Galveston Cruise Port

[welshrich]

Hi, can anyone tell me which is the closest airport when the ship docks at Galveston? thanks in advance.

[gcvt]

There is Scholes Airport (GLS) on Galveston Island itself. But, the real airports in the area will be Hobby (HOU) and Intercontinental (IAH). Hobby is near Highway 45 which is the highway that leads from Galveston to Houston. That's probably a 45 minute drive. Intercontinental (now called George Bush) is North of Houston off of Highway 59 and would be about another hour+ drive beyond Hobby. These drive times are merely estimates - the Houston area has positively horrific traffic so it all depends on day and time of travel.

 

Hope that helps.

[39august]

Houston Hobby is closest to Galveston. I see you are from Wales. My suggestion is that you take a cruise out of Florida. It will be much easier and less expensive for you to get from either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale airports to the ports in those cities. To get to Galveston, you either have to arrange a shared ride shuttle, hire a private car/limo, or take a taxi to and from Houston which is very expensive. Probably at least $100 for two from Hobby. Shared shuttle is less but you would have to be sure you can coordinate your flight with the shuttle schedule. I use Galvestonlimosuineservice.com. Another factor is that only a few airlines fly into Hobby. And if you flew into Houston International Bush, your travel time and expense is double that from Hobby. If you fly into Miami, a taxi ride to the port or downtown(as I assume you would be spending at least one night prior to the cruise) is $25 for two. And taxi from downtown to the port is about $12. From Ft. Lauderdale to the hotel area on 17th St. is about $12-15. And from hotels to port is about the same or a little less. The airport and port at Ft. Lauderdale are only a short distance apart.

[welshrich]

Thanks for the replies, Its for a Mariner TA cruise next year which goes into Galveston, its been in doubt about whether I could get the time off and now I can I'm starting to look for flights for when we dock, looking to either fly to NOLA or JFK and then get a flight back home to Wales. Might look at car rental as I've driven quite a few times in the US so not phased by it.

 

Thanks again.

[39august]

If Mariner arrives on a Sunday, there are no rental car agencies open in Galveston on Sunday. Of course, you can always take RCI's transportation to either Houston Bush or Hobby. So this is not as big a travel problem as I imagined!

[BethCarp]

If Mariner arrives on a Sunday, there are no rental car agencies open in Galveston on Sunday.

This is true. We had to take a cab to the Hertz rental place at Hobby Airport (HOU) to get a car for the day since we were staying an extra night in Houston.

[CGBCruiser]

If Mariner arrives on a Sunday, there are no rental car agencies open in Galveston on Sunday. Of course, you can always take RCI's transportation to either Houston Bush or Hobby. So this is not as big a travel problem as I imagined!

 

Just got off the Mariner on 11/20. We drive to the port as we live close by, but there were many limos and shuttles picking up passengers. Super Shuttle was there too and I believe right now, that is one of the cheapest options.

[MrSnarkyPants]

There is a Avis Rent A Car at the Sears Auto Center at the Mall of the Mainland in Texas City. That's just on the other side of the causeway from Galveston Island. Hours are 10A - 2P on Sunday. That would be a cheaper cab ride than going to the airport.

 

However, you would want to verify that they would allow you to drop the car off at the airport instead of returning it to the mall. Sometimes they don't let cars rented off airport return there because of the way the taxes are set up.

[KellyNMike]

This is true. We had to take a cab to the Hertz rental place at Hobby Airport (HOU) to get a car for the day since we were staying an extra night in Houston.

We had no problem renting a car at Hobby and dropping it in Galveston. We booked through Enterprise online but told the desk agent we were dropping the car in Galveston and they waived the fee. As John pointed out, it can be tricky on the way back getting a car out of Galveston, especially that you can drop off at Hobby. Plus, if you can there's an extra fee that they will not waive. Our cruise was delayed getting in, so we were staying an extra night in Houston, too. However, we found that a cab would be more expensive for the two of us (about $90 plus tip) than the Carnival transfer. After debarking and getting to outside transportation, we were able to buy the transfers last-minute for $30 each. Once you're at Hobby you can pick up another car and be on your way.