Did I make a huge mistake?

[BecciBoo]

Wouldn't a delay on returning possibly cause people to miss flights?

 

Forgot that because we drive. sorry

[time4u2go]

Well, it can impact your cruise if the one before yours is late arriving or delayed for a day. We were on Emerald Princess last Feb and we didn't leave the ship until 2pm because of the fog. The new passengers were not allowed to arrive at the port until 5 PM - OK if you drive, but a real problem if you fly in. We got really lucky with our flight out as there were weather delays throughout Texas and our flight that was originally scheduled for 2 pm didn't leave until after 6 pm.

 

OK in the sense that those driving can adjust, but not so OK in terms of getting less time on the ship!

Edited January 13, 2016 by time4u2go

[realtreebar]

Just a suggestion, as said before book room now! if you can. Start google search. I have booked single nights for a reasonable amt, then book rental car big enough for 4 ppl and luggage, as this will be cheaper than transport from and too airport. also you can take your time getting to galveston and can go to store ect. before sailing just rent car for length you will be gone I have done this and have never had a problem. hope this helps:)

Edited January 13, 2016 by realtreebar

[BecciBoo]

Just keep in mind that the rental car place is closed on Sunday, so you are not able to turn it in....guess as realtree says, you must rent car for the entire week which may be more than just taking Galveston Express for the $37.50 pp round trip price, and then park it somewhere, not all the hotels do that.

Edited January 13, 2016 by BecciBoo

[alora7]

We've used uber to get from our hotel to the port and back. I forgot how much it cost but it was cheaper than a taxi. The driver dropped us off by the porters and we had him pick us up across the street to skip the traffic within the port. We always book a hotel for the night after our cruise but even doing that, we've never been fog delayed. Galveston isn't nearly as bad as Houston when it comes to fog. I had one friend who got delayed by fog in Galveston but they had booked a late flight out so they could go to the space center in Houston. They didn't get off until 2 pm I think and still had time for a short of the Space Center. I would suggest if you are flying out the same day that you book an evening flight just to be safe. There are quite a few things to do in Houston to take up the day if you get off the ship on time.

[mek]

OK in the sense that those driving can adjust, but not so OK in terms of getting less time on the ship!

 

Yes, I agree. As we have to fly, I'm not sure I would sail out of the Houston area again. The sailing before ours had fog warnings all day before we boarded and for a while it looked like we would be delayed, but fortunately we were OK. Just too many other options out there to bother with the problems in this area.

[John&LaLa]

Yes, I agree. As we have to fly, I'm not sure I would sail out of the Houston area again. The sailing before ours had fog warnings all day before we boarded and for a while it looked like we would be delayed, but fortunately we were OK. Just too many other options out there to bother with the problems in this area.

 

Tampa gets fog in the winter as well, must be a gulf thing

[mil76]

We typically cruise twice a year during Fall and Spring school breaks, usually one out of Florida (Port Everglades/Port Canaveral) and one out of Galveston.

 

Galveston is a bit more challenging, but then again FLL/Port Everglades has to be the easiest plane to cruise to plane experience in the world. The key to Galveston is having everything planned out before you leave. We choose Galveston for Spring Break because when we do the overall math for cruising out of Galveston vs Florida during Spring Break, it always comes in 100's of dollars cheaper and is worth the extra planning.

 

If you want a streamlined Galveston experience, here are some pointers from someone who doesn't drive in and park across the street from the terminal in FL or TX.

 

1. Fly in the day before. We do this regardless of where we cruise from. Flights to FLL/MCO can be delayed just as easily as flights to HOU/IAH.
    
   
2. If you can fly into Hobby, do it. This will probably mean you fly in on Southwest. You'll step off the plane on the Galveston side of the Houston metro area, so you will have already cut off half of the journey. If Hobby isn't an option, just count on longer times to get to/from IAH, and more expensive transportation options. IAH also will probably rule out the Taxi/Uber option due to cost.
    
   
3. Skip staying in Galveston, unless you really mean to. Galveston is a tourist destination in its own right, so most of the hotels don't really cater to/want overnight cruise passengers on a Saturday night, since they'd rather have someone come down and spend the weekend. If you really want to experience Galveston, extend the vacation by 2 days to meet the hotel requirement and have a nice weekend in Galveston to kick off your vacation. If you are flying in the day before the cruise, you probably won't get to Galveston until late afternoon/evening anyway, so even if you are able to find a hotel that will let you stay for one night, you are probably paying extra for a tourist area hotel just to crash for the night.
    
