car rental update - Galveston

[daryleann]

After reading all the comments, I spent about a half hour yesterday with the Hertz office. HOPEFULLY the Galveston office will be open after the first of the year, thus the Galveston Cruise terminal would also be in operation. There seems to be some confusion tho, as the cruise terminal office only 'rents to those arriving from a cruise[and Sundays only'] - which is really dumb, as those arriving FOR a cruise provide cars for those leaving town, which I kindly mentioned.:rolleyes:

 

At any rate, she suggested those leaving in Jan. call after the First to see what the situation is. (it means only a week or two ahead for me, but would be SO much more convenient!)

(Enterprise used to do the one way rentals, but the guy said he no longer wants to do it so they are not open on Sundays.]

[buckanear]

I know it sounds strange, but it works.

 

Hertz has 2 locations on the island, one at the cruise terminal (which Carnival is already sailing out of) and one off ave L. The one at the cruise terminal is only open on Sunday when the largest ship is in port. They are a satellite for the main office on the island. With the chaos that ensues on Sundays, it makes sense why they would not want people arriving on the island who are cruising the next week in the terminal area and renting cars. Not to mention that it is really rare for someone to arrive a week before their cruise and since Galveston has no commercial airport, people who want to rent a car prior to their cruise usually do so at their arriving airport or use the larger main office on ave L.

[daryleann]

You misunderstood. We want to rent a car at airport and drop it off Sun morn before our cruise. Then, upon return from cruise, we would rent another/same car and return it to HOU. (we have done this from La Porte and in Fla and it works great. We have transportation and can sightsee as well, or go out to a restaurant not near the hotel.)

Sales lady even said she didn't know how they were getting the cars back from the airports - to rent again.

[buckanear]

Let me have another whack at it :)

 

What day are you coming to the island? I know that some people who have called and made the reservation with the 1-800 number or online have been able to get a Saturday drop of at the Ave L location and just took a cab to the terminal (they just left the contract in the little box). I do know that if you reserve through the actual location they will try to charge you for an extra day so it's beneficial to have all the print outs of your reservation if you have to haggle with them. If you are coming to the island on Friday, you may consider taking the car back on Saturday afternoon and using the hotel's shuttle or a cab. I also know someone who rented the car for the entire week and just parked it at the hotel's free parking and used their shuttle.

 

They are getting the cars back from the airport because people are renting them and taking them back to the island for their cruise. It's a big cycle. Incoming passengers rent the cars at the airport and leave them on the island. Outgoing passengers (usually the same people from the week before) are renting cars to go back to the airport. Coming from experience, quite a few people who take the cruise line transfers from the airport then want to rent a car because of an early flight or they don't want to hassle with the buses. Just as many people who rented a car at the airport change their mind and get cruiseline transfers when they get back because they don't want to mess with traffic/driving/baggage etc.

[allisons]

We are flying into HOU on Saturday, January 10, 2009, at 12:05 p.m., staying at the Hotel Galvez, and departing on the Voyager of the Seas on Sunday, January 11, 2009. We are getting off the Voyager OTS on Sunday, January 18, 2009, and flying out of HOU at 12:50 p.m. I just got off the phone with both Enterprise and Hertz. Here is what I was told:

 

Enterprise: The cruise terminal location is closed due to the hurricaine and is not scheduled to be reopened before my cruise. The Broadway location is only open on Saturdays until 12:00 p.m. and is closed on Sundays. They do not allow after-hours drop off in Galveston, so I could not drop off the car on Sunday, January 11th even if I was willing to pay through Monday, January 12th. They will not have the post-cruise rental available when our cruise ends on Sunday, January 18th.

 

Hertz: Both the cruise terminal location and the Broadway location are closed due to the hurricaine and are not scheduled to be reopened before my cruise. Even if they do reopen before my cruise, they are only open on Saturdays until 12:00 p.m. and are closed on Sundays. However, they do allow after-hours drop off in Galveston, so if they do reopen before my cruise, then I could drop the car off on Sunday January 11th and pay through Monday, January 12th. They will not have the post-cruise rental available when our cruise ends on Sunday, January 18th.

[NYNJCRUISER]

Thanks for all this information. We have done the 2 rentals before (in 2006) with a Carnival cruise and it was perfect, cost me $150 rather than the $400+ that the agencies are asking for an 8 day rental (arriving Saturday before the cruise, returning the following Sunday). I called the Galveston office before I realized it was closed, got another office who said Galveston is closed, PERIOD. Does anyone know if Hertz will be open after 1/1 or if it's just a "check back then and maybe we'll know"? Should I call the 1-800 number? And to the local person on this thread, why are the Houston Airport limos so ridiculously expensive? They put NYC to shame! Thanks!!

