Has anyone rented cars using NCL shore excursions?

[j-9]

Hi,

We are going to be on PoAl in Feb and have booked a shore excursion car rental for each port. I think this is a new offering by NCL, and was wondering if anyone has done this yet, and if so how it worked out.

Any details about companies used, how long it took to get the car, what paperwork was required, whether the passengers as well as the drivers could go in the shuttles to pick up/drop off the car, ... would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[thunderfox]

I'm curious too... I've priced minivans externally and in every case they seem to be more than what NCL offers as an "excursion" deal...???

[mailbroad]

I would like to know as well! It seem so easy to do it through NCL!

[j-9]

Anyone off this week's cruises tried it? It would be good to know how NCL handles it.

Thanks

[mitsguy2001]

My girlfriend called NCL, and they told her that if you book through the NCL excursion, you can pick up the car at the port, and don't have to use a shuttle. Since that seems much more convenient, we are attempting to book it (but are running into some glitches, but I'm sure we can get them fixed).

[olgi1966]

I called NCL excursions and asked about their "at your leisure" rental cars... they told me the same, so I booked rentals in Kauai, Hilo and Maui. I already had a reservation with Thrifty, but waited for the confirmation from NCL before cancelling -- good thing.

 

Got a confirmation and had to call cause they booked 2 on each of the cars which they didn't need to do... only 1 car will be rented. I confirmed the shuttles to and from and then that girl told me the rentals were only for 4 hours at each port!! :eek: Said I was better off renting with Thrifty or another company... so I cancelled that and kept my Thrifty reservations!

 

We're on Pride of Alhoa 3/11/07.... Better double-check with NCL to make sure.

[darthwolf]

can someone provide a link to the NCL excursions car rental? can't seem to find it on the http://www.ncl.com. Or do we book over the phone?

 

thanks

[KBG]

The car rentals are not listed with the other shore excursions. You need to download the entire list of Hawaii excurions at http://164.109.173.140/shorex/pricing/index.htm#hawaii to see all the options and prices. Hope this helps!

 

KBG

[trstr]

We rented from thrifty at each port. Went over Xmas and new year. For a minivan it usually ran about 80 a day (but in Honolulu got it for 55) We used discount car rental in Hawaii without any problems. Signed up for the blue chip and got in and out fast (in Maui the line for regular customers was long while blue chip was walk and be served) The discount car rental rates also included an extra driver like your spouse at no additional charge. The shutttles met you at the pier and took My family and I to the counter quickly and the took you back at the end of the day. Did not know about the NCL service (may be new) but this seemed like a no brainer.

[j-9]

I spoke to someone at shoreex yesterday. He confirmed the 4 hour rental period, which is crazy, so I cancelled my reservations. After I thought about it some more, I thought that the cruise line would probably sell the 4 hours in the afternoon as well, if they really wanted to make money. Why only get $39 when you can get $78?

I phoned back this morning and another person told me that this is "absolutely not true, and that the rental is for the entire day", and asked who I had been speaking to the day before. Hopefully they will sort it out. I asked her to rebook the cars. I'm running on faith at this point. Cross your fingers for me...

And I know the Thrifty's thing is easy, and I know there is the super discount rental code. I guess I'm just lazy. If we miss a port or we decide we need to have a day of down time, I don't what to have to bother trying to cancel the car reservation.

[Bettyboop66]

How do you call the shore excursion people? We are also looking at renting a car and would love to deal with the cruise line if possible but have read some scary posts about renting through the cruise line. Thanks for the help.

[j-9]

Hi, the shore excursion phone number is 1-866-625-1167. Down at the bottom of the NCL.com website there is a link call "contact us", that has the phone numbers to call for different things.

 

Post what answers you get from them, I hope they figure it out soon.

[Bettyboop66]

Thanks for the help J-9 guess I should have opened my eyes.LOL I will be calling in the next day or so and I will post whatever I find out.

[mitsguy2001]

My girlfriend called NCL, and she was told that the rental is for a full day, and the 4 hours is the minimum time, not maximum. Can anyone confirm if that is true? Why would they have a minimum?

 

Also, how does this work as far as insurance. Does the insurance that I have for my car cover us? Does NCL's price include insurance?

 

Thanks.

[puablo]

I called NCL and they told me that you just can't keep it overnight, and the people on the ship will tell you when you need to have the car back. They said 4 hours is minimum, and it makes no sense as to why they would even have such a thing. I simply stated that I wanted it all day in Kauai and they said that I could, but it might have to be back by 6, 7, maybe 10, they really don't know, it's at the ship's discretion. Another worthless call to NCL ShoreX. I'm just going to not return the car until I'm good and ready. :)

[spleenstomper]

I booked a convertible in Honolulu before the cruise with Thrifty for 54.00 a day (I think like 63.00 total with unlimited miles) and then I booked a convertible through NCL for Maui and the confirmation said $142.00 for the SAME class of car (NCL books the price of the car times the amount of people on the "leisure day" excursion)! So I cancelled that one and rebooked a convertible in Maui for $63.00 total for all day.

[puablo]

You only need to book one person for the car rental at NCL, the website defaults to both passengers and doubles the rental if you're not careful. A phone call will fix it. NCL did tell me it's a 4 hour minimum but could not give me an answer on maximum length and they told me I'd have to take a shuttle to the car. I am keeping a Thrifty reservation open as well until I can find out with certainty what the NCL process is like. May just go Thrifty anyways, it's slightly cheaper.

