woods1110 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I am getting married in June!!! and I am trying to book the honeymoon. Me and my lovely bride will be going to Disneyland in Orlando. I have looked at hotels.com and I have been to my local travel agent and both were very nice and helpful, but hotels.com had some unbelievable rates. We are not going to need airfare because my grandmother has given me her Delta Skymiles, airmiles, whatever they are called. Has anyone ever had any experience using hotels.com? If so, what was your experience like? Also, how do the Skymiles or airmiles work? This is the first trip I have ever booked in my life and I just thought I would ask my fellow Auburn friends for any information. Feel free to write as much as you want, because the more information I have to go by, the better our honeymoon will be. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 First, congrats! We got married in June, popular month. I'm a computer consultant road warrior, living out of my suitcase every week, so if I don't answer your questions, or you have any others, please feel free to ask. Skymile award tickets work just like any normal ones, you get an e-ticket, you check in, you get on the plane. However, Delta is VERY stingy about giving out tickets, so make sure you already have those tickets booked. Also, you won't get credit for them, as far as earning miles. Make sure when you (or your grandmother) book them that they know it's your honeymoon. We bought non-upgradable tickets on our honeymoon, but Delta upgraded us anyway. And they aren't really "free," as Delta makes you pay a Sept 11th Security Charge (under 20 bucks per ticket, for some reason, 7 per ticket sticks out in my mind). As far as hotels.com, I don't use them. I've got very high status with Marriott and Hilton, so I just go to one of their web sites, and book directly. Several of the hotels that travel agents will book you at offer somethings that you might not think about, for example, if a hotel has free shuttle service to MGM or Pleasure Island. Since parking there can be expensive, it might make up for a cheaper nights stay at hotels.com. Do you want to have a restaurant in your hotel? How close will you be to other attractions? Will you need to rent a car? Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channonc 466 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 First, to your question about hotels.com, I have never used them, but I have used expedia.com and orbitz.com for hotels. I would assume they work very similar to both of the other sites. I have had good experience with both. The way they make their money though is on any changes. So book only once you know dates are definately set in stone. To add or subtract a day from your stay will cost $$ through hotels.com. As well as the others. Second to the skymiles. Each ticket on delta I believe costs 25,000 miles(so obviously around 50,000 for the 2 of you). The only thing here I will warn you of, is blackout dates. But since you are travelling in June you shouldn't have a problem. I can't think of any major holidays coming up, but I would double check that through delta.com on what their blackout dates are. Other than that, you should be fine with travel. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woods1110 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 First, congrats! We got married in June, popular month.I'm a computer consultant road warrior, living out of my suitcase every week, so if I don't answer your questions, or you have any others, please feel free to ask. Skymile award tickets work just like any normal ones, you get an e-ticket, you check in, you get on the plane. However, Delta is VERY stingy about giving out tickets, so make sure you already have those tickets booked. Also, you won't get credit for them, as far as earning miles. Make sure when you (or your grandmother) book them that they know it's your honeymoon. We bought non-upgradable tickets on our honeymoon, but Delta upgraded us anyway. And they aren't really "free," as Delta makes you pay a Sept 11th Security Charge (under 20 bucks per ticket, for some reason, 7 per ticket sticks out in my mind). As far as hotels.com, I don't use them. I've got very high status with Marriott and Hilton, so I just go to one of their web sites, and book directly. Several of the hotels that travel agents will book you at offer somethings that you might not think about, for example, if a hotel has free shuttle service to MGM or Pleasure Island. Since parking there can be expensive, it might make up for a cheaper nights stay at hotels.com. Do you want to have a restaurant in your hotel? How close will you be to other attractions? Will you need to rent a car? Hope this helps. 136878[/snapback] Yeah, that does help! I am going to be renting a car once I get there and I prefer something within a couple of miles from all the parks. I haven't been down there in so long, I don't even remember how far apart they are. The restaurant in the hotel isn't going to matter to me, because I want to take her to a very nice restaurant! As far as park tickets and all that, well, I haven't jumped on that boat yet, but I hear its a bit pricey... First, to your question about hotels.com, I have never used them, but I have used expedia.com and orbitz.com for hotels. I would assume they work very similar to both of the other sites. I have had good experience with both. The way they make their money though is on any changes. So book only once you know dates are definately set in stone. To add or subtract a day from your stay will cost $$ through hotels.com. As well as the others.Second to the skymiles. Each ticket on delta I believe costs 25,000 miles(so obviously around 50,000 for the 2 of you). The only thing here I will warn you of, is blackout dates. But since you are travelling in June you shouldn't have a problem. I can't think of any major holidays coming up, but I would double check that through delta.com on what their blackout dates are. Other than that, you should be fine with travel. Hope this helps. 