The REAL deal on renting a vehicle in St. John
Interview with Dale of Cool Breeze Jeep Rental
Jen: Okay here is the million dollar question. Which is better Jeep or Car?
Dale: Jeep is always better. You have more options with a jeep especially in St. John.
Jen: Do you allow visitors to take their vehicles over to St.Thomas?
Dale: Absolutely no no.
Jen: Is that pretty standard or is that just a policy that Cool Breeze has.
Dale: Yes is standard. I think all of us St.John Rental companies got together to make that a blanket policy.
Jen:Â What do your customers need to be aware of before they rent a jeep on St.John and head off on their vacation adventure?
Dale: Oh, well, I think to be safe. Wear your seat belt. Get to know your car. Go slow. Be careful where you park.
Jen: What about drinking? There’s no open liquor law in the VI and people say, you can be in your car and have a drink in your hand as long as your seat belt is on.
Dale: Well, if someone walks up to our kiosk to rent a vehicle regardless of whether or not they have a reservation and they have a drink in their hand, we won’t rent to them. Get rid of the drink first. Why would we rent to someone who is drinking and driving?!  Of course we don’t give people breath-a-lizers, but we really don’t recommend drinking and driving here.
Jen:Â You have a slogan at Cool Breeze. What is it?
Dale: We do. Its “Drink Right, Drive Left”. I usually have t-shirts with this slogan but I’m sold out.
Jen: It’s a good message. I noticed in the past couple of years that you have an updated version of the little Suzuki side kicks that were so popular years ago. My first car here 20 years ago was one of those little “tin can” Suzuki Samurais. In fact, I had 2 of them!  Is there a trend going away from the big SUV to a smaller compact?
Dale: Well, if there are only 2 people then the little jeeps are perfect.  You can get into tighter spaces, gas milage is a bit better.  But more than that it’s not as comfortable as the SUVs because they are only 2 doors. Sometimes if people have kids then that’s okay because kids are flexible and can fit in the back easily.
Jen: (laughs) Yes, kids are a bit like rubber aren’t they.
Dale: Yes, they’re very flexible and can get in and out of the jeeps without too much difficulty! But when you get 4 or more big people, especially adults the SUVs are better.
Jen: Is there a big price difference between the little cars and the big ones?
Dale: Only about $10/day.
Jen: So that’s not much. How do your prices compare to the other rentals on St.John?
Dale: We’re all pretty close. I’d say $5 either way. There are some that may be $5 less and some $5 more. We are in the middle.
