I also use travel search sites to look at options but book directly with hotel or airline. It’s great for comparisons but I have learned hard way that when you have an issue you often can’t deal direct with the hotel/ airline.
This channel has helped me plan cruises probably more than any other cruise channel. I agree about the Hilton hotels, too, as most include breakfast & shuttle. I will need to update to using Google Earth instead of the map based on your info. I definitely book a hotel that is located in walking distance to meals, pharmacies, banks & liquor/grocery stores 99% of the time, not interested in paying for rideshares much. Fantastic vid & keep up the good work.
Thanks Jamie. I am glad to see I do almost all the things you suggest. I try to learn from as many folks and implement their best practices based on collective learning. I do all our booking myself directly with hotels, airlines cruise lines etc...after exhaustive research. Kind of my own private travel advisor and my commission is the piece of mind of no surprises (hopefully). Thank you to you and Sharon for sharing your knowledge and experience and allowing us to learn from it. Hope all is well and stay happy and healthy.
I don't know a specific hotel, not much right near the port, but search within 10 miles of cape liberty and you will have tons if options. We always look for a hotel with breakfast included to save a little money and not have to worry about going out before leaving for the cruise ship.
Right there with ya on booking direct with hotels. For the many reasons you mentioned. Sharon is the only person involved in my bookings (cruise). Love the street view . I used today to see if my 10 minute walk to dinner was up a steep Seattle hill or not
We are flying in to Seattle two days ahead. I followed your advice and booked directly with the hotel. I chose Travelodge By The Space Needle, but I am open to alternatives. It's just the two of us and we are hoping to get to the hotel by transit and downtown with a day pass second day.
That was extremely informative. We have used google maps before but have never thought about google earth, so thank you. One thing though to consider is we like to book hotels using points from the Chase Reserve credit card so it’s not always practical to go directly to a hotel site. But still very informative and will use these tactics in the future.
Our 1st choice is Hotel Maya, and our next couple are Residence Inn and then Hilton Long Beach. They have all been great. We usually go with the one that has the lowest price at the time.
The Holiday Inn Port Canaveral. Breakfast is included. It is directly across the street. We(6) stayed there for our Christmas cruise on carnival Mardi-gras.
So many to chose from. Holiday inn by Bayside Marketplace is super close. There are others in the area as well. Blue Lagoon area by the airport has a number of hotels we have stayed at too. If you stay a day or 2 before the cruise, lots of Miami beach options. All are close to the Cruise port and a quck Uber ride to the ships.
Thanks for your advice to all of us. We(6) will probably stay at the Hilton also. We have a Carnival Horizon southern cruise coming up in February 2025. Im doing research now. We will have about 8 pieces of luggage. Can you please tell me if the Hotel have transportation to the port and the price per person. Thanks for your help
We’ve had some nightmare experiences with 3rd party sites. It’s happened to us twice that they overbooked or the 3rd party never got our reservation to the property when we arrive to check in, they’re fully booked and we have to scramble to find something else. We search through those sites but we always book direct now. And I completely agree with you on reading the reviews not just looking at the rating. Some bad reviews are legit, others are just ridiculous or not things we care about.
trying to find hotel in Boston sea port quite high being Canadians . . . . have you folks traveled out of Boston Harbor, your suggestions are good . . . cruising just curious. thanks Jollean
We're sailing out of Boston in June (train from Toronto, overnight Greyhound, arriving around 7am). We're booked at the Boston Seaport. It's close enough to where we arrive and the port, has luggage storage and is also close by attractions we're interested in.
I really enjoy watching your videos, always get so much great information. I do look at reviews, including Trip Advisor but tend to look at sites as well. Trip Advisor are not verified reviews, meaning that anyone can put a review, whether they have stayed at the hotel or not. Expedia, Priceline and other online booking site reviews are verified, meaning that the reviewer booked with the OTA and actually stayed at the hotel. Just something to think about when looking at reviews.
Awe-some content. This is really great info. We do a lot of this. Pegman is a great! Trip advisor is my go to! Real pictures alway make the choice for us. The walking option - yes! Good stuff! 👍🏻👍🏻
Hey I was just wondering do you know any good hotels in Seattle Washington that is good near Pier 91 we going on Carnival next August and we are trying to find a good hotel to stay at the night before the cruise thanks for any help that you can do for me love your videos
Hi Phyliis..can we give you an answer in 2 weeks?? lol We will be sailing from Seattle and staying at the Homewood Suites in Seattle on Western. We did have a great stay at the Hampton Inn a few years back..but there are lots of hotels near Pike Place, close to food and fun!!!
Thanks Jamie, have definitely started putting in address pre departure… so helpful. What’s a safe cheap area to stay in, in Miami please? Asking from England 🏴
Thanks Jackie...the airport is very close to the Cruise Port and the airport area is a bit cheaper. We have stayed in the Blue Lagoon area and felt very safe walking about as a family. 15 minutes from cruise port.
Thanks Jamie.......will be cruising out of San Diego in 2025. Would love to be able to walk to the cruise port. Can you recommend a hotel that you trust. thank you!!
Hello Granny..Would you believe that we have not cruised out of San Diego, but we did debark a cruise there this year. There are some good, name brand, hotels nearby. The Wyndam San Diego Bayside, Springhill Suites and Residence Inn would be the closest for walking to the port, and they are all just a short walk to Seaport Village which is a great area to go for dinner and a night out!!!
Just curious if you guys have a premium travel card? I have several, but my favorite is the Amex Platinum which gives you status with both Marriott and Hilton (you would have had free breakfast with the hotel you just featured if you had that card). It has a hefty annual fee, but comes with loads of other benefits including airport lounge access, global entry, tsa precheck, status with several rental car companies so you don’t have to wait in line, and too many other to name here. As someone who flys at least a dozen times a year, it has come in super handy. Great content!
I always use Google Earth for doing a thorough recon on the hotel and the surrounding area with regards to the availability of dining, shopping and walk ability for convenience and overall safety. This is critically important when flying to a location and being without a personal vehicle. Let’s face it, these days, nearly every major city has at least one “No-Go” zone and it is prudent to avoid being in it.
We don't cruise from Jersey often, but we had a great stay at the Homewood Suites in Edgewater, not too long ago. about 30 minutes from CL, great view of the city at night, awesome Mexican restaurant across the street. This video might have a few glimpses of it..ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VwXEze8V7-k.html
We usually go for a Hilton Brand hotel. We have done Embassy suites and Hampton Inn near times Square, but last time we actually stayed across the river in New Jersey at the Homewood Suites/Edgewater. Short Uber ride into the city on Cruise Day and easy to get in and out of the city for sightseeing. We have a few videos of these spots, check our Encore, Breakaway or Prima vlogs.
Me and my mom are definitely gonna fly in the day before the cruise next time. Because you never know what the airlines are going to do that causes delays to your flight. And we personally paid for the consequences of choosing to fly in the day of the cruise and us ultimately missing the first day of our cruise thanks to the airline's delaying our flight for one reason or another.
I can't say I agree with you. Using a travel agent is person to person business, working with clients to make sure they are well prepared for their cruise vacation. Not to mention creating long lasting relationships, as well as sometimes saving people money. Booking a hotel through A 3rd party company is something people book through online and in most cases have no personal interaction.
