Help with car rental in LaBaie

[mdod]

We will be in LaBaie on Oct 15th. I read in a recent thread ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1003441&highlight=saguenay+car+rental ) that National Car Rental brings cars to the dock at La Baie and tried calling the numbers given in the thread but no one speaks English. I emailed the information contact given and no response. There are car rental locations at nearby Bagotville Airport (418)677-2061 and Chicoutimi (418)549-3888. I've called them and non one speaks English at any of these numbers. I then called National's reservation line and talked to a reservation person and their help desk and they can't help me.

 

Any suggestions? I can't believe how difficult this has been. I really want to do a 3 hr kayak tour but we've got to get a car first.

[GTJ]

If you don't speak French, and none of your neighbors speak French, there are some telephone translation services available (e.g., http://www.languageline.com). You could always try calling back when someone who speaks English might be available. Just ask, "Est-ce que quelqu'un soit là plus tard qui parle anglais? A quelle heure?" I presume that you can at least understand so much as a time of day if they respond to the question in French. . . .

[mdod]

Well...I'm getting closer. I found a Saquenay website http://www.ville.saguenay.qc.ca/tourisme/index.php?formulaire=tourisme&lang=en with a toll free number for tourist information : 1-800-463-6565. Press 9 for the english version. The nice woman there said she called just National Car Rental that day to find out who cruisers should contact to rent a car. National does have an office at the cruise terminal but it is only staffed when a cruise ship is in port.

 

She said to call 1-800-549-2411 and ask for Mr. Talbot. Apparently he is bilingual. Unfortunately, he was "absent" today and I didn't have a clue how to ask when he works next so I'll just try again. At least this number is toll free. I Googled the phone number and it appears to be for the Chicoutimi National Car Rental office.

[maryann ns]

Try asking your question at tripadvisor where there are usually local experts.

[mdod]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have 3 Canadian friends and none of them speak French. Hopefully Talbot will be back soon. I'm not sure I can spit out what you have written there GTJ. LOL...When I called earlier they asked a question and I answered "si". I can probably figure out numbers and I think I've heard days of the week so it might work but I really need my hands.

 

I'll check with TripAdvisor if this doesn't work.

[tinaclose]

We reserved a car through Budget Bagotville Airport for the day of October 15 when we will be in LaBaie aboard the Spirit. Budget will bring the car to the cruise dock from the airport and have it ready for us to pick up. We will be able to drop off the car right at the dock at the end of the day. I spoke to J.C. at Budget, Bagotville Airport at 418-677-2720. He was great and spoke excellent English too.

[so1391]

Hi Mdod!

 

I'm from Quebec city and I speak french.

So if you need, I can send an email in french to the rental company.

Just let me know!

I will be happy to help:D

 

Sophie

[debsjc]

I called National at that number, explained I was calling from England, and the lady did get a gentleman who spoke perfect English. I think maybe if they know you are not calling from Canada they will be more helpful.

[mdod]

Thanks everyone. I will try the number for Budget and try National again. When I called them earlier in the week I got a woman that spoke way more English than I spoke French and she did try to help me but with the special set-up for cruises, I was afraid to try to book anything under those circumstances. She said someone who spoke English would be there the next day but I was too busy to call that day.

 

Thanks for the offer to translate for me Sophie. Hopefully I won't need it!

[verga]

I had the same problem as you. I tried to rent a vehicle too but no one can speak English. I called 3 different National car rental tel numbers but with no success.

 

Someone in this board provided a contact name, Melanie Menard, with her email address. I emailed her and she helped me book a caravan.

 

melanie.menard@promotionsaguenay.qc.ca

 

Please try Melanie. She is so helpful. She may not reply to you right away as I didn't get a reply from her until a 3 days later.

[mdod]

Well...the saga continues. I tried National again and asked for Talbot Not there. No one speaks English. Then I called Budget Bagotville and asked for JC, (which I think is Jean Claude). GG was there and she spoke English. I had to fax her all my information name, address, drivers license and credit card information but I haven't gotten any confirmation back. I called this afternoon and got a recording. I pressed 3 because it sounded like it had something to do with reservations but that gave me another recording. Called Budget's reservation line to see if they have a record of a reservation. Nothing shows up in Bagotville but that could be because the reservation is for pick-up at the temp cruise terminal office.

 

FWIW here's a link to rental car info at Saguenay

http://www.ville.saguenay.qc.ca/tourisme/Accesses+to+Saguenay/acces/location_automobile.htm?lang=en

 

It is the site that http://www.promotionssagueay.com directs you to. I had emailed Melanie several days ago and have not gotten a response yet but she may have been the person I talked to when I called the tourist info number on the website.

[debsjc]

What I did for National was book the car on the internet for the Chicoutimi location, but did not pay for it. Then sent them a fax with my reservation number, asking to pick the car up at La Baie cruise ship pier instead of the town office.

 

I did then follow it up with a phone call, and as I mentioned I was lucky enough to get someone who spoke English, i think his name was Jean Pierre. However, it did help that I already had a National reservation made online, so all they had to do was make a note I wanted the car at the pier.

[mdod]

debsjc: Thanks. I was thinking about doing that but I didn't want to have two booked. Imay do that now just to have a back-up plan. I usually book through carrentals.com and they don't even take your credit card information. I need to se what the cancellation policy is on their website. I'm going to wait until Mon tro try again. The woman I talked to today said Jean Claude is there during the week.

[mdod]

For those that have succesfully booked a car, do you know what rates you got? Looking online, the rates were higher out of Bagotville airport. Some had no free mileage and .25/km and others had 100 km and then @ .25/km. Chicoutimi had lower rental rates, 300 km and only .15/km. Right now I'll be glad to get a car, but I was just wondering what terms they had for pick up at the cruise terminal.

