High Praises for Advance Car Rental

[Arubamoose]

We had been previously burned by Avis and their deceptive business practices.  We had a reservation and when we arrived they had given our car away and we were left scrambling for something to do for the day. 

 

This time we rented from Advance Car Rental.  Celestino - the owner - met us across the street from the ship.  There was a nice, clean Nissan Sentra waiting for us.  We were given a paper map with beaches and highlights of the island marked on it.  We were given a Garmin with the beaches and highlights preprogrammed on it.  We were given a cell phone with his number preprogrammed to call in case of emergency.  All this and insurance for both drivers for $75 cash which we paid at the end.

 

We hightailed it up to Westpunt and Playa Grandi as we heard it gets crowded early.  It was the craziest snorkeling I have ever done in my life and I've snorkeled on the GBR in Australia and in the South Pacific.  In the middle of the cove there was a holding pen with millions of fish caught by local fishermen to use as bait.  There were LOTS of turtles.  Got some amazing GoPro shots and videos.  Hit quite a number of other beaches for lounging and snorkeling.

 

The Garmin was amusing.  Most of the roads did not have any designation or names and it just kept telling us to turn left or right at Road. 

 

Do get out to see the rest of the island on your own.  It was great!

 

http://www.advancecarrentalcuracao.com/

[cookingmom]

Celestino from Advance Car Rental will renew your faith in people! He is such a wonderful, honest man who delivers a great product. We recently returned after our adventure in Curaçao. Our brand new Jeep was excellent for our party of 4 adults (and beach gear.) We loved the ease of the GPS and utilized it to head out immediately to Playa Granda. Our snorkeling experience was unbelievable. We swam with at least 6 large sea turtles- close to the shore in about 5 feet of water. Lots of fish too. We didn't bring our fins along and having just water shoes was perfect. From there, we headed back to a few other beaches, enjoying lunch at one. We did try to see the flamingos but none were visible. It was a wonderful way to explore the Island and a real bargain at $75.  

[Sea-Bos]

We have never rented a car in port. Sounds like you all are pros. How difficult is parking? Driving? I want to go to Shete Boka but not on a tour. It seems like a car might be our best bet and then Kenepa and maybe a couple of other beaches on the way. 

 

Anyway, suggestions for car rental? 

[CaptFantastic]

I was in Curacao a couple of years ago and can echo the comments above about Advance. No issues whatsoever. When we were due to return the car, they couldn't meet us back at the port ontime ( he was changing a customer's flat tire) so he told us to lock everything, keys included, in the glove box. No questions asked and he wasn't concerned about damage or anything. The car was also new and in really good shape.

 

Other than in town, I didn't notice any paid parking. Even in Willemstad, the meters were quite cheap

[Sea-Bos]

Yeah!!! We booked with him after reading everyone’s positive reviews. So excited!!!

[Wymond]

I will sail to Curacao in December. Last week, NCL changed docking time at Willemstad from 9 hours to 12 hours. No hesitation, I contacted Advance reserve a car. Looking forward to seeing turtles. Is Playa Grandi the best place to snorkel and watch fishes and turtle? I am a starter of snorkeling, any advises about Snorkeling in Curacao?

 

[SeaGoIn]

We just returned from the 10/8-10/18 sailing of the Crown Princess and were on Curacao on Oct. 15 and HIGHLY recommend renting a car with Celistino /Advance Car Rental.  He met us just outside the dock security area and escorted us across the street to the car - a very clean 4-door Nissan Sentra (I think).  We handed him $75 and he handed us the car key and a cell phone with his contact number already entered and only asked that we give him a 1/2 hr. advance notice when we were returning the car so he could meet us promptly - which he did.  The best part was he includes a Garman GPS pre-set with all of the areas of interest to guide you and (most importantly!) one to help you find your way back!  Couldn't be easier.  He also gives you a map with areas of interest (where to find the turtles, etc.) to help you navigate your way.  There is a gas station a few blocks away to fill the tank before you return it - you hand the cash (US $)  to the person at the attendant booth and they tell you which pump # to pull up to.  If you have money left over, they return the balance.  Note to those not familiar with "round-abouts" - very easy to use, just remember to yield to those already in the circle as they have right of way.  

[iahawkfan21]

2 hours ago, SeaGoIn said:

We just returned from the 10/8-10/18 sailing of the Crown Princess and were on Curacao on Oct. 15 and HIGHLY recommend renting a car with Celistino /Advance Car Rental.  

This is great to hear.  Based on reading reviews we booked with Advance this week for December. Excited to be able to get out of town for a few hours and see the distant beaches/sights.  I love smaller operators like this as they have a big incentive to keep things tip top.  I’ll make sure and report back as well, thanks!

[luv2bcruzng]

We just had a fantastic day in Curacao thanks to Celestino and Advance Car Rental.  Got off the ship by 8:30 and the only difficulty we experienced all day was finding the meeting point.  Everyone at the port was more than willing to give us directions to meet Celestino.

