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Dec 2022
11:19am, 10 Dec 2022
5,643 posts
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Windsor Wool
I booked everything up for Chicago. Flights were <£500 and booked a fully cancellable hotel so just decided to get it done.
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Dec 2022
10:18am, 12 Dec 2022
22,294 posts
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DeeGee
I also have a deferred place and my partner got picked in ballot so looking forward to it. Is it better to book flights and hotel separate or as a package?
That's very much a matter of personal preference. If you book a package via the specialist running tour companies then there's a certain amount of added services which makes the weekend a bit more convenient, transfers, and some social events and the like, but that doesn't really suit my style of travelling.
A straightforward flight+hotel package through a tour operator like Virgin Holidays gives you protection against the insolvency of a service provider and can be a little cheaper than booking the components individually.
I'm very much in the independent traveller vein, though, I book flights and hotels separately as that allows me to collect reward points on the hotel. For a long weekend away as expensive as Chicago, hotels-wise, I can earn enough points from the hotel stay to give me a free night somewhere exotic like Corby when I get home.
However, a useful thing to bear in mind is that with 2:09 or Sports Tours International, you will get priority on the heavily overbooked foreign events such as Boston and Tokyo if you have a history of booking other events with them.
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Dec 2022
2:46pm, 13 Dec 2022
6,717 posts
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superflyguy
thank you Deegee , that's great
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Dec 2022
10:33am, 20 Dec 2022
34,345 posts
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Foxy
Once again 2 out of 3 aint bad - Got in the London & Berlin ballots but with Chicago "Computer says no" but Chicago is that good I'm paying via a travel company for my 4th Chicago.
Great party city, get to see the Bulls or Blackhawks & go for a post race all nighter at Howl @ the moon.
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Dec 2022
6:11pm, 20 Dec 2022
1,777 posts
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Vixxmas Tree
Am hoping to see the Bulls this time 
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Dec 2022
6:25pm, 20 Dec 2022
2,195 posts
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Big_G
Having never been before, do you have to book things like the Bulls well in advance? Or can you leave it closer to the race weekend?
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Dec 2022
11:07am, 21 Dec 2022
1,778 posts
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Vixxmas Tree
When I went in 07, there was a voucher in my expo bag for a free ticket to see the Blackhawks on production of a race medal or race number, so that was easy enough.
It'll be waiting for the fixtures to come out which will let me decide who I see.
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Dec 2022
2:37pm, 21 Dec 2022
34,348 posts
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Foxy
I got to see the Hawks in 2011 & 2019 & the Bulls this year.
The hockey started the Thursday after the marathon this year & The Basketball starts a week later, so the best we could do this year was pre season Bulls v Nuggets - £50 in the cheap seats for a friendly ! I always buy my tickets in advance for games in the US, but you won’t need to for pre season.
The Bears have always played on the road when I have been.
Managed 3 Bruins & 2 Celtics games in Boston, 2 Mets games in NY, 2 Marlins games in Miami & the Bulls in Oct.
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Dec 2022
5:31pm, 30 Dec 2022
22,308 posts
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DeeGee
So, thanks to the generosity of my family, I've booked seat 1A on a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York in November.
I'll tick off two bucket list experiences next year in one trip!
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Jan 2023
2:07pm, 19 Jan 2023
22,352 posts
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DeeGee
Sports Tours have now opened sale of their packages for NYC.
Of course, although the ballot doesn't even open for another couple of weeks, the cheapest 7 night hotel+race package is already sold out, and the cheap rooms are selling oout fast for the other durations.
It's £499 for the race entry via Sports Tours.
Looking at it, its not as expensive as I first thought, although sharing a room with a stranger wouldn't appeal to me, so I'd be paying double the price.
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