Cruising with Toddler, out of Galveston

[vegas82]

Hello

I wasn't sure if this forum was right to post in, or if I should have used the homeport forum - but my bigger question is around travelling with the toddler, LOL, so I went with families.

We are booked on a 5 night Royal Caribbean cruise (Adventure of the seas) on Nov 17, 2021 out of Galveston. We are flying from Northern Alberta to get to the port, so our packing is limited to airline allowances.  We plan to arrive in houston the night before. As of now, it looks like our flight would get in around 8pm.  

Our son will be 21 months at the time.  So these are my questions, lol

 

-would it be better to stay in Houston, and travel to Galveston in the morning or go straight to Galveston for the night and have more time in the morning before boarding? Google shows its about an hour ride.

-Are there car services from houston airport to galveston that provide carseats?

-do we bring a carseat in the event we need to take a shuttle?
-has anyone rented a car in houston airport, and dropped it off at the pier? I know that way we could have a carseat included.  Can we also pick up a carseat from the pier?

-Does RC provide transfer to houston airport at disembarkation?

 

If I have posted in the wrong place, please delete.

Thanks!

~K

 

[Essiesmom]

You will probably get some answers here (better than mine) but I would also post it on the Gulf Coast departures board, and the Royal Caribbean board.  I'm pretty sure Royal will provide a post cruise transfer via bus to Houston.  EM

[lobsternight]

We did a Galveston departure with a toddler many years ago. We flew in via Calgary and took a room just south of Houston, but for a few days as we toured a bit.  No problem with the car rental, think it was National, but minimal drop off fee at Galveston, car seat included.

 

I don't know if things have changed much but it was absolute insanity at the rental return for people getting off the boat.  Not enough cars.  As we pulled in everyone wanted our car, even telling the rentsl company don't clean it, we will take it as is, we need to catch our flight.

 

With that in mind, we just took a cab back on our return.  There were 5 of us so it was cheaper than the cruise shuttle.  Of course in this situation no car seat.  

[mconthehighseas]

I live about halfway between Galveston and Downtown Houston, and I would recommend trying to stay in Galveston, even though your little one will be tired. Traffic gets crazy on Sundays with cruise traffic to Galveston, so being there when you wake up saves you the headache of worrying about that.  Also, once you wake up and figure out what you need to get that you forgot to pack,  you will have time to run to the WalMart or supermarket to fill in what you need.

 

There are several car services/ airport shuttles  that go to Galveston, including Galveston Limo. You will need to get in touch with which ever service you use to find out if they have car seats.

 

If you would prefer a car rental, check out Enterprise.  In the past, they would provide transportation to the pier when you would drop the car off at their office in Galveston.   And RC does have a transportation option back to the airport, but you need it to be after noon or 1 pm. (I think)

 

When our son was that age,  he was too big to sit in our lap, so he sat in  a car seat in the plane cabin.  If that's not an option for you, the airline will gate check a car seat and a stroller for free.
 

[Wanna Be Retired]

On 4/7/2021 at 10:02 PM, mconthehighseas said:

I live about halfway between Galveston and Downtown Houston, and I would recommend trying to stay in Galveston, even though your little one will be tired. Traffic gets crazy on Sundays with cruise traffic to Galveston, so being there when you wake up saves you the headache of worrying about that.  Also, once you wake up and figure out what you need to get that you forgot to pack,  you will have time to run to the WalMart or supermarket to fill in what you need.

 

There are several car services/ airport shuttles  that go to Galveston, including Galveston Limo. You will need to get in touch with which ever service you use to find out if they have car seats.

 

If you would prefer a car rental, check out Enterprise.  In the past, they would provide transportation to the pier when you would drop the car off at their office in Galveston.   And RC does have a transportation option back to the airport, but you need it to be after noon or 1 pm. (I think)

 

When our son was that age,  he was too big to sit in our lap, so he sat in  a car seat in the plane cabin.  If that's not an option for you, the airline will gate check a car seat and a stroller for free.
 

I could not agree more!  Galveston Limo has been incredible for me.  I took a family cruise and my son, his wife and three kids, who flew to Houston from Los Angeles, were picked up at Hobby by Galveston Limo.  They actually sent a limo for them.  They were on-time and took them directly to the AirBnB house that I rented for my family.  The rest of us drove and we parked at EZ Cruise.  Our cruise was actually the one that came in with Hurricane Harvey so we could not get off the ship in Galveston.  Royal took us to Miami and they took my son and his family to the airport in Miami to fly home.  Galveston Limo quickly refunded me for his return pickup from Galveston to Hobby.  They were so helpful.  Don’t forget to check out deals on condos in Galveston for the evening.  A few are within walking distance of Wal Mart and restaurants.