car rental options

[emste]

We are cruising northbound and end at Seward. We are doing the land portion on our own. We would like the stay in Seward for a day or two once we are off the boat. We are looking to rent a car and return it at the airport in Anchorage when we catch our plane. What are our car rental options from Seward? Is Hertz the only car rental company? Their price seemed a bit steep. Thanks for any advice.

[pizzalady1]

We are cruising northbound and end at Seward. We are doing the land portion on our own. We would like the stay in Seward for a day or two once we are off the boat. We are looking to rent a car and return it at the airport in Anchorage when we catch our plane. What are our car rental options from Seward? Is Hertz the only car rental company? Their price seemed a bit steep. Thanks for any advice.

 

yes, Hertz is it and they have a hefty one-way drop fee. Are you going to spend any time in Anchorage or just go to the airport? If you are going to spend any time in Anchorage consider dropping the high price Hertz rental for a lower price as soon as you hit Anchorage. If not, the you might consider renting the car for driving around Seward only, then getting to Anchorage by other means, depending on your flights, ie; train, Homer Stagecoach and there are others. Just google "seward to anchorage shuttle".

[emste]

Our plan is to spend a day and a half in Seward then stay in Anchorage overnight, then head up to Denali for a few days and then back to Anchorage. Dropping in Anchorage may be a good idea. I will look into that. Thanks!

[PennyAgain]

Dropping in Anchorage is a great idea. I'm sure you will work the prices every which way.

 

You might enjoy having a car in Seward, turning it in and then riding the train to Anchorage. Getting a fresh car in Anchorage and then carrying on from there.

[pizzalady1]

Our plan is to spend a day and a half in Seward then stay in Anchorage overnight, then head up to Denali for a few days and then back to Anchorage. Dropping in Anchorage may be a good idea. I will look into that. Thanks!

 

That is exactly what we did, but from Whittier with Avis. It was an expensive daily rental and huge dropoff fee. Since we did not know what time we would get to Anchorage, we planned on a car rental exchange at the airport. We turned in the old car then signed the paperwork for a new rental with Thrifty who was the least expensive at the time. If you end up with the second rental with Hertz, they will let you keep the same car and just end the first contract and start the second contract, ie: you won't need to empty out the car!

[the2006Junket]

Hi, we ran into the same dilemma as you last August (but in reverse, since we were sailing out of Seward to Vanc). After pricing out many different options, we decided on NOT paying Hertz' outrageous drop off/rental fee and renting a car just for our time in Seward and then returning it there. We took the train one way from Anchorage to Seward and it was a wonderful and very scenic ride. We rented at the ANC airport for our trip to Denali and back to ANC. Hotel shuttle bus was useful in dropping us at the train station and picking us up at the airport after dropping the rental car off.

 

Happy planning! Lynne

[3DSNVA]

Beware the other way Hertz will get you in Seward on a LOCAL rental....they do not have unlimited mileage...only 100 miles included then .30 per mile! You sure can't get up to Girdwood and back on that deal. They have it all figured out! I will do everything to avoid renting from those people.

[frugaltravel]

Beware the other way Hertz will get you in Seward on a LOCAL rental....they do not have unlimited mileage...only 100 miles included then .30 per mile! You sure can't get up to Girdwood and back on that deal. They have it all figured out! I will do everything to avoid renting from those people.

 

That is 100 miles *per day* :). Still not many in Alaska.

[swag]

This is too good to keep to myself. I don't see anywhere on cruise critic where another drop-off or pick-up option is mentioned other than Hertz or Avis from/to either Whittier or Seward. My husband, sister and I flew into Anchorage last May and wanted to rent a car for several days and then drop it off in Whittier where we were to get on our cruise. I did a lot of calling and e-mailing Anchorage rental agencies and was finally given the name of a local family that planned to rent out 2 or 3 vehicles and were willing to let us drop it off in Whittier at a great price. I became their first customer! They are a military family and very generous. We even had a brand new coupon book to use that was left in the van. We felt so special and even got hugs all around when we embarked on our cruise. I don't believe that I am allowed to give you their name here but I do know that they used to be on Craigslist in the travel section for the Anchorage area. I believe that they had plans to do drop-offs/pick-ups in Seward too. Good Luck!

