Our Galveston transfer struggles.... I struggle to want to go back

[alfaeric]

We recently finished a side by side pair of cruises on the Allure and Radiance.  And transportation was.... interesting and frustrating...

 

Two months ago, we booked all of our trips but one with Blacklane- IAH to Galveston, Galveston to JSC, and JSC to IAH.  And assumed getting a taxi to our one night hotel would be easy.

 

Getting to Galveston was a breeze- they were right there, and the long ride to our hotel was easy.  

 

Problem #1, taxi from the Allure to anywhere.  When we got off the Allure, there were no taxis anywhere to be seen.  We had just got in the taxi area as a bunch apparently left- as there was one couple that was waiting.  After about 20 min, one showed up for them, and by then there was a pretty decent long line waiting for a taxi.  It was just over a mile to our hotel, so we walked after calling a taxi company and them telling us that 1) they had nobody available, and 2) they could not enter the port.  What????

 

Getting the taxi from our hotel to the Radiance was reasonably easy, but there was a decent wait.

 

Problem #2- the day before the Radiance arrived back in Galveston, Blacklane canceled our trip.  Claiming that they had nobody who could come out.  Seriously?  We made this reservation well in advance, so it should have been easy for them to make arrangements for ONE driver.  We didn't find out until the morning of arrival, as communications on a cruise isn't that great.  They KNEW we were on a cruise, and this sudden cancelation left us in a terrible position.  So based on that, I'd totally avoid Blacklane for any transportation- as they can not fulfil a reservation made well in advance.  Terrible.

 

Problem #3- getting a Lyft.  We tried to call a taxi, but they could not commit to a specific time.  We went out, and the handful that were there were demanding the same price as a limo transfer.  And we had heard that Uber does not have the permission to get to the port.  So I tried to book with Lyft.  They showed a handful of cars around the port until I actually asked to reserve it, and then it went into a loop.  At one time, we kind of got a person, and then they canceled and it went back into a loop.  Forgive me lyft, but you should be able to tip off your drivers that a ship is coming in and that you are the ONLY ride share that is allowed to pick someone up.  But that's not the actual problem.  We were literally standing next to a driver who was a Lyft driver.  Right there at the port.  He was logged in and was available, we were logged in and were asking for a car.  And in spite of all of that, he was NOT given any of the rides that people were trying to get.  In the end, we made private arrangements for that driver to take us to our JSC hotel.  Come on Lyft- you can do a lot better than that.

 

The next day, Blacklane did pick us up at the JSC hotel, and we got back for our flight home.  

 

But with all of that struggle, I really don't want to sail out of Galveston again.  And for sure we will never use Blacklane again- as reservations mean nothing, apparently.  Royal needs to do a LOT better with ground transportation for their guests if they want us to fly in and cruise there.

[MujerIsla]

Sorry that happened to you. I cringe when people advise people coming to Galveston to just do taxis or rideshares. Everyone's on island time, and that means you can't depend on timely service. Not to mention, there aren't enough employees here to cover all areas of the tourism industry, so it exacerbates the already frustrating problem. I can't imagine having to get here and back from Houston, let alone getting around town, without my own car or renting a car. They make it so difficult. 

[SCBarker]

I wouldn't be surprised if every Uber and Lyft driver in the greater Houston area wasn't working Rodeo Houston for the past 3 weeks. That's big business for them.

 

The Galveston taxi situation is a bit of a conundrum. There not enough business for them other than the few hours of cruise business in the morning. Passengers are also completing with crew. If there's a few ships in port, you should see the taxis waiting outside Walmart, Marshalls, etc, just for the crew that can get off ship to do some shopping. They really pack in those minivan taxis.

[dna1990]

It is a key topic that needs some attention, esp as Galveston cruising only continues to grow with the existing terminals, more so if the fourth location goes live.

 

I think it mimics parking in a way.  Ten years ago we likely made similar comments about parking - shuttles, options, standards, schedules, pricing, etc.  And it eventually got to a much smoother point, the port made some changes to traffic flow and added more shuttle bus slots, competition brought more options and innovations, etc.

