Renting a Car... Any advice?

[xXbunnyhopXx]

Hi~ We wanted to see as much of St. Thomas as we can this July so we decided to rent a car. We also wanted to do as much snorkeling, as we reserved this port for all our "snorkels" of the cruise. :D

I was told to "call" the rental - budget- when we get there for a pick up, but... I wasn't planning on getting an international plan while on the cruise from my cell phone coverage provider - verizon. Has anyone had experience using their cell phones while cruising? or on the islands?:o

If not, is there a different way to call the rental service once we get there?

 

We wanted to do Mtn Top - 40 min max, Hull Bay 1-2 hrs, Quick stop at Magens Bay (optional and only for the view), and Secret Harbor before we end our day (8am to 5 pm). Would this be too much even on private transportation?:confused:

[chipeneezer]

What cell phone provider do you have? AT&T has excellent coverage in St Thomas and it is part of the US, so your calls are free.

 

I used Budget in Havensight when we were on our cruise, but that was 10 years ago. We just walked off the ship and there it was. Very easy. Their website still shows the Havensight location, but I don't see it on google maps.

 

We are going for a week in July and are renting a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited from Discount Car Rental. I used them two years ago and really liked them, but they are close to the airport. They allow their vehicles to go to St John.

[Ms411]

Which ship are you on? Budget has several locations but if you're on a RCI ship you'll dock at Crown Bay and there's no Budget at that dock.

 

The Budget at Havensight moved and they are now closer to the ships near Hertz.

[beautifulbill]

Verizon entered into some kind of deal to share towers with AT&T so you should be able to use your phone but I understand it is spotty service.

I would skip Mountain Top as to me it is just a junk filled tourist trap with a great view of Magens and your going to Magens anyway.

[Stinger-pr]

Not sure where you'll be docking since you didn't say but I have rented twice with Avis at the Havensight cruise dock location and have never been disappointed. Great service every time. As for your itinerary for the island, my opinion is that you may want to cut back a bit. My usual route is a stop at Pueblo supermarket for ice, refreshments and snacks, drive to Coki for about a two hour stay, a (maybe) 10 minute drive to Sapphire beach for another two hours, a stop at Skyline lookout point and Drake's seat, head into town for about an hour of very specific shopping, gas the car back up and return to the ship whit barely a 1/2 hour to spare. But I have been to St. Thomas a couple of times and kindda know my way around. If it's your first time, it could be a bit daunting. Remember they have left hand drive cars but drive on the LEFT side of the road.

 

Mountain top, Hull bay and Meagan's are "close" to each other on the north side but Secret Harbour is on the opposite side of the island and just the trip there could take you around 30 minutes with good traffic.BTW, we were in port from 7am-5pm but picked up the car at 8:30am and dropped it off at 4pm to make our 4:30pm "all aboard" time.

 

If you want to read up on our last experience you can find more info on my review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2428818&page=3