136880[/snapback] So, if I booked for the 5th of June and something happened and I had to move it back a day, I would get charged for that? What happens if my grandmother does not have 50,000 miles? Do I pay the extra or can I not use them if they don't pay for the whole ticket? Thanks to the both of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 So, if I booked for the 5th of June and something happened and I had to move it back a day, I would get charged for that? What happens if my grandmother does not have 50,000 miles? Do I pay the extra or can I not use them if they don't pay for the whole ticket? Thanks to the both of you! 136890[/snapback] I don't remember if Delta charges for changes to Sky Miles tickets. I don't think they do, though. I used to live in Atlanta, and flew Delta every week, since I've moved to St Louis, and most of my travel has been West Coast based, I've been on America West and American. If you don't have enough miles (say you are 5000 short), Delta will allow you to purchase them, but if you go this option, you might be able to find cheaper airfare, without using miles (and this way, you would earn skymiles for them). Delta will not allow you to use SkyMiles to pay for part of a ticket. And it's 25,000 if you get the "Skysaver" ticket, 40,000 miles for the "SkyChoice." In plain English: Skysaver tickets go first, and then people book the SkyChoice. It might be a good idea to book those tickets ASAP. You'd be shocked at how early those free tickets can go. If you live in Atlanta, make sure you also check out AirTran, and if you're in B'Ham, check out Southwest. MUCH cheaper than Delta. Although Delta announced this week they were cutting costs of domestic tickets. Also, remember to sign up for the reward program that the hotel you stay at will offer. It might not earn you a lot, but if you stay at that same brand over the course of two or three vacations, you might have enough points for a free night stay somewhere down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny AU-92 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 If you know exactly what hotel you want to stay in, I would go DIRECTLY to their website. Sometimes, esp ecially in hotels that are not part of some HUGE chain (Holiday Inn, etc.) you can get GREAT deals. I have stayed in some very nice places for a lot less money than booking sites quoted me, simply because I called then directly or booked off their website. Just a thought. Congrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNAlionpawsMom 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 It's been awhile since I was there but of the two experiences I've had at Disneyworld, the one where we stayed at one of their Resorts and had the shuttle transportation was much better vacation than when we stayed in a hotel and drove to the parks. It seems to come back to me that the traffic was awful, but maybe that was just our experience. Congratulations and Best Wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woods1110 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 OK. Well then, I just checked Delta's website and it said they are sold out for the time period I need. So I guess that wipes out me being able to use my grandmothers skymiles? Nevermind...I figured it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 You might want to check with your travel agents, and see if they can put together a package that would include hotel/airfare/car rental. Might be cheaper than doing everything on it's own. Sorry, that stinks about Delta, but doesn't shock me. Their reward program has gone into the toilet the past 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny AU-92 0 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Hey, you may want to check and see if Continental will honor Delta Skymiles - they have a codeshare agreement now... We used a hotel/airfare package from a travel agent on our honeymoon, and were pleased. Also, Continental offers hotel/airfare packages to Disney too. Go to www.continental.comand click on Continental Vacations. Again, just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue72 0 Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I've stayed in the Orlando area a couple of times in the last two years and noticed one thing. The hotels there have an annoying habit of adding on way more charges than in other parts of the country. This allows them to quote a low rate but when you check out, it can be up to 20% above the quote. I protested quite loudly as other customers were checking in with no success at all. It did make those checking in rather nervous, though, LOL. Be sure to get a "total price" when you book, regardless of what service you use for booking. I find it better to go directly to the website of the hotel chain rather than use a 3rd party for booking. You can sometimes find the hotels using one of the universal sites and then go directly to the hotel chain to book and save yourself some hassle. Of the universal sites, I have found Travelocity to be the easiest to use and with no hidden charges or "gotchas". Some sites have booking charges and abusive policies on cancellation. I even found one that switched hotels without giving any warning until the booking was complete. Buyer beware! Book as early as possible with your SkyMiles. I rarely have a problem using them if I book in advance. That reminds me, I have to figure out how to use some of those things up..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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