I'll Pass On Valet Parking

[Feelin' Nauti']

Read threads on how great valet parking are.

Parkright, Valet Parking, just to name a few.

Parking at the pier can add up and be extremely expensive. Especially in NYC parking $40 a day = Ouch!

 

Before you use any valet parking service - think twice!

 

You have to hand over your very expensive prize possession to a stranger.

You have to be desperate or out of your mind to do this.

Secondly, you need to tip extremely heavy so you don't get a ding here or there. A cheap tip is asking for vehicle damage.

Next you need to document a form and pictures showing the condition of your car. If they put a scratch or a little dent. Good luck collecting no less a response.

Plus, you don't know where they take your car to...For all you know it could be the next state over...Young kids love to take sporty cars on a joy ride.

 

 

If you are thinking of using a valet parking co read this first

 

http://www.realvaletcontrol.com/

 

http://www.edmunds.com/driving-tips/confessions-of-a-parking-valet.html

 

 

Parker who did this, probably didn't get a good tip

http://www.wptv.com/news/state/valet-parking-fail-car-rolls-off-fort-myers-beach-dock-into-water

[Nitemare]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[You have to hand over your very expensive prize possession to a stranger.]

Tens of thousands of folks do this EVERY day in NYC.

[You have to be desperate or out of your mind to do this.]

You really have no alternative in NYC at 90-95% of garages.

[secondly, you need to tip extremely heavy so you don't get a ding here or there. A cheap tip is asking for vehicle damage.]

I usually give them $3 or $5 when I drop off the car, and a similar amount when I pick it up. With a garage bill of $100 or $200 or more, that's nothing.

[Next you need to document a form and pictures showing the condition of your car. If they put a scratch or a little dent. Good luck collecting no less a response.]

No, no you don't. See the first comment.

[Plus, you don't know where they take your car to...For all you know it could be the next state over...Young kids love to take sporty cars on a joy ride.]

They put it in their garage. NYC is no place for "joy rides" and the workers at a garage are not kids and they are WAY too busy to go for a joy ride.

 

A report on a Florida station about a valet problem in Florida has zero relation to what goes on in NYC. And the report is about an accident, not about something done in retaliation for a bad tip.

 

Oh, and at the pier in NYC? You park yourself. So I just don't see the point of your scare story.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Nitemare

[njhorseman]

Wow. Just wow.

 

[You have to hand over your very expensive prize possession to a stranger.]

Tens of thousands of folks do this EVERY day in NYC.

[You have to be desperate or out of your mind to do this.]

You really have no alternative in NYC at 90-95% of garages.

[secondly, you need to tip extremely heavy so you don't get a ding here or there. A cheap tip is asking for vehicle damage.]

I usually give them $3 or $5 when I drop off the car, and a similar amount when I pick it up. With a garage bill of $100 or $200 or more, that's nothing.

[Next you need to document a form and pictures showing the condition of your car. If they put a scratch or a little dent. Good luck collecting no less a response.]

No, no you don't. See the first comment.

[Plus, you don't know where they take your car to...For all you know it could be the next state over...Young kids love to take sporty cars on a joy ride.]

They put it in their garage. NYC is no place for "joy rides" and the workers at a garage are not kids and they are WAY too busy to go for a joy ride.

 

A report on a Florida station about a valet problem in Florida has zero relation to what goes on in NYC. And the report is about an accident, not about something done in retaliation for a bad tip.

 

Oh, and at the pier in NYC? You park yourself. So I just don't see the point of your scare story.

 

The point of the "scare story" is that there have been one or two valet services offering to pick up your car at the pier and then return it to you at the end of the cruise. Your car is not being parked at the pier. It's being parked at an unknown off site garage. Yes...I said unknown. I asked someone at the Meet and Greet of my recent Norwegian Gem cruise who had used the service if she was told where her car was being taken. Her answer was"NO".

 

Also it was rather obvious that many of the "reviews" of these valet services that were posted on Cruise Critic were phony...not posted by actual cruisers but employees or owners of the valet service.

