Is there really no inexpensive way to get from the airport to the Port of Galveston?

Technically, Uber cant be in Galveston. I believe you can get an Uber TO galveston but coming back its a no no. YOu might find a rogue driver though that would do it off the books so to say. There is special UBer waiting area right outside the luggage carousels in HOU (hobby airport).

Uber isnt supposed to go to POM either but there are some drivers out there that will do it. The app even lets you put in POM. havent tried Uber app for port of galveston though.

If you flew into IAH it would be cheaper than that, as it is about 75 miles form there to the island. :D

IAH is much further than Hobby. I live near Hobby and its about 45 minutes to Galveston. Its another 45-60 minutes to IAH in the opposite direction.

Technically, Uber cant be in Galveston. I believe you can get an Uber TO galveston but coming back its a no no. YOu might find a rogue driver though that would do it off the books so to say. There is special UBer waiting area right outside the luggage carousels in HOU (hobby airport).

 

Uber isnt supposed to go to POM either but there are some drivers out there that will do it. The app even lets you put in POM. havent tried Uber app for port of galveston though.

You can get anything you want in Miami.

$300 divided by 5 = $60 round trip, $30 one way approximately 50 to 60 miles. 50cents a mile per person.

 

Doesn't sound too expensive to me when you consider the 19miles from JFK airport to Manhattan costs $17...about $1 per mile or LAX to San Pedro which is $16 for 17miles.

Our taxi from midtown Manhattan to JFK was closer to $60 one way. Our concierge at our hotel said Uber was about the same.

The cheapest option is Carnival's shuttle unless you have enough people to split the cost. I travel solo and found the transportation to be ridiculously expensive and don't plan to cruise Galveston again any time soon!

Before we cruised in February of 2015 from Galveston, i had the same misgivings. We were 6 in our party and we went from Hobby to the port for $100 plus tip. I spent much time scouring the internet for the best priced transfer. DS called a taxi company and was told the trip would not be more than $100 for all of us.

Sure enough, when we got off the plane, we just went to the taxi stand, requested a van and off we went. When we arrived our driver offered to pick us up on our return, but we declined. We should have taken him up on the offer - we had a longer wait for a taxi - maybe 20 minutes, but it wasn't horrible.

i don't know how these stories about exorbitant cab fares keep circulating. we found them much more reasonable than any shuttle prices. We also found Galveston to be very efficiently run port. We missed the luggage drop off but walked right onto the ship. One of our easiest embarkations.

Why I hate the thought of even cruising out of Galveston. Never even look at them.

 

 

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Ditto.

Closest airport to Port of Galveston is Houston Hobby. IAH is on the other side of Houston. You may consider staying in Texas City, about 10-15 min from Houston Hobby, and about 20 minutes from Galveston. You may consider using UBER. I've never used them but my niece uses them a lot and always had good luck with them. If staying a night pre-cruise, Texas City will be less expensive than Galveston, huge outlet mall, plenty of restaurants around.

Last I read, Galveston City Council placed so many restrictions on ride-sharing companies that both Uber and Lyft choose not to operate in Galveston.

Check with the hotels in Galveston. We are negotiating a price right now with two different hotels to pick us up at the airport, shuttle us to the ship the next day, and return us to Houston Hobby after the cruise. We are looking at $500 for all of that for 22 people, which breaks down to $23pp.

What hotels are you working with? I am very interested in this option.

We just came back from the Triumph in April, but originally it was suppose to be in Galveston.(don't remember the ship) But after some digging I couldn't find any good cheap transportation to Galveston. I finally called Carnival and asked them to change it to New Orleans. The airport is a lot closer and cheaper than Galveston. If the price ever did come down in Galveston or if they had a better system, I would go that route. But until then I would prefer places that are closer to the airport. Like Baltimore or New Orleans.:)

Fly into GLS, just a few miles from the port. Of course, you will need a private plane to do that. :D ;)

I'm blown away at the prices that all the shuttles are charging. $300+ to get my family of 5 to and from the port?! I had no idea it would cost so much.

To answer the question asked in your post title, you can walk, hitchhike, or call in a favor from a family member/friend. All of them can be free in terms of monetary costs, but may or may not be pricey on the back end. I'm certain you won't seriously consider those options, but still... they are out there and worth noting.

More seriously, when I cruised into Galveston last year, an industrious member of our roll call arranged a 10-person van to pick us up at the port and take us to Hobby. It cost $150 total, or $15 for each of us. Something like that might be worth a look if you can get others to join you.