[daryleann]

...agent: since the Galveston (L St) office closes at noon on Sat., and we do not arrive in HOU until 3:00, can we still return car that evening??? Would be a consideration... even if we had to pay until Mon morn. Still beats the shuttle:eek:.

 

NYNJ: you can call the 800 # but will get the same info as I (and Allisons) rec'd - but since you are leaving in Feb, perhaps things will be open by then. I would suggest calling mid Jan and getting a status report.

[buckanear]

I think that's what a lot of people do, they just leave the car there on Sat or Sun and just pay for the extra day.

[allisons]

According to what I was told by Enterprise, they DO NOT ALLOW AFTER-HOURS DROP OFF in Galveston. Hertz is closed in Galveston. So, I don't see how this would work. Please check and make sure you can do after-hours drop off in Galveston, so you don't get stuck with the car when you're ready to get on the ship!

[realtreebar]

According to what I was told by Enterprise, they DO NOT ALLOW AFTER-HOURS DROP OFF in Galveston. Hertz is closed in Galveston. So, I don't see how this would work. Please check and make sure you can do after-hours drop off in Galveston, so you don't get stuck with the car when you're ready to get on the ship!

 

 

I see we are on the same cruise you should come and check out our cruise list on the voyager of the seas we have over 102 people signed up now click below and see what you think thanks realtreebar

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=17281557&posted=1#post17281557

[Cadie]

Ive been going through the same with Hertz for our March 1 2009 sailing. I was scheduled to pick up at IAH on Feb 28th. Drop off was at the L avenue agency on Sunday March 1st (as an after hours drop off). A Hertz shuttle was supposed to pick us up there and bring us the the cruise terminal. I was again renting upon our return March 8th, picking up at the cruise terminal, drop off at IAH.

 

Having a rental so we could enjoy the Island for the two days prior to cruising was and is important to us. Our hotel is Comfort Suites on 89th street, so I imagine having a car will be pretty essential if we hope to get around town.

 

Like daryleann, I cannot understand why they wouldn't allow drop off on Sundays at the cruise terminal ... I drop off and someone rents it and drives it back to Houston; seems like a perfect simple solution to me!!

 

But now, who knows what will happen! Trying to get any consistent information from Hertz is like pulling teeth. Enterprise and their one way $60 fee and no after hours drop off is beyond crazy to me. It seems like it's set up to discourage cruisers from renting.'

 

If anyone comes up with a good (and affordable) solution, please share!!

[daryleann]

Could you tell me if there is any progress on the car rental place at Hertz? Cruise terminal pick up???

 

Still hoping for something prior to our leaving here Jan 17th.:cool:

[Rock Chick]

I've just come off the phone to Hertz and was told that the Galveston office is unlikely to reopen till August!! Our cruise is in April and we are spending a couple of days in Galveston pre cruise, provided we can get there of course.

 

I tried to book a one-way car from San Antonio to Galveston with Enterprise but was told that this is impossible.

 

It seems that we'll have to rent a car from SAT to Houston then find a way to travel to Galveston. Friends have been kind enough to offer us a ride but we don't want to inconvenience them if there is an alternative solution.

 

I'm hoping that Hertz have misinformed me about the August opening of the Galveston office.

 

Carol

[daryleann]

carol: Thanks for the update. Bummer!

I got this cruise for a steal when the prices dropped and now with having to rent car for a whole week (actually nine days!) it puts it in the category of 'not such a bargain;' but too late now. Guess I will just buck up and try to enjoy all the sun and not cooking, not cleaning, not anything! Oh, the sacrifices we have to make...:rolleyes:

[5waldos]

I have the same feeling about the cost of getting down to the port- it will definately make me think twice or 3 times about cruising out of Galveston. There are 4 of us- that means a $200 one way trip by shuttle. I did figure out that renting off of the airports was WAY cheaper even with the taxi fares. We were able to get a good rental rate from CarRentals.com- $269.70 for the 9 days- and it is supposed to include all fees. It is a Dollar rental. Given how expensive everything else is, this seemed good and it is at the international airport. There are $100 taxi fares supposedly, but with 4 people we'd have to luck into a van. And this does allow us to wander around as we want.