 

To put it bluntly, in my opinion anyone who uses this service at the cruise terminal isn't being very smart.

 

By the way the only time I'll use valet parking in the city is if I have absolutely no choice. If I have a choice I'll self-park every time.

[Nitemare]

I know that, but the OP was pi$$ing on all valet parking. And do we have any bad stories about these new valet options?

 

They don't tell you where your car is going. You save money in return. That's your option. If they want to succeed they will do a good job and get good reviews here and at TripAdvisor and similar. If they fail to do a good job we'll hear about it.

 

We don't need scare stories from some kid in Fort Myers who forgot to put a parking brake on.

 

We use valet parking 5-6 times/year in NYC and have done so for the past 20 years. Never an issue. And we've done this in 30 or so garages. With our precious possessions. Which has a license plate stating our loyalty to the sworn enemy of most New Yorkers.

[njhorseman]

Do you real!y think that saving a few dollars is a fair exchange for not knowing where your car is parked? If the company goes out of business while you're away, and no one answers the phone when you call for your car just how are you going to get your car back? Parking companies just like other businesses do go under. In Florida when Premier Parking folded some of their customers had to break into the office at the lot where their cars were parked in order to get their keys. At least they knew where their cars were because they had driven there to park their cars. No such luck for you if you don't know where your car was parked.

[Brighton Line]

I think there is a misnomer, parking in a parking garage in Manhattan that is regulated by NYC Consumer Affairs IMHO is Attendant Parking not real Valet Parking.

Yes the terms are interchangeable but when you leave your car at a Parking Garage is totally different then this "advertised" service here on CC.

License Parking garages in NYC have insurance for dents and dings caused by their attendant. Getting them to settle, another matter.

[Feelin' Nauti']

I think there is a misnomer, parking in a parking garage in Manhattan that is regulated by NYC Consumer Affairs IMHO is Attendant Parking not real Valet Parking.

Yes the terms are interchangeable but when you leave your car at a Parking Garage is totally different then this "advertised" service here on CC.

License Parking garages in NYC have insurance for dents and dings caused by their attendant. Getting them to settle, another matter.

My car was silently damaged in a legit NYC parking garage. When I asked for claim information, they looked at me as though they didn't understand a word I said. Nor gave me any info... After an hour trying to get some info I decided to take things in my own hands. I Blocked the entrance with my car...no cars could get out nor in. :o That's when they finally spoke english and said they were going to call the police..I said, go ahead... The police said I am a feisty one. :D I was then given what I wanted and off I went.

 

Valet parking, to take a cruise, would never be my first, second, or even third choice in Manhattan. I like to know exactly where my vehicle is.

[Nitemare]

Do you real!y think that saving a few dollars is a fair exchange for not knowing where your car is parked? If the company goes out of business while you're away, and no one answers the phone when you call for your car just how are you going to get your car back? Parking companies just like other businesses do go under. In Florida when Premier Parking folded some of their customers had to break into the office at the lot where their cars were parked in order to get their keys. At least they knew where their cars were because they had driven there to park their cars. No such luck for you if you don't know where your car was parked.

 

I don't know how much money I'd be saving here. We haven't cruised from NYC in awhile and this service has not been an option for me on our regular trips to NYC. But not knowing if my car is on 46th street or 49th street or not knowing if it's on the 2nd floor or the 5th floor of the garage is the same thing in my book. Before I'd use this service I'd look at the reviews. I can usually tell real reviews from fake ones, and if the real reviews looked fine, I'd have to consider using them.

[mjkacmom]

I don't know how much money I'd be saving here. We haven't cruised from NYC in awhile and this service has not been an option for me on our regular trips to NYC. But not knowing if my car is on 46th street or 49th street or not knowing if it's on the 2nd floor or the 5th floor of the garage is the same thing in my book. Before I'd use this service I'd look at the reviews. I can usually tell real reviews from fake ones, and if the real reviews looked fine, I'd have to consider using them.

 

One CC reviewer said that she was told her car was parked at a lot in the Bronx.