 

Now Galveston attracts more and more fly-in guests and not just us Texas and nearby drivers...yes - they need a more solid set of solutions.  What is likely the number one question here and other social media when it comes to cruising out of Galveston - transfers/shuttle service, etc.

 

I saw SSB posted that Uber was in new talks with the Port of Galveston, so hopefully that helps some.  But I worry too that RideShare is not as easy an option like other cities, where there is this constant presence and rolling turnover that makes getting a quick ride an easy task (and for drivers to get their next fare).  Drivers have little to work on outside some narrow cruise turnover days/times.  The distances are long, so only one trip feasible most days.  There are all types of surge pricing models that make it hard for passengers to plan.  And big events like Mardi Gras, Rodeo, Airshow maybe - all can quickly deplete the rideshare pool.

 

And for my eyes, even at the new RCCL terminal with all its nice parking and building amenities - the ingress/egress and shuttle/rideshare pickup zones....are kinda meh.  We still see Harborside and 14th lined up with rideshare/taxi groups, why was this whole concept not better incorporated into the overall terminal experience?

 

 

Look, cruising is an awesome vacation experience for many.  Galveston is a quaint place to visit pre/post cruise.  And even at the world's best-designed airports, nobody "enjoys" the luggage, shuttles, waiting, heat, cold, tired kids, etc - portion of travel.  But we don't have to exacerbate the issue either.  In some industries they call it "last mile" operations, where you focus on the whole journey, and don't skimp out on the last little bit the customer remembers (often not kindly).  Lets find a way that people are content and smiling as they travel back over the causeway headed north.

 

And great kudos to the many private drivers that already make perfect customer experiences week after week with little public praise, we talk about bad news alot - but don't forget there is plenty of good that nobody takes time to sit down and type out.  🤩

[ssb]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:36 AM, alfaeric said:

We recently finished a side by side pair of cruises on the Allure and Radiance.  And transportation was.... interesting and frustrating...

 

Two months ago, we booked all of our trips but one with Blacklane- IAH to Galveston, Galveston to JSC, and JSC to IAH.  And assumed getting a taxi to our one night hotel would be easy.

 

Getting to Galveston was a breeze- they were right there, and the long ride to our hotel was easy.  

 

Problem #1, taxi from the Allure to anywhere.  When we got off the Allure, there were no taxis anywhere to be seen.  We had just got in the taxi area as a bunch apparently left- as there was one couple that was waiting.  After about 20 min, one showed up for them, and by then there was a pretty decent long line waiting for a taxi.  It was just over a mile to our hotel, so we walked after calling a taxi company and them telling us that 1) they had nobody available, and 2) they could not enter the port.  What????

 

Getting the taxi from our hotel to the Radiance was reasonably easy, but there was a decent wait.

 

Problem #2- the day before the Radiance arrived back in Galveston, Blacklane canceled our trip.  Claiming that they had nobody who could come out.  Seriously?  We made this reservation well in advance, so it should have been easy for them to make arrangements for ONE driver.  We didn't find out until the morning of arrival, as communications on a cruise isn't that great.  They KNEW we were on a cruise, and this sudden cancelation left us in a terrible position.  So based on that, I'd totally avoid Blacklane for any transportation- as they can not fulfil a reservation made well in advance.  Terrible.

 

Problem #3- getting a Lyft.  We tried to call a taxi, but they could not commit to a specific time.  We went out, and the handful that were there were demanding the same price as a limo transfer.  And we had heard that Uber does not have the permission to get to the port.  So I tried to book with Lyft.  They showed a handful of cars around the port until I actually asked to reserve it, and then it went into a loop.  At one time, we kind of got a person, and then they canceled and it went back into a loop.  Forgive me lyft, but you should be able to tip off your drivers that a ship is coming in and that you are the ONLY ride share that is allowed to pick someone up.  But that's not the actual problem.  We were literally standing next to a driver who was a Lyft driver.  Right there at the port.  He was logged in and was available, we were logged in and were asking for a car.  And in spite of all of that, he was NOT given any of the rides that people were trying to get.  In the end, we made private arrangements for that driver to take us to our JSC hotel.  Come on Lyft- you can do a lot better than that.

