Galveston Hotel and Shuttle

[hamp65]

Hello,

We will be cruising in October on the Triump. Looking for a hotel close to the port that offer shuttle services to the port.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Only two hotels downtown near the port - Harbor House and The Tremont Hotel.

Many of the hotels along the seawall offer shuttle service to the port.

There are many posts in Gulf Coast Departures naming the hotels. Also check the Roll Call for your sailing.

[hamp65]

Thanks for you help!

[JCO4O1]

Our hotel charges $20 per person for the 1.5 mile shuttle to port. Cool Tours charges $80 for up to 7 people (but we are just 2). Does anyone know if it is possible to just take a taxi about a block or two away from the terminal and just walk up and save money? I read that there is a $20 drop-off fee charged by the port, so would this avoid it? We don't mind walking a couple blocks, just not 1.5 miles.

 

Thanks!

Edited June 13, 2014 by JCO4O1

[Galveston Cruiser]

The $20 fee is not charged to the customer by the taxi. Taxi's are relatively inexpensive on the island, but difficult to procure on cruise days as there aren't very many.

We have heard from friends that reserving one does not guarantee is will show up.

Depending on what ship - Carnival or Royal Caribbean, it can be a long walk to Royal as it is past the Carnival dock.

[JCO4O1]

We will be on Royal, and plan on getting there early (10:30/11:00). Would you expect for it to be difficult to get a taxi then? I was just surprised, and given the short distance, I was expecting that we could just do a $10-15 taxi. We are staying at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson.

 

Thanks for your help!

[hamp65]

We are flying (Hobby) in on Saturday for a Sunday Cruise with on Triumph. It is 4 of us and wanted to stay somewhere and catch a shuttle.

 

Why is there a $20 drop drop fee at the pier? So if we pay for a shuttle does that include that fee? Confused!

 

What are some good hotels to stay in hopefully with a pool and something nearby to keep kids entertained?

We will not have a car.

[hamp65]

We will be on Royal, and plan on getting there early (10:30/11:00). Would you expect for it to be difficult to get a taxi then? I was just surprised, and given the short distance, I was expecting that we could just do a $10-15 taxi. We are staying at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

i have some points with Carlson and was wondering about this hotel. Have you stayed here before? Are you taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel?

Thank you!

[JCO4O1]

Why is there a $20 drop drop fee at the pier? So if we pay for a shuttle does that include that fee? Confused!

 

I would assume that cost is built into your quote. I guess it is just one of the reasons why the cost to be dropped off is more expensive than you would think.

 

i have some points with Carlson and was wondering about this hotel. Have you stayed here before? Are you taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel?

Thank you!

 

I haven't stayed there before. I picked it based on price, availability, reviews, and I liked that the rooms have a balcony. It is also about 1.5/2 miles from the terminal, near the beach, and close to pleasure pier.

 

We are undecided on transportation there. The hotel shuttle is $90 total from Hobby for the two of us, and cool tours is $105. I think I am leaning towards cool tours just so that I can talk with them directly instead of using the hotel as a middle man. The reviews also seem pretty good for cool tours, and I don't know anything about the shuttle service that the hotel uses, other than that it is private and not shared.

Edited June 13, 2014 by JCO4O1

[Host Kat]

The Board of Trustees of Galveston Wharves charges access fees to private cruise ship parking lot operators and hotels who deliver passengers to the cruise ship terminals.

 

There was a commotion about it late last year. Click here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40884095 for the oldie but goody thread titled Galveston voting this month on huge increases for parking lot owners.

Any other locals in the know have any further information about the Board of Trustees and their final decision?

 

Kat

[peter1975]

We are flying (Hobby) in on Saturday for a Sunday Cruise with on Triumph. It is 4 of us and wanted to stay somewhere and catch a shuttle.

 

Why is there a $20 drop drop fee at the pier? So if we pay for a shuttle does that include that fee? Confused!

 

What are some good hotels to stay in hopefully with a pool and something nearby to keep kids entertained?

We will not have a car.

 

Is this cruise in 2014?

 

The Triumph sails on Monday, October 6th, 2014.

 

Am I confused or missing something?

[Galveston Cruiser]

The Board of Trustees of Galveston Wharves charges access fees to private cruise ship parking lot operators and hotels who deliver passengers to the cruise ship terminals.

 

There was a commotion about it late last year. Click here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40884095 for the oldie but goody thread titled Galveston voting this month on huge increases for parking lot owners.

Any other locals in the know have any further information about the Board of Trustees and their final decision?

 

Kat

 

As of now they (parking lot owners) are to pay a one time a month $30 fee per parking space at their lot. An increase from $8.63/space/month,

Will look into any effects on taxis and hotels as we know some on the board and hotel owners.

Will post an answer as soon as we find out.

[Galveston Cruiser]

We are flying (Hobby) in on Saturday for a Sunday Cruise with on Triumph. It is 4 of us and wanted to stay somewhere and catch a shuttle.

 

Why is there a $20 drop drop fee at the pier? So if we pay for a shuttle does that include that fee? Confused!

 

What are some good hotels to stay in hopefully with a pool and something nearby to keep kids entertained?

We will not have a car.

 

San Luis, Galvez, Moody Gardens Hotel and Inn at the Waterpark are possibilities.

[live2cruise2011]

the last few times we have cruised we have stayed at Inn at the waterpark. We like that it is reasonably priced. They have mini golf,pool, wifi, and breakfast. You can park and cruise for free and they have a free shuttle to the port and return you to your car after. It is located in front of schlitterbahn next to moody gardens so there are things to do in the area and only a short drive to seashore drive. hope this helps those of you that are currently looking.

[JCO4O1]

Does anyone know if a taxi will be difficult to catch from the hotel around 10:30/11:00am to get to the terminal?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[JCO4O1]

i have some points with Carlson and was wondering about this hotel. Have you stayed here before? Are you taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel?

Thank you!

 

We stayed there for our cruise last week. It was very clean and updated, and we had a good balcony view of Pleasure Pier. We used the airport pickup from the hotel (Country Inn & Suites) it was on time and just $90 for the two of us. We had an early flight and we were at the hotel by 10:00AM.

 

We didn't expect the room to be ready for awhile but they had mentioned that they try to accommodate their airport transfers first. We went back after breakfast around noon, and the room was ready. We tried back at 1:00, after walking aimlessly, and they got a room together for us. That was really the only drawback.

 

The included breakfast was fine (you can make your own fresh waffles). Nothing else interested us, but we didn't care because we were on the ship 90 minutes later. We also used the shuttle service to the terminal for $20pp. The driver was the same as the airport pickup, and is a very nice guy.

 

Here is the view from our balcony. We had a room on the highest floor. If it was a lower floor the view would have been more of the next door rooftops (which are right up against the hotel).

 

Edited July 21, 2014 by JCO4O1

[jesmywork]

We're also cruising on the Triumph in October. This will be our first. We had Holiday Inn points, so we're staying at the Holiday Inn Resort On the Beach. They have free parking and shuttle service for cruisers. HTH

[LBumb]

nice pic