a few questions for those who have sailed on the LOS recently

I have done several searches and haven't found any recent posts, most from 2007 - 2015, so was hoping those of you who have sailed since the new terminal opened can help me.

I have avoided sailing out of Galveston due to reading that it is a nightmare, but maybe the new terminal would make it better. Just wondering what we can expect now.

We plan to take a private car service (any recommendations?) from Houston to Galveston and back - how long should we expect the trip to be?

Has the new terminal made getting on and off the ship any better?

From what I've read, those are the 2 main issues that have made people say never again to Galveston - anything else we should be aware of?

any thoughts are greatly appreciated, I try to make it as stress free as possible, and know that things happen, but if it is normally a frustrating situation we may need to re-think it. thank you!

... We plan to take a private car service (any recommendations?) from Houston to Galveston and back - how long should we expect the trip to be?...

With regard to how long the trip will take, Houston is a very large city, where are you starting from?

Check out the Gulf Coast Departures forum for recommendations on car services:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

we didn't know it was a "new" terminal, but getting on and off was a breeze.

Can't comment on the car, as we took a chartered bus, and there *was* quite a bit of traffic that we got stuck in (probably 20 minutes from outside of the gates, until where we were dropped off). . . but once we were parked and got off the bus, despite the long lines in the terminal, we moved quickly and were on the ship in less than 45 minutes (moving the entire time. . never got stopped to wait for anything).

hope that helps!

I'm one of those that will never sail out of Galveston again and booked our next cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I address a few of your questions in my review. Loved the cruise, didn't like the cruise port so much.

We used Galveston Limousine Shuttle. It was the cheapest transportation available if booked online and that part went well.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2459529

oh sorry, I had more details then I shortened the post, we will stay near Hobby.

I will try that board again, maybe I used the wrong words in my search request Thx!

oh sorry, I had more details then I shortened the post, we will stay near Hobby.

 

I will try that board again, maybe I used the wrong words in my search request Thx!

I would budget 45-60 minutes from Hobby to the port.

We stayed in galveston over night and took a shuttle to the port. I've heard others say limo service from thr airport works out well.

We had no issues getting on or off other than the shiPhone itself stopped announcing departure groups and we found out they let all numbers depart.

We arrived at around 10am, were in a holding area by 1045, and on the ship by 1130. We were the secoND gold group to get on.

The only real major problem that I know about galveston is sometimes there's heavy fog which can deny your cruise or cut it short. They also have limited alcohol selections until you reach international waters.

bert425 - thx! glad to hear it kept moving, that just seems to make it less strressful.

mellowjourney - thanks, I will read your review. I had looked at Galveston Limo before, will definitely take a look again.

clarea - thx! we like to get to the port early, not sure if that will mean even more traffic with everyone else doing the same, or it won't start til later.

cstimmons -we considered staying in Galveston but won't arrive til after 5:30 so thought we'd better stay in Houston. Your wait, not too bad, longer than others, but there's always something. Fog, another reason to consider a different port.....how long to the international waters? thank you!

I'm one of those that will never sail out of Galveston again and booked our next cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I address a few of your questions in my review. Loved the cruise, didn't like the cruise port so much.

 

We used Galveston Limousine Shuttle. It was the cheapest transportation available if booked online and that part went well.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2459529

Interestingly I would equate it to going out of Ft Lauderdale, minus the distance to the airport. The flow of traffic in and out is very similar. Terminal was fine. We were on the ship in @ 15 mins.

We didn't experience any fog thank goodness which I am sure would totally change my answer, but our experience was one of the better we have had. Liberty in general (including getting on and off) was so great we are doing Liberty again with all of our extended family next Feb.

As for transport we used Super Shuttle, but are likely going to use Galveston Express with our larger group upcoming.

Fog is most common from Jan. thru' March. We usually cruise in Sept., Dec, and May. Never saw fog during those dates. The new terminal is a breeze. We have gone out of Galveston many times and will continue to do so. We now fly into Hobby, stay at a nearby hotel, then take either Cruise Connection or Galveston Express to the port the next morning. There are several dependable shuttles to choose from. We then take the RCI shuttle after the cruise back to Hobby. It will get you there sooner than some of the private shuttles, as some of them do not pick up at the port until 9:30. We have always been to Hobby by 10 AM.

