Transportation from New Orleans to Galveston

[KM06]

First post to the forums... first time cruiser... first time to the Gulf Coast. Be gentle :)

 

We would like to fly down to NOLA on a Friday, spend the weekend in the city, and then drive to Galveston on Monday. The cruise we will be going on has a Monday evening departure. It looks like it's a 6 hour drive (according to mapquest) so we should be able to wake up early & make it to Galveston in time for departure. (How early does one arrive for a cruise? Still a newbie...)

 

Any advice on renting a car for this journey? From my own research, it seems that Enterprise & Hertz are the only companies that work out of Galveston. Enterprise has a drop-off at the cruise port, but I just spoke with a rep on the phone who told me that rental cars picked up in NOLA can't cross the state border. Spoke with Hertz rep who said that the car would need to be dropped off in Texas City, not Galveston. How can we get from Texas City to the port? Are there other rental companies that will work?

 

Thanks for your help.

[dbenlee]

As far as renting a car goes, I cant give you any advice. Not sure I understand why Hertz is going to require you to drop off a rental in Texas City instead of Galveston. There is a Hertz in Galveston, maybe you can call back and speak with another rep and they can give you a better answer or even a way to drop the car off in Galveston. If you have to drop the car off in Texas City maybe you can find a Towncar service that can take you to Galveston.

 

Truth be known, you can drive from NOLA to Galveston on the day of the cruise. I wouldn't do that though. Most of the time cruises begin boarding around 11:30 or 12:00 and leave out of Galveston around 4:30. Getting to Galveston, returning a rental and getting to the port in time will take a while and make for a long day. If there are any traffic problems, and I-10 is notorious for them around Lake Charles, LA and Houston, TX with all of the construction, then you can run into a chance of missing the ship. Personally, I would drive in the night before so that you can have time to return the car and get to the port on time. Also, you won't be as tired and you will be able to enjoy your first evening on the ship to the fullest.

 

I hope you enjoy your first cruise. Our first was out of Galveston in 2007 and we have been hooked since.

 

Good luck!

[Galveston Cruiser]

Enterprise is the only rental company in Galveston. Hertz did not return after Hurricane Ike. Enterprise charges a drop off charge when not returning the car to its original rental location.

The only way to get to Galveston from Texas City is by taxi.

I do not recommend driving from NOLA to Galveston the day of the cruise; it is a long drive and too much could happen for you to miss the ship.

You could rent a car and drive to Hobby Airport, 30 minutes from Galveston, and take a taxi. Taxis are also expensive from Houston to Galveston.

I would re-check with Enterprise as it is national and cars do cross state lines. There is still a drop off charge.

[Mekamax]

Personally I would fly into New Orleans when you take a New Orleans cruise. They are cheaper cruises anyway. So since you will be hooked on cruises after this one I would suggest you fly into Houston and get a hotel in Galveston on the Seawall and enjoy it and next time book a cruise out of New Orleans and stay there. Seriously I would NOT drive from New Orleans to Galveston which is about an 7-8 hour drive with no traffic on the day of the cruise because anything happens you will be out of luck on your cruise. You do NOT want to push the boarding time (which you need to be on board ahead of departure time by at least 1 hour I think) and have anything happen and miss the cruise. That said the cheapest route would be to take a rental car to the airport in Houston (either one) and get Carnival transfers to the port. You can buy the transfers from Carnival ahead of time.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Maybe look in flying from New Orleans to Houston on Southwest. There should be a shuttle from Hobby or worst case, Carnival Shuttle.

 

Is there some reason you want to drive? Houston can have horrible traffic and the road to Galveston is not always the without risk.

[workin4theweekend]

I agree that Houston Hobby Airport is probably the best place to return a rental car. You can get shuttle service from Hobby to the Galveston cruise terminal. Have personally not had good luck with Galveston Limousine, but Totally Texas Limos has very good service and friendly drivers and you can get a sedan (town car) service direct to the cruise terminal reasonably. They will also do round trip for when you return.

[firefly333]

I supose it's too late to change the cruise to a cruise out of New Orleans. Triumph does short and 7 day cruises, maybe it would be worth it to change?

 

I think Id fly, as rental cars are hard to deal with in Galveston from other posts Iv read.

[Texas Tillie]

I'd fly too. Just did the drive over to NO and back earlier this month, and other than the bridge over the Mississippi at Baton Rouge and the 19 mile "bridge" over the Atchafalaya swamp, there's not anything to see....and I wouldn't consider those 2 things for my bucket list!