Selecting a Pre-Cruise Hotel

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 It’s always a good idea to arrive at your ship’s homeport a day or two in advance of your cruise. In addition to easing worries about potential travel delays, arriving early will give you a little time to unwind and settle into vacation mode.

But an early arrival also means you’ll need to secure a hotel room. Here are a few tips:

Make your hotel reservation as early as you can. Your fellow passengers may also be looking for hotel accommodations, along with those who will board other ships in the same port. An early reservation may deliver some early-bird savings, too. And while you’re making your pre-cruise reservation, consider whether you’d also like to stay for a night or two after the cruise, before you return home.

Keep things simple. If you’re staying for just a night or two, you may not need all the amenities of a resort hotel (or to pay resort fees). What you’ll need most is a good night’s sleep, so you’ll be ready to enjoy all the amenities of your cruise ship, as well as the beautiful ports you’ll visit.

Select a hotel that’s close to the pier where you board the ship. Whether your embarkation port is a major one (like Miami) or a smaller one (like Galveston), traffic can be very busy on embarkation day. Staying close to the pier can help minimize your time in traffic (remember, hundreds or thousands of your fellow passengers will be on their way to the ship, too).

Choose a hotel that can provide local transportation. Booking a hotel that has a shuttle bus that can pick you up when you arrive in town and then transfer you from the hotel to the ship makes things easy. If there’s no hotel shuttle available, ask if there’s a taxi or rideshare stand outside the hotel. Other options for getting to the ship include using a private car service, or even riding on public transportation – for example, Seattle’s light rail system is a good way to get to the Bell Street Pier.

Ask about the cruise line’s hotel partnerships. Selecting a pre-cruise hotel can be exceptionally easy if your cruise line has partnerships with local hotels. Partnering hotels may offer discounts to cruise passengers, in addition to local transportation and other services.

For more information and tips that will help you select a pre-cruise hotel, talk with Anita, your professional travel advisor.

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