Premium Parking at the Cruise Terminal (P2603) a Mobile, AL Cruise Terminal ripped me off

[Moondoggy51]

I wanted to give fair warning to anyone who wants to make a reservation with Premium Parking at the Mobile, AL cruise terminal.  I have used the garage before and never had a problem with making an advance reservation as it's much more convenient to not have to wait in line to pay on the day of embarkation but this time I got screwed over.

 

I made my reservation back in January 2024 for a cruise on March 2, 2024 and paid $168.00 up front so after dropping off our luggage we proceeded to the garage entrance only to find it blocked.  Note that it was not blocked because we were too late (we were way early) and it wasn't because it was already full, it was simply closed and not available.  When we found the lot closed we were told that we needed to follow the guides at the exit to an open air overflow lot 2 blocks from the terminal and we walked back as they only had one shuttle van available.  Upon my return from our cruise I sent Premium Parking a request for a refund and my request was denied.  Premium Parking said that they only provide a refunds if the cruise is cancelled or if I had requested a refund at least 1 day prior to our embarkation date.  It would have been nice if they had sent me an email notifying me that the garage was going to be close ahead of time and to seek parking elsewhere but they didn't and I have no recourse and I'm out $168.00.  The next time I'll pay for parking after I get parked in the garage or I'll seek a park and cruise ride to and from a hotel.  

[tonit964]

13 minutes ago, Moondoggy51 said:

I wanted to give fair warning to anyone who wants to make a reservation with Premium Parking at the Mobile, AL cruise terminal.  I have used the garage before and never had a problem with making an advance reservation as it's much more convenient to not have to wait in line to pay on the day of embarkation but this time I got screwed over.

 

I made my reservation back in January 2024 for a cruise on March 2, 2024 and paid $168.00 up front so after dropping off our luggage we proceeded to the garage entrance only to find it blocked.  Note that it was not blocked because we were too late (we were way early) and it wasn't because it was already full, it was simply closed and not available.  When we found the lot closed we were told that we needed to follow the guides at the exit to an open air overflow lot 2 blocks from the terminal and we walked back as they only had one shuttle van available.  Upon my return from our cruise I sent Premium Parking a request for a refund and my request was denied.  Premium Parking said that they only provide a refunds if the cruise is cancelled or if I had requested a refund at least 1 day prior to our embarkation date.  It would have been nice if they had sent me an email notifying me that the garage was going to be close ahead of time and to seek parking elsewhere but they didn't and I have no recourse and I'm out $168.00.  The next time I'll pay for parking after I get parked in the garage or I'll seek a park and cruise ride to and from a hotel.  

I would dispute it with your CC company. You paid for something you did not receive and the parking garage wrongfully denied the refund.

[UGACamper]

That whole particular day was a cluster and that's being kind.  I was also on this cruise and the lot didn't even open until after 1pm due to the situation with the previous cruise being held outside the bay due to the fog.  We had a 6 hour drive to get to the port.  We were actually the very first car in the line on the little side street where you go straight to enter the deck. As this was our first time cruising out of Mobile, we relied on the police to tell us what to do.  They directed us to park here and wait.  About 2 hours later, a port authority security person made us move (but not one other car, but thats another conversation). We went to Waffle House and came back and waited in one of the overflow lots.  After the previous cruise finally docked, we left the overflow lot and started driving circles around the area until the "authorities" would let us in which began about 130pm.  There were plenty of spots available even at 430pm.  Since we were all held in the overflow lots prior to boarding, many people just stayed where they were instead of trying to line up again.  Not one person working the port (police, port authority, etc.) had the same answer of what the procedure was. Happy to report the rest of the cruise was great

 

[CGinMTL]

I was going to say the same thing.

Call your credit card company.

And thank you for letting people know here,

Others will think twice before using this company.

[Saint Greg]

15 minutes ago, CGinMTL said:

I was going to say the same thing.

Call your credit card company.

And thank you for letting people know here,

Others will think twice before using this company.

 

The thing is there aren't many options in Mobile. I think it's basically this lot or a hotel that allows you to park there.

[Moondoggy51]

Thanks everyone for recommending a phone call to my credit card provider (Discover Card).  After speaking with one of their Dispute Representatives they immediately credited me the $168.00 and told me to consider the issue closed unless Premium Parking could establish a better, more fair reason why they denied my refund request.  With that being said, my gut feel is that even though Discover credited me $168.00 not a dime will actually be reimbursed to them by Premium Parking.  I did have to provide Discover with copies of emails and/or documents showing that I had made a good faith attempt to receive the refund from Premium Parking and their denial which was easy as I had emails covering what Discover needed.  

[Oakman58]

In my opinion, Mobile is a NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME cruise port.  I will never sail from that port again.