Avis on Hornby St after cruise

[bluewater1298]

We have a rental car reserved with Avis on Hornby St after our cruise. On the map it looks like a .05 mile walk. Would this be difficult with luggage? There are four of us, so we could send one for the car while the others wait with our luggage. Is there a good place to wait? Depending on how long it takes at Avis, it could be awhile before they return with the car.

 

Anyone done this before? Just curious which is the best way.

[xlxo]

AVIS has an desk and shuttle from the cruise terminal. AVIS likes to watch their customers wait for their FREE shuttle.

 

I guess it's better than Hertz which likes to see their customers drag their luggage three blocks.

 

Consider National, Enterprise and Alamo... they have a small fleet at the cruise terminal. Book early to secure those luggage friendly minivans.

[Urban trekker]

The walk up to the Avis location on Hornby will be a slight uphill haul so unless you want to wait for the free shuttle - you could send one person to pick up the rental and have the rest wait for you - if the weather is nice outside the cruise terminal would be best - that way you don't have to wait for the car to go down the ramp into the terminal area.

 

Just a thought.

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

[bluewater1298]

Thanks so much for the replies! I didn't know they had a shuttle. We can send one person ahead and the other three can wait on the shuttle or if it's a nice day wait outside the terminal. I did look at the rental agencies at the cruise terminal but the price was a lot more for an airport drop-off. Glad to know Avis has a shuttle. Thanks again!

[xlxo]

I recommend piling everyone into the shuttle.... or catch a cab to the AVIS office if you can't wait (I heard the cab lines can be busy too).

 

Returning to the cruise terminal for exfil can be congested with other cruisers embarking/debarking... in addition to the congestion... do you plan to pay for parking? At street level, tour buses will be competing with you too. The fun really begins on days with multiple boats are loading/unloading.

Edited April 8, 2016 by xlxo

[bluewater1298]

Thanks! You're right. There probably will be a big traffic jam around the terminal.

 

Just curious if anyone has rented from Avis. I read that the cars are located in a hotel parking garage below. I wondered if we could get the keys to the vehicle, put our luggage in it and then walk around town for awhile. I would definitely ask before doing so, but just wondered if it was possible.

 

We are arriving on a Saturday and I read that all public parking garages in downtown are $10 for the day on the weekends. There are a few close by that we could go to if we can't leave it where it is. It's no big deal about moving it, just curious if it could be left for an hour or so.

 

We haven't made definite plans yet. We talked about going to Stanley Park as well. Our plane leaves at 5:00 PM.

[martincath]

Thanks! You're right. There probably will be a big traffic jam around the terminal.

 

Just curious if anyone has rented from Avis. I read that the cars are located in a hotel parking garage below. I wondered if we could get the keys to the vehicle, put our luggage in it and then walk around town for awhile. I would definitely ask before doing so, but just wondered if it was possible.

 

We are arriving on a Saturday and I read that all public parking garages in downtown are $10 for the day on the weekends. There are a few close by that we could go to if we can't leave it where it is. It's no big deal about moving it, just curious if it could be left for an hour or so.

 

We haven't made definite plans yet. We talked about going to Stanley Park as well. Our plane leaves at 5:00 PM.

There are some parking bargains downtown on weekends, but not ALL garages. The major ones, run by Impark/Westpark/Vinci do have online listings so you can check pricing in advance.

 

Also, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES leave your stuff in a car unless the trunk fully conceals all of the contents (i.e. an old-school sedan rather than a minivan or hatchback with the trunk just a space behind the back seat visible from outside the car). Theft from autos is endemic, especially downtown, and a whole bunch of cruise luggage will look really tempting...

Edited April 9, 2016 by martincath

[xlxo]

Agreed.... here's the latest heat map for break-in's.... and cruise season has not started yet. Criminals will be focused on parking lots with tourist luggage.

http://vancouver.ca/police/crimemaps/

 

Just curious if anyone has rented from Avis. I read that the cars are located in a hotel parking garage below. I wondered if we could get the keys to the vehicle, put our luggage in it and then walk around town for awhile. I would definitely ask before doing so, but just wondered if it was possible.

 

We are arriving on a Saturday and I read that all public parking garages in downtown are $10 for the day on the weekends. There are a few close by that we could go to if we can't leave it where it is. It's no big deal about moving it, just curious if it could be left for an hour or so.

 

We haven't made definite plans yet. We talked about going to Stanley Park as well. Our plane leaves at 5:00 PM.

Thoughts.... for a same day departure.... I would pay $40 at the cruise terminal have your bags forwarded to the airport (4 bags max). Cheaper than a car rental.

 

5pm departure? You need to be at the airport at 2pm for customs and security searches. You need to be thinking about leaving downtown at 1:15pm. Having a rental car for 4 hours is kinda limiting.

[bluewater1298]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know about the crime rate. I actually reserved the car 9 months ago ($50 total and then sharing with another couple). At that time our flight left the next morning. Original plan was to get rental, take luggage to hotel and then go sightseeing. Airline changed our flight times so much that we had to change to leave on Sat. We thought even for the few hours we had, it was cheaper to keep the rental and we would have more flexibility.

 

Thanks! You have given us more to think about. We will arrive May 28th. Rental is not paid for so we can cancel anytime.