 

The next day, Blacklane did pick us up at the JSC hotel, and we got back for our flight home.  

 

But with all of that struggle, I really don't want to sail out of Galveston again.  And for sure we will never use Blacklane again- as reservations mean nothing, apparently.  Royal needs to do a LOT better with ground transportation for their guests if they want us to fly in and cruise there.

Uber now is licensed to enter Port of Galveston . 

[sassycruiser]

We shuttled with Princess on our Galveston trip and will not do it again.  No waiting area while you wait for shuttle going to port and coming back the driver and staff were extremely rude.

 

Crossed Galveston off our embarkation ports……

[ssb]

2 hours ago, sassycruiser said:

We shuttled with Princess on our Galveston trip and will not do it again.  No waiting area while you wait for shuttle going to port and coming back the driver and staff were extremely rude.

 

Crossed Galveston off our embarkation ports……

Blame Princess not Galveston 

[sassycruiser]

True - but I think when you go from Miami or FLL you expect that type of set up in Galveston and the infrastructure doesn’t exist.  

 

 

[alfaeric]

5 hours ago, ssb said:

Blame Princess not Galveston 

Since most of the other ports have a reliable system put in place other than Galveston, not so sure about that.  And it's a shame- it's a nice small town there as well as to beaches.  But we really have no desire to be abandoned at the port like we were.  Which has not happened at any other port.

[ssb]

14 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Since most of the other ports have a reliable system put in place other than Galveston, not so sure about that.  And it's a shame- it's a nice small town there as well as to beaches.  But we really have no desire to be abandoned at the port like we were.  Which has not happened at any other port.

Again lack of good communications and understanding between the driver and you . Not Galveston  or Port . 

Edited August 6 by ssb

[alfaeric]

21 minutes ago, ssb said:

Again lack of good communications and understanding between the driver and you . Not Galveston  or Port . 

LOL, no we made an actual reservation that he canceled the day before we got back.  We made the reservations weeks in advance (the same company took us from Houston to Galveston). Then we tried really hard to get a Lyft, and there were no drivers available for hours.  And we had to choose a ride share because there were zero taxis in the port to pick people up.  Mind you, the week before, we had to WALK from the port to our hotel because there were no taxis or ride shares to take us the mile from the port to our downtown hotel.

 

It's funny you blame us for our travel problems, when our reserved car, the taxi system, AND ride shares all didn't deliver.  How is that our fault?

 

I read that as drivers don't want to drive all the way out to the island.  Meaning it's the port because it's in remote Galveston.

Edited August 6 by alfaeric

[ssb]

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

LOL, no we made an actual reservation that he canceled the day before we got back.  We made the reservations weeks in advance (the same company took us from Houston to Galveston). Then we tried really hard to get a Lyft, and there were no drivers available for hours.  And we had to choose a ride share because there were zero taxis in the port to pick people up.  Mind you, the week before, we had to WALK from the port to our hotel because there were no taxis or ride shares to take us the mile from the port to our downtown hotel.

 

It's funny you blame us for our travel problems, when our reserved car, the taxi system, AND ride shares all didn't deliver.  How is that our fault?

 

I read that as drivers don't want to drive all the way out to the island.  Meaning it's the port because it's in remote Galveston.

Still private enterprise drivers are not the City or Port 

Edited August 6 by ssb

[alfaeric]

10 minutes ago, ssb said:

Still drivers are not the City or Port 

Ok, so then it's the drivers fault that the city and port are so far away from Houston that they don't want to try to make easy money when 6000 passengers get off an Oasis class ship. 

 

Doesn't matter to me- you can blame what who and what you want- I really don't want to have to deal with that.  Thank god we had planned a trip to the space center and didn't miss our flight due to transportation problems.

 

I'll blame the port and city, you blame the drivers.  Either way, it really makes the port incredibly unappealing.  

[ssb]

1 minute ago, alfaeric said:

Ok, so then it's the drivers fault that the city and port are so far away from Houston that they don't want to try to make easy money when 6000 passengers get off an Oasis class ship. 

 

Doesn't matter to me- you can blame what who and what you want- I really don't want to have to deal with that.  Thank god we had planned a trip to the space center and didn't miss our flight due to transportation problems.

