melika091900 Posted November 27, 2011 #1 Share Posted November 27, 2011 debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd, I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise any thoughts on this ? thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Days Posted November 28, 2011 #2 Share Posted November 28, 2011 debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd, I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise any thoughts on this ? thanks in advance Depending on where you want to go once you get to Galveston would be the question. You could take a shuttle to Galveston and walk to the resturants in the area or get a cab. And you can get a cab to the port, which is $20 one way from the sea wall area to the port. I would figure the cost of each and also add in how much sightseeing you would want to do once you reached Galveston. There are numerous resurants up and down the seawall. Have you thought about staying near the Strand? You would be closer to the port and still have lots of food choices & shopping in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rh3 Posted November 30, 2011 #3 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Sailing on the Triumph 4 day over New Year. Flying into IAH (Bush) day before sailing. Pricelined a mid-size and was successful for $126 total. Parking pre-paid for $30. If I use $30 of gas, still ahead of 2 ccl round trip transfers, and even more ahead of the best rate I found for shuttles. Happy to leave rental car sitting in lot for 4 days if I save $$$. May work for a 7 day sailing if you get a cheap weekly rate. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareliz Posted December 4, 2011 #4 Share Posted December 4, 2011 We are from ND and fly into Houston (IAH), Dec 17th,depending on weather & connections, We are renting a car at the airport & staying in Houston till Dec 19th & driving to Galveston that morning,short drive, less than an hour. Parking at the pier is very reasonal & we have already prepaid. We are not returning to ND till Jan 3rd so we need the car till then. Anyone else on this cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melika091900 Posted December 7, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted December 7, 2011 go to the roll call section here on the boards, you can find your ship and sail date, and see who else is sailing with you have a great cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melika091900 Posted December 7, 2011 Author #6 Share Posted December 7, 2011 We are from ND and fly into Houston (IAH), Dec 17th,depending on weather & connections, We are renting a car at the airport & staying in Houston till Dec 19th & driving to Galveston that morning,short drive, less than an hour. Parking at the pier is very reasonal & we have already prepaid. We are not returning to ND till Jan 3rd so we need the car till then. Anyone else on this cruise? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyNMike Posted December 26, 2011 #7 Share Posted December 26, 2011 debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd, I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise any thoughts on this ? thanks in advance We found the best bet for us was to get a one-day online rental from Enterprise at Hobby for $23 and stay near NASA (or you could stay near Hobby) the night before, drop the car off in Galveson, and take a cab the remaining distance. After talking to the Enterprise agent at Hobby she told us to book online as though we were picking up and returning the car to Hobby, but to inform the rep when we picked the car up that we were dropping the car in Galveston. Getting a car back on the return trip was much more expensive and included a drop-off fee. We had planned to take a cab back to Hobby but found it was around $90 plus tip, more if there were traffic delays. We were able to buy Carnival transfers after debarking for $30 each which was a better deal for the two of us. Otherwise, we might have gone with RH3s plan and rented for the whole week, maybe getting a hotel in Galveston with a shuttle and free parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megmno Posted December 31, 2011 #8 Share Posted December 31, 2011 We found the best bet for us was to get a one-day online rental from Enterprise at Hobby for $23 and stay near NASA (or you could stay near Hobby) the night before, drop the car off in Galveson, and take a cab the remaining distance. After talking to the Enterprise agent at Hobby she told us to book online as though we were picking up and returning the car to Hobby, but to inform the rep when we picked the car up that we were dropping the car in Galveston. Can you tell me if you did this recently? I emailed the Enterprise office in Galveston a couple of months ago about doing this and they said they no longer do one-way rentals. I would love it if they did -- I hate having to rent a car for 9 days only to leave it parked for a week of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaJulie Posted January 4, 2012 #9 Share Posted January 4, 2012 We are a family of 5 ... I am thinking of doing the rental car thing as well. Cruiseline transfers are out because we are arriving a day early and staying an extra day Super Shuttle is charging 150$ one way for a 5 pax SUV (so 300$ plus tip) Galveston Limousince Service is 100$ pp round trip (500$ plus tip) :eek: With both these options, I would need a shuttle ($+tip) from the hotel to the port and from the port to the hotel after the cruise. Or a taxi... Right now on expedia, I can get a car for 266$. I will need to leave it at the cruise port for the week we are gone for 50$ BUT !! This gives us a car for the evening in Galveston on Saturday, we can make a supply run for our allowed bottles of wine Sunday morning and we might go visit NASA on the Sunday after we return - all with the same 266$ car... I keep thinking I'm overlooking something though - did I miss anything ? Any additional charges I am not thinking about with a rental ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galveston Cruiser Posted January 4, 2012 #10 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Also check with Elite Limousine for transportation to and from Galveston though a car is a good idea to see things. FYI: No wine or beer purchases allowed before noon on Sunday in Texas and only at grocery stores as liquor stores are closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaJulie Posted January 4, 2012 #11 Share Posted January 4, 2012 FYI: No wine or beer purchases allowed before noon on Sunday in Texas and only at grocery stores as liquor stores are closed. see?! I knew I was forgetting something !! Till what time would grocerie stores / liquor stores be open in the area on Saturday night ? Can you get liquor (small bottle of vodka or rum) at grocery stores, or Walmart ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galveston Cruiser Posted January 4, 2012 #12 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Liquor is only sold at liquor stores which can be open only from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday. Nothing sold after midnight Saturday night; wine and beer from noon on Sunday. Kroger on Seawall Blvd. at 57th St. and Walmart on Seawall at 65th St., Randalls on 61st at City Central Blvd. open to at least 10pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DALSAL Posted January 5, 2012 #13 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Some hotels let you leave the car and give you free shuttle to ship and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyNMike Posted January 16, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Can you tell me if you did this recently? I emailed the Enterprise office in Galveston a couple of months ago about doing this and they said they no longer do one-way rentals. I would love it if they did -- I hate having to rent a car for 9 days only to leave it parked for a week of that! Yes, we did it on 12/15/11. However, we only did the one-way rental from Hobby to Galveston. We used the cruise service for the return trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyNMike Posted January 16, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't think you're missing anything in terms of fees. However, I often find a much better deal on two cars than you on one SUV or van. Of course, you'd have to pay to park both unless you take advantage of a hotel free parking deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unionville3 Posted January 16, 2012 #16 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Liquor is only sold at liquor stores which can be open only from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.Nothing sold after midnight Saturday night; wine and beer from noon on Sunday. Kroger on Seawall Blvd. at 57th St. and Walmart on Seawall at 65th St., Randalls on 61st at City Central Blvd. open to at least 10pm. Great info - thank you! We are staying at the Harbor House Hotel. Any groceries within walking distance? Still trying to figure out our transportation from Hobby - we are leaning toward a limo service for the convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galveston Cruiser Posted January 16, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Great info - thank you! We are staying at the Harbor House Hotel. Any groceries within walking distance? Still trying to figure out our transportation from Hobby - we are leaning toward a limo service for the convenience. Small convenience store on 21st and Post Office, though you would be better off going to one of the the larger stores. I believe the Harbor House could arrange transportation. FYI: Though we live here, when flying out out we use Cornerstone Elite Limo in Houston. Nice people and vehicles: cornerstonel.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unionville3 Posted January 16, 2012 #18 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thank you for such wonderful info. We are flying to Houston on Friday and plan to spend a weekend in Galveston before our Sunday cruise. We would love to make a quick "store" run for wine, soda, and bottled water. I had not even considered that the Hotel might have a car service. Cornerstone is actually at the top of my transportation list based on several recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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