Choosing Liberty out of Galveston, worth the "hassle"?

We have done Navigator once and then twice on Liberty out of Galveston. No, it is not my favorite place to go out of. Fort Lauderdale is my preferred place. Getting to and from the airport is a lot longer in Galveston. I will say the best people to cruise with are the people of Texas! They are the nicest most friendly and fun people I have ever met! We always fly in a day early, we rent a car from budget one way and stay at the Staybridge in Webster. Drop the rental off and take Galveston Limo to the port. After the cruise, we do the same thing, Galveston Limo to the Staybridge in Webster spend the night and rent a one way from Budget to Hobby the next day. We always add a day in case of fog or other unexpected delay on every cruise. Loved Liberty the last two Cruise's. Loved Navigator a few years ago. It is not about the port, it's about the ship and the itinerary.

Make the best of any and every cruise you take. Your not working, your on vacation and a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work.

JoeRum

Just for reference, here are the Texas Port of Entry booze etc tax rates;

https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/poe/tax_rates.asp

One thing to note is that the tax on a miniature is the same as on much larger bottles:eek:

At present it's all done on an honor system as you leave the CBP area;)

... I will say the best people to cruise with are the people of Texas! They are the nicest most friendly and fun people I have ever met! ...

We have the same feeling, very much enjoyed our cruises out of Texas. It's just the pre and post cruise logistics that have put Galveston on the bottom of our list.

We cruise out of Galveston because we live in Houston. It's very convenient for us. For someone having to fly in, I can see why it would be not so much, esp if they're not familiar with the area.

Ran into a horror story my last cruise a couple weeks ago. A couple (man and woman) missed the ship because they flew out of Detroit and a snow storm cancelled their flight. "You're supposed to fly in the day before," I mused. "Nobody told us that!" they exclaimed. Then went on to say flights were also cancelled the day before out of Detroit because of weather.

They flew to Roatan where they said they got on the ship, then disembarked, then reboarded. They kept saying "This is our first cruise and it's also our last. Never Again." Never again.

Someone told me that they were being penalized for missing the ship in Galveston/boarding in Roatan but I didn't find out by whom or what the penalty was. They were in our group of people who were the first to disembark because Immigration had taken an interest in us and wanted to make sure they got to talk to us. Don't know why Immigration wanted to talk to them and I didn't want to pry because they were apparently already pretty anguished by the experience.

Question- thinking of taking a cruise out of Galveston in July. I know fog is a big issue... but I shouldn’t run into that problem during the summer season, right?

Question- thinking of taking a cruise out of Galveston in July. I know fog is a big issue... but I shouldn’t run into that problem during the summer season, right?

Much lower probability for fog in July than in January/February.

Some one commented that a Disney ship is comparable in size to Liberty...Not quite. Liberty is approx. 30-40,000 tons larger.

Those folks form Detriot, if they were fined it was Federal, not RCI..may have something to do with the Jones Act.

Some one commented that a Disney ship is comparable in size to Liberty...Not quite. Liberty is approx. 30-40,000 tons larger..

And Liberty boards about 1,000 more Pax than the Wonder. I’m sure this makes a big difference in port congestion and ease of embark/debark at the terminal.

We never thought our embark experiences on Liberty or Navigator were bad, but we did not realize how good they could be until we did the Vision (which is slightly smaller than Wonder).

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Question- thinking of taking a cruise out of Galveston in July. I know fog is a big issue... but I shouldn’t run into that problem during the summer season, right?

Should fog occur, January, February and March are the months when fog may occur, though less probable than most believe.

Historically, 2015 had 16 fog days and 2016 had 17.

Fog is more prevalent on the mainland than Galveston.

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I've gone out of Galveston twice and haven't had any issues. I've flown into IAH as it's much cheaper. There are shuttles that can get you to and from the port with ease. Both times I've shuttled down and then rented a car with Enterprise in Galveston and returned it in IAH. Galveston is a cool place and I really like going out of there.

My husband, daughter and I are on the June 17th sailing of LOS and are talking about flying in on the 16th. We would be fling into IAH. Our issue now is how to get from the airport and then back again after the cruise. We thought about renting a car and going that route but don't want to have to pay for the extra days for it to just sit in a parking lot. Is there a car rental place at the Port of Galveston where we can drop it off at? We've cruised out of Galveston many times and I've never noticed one, but on the other hand I also wasn't looking for one either. You mentioned a shuttle. What company have you used for a shuttle and aprox. how much did it cost you per person?

My husband, daughter and I are on the June 17th sailing of LOS and are talking about flying in on the 16th. We would be fling into IAH. Our issue now is how to get from the airport and then back again after the cruise. We thought about renting a car and going that route but don't want to have to pay for the extra days for it to just sit in a parking lot. Is there a car rental place at the Port of Galveston where we can drop it off at? We've cruised out of Galveston many times and I've never noticed one, but on the other hand I also wasn't looking for one either. You mentioned a shuttle. What company have you used for a shuttle and aprox. how much did it cost you per person?

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My husband, daughter and I are on the June 17th sailing of LOS and are talking about flying in on the 16th. We would be fling into IAH. Our issue now is how to get from the airport and then back again after the cruise. We thought about renting a car and going that route but don't want to have to pay for the extra days for it to just sit in a parking lot. Is there a car rental place at the Port of Galveston where we can drop it off at? We've cruised out of Galveston many times and I've never noticed one, but on the other hand I also wasn't looking for one either. You mentioned a shuttle. What company have you used for a shuttle and aprox. how much did it cost you per person?

