Marriott George Bush airport

[andreaplants]

Hi!! I'm wondering about advice for staying the night before for the Galveston port. We have a deposit for a Bahamian cruise this fall on the Wonder. We are going with friends and they have reserved this airport hotel and disney shuttle. We have never done Disney so we are almost certainly going to book! We used a TA that we are very happy with but unfortunately she can't do anything non disney such as booking the hotel.

 

The best rate so far online for this hotel is 259 but I know others got 200 for the same night through DCL agents. I can still call DCL and see if they will book the hotel but I doubt it since I'm not booking the cruise with them. And I can still call the hotel directly and see what they might offer.

 

But I wanted to check with all of you for advice. We haven't booked flights yet and won't be on the same flight as our friends so we could maybe go earlier the day before and travel to the port and stay near there. Staying at the same hotel the night before and taking the Disney shuttle in together would be fun though.

 

Where would you stay? Do you have advice on the rate?

 

Thank you!!![emoji1]

 

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[moki'smommy]

Actually, your travel agent is CHOOSING to not book this for you. I'm guessing it is a particular on line agency that if it can't be done with a mouse click on the DCL web site, it doesn't happen. All the agent would have to do is to pick up the phone and call DCL to book the hotel with the DCL rate or get their code to do it. This is a disadvantage to using an agency that is not "full service." But I suspect you got a nice OBC.

 

No, DCL will not deal with you if you used a TA.

 

2 suggestions--can you call the hotel directly and ask for the DCL rate?

Have you tried an on line booking service like trivago to see what sort of rates they have?

 

Honestly, it would cost a lot less to get a car and drive to a hotel closer to the port--you'll save on the hotel as well as on the transfers. However, you won't be with your friends.

[karin5]

My family will be on the Wonder this fall, for a 7 night cruise from Galveston. After I booked the cruise, I called Disney to book their shuttle service. I wanted to get a shuttle the day before the cruise to Galveston, and stay at the designated Disney hotel in Galveston. I was surprised to learn, Disney didn't shuttle anyone to the port until the day of the cruise. (In Vancouver, they did it differently for their Alaska cruise). The designated Disney hotel was the Marriott hotel at the airport. I really wanted to spend some time in Galveston, because our plane arrives late morning the day before the cruise. So, I went ahead and booked a car to pick us up at the airport, and take us directly to Galveston. As I recall, Disney was charging $45 per person for the shuttle service, and I got a driver to drive us three, for $140 (It is a 1.5 hour drive). Then I reserved a hotel room for us in Galveston, for a cost of $120 for the night. I had to do a lot more research and planning on my part, but I think it will work out just fine.

 

For us, we look forward to visiting Galveston, the sea wall and other tourist areas. Plus, we are staying at a hotel very close to the port, so we plan to just walk over in the morning.

[moki'smommy]

My family will be on the Wonder this fall, for a 7 night cruise from Galveston. After I booked the cruise, I called Disney to book their shuttle service. I wanted to get a shuttle the day before the cruise to Galveston, and stay at the designated Disney hotel in Galveston. I was surprised to learn, Disney didn't shuttle anyone to the port until the day of the cruise. (In Vancouver, they did it differently for their Alaska cruise). The designated Disney hotel was the Marriott hotel at the airport. I really wanted to spend some time in Galveston, because our plane arrives late morning the day before the cruise. So, I went ahead and booked a car to pick us up at the airport, and take us directly to Galveston. As I recall, Disney was charging $45 per person for the shuttle service, and I got a driver to drive us three, for $140 (It is a 1.5 hour drive). Then I reserved a hotel room for us in Galveston, for a cost of $120 for the night. I had to do a lot more research and planning on my part, but I think it will work out just fine.

 

For us, we look forward to visiting Galveston, the sea wall and other tourist areas. Plus, we are staying at a hotel very close to the port, so we plan to just walk over in the morning.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan. My only question is whether a better option would be a 24 hour car rental that you could pick up in Houston and drop off in Galveston. That way, you'd have the car to use during your day in Galveston. Of course, whether this is a reasonable option depends on whether there are drop off fees, etc.

[karin5]

Sounds like you have a good plan. My only question is whether a better option would be a 24 hour car rental that you could pick up in Houston and drop off in Galveston. That way' date=' you'd have the car to use during your day in Galveston. Of course, whether this is a reasonable option depends on whether there are drop off fees, etc.[/quote']

 

You are right. A rental car would be ideal. However, there is only one car rental agency in Galveston, Enterprise. However, Enterprise doesn't rent cars from the George Bush Airport to Galveston. I found this very odd, so I called Enterprise to confirm. Yep, they only rent cars from Galveston to the airport (and these are really pricey).

[moki'smommy]

You are right. A rental car would be ideal. However, there is only one car rental agency in Galveston, Enterprise. However, Enterprise doesn't rent cars from the George Bush Airport to Galveston. I found this very odd, so I called Enterprise to confirm. Yep, they only rent cars from Galveston to the airport (and these are really pricey).

 

Oh well, cancel that idea.....

