Okay, how exactly DO you get to Galveston from Houston?

[Leejnd4]

I've been searching this forum and all kinds of websites, and I still can't figure out the best way for us to get from the airport to the pier.

 

From what I've been able to ascertain, most people seem to either take a taxi, or hire a limo service, both of which are rather expensive. Others mention having rented a car, but how do you get to the ship after dropping the car off? Plus, isn't the drop-off office in Galveston closed on Sundays (day the cruise begins)?

 

We're a family of 4 - Mom, Dad and 2 teenagers. I'm not looking for luxury, just the most basic transportation -- heck a bus would be fine. We just want to get from the airport to the ship, no frills. We have to fly into Bush, since we're coming from LA and flights to Hobby were cost prohibitive, since there's 4 of us.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

LeeAnne

[wrp96]

Check out www.galvestonlimo.com It's a shuttle service. It will be much less than RCI transfers or a taxi.

[Leejnd4]

Yeah, I saw that, but it lists a rate of $60 round trip PER adult. Is that right? That would be $240!!! That's a bit out of the price range...

 

LeeAnne

[elvisrocks]

I thought I had read on these boards before that someone rented a car from one of the major car rental places in Houston with a drop off in Galveston. You might look around these boards. If that is correct, you could rent a car, drop everyone off at pier, have 1 person drop car off and take taxi back. Then of course you would have to do the same thing again when you get back. I dont know how much cheaper, but something worth looking into.

[Leejnd4]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I just checked that option out too -- Enterprise does a one-way rental, but they charge a $40 drop off fee! Kinda outrageous, since they don't charge drop-off fees for almost any other location in the entire state of Texas.

 

So I'm still in search of a reasonably-priced transfer from the airport to the ship. Wish me luck.

 

LeeAnne

[froggidog]

We are renting a car from Enterprise when we go this weekend. There are 7 of us so renting a van was much cheaper even with the drop off fee. They have a shuttle to take you to the ship after you drop off the car and they have a desk at the port and will take you to your car when you get back.

[chaswelf]

I'm going this weekend also and since I'm coming in early and leaving late I needed a car. So I booked one way's between IAH and galveston with hertz. I payed with all tax's ect included for a full size:

 

IAH to Galveston pick up 1/21 drop 1/22 $96

Galveston to IAH pickup 1/29 drop 1/30 $86

 

You have to drop the car at hertz in galveston they will give you a ride back to the pier, and you can pick up your car at the cruise terminal when you return.

[cruisin4kicks]

I'm going this weekend also and since I'm coming in early and leaving late I needed a car. So I booked one way's between IAH and galveston with hertz. I payed with all tax's ect included for a full size:

 

IAH to Galveston pick up 1/21 drop 1/22 $96

Galveston to IAH pickup 1/29 drop 1/30 $86

 

You have to drop the car at hertz in galveston they will give you a ride back to the pier, and you can pick up your car at the cruise terminal when you return.

We did the exact same thing Charles and Deb (chaswelf) did with Hertz. We're going on the exact same cruise (check the cruise tickers). Charles recommended Hertz to me on an earlier post and we rented from them as well.

 

Hey Charles... getting closer, aren't we?

 

Tim

[chaswelf]

We did the exact same thing Charles and Deb (chaswelf) did with Hertz. We're going on the exact same cruise (check the cruise tickers). Charles recommended Hertz to me on an earlier post and we rented from them as well.

 

Hey Charles... getting closer, aren't we?

 

Tim

 

Yesssssssss. I'm already checking out wait listing on a earlier flight, I'm READY

[Leejnd4]

Wow. So basically no matter what I do it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of about $200 to get us to and from the airport. That's $200 I DIDN'T factor into the cost of this cruise. It's not like it's going to break us, but my dear hubby gave me a specific budget for this vacation, and it does break that. I guess I'll be forgoing a couple shore excursions in favor of a fun and exciting cab (or van or shuttle or limo or rental car) ride. Stinks.

 

LeeAnne

[houstoncruisers2001]

Wow. So basically no matter what I do it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of about $200 to get us to and from the airport. Stinks.LeeAnne

 

Yes, LeeAnne...it DOES stink, but you have to remember that from Houston's big airport(IAH) to Galveston is about a 75 mile one way trip.

[FrankiRN]

Does Galveston not have an airport you can fly into? Must be a lot cheaper to fly into Houston if all of you are doing it. Or is the Galveston airport still damaged?

[kyriecat]

Galveston has never had a commercial flight terminal. It's mostly offshore copters and private planes. I hadn't heard about the airport being damaged.:confused:

 

Most people flying to Galveston either fly into IAH (Bush), the large intercontinental airport on the north side of Houston or into HOU (Hobby), which is the smaller commuter airport on the south side. Hobby is closer, but doesn't have as many flights available. If you can fly Southwest, they normally go into Hobby. Hobby is only about 30 - 45 minutes from Galveston vs. IAH which is at least 1.5 hours.

[houstoncruisers2001]

Leejnd4.....when is your cruise? Are you going straight from the airport to the ship? Just curious.

[Don Pedro]

We always try get a flight into Houston Hobby and catch a cab to and from the cruise ship pier. Cost is about $80 dollars each way. It is more expensive, but much less stress and strain than with shuttles, buses and rentals.

[Rala]

We flew into Hobby using Delta Airlines. However, it was about 3 yrs. ago, so not sure if they are still going there. Good Luck!

