Best company to rent a jeep fom for a day in port?

[VirtualRain]

Who's got good service and is convenient for cruisers? I'm really tired of shoddy car rental companies in the Caribbean who have vehicles falling apart, don't honor agreed prices, or don't even know what the word "reservation" actually means.

Thanks.

[Arubalisa]

From my years on this forum as well as others, unfortunately there are no sure guarantees.

I can tell you in Aruba, like many of the other Caribbean islands, that all of the well known U.S. "big name" corporate car rental agencies are franchises.

In 20 trips to Aruba we have had experiences which run the gamut.

We had had okay experiences with Hertz up until this past June, but due to various issues with two separate rentals, will never use them again. We had issues with Avis when they would not honor the rate on a reservation.

We had used Royal numerous times until their vehicles became a bit run down and tired. This past June we saw they had acquired many new vehicles. Are ALL of their vehicles new? I do not know.

We have used Amigo in the past with excellent vehicles and service. I have "read" some people who have been unhappy with the vehicles they have rented from them. Can I recommend with confidence based upon hearsay? I do not know. They will come to the terminal and pick you up, bring you back to your office to fill out the paperwork.

Dare I say this is all a crap shoot? Perhaps read through the forum and take a tally on bad experiences vs. good experiences? Sorry I could not be of more help but do not want to recommend a company only to have them not meet your expectations.

[Roscoe13]

For what not to do see my post here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1592703

[VirtualRain]

Thanks... I'm giving Royal a try. There seems to be enough choice in Aruba that if Royal screws me, I can probably walk up and get a car at any number of places. We'll see.

My experience is that the car rental agencies in the Caribbean are opportunistic and unscrupulous... they will give reservations away to people who walk up if they can get any additional money out of them. For this reason, I never try to negotiate a discount... you won't get it... they will just sell your vehicle to someone who shows up willing to pay full price. Sad but true.

[wvufan]

Posting from Aruba. Bad experience with Royal. Would never use them again. Posting from ship so don't want to elaborate with the price of the internet, but it got pretty nasty. They alleged we added new scratches to an already scratched vehicle and we had to pay them damages.

Happy Sails to You

OOOEEE Bob and Phyl

[Arubalisa]

Sorry to hear this. The past two times we have rented vehicles, (not Amigo) while dh was going over the car with the rental clerk, I took digital photos of the entire car, hoping to never to use them.

[wvufan]

Lisa, wish it had been that easy. Long story shortened-the issue concerned whether we added new scratches to existing ones. They knew we were going to a place where it was impossble to avoid scratching the sides but when we got back it became a big deal. They wanted us to pay $175 but I finally got them to accept $50 extra. I betcha they have pulled the same stunt over and over and never have fixed the scratches from previous renters. The rental agent was very rude to me and my wife and the other couple.

Happy Sails to You

OOOEEE Bob and Phyl