[andreaplants]

Thanks everyone! We will stay overnight in Galveston. We can fly to hobby airport so transfer shouldn't be too bad. I read somewhere that it may be possible to get an enterprise one way rental outside the airport and drop off in galveston, but that's not an approach we will sort out for this trip. Although it's something I would have looked into before having young kids!

 

Thanks, again - you all are amazing!!

[moki'smommy]

Hobby is closer to Galveston, and frankly is an easier airport. Have fun!

[karin5]

If you are flying into Hobby airport, it is closer to Galveston. I think by at least a half an hour. A driver would be cheaper from Hobby, than the George Bush airport. Just a FYI. Good luck.

[cisobe]

We cruised with DCL out of Galveston back in 2013. We ran into similar issues with transportation and hotels with DCL. we decided to book a pre-cruise hotel through disney in Galveston at the hotel galvez and also booked transfers through disney. Disney had a driver pick us up when our flight arrived the morning before and we were driven in a private car to our hotel.

 

It actually worked out pretty well for us.

 

We did book the Marriott at bush international for one night after that cruise, however when we tried to book through DCL, they said they didn't have any more rooms available, so we booked it on our own. The transport got a little complicated because we didn't book our hotel through disney, we had to ask the driver who was going to the airport to drop us off at the airport hotel instead of at the airport terminal...

 

The hotel, galvez is a nicer hotel, and it has a nice pool and is right across the boardwalk area.

[karin5]

We cruised with DCL out of Galveston back in 2013. We ran into similar issues with transportation and hotels with DCL. we decided to book a pre-cruise hotel through disney in Galveston at the hotel galvez and also booked transfers through disney. Disney had a driver pick us up when our flight arrived the morning before and we were driven in a private car to our hotel.

 

It actually worked out pretty well for us.

 

We did book the Marriott at bush international for one night after that cruise, however when we tried to book through DCL, they said they didn't have any more rooms available, so we booked it on our own. The transport got a little complicated because we didn't book our hotel through disney, we had to ask the driver who was going to the airport to drop us off at the airport hotel instead of at the airport terminal...

 

The hotel, galvez is a nicer hotel, and it has a nice pool and is right across the boardwalk area.

 

Why did Disney change the logistics of the Galveston port? I wish Disney provided the shuttle/transportation/driver the day before the cruise to Galveston. Then have a Disney designated hotel in Galveston for the night (I heard Hotel Galvez is gorgeous). I was a bit disappointed for this cruise.

 

We cruised Alaska on Disney in 2013. Disney was outstanding on this issue. We flew in the day before, and Disney had a driver waiting for us ( I was expecting a bus, and we would have to wait till the bus was full to proceed to the hotel). He drove us about 1/2 hour to our Disney designated hotel in Vancouver, which was right across the street from the cruise terminal. It was just perfect. Disney had cast members at the hotel the day before the cruise to assist with any questions, and just be so helpful. I was really impressed. Then the morning of the cruise, we left our luggage in our hotel room, walked across the street and boarded the ship. A few hours later, our luggage was in our stateroom. Amazing service. We love Disney for this reason.

[mominhouston]

definitely recommend staying in Galveston instead of Houston. When we left out of Port Canaveral we booked a private car through our travel agent for 4 of us and it was only a bit more expensive than the shuttle option. I know this is for Galveston but I would ask about that.

Edited August 5, 2015 by mominhouston

[moki'smommy]

One bit advantage to staying in Galveston is that you don't need to worry about those "what might happen" things that could mess up a 90 minute drive from Houston to Galveston! Flat tires, serious accidents that block roads, driver being late, etc can all make for added stress on cruise embarkation day. If you are already in Galveston, you KNOW you'll be at the terminal in a timely fashion even if you have to bounce on your Tigger tail all the way there!

[cisobe]

I forgot to mention. One additional advantage we got when we booked hotel and transportation through DCL was our port arrival time was not fixed. We were allowed to arrive at anytime and check in.

 

Hotel galvez has its own shuttle so we were on the first one to the port and we just walked in and checked in and we're assigned to the 1st boarding group.

[andreaplants]

Lol I was thinking the same thing about the relaxation once we hit galveston knowing in the worst case we could skip there ☺ cisobe you raise a great issue. When is the easiest least trafficy least busy time to board? ( Our last cruise was from Cape liberty and we spent longer in line to the terminal than driving there overall. Literally an hour I think after a 25 minute drive.) Thanks!

 

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[moki'smommy]

When is the easiest least trafficy least busy time to board? ( Our last cruise was from Cape liberty and we spent longer in line to the terminal than driving there overall. Literally an hour I think after a 25 minute drive.) Thanks!

 

 

First, when you do your on line check in, you can choose a Port Arrival Time (PAT). If you arrive at your PAT, you should have minimal waiting. The times are designed to spread out the arrivals. Yes, there are various categories which are exempt from the PAT system--concierge, platinum Castaway Club, etc.

 

Best overall time to avoid lines is about 12:30. By then, all the "early birds" are on the ship. You can expect to walk into the terminal, check in, and board with minimal or no lines. If you have a later PAT, you can still show up about 12:30 and be on board by 1 or so.