[PSCruiser]

LeeAnne - what a great question! I've been looking at cruises out of Galveston for a long time, and they always appear to be a deal, however once you add on the ground transportation cost the advantage disappears. If only the cruise lines could get the car rental companies to rent a car for $35 like at other ports, I'd book in a minute! You would think there are as many people needing to drive the cars back to Houston, so why the dropoff fee? They could run a deal where passengers that arrive by 11AM have no dropoff fee, nor will outgoing passengers willing to wait till after 11 AM to drive those same cars back.

[fireguy091]

Wow. So basically no matter what I do it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of about $200 to get us to and from the airport. That's $200 I DIDN'T factor into the cost of this cruise. It's not like it's going to break us, but my dear hubby gave me a specific budget for this vacation, and it does break that. I guess I'll be forgoing a couple shore excursions in favor of a fun and exciting cab (or van or shuttle or limo or rental car) ride. Stinks.

 

LeeAnne[/quote

 

The words and budget and vac. are like oil and water, they don't mix. I don't know a woman in the world that can't scrape up a couple big one's with out the hubby knowing,lol. With two teens around the house there should be alot of room for massageing the ole food budget...:)

[Baxters_DH]

We are renting a car from Enterprise when we go this weekend. There are 7 of us so renting a van was much cheaper even with the drop off fee. They have a shuttle to take you to the ship after you drop off the car and they have a desk at the port and will take you to your car when you get back.

 

Good luck with that if it is a mini-van....We rented one for 5 of us....4 adults and 1-10yr old...We had barely enough room for luggage and we are well healed at packing. The Kia vans don't have much luggage area and are not an extended version... Just a point of caution.

 

You also have to drop everyone off at the ship first...then drop your vehicle off...and when you return you have to go pick up your vehicle and then come back to get your party-basically they don't want to haul you and your luggage..

 

We are doing it again this time and don't have much of an issue....just be sure to leave yourself enough time to do all that as it gets crazy at the port..

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

Leeanne,

 

Have you checked Southwest Airlines out of Burbank to Hobby?

 

From these boards I understand that Hobby is much closer than Bush, and the transportation is much cheaper.

 

Another idea is to look at driving to Galveston. I know that it is a long two days drive each way but financially you might save significant money by driving. When my family went on an Alaskan cruise we drove from Southern California to Vancouver and we did save quite a bit. Just an idea for you.

 

Good luck,

 

Fred

[chaswelf]

Wow. So basically no matter what I do it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of about $200 to get us to and from the airport. That's $200 I DIDN'T factor into the cost of this cruise. It's not like it's going to break us, but my dear hubby gave me a specific budget for this vacation, and it does break that. I guess I'll be forgoing a couple shore excursions in favor of a fun and exciting cab (or van or shuttle or limo or rental car) ride. Stinks.

 

LeeAnne

 

maybe you can car pool or limo pool with a group? I'd check your roll call board and see if theres anyone else willing to share.

[Iamthesea]

Wow. So basically no matter what I do it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of about $200 to get us to and from the airport. That's $200 I DIDN'T factor into the cost of this cruise. It's not like it's going to break us, but my dear hubby gave me a specific budget for this vacation, and it does break that. I guess I'll be forgoing a couple shore excursions in favor of a fun and exciting cab (or van or shuttle or limo or rental car) ride. Stinks.

IMO, $240 for a limo is a great deal! We took a limo in Orlando to Port Canaveral and it was the best money we ever spent. The driver greeted us at the airport, helped with luggage and even stopped at the store for us. We didn't have to worry about directions or getting lost. We just sat back and enjoyed the scenery while snacking and drinking the beverages that were included with the ride. There were 5 of us.

[Iamthesea]

xxxxx

[Leejnd4]

Thanks, everyone, for your input! I'm still struggling with figuring out exactly what to do. Luckily our cruise isn't until August 20 (Rhapsody), but I promised my husband I would have a complete 2006 vacation budget prepared by the end of this month. (We're taking two other cruises, as well as a ski trip, so I have a lot of work still to do!)

 

I'm sure I can scrape up the money for the ground transport, I was just hoping not to have to scrape up quite that much.

 

IMO, $240 for a limo is a great deal! We took a limo in Orlando to Port Canaveral and it was the best money we ever spent. The driver greeted us at the airport, helped with luggage and even stopped at the store for us. We didn't have to worry about directions or getting lost. We just sat back and enjoyed the scenery while snacking and drinking the beverages that were included with the ride. There were 5 of us.

 

Yes, I'm sure that's a great deal, but you're talking $240 each way -- that's $500 I would much rather spend on shore excursions or wine or something a bit more enjoyable than a 90-minute freeway ride. That's a pretty big tab for snacks and sodas. As much as I wish I had free reign with the vacation budget, I've got a set amount, and I'm just trying to squeeze in all the things I want to do this year. It's a bit of a puzzle, but I've become quite good at it -- mainly by doing as much research as possible, and by economizing the stuff that doesn't add to the vacation enjoyment (like ground transport!). ;)

 

Fred, thanks for the tip on Southwest to Hobby! I checked it out, and it is in the price range. But two of our plane tickets are being purchased with credit card points, so I need to call them and figure out if we can use those points for that flight. I'll let you know -- that could be a good option, not only in reducing ground transport costs, but in time savings as well.

 

Again, thanks everyone -- back to the drawing board!

 

LeeAnne

[penwah2002]

I dont think you can get there from there.....:)