Galveston pre-cruise

[Dan83]

We’ve had something come up that we can’t miss the evening before a cruise departing Galveston. It’s a 6 hour drive to port. My options are to start driving around 10 pm and arrive 4 am. Or I could try to get a few hours sleep and leave home at 3-4 am and arrive to port in time to board the ship. This option doesn’t leave much wiggle room for flat tires, breakdown, etc. which is rare but always crosses my mind on a trip. I’m reluctant to get a hotel just to check in at 4 am and then leave 5-6 hours later. It’s just too much work unloading the car and kids into a hotel for a few hours. Another consideration is driving through Houston on a weekday morning, which could easily add an extra hour to drive time.  Which option would you take? 

[Kevin308]

A 6 hour drive on a week day puts you in Houston at rush hour when you plan to  leave that means the trip couu ld be longer.  So me I would leave at 10pm and check in at a hotel late.  Plus I am usually tired after a drive that long anyways.

 

[soundman10f]

If I were you I would leave at 10pm and get a hotel somewhere along I45 south, between beltway 8 & League City. Puts you less then an hour from the port and going out bound when then mourning rush hour is in bound. If boarding time is 11am means you don't have to leaves the hotel till 9:30 am at the latest. Also there are cheaper hotels in that area then on Galveston. I know that it probably sucks but better then driving in that morning and something like a break down happens and you miss your cruise. Best of luck.

[GJustice]

While you can START boarding at 11:00AM or so, you don't HAVE to be there until 90 minutes before departure time which does give you some wiggle room in drive planning. 

[Nike4000]

Wife and I did the "morning of" drive once. Driving from North Texas, we left home around 5am planning to get lunch in Galveston before boarding. Due to traffic and other issues, we were running through the cruise terminal to get on the ship before the cutoff time. This was pre-Covid, so I'm sure there's no way we would have made it if we had to go through the full rigamarole now. We decided one night of a hotel room was a minor cost compared to the stress of that day.

 

On the flip side, we have family that drive down the morning of every time, they sail an average of 5 times per year, and have only missed their cruise a couple of times. 

 

It totally depends on your tolerance for risk. Personally, I like @soundman10f's recommendation of driving down at least part of the way and making your "morning of" drive a lot shorter.

[Dan83]

Thanks for all the advice. Cruise leaves Friday. The 10 pm departure from home now seems too optimistic. More likely will be 11-midnight. I think I’m going to leave at 2 am. If all goes well I’ll just nap in the car when we get to Galveston. And I’ll still have a few hours wiggle room before the 1:30 all aboard. 

[cruiselvr04]

Debating the same thing.  2 weeks ago driving home from Galveston from Liberty on a Sunday we were home in 4 and half hours.  We left the pier at about 9:45 and we were home just after 2 pm.  
 

However driving down is a whole another thing on a weekday which we are thinking we will attempt next month.  If we leave at 5 am we will miss some of the traffic in Dallas. And Friday morning traffic is usually a little lighter. But of course we will get into the end of rush hour in Houston.  We have sat on l-45 before for 2 hours due to an accident.  We will have until 1:30 to actually board.  So we have to decide if it’s worth the stress to save a night in a hotel.  

Edited August 15, 2022 by cruiselvr04