park, stay, and fly (I think)
 

Has anyone done the park, stay, and fly (I think it's called) prior to cruising? We fly from DFW to Barcelona, cruise back, and end up back at DFW 18 days later. Staying in a hotel near the airport one night and being able to leave our car there for no extra charge for the duration of the cruise sounds like a good deal, but my husband isn't so sure. Anyone have experience doing it? Thanks.

A few years ago we stayed at the DFW Hyatt the night before flying to Cancun and it was perfect. When we returned to DFW we took the train to the Hyatt and of course our car was still safely parked in the garage. Earlier this year I did the same when I took a cruise from Galveston and that was a great deal also.

Why is your husband unsure about doing this? I think it's a great idea.

I do parksleepfly all the time, but at OHare, not DFW. You typically get 2 weeks of free parking for your 1-night stay. You have to pay extra for the nights beyond 2 weeks. I think it is a really terrific deal. The places where I stay have a parking garage with ticket entry/exit so it 'feels' like it is more secure for my car while I'm gone.

Look at parksleepfly.com and see what DFW has to offer.

Carol

stay123.com another good site for this have done it in May

most recently $79/tax for a suite 1 nitr 2 weeks free parking

awesome deal saved a tonne call direct a bit cheaper

saves me sometimes so shop around...

It was a Ramada Limited suites also got quadruple points yea!

We've used parksleepfly for hotels at O'Hare many times without a problem when we have a morning flight; we come from 90 miles away and like not having to get up before the crack of dawn to drive there.

Because my DH is a Marriott Rewards member (anyone can join for free), they let us park in their lot for $50 (it was for 17 days) without staying there; for an afternoon flight, that worked out very well.

abram
Good to know that about parking at Marriott without actually staying there! I've never asked them about that. I might just try that sometime.

I personally drive about 3 hours to get to OHare, so I love having a good nights rest in a hotel (very often Marriott Renaissance... I'm gold level). If my flight is anytime before noon, it's such a relaxing morning, rather than up at the crack of dawn, or before!

We park,stay,fly every time we go out of DFW - usually the cost of the hotel room is less than even remote long-term parking would be at the airport, we get to the hotel the afternoon before, have a swim, go for a nice meal, get a good night's sleep, and get dropped at our gate the next morning. Never had any problems with it and it sure beats an early morning and potential traffic issues on departure day!!

txgirlinbda-I thought that was about the size of it. It sounds like a really good plan. My husband is thinking the cost is more than we want to pay. He'd rather impose on a friend to take us to and fetch us from DFW. I HATE asking people to do that, even though they really seem not mind. Also, our total days gone will be 18. One of the above posters wrote that after 2 weeks you begin to pay by the day. Have you ever gone beyond the 2 week limit? I sure appreciate all the info.

Some hotels in the area have limits on parking time, we just stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last month and got 14 days of parking included, but we've never gone beyond that. We are about 1hr 45min from DFW without ANY traffic, so I personally love being able to get a decent night's sleep and know I'm right near the airport and don't have to worry about the drive. I think the fee for over 2 weeks was pretty minimal (like $5/day).

We've used parkstayfly a few times when flying out of Boston. The rates are usually much higher than quoted here but then long term parking is also exorbitant at Logan.
I've seen limited time parking quoted and often it's less than 14 days, sometimes 7 days or 10 days so do check what's allowed.

I will ask the Marriott about parking only next time.. thanks for the tip abram

I went two days over the limit at a hotel by OHare, and they did not charge me. One desk clerk added $20 to my bill, and then the next one (when I returned) took it off! Strange.

Most of the time, I'm at 14 days or less.