Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Car Rental in Dec 16 for the day

cessnabmw

By cessnabmw,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

 Share

Recommended Posts

bauermj

bauermj

Posted
Posted
So these places have booths at the pier and shuttle their passengers?

 

I'm curious about this too. I've heard Avis is no longer at the pier. I have a reservation near the airport at the Avis PH3 location, going to need to research if there is a shuttle available as taxis both way may not make that one day $50 SUV rental worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
I'm curious about this too. I've heard Avis is no longer at the pier. I have a reservation near the airport at the Avis PH3 location, going to need to research if there is a shuttle available as taxis both way may not make that one day $50 SUV rental worth it.

 

I don't ever remember reading about there being a company that shuttles people to the airport to get their car. Hopefully those that said there are companies that do this will share the names with the rest of us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenhem31

Jenhem31

Posted
Posted
We've used Coastal Car Rental many times. They are conveniently located right at the pier. The offer a GPS for only $5. It will have all your sights preprogrammed. It's very easy to drive in St. Marteen. You can have a great day driving on your own. Coastal has nice vehicles and they are very friendly. They have you on your way in no time.

 

 

Will I be able to find them easily at the pier? First time in St. Martin.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Will I be able to find them easily at the pier? First time in St. Martin.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We are using them for the first time too and based on my emails with them they are right there and very easy to find. Paid a $15 deposit via PayPal and also paid the $5 for the GPS for the day.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Just booked a car with Coastal for next week. Thanks for the tip. It's only about $50, and we spent $100 on a car in Grand Cayman.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

What date are you booking for? Our total comes to $70 for a small car. Probably because of a higher season rate.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
We booked with Coastal as they are at the Port. I called Avis and they confirmed that you have to take a shuttle to the rental.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

 

Did Avis tell you where they shuttle you to? Is it all the way at the airport?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Did Avis tell you where they shuttle you to? Is it all the way at the airport?

 

Yes. They said close to the airport. I felt that we didn't want to waste time with shuttles. We only have the day there, why waste some of it.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenhem31

Jenhem31

Posted
Posted (edited)
What date are you booking for? Our total comes to $70 for a small car. Probably because of a higher season rate.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

 

We booked for the 13th of November. I think the total with the "port fee" was $60. We got a small car as well although the Jeep was tempting!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by Jenhem31
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We booked for the 13th of November. I think the total with the "port fee" was $60. We got a small car as well although the Jeep was tempting!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Awesome! Hope you have an amazing time. Would appreciate if you could post back when you return with a review of the rental as well as maybe tips on driving and traffic, etc.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenhem31

Jenhem31

Posted
Posted
Awesome! Hope you have an amazing time. Would appreciate if you could post back when you return with a review of the rental as well as maybe tips on driving and traffic, etc.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

 

Will do!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
Yes. They said close to the airport. I felt that we didn't want to waste time with shuttles. We only have the day there, why waste some of it.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

 

As long as the pier locations don't have too much of a line-up it makes sense not to waste time on a shuttle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenhem31

Jenhem31

Posted
Posted
I made reservation last night.

 

Only email I got was from PayPal (for deposit).

 

So I did not receive confirmation number from Coastal Car Rental.

 

Maybe I need to wait until the rental company receiving money from PayPal?

 

 

I did get a confirmation email from Coastal right away. I also got an email after the payment was processed, so if you don't get one by tomorrow I would reach out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jade08

Jade08

Posted
Posted
I did get a confirmation email from Coastal right away. I also got an email after the payment was processed, so if you don't get one by tomorrow I would reach out.

 

I made booking last night.

 

And I did receive the confirmation email from Coastal this afternoon.

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dodger1964

dodger1964

Posted
Posted

We have rented many times at the pier. Used hertz and coastal. Both easy to deal with.

 

To find the rental building, walk off ship, exit pier, turn right and walk straight ahead. U can't miss it.

