Car rental?

[mandyc3383]

Hi everyone! I have been researching shore excursions for my upcoming FIRST cruise where we will be stopping at both Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifx, Nova Scotia. From what I understand just outside Saint John is a great scenic area. I would like to explore St. Martins and their sea caves a bit as well as the Fundy Parkway. Although I would love to make the trip to the Hopewell Rocks I don't think that we would have enough time with the alotted time we will be on shore. Carnival does offer an excursion to St. Martins combined with a few more stops. However, I find the price to be outrageous for what you get. I was looking into renting a car once we dock and driving to St. Martins ourselves, allowing us however much time we wish to explore. As well, this way we could drive the Fundy parkway and stop wherever and whenever we wish. I am looking into renting from Avis? Has anyone rented with them before? Would anyone reccomend another car rental agency instead? Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Amanda

[Acey]

Hi everyone! I have been researching shore excursions for my upcoming FIRST cruise where we will be stopping at both Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifx, Nova Scotia. From what I understand just outside Saint John is a great scenic area. I would like to explore St. Martins and their sea caves a bit as well as the Fundy Parkway. Although I would love to make the trip to the Hopewell Rocks I don't think that we would have enough time with the alotted time we will be on shore. Carnival does offer an excursion to St. Martins combined with a few more stops. However, I find the price to be outrageous for what you get. I was looking into renting a car once we dock and driving to St. Martins ourselves, allowing us however much time we wish to explore. As well, this way we could drive the Fundy parkway and stop wherever and whenever we wish. I am looking into renting from Avis? Has anyone rented with them before? Would anyone reccomend another car rental agency instead? Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Amanda

 

Hi Amanda,

Find out which berth your ship will be at here: http://www.cruisesaintjohn.ca/visitsaintjohn/cruiseschedule.asp

 

If it is Pugsley, Avis is basically across the street from the terminal. If your berth is Long Wharf, Enterprise Car Rental and Avis are both a 10 minute walk. I rented from both companies here in Saint John and both are reputable places and are good to deal with.

In a nutshell, if you dock at Pugsley I would rent from Avis. If you dock at Long Wharf, I would base your selection on price or car upgrade offers, etc... Tell them you are shopping around and see what else they can do for you.

[Ephraim]

Hi everyone! I have been researching shore excursions for my upcoming FIRST cruise where we will be stopping at both Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifx, Nova Scotia. From what I understand just outside Saint John is a great scenic area. I would like to explore St. Martins and their sea caves a bit as well as the Fundy Parkway. Although I would love to make the trip to the Hopewell Rocks I don't think that we would have enough time with the alotted time we will be on shore. Carnival does offer an excursion to St. Martins combined with a few more stops. However, I find the price to be outrageous for what you get. I was looking into renting a car once we dock and driving to St. Martins ourselves, allowing us however much time we wish to explore. As well, this way we could drive the Fundy parkway and stop wherever and whenever we wish. I am looking into renting from Avis? Has anyone rented with them before? Would anyone reccomend another car rental agency instead? Any info would be appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Amanda

 

Call you insurance company before you leave and ask if you are covered for Canada. If you are, ask them for an Inter-Canada insurance certificate. Some car rental agencies do ask to see yours if you decline insurance.

[mandyc3383]

Thank you both for your replies! Being the first cruise we've been on there is soooo much to look into! Any help is really appreciated.

[vbmom87]

Call you insurance company before you leave and ask if you are covered for Canada. If you are, ask them for an Inter-Canada insurance certificate. Some car rental agencies do ask to see yours if you decline insurance.

 

Thank you so much for this information. We picked it up today.

[K8sMom]

I called my insurance Co. and was told that we are covered in Canada. I asked them about an Inter-Canada Insurance Certificate and they had never heard of this. I will call the car rental co. and ask if they require this. If they do, my ins. co. said they would come up with something for me.

[Acey]

I called my insurance Co. and was told that we are covered in Canada. I asked them about an Inter-Canada Insurance Certificate and they had never heard of this. I will call the car rental co. and ask if they require this. If they do, my ins. co. said they would come up with something for me.

 

It may be worth the extra $$$ to buy the overpriced insurance the car rental office sells for the day (for example Avis is $24.95 for the day) - that way if there is an accident you can just walk away from the damages without worry or having to deal with insurance companies. This includes if a rock puts a chip in the windshield or someone dings your door at reversing falls parking lot. Most importantly, an accident won't affect your insurance rates back home. If it were for more than one day - I would say use yours, but...

[WWCJR]

In doing research on Saint John I found an interesting web-site

 

http://www.tourismsaintjohn.com/files/fuse.cfm?section=15&screen=234

 

 

It has all kinds of information on rental car companies, buses, and taxis. I found the information about the taxis very interesting. below is an excerpt from that web-site.

 

"When cruise ships are in, there is a standard rate per hour for tours by taxi. Some taxi companies wait dockside. Some drivers have regular tour routes that cover the prime tourist sites. Passengers can also request specific sites. If long distance travelling is desired, rates can be negotiated with the driver.

Rates: $40.00 (Cdn) or $35.00 (US) per hour for one person to 4 passengers"

 

In our case it is going to work out better than a ship tour or renting a car. Plus no worry about getting lost or insurance issues.

 

 

[Acey]

In doing research on Saint John I found an interesting web-site

 

http://www.tourismsaintjohn.com/files/fuse.cfm?section=15&screen=234

 

 

It has all kinds of information on rental car companies, buses, and taxis. I found the information about the taxis very interesting. below is an excerpt from that web-site.

 

"When cruise ships are in, there is a standard rate per hour for tours by taxi. Some taxi companies wait dockside. Some drivers have regular tour routes that cover the prime tourist sites. Passengers can also request specific sites. If long distance travelling is desired, rates can be negotiated with the driver.

Rates: $40.00 (Cdn) or $35.00 (US) per hour for one person to 4 passengers"

 

In our case it is going to work out better than a ship tour or renting a car. Plus no worry about getting lost or insurance issues.

 

 

 

 

I suspect the $USD pricing is outdated as the currencies have been trading roughly at par.

[WWCJR]

I agee that they probably have not updated the site recently but even if the currencies are about equal now it is still a great option.

[vbmom87]

I called my insurance Co. and was told that we are covered in Canada. I asked them about an Inter-Canada Insurance Certificate and they had never heard of this. I will call the car rental co. and ask if they require this. If they do, my ins. co. said they would come up with something for me.

 

Our insurance company (AAA) actually gave us a certificate that says "Inter-Canada Insurance Certificate." It may just be the agent you spoke with. Their corporate office should be familiar with it.