New questions to ponder???

[Charlee S12 Div 341 PIR 10/15/10]

So, I am reading on here that when you get your offical letter it tells the graduation date, is that correct?? Also reading that you should go ahead and book your hotel at that time,is that also true?? So if that is what you need to do, how will you know if they are "Grad and Go"? Don't want to book the whole weekend if my child is leaving the next day???

[kolomom]

Hi Charlee, Yes the graduation date is correct but, it could change if they don't pass a test or something medical happens that would delay their graduation, thats why they say to buy refundable tickets. You can always cancel your reservations up to 24 hrs for hotels. You will know if your recruit is a grad and go two weeks prior from graduating and the only one that can tell you this is your son or daughter, from what I understand thier are no guarantees! Its a gamble. Take Care, Brenda

[Alisha USS Nicholas]

If you have an idea of what their job might be and what training they are going to be doing it will give you an idea about grad n go.You can call the recruiter they can help you with a lot of your questions.We didn't make our plane or hotel reservations until he was in for a month.Some people even wait until a week before though I wouldn't recommend waiting that long.

[Charlee S12 Div 341 PIR 10/15/10]

I don't want to get the cart ahead of the horse, but I didn't want to wait too long on the hotel reservations... Not to concerned about plane right now, figure that would be available...

[MomSeanEM2]

Charlee, If you received your form letter you may want to at least make hotel reservations. You only have to give 72 hours notice if you are cancelling. Believe me you will know more than 72 hours in advance if your daughter will not be graduating on time. We made our hotel reservations within about 2 weeks after receiving our form letter. We waited to see how things were going with bc for our son before booking our flights. The navy does suggest refundable tickets. If you go to a travel agency they will probably advise you against this as they are for business class people and not for families attending PIR. If I took the suggestion of the navy it would have cost me $770. pp X3. You can buy super savers with insurance and you can change flight times for $125.00 pp. I see you live in TX and I would suggest maybe checking into flights from TX to Milwaukee, WI and not Chicago O'Hare.

I know it is sometimes the unknown and I can only share with you what my experience was and I was very pleased with the way I handled my reservations for the hotel & airfare. Good luck and happy planning.

[MomSeanEM2]

I forgot to mention that you will also know 72 hours before if she is a G&G.

[Charlee S12 Div 341 PIR 10/15/10]

thanks for the help!

[MomSeanEM2]

Charlee, You might want to check out Southwest airlines I think I remember someone posting on here they don't charge a change fee and don't charge for bags checked in. If they have any fees they are minimal but I am almost positive somebody suggested using them.

[Charlee S12 Div 341 PIR 10/15/10]

She is Cryptologic Technician A School is in Pensacola

[MamaBear kk]

Charlee - sending you a friend request. : ) ~ kk

[gsdkids (daughter AN)]

Charlee-you have lots of decisions to make in the next several weeks. I see where you weren't to concerned about the plane right now. Just remember the longer you wait on air reservations it is likely fares will rise as that day arrives. We waited until just three weeks before to make both plane reservatioons and hotel reservations. As many have mentioned hotel reservations are easy to cancel - just call the hotel directly and make sure you tell them that you will be attending the PIR for that weekend. Most of these hotels have special rates for PIR (as long as you don't wait to long to book) and are unconcerned about when you leave. We had reservations to stay an additional two nights'; however, since my daughter was a Grad & Go and my national guard boot camp son had to report within 72 hours we left early and it was no problem.
Seems like your biggest challenge will be flights. Good luck and keep planning. It is all well worth it.

[PKMom]

Hi - I made our hotel reservations the other day and checked before I confirmed, they said we could cancel even the day of up til 6 pm. We reserved at the Courtyard - Marriott, $109 a nite; I wanted something with a little more room for all of us to hang out;
Just booked the plane today too; cheaper to change planes in Chicago and go to Milwaukee!!! (whereas taking the xact same airplane to Chicago was forty dollars more per person, so weird.) Thought about abandoning the plane in Chicago and just driving from there but I figured traffic from Milwaukee to GL would be easier to handle than from Chicago anyhow.

[WyattsMom/Ship 3/Div 317]

Hi Charlie, I am kind of in the same boat with the Grad and Go thing. I'm waiting to hear something from my son again to book a reservation. I guess, I'm up and down with it. Sorry I'm not much help, but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone. Have a good evening . Sheila/Wyatts mom