A frequent question for cruise passengers wishing to purchase a pre- or post-cruise night through Priceline is "which zone should I select?" Hopefully this will give you a bit of guidance.  

If you find this information useful, I hope you will place your bids through http://cruisediva.com/bid.htm. 

Miami Hotels

In Miami, without a doubt, the Miami Downtown zone is the closest to the ships. This is a great option for a pre-cruise night where you want something inexpensive and close, and not looking to participate in the beach/nightlife scene. The Bayside Marketplace is nearby and good for dinner options. From most of the hotels in this zone, if you have a room facing the port, you can see your ship when you awaken.

However, if you'd like to experience the beach, nightlife, or a bit more activity, the next closest zone is the South Beach area of Miami Beach. There is a specific "South Beach" zone on both Priceline and Hotwire. On Hotwire, it's broken out to South Beach South and South Beach North. The South section is closer to the port.

With the popularity of driving to the port increasing, I've also researched those hotels which offer some combination of reduced rate parking and/or shuttles to the port.  These are in the Airport zone, and what they offer by way of airport and cruise port shuttles and parking is broken out below as well.

Reported hotels through Priceline in Miami are:

Miami Downtown:
4* - Intercontinental, Hyatt Downtown
3* - Radisson Miami Biscayne Bay, Sheraton Biscayne Bay, Marriott Biscayne Bay, Doubletree Miami Biscayne Bay. 

South Beach:
Resort - Loews Miami Beach, National Hotel
4* - Roney Palace, Royal Palm Crowne Plaza, The Palms South Beach, The Mercury South Beach, Clinton Hotel, Marriott South Beach
3* - Holiday Inn Miami Beach South, Shelbourne Beach Resort, The Hotel Chelsea, The Chesterfield Hotel and Doubletree Surfcomber.

Miami Airport
4*
Hilton Miami Airport & Tower - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, $10 night parking
Sofitel Miami - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free self park

3*
Wyndham Miami Airport - airport shuttle, port shuttle, $6 night parking
Radisson Mart Plaza - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, $2 night parking
Crowne Plaza Miami Airport - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free parking
Marriott Miami Airport - airport shuttle, $6 cruise shuttle, $6.39 parking per night
Embassy Suites Miami Airport - airport shuttle, port shuttle, no parking

2.5*
Doubletree Club Miami Airport - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free parking
Amerisuites Miami Airport - airport shuttle, port shuttle ($9/pp), free parking
Hampton Inn Airport West  - airport shuttle, $30 port shuttle (up to 3 people) $8 port shuttle (per person 4 or more), free parking
Courtyard Airport West/Doral - airport shuttle, no cruise shuttle, free parking

2*
Homestead Village Blue Lagoon - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free parking
Candlewood Suites Miami Airport West - no airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free parking
La Quinta Miami Airport North - airport shuttle, no port shuttle, free parking
Fairfield Inn Miami West - airport shuttle, Friday/Saturday/Sunday port shuttle, free parking
La Quinta Miami Airport West - airport shuttle, $29 shuttle (per group), free parking

As you can see, if you're wanting to drive and have free parking during your cruise, your best option is the Airport zone either 2.5* or 2* level.  While it varies by hotel whether or not there is a port shuttle, if one isn't offered, it is around a $20 taxi fee to the port, which still gives you significant savings over port parking fees.

Five hotels have been specifically identified on Hotwire in the Downtown Miami zone!  

There is now a 4.5* property in this zone!  The JW Marriott has been reported.  Amenity icons include:  Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, In Room Internet and Business Center.  Nice addition to this zone, though don't expect it to be a bargain price.  But JW properties tend to be quite good.

The Intercontinental has been shown to be one of the 4* hotels on Hotwire with the Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center and Laundry icons.  One purchaser thought there was a spa icon (the hotel does advertise "fitness center/spa"), but that has not been able to be duplicated for any checked dates.  It should be cautioned that since these amenities are fairly common for 4* properties, with no key amenity to set it apart, this identification may be less definite than others listed here. 

Another 4* recently identified is the Radisson Miami Biscayne Bay.  This property is a 3* under Priceline, and one recent cruiser observed to me that's where they felt it belonged.  So if you want a true 4* property in the Intercontinental, be careful in your identification.  The amenities icons identified are:  Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center and Business Center.  So Laundry vs. Business Center seems to be the way to tell these two apart.  But again, these icons are fairly general for a 4* property, these properties are not as securely identifiable as others.  CAUTION!  These icons are identical to the Hyatt below, so you cannot definitively identify either property.

Finally, we have a new 4* property.  The Hyatt Downtown has been reported.  Amenity icons shown were Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center and Business Center.  CAUTION!  These icons are identical to the Radisson, so you cannot definitively identify either property.

The Sheraton Biscayne Bay has been shown to be the 3.5* property with the "Customer Favorite" designation.  The full amenities list is Restaurant, Pool, Golf Course Nearby and Tennis Courts Nearby.

Finally, the Doubletree Grand on Bayshore Drive is the 3* property with the following amenities:  Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center, Tennis Nearby and Spa.  Based on my current knowledge of this area, I'd say the combination of Business Center, Tennis Nearby and Spa would count as the "key amenities" for this property and make it easily identifiable.  

Outside of Priceline/Hotwire, a very popular cruise hotel is the Holiday Inn Marina Park.  While some have speculated this is available through Hotwire, I've not yet been able to confirm it.  However, it is available through other resources such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. (All of which are linked through this site).

One note about using hotel shuttles to the cruise port. Many hotels in all these zones offer complimentary shuttles. However, they get full quite quickly the day before you embark, and can be crowded and slow due to 5-6 different families trying to sort out luggage, get it all loaded and unloaded at the proper ship (if more than one is in port that day, which is normal), and get it to the porter with the proper tip. It's usually faster and time beneficial to take a taxi from your hotel. Especially if there are only 2-3 of you (more people and a single taxi may not hold your luggage). So if getting to the port at a certain time and getting onboard early is important, consider a cab. Otherwise, if you're in no hurry, then do take advantage of the free shuttles.