 

I'll blame the port and city, you blame the drivers.  Either way, it really makes the port incredibly unappealing.  

With 12000 passengers at that terminal that day ,  you made your excursion and flights . And with also thousands of passengers probably at the two other terminals , sounds like one can say the the City , Port and Drivers  were pretty successful . 

[alfaeric]

4 minutes ago, ssb said:

With 12000 passengers at that terminal that day ,  you made your excursion and flights . And with also thousands of passengers probably at the two other terminals , sounds like one can say the the City , Port and Drivers  were pretty successful . 

Not sure why you are being so defensive of the port.  If passengers are not being picked up- how is that successful?  

 

We didn't find a taxi to get to our Galveston hotel after a cruise- we had to walk with all of our luggage.  Fail.

 

Our hired car to take us to the airport canceled the day before the return of our second cruise.  Fail

 

No taxis were there to make up for that- fail

 

Lyft did not find us a driver- fail.

 

We somehow managed to find a lyft driver who could not find his customers to take us to the museum area- but that was massive scrambling and would have been an order of magnitude worse if we had to get to the airport.  Win for us.

 

The new RCI port had been open for months by then, so all of this struggle to provide transportation is a major fail.

 

Passengers should be warned that this also could happen to them.  Can't strand passengers.

 

 

 

[ssb]

1 minute ago, alfaeric said:

Not sure why you are being so defensive of the port.  If passengers are not being picked up- how is that successful?  

 

We didn't find a taxi to get to our Galveston hotel after a cruise- we had to walk with all of our luggage.  Fail.

 

Our hired car to take us to the airport canceled the day before the return of our second cruise.  Fail

 

No taxis were there to make up for that- fail

 

Lyft did not find us a driver- fail.

 

We somehow managed to find a lyft driver who could not find his customers to take us to the museum area- but that was massive scrambling and would have been an order of magnitude worse if we had to get to the airport.  Win for us.

 

The new RCI port had been open for months by then, so all of this struggle to provide transportation is a major fail.

 

Passengers should be warned that this also could happen to them.  Can't strand passengers.

 

 

 

It happens everywhere in the world, and has happened to us also . We both are the exceptions every now and then . Expect the unexpected when you travel . 

[LuCruise]

2 hours ago, alfaeric said:

LOL, no we made an actual reservation that he canceled the day before we got back.  We made the reservations weeks in advance (the same company took us from Houston to Galveston). Then we tried really hard to get a Lyft, and there were no drivers available for hours.  And we had to choose a ride share because there were zero taxis in the port to pick people up.  Mind you, the week before, we had to WALK from the port to our hotel because there were no taxis or ride shares to take us the mile from the port to our downtown hotel.

 

 

This really worries me. We normally like booking a hotel close the port.  However for Galveston, am wondering if it would be better to book a hotel somewhere between the airport and the port if coming in the day before?  (For us we would be flying into IAH so saw a few hotel options that are 30-45 min away from the port) .  Maybe it would be easier to get an uber or lyft the morning of the cruise?

Edited August 6 by LuCruise

[alfaeric]

29 minutes ago, ssb said:

It happens everywhere in the world, and has happened to us also . We both are the exceptions every now and then . Expect the unexpected when you travel . 

Ok.  So the only port in that we've ever been to stranded us twice at the port in consecutive weeks on separate days just *happened* to be the unexpected two weeks in a row.   It just "happened" that the hired company canceled a long standing reservation the day before we got back to the port and THEN it just "happened" that there were no taxis to make up for that and THEN it just "happened" that a ride share service could not find us a driver.

 

This a week after we just happened to not have a taxi to drive us the mile to our hotel.

 

Sorry, that's totally wrong.  But if you want to ignore a clear transportation problem at the port, you are welcome to.  I feel that people should be aware that there are problems with transportation that stranded us twice in two weeks.  

[alfaeric]

2 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

This really worries me. We normally like booking a hotel close the port.  However for Galveston, am wondering if it would be better to book a hotel somewhere between the airport and the port if coming in the day before?  (For us we would be flying into IAH so saw a few hotel options that are 30-45 min away from the port) .  Maybe it would be easier to get an uber or lyft the morning of the cruise?

