No St. Thomas rental cars allowed on St. John! UPDATE -

[Anthony]

And anyway - that was fast:

http://stthomassource.com/print/97666

[Florida Girl]

This is great news for everyone! I'll still rent my car on STJ, but I'm happy that those who rent on STT and stop at Cost-U-Less & K-Mart, or who have big families to transport will still have the option to rent on STT and bring their car across on the barge. I agree though, that STJ car rental companies should be allowed to set up shop at the airport, but I guess it's an issue of space.

Question: Why are cars so much more expensive to rent on STJ?

[kristen1206]

Actually, I have found rates at many St. John agencies to be lower than those on St. Thomas (aside from Dependable) But they are all over the place on St. John..i found a 4 door Wrangler from $450 to $510 per week low season. But the higher price I found on St Thomas is ooffset by the taxi and luggage fees and teh convenience factor...espically when traveling with teh family.

[Steve S]

Actually, I have found rates at many St. John agencies to be lower than those on St. Thomas (aside from Dependable) But they are all over the place on St. John..i found a 4 door Wrangler from $450 to $510 per week low season. But the higher price I found on St Thomas is offset by the taxi and luggage fees and the convenience factor...especially when traveling with the family.

I agree with Kristen --The rental cost is really awash and I have seen cheaper prices on STJ. We do not stop for provisions when we rent at the airport (not counting beer for the barge.)The reasons we will never go back (made the switch in 2008) are -

- Taxis are my least favorite transportation mode. That cattle herding at the airport doesn't help.
- The fewer people handling our baggage the better. 0 is a good number since we carry on.
- Driving yourself, travel ends at the airport and island time begins. You are in control.
- We actually like crossing Pillsbury sound on a car barge better than ferry; lots of room, never crowded.
- For my family of 5, airport to STJ cost is markedly less (ferry/taxi vs barge) to the tune of $120 or more RT.

So yes, this hubbub yesterday was a pretty big deal for us.

[mindehankins]

If the ruling goes into effect, I don't think we'll return to St. John. Work schedules don't allow us to book far ahead and all the cars will be taken. Alternatively, the rental companies could raise their prices so high that there will be cars available, but will be more than I'm willing to spend.

And I just don't like that freedom taken away. We were starting to feel comfortable on STT and even enjoy it, since we weren't being raced through the worst neighborhoods in a crabby cabbie's cab to reach the people ferry. We loved taking our time, poking our heads around in places, finding new places on STT. We liked sitting under the palm tree on the car barge, talking to local boys while they ate their McDonald's

We LOVED the service at Amalie, and all of their efforts to make your trip hassle-free. I work in a four diamond casino/resort, and every staff member falls all over themselves to give guests the most fantastic service we can possibly provide. THAT is the way Amalie treats us. They don't get overly chummy. They are kind and polite and 100% professional. Now on our fourth trip to STJ, the thrills of finding our way around are not thrilling. The thrill of finding out way around St. Thomas is now a bigger challenge for us. I could see a time when we spend 1/2 our time on St. Thomas, and 1/2 on St. John
And I REALLY REALLY HATE this kind of stuff coming out of the blue THREE DAYS before our long-awaited journey without any thought or plan how the change would be implemented.
And I worry about what's next on this slippery slope.

[STTlover]

Minde, the Governer squashed the ruling indefinitly, so no worries:) You'll still be able to get your car and take it over on the ferry in the future. Our voices were heard and it looks like they will be looking in to other alternatives to increase STJ's rental car business.

[GotToGetAway]

I am thankful for how this turned out (after 1 crazy day for me).

But, I am curious if this means that St. John car rental companies will start allowing their vehicles to be taken to St. Thomas? I ask in curiousity only, not that I would be expecting it to happen a lot.

[jimg20]

Although they supposedly killed the idea, I am not convinced that it will not come back. I sent the following message to the Tourism Board before I found out that the Governor killed it:

I just sent the following message to your BMV:

"Your prohibition of bringing rental cars from STT to STJ has just ruined the vacation market. We will have difficulty finding an available car due to all the people who used to rent on STT having to compete with us for cars on STJ.
Even if we find a car, we'll have to pay higher rates because the STJ companies will not have to compete with STT companies. Thanks a lot. We are going to the BVI from now on."

You need to know that we will not come back until this is permanently resolved. A suspension of the rules or a grace peroiod where it is not enforced will not do it for us.

We have enjoyed our many trips to STT and STJ, but that is over. We will be going to BVI from now until you fix the problem.

JIM

[jcm]

Wow. The BEST car rental company ever! We returned home yesterday, renting the
car in St Thomas and taking it to St. John. So much easier. I hope the issues
are resolved for sure. The service from Amalie was superb and we had a really
nice new car.

[WSUbeachcoug]

We travel from the West Coast and love Amalie and Magdalena! Last trip with multiple cars,kids and grandchild they made the whole process so easy.
I appreciate the extra mile they went for us!!
I do not fly southwest airlines because of feeling cattle car and that is how I feel about the taxi system at the airport. If this becomes a issue again not sure what I will do. I love st john but it is already a long trip for us.
I wish I could love Hawaii, but it is not the same for me.