Does NCL have a preferred Houston airport for the BOGO airfare?

[michst8alum]

Does NCL book into a preferred airport in Houston? I would like to book a hotel room  near the airport sooner rather than later for availability. 
 

thank you 

[RocketMan275]

30 minutes ago, michst8alum said:

Does NCL book into a preferred airport in Houston? I would like to book a hotel room  near the airport sooner rather than later for availability. 
 

thank you 

Book one room at both airports.

Just don't book a pre-paid room or one you can't cancel.

Cancel the one at the other airport when you get your flights.

BTW, we like the Marriott at Bush airport.  It's in the airport.  There is a tram.   No need for shuttles, etc.

[ggTexasGal]

40 minutes ago, michst8alum said:

Does NCL book into a preferred airport in Houston? I would like to book a hotel room  near the airport sooner rather than later for availability. 
 

thank you 

The criteria is most likely "whichever is least expensive for the necessary date(s)".

IAH(Bush) is much larger than Hobby, and, is about an hour+ further north (time is always variable).

[sjacobs11]

...or book a hotel on Galveston Island and be ready to board after breakfast 🙂

[michst8alum]

19 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Book one room at both airports.

Just don't book a pre-paid room or one you can't cancel.

Cancel the one at the other airport when you get your flights.

BTW, we like the Marriott at Bush airport.  It's in the airport.  There is a tram.   No need for shuttles, etc.

This was my original plan. Hoping for easy!  Need  4 rooms so need to get ahead of the crowds!

[RocketMan275]

34 minutes ago, michst8alum said:

This was my original plan. Hoping for easy!  Need  4 rooms so need to get ahead of the crowds!

When you're doing a large group like that, you need to keep things simple.  

 

Nothing can be simpler than staying at the Airport Marriott.  We did it a few  years ago when we sailed on Princess.  Worked great.  The Marriott was the location princess used to pick up their passengers using their shuttle.  Somewhat more expensive but very smooth. 

 

Picked up our bags and got on the free tram to the hotel.  We were given special luggage tags when we checked in.  We were told to leave our bags in the room where the bellhop would move them to the van transporting them to the port.

 

We went downstairs to a rather nice buffet, had breakfast, went back to the room and our bags were gone.  Went back downstairs to meet the Princess rep who assigned us to our bus which left as soon as it was full. Probably 9 AM when we left the hotel.  I did check the luggage van to ensure our bags were aboard.  Next stop was the Princess terminal.  BTW, it's at least an hour trip to the port.

 

We're sailing out of Galveston on NCL and wife insisted we stay again at the Marriott although this time were splurging on a private shuttle.

Edited August 11, 2023 by RocketMan275

[RocketMan275]

39 minutes ago, michst8alum said:

This was my original plan. Hoping for easy!  Need  4 rooms so need to get ahead of the crowds!

Suggest  you contact NCL and ask about their hotels and transfers.  Looks like NCL uses Tremont House in Galveston.  A very nice hotel and somewhat expensive.  You can book their transfer from the airports and that include a transfer from the hotel to the port.  They also offer a transfer back to the airport.

[Sand and Seas]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Suggest  you contact NCL and ask about their hotels and transfers.  Looks like NCL uses Tremont House in Galveston.  A very nice hotel and somewhat expensive.  You can book their transfer from the airports and that include a transfer from the hotel to the port.  They also offer a transfer back to the airport.

We LOVED our stay at the Tremont House!  It's in a very walkable area (The Strand) with lots of restaurants and bars with live music.    Super close to the port and we chose to walk our rolling luggage over on embarkation day.  We have booked the same hotel for two nights prior to our April Prima.

(We did see some cruisers board a shuttle at the hotel, but we didn't inquire if it was NCL's or the hotel's or some other private shuttle.)

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

We LOVED our stay at the Tremont House!  It's in a very walkable area (The Strand) with lots of restaurants and bars with live music.    Super close to the port and we chose to walk our rolling luggage over on embarkation day.  We have booked the same hotel for two nights prior to our April Prima.

(We did see some cruisers board a shuttle at the hotel, but we didn't inquire if it was NCL's or the hotel's or some other private shuttle.)

The Tremont House would be at the top of my list of places to stay in Galveston if I decided to stay in Galveston.  We've decided to simplify things and stay at the airport.

[Sand and Seas]

35 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

The Tremont House would be at the top of my list of places to stay in Galveston if I decided to stay in Galveston.  We've decided to simplify things and stay at the airport.

Yes, it totally depends on the time you have pre-cruise plus available flights.

 

Since we retired, we have time to enjoy the Galveston Island vibe prior to our cruise. 

For our upcoming Prima cruise, we bypassed a direct flight that got in late at Houston IAH for a connecting flight to Houston Hobby that arrives early morning.  Much easier trip to Galveston from Hobby and it gives us two full days to have fun in Galveston😎

[RocketMan275]

16 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

Yes, it totally depends on the time you have pre-cruise plus available flights.

 

Since we retired, we have time to enjoy the Galveston Island vibe prior to our cruise. 

For our upcoming Prima cruise, we bypassed a direct flight that got in late at Houston IAH for a connecting flight to Houston Hobby that arrives early morning.  Much easier trip to Galveston from Hobby and it gives us two full days to have fun in Galveston😎

We have two dogs and we try to minimize their kennel times. 

[Sand and Seas]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

We have two dogs and we try to minimize their kennel times. 

I understand that!  We are lucky our son can dog-sit our elderly dog and our rambunctious younger dog.    While the younger boxer loves a stay at the kennel so he can run with some other 'high energy' pals, we can't leave our older dog with anybody but family right now. 

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

I understand that!  We are lucky our son can dog-sit our elderly dog and our rambunctious younger dog.    While the younger boxer loves a stay at the kennel so he can run with some other 'high energy' pals, we can't leave our older dog with anybody but family right now. 

We have two brothers from the same litter, two year old standard poodles.  The boys do fine in the kennel.  It's the wife who gets separation anxiety.