better pricing. If you are little less adventuresome, go with them. If not, youcan do better on your own.

[CC Help Michell]

Hi All,

 

Question about booking pre-cruise hotels through Norwegian.

 

It looks like they charge per person, per night. Does anyone know if their prices are competitive?

 

I know they include all the necessary transfers, but I am still not sure if that makes it worth it.

 

Anyone have any suggestions or experience? Any good previous threads on the topic (I looked and didn't find much)?

 

Thanks!

 

It's not difficult to compare prices; just make sure you compare apples to apples. NCL's prices are per person, and include all taxes, gratuities, transfers and bag handling. Knowing that figure, you can compare a) the NCL rate to b) the lowest hotel rate you can find, plus taxes, plus cabs or shuttle fees from airport to hotel and from hotel to the port, plus tips. Whether it's worth it or not depends on that comparison, which in turn depends on the city, the hotel, the number in your party, the distances involved, the timing of flights, whether local cabs have a baggage surcharge, and other similar factors.

[retiredAF]

We had originally considered NCL but after looking around, we made our own hotel reservations and transfer arrangements and it worked out great. I would suggest looking for a hotel by Pikes Market so you are close to the dock and there is plenty to do and see in that area. The cab fare from the airport to Pier 66 where the Pearl docks was $32 total for the two of us. One of the folks from our meet and greet did a priceline for their hotel and got a great price but I can't speak personally to that.

Congratulations and have a great trip. Alaska is amazing!!

[retiredonthesea]

For our cruise this Oct. out of NY we decided to go with NCL hotel & transfer, because our flight is so late getting in we will have no time for sightseeing. It will cost us around $225.00 total. Didn't think that was too bad after looking at some downtown hotel prices, plus taxi to port ect.

 

It's a matter of convenance for us this time!

[advancescout]

Thanks for the great advice everyone.

 

One last question... does anyone know if the package includes a transfer from the airport to the hotel also?

 

I will just assume about $35 for a taxi to the pier from the hotel for both of us and use that when determining the best deal! I assumed there was some upcharge in the NCL prices.. but didn't know if the transfers and such balanced it out. Guess not:)

 

Thanks again!

[retiredonthesea]

Thanks for the great advice everyone.

 

One last question... does anyone know if the package includes a transfer from the airport to the hotel also?

 

I will just assume about $35 for a taxi to the pier from the hotel for both of us and use that when determining the best deal! I assumed there was some upcharge in the NCL prices.. but didn't know if the transfers and such balanced it out. Guess not:)

 

Thanks again!

 

It doesn't get you from airport to hotel, just hotel to pier. We like the transfer as usally it's a bus with lots of other cruisers--head start on meeting new people!:D Plus you are at the pier earlier than most. Easy ck in.

[jkrislc]

Just curious . . . does NCL preregister you at the hotel if you're precruise? I know NCLA did this and my Carnival cruise 12 years ago did, but is this still standard practice? Does it let you bypass the lines at the port's checkin?

[Got2Cruise]

Hi. Go to the West Coast Departure boards. Seattlecruiselover gives awesome advice. If you want a hotel in a wonderful location, try the Marriott Seattle Waterfront. It might be more costly than some of the hotels that you can bid on through Priceline, but it is directly across the road from Pier 66 where the Pearl leaves. We booked directly from the Marriott website.

[advancescout]

Thanks for the tip, G2C.

 

I just spent about an hour reading Seattlecruiselover's thread. Very helpful. Almost TOO much information! Wow.

 

 

Thanks!

[retiredonthesea]

Out of curiosity I just checked to see what our hotel would be if we booked ourselves instead of going with NCL hotel & transfers. It's around $195.00. Even tho NCL transfer won't pick us up at the airport the Hotel has a free shuttle---that's a good deal. So w/ NCL it's around $225.00. I guess we're happy with the prices! Glad to have the bus pick us up in the morn. and take us to the pier.