Oh, well that's good to know! We will be cruising in May so will plan on no fog! :D

so the shuttles, do you stop at many places on your way? We used super shuttle years ago from Los Angeles, straight there and back, but have since heard some horror stories about it taking hours with all the stops, and one couple missed their flight due to the shuttle going to people's houses in the LA area. I just assumed there would be enough people from the cruise going to/from the airport the whole shuttle would be cruise passengers.

We've used a private car the last 3 cruises, the 2 in Orlando were great, the one from LA, horrible! Driver didn't know the area, drove like a maniac, and then was an hour late picking us up at the ship, won't use that company again!

thank you 39 august!

Just talked to cruise connection, private car more than we want to spend for just 2 people, but the fact that they only go from the airport to ship and back relieves my worries that we'd drive all over, I think I have found our transportation!

Cruise Connection costs us $25 per person for a shared shuttle. Didn't even know they offered a private ride. Ask about the shared shuttle. And no, after pick up at the airport, they only stop at a couple of airport hotels before going straight to the port. I believe Galveston Express won't even go to airport hotels, but straight to the port Galveston Limo(shared shuttle) sometimes has stopped at hotels near the airport, but hasn't always. It's been a few years since we used them, so you could ask.

Oh, so they do go to some airport hotels, well that could work out for us, we wouldn't have to shuttle back to the airport maybe. Their private car is $275 one way on cruise days, that's more than we've paid RT with tip in Florida, so that's out, but as long as we don't' drive all over picking people up it shouldn't be too bad. Now to find a decent hotel near the airport :)

I don't understand why you are not interested in the shared shuttle for $25 apiece? We are staying at the Drury Inn and Cruise Connection is picking us up there at 9:15 on embarkation day. No need to go back to the airport. Wait a minute. Are you flying into Houston Bush International airport? I am talking about hotels and transportation from Houston Hobby airport. It is MUCH closer to Galveston than International.

Oh, no - you must have missed where I said I just got off the phone with Cruise Connection and had found who we would be using. We will be using them, I just wanted to be sure they won't be making a bunch of stops on our way to the port, I'd rather pay more and have a shorter drive. And we are flying in to Hobby, will take a look at Drury, we've stayed at one before. Was hoping for a Hyatt, we have family discount there, but the only one I see is a Regency, and even with the discount it may be more than I want to pay for just a place to sleep. Thanks for the suggestion!

Kimmie, Have a great time on Liberty.

bert425 - thx! glad to hear it kept moving, that just seems to make it less strressful.

mellowjourney - thanks, I will read your review. I had looked at Galveston Limo before, will definitely take a look again.

clarea - thx! we like to get to the port early, not sure if that will mean even more traffic with everyone else doing the same, or it won't start til later.

cstimmons -we considered staying in Galveston but won't arrive til after 5:30 so thought we'd better stay in Houston. Your wait, not too bad, longer than others, but there's always something. Fog, another reason to consider a different port.....how long to the international waters? thank you!

Galveston is our home port. We have cruised out of this port at least 35 times. We have only had 2 fog delays. I believe other Gulf Coast ports also have issues with fog from time to time. Traffic can be a very real challenge as there is always construction along I-45. Hobby Airport is significantly closer than IAH. As for alcohol the ship must be 12 miles out to reach international waters which then allows the bars to serve all of the beverages without the extra tax. I am sure you will enjoy your cruise.

Sharon

I don't understand why you are not interested in the shared shuttle for $25 apiece? We are staying at the Drury Inn and Cruise Connection is picking us up there at 9:15 on embarkation day. No need to go back to the airport. Wait a minute. Are you flying into Houston Bush International airport? I am talking about hotels and transportation from Houston Hobby airport. It is MUCH closer to Galveston than International.

$25 each way? Cheapest we have found is $40 RT PP.

I live in Texas so I may be biased, but we love leaving out of Galveston. We had a few lessons learned and we did experience the fog, but things happen anywhere. I know my way around now and I have learned how it works. It is all very simple to me. I have lefy out of other ports and I cannot remember anything that happened in Galveston that was just awful.

The port has been updated and checking in is nice. If you get a porter to take you and your bags out you get to go through customs quicker. My husband always locates our luggage while I get in the line for the porter.

We park at EZ Cruise. You can purchase your parking over the Internet and they always have coupons. If you are driving in and parking your car go to the port first and drop off your luggage. Parking is all within a few blocks of the port.

Hotels are expensive in Galveston for cruisers. You can stay in Texas City or look for a place on AirBNB. The island is so neat you will probably want to spend a few days there before the cruise.