[Budget Queen]

This is too good to keep to myself. I don't see anywhere on cruise critic where another drop-off or pick-up option is mentioned other than Hertz or Avis from/to either Whittier or Seward. My husband, sister and I flew into Anchorage last May and wanted to rent a car for several days and then drop it off in Whittier where we were to get on our cruise. I did a lot of calling and e-mailing Anchorage rental agencies and was finally given the name of a local family that planned to rent out 2 or 3 vehicles and were willing to let us drop it off in Whittier at a great price. I became their first customer! They are a military family and very generous. We even had a brand new coupon book to use that was left in the van. We felt so special and even got hugs all around when we embarked on our cruise. I don't believe that I am allowed to give you their name here but I do know that they used to be on Craigslist in the travel section for the Anchorage area. I believe that they had plans to do drop-offs/pick-ups in Seward too. Good Luck!

 

This is a very risky idea, recommending spliting rental contracts with unknown persons?? You DO realize, the liability issues here could have you responsible for for thousands of dollars in potential damages etc etc etc??

[pizzalady1]

This is a very risky idea, recommending spliting rental contracts with unknown persons?? You DO realize, the liability issues here could have you responsible for for thousands of dollars in potential damages etc etc etc??

 

I read this as a rental from an individual living in Anchorage rather than a rental from a known car rental agency. I don't think she meant renting from a rental agency for the trip from Anchorage to Whittier and then another cruiser picking up that rental contract from Whittier back to Anchorage.

[Budget Queen]

I read this as a rental from an individual living in Anchorage rather than a rental from a known car rental agency. I don't think she meant renting from a rental agency for the trip from Anchorage to Whittier and then another cruiser picking up that rental contract from Whittier back to Anchorage.

 

It isn't clear, and unless it is an actual business, then that is too much risk too. With the "Craigslist" reference??????

[mytime53]

It isn't clear, and unless it is an actual business, then that is too much risk too. With the "Craigslist" reference??????

 

I totally agree. Unless they have a business license and the appropriate insurance and a written rental agreement, I would steer clear. There are places to cut corners, and places not to...personally, I see this as a place not to. If you were out in a village, where there are no other options, paying gas money and a few extra bucks to borrow a car, that would be different.

If there was an accident, or something goes wrong with the car, and the insurance companies find out you were renting it....BIG trouble.

[swag]

I apologize if I was vague and it appeared that we rented only from an individual. It just really felt personal because of the treatment we received. This family definitely has a legitimate small car rental agency and we signed a full, complete rental contract. I would never, ever consider doing anything else. The contract was mailed to me prior to our trip and I made sure my auto insurance agent gave his blessing. I'm a nurse and am little fanatical about details. We rented in Anchorage and kept the van until we dropped it off in Whittier. I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Because I'm a nurse, remember?)

[swag]

I meant to say: "I'm a nurse and am a little fanatical about details". See?? Crazy isn't it?

[mytime53]

I apologize if I was vague and it appeared that we rented only from an individual. It just really felt personal because of the treatment we received. This family definitely has a legitimate small car rental agency and we signed a full, complete rental contract. I would never, ever consider doing anything else. The contract was mailed to me prior to our trip and I made sure my auto insurance agent gave his blessing. I'm a nurse and am little fanatical about details. We rented in Anchorage and kept the van until we dropped it off in Whittier. I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Because I'm a nurse, remember?)

 

Well, that's different, then. Since you can post a business' name in response to a question, I'll pose the question...

 

We have friends coming who need a rental car for a few days...who do you recommend? Thank you.

[swag]

http://freedomrentalsAK.com.

[swag]

Well, that's different, then. Since you can post a business' name in response to a question, I'll pose the question...

 

We have friends coming who need a rental car for a few days...who do you recommend? Thank you.

http://freedomrentalsAK.com

I had to look up their website and was in a hurry when I replied to your question. Just wanted to make sure that I replied an a way that you would get this message. I have followed cruise critic regularly because we cruise frequently and have received unbelievable help from reading other posts but have never posted myself. I guess I'm learning... Hope this information is helpful to you.

[mytime53]

http://freedomrentalsAK.com

I had to look up their website and was in a hurry when I replied to your question. Just wanted to make sure that I replied an a way that you would get this message. I have followed cruise critic regularly because we cruise frequently and have received unbelievable help from reading other posts but have never posted myself. I guess I'm learning... Hope this information is helpful to you.

 

Thank you so much (and your first answer was fine--I understood perfectly!) for the info.