 

 

We haven't rented outside of pier, but an airport shuttle wouldn't actually be that bad of a deal. (Assuming the shuttle brings u back to the ship!!). You are inevitably going to drive past the airport anyway, it would just change the timing of your route. The airport is near Margot.

 

We have a car reserved for stop next week. Still not sure if going to keep reservation, or just take taxi. For two of us cost is a little cheaper to taxi for what we are going to do. For 4 people, rental is almost always cheaper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dodger1964

dodger1964

Posted
Posted

yes, just before you get back to the turn into the port area there is a station...(less than 1/2 block away ish).

 

there are many other stations throughout island also, but that one is convenient to port. (try to remember to look for it when leaving the port...it will be on your left as you are leaving port area)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jenhem31

Jenhem31

Posted
Posted (edited)
Awesome! Hope you have an amazing time. Would appreciate if you could post back when you return with a review of the rental as well as maybe tips on driving and traffic, etc.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

 

Our rental with Coastal could not have gone any smoother. They were extremely friendly and helpful. Saundra gave us a map and also pointed out all of the good beaches and hot spots. She asked what our plans were for the day and made suggestions. Very friendly. We did end up renting a GPS for $5 and David made sure it was all set in English and showed us the pre loaded directions to the popular spots.

 

The cars are all across the street and Saundra drove us over and checked out the car and everything. Off we went.

 

Navigating the island was fairly easy, though I'm glad we rented the GPS as our first stop was Maho Beach which would have been tricky on our own. We did have an international data plan for our phones, but it wasn't unlimited so it would have probably sucked us dry if we had used GPS on our phones.

 

We basically just got in the car and drove. We drove all over the French side which was beautiful. Upon return the gentlemen at the parking lot just radioed Saundra and she came and picked us up to go back to the office. We waited maybe 5 minutes.

 

We are looking at taking a vacation to St. Maarten for maybe a week and will absolutely rent from them again. I would recommend them to anyone.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by Jenhem31
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cessnabmw

cessnabmw

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Our rental with Coastal could not have gone any smoother. They were extremely friendly and helpful. Saundra gave us a map and also pointed out all of the good beaches and hot spots. She asked what our plans were for the day and made suggestions. Very friendly. We did end up renting a GPS for $5 and David made sure it was all set in English and showed us the pre loaded directions to the popular spots.

 

The cars are all across the street and Saundra drove us over and checked out the car and everything. Off we went.

 

Navigating the island was fairly easy, though I'm glad we rented the GPS as our first stop was Maho Beach which would have been tricky on our own. We did have an international data plan for our phones, but it wasn't unlimited so it would have probably sucked us dry if we had used GPS on our phones.

 

We basically just got in the car and drove. We drove all over the French side which was beautiful. Upon return the gentlemen at the parking lot just radioed Saundra and she came and picked us up to go back to the office. We waited maybe 5 minutes.

 

We are looking at taking a vacation to St. Maarten for maybe a week and will absolutely rent from them again. I would recommend them to anyone.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for posting back!!

 

We have also booked GPS to use. Glad to know that it will come in handy.

 

Did yo uonly Drive on the French side?

 

Where did you fill up gas to return the vehicle?

 

Did you go to any other beaches or sites?

 

How was the traffic?

 

We are there from 9am to 6pm and hope to do this route:

 

Philipsburg--> Orient Beach --> Marigot --> Sarafina --> Mullet Bay --> Maho Beach -->Simpson Bay --> Philipsburg

 

 

Is it doable for the day?

 

Any tips on places to eat? Shopping?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CFC

CFC

Posted
Posted

Thanks all, I booked a car with Coastal this morning and added the GPS. Arriving on Jan 2, 2015 on the RCL Adventure of the Seas.

 

Travelling with my 9 year old son. If you have any ideas please let me know.

 

Would like to see Marigot, have a nice lunch, nice beach, Maho, and anything else you can think of.

 

Thank you all,

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...