I find it interesting that there are several people who have posted here, in essence, "I won't consider Galveston as an embarkation port because it costs too much to get there." Hmmm... the cruise costs hundreds of dollars, and some have hundreds more in extra expenses like airfare, alcohol, souvenirs, and/or gambling. The extra $20 or so it takes to get to the port (compared to other ports) seems minor by comparison.

UBER is technically not a registered taxi company ( or the individual cars/drivers aren't ) As a result they are not considered an official means of public transportation.....so if in an accident not sure if your insurances ( travel or regular) would cover you. My employer has advised us until such time as it becomes a legally recognized public form of transportation we are not to use it. ( and I work for a government department)

Although cheaper, wouldn't want to see anyone get caught in legal technicalities......

Galveston Express. Someone earlier posted the link. Very reasonably priced and very efficient.

They pick up at the airport (and a few airport hotels) on a schedule and transport to Galveston. If you are coming in the day before- make your hotel reservations right in Galveston at a hotel with a shuttle to the Port.

It is about an hour and a few minutes from IAH to Galveston and about 45 minutes from Hobby.

It is really pretty simple and smooth. I find it no more difficult than getting from FLL to Port of Miami or MIA to FLL Port.

this is why we don't like cruising from port Canaveral and will never cruise from galveston

We cruised out of Galveston in February and found the most economical option for us was Galveston Express. We had a shared shuttle and no complaints. I highly recommend them.

We rented a car one way with Enterprise (the only agency actually in Galveston) it was under $100 -

We noticed they were there for the 1st time last month. Surprised there hasn't been a bigger deal made about this on these boards as it certainly was something needed that was long overdue.

so if you got an UBER from downtown Houston to Galveston port, you could not easily get a return?

Closest airport to Port of Galveston is Houston Hobby. IAH is on the other side of Houston. You may consider staying in Texas City, about 10-15 min from Houston Hobby, and about 20 minutes from Galveston. You may consider using UBER. I've never used them but my niece uses them a lot and always had good luck with them. If staying a night pre-cruise, Texas City will be less expensive than Galveston, huge outlet mall, plenty of restaurants around.

Is UBER permitted to operate out of Galveston for the return trip from the ship?

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Is UBER permitted to operate out of Galveston for the return trip from the ship?

 

 

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No.

This is a old thread !!!

But good news presently

Private limo services

Galveston Express

Galveston Limo shared limo service

(provides 7 days a week service throughout the day to/from airports and Galveston Hotels and Cruise Port )

Getme

Uber air to galveston only

Cruise line shuttles on sailing days only

Cabs and Taxi's

see also galveston.com for more information on other companies

This is a old thread !!!

But good news presently

 

 

Private limo services

 

Galveston Express

Galveston Limo shared limo service

(provides 7 days a week service throughout the day to/from airports and Galveston Hotels and Cruise Port )

Getme

Uber air to galveston only

 

Cruise line shuttles on sailing days only

 

Cabs and Taxi's

 

see also galveston.com for more information on other companies

ALSO MORE TRANSFER IMPROVEMENTS

AND HAVING A NEW BIGGER AND BETTER TERMINAL # 2

Now it appears to me Cruise lines have act together on same day cruise transfers , by expanded services with more buses, in order to meet demand and supply cruisers easy access to the Galveston port/back to airports!

On cruise critic, I have not recently seen posts about cruise line same day transfers being sold out and not available!

This is a old thread !!!

 

But good news presently....

Getme

Uber air to galveston only

 

Hello - we are considering Uber from our Houston Hobby airport hotel to the cruise port, but are you saying that we can only use Uber from the airport to the cruise port? (and not from the hotel?) We have other arrangements for our return trip from the cruise port to the airport on the back end of our cruise. thanks, -ADB.

Hello - we are considering Uber from our Houston Hobby airport hotel to the cruise port, but are you saying that we can only use Uber from the airport to the cruise port? (and not from the hotel?) We have other arrangements for our return trip from the cruise port to the airport on the back end of our cruise. thanks, -ADB.

Uber is not legal in Galveston .

But they continue to deliver from "anywhere" in Houston to Galveston.

We reserveded a limo/Cadillac escalade for $110, taking us from a hotel outside of Hobby to the port. There were 6 of us, but it was the same price no matter how many people.

Do you remember who you used? That is a really good price. My family (family of 5) are going out of Galveston in September and I'd like to get something on the books. Who we have used in the past is not a viable option anymore. Thanks!