   
4. If you can do #2 and don't have a burning desire for a weekend in Galveston, stay at a hotel by Hobby. The rates will be comparable to something closer to Galveston but not in Galveston like Texas City, but you'll skip having to double up on transportation. The hotels by Hobby should have free shuttles to and from the airport so you'll only have to worry about the hotel to port transfer. Staying in a place like Texas City gets you closer to Galveston, but you will have to find transportation from the airport to the hotel, and then from the hotel to the port. The downside of staying by Hobby is there is not much to do in the area, so an evening arrival probably would work best, and you may want to pick up dinner at the airport before you head to the hotel.
    
   
5. There are multiple transportation options, you just have to research them and schedule ahead of time. It's definitely not like FLL where it's 2 short cab rides to the hotel and then the port, but 1000's of people get to and from cruises out of Galveston successfully every week. In addition to the taxi/shuttle/limo options, there are hotels by Hobby that will offer one night packages with transfers to the port and then back to the airport when you get back (La Quinta), and if you stay by either airport you can also catch the hotel shuttle back to the airport and take the RCL airport transfer option. Since Uber is now an option we're planning that for our upcoming cruise in March. I wouldn't bother with car rentals if you are planning one-way rentals to/from Galveston/Texas City as it seems like too much hassle/cost.
    
   
6. As for getting home, the safest bet is to schedule a later flight. Fog can be an issue, but it has never impacted us on our late March/early April cruises. If you do a later flight, you'll have more piece of mind for catching your flight if there is a delay. You have a risk of the ship getting back late no matter where you cruise from, it's just Galveston fog delays tend to get more press around here. That said, we're planning to catch a 10:40am flight home out of Hobby in April.
    
   
7. Disembark early. The later you wait to get off the ship, the more chance you have of something going wrong in customs. Since we had later flights the past two years on Navigator we waited on the ship until the last numbers were called, and ended up being put at the end of a massive line that took forever to get through, although last year we got off on Easter which had a whole different set of issues. None of us know how things are going to work out with the new Terminal 2, but recent reports about Liberty say the process is already working better than it was on Navigator.
    
   
8. If you have a late flight and there are no fog delays (probable) you could get off the ship early, get back to Hobby and rent a car for the day (they will gladly rent you a car there on a Sunday) and go do something in Houston like the Johnson Space Center and then head back to the airport. Or if there is a fog delay, you just skip that and go straight to the airport. If you have to fly from IAH, it may even be worth getting transportation to Hobby and doing a one-way rental from Hobby to IAH since you will save backtracking.
   

 

Although you can't beat the Port Everglades experience, for me Hobby-Galveston is about the same degree of difficulty as Orlando/MCO-Port Canaveral. You just have to make your arrangements in advance and plan accordingly.

[ewenix]

I fear I may have made a huge mistake in booking a family cruise out of Galveston on the Liberty. The more I read about how difficult it is to get from airport to port, distance, fog delays, two night minimums at hotels, the more I am beginning to panic. We are a year out and could potentially change reservations to something out of FL on Freedom. I was looking forward to a freshly revamped ship with water slides and wanted to try a different ship. But so many bad reports about Galveston. Anyone have good reviews-tricks to make it easier with a family of four flying in?

 

I agree with Camlott that it can be done, but requires more logistical planning.

I did this last year for a group of 11, but 4 dropped and ended up with 7.

 

- Many hotels want a 2 night stay (or at least pay for two) but there are some that don't. Check a few online sites (including marriott and hilton, direct booking.)

 

- Food: If you fly a day early to avoid weather related delays, you'll want to either plan for transportation(taxi/car rental) or book a hotel with food in walking distance. (grocery store, or restaurants)

 

- Transportation:

- Car rental has its own issues here, so I wouldn't recommend it but it *can* be done. It's just going to increase your hassle factor, but its a trade off for the mobility.

- If no car you'll need shuttle service to/from the airport and from the hotel to the pier. Some hotels will have shuttle service to the pier available. There is taxi service, but in my experience they were hard to find. I'm sure you can call, but don't expect to walk outside and hail one.

 

- Be aware that Hobby is closer that IAH. It may be overall cheaper to flying into IAH. You'll need to check flight times and cost, then consider shuttle or car rental costs and make the best determination for you.

 

As for the fog.. Well, Galveston isn't the only port with this issue and as others have stated it's seasonal. It's a risk. You can plan later flights out, but that hinges on cost and if you can accept the flight times. (i.e. Only you'll know if you have to be back to the work the next day.)

Edited January 13, 2016 by ewenix

[wolfganghowell]

I would just like to point out that almost all of the replies have come from Texans.