We sailed out of Galveston on LOS last October and I would say it was before the worst terminal experience we've ever had, except for our first cruise that had massively delayed boarding due to Noro outbreak.

First, we got there around 11:30, there were no porters waiting by where the shuttle buses dropped people off. You could go find one and they would come out (I guess they didn't realize people getting off shuttle bosses might want them). So we wheeled our bag up to the terminal, thinking there would be some up there. Nope, we had to take them all the way into the terminal near the exit. In there, there were thousands of bags just sitting everywhere. A porter took our bags and literally threw them on top of the pile. The bag drop off is also on the opposite end of the terminal from the entrance.

Something else, even though it was a little after 11:30, there were still tons of people from the previous sailing trying to get through the terminal and get on shuttles. Where we dropped off our bags, you could see the lines inside of people from the last sailing waiting to go through customs.

We were in a JS, so the only suite perk we get is priority check in, but there was no priority line for security and the security folks made TSA seem competent. Once we were at the actual check-in desk, they did have a suite line, but it was a complete free-for-all, and there were not dedicated agents for the separate lines. Once past check in, we were able to walk on. The whole process was about 45-60 minutes, plus parking shuttle time.

Getting off the ship we decided to self carry after seeing the lines from the previous sailing and we wanted to get on the road early since we were driving 10 hours. It was slower than most walk offs I've done, but the long ramp was nice so we didn't have to take an elevator with the stroller. Getting out took about 30-45 minutes, pretty early in the off boarding process (I think we got off around the time they were calling group 5).

Overall, I'd say Galveston is a much worse terminal experience, including getting parking/shuttling, than any of the Florida ports I've done. But it was still only 2 hours of my vacation, so not a big deal. I will be sailing on LOS again this October. I would never get off in a later group, self carry or ask for an early group.

We sailed out of Galveston twice, on Liberty. Aug 2016 (arrived at 1pm) and Feb 2017 (arrived at 1145am). Both times it was quick and easy to get on and off the ship. It's crowded at the curb but we gave our bags to the porter at the shuttle bus parking area and walked right in the terminal. Security and check in lines were not bad at all.

We sailed out of Ft Lauderdale July 2015 and the lines wrapped around the building to go through security then were super long to get to check in. A friend just sailed out of Ft Lauderdale 2 weeks ago and he said it was just as bad.

Galveston was a breeze compared to that!

I have done several searches and haven't found any recent posts, most from 2007 - 2015, so was hoping those of you who have sailed since the new terminal opened can help me.

 

###We have sailed 4x on Liberty in the past year, all four since drydock. Two from the old terminal and two from the new one###

 

I have avoided sailing out of Galveston due to reading that it is a nightmare, but maybe the new terminal would make it better. Just wondering what we can expect now.

 

###The new terminal has made embark and disembark soooo much better. Customs is sometimes slow, especially on Roatan week. The terminal is fine. ###

 

We plan to take a private car service (any recommendations?) from Houston to Galveston and back - how long should we expect the trip to be?

 

###others have covered this

 

Has the new terminal made getting on and off the ship any better?

 

From what I've read, those are the 2 main issues that have made people say never again to Galveston - anything else we should be aware of?

 

###if you bag drag and disembark early, you will have much better success with disembarkation ###

 

any thoughts are greatly appreciated, I try to make it as stress free as possible, and know that things happen, but if it is normally a frustrating situation we may need to re-think it. thank you!

Liberty is a great ship and we love her. You didn't mention when you would shuttle to Galveston, where you would stay, and how you are getting to the terminal If staying the night before.

I would budget 45-60 minutes from Hobby to the port.

That can be a mistake. There can be massive traffic issues on I-45 headed there. Yours is a best case scenario. We drive it each time we sail.

That can be a mistake. There can be massive traffic issues on I-45 headed there. Yours is a best case scenario. We drive it each time we sail.

You are so right! I drive around Texas for my job. You can never count on what you might encounter on those roads going through Houston. A car can pull over on the shoulder and suddenly everybody has to rubber neck to see what the deal is! Then traffic is just suddenly backed up. Just give yourself plenty of time, relax and let it be part of your experience! If you get there early then that is a really good thing. If it takes longer then all is good.

well I just spent 15 minutes responding to all of you and when I tried to preview it disappeared, so I will have to come back later and try again, but thanks for now !:mad: