Car rentals for New England/ Canada cruise

[angeleyes27]

We are taking the NCL Dawn on Sept 21 and would like to rent cars and do our tours. Our ports are Portland, Halifax, Charlottetown, Gaspesie, and La Baie. Does anyone have any ideas for car rental companies in those ports that are near the dock? I tried to research and I saw that Enterprise is near the dock in Halifax, but they are not open on Sunday and we are there on a Sunday. Thank you very much.

[Lulu51]

We are taking the NCL Dawn on Sept 21 and would like to rent cars and do our tours. Our ports are Portland, Halifax, Charlottetown, Gaspesie, and La Baie. Does anyone have any ideas for car rental companies in those ports that are near the dock? I tried to research and I saw that Enterprise is near the dock in Halifax, but they are not open on Sunday and we are there on a Sunday. Thank you very much.

 

There has been alot of chatter about this recently, here's one thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1666136

 

I am sure some of the other companies will make arrangements for you to pick up on a Sunday besides Budget if you prefer another just call them or email would be my suggestion.

 

Good luck hope you have a great visit.

[Aboat1]

I have researched rental cars in Portland. We could only find rental cars at the airport. The airport is supposed to be about a 15 minute ride from the cruise port.

 

Hertz advertises that they will reimburse a portion of your taxi fare. We found better rates with other companies thus, negating the reimbursement.

 

We also had heard there was a car rental desk at the cruise port. When I called those companies they stated they no longer maintained a desk at the cruise port.

 

I will watch your thread for any new info!

[angeleyes27]

So far I have found that Budget is open in Halifax on Sunday and Enterprise will pick you up in PEI. I am working on Portland now. I have not found anything so far. The ship's shore excursions are so expensive!!!

[trophy_23]

We have used Discount in PEI (Brackley Point Rd and Bypass) a couple times now and they have always been great about picking us up and dropping us off.

[mnbruce]

So far I have found that Budget is open in Halifax on Sunday and Enterprise will pick you up in PEI. I am working on Portland now. I have not found anything so far. The ship's shore excursions are so expensive!!!

 

We rented from Enterprise in Portland last fall. Our location was not at the airport, and only about 6 minutes from the ship. They picked us up and dropped us off.

[Lulu51]

We are taking the NCL Dawn on Sept 21 and would like to rent cars and do our tours. Our ports are Portland, Halifax, Charlottetown, Gaspesie, and La Baie. Does anyone have any ideas for car rental companies in those ports that are near the dock? I tried to research and I saw that Enterprise is near the dock in Halifax, but they are not open on Sunday and we are there on a Sunday. Thank you very much.

 

I posted this yesterday to another thread re rentals in Halifax here you go....

 

I had some time so called a few and got the scoop:

 

Enterprise and/or National are in the Via rail station in front of Cruise port they are open 9-1 Sundays for Cruise ship passengers 423-0227

 

Thrifty's is open on Sundays in the Westin Hotel beside Via station.

982-3474

 

Budget is open 8-4 on Hollis St. at least 4 blocks good 15 min walk but will pick up at Pier if you have reservation just call as soon as you get in.492-7542

 

Avis is also open on Grafton if you have reservation will also come and pick you up. tel #492-2847 Note if calling out of province AREA CODE is 902

[maryann ns]

What a great helpful thing you have done, Lulu! I will add this info to my Halifax notes for future reference.

[rdnpdx1]

What a great helpful thing you have done, Lulu! I will add this info to my Halifax notes for future reference.

 

Indeed. Thank you. We are doing the 14 day Boston-Quebec-Boston in 2013 and I am just beginning to plan. We plan to rent cars in at least Boston, Portland, Halifax (2 times), Charlottetown, and possibly more, so this is a great help.

 

I have had good luck with Costco Auto Rental, which negotiates for good member rates in US cities at least, so will try them as well as the individual companies.

[alise007]

We are on the exact cruise and here is what I ended up with....don't want to waste time going to the airports to get cars!

 

I think I found a few online discount codes and signed up for some of the clubs. I normally like to be loyal and earn points but btw locations and pricing I have a different company for all the stops!! We are not renting a car in Portland just walking around the downtown. I create spreadsheets for each vacation so tried to copy/post the info here.

 

please note that the rental car in Gaspe is only 100km + addlt mileage :(

 

Sunday Halifax rental car 9am-6pm Avis 1717 Grafton St

Monday 24th sea day on ship

Tuesday 25th Charlottetown rental car 8am-5pm Enterprise 83 Euston St

Wednesday 26th Gaspesie rental car8am-4pm Budget 8 De La Marina/Train Station

Thursday 27th La Baie walking 11am-7pm

 

If you have any problems contact me and I can email it to you!

[angeleyes27]

Thank you for all your help.so far I got Enterprise in Boston, Portland, and PEI. And then Budget in Halifax. I also used the Euston address. The shore excursions to Bonaventure Island are high in Gaspecie, so I may try that rental car company. I saw somewhere that they shut down in September. I wonder why this cruise goes on Friday and not Saturday. I contacted the tourism board in LaBie, but never heard back from them.