[PennyAgain]

You won't be driving far. Don't worry about the cost per km.

[tinaclose]

mdod - The price we are paying at Budget is $66 CAD for the day (including taxes and fees) with 100km included. Not a bad price considering the car will be at the dock for us. Like you, I also had to give credit card information - probably because they have to move the cars to the dock and they want to be sure that the cars will be picked up. You will feel better when you call to be sure they got your fax and you are confirmed. I agree that LaBaie has been the port that has been the most difficult to get information, but I'm hopeful that the car rental will be fine. I hope to meet you aboard the Spirit.

Tina

[GTJ]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have 3 Canadian friends and none of them speak French. Hopefully Talbot will be back soon. I'm not sure I can spit out what you have written there GTJ. LOL...When I called earlier they asked a question and I answered "si". I can probably figure out numbers and I think I've heard days of the week so it might work but I really need my hands.

 

My French is not that great . . . only enough to get get by (barely).

 

One thing that you might find in Quebec is that there is some prejudice against anglophone Canadians--especially those from Ontario--but the prejudice is not present against Americans (the idea being that Canadians have a duty to understand French; Americans do not have that duty and are more open-minded than anglophone Canadians). Some Quebecers will feign not knowing any English as a means of showing this prejudice, and to those Quebecers you can get further making sure that they understand that you're not Canadian. A simple, "Je suis américaine. Je ne parle pas français," can go a long ways in getting the more nationalist Quebecers to help you. I recall one having spent the night in Jonquière--not too far away from the port--and leaving the next day on a bus trip that required two transfers before arriving at the ferry terminal in Saint-Siméon. When I requested the ticket in English I could get no response. So I repeated the ticket request in Spanish! It became clear to the ticket agent that I was no Canadian, and with the similarities between Spanish and French, coupled with her limited understanding of English, she was both understood what I wanted and was willing to work cooperatively through the language barrier.

[mdod]

I finally got a hold of JC at Budget in Bagotville airport. Still can't find anyone that speaks English (to Americans or not) at National. He quoted $53 for the day, 100 km mileage then .25/km + a $60 pick-up/drop-off fee to the cruise ship terminal. Is anyone else aware of/paying that drop-off fee?

[tinaclose]

Hi MDod - I just got my confirmation today from Budget and saw the $60 drop off charge. I was surprised since I didn't know there would be one. We are going to have to decide if it's worth $140 including taxes and fees. On the other hand it's convenient, still costs less than an excursion and we'll be free to do what we want. I wonder if the cost of a National car rental is similar.

Tina

[mdod]

tinaclose: I don't know about National. I've probably called them 10 times on various days and times and I've had no luck finding the mystery person that speaks English. Only one time did anyone even seem to care, so I'm somewhat reluctant to book with them anyway. Supposedly they have a temporary office at the cruise terminal (maybe Budget does too?) so I was wondering if we'd do any better just renting on the spot. OTOH, who knows what they'd charge then.

 

I also wondered if they might be negotiable on the fee but I'm awful at negotiating. First JC said it was $30 each way because they have to deliver the cars. Then he said they would come and pick us up at the dock and bring us to the office so he didn't have to pay someone to bring the car to the dock. He did say we could leave the cars at the dock when we return. Bagotville airport is only 6.6 km from the dock so $60 seem awfully high to me.

 

We're trying to go kayaking/hiking in Saguenay NP that day. Any interest in going with us and splitting a car?

[tinaclose]

We plan to go to Saguenay that day too. We originally were going to go on the ship's kayaking excursion. But I'm worried it might be too cold to kayak - so we decided to rent a car to do some touring and hiking instead. We would be interested in sharing the car rental with another couple. DH and I are in our late 50's and physically fit and active. I am interested in meeting other couples on the Oct 9 Spirit cruise and maybe doing some things together.

[mdod]

Tina,

We are both 50 and in pretty good shape. We tend to prefer outdoor/nature type activities.

 

You probably saw my note on the roll call but in case you didn't, if you were contemplating a kayak trip but worried about the weather, Louis at fjord-en-kayak said Oct can be marginal or it can be nice. He said kayaking the Saguenay was the best way to understand the geology and the history of the area and suggested that we wait and see how the weather is when we arrive and call him. If it's nice, he'll do a trip from 11:30-2:30. If it's marginal he suggested that we go to L'Anse-Saint-Jean (he said it had the nicest villages) and the Fjord without having to be in the kayak. They provide a paddle jacket, neoprene pants, neoprene shoes and mits. We should bring a long sleeve polar shirt and a hat. I figured we'd be bringing that type of clothing for the trip anyway. They also have a few polar shirts to lend out. We went kayaking in Tofino (far west side of Victoria Island, BC) in mid May of 08 and we did fine with the stuff they provided.

 

[mdod]

We went kayaking in Tofino (far west side of Victoria Island, BC) in mid May of 08 and we did fine with the stuff they provided.

Ooops...I meant Vancouver Island.

[tinaclose]

MDod - Sounds like fun. I'd love to talk directly to you, but am hesitant to give out personal info on these boards. If it's a nice day we'd love to go kayaking - as long as we don't have to pay if the trip is cancelled due to weather. I'm glad you and your hubby are 50's too. Really didn't want to keep up with 20 year olds!! We can split the cost of the car - I already have it reserved. Hopefully we can connect tonight somehow.

Tina

[mdod]

Tina, I undertand about personal info online. There's supposed to be some way to email people through the forum but I don't see a link here. I have my profile set to accept emails but I don't know how to do it. i'll look around and see if I can find it. In the mean time, let me send an email to Louis at fjord-en-kayak and see what he says about the fee. He usually responds within a day or two.