 

Very true but mil76 gave some great advice. We have cruised twice from Galveston with friends who flew in from Arizona. They never had a problem but they planned ahead - they scheduled mid afternoon return flights, had private transportation set up for the airport transfers and came in the day before the cruise. Both times they were able to book single nights at the Hilton.

[niksmom630]

I fear I may have made a huge mistake in booking a family cruise out of Galveston on the Liberty. The more I read about how difficult it is to get from airport to port, distance, fog delays, two night minimums at hotels, the more I am beginning to panic. We are a year out and could potentially change reservations to something out of FL on Freedom. I was looking forward to a freshly revamped ship with water slides and wanted to try a different ship. But so many bad reports about Galveston. Anyone have good reviews-tricks to make it easier with a family of four flying in?

 

We have taken may cruises our of FFL, and we took our first cruise out of Galveston in November, 2014.

 

It is true that it requires a bit more planning, and the transportation costs are definitely higher--however, our cruise pricing was also much less than we have paid for similar 7 day cruises out of FFL, so in the end it probably was a wash. A few comments about our trip:

 

--We flew from O'Hare to IAH. It was simply not feasible for us to fly into Hobby. That puts you about 1 1/2 or so from the port. Instead of Galveston, we stayed one night in Kemah at the Boardwalk Hotel. It was a bit pricey, but the area is beautiful, and there are lots of restaurants, shops and an amusement park. A great place to stay with kids.

 

--We used Cool Tours for all of our transportation, (3 legs) which included shuttle service from IAH to Kemah, Kemah to the Galveston port on embarkation day, and from the Port of Galveston back to IAH. We had a large group, but the cost for all three transportation legs, including gratuity was $100 per person. At the time, the RCI transfers were $47 each way from IAH to the Port. Cool Tours was on time or early for all of our pick ups. I would highly recommend them.

 

--We booked our return flight for 1:30 p.m. We did self walk off, and made it through customs and to the curb in about 40 minutes. We were at the airport with several hours to spare. Embarkation was one of the quickest I have ever experienced.

 

Overall, I had a great experience cruising out of Galveston, and would definitely do it again. The only complaint I did have is the temperatures were a bit cooler than what one might find in Florida in November. Our first and last days on this sailing were a bit cool, definitely not swim suit weather. Hope this helps!

 

Chris

[mom2tcdx2]

We took a cruise out of Houston, which I assume Galveston would be just as easy. We flew into Hobby airport, got a hotel near the airport the day before the cruise. We spent the night, took the hotel shuttle back to the airport and then used the cruise ship transfers from the airport to the cruise port. No minimums, no hassle, and just stayed close to the airport instead.

[wampuscat7]

We typically cruise twice a year during Fall and Spring school breaks, usually one out of Florida (Port Everglades/Port Canaveral) and one out of Galveston. ...

(Deleted to reduce the amount of repeat in the thread).

 

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this. Really helpful for someone considering a first cruise out of Galveston (and comparing to Port Everglades and Port Canaveral).

Edited January 13, 2016 by wampuscat7

[csj0810]

Excellent information, everyone. Our only other experience was out of port canaveral. We managed the transfers and hotel stays there. I appreciate the various scenarios and will look into all of them. We love flying southwest out of either Milwaukee or we can travel to Chicago, so Hobby might be a better option. I have plenty of time to obsess and consider my options, but the info is appreciated

[denamo]

I fear I may have made a huge mistake in booking a family cruise out of Galveston on the Liberty. The more I read about how difficult it is to get from airport to port, distance, fog delays, two night minimums at hotels, the more I am beginning to panic. We are a year out and could potentially change reservations to something out of FL on Freedom. I was looking forward to a freshly revamped ship with water slides and wanted to try a different ship. But so many bad reports about Galveston. Anyone have good reviews-tricks to make it easier with a family of four flying in?

 

We've had a variety of experiences cruising out of Galveston. We just did the repositioning cruise in November and had the fastest disembarkation ever. Seems like they were working hard to make everything work. We did not do self disembarkation and all went well. Just make sure to grab a porter. The tip you pay them is worth every penny.

 

As far as getting to port and back to airport, you might choose to stay near the airport and use a shuttle to the port the next morning. We were on the Navigator last year out of Galveston and some fellow cruisers used Galveston Express to get from their hotel to the port and back to the airport. Upon their recommendation, we used them when we came into Galveston on the Liberty to get to HOU (Southwest). They were a great recommendation, and I too would recommend them as well.

 

Go have a great time on your cruise!