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. 

Tampa Hotels

There are two zones popular with cruisers sailing out of Tampa.  The Airport/Westshore zone is generally the more economical and many hotels offer airport and/or cruise port shuttles.  Closer to the ships is the Downtown Tampa zone.  This zone may be short in free shuttles (with the very notable exception of the Wyndham), but is high in quality of hotel and location.  

Reported hotels through Priceline in Tampa are:

Tampa Airport and Westshore:
4*  - Grand Hyatt Tampa - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle ($10 taxi estimate)

3* - Wyndham Westshore - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle
Sheraton Suites - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle
Hilton Westshore - airport shuttle and cruise port shuttle
Radisson Bay Harbor - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle
Marriott Tampa Airport - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle
Doubletree Tampa Westshore - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle
Marriott Westshore - airport shuttle/no cruise port shuttle ($15 taxi estimate)
Park Plaza - complimentary airport shuttle.  Cruise port shuttle - $10/person

Downtown Tampa:
4* - Wyndham Harbor Island Hotel - complimentary airport and cruise port shuttle

3* - Hyatt Regency Tampa - no complimentary shuttles (pay shuttles by arrangement)
Marriott Waterside - no shuttles
Radisson Riverwalk - no airport shuttle/does offer cruise port shuttle

One hotel has been identified on Hotwire so far.  At the 2.5* level in the Tampa Airport/Westshore zone the Doubletree Hotel has been shown to be the hotel with the Shuttle, Pool, Restaurant, Fitness Center and Business Center icons.  

Other properties have yet been identified on Hotwire.  However, you can count on the Sheraton and Hilton families of properties to be included.  I hope as you use Hotwire you will report back to me your "wins" so I can report which hotels have been obtained, at what levels, and with what identifiable amenities.

One note about using hotel shuttles to the cruise port. Some hotels in 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 common), 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.