 

We had a Hyundai that was clean and in great shape.  The GPS had every point preprogrammed on it that we wanted to see.  We headed straight out to the Synagogue, then on to Hato Caves, then went to Playa Grandi and swam with the turtles (bring some money to tip the man feeding the turtles), then snorkeling at Grote Knip - absolutely beautiful beach.  We made it back to the pier at 4:10 - Celestino was there waiting for us.  Highly recommend this company.

Reba

[Sea-Bos]

Just want to thank the original poster. We used them on Weds and it was simple and wonderful! 

[bup1224]

On 10/30/2019 at 6:41 PM, reba said:

We just had a fantastic day in Curacao thanks to Celestino and Advance Car Rental.  Got off the ship by 8:30 and the only difficulty we experienced all day was finding the meeting point.  Everyone at the port was more than willing to give us directions to meet Celestino.

 

We had a Hyundai that was clean and in great shape.  The GPS had every point preprogrammed on it that we wanted to see.  We headed straight out to the Synagogue, then on to Hato Caves, then went to Playa Grandi and swam with the turtles (bring some money to tip the man feeding the turtles), then snorkeling at Grote Knip - absolutely beautiful beach.  We made it back to the pier at 4:10 - Celestino was there waiting for us.  Highly recommend this company.

Reba

Please don't tip the man feeding the turtles,  he is not an official person and honestly is doing more harm than good for the turtles. 

 

[Mud_Shark]

another happy customer.  Excellent day on Curacao and $75 all in for a day car rental allowed us to see everything we wanted, which included 2 beaches, a snorkel excursion, Hato Caves and Shete Boka national park.

 

Don

[Stinger-pr]

On 11/23/2019 at 4:24 AM, Mud_Shark said:

another happy customer.  Excellent day on Curacao and $75 all in for a day car rental allowed us to see everything we wanted, which included 2 beaches, a snorkel excursion, Hato Caves and Shete Boka national park.

 

Don

What type of car did you rent?

[RioRabbit]

We just rented a Jeep from them and could not be happier. Celestino was extremely helpful in pointing out the best places to go and tips on where to park. Next time we're in Curaçao we'll certainly rent from them again.

 

FR 

[Stinger-pr]

After reading this post I went and asked for a quote from Advance and got the response you'll see before. In short, no Jeep (unless a Jeep Compass is what other posters were referring to as "a Jeep"). The price is double the advertised price online because they're doing cruise passengers a favor. Go figure...

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2019 by Stinger-pr
Edited to add attachments

[sft429]

On 12/8/2019 at 1:30 AM, Stinger-pr said:

After reading this post I went and asked for a quote from Advance and got the response you'll see before. In short, no Jeep (unless a Jeep Compass is what other posters were referring to as "a Jeep"). The price is double the advertised price online because they're doing cruise passengers a favor. Go figure...

 

 

I filled out their form a few days ago for a one day rental in Feb and haven't had any response whatsoever..

 

 

[fishteacher10]

The same thing happened to me and I discovered that it went to my spam folder. Check there!

[TampaJack]

Just want to add to the kudos for Celestino and Advance Car Rental. We had a perfect experience last week. We couldn't believe the value and the service. Highly recommended.

 

(IMO... Anyone who complains about a $75 all-in price for a one-day cruise passenger is being utterly unfair. This was the easiest, cheapest and most enjoyable car rental experience I've ever experienced outside of the U.S.)

[NoleFan2U]

Did you bring your own snorkel equipment or can you rent it there?

[sft429]

On 12/10/2019 at 8:18 PM, sft429 said:

 

I filled out their form a few days ago for a one day rental in Feb and haven't had any response whatsoever..

 

 

 

I decided to give the contact form another try and this time had a response in 1 day.  The standard size SUV I wanted is not available for a one day rental but there are mid size auto and mid and small SUV options that are.

Edited December 26, 2019 by sft429

[Stinger-pr]

On 12/25/2019 at 9:39 AM, TampaJack said:

Just want to add to the kudos for Celestino and Advance Car Rental. We had a perfect experience last week. We couldn't believe the value and the service. Highly recommended.

 

(IMO... Anyone who complains about a $75 all-in price for a one-day cruise passenger is being utterly unfair. This was the easiest, cheapest and most enjoyable car rental experience I've ever experienced outside of the U.S.)

Well I wasn't really complaining about the rate. If you read closely you'll see that I told him I appreciated the price, considering the extras he includes. Was it over my budget at that moment? A bit... That's why I asked for quotes for other types. My real gripe is the lack of transparency over his rates. Look, if you have a 2-day minimum rental policy and you quote prices publicly based on THAT policy, fine. But if you have different rates for 1-day rentals, why not post them as such? A lot of places in the Caribbean have "specials" for cruisers and they openly advertise them. The fact that they openly quote one thing and then quote you higher privately tells me something about their practices. If you and others have had great experiences with them then that's awesome!! Really. But I chose not to do business with them.

 

Oh and BTW, I ended up booking a more expensive Jeep with another company (Juli Car Rental) for the day. So you see, it's not about the price!

Edited December 29, 2019 by Stinger-pr