BarbC Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 We will be doing an Alaskan cruise in Aug 2020 leaving from Seattle. Our travel agent looked into booking us a hotel room though our cruise package, my question is which is better to run it though RCL or just do it on our own. If we book though RCL they provide transportation to the ship but not if we book it. Can anyone give me their thoughts or experience on these two options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packercruising Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 We have never tried it, because we get reward points for staying at certain hotels. Taxi to the pier is $40, no matter where you are picked up in Seattle. If you book through RCI, do you get any choice in the hotel or room? Is their price the same as you would pay for booking the same hotel? We always book our own. We prefer king size beds. If we plan on being in the room more than overnight, we like a mini frig and microwave. Make sure you know exactly what RCI is offering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 40 minutes ago, BarbC said: We will be doing an Alaskan cruise in Aug 2020 leaving from Seattle. Our travel agent looked into booking us a hotel room though our cruise package, my question is which is better to run it though RCL or just do it on our own. If we book though RCL they provide transportation to the ship but not if we book it. Can anyone give me their thoughts or experience on these two options I would first check RCCL's pricing and then I would do the leg work on my own. Most of the time, you will find a better pricing than what RCCL offers and even a better hotel. If transportation is a major factor, keep in mind that RCCL's hotel pricing includes it. Just add what the round-trip transportation ONLY would be from RCCL to your own research and decide. I'm sure a simple Uber, Lyft or taxi can match it or give you a better pricing. KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I have not booked a hotel through RC but did cruise out of Seattle last August. The hotel options are not that close to the pier. We ended up settling on Marriott Waterfront and really enjoyed it. They have a shuttle sign up when you check in and it was definitely a popular pre cruise hotel given how busy that shuttle was! I think it was $15 per person but I don't remember. We were a large enough group that it made more sense to book a private transfer. I would highly recommend Marriott Waterfront, I did manage to book a gov rate at about $250 I think.... Book early too! Also if you happen to be driving to Seattle, I found really cheap parking close by to the hotel by using the Clipper parking lot (passenger Ferry between Victoria and Seattle). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I didn't even know that Royal COULD book a hotel room for you ! I know they do airfare but didn't realize they would be a hotel. Learn something new every day ! Lovetocruise2002, SpeedNoodles and princevaliantus 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbC Posted April 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Thank you for all the quick responses. I have started looking on our own but wasn't sure what the charge would be for transportation to the ship. Though RCL they give you 3 hotels to chose from each with a different price for each. It does include the transport fee to the ship in the price. Courtyard Seattle Southcenter - $182.13 per person per night Double Tree Seattle Airport - $168.54 per person per night Fairmont Olympic - $287.80 per person per night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 38 minutes ago, BarbC said: Thank you for all the quick responses. I have started looking on our own but wasn't sure what the charge would be for transportation to the ship. Though RCL they give you 3 hotels to chose from each with a different price for each. It does include the transport fee to the ship in the price. Courtyard Seattle Southcenter - $182.13 per person per night Double Tree Seattle Airport - $168.54 per person per night Fairmont Olympic - $287.80 per person per night Based on my experience last year, those prices are great deals even it didn't include transportation! I am jealous and would probably splurge on the Fairmont for both location and a bit of luxury! Edit: I did not read that very well. Per person makes a big difference. I would continue to look on your own. Sorry I got little excited there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 43 minutes ago, BarbC said: Thank you for all the quick responses. I have started looking on our own but wasn't sure what the charge would be for transportation to the ship. Though RCL they give you 3 hotels to chose from each with a different price for each. It does include the transport fee to the ship in the price. Courtyard Seattle Southcenter - $182.13 per person per night Double Tree Seattle Airport - $168.54 per person per night Fairmont Olympic - $287.80 per person per night I only checked the Courtyard, but if it is truly "Per person, per night" that is high, on Marriott's web sight (I booked a fictitious weekend trip in August) it is $185 per night for 2 adults. If that is merely the price per night it is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Those are good hotel prices. We booked our Seattle hotel for June a few months ago and couldn't find anything in the area we wanted to be under $265 (so we paid $265, lol) and will be spending a lot of time walking and with an Uber (we're going in a couple of days early to have some fun in Seattle, our favorite town, and to let the DH's flying anxiety meds wear off (he doesn't remember anything that happens within the first about 24 hours after he takes them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Where do you learn about RCL hotel deals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: Where do you learn about RCL hotel deals? I think if you go to the bottom of the Royal site and look for Air2sea and click on it, I think the hotels are part of that page. I know airfare and ground transportation are. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 Just now, tiny260 said: I think if you go to the bottom of the Royal site and look for Air2sea and click on it, I think the hotels are part of that page. I know airfare and ground transportation are. Thanks! I want to look into it for future cruises. We found such a fun hotel in Seattle that I wouldn't dream of giving it up, but there are future cruises (at least that's the plan ... crossing fingers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 I use air2sea when I take international cruises, I want everything to go through Royal for all of the reasons that have been stated lately. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I didn't even know that Royal COULD book a hotel room for you ! I know they do airfare but didn't realize they would be a hotel. Learn something new every day ! That makes two of us! Obviously we need to cruise more Raye! For more experience lol. SpeedNoodles, WAAAYTOOO and JLMoran 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted April 3, 2019 Report Share Posted April 3, 2019 In downtown Seattle specifically, I've had excellent results using Hotwire. Does that prove I'm old?? Haha! Unless your primary concern is point accumulation at a specific hotel chain, since it's the whole "don't know where until you book" thing. Otherwise, there really are no bad locations as far as getting around -- they're pretty much the same. I find the prices through Royal to be 35-60% higher (since it's the whole per person thing) than doing the hotel on your own. It's only worth it if transportation to the ship is overly expensive when purchased separately. Just my two cents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 1 hour ago, KristiZ said: In downtown Seattle specifically, I've had excellent results using Hotwire. Does that prove I'm old?? Haha! Unless your primary concern is point accumulation at a specific hotel chain, since it's the whole "don't know where until you book" thing. Otherwise, there really are no bad locations as far as getting around -- they're pretty much the same. I find the prices through Royal to be 35-60% higher (since it's the whole per person thing) than doing the hotel on your own. It's only worth it if transportation to the ship is overly expensive when purchased separately. Just my two cents! HotWire didn't work for me in Seattle because I couldn't narrow down the area of search to where we wanted to stay, or I would have gone that route. oops, that was Priceline. I didn't try HotWire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted April 4, 2019 Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 27 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: HotWire didn't work for me in Seattle because I couldn't narrow down the area of search to where we wanted to stay, or I would have gone that route. oops, that was Priceline. I didn't try HotWire. Hotwire's pretty good about letting you narrow the neighborhoods -- for example I would choose "Downtown" and "Seattle Center" if I was looking for a pre-cruise place. For the OP, Hotwire is not so great for cheap rates a year out, but as you get closer I'd definitely consider it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbC Posted April 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2019 Our travel agent was the one who let us know about booking though RCL. Will have to check out the hotwire when it gets closer to our sailing date. I will check to see if we go ahead and book though RCL if we can cancel should I find a better deal as time gets closer. Does anyone know about the average cost for transportation to the ship from a hotel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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