[angeleyes27]

I know the ship tour for Bonaventure island is $129 per person. I saw that the boat runs $6 per person on your ow. That is a big markup!

[angeleyes27]

I am incorrect. It is $25 for the cruise, which is still a big difference from the $129 per person. Maybe we will see you on the cruise!

[alise007]

I am incorrect. It is $25 for the cruise, which is still a big difference from the $129 per person. Maybe we will see you on the cruise!

 

 

I think we will drive up to Perce and do the boat if we can get there on time. Unable to reserve a specific one not knowing how long it will take to get off the boat and drive up there...

 

I looked into the whale watching in the National park and got an email response from them--they ONLY have a 10am Whale Watching boat trip (Forillon) and not sure we could make it. They were priced reasonably tho.

 

http://www.baleines-forillon.com/

 

I can't figure out what to really do at La Baie --we have a 4 and 6 yr old and won't be able to do the kayak option. Not sure they would care about hiking and it wasn't a cheap excursion either.

 

Figure we can check out the local area. I think they had a museum/aquarium

http://museedufjord.com/en/

 

I have 2 little red headed kids that get mistaken for twins but they are 2 yrs apart in age--sure you won't have any problems figuring out who we are!

[syrupcity]

Sounds like we are all trying to do the same thing-see lots for a value. Would love a guided van tour on PEI and Halifax as there is so much to see. We are a group of 6, 4 of which generally take ship excursions. Hubby and will need to teach them economical travel. Se u aboard on sept 21

[rebsar]

In Gaspesi - how far do you have to go to rent the car?

 

We are on the exact cruise and here is what I ended up with....don't want to waste time going to the airports to get cars!

 

I think I found a few online discount codes and signed up for some of the clubs. I normally like to be loyal and earn points but btw locations and pricing I have a different company for all the stops!! We are not renting a car in Portland just walking around the downtown. I create spreadsheets for each vacation so tried to copy/post the info here.

 

please note that the rental car in Gaspe is only 100km + addlt mileage :(

 

Sunday Halifax rental car 9am-6pm Avis 1717 Grafton St

Monday 24th sea day on ship

Tuesday 25th Charlottetown rental car 8am-5pm Enterprise 83 Euston St

Wednesday 26th Gaspesie rental car8am-4pm Budget 8 De La Marina/Train Station

Thursday 27th La Baie walking 11am-7pm

 

If you have any problems contact me and I can email it to you!

[angeleyes27]

Not sure how far it is, but I know it is an hour to Perce. I am trying to locate info on La Baie. I emailed for tourist info using an address given by a previous poster, but did not get any answer and it has been over 2 weeks. I can't even find any books on it. I see that there is a marine preserve there and a fiord, but the season is over for boat rides on the fiord.

[angeleyes27]

We have been on an Alaskan and New England cruises and one weekend Bahama cruise. We started off taking alot of the ship's shore excursions, but then we got wiser. We took 7 shore excursions on our first cruise, 2 on our New England cruise, and then none on our last cruise. We went to Halifax and Sydney on the New England cruise and rented a car.

[alise007]

http://locations.budget.com/pq/gaspe/y58.html

 

Looks like the harbor is nearby at Sandy Beach says 3.1km approx

I am hoping they have cabs nearby! I will be calling Budget to see if they have any suggestions prob next week. We just started school this week so kinda busy!

[angeleyes27]

I was able to get some information about Gaspesie from the quebec maritime website. An hour south is Perce Rock and if you go north, there is Fortillion National Park.

LaBaie has a marine park and a fiord, but I am not sure what is open.

[IA_Cruiser]

Not sure how far it is, but I know it is an hour to Perce. I am trying to locate info on La Baie. I emailed for tourist info using an address given by a previous poster, but did not get any answer and it has been over 2 weeks. I can't even find any books on it. I see that there is a marine preserve there and a fiord, but the season is over for boat rides on the fiord.

 

 

Does anyone have information on the cost of taxi fare from the cruise port terminal to the train station or airport?

[AAAAmerican]

As in any trip, planning is vital to it's success.

Your due dilly does pay dividends if you put the effort to it.

 

Plan once , plan twice, even thrice..as Murphy is always lurking about.

Having Plan A, B, C and D benefits you as sometimes things go askew too.

 

 

Rental firms in NE/Canada have great terms, some better than others.

 

Know what the cost of Petrol is also as sometimes at the agency it is less. Prices do change in Canada more often than the US.

 

Ben Franklin, the endentured servant who escaped Boston, once said.. " A Penny saved is a Penny earned"

 

 

 

[alwalaska]

http://locations.budget.com/pq/gaspe/y58.html

 

Looks like the harbor is nearby at Sandy Beach says 3.1km approx

I am hoping they have cabs nearby! I will be calling Budget to see if they have any suggestions prob next week. We just started school this week so kinda busy!

 

Can you tell us how your rental went, and what you did in Gaspe? I currently have a mini-van rented, but we may change our plans.