hugpooh Posted April 23, 2003 Report Share Posted April 23, 2003 Hello all,I am really new to this and I would like to get some advice on bidding on priceline.We need a hotel for one night prior to getting on the cruise.We would like to stay not too far from the cruise terminal.Any ideas which areas we should stay at? I am not sure which area I should choose when I bid.since not sure exactly where the cruise terminal is on the map.Please help!!Thank you. Link to comment
WillTravel Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Is your ship going to depart from near Pier 30, or from near Pier 66?Either way, you'd have to choose the Downtown zone, I think. I suspect if you bid for a 4* hotel, you won't be put anywhere ridiculously remote. And there'd almost certainly be a hotel shuttle to take you to the terminal. Link to comment
hugpooh Posted April 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Thanks for your suggestion.We are planning to be there on 8/21-8/23/03 so we have one day to tour the city before getting on the ship. Hoping there is no convention or any special function taking place at that time. Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Sorry, what is the nite of your hotel stay?Your first post indicates one nite, but your last post implies 2 nites.Just trying to clarify.Thanks. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
hugpooh Posted April 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Sorry for the confusion.Original plan was to fly down on 8/22/03 and stay only one night then head to the cruise.Now my husband would like to stay one extra day to do some sightseeing. Plus we have a 1 year old so we want to make sure we get enough time to relax before heading to the cruise.So checking in 8/21/03 and checking out 8/23/03.Thanks again. Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 I also forgot to ask you about what star level and price you were looking to spend, and since the turn-around time on this one (me getting back to you) has already been longer than i had hoped (sorry, i've been very busy lately!) i took the liberty of coming up with 2 bidding strategies, one for 3*quality level and one for 4* quality levels. Each was written with the assumption that you'd like the downtown area and would rather put in a little extra effort (maybe up to an extra 20 minutes) in order to get the best possible price. Based upon prior "wins", I think a 3* hotel will likely cost about $45, while 4* hotel will cost between $60-$75... if you'd like less expensive hotel options (1*, 2*, or 2.5*, just post back and i'll revise the strategy. Of course, if the maximum you want to spend is $60 (for example), you could always try the 4* strategy up to the $60 mark, and then, if rejected, start completely over with the 3* strategy.Hopefully you're familiar with re-bidding, but if not, give this a read: Bidding Again before 72 hours , and ask any questions that you may have.4* Bidding Strategyyou have 8 rebids available for this quality level and DOWNTOWN, so that's 9 bids total (your original bid plus 8 re-bids=9)Bid $50, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $55, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $60, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $63, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $66, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $69, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $72, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $75, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $80I think you'll be successful with the above strategy, but if not, let us know and we'll revise the strategy for another round of bidding in 72 hours.3* Bidding Strategyyou have 4 re-bids at this quality level and DOWNTOWN, for a total of 5 bidsBid $40, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $42, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $45, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $48, if rejected add a re-bid zone and...Bid $50I think the above strategy will be successful at the 3* level, but if not, post back and we'll revise the plan to the next round of bidding in 72 hours. If you need help or have any questions, please feel free to ask!Looking forward to hearing how the results. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
hugpooh Posted April 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Hello thereuare,Thank you very much for your help. I don't think you took long to respond. In fact, I thought it was quite fast.I think I should have done some more homework before I posted. I am still learning the process and I did look into some of the posts and understand about biding much better now. I would like to bid for a 3 star hotel, hoping not to spend more than $50/night which I think should be fair for a 3* hotel. Not considering anything under 3*.So is the downtown area the closest to the terminals? Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 I believe that the Downtown area is closest, but i was going by WillTravel's comments above.If you look at this MAP which i believe is the cruise ship terminal area, and compare it to the Priceline map, the downtown area is the only one that seems to be close. Maybe WillTravel can confirm.Since you want a 3* or better, just follow the strategy above for 3* hotels, since that maxes out at $50.Let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
WillTravel Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 That map shows that Pier 66 is definitely in the downtown area, but I'm not sure whether hugnpooh is going from Pier 33 or Pier 66. Hugnpooh, what do your tickets say? Disclaimer, disclaimer for all the below. I think it's true, but please double-check.As you keep walking along the waterfront following the direction on that map, the numbers just keep decreasing. I can't find a map with Pier 33 on it, though. However, Downtown would be as close as you can get to Pier 33 anyway. If you are going from Pier 33, you'd probably still want to stay downtown, because that's where most of the sights are.Hotwire has a little finer control of the downtown-area zones, so it might be looking at too. It has Downtown-Space Needle and Downtown-Pike Place Market. The Pike Place Market one would be nearer the piers. Link to comment
hugpooh Posted April 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 You guys are wonderful!!Thanks for all the great information.We are still trying to deal with our travel agent to confirm the cruise but I will definitely reserve the hotel myself by trying to bid. Once we confirm the cruise, I will bid and post result ASAP.Thanks again!! Link to comment
hugpooh Posted May 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 Hi all,Just want to say thank you again for all the great information.I have not tried to bid for the hotel.I am so sorry that I have wasted your time on setting up a bidding plan and not able to use it due to travel plan change. We are not sure if we will be going to the cruise now (not going to explain in details but I am definitely disappointed!!). We will take a short trip to a nearby city this weekend.You will certainly see me around and I promise next time I will be more certain about my travel plan before I post.Thanks again!! Link to comment
thereuare Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 Not a problem... no harm done and nobody got hurt :) Sorry to hear you may not be cruise bound, but i thank you for following-up with us.We'll catch you next time your travel plans dictate.Enjoy your weekend away! Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
WillTravel Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 hugpooh, sorry you may not get to go on the cruise for now. I don't think your thread was a waste of time at all. The general ideas could be useful for anyone visiting Seattle.I find the benefit of a board like this is that it can give people travel ideas that they might otherwise not think of. For example, even though I'm not planning on going to New York until 2004 or so, I'm still reading the NY threads. Link to comment
hugpooh Posted May 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 Thank you for being so nice and supportive. It's good to know people here are nice.I have posted something on my recent bid for my Monterey, CA short weekend trip. Link to comment
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