[mitsguy2001]

You only need to book one person for the car rental at NCL, the website defaults to both passengers and doubles the rental if you're not careful. A phone call will fix it. NCL did tell me it's a 4 hour minimum but could not give me an answer on maximum length and they told me I'd have to take a shuttle to the car. I am keeping a Thrifty reservation open as well until I can find out with certainty what the NCL process is like. May just go Thrifty anyways, it's slightly cheaper.

 

They told you that you have to take a shuttle to the car?? I was told that the car could be picked up at the pier, which I thought was the whole purpose of renting the car through NCL. Can anyone confirm how it really works? Also, do I have to actually show up at the exact time that shows up on the excursion form? Or whenever I want, as long as it's later? Thanks.

[RSWBADGER]

They told you that you have to take a shuttle to the car?? I was told that the car could be picked up at the pier, which I thought was the whole purpose of renting the car through NCL. Can anyone confirm how it really works? Also, do I have to actually show up at the exact time that shows up on the excursion form? Or whenever I want, as long as it's later? Thanks.

 

We have not yet had a cruiser post a comment yet that has rented a car through NCL, this would be extremely helpfull.

 

Thrifty's Maui location, do you get shuttled to the airport?, how far?, I cannot find any other Kahului Thrifty locations.

[beachchick]

They told you that you have to take a shuttle to the car?? I was told that the car could be picked up at the pier, which I thought was the whole purpose of renting the car through NCL. Can anyone confirm how it really works? Also, do I have to actually show up at the exact time that shows up on the excursion form? Or whenever I want, as long as it's later? Thanks.

 

Security is extremely tight at the ports these days. When we took the car rental shuttles back after dropping off, everyone in the shuttle had to show both regular picture ID and ship ID before the shuttle was even allowed past the first pier security (not NCL) check points. I do not think that the rental company would be allowed to have cars waiting at the pier for you. Unattended cars cannot be left at the pier, and there is no overnight parking at the piers either.

 

If they have somehow worked out a deal where your car is delivered to the pier, that would explain the high prices. It would be a really big deal to get those cars in and out. I don't know for sure that they don't bring them right to the pier, but we never saw any on our PoH cruise. There are no car rental companies with permanent locations right at the piers.

 

I don't know how the reservation times work with rentals through the cruise line, but if you rent through the car companies, earlier is better. During busy times, they may have rented "your" car out to someone else if you arrive more than 30 minutes to an hour later than your reserved time. At that point, you can be considered a no-show, and there are often people (cruise pax and otherwise) hoping to rent a car last minute. However, if you get to the rental company earlier than you reservation, you can almost always get your car early.

 

 

Edited: I'm almost always sceptical about what "they" tell us on the phone. Often, they have incorrect information, and it doesn't matter what the CS or Shore Ex phone reps tell you, it only matters how it is actually handled at the ports. (Sad but true.)

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

We have not yet had a cruiser post a comment yet that has rented a car through NCL, this would be extremely helpfull.

 

Thrifty's Maui location, do you get shuttled to the airport?, how far?, I cannot find any other Kahului Thrifty locations.

 

That's correct, there are no other Thrifty locations in Kahului except at the airport. (This is true for most companies at most ports; the airport is going to be the closest and usually only location.)

 

Yes, you get shuttled to the airport location.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

sorry double

 

beachchick

[Bettyboop66]

When I called NCL, I was told that the rental was for the entire day but you did have to take a shuttle to get the car. I don't really see any advantage to booking through the ship especially with all the conflicting answers from NCL. I think we'll be booking on our own so that we will be sure of what we are getting. Thanks to everyone for the help.

Betty

[RSWBADGER]

Security is extremely tight at the ports these days. When we took the car rental shuttles back after dropping off, everyone in the shuttle had to show both regular picture ID and ship ID before the shuttle was even allowed past the first pier security (not NCL) check points. I do not think that the rental company would be allowed to have cars waiting at the pier for you. Unattended cars cannot be left at the pier, and there is no overnight parking at the piers either.

 

If they have somehow worked out a deal where your car is delivered to the pier, that would explain the high prices. It would be a really big deal to get those cars in and out. I don't know for sure that they don't bring them right to the pier, but we never saw any on our PoH cruise. There are no car rental companies with permanent locations right at the piers.

 

I don't know how the reservation times work with rentals through the cruise line, but if you rent through the car companies, earlier is better. During busy times, they may have rented "your" car out to someone else if you arrive more than 30 minutes to an hour later than your reserved time. At that point, you can be considered a no-show, and there are often people (cruise pax and otherwise) hoping to rent a car last minute. However, if you get to the rental company earlier than you reservation, you can almost always get your car early.

 

 

Edited: I'm almost always sceptical about what "they" tell us on the phone. Often, they have incorrect information, and it doesn't matter what the CS or Shore Ex phone reps tell you, it only matters how it is actually handled at the ports. (Sad but true.)

 

beachchick

 

Can any recent cruisers answer this, I have a 2 day rental coming up in Maui (Kahului) in March and have read you can park your car by the pier at night. :confused:

[beachchick]

Can any recent cruisers answer this, I have a 2 day rental coming up in Maui (Kahului) in March and have read you can park your car by the pier at night. :confused:

 

By the pier, yes. At the pier, no. You'll have to park (I believe there is a parking lot right by the pier) and then walk to the ship. There is a large fenced area all around the cruise ship dock. NO private cars are allowed to park there, and all vehicles entering the area have to be cleared by port security.

 

beachchick