[Got2Cruise]

I don't know how much money I'd be saving here. We haven't cruised from NYC in awhile and this service has not been an option for me on our regular trips to NYC. But not knowing if my car is on 46th street or 49th street or not knowing if it's on the 2nd floor or the 5th floor of the garage is the same thing in my book. Before I'd use this service I'd look at the reviews. I can usually tell real reviews from fake ones, and if the real reviews looked fine, I'd have to consider using them.

 

 

You wouldn't mind having a stranger take your car and drive it through the streets of Manhattan? Somebody who makes a low salary and is an hourly employee couldn't care less. And what if they hit a pedestrian on the way to park it who knows where? No thank you.

[Nitemare]

If the price is right and the reviews are good I'd consider it, yeah. If they are hiring low salaried employees who couldn't care less then they aren't going to have good reviews.

[Feelin' Nauti']

If the price is right and the reviews are good I'd consider it, yeah. If they are hiring low salaried employees who couldn't care less then they aren't going to have good reviews.

Have to be careful if you go by reviews. For all you know, it could be owner of the company / employees who are writing rave reviews to strum up business.

[Nitemare]

You seem to have an issue about this. That's cool, we all have issues. I feel comfortable in interpreting reviews and can usually spot shills. And anti-shills.

 

I could tell you amazing stories about the guys who will be taking your precious luggage from you at the port and putting it on the boat, and the guys on the boat who will take the bags from there and get them to your cabin. Want to hear them?

[Feelin' Nauti']

You seem to have an issue about this. That's cool, we all have issues. I feel comfortable in interpreting reviews and can usually spot shills. And anti-shills.

 

I could tell you amazing stories about the guys who will be taking your precious luggage from you at the port and putting it on the boat, and the guys on the boat who will take the bags from there and get them to your cabin. Want to hear them?

Not sure why you feel I have an "issue". Just stating the facts.

 

As for luggage handlers, like Valet Parking, not all can be trusted.

[AndyCapn]

Saying "For all you know...." isn't stating facts, it's speculation.

 

For all you know, giving a big tip makes the valet driver more likely to buy weed before driving your car.

For all you know, it took an hour to resolve your issue because if you speak as poorly as you write, they couldn't understand what you were saying.

For all you know, the police called you "feisty" because they didn't want to escalate the situation by saying what really thought of you.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Saying "For all you know.....

Ooh you liked my idiom. :D

[luvtheships]

One CC reviewer said that she was told her car was parked at a lot in the Bronx.

 

 

The Bronx is actually not far from the port. Just a few miles north on the west side highway

 

You probably know that already but the person who posted the review you mentioned probably had no clue where the Bronx was compared to the port

 

Fwiw I never park my car anywhere other than the port. It's too convenient and too safe to bother with other lots

 

Next cruise is a repo to San Juan so metro north in to NYC cab to pier plane home and prearranged driver with our name on a plaque at JFK

Edited March 19, 2016 by luvtheships

[luvtheships]

You seem to have an issue about this. That's cool, we all have issues. I feel comfortable in interpreting reviews and can usually spot shills. And anti-shills.

 

I could tell you amazing stories about the guys who will be taking your precious luggage from you at the port and putting it on the boat, and the guys on the boat who will take the bags from there and get them to your cabin. Want to hear them?

 

 

And that is why I travel with a 21 inch roll on and a tote

 

21 days in Europe including a princess 12 day cruise

 

Black silk slacks roll up to nothing as do 3 interchangeable silk tops. I'm not a size 4 btw.

[njhorseman]

The Bronx is actually not far from the port. Just a few miles north on the west side highwayt

 

 

The South Bronx is only a few miles from the port. Much of the Bronx is as far or further from the South Bronx as the South Bronx is from the port. The northeast Bronx is quite a distance from the port. Since you don't know where the car is parked you can't assume how far the parking area will be from the port.

