Galveston Limousine shuttle

[c-leg5]

9 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

What company offered this rate? It seems reasonable to me. I was just quoted over $200..

I’m looking for transportation from the Double Tree Houston Hobby to the carnival cruise terminal on 6/8/24 for 4 people. I’d love a private SUV but I’d also do a shared shuttle. 

The PP was taking a 1 mile, 5 minute ride from Tremont, Galveston to Carnival pier.
 

It seems expensive to me.

[kelkel2]

2 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

The PP was taking a 1 mile, 5 minute ride from Tremont, Galveston to Carnival pier.
 

It seems expensive to me.

Oh yeah that is for sure. I missed that. I’m trying to find transportation from Houston to Galveston. 

[whynottry77]

57 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

What company offered this rate? It seems reasonable to me. I was just quoted over $200..

I’m looking for transportation from the Double Tree Houston Hobby to the carnival cruise terminal on 6/8/24 for 4 people. I’d love a private SUV but I’d also do a shared shuttle. 

Hi, there are 2 different discussions here 🙂 .. airport to Galveston and Galveston hotel to port. The rate above was from Galveston hotel to the port. Once all of the additional surcharges, tax etc., is was over $170.00. Airport to Galveston try Saltwater Moms, they may have a little bit better rate if they have an opening. They are definitely a pleasure to use. I have been booking with them for 3 years. They can be messaged through their facebook page

[dog]

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

The PP was taking a 1 mile, 5 minute ride from Tremont, Galveston to Carnival pier.
 

It seems expensive to me.

This definitely sets off a red flag for me. Inflated rates for New Years, I presume.

[c-leg5]

59 minutes ago, dog said:

This definitely sets off a red flag for me. Inflated rates for New Years, I presume.

The PDA and fuel surcharge seem strange to me and yet they have itemized them plus included gratuity.

[beshears]

c-Leg5, yes it may look like I am "over thinking" everything, but I feel with ALL these suggestions, everything will fall into place. When we fly into Hobby, we just want to go to the hotel and not check anything out in Galveston, stay over night, and then "make sure" the hotel has a shuttle to take us to the cruise ship. As for getting to the hotel from the airport, and returning back to the airport from the ship, when it gets closer for our cruise time, it will be taken care of too.

[c-leg5]

31 minutes ago, beshears said:

c-Leg5, yes it may look like I am "over thinking" everything, but I feel with ALL these suggestions, everything will fall into place. When we fly into Hobby, we just want to go to the hotel and not check anything out in Galveston, stay over night, and then "make sure" the hotel has a shuttle to take us to the cruise ship. As for getting to the hotel from the airport, and returning back to the airport from the ship, when it gets closer for our cruise time, it will be taken care of too.

 

The “hotel” will not have a shuttle.

 

YOU will have to book a shuttle - probably from the airport - that is what people have been trying to tell you, unless you go for uber, lyft or private ride.

[beshears]

OK, I may be completely wrong, but if we get a hotel that is within a few blocks of the cruise pier, (maybe I am wrong, but I thought I read that there were hotels close to the cruise pier) are you saying the hotel still might not have a shuttle to take us to the cruise pier? I know we will have to get transportation to the hotel if it is in Galveston from the airport, and also transportation from the cruise ship back to the airport.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, beshears said:

OK, I may be completely wrong, but if we get a hotel that is within a few blocks of the cruise pier, (maybe I am wrong, but I thought I read that there were hotels close to the cruise pier) are you saying the hotel still might not have a shuttle to take us to the cruise pier? I know we will have to get transportation to the hotel if it is in Galveston from the airport, and also transportation from the cruise ship back to the airport.

Sorry I misunderstood. When you said you just wanted to go to “the hotel” and not check out anything in Galveston, I assumed you meant stay at a a hotel at the airport. 

 

I cannot comment regarding hotels in Galveston and transport. We have occasionally stayed a night but have driven and parked as usual and not for a Sunday departure.
 

 

[RocketMan275]

19 hours ago, beshears said:

OK, I may be completely wrong, but if we get a hotel that is within a few blocks of the cruise pier, (maybe I am wrong, but I thought I read that there were hotels close to the cruise pier) are you saying the hotel still might not have a shuttle to take us to the cruise pier? I know we will have to get transportation to the hotel if it is in Galveston from the airport, and also transportation from the cruise ship back to the airport.

No hotel is under obligation to provide a shuttle.  You need to check directly with the hotel and verify what services they provide.  I've seen some hotels that only provide shuttles if you use their park and stay package.  Plus even if they do provide a shuttle, that may be capacity limited or not available for certain dates. It all depends.  

You're really not going to get the answers you're looking for on this site.  You need to start contacting hotels and shuttle companies directly to get the real facts.

Edited October 20, 2023 by RocketMan275

[beshears]

Yes I do know that there is no hotel that is obligated to be a shuttle for us. We are just waiting until it gets closer to the time, and then we will be calling/checking into the hotels and see what they offer.

[dmori]

On 10/17/2023 at 8:07 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

I think you are definitely overthinking the whole scenario.

 

It basically comes down to how far in advance you are flying in and do you WANT to do something in Galveston.

 

If you are simply flying in the day before, as a safeguard, the simplest, easiest and probably cheapest option by far, is to stay near the airport (preferably at a hotel with free shuttle to and from airport). Return to the airport next day and take one of pre-booked return shuttles - cruise line, one of several already discussed independent shuttles, or uber/lyft. Several people have stated you will not get a Galveston hotel to pick you up at the airport. Several Galveston hotels seem to have even stopped their cruise port shuttles.

 

IF you want to stay in Galveston for a night, you need a shuttle to the hotel (same independent choices as above), a taxi/uber/lyft to the port and a return shuttle to the airport after the cruise. You also have to find a Galveston hotel that will allow a one night stay in Galveston (if that is all you require) which will depend in day of  the week and what events are on in Galveston.

 

 

We used Galveston Limo in March 2020 for return transportation from IAH to Galveston. Service was great! No issues. We did as above and booked a Houston hotel with shuttle for the night as we were on a late arrival flight. The following day utilized the free hotel shuttle for ride back to IAH and then caught the shuttle with Galveston Limo to Galveston. They were quick, efficient, and friendly. Dropped us at our Seawall hotel. We used Uber the day of our cruise to get to the port with a wait time of no longer than 20min. We booked the return shuttle the morning our cruise arrived back in port in Galveston for return to and flight out the same day at IAH. Again, no issues finding shuttle at the port or with any of the dealings. Biggest hiccup was having the Houston hotel shuttle drop us off at IAH departures when in reality we probably could have asked to be dropped at IAH arrivals for Galveston Limo pickup. Would have saved some walking, but luckily we had time on our side. Hope this helps! Send Galveston Limo an email with any questions and they will be sure to reply quickly! Ive never had issues with communication and prices were the most reasonable. 

[RocketMan275]

10 hours ago, dmori said:

We used Galveston Limo in March 2020 for return transportation from IAH to Galveston. Service was great! No issues. We did as above and booked a Houston hotel with shuttle for the night as we were on a late arrival flight. The following day utilized the free hotel shuttle for ride back to IAH and then caught the shuttle with Galveston Limo to Galveston. 

Even simpler, stay in the IAH Marriott which is located within the airport.  No shuttle from airport to hotel and back again.  Free tram from all baggage claims to hotel.  Free Tram to pickup point for shuttle to port.

[Char4]

We missed our cruise because of this shuttle company. 

We are international customers and carefully followed this company's instructions for connecting with the shuttle bus from the Houston Airport to Galveston. The shuttle bus failed to pick us from the area where they told us to wait. This resulted in us missing our cruise.

After a very slow response, the company has blamed us for not having cellphone service (despite their instructions not indicating this was a requirement). Their shuttle bus was apparently waiting at a different area of the airport and eventually raced past us, as we waited at the location indicated on our paperwork (which was also confirmed by other shuttle bus drivers to be the correct location). 

We eventually met another Galveston Limo driver who assured us an on time arrival, and who was very friendly and confident. However, we arrived late. That meant we were not permitted to board the ship, and missed our week-long cruise. 

The company did eventually reimburse us for our shuttle ticket but continued to blame the cause of a missed cruise on our lack of cell phones. The one positive experience with this company was that it was simple to book their service online. But, if you are an international customer, I would highly recommend booking another way that does not rely on cellphones. 

[Texas Tillie]

I'm very sorry you missed your cruise but there's one hard learned lesson here - in today's world when traveling, it is mandatory to have cell service. Spending the money to travel overseas and then not spending the cost for a temporary international cell plan is beyond penny wise and pound foolish.

[Colorado Buffalo]

any other reviews ?

Looking at using them one-way from Royal's port in Galveston to IAH.

 

Flight is at 2:45 p.m.

Trying to figure out if I should 'rush' to get off ship for the 9:05 a.m. shuttle or take the 10:05 a.m. shuttle.

[dctravel]

We just used Galveston Limo roundtrip from Hobby to Galveston for four of us. We flew in the night before and stayed at an airport hotel with a free shuttle. We then used the free shuttle to get back to the airport in the morning to meet our shuttle.

 

On the way to Galveston, we arrived back at the airport and saw a Galveston Limo bus sitting in the pickup area, but with no driver. We went to sit near the bus, expecting a driver to show up. As it got closer to our pickup time, still no driver, so I called the Galveston Limