Cost??

[1 Proud Mom]

I do realize there are many variables when it comes to the cost of attending my son's graduation (?, is "graduation" the correct lingo) but can I get help from those more experienced.

This is my first time with anything military.  My son leaves in March and attending will be a must.  The catch is I also have twin 16 year old daughters.....anyone with teenage girls know they are not cheap... now times that by 2.  So I want to start saving so I know making the trip to Great Lakes will not be a problem.  I have used mapquest and I know it is about a 9 hour drive to Chicago.  Gas....well who knows what will happen with the prices by the time May is here.  Approximately what is the cost of a hotel room?  If he can do things with the family over the weekend, what is there to do and what is the cost?  Considering we do not know when the next time we may see our son, I want to enjoy our time together.

Any advise is appreciated!!

[lemonelephant]

Hotel rooms will be $65 a night and up. He may just want to chill in the hotel room or go out and see a few things. See Saving Money PIR Weekend and PIR Day and Liberty during PIR Weekend.

Graduation is fine to use and so is PIR.

[1 Proud Mom]

Thank you so much!!  We did a trip to Kansas City for Christmas, our last for sure Christmas together for a while.  I wanted to make sure we could do exactly what the kids wanted so we could make a few memories.

[My2kidz]

If your Sailor will be staying in GL and you have the whole weekend you might want to get a room that has some cooking facilities. I know a few people who enjoyed making their son's favorite meal and big breakfasts. It can save you some food money and also give you time to just relax with your son. 

[Jodie]

From what I have read on here, because I am in the same boat. My husband graduates in March, and I have seen the recommendation for the Navy Lodge about a mile from basic. The rooms are pretty cheap about $65 a night for many different options. I would considered looking them up. There is a hotel on base, but as someone mentioned, your sailor will probably want to be off base and relax if possible. So the Navy lodge seemed like the best option. I hope this helps.

[Hall640]

Just got back from PIR. Make sure you make reservations that can be cancelled while there if need be. We did not know until Friday after graduation that our sailor was getting on a plane early the next morning to fly to A school. As such, we were able to cancel our hotel for Saturday night at the last minute with no penalty. As our sailor left Great Lakes for A school we only had about 7 hours with him after graduation. It went way too quickly and very glad we only had plans for dinner out.

[lemonelephant]

Most Sailors who will fly out to "A" School fly out the day after PIR. I'm sorry you missed that in the info from the RTC and that is included in the Family Guide and is often posted on the RTC's facebook page and in many places on N4M.

Check your My Page.

[CryptoDad]

Just curious: What led you to believe that you would have more time with your Sailor? And how can N4M do a better job of getting out this information?

[diannep]

To answer your question here, we N4Moms veterans working on the PIR pages and Bootcamp Moms are very good about repeating info during the course of bootcamp, including that of Liberty time with the sailors.  We don't mind repeating it many times so that all are informed.  It is also in discussion groups, but some don't read those, so we post on the PIR groups also.  If someone is reading the pages everyday (which is not always possible for some, I realize)....they will see this info. 

[Tyko]

Navy Lodge is great.  Roughly $70 a night.  Most of the sailors will leave in the middle of the night for the airport to leave for A school.   Here was our experience.   We adopted our sailors bunkmate for the day as her family could not make it.  PIR was done about 10:30 they were free to come with us until 8pm.  (due to the long lines getting back on base we headed for base a little before 7) They were an honor unit so they had an extra hour.   Daughter had watch duty from midnight to 2Am and got on the base for the airport at 3Am.   We got up at 3AM and headed to Ohare to meet them in order to give her, her cell phone.   Her bunkmate parents had shipped her cell phone to us and we were able to meet up with both girls at the USO office.    We then got a pass to get thru security and spent the day at the airport with daughter as she did not fly out until 3pm for San Antonio.   To say the least she was exhausted.    Up by the USO office there are comfortable chairs and tables to sit at and visit.   We left about noon as we had a 9 hour drive home.  She was able to sleep a bit before boarding her flight to A school.    If your sailor has a A school at Great Lakes plan on spending the weekend with them.      I hope this helps.    My sailor has just graduated A school.   The journey continues.

[Amber. A]

1 Proud Mom....This was also my 1st time with anything military. My family just got back from my son's graduation. We drove about 5 1/2 hours. This site was very helpful with many things! I took notes and kept them together in a folder to take with me to Great Lakes. Our hotel was Holiday Inn Express & suites. It was $99 a night but did include a Free breakfast. Also- we were able to book the room an extra night and then cancel last minute when we knew we didn't need it. There were no penalties. It was a very nice, clean hotel. It was also convenient to have a Walgreens right next door.  Our Sailor had about 7 hours so it went fast. We had a big family there to visit him so we all went to a late lunch at the Rainforest Café in Gurnee. We then just hung out with him at the hotel. His cousins and him walked to a Starbucks that was right next door later that evening. I suggest going to Sarge's Meet and Greet the night before PIR. Kids are welcome and it was highly recommended to me and we were very glad we went. We took a basket to raffle and the meal is free and very good. You can RSVP on this site to the meet and greet when your PIR date gets closer.

[1 Proud Mom]

crytodad,  I have seen posts from some about just having hours with their sr and others that have a weekend.  So I am just trying to plan for the possibility.  I am working my way through all the information in the family guide and 30 days before boot camp now.  He leaves the end of March.  I do know he is suppose to go to A school in Pensacola.  

[Tyko]

Your recruiter should be able to find out when your SR. will go thru grad or PIR. Usually within 48 hours of leaving. As soon as I got that I called Navy Lodge and booked for that weekend the one before and the one after. I did this because NavyLodge fills so quickly. Then once I received the official letter in the mail I cancelled the other two. Everyone else will tell you not to believe the recruiter, and there are a lot of things that can move your SR. around where it can change. For me the recruiter had it correct but, I had it covered anyway.
Navy lodge was excellent to work with. Sat. Morning we cancelled our room for that night as she was flinging our Saturday.