[soxfan1495]

I recently went through a very frustrating back and forth with Hertz. Back in October they gave me two one-way reservations from the airport we are flying into (Austin) to and from Galveston and assured me that we could drop off on Sunday and pick up after the cruise one week later. After seeing the comments on this board I called them and was told that they had made a mistake in giving us our reservation in October, and I would need to drive to Hobby from Austin and then take a van to Galveston, and we could eventually request reimbursement after the fact from Hertz, and since they had previously given us a reservation, we would probably get reimbursed. We did not want to go through that, so we cancelled the reservation with Hertz, tried priceline, and found that using priceline we could rent a car for eight days (Saturday night to Sunday night after the cruise) for $16 dollars a day. We probably could have got a lower price via priceline -- my first bid was $16 and it was accepted. The total rental including taxes and fees is $200, about the same as what we would have paid for two one way rentals. So, try priceline, and bid lower than $16 per day. This might result in a reasonable cost to rent a car for eight days!:)

[daryleann]

Hotwire had it for a total of $250 and not know the vendor - which is no big deal from an airport. I thought I would try it on Priceline and see. Practiced with $15/day and it passed. Will try even lower. The big cost when booking thru Hertz is the extra days ($46/day) ... far more than if we rented for one day ($21/day) and 'bidding' got it back down. Of course, the taxes aren't cheap either - practically doubles the cost!:eek: I don't feel guilty as I won't be putting any miles on it - it will be sitting!!!

 

We are definitely a captive audience!

[Cadie]

Hello all!

 

I'm cruising on the Conquest March 1st, arriving in Houston (IAH) on Feb. 27th ... I wanted to give myself ample time as I'm coming from cold, snowy, stormy eastern Canada. I had the two one way Hertz reservations many have talked about, so have been dealing with the same frustrating trouble in finding another arrangement. I ahve checked renting off airport, and the prices are around $250, but how to get to the car is an issue.

 

I had practiced with priceline as well, but was hesitant because I had never used the service. How reliable is it? Have any of you used it in the past? What was your experience?

 

Thanks!!

 

Gisele

[soxfan1495]

I haven't used it in the past, but others I know have, and had no problems. In using priceline to rent a car, you get a car from one of the name rental companies. As it turns out, we will be using Hertz (as a "rental partner" of priceline). It is strange, to cancel a reservation with Hertz because it is too expensive, then to go on priceline and end up with Hertz for less money. You get a confirmation number and I don't expect any issues. But it is my understanding that if you use priceline to book a car, reservations cannot be cancelled or changed and refunds are not allowed (unless flight cancellations occur).

[5waldos]

I got a Dollar rental on airport for about that price- and it does include all the many many extra fees. And that is for 9 days so I think we did well.

[daryleann]

5waldos: Dollar rental - from Hobby or Bush airport??? I get a cost of $295+ from Hobby for 9 days - compact/economy car.

 

soxfan:

It is strange, to cancel a reservation with Hertz because it is too expensive,

What do you mean by too expensive? I thought if you canceled, it is no charge (not counting with Priceline - there if you pay you are paid, end story.)

[soxfan1495]

daryleann: There was no charge to cancel the reservation with Hertz. Because of what they were now telling me, it had become possibly more expensive (and a hassle) because they were now telling me that I would have to rent for the Austin-Hobby part of my trip, and then on top of that, pay for a van to Galveston (for which I might eventually be reimbursed by Hertz customer service). With Priceline I ended up using Hertz anyway, but for an 8 day rental charge that was about the same as what I was going to pay for two one way rentals...

[daryleann]

soxfan: I finished the process of bidding for car on Priceline. Began with $12 and declined but message said if I wanted to "up it to $15/day" I could get confirmed. Tried each day upping it $1 and finally got it today - for $15/day. Funny - they said they wouldn't accept anything less... just in different words :rolleyes:

 

It's from Alamo so hope everything goes well. We have had them before - good company. Wonder if I can get miles for my airline...

[soxfan1495]

Daryleann, sounds like a good deal. I expect it will work out great, and if you get a chance to write a review of your trip, I would love to hear the details.

[5waldos]

5waldos: Dollar rental - from Hobby or Bush airport??? I get a cost of $295+ from Hobby for 9 days - compact/economy car.

 

 

Bush- and I just got a note saying I could do it for $8 less but it wasn't worth the bother. I'll wait and see if it comes down any more. Unfortunately this means that the base car rental is quite reasonable- it is all the horrible fees and taxes- they cost as much or more than the car rental!