Transportation options IAH to Galveston

[tnebell]

Okay, first I have read a bit of the threads here and done some of my own research but I thought to reach out to the community here.

We are sailing out of Galveston, May 3, 2015, Carnival Magic. We are flying into IAH simply because I'm a travel agent and I get free tickets on Alaska Airlines.

So far I've noticed the following ways of getting transporation from IAH to Galveston one way.

A) Carnival Transfers $45 ow/$90 rt per person

B) Super Shuttle $170 ow/roundtrip per person (still researching)

C) Possible Taxi?? Rate unknown/seems unreliable to me.

D) Rental vehicle. No. No one way rentals allowed.

 

I wish we could flight in and out of HOU but unfortunately, Alaska airlines does not fly into there.

Am I missing anything? Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

I am about to contact Super shuttle and see if they have any sort of discounts for RT. Other than that I am a total loss on transporation from and to the airport on this one.

Oh and by the way, we're flying in a day early, possibly leaving the day of disembarkation on the way back.

Muchos gracias for any assistance or feedback!!!! :)

[TruckerDave]

Okay, first I have read a bit of the threads here and done some of my own research but I thought to reach out to the community here.

We are sailing out of Galveston, May 3, 2015, Carnival Magic. We are flying into IAH simply because I'm a travel agent and I get free tickets on Alaska Airlines.

So far I've noticed the following ways of getting transporation from IAH to Galveston one way.

A) Carnival Transfers $45 ow/$90 rt per person

B) Super Shuttle $170 ow/roundtrip per person (still researching)

C) Possible Taxi?? Rate unknown/seems unreliable to me.

D) Rental vehicle. No. No one way rentals allowed.

 

I wish we could flight in and out of HOU but unfortunately, Alaska airlines does not fly into there.

Am I missing anything? Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

I am about to contact Super shuttle and see if they have any sort of discounts for RT. Other than that I am a total loss on transporation from and to the airport on this one.

Oh and by the way, we're flying in a day early, possibly leaving the day of disembarkation on the way back.

Muchos gracias for any assistance or feedback!!!! :)

 

 

A) depending on the number of people you have it could be a decent option. But, I would not fly into IAH the day of the cruise so you would need a hotel near the airport with a shuttle to take you back to IAH the day of your cruise to catch the shuttle. Plus, depending on your flight out (I don't know Alaska airs ached out of IAH) you might have to overnight again before a flight out the next morning thus adding to your costs.

 

B) Given the cost is about the same as Carnival's transportation I would prob just use theirs..but that is just my personal choice.

 

C) IAH is about 75 miles from the port....do you even want to try and guess the taxi fare on that? Would prob make the other options look real cheap.:D

 

D) Depending on if you (being a travel agent) can get a good deal on a rental car and how many people are in your group this might be your best option in reality. There have been many folks here who have rented a car for the week and just parked it at the port during their cruise and came out cheaper than using other travel options. Especially if you have more than a couple people. This also gives you the option to use cheaper hotels than what is around the airports on on the island plus have transportation to see the area depending on your flights.

 

 

Y de nada ;)

Edited April 23, 2014 by TruckerDave

[tnebell]

Truckerdave,

A) Yeah, we're going to fly in the night before. Get in by 4pm the day before. Relax, unwind, whatever. We'd be staying at a hotel there in IAH near the airport with a shuttle so shouldn't be a problem. Gotta check with Carnival to see how it works with them. (never used Carnival transfers before)

B) Actually Supershuttle is One way 170. Carnival is 45 ow.

 

Skip to D. :(I've checked on car rentals and unfortunately, if I got a rental vehicle for a week it would cost us at a minimum $650, that's not including parking.

 

I don't think I've seen a port more difficult to get to. Weird. Makes me almost wish that Alaska airlines would fly to New Orleans instead!

We thought about sailing from LAX instead but we want to stay clear of the itinerary on the Western side of Mexico. Had a friend remind me of the drug wars going on.

[TruckerDave]

Truckerdave,

A) Yeah, we're going to fly in the night before. Get in by 4pm the day before. Relax, unwind, whatever. We'd be staying at a hotel there in IAH near the airport with a shuttle so shouldn't be a problem. Gotta check with Carnival to see how it works with them. (never used Carnival transfers before)

B) Actually Supershuttle is One way 170. Carnival is 45 ow.

 

Skip to D. :(I've checked on car rentals and unfortunately, if I got a rental vehicle for a week it would cost us at a minimum $650, that's not including parking.

 

I don't think I've seen a port more difficult to get to. Weird. Makes me almost wish that Alaska airlines would fly to New Orleans instead!

We thought about sailing from LAX instead but we want to stay clear of the itinerary on the Western side of Mexico. Had a friend remind me of the drug wars going on.

 

I would not worry about the drug wars. It seems like they are just killing each other and folks involved with the business in someway. The major tourist cites are fine. (Now if you got off on your own to some of the more questionable areas you might have in issue. But, staying in the tourist areas you will be fine.).

 

I just did a quick car rental search for your dates. :eek: I didn't realize they were that high. I guess if somebody had some airline miles or free car rental points it might be a good option.

 

I have used carnivals transfer service before and it is really easy and simple. (Used it in Miami and Tampa, but I am sure the process is the same.) All you have to do is just pick a flight number, any airline (It is a UA hub so just pick one of theirs to make it easy) and give that to Carnival. I would pick a 9 or 10 am flight from say Chicago or Newark and all you have to do is be in the baggage claim area when that flight arrives. (They are not going to check with the airline and get a flight manifest) and meet the carnival rep. They usually have a little sign and clipboard with all the names of people who are using the service. Once you check in with them, they will direct you to either an area to wait or a waiting bus. Once the bus is full off to the island you go. And on the return you just leave the ship and board the bus to the airport. (again once the bus is full they depart.) The downside is if you have a late flight you get to sit around the airport for a few hours.

Edited April 23, 2014 by TruckerDave

[tnebell]

LOL I am soooo glad I re-read your post there truckerdave.

I'm at work right now, in the middle of issuing airline tickets and was about to respond that I needed a bit more info from you. Then realized you already answered. LOL

Yeah, we're pretty certain that we're flying back on the same day as disembarkation. DS can't miss more school than he already will be so it means we'll be catching the 5pm flight back to Fairbanks.

Thanks for the info!

[gofeo]

The super shuttle charges $170.oo for a 9 passenger van. If you have one person, 170.00, If you have 2 persons 85.00 per person, 3 persons 56.60 per person, 4 persons 42.50 per person, keep doing the math. So you have to have at least 4 people to equal what it would cost for Carnivals transportation. Cab is 135.00 one way and usually only hold 2 people plus luggage. It takes around 90 minutes to get from IAH to the pier.