need help with our plans for CA visit in October...

[marshabear]

we are planning a trip out west to CA..so far, we have a cruise booked out of San Pedro on the Norwegian Star...

 

we are planning on flying to the San Francisco area (or other airport if cheaper) a few days before to sightsee , then drive down the coast to get on the ship Saturday morning...we want to stay at the Crowne Plaza if possible ...

 

when i tried to book a rental car and drop off at the Enterprise place at the hotel, they said I can't do that "one way" (since we would pick up the car in the Bay area)...so now what??? where can we drop off a rental car now that we can't use Enterprise??? are there any other places near the port to do this??? and once we do, how to get to the port???

 

after the cruise, we are taking Amtrak back home...but will have several hours before the train leaves...any ideas what to do /where to put luggage until our train leaves???

 

 

thanks in advance,

Marsha

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you do find a rental car agency that will do one-ways (I remember we were able to rent one-way from Budget, but that was almost five years ago), one thing you can do is drop off your group and luggage off at the berth in San Pedro, and then drop off the car at the local office and grab a taxi back to the port.

[kenish]

Enterprise is great, but "no frills". They are usually pretty restrictive about one-way rentals. Some locations do not allow OW at all (mostly the neighborhood offices), while others only allow OW within the general locale. I'm not surprised they don't do long-distance OW rentals. You may need to check with Hertz, Avis, etc. I know it's a pretty popular itenerary so it's definitely do-able.

[Putterdude]

My experience with Enterprise is that I now give them a wide berth, they seem to be particularly bad with one ways although I am surprised that they won't do an in state one way. You may find that the closest to the Crowne Plaza is Avis on Pacific in Long Beach which is about a $20 cab fare from the CP. We stayed at the CP last week and were happy with it.

[littlechief]

I just booked with Enterprise about a month ago for a one way in California. Go on the site and there will be a "1-800" number for one way travel in California. I had to call a few times until I finally found a person that took the extra time to help me. I had wanted to pick up the car in SF and drive to Long Beach...only certain places offer the "one way", so you may have to play around with the location. Just keep calling until you find that one person that is willing to take a few extra minutes to play around with different locations. I booked a one way from SF and will drop off the car in LA. We are also traveling in October. I think the airport locations may be the areas that offer the "one way". I hope this helps. Let me know how you make out...good luck!

[marshabear]

ok, this helps alot...if we book with Avis or Budget, how hard is it to get a cab back to the port or Crowne Plaza and how long would that take???

 

 

Marsha

[Splinter]

See if you can drop off at Long Beach Airport instead with a different company. A cab from there is about $20...a shared shuttle would be even less.

 

How are you getting to the Amtrak station? What time is your train? Give yourself plenty of time for the trip. If you want to eat lunch before you get on the train, you can walk over to the famous Phillippe's, home of the original French Dip for a real old Los Angeles experience.

 

You are also very close to Olvera Street and Chinatown at Union Station.

[yogi2929]

I do not remember seeing any luggage hold in Union Station. The station itself is a dowager from a past age. The tile work in her is absolutely gorgeous. So is the ceiling.

 

The sit down restuarant Traxx is very good and the snack bar is good also. There is an art piece/water feature that has found pieces of 'history in it. We like to sit outside in the garden to wait for our train home.

 

It will take about 45 minutes to get to the station from the pier.

 

http://www.laavenue.com/unionstation.htm

 

FYI- October is the beginning of Fire Season in Southern California.