Getting to the port was pretty easy.  We got taxis at both hotels- one on the beach, the other downtown.  Getting FROM the port was the real problem- getting to our second hotel and back to Houston a week after that.

[LuCruise]

2 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Getting to the port was pretty easy.  We got taxis at both hotels- one on the beach, the other downtown.  Getting FROM the port was the real problem- getting to our second hotel and back to Houston a week after that.

Thanks for clarifying. So you mean post cruise.  

I'm sorry you had such a hard time.  Pretty crazy, and stressful. 😞 

 

[ssb]

7 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Getting to the port was pretty easy.  We got taxis at both hotels- one on the beach, the other downtown.  Getting FROM the port was the real problem- getting to our second hotel and back to Houston a week after that.

Thanks for advising us , and making all  aware that issues may happen with anyone, anytime anywhere . Its real life circumstances that go along with traveling. 

Edited August 6 by ssb

[alfaeric]

On 8/6/2024 at 11:32 AM, ssb said:

Thanks for advising us , and making all  aware that issues may happen with anyone, anytime anywhere . Its real life circumstances that go along with traveling. 

I wish that it was just random chance that taxis were not there to support the passengers getting off.  More than once.  Or that many Lyft drivers decided that going to the port was not worth it.  More than once.  Or that our hired car service canceled on us the day before we got back.  That would be reassuring that it was random chance.  

 

But they are all related to each other, and it happened more than once.  So I concluded that it's a flaw with this port that taxis, hired cars, and ride share all don't want to be at the port enough in numbers to support all of the customers.  

 

Especially when we've been at the ports of Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Canaveral, Liberty, Baltimore, and Boston and had no transportation problems.  Ever.  Or even the port near Rome.  After as many cruises we've been on, it's curious that the only times we've been stranded were in consecutive weeks at Galveston.  

Again, it's really a shame, as the city of Galveston is really neat, and the beaches are really nice.  But I'm not willing to be stranded out there when we have a flight.

Edited August 7 by alfaeric

[ssb]

4 hours ago, alfaeric said:

I wish that it was just random chance that taxis were not there to support the passengers getting off.  More than once.  Or that many Lyft drivers decided that going to the port was not worth it.  More than once.  Or that our hired car service canceled on us the day before we got back.  That would be reassuring that it was random chance.  

 

But they are all related to each other, and it happened more than once.  So I concluded that it's a flaw with this port that taxis, hired cars, and ride share all don't want to be at the port enough in numbers to support all of the customers.  

 

Especially when we've been at the ports of Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Canaveral, Liberty, Baltimore, and Boston and had no transportation problems.  Ever.  Or even the port near Rome.  After as many cruises we've been on, it's curious that the only times we've been stranded were in consecutive weeks at Galveston.  

Again, it's really a shame, as the city of Galveston is really neat, and the beaches are really nice.  But I'm not willing to be stranded out there when we have a flight.

Best to you and see you on seas .  . 

[ssb]

On 8/7/2024 at 4:39 PM, alfaeric said:

I wish that it was just random chance that taxis were not there to support the passengers getting off.  More than once.  Or that many Lyft drivers decided that going to the port was not worth it.  More than once.  Or that our hired car service canceled on us the day before we got back.  That would be reassuring that it was random chance.  

 

But they are all related to each other, and it happened more than once.  So I concluded that it's a flaw with this port that taxis, hired cars, and ride share all don't want to be at the port enough in numbers to support all of the customers.  

 

Especially when we've been at the ports of Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Canaveral, Liberty, Baltimore, and Boston and had no transportation problems.  Ever.  Or even the port near Rome.  After as many cruises we've been on, it's curious that the only times we've been stranded were in consecutive weeks at Galveston.  

Again, it's really a shame, as the city of Galveston is really neat, and the beaches are really nice.  But I'm not willing to be stranded out there when we have a flight.

In a year and a half , a lot has changed since you posted in March 2023 . Soon to have the fourth terminal and being a major tourist destination for around 8 million tourists annually, on top of the cruisers ,  favorable changes for the better are continually happening on the island of Galveston. 

Edited August 10 by ssb