Leaving car in Fulton Street NOLA extra day

[KatieCharlotte]

Has anyone left their car in the Fulton Street garage after returning from a cruise, to explore the city all day? Is there a problem getting your car out hours after the cruise ships have debarked, if the lot is for cruise parking only? I emailed the company last week but have not received a response.

Otherwise, I'm going to need other parking for the day. We plan to leave the city around 6 p.m.

[jgmpuma]

Fulton is not just for cruise passengers, so you should have no problem, but ask them when you check in.

 

If they happen to be full, there are several other parking lots on Convention Center Blvd.

[KatieCharlotte]

I wanted to offer a review and a warning for those considering using Fulton garage when parking in NOLA.

 

I booked rooftop parking online. 6 days for $8/day plus a $5 reservation fee and taxes -- still under $60. We were directed to a covered level and parking was simple. As we drove in, we mentioned that we paid for a sixth day because we were going to leave the car while we enjoyed the city all day. We were told this was no problem and given no further instructions. My husband took the ticket and I did not look at it. Waiting for a shuttle was a bit chaotic because many post-cruise people were standing around waiting for their cars to be brought down, but going to the port was relatively smooth.

 

After the cruise, we self-disembarked and were ahead of the crowds when we grabbed a shuttle back to the garage. We explained our plans and were allowed to bring our suitcases up to our car. We tipped extra for this and were again reassured that it was fine to leave our car for the day. Then we walked off to enjoy our day.

 

When I reserved parking on the website, I indicated that we would be there until 4 p.m. I assumed it was probably like most parking or car rental reservations, where time is considered an estimate and the number of days is the important thing, but we made sure to be back to the car by 3:30 p.m. just in case. We fed the ticket in the machine to leave.

 

The gate did not open and the machine indicated that we owed $140. :eek: Fortunately, the woman I had spoken to five days earlier when we entered happened to be walking by at that moment, and I called her over. She explained that the tickets expire at 3 p.m. and the garage had nothing to do with what was done online. I explained that I had paid for SIX days and it had been five days and five hours. She overrode the gate but "warned" us "for future reference" that the tickets expire at 3 p.m. It would have been nice had they warned us one of the times that we told them we were leaving the car for the rest of the day. Or when I emailed the garage a month earlier, to make sure we would have no problems, and they never responded.

 

Because everything else went fine and the price was right, I would recommend the lot if you plan to leave right after your cruise returns, but I would not recommend the lot for any "outside the box" parking plans.

 

Edited to add: And yes, I had printed an email confirmation indicating that I had booked through 4 p.m., which I showed when we entered the garage and was ready to get out when we got stuck at the gate.

Edited April 13, 2015 by KatieCharlotte

[NightOne]

I wanted to offer a review and a warning for those considering using Fulton garage when parking in NOLA.

 

I booked rooftop parking online. 6 days for $8/day plus a $5 reservation fee and taxes -- still under $60. We were directed to a covered level and parking was simple. As we drove in, we mentioned that we paid for a sixth day because we were going to leave the car while we enjoyed the city all day. We were told this was no problem and given no further instructions. My husband took the ticket and I did not look at it.

 

I think that is where things might have become a problem. (pulling that ticket)

 

I parked for 8 days (one day before our cruise). Pulling the ticket is for those parking on daily rates and other non pre-paid rates. When you enter with your pre-paid parking and show them your receipt they hand you a slip that you put on your dash. When I drove up, I did not pull a ticket and just went up to park. I think you just drive to the left of it or they open the gate for you. (don't recall exactly)

 

When I exited, I just showed them the slip of paper that was on my dash and off I went. I definitely did not have any issues like that.

 

At least that is how I remember it. :)

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[KatieCharlotte]

I think that is where things might have become a problem. (pulling that ticket)

 

I parked for 8 days (one day before our cruise). Pulling the ticket is for those parking on daily rates and other non pre-paid rates. When you enter with your pre-paid parking and show them your receipt they hand you a slip that you put on your dash. When I drove up, I did not pull a ticket and just went up to park. I think you just drive to the left of it or they open the gate for you. (don't recall exactly)

 

When I exited, I just showed them the slip of paper that was on my dash and off I went. I definitely did not have any issues like that.

 

At least that is how I remember it. :)

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear. We did not pull a ticket. We showed them our receipt and they handed us a slip to place on our dash. I referred to it as a "ticket" only because their employee did so. When we were exiting, there was no one to show the slip to until the woman walked by. Since we saw no one, we tried putting the slip into the machine and got the $140 message. The woman who then appeared was very insistent that our "ticket" expired but she was letting us go this one time.

Edited April 13, 2015 by KatieCharlotte

[NightOne]

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear. We did not pull a ticket. We showed them our receipt and they handed us a slip to place on our dash. I referred to it as a "ticket" only because their employee did so. When we were exiting, there was no one to show the slip to until the woman walked by. Since we saw no one, we tried putting the slip into the machine and got the $140 message. The woman who then appeared was very insistent that our "ticket" expired but she was letting us go this one time.

 

 

Oh, OK.

 

I had no issues getting out but then again I didn't stick that slip in anything but the trash bag in my vehicle as I was leaving.

 

Also, I kept an extra copy of my receipt in the vehicle in case any problems arose. (luckily they did not)