There is an Enterprise agency on the island, but I don't know if it's open on Sunday, nor do I know if it takes one-way rentals. That's the only rental agency on the island that I'm aware of.

There is an Enterprise agency on the island, but I don't know if it's open on Sunday, nor do I know if it takes one-way rentals. That's the only rental agency on the island that I'm aware of.

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They are open Sunday and they do take 1 way rentals. I've done it twice.

Is there an extra charge for the one-way?

They are open Sunday and they do take 1 way rentals. I've done it twice.

 

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At Texas City or on the island?

At Texas City or on the island?

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Is there an extra charge for the one-way?

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There was an extra charge. The extra charge is built into the price if you look up rates online. It wasn't too bad.

 

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Thanks. People are always asking about rental options on our FB Liberty page. Many other shuttles and such but first I’ve heard of this. We drive (500 miles one way) so it’s not something we use.

To the original poster: we love Liberty. Great ship. Great staff. Friendly Folks to cruise with.

Although Galveston may not be the most modern port Liberty is a great ship, especially for kids due to the water play areas and ice rinks. It may not be as fancy as the Oasis and Quantum class ships but it’s definitely just as fun!! So although Galveston is not the most glamorous of ports Liberty is a very enjoyable ship to sail on!

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My husband, daughter and I are on the June 17th sailing of LOS and are talking about flying in on the 16th. We would be fling into IAH. Our issue now is how to get from the airport and then back again after the cruise. We thought about renting a car and going that route but don't want to have to pay for the extra days for it to just sit in a parking lot. Is there a car rental place at the Port of Galveston where we can drop it off at? We've cruised out of Galveston many times and I've never noticed one, but on the other hand I also wasn't looking for one either. You mentioned a shuttle. What company have you used for a shuttle and aprox. how much did it cost you per person?

Enterprise is the only rental car company on the island and it has a shuttle to the port.

Ufortantnely, they know this and one way prices are astronomical. DW got lucky and came up with a teacher discount code for last summer. But generally speaking if you’re traveling as a family, not a couple, it’s probably cheaper to rent for the week, pay the parking then get two one way rentals or do a shuttle from IAH. HOU is closer and shuttles are cheaper so it’s not as clear.

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I have been trolling the boards and there is a lot of not so great feedback regarding Galveston as a port. I love the Liberty itinerary that includes Honduras and Belize, but with an hour transportation minimum to and from the airport, it is seeming cumbersome and costly. Adding a rental car, and extra hotels on both ends can get quite costly.

 

I LOVE the Oasis class ships, but wanted to try something different. Thoughts?

We had a great time on Liberty out of Galveston. I didnt view the process of getting to/from the port to be a hassle at all..just part of the trip. Each trip has it's hurdles and if the hardest thing I've got navigate is a hours drive thats not enough for me to view it as an issue.

I have been trolling the boards and there is a lot of not so great feedback regarding Galveston as a port. I love the Liberty itinerary that includes Honduras and Belize, but with an hour transportation minimum to and from the airport, it is seeming cumbersome and costly. Adding a rental car, and extra hotels on both ends can get quite costly.

 

I LOVE the Oasis class ships, but wanted to try something different. Thoughts?

I sail out of Galveston, but that is because I can drive there from my house. I add a night or two in Galveston and make it part of the trip. I have written before about some of the things to do in Galveston (places to stay, eat, tour, etc) as well as parking and embarkation issues. We have already booked another cruise out of there. The calculus certainly does change some if you are flying, but if you like the ship and itinerary I would still do it. Whatever you decide, happy sailing!

With flights to Houston cheaper for us (coming from Alberta)than Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Miami and San Juan it is worth the hassle but not always. Distance from airport to port, fog and limited ships means we bite the bullet and spend more about half the time.

My daughter and son in law were on the Carnival Breeze Salinger out of Galveston, and returning this past Sunday. They had a 4:00pm flight out of Houston, but due to the dense fog, they didn’t get off ship until around 3:30pm. Needless to say, they missed their flight, and since there is only 2 flights a day that could take them to their home in Minot, ND, they couldn’t get a flight home until 4:00pm the next day. They also had to find a hotel. Now, because of this, it has me rethinking my cruise plans for March 2020. I was planning on booking the Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston for a family cruise of 28+ people for my 50th Anniversary. Still undecided what we will do.

Perfect reason for having 3rd party travel insurance. It will reimburse you for the hotel, meals and any change fees and difference in the fares on the air portion.

My parents missed a connection in London because there was no gate available for the plane, Allianz reimbursed them for all meals, hotel, phone calls to the US etc. The Concierge from the insurance company also took care of rebooking their flights for them.

With flights to Houston cheaper for us (coming from Alberta)than Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Miami and San Juan it is worth the hassle but not always. Distance from airport to port, fog and limited ships means we bite the bullet and spend more about half the time.

We were looking at Galveston for a family cruise in 2020 for our 50th Anniversary, but after my daughter sailed out of that port in February, she said she would never sail out of there again, even though it is cheaper for them to fly there from Minot, ND than to Florida. Their ship was delayed docking upon return until 3:30pm because of dense fog. They missed their 4pm flight, had to scramble to find a hotel, and ended up paying more than if they flew to Florida. So, our anniversary cruise is going to be out of Port Canaveral.