[Got2Cruise]

To folks unfamiliar-- you don't want your auto in the Bronx. Lol. I'm having visions of some car jockey driving around on the Cross Bronx Expressway noooooo

[luvtheships]

The South Bronx is only a few miles from the port. Much of the Bronx is as far or further from the South Bronx as the South Bronx is from the port. The northeast Bronx is quite a distance from the port. Since you don't know where the car is parked you can't assume how far the parking area will be from the port.

 

 

You don't think I know that? But hey thanks for chiming in anyway....

 

Of course you didn't recognize the point of my post did you?

 

If some poster says they were told or heard that a car was parked in the Bronx it could mean just a few miles north and you know that...or.....

 

It could also mean throgs neck or Pelham parkway or tremont avenue or grand concourse which is totally different from river dale and you know that too....

 

Point is saying the Bronx could also mean just a few miles north....in lovely safe riverdale....which is not a big deal....but to the uninitiated just hearing the Bronx sounds like it's in another state or worse yet sitting in an abandoned 1970's era parking lot of a burned out building ....which is also possible

 

And before you debate the factual details posted above...... I would not valet my car....at the port or at a restaurant and only reluctantly do it at weddings.

 

I also have little need to use a midtown Manhattan parking garage as metro north works fine for me

 

However....let's recognize one thing....the Bronx means many things but to those who don't have a clue will not realize it could mean a few miles away in a lovely neighborhood too but of course posting that is not dramatic enough for the posters here

Edited March 20, 2016 by luvtheships

[luvtheships]

To folks unfamiliar-- you don't want your auto in the Bronx. Lol. I'm having visions of some car jockey driving around on the Cross Bronx Expressway noooooo

 

 

Of course you don't want it parked there....heck you don't even want to drive through the Bronx if possible and that's all the more reason to park right at the port

 

But as I posted above the car could wind up in riverdale too which is not a big deal. However it could also wind up in someone's front yard or double parked on tremont avenue. Lol.

 

The latter 2 examples are typical Bronx parking methods Btw for those unfamiliar. Lol

 

Park at the port for the safety and security alone and the convenience is prices less.

Edited March 20, 2016 by luvtheships

[Feelin' Nauti']

The South Bronx is only a few miles from the port. Much of the Bronx is as far or further from the South Bronx as the South Bronx is from the port. The northeast Bronx is quite a distance from the port. Since you don't know where the car is parked you can't assume how far the parking area will be from the port.

Doubt they would park in the Bronx being they would have to pay a Toll. And that's not cheap....

Edited March 20, 2016 by Feelin' Nauti'

[luvtheships]

Doubt they would park in the Bronx being they would have to pay a Toll. And that's not cheap....

 

 

Oh no now you've gone and done it. Lol

 

Posters will now say that you don't pay a toll if you go up the east side or through the upper Manhattan streets. Lol

 

I agree with you of course but just wanted to beat the horse guy to the punch

[njhorseman]

You don't think I know that? But hey thanks for chiming in anyway....

 

Of course you didn't recognize the point of my post did you?

 

If some poster says they were told or heard that a car was parked in the Bronx it could mean just a few miles north and you know that...or.....

 

It could also mean throgs neck or Pelham parkway or tremont avenue or grand concourse which is totally different from river dale and you know that too....

 

Point is saying the Bronx could also mean just a few miles north....in lovely safe riverdale....which is not a big deal....but to the uninitiated just hearing the Bronx sounds like it's in another state or worse yet sitting in an abandoned 1970's era parking lot of a burned out building ....which is also possible

 

And before you debate the factual details posted above...... I would not valet my car....at the port or at a restaurant and only reluctantly do it at weddings.

 

I also have little need to use a midtown Manhattan parking garage as metro north works fine for me

 

However....let's recognize one thing....the Bronx means many things but to those who don't have a clue will not realize it could mean a few miles away in a lovely neighborhood too but of course posting that is not dramatic enough for the posters here

 

Sorry that my magical wizard's mind reading cap wasn't working when I posted. Its solar-powered energy array must have failed causing a power failure.

 

That must be the reason I didn't recognize the point of your post, not your failure to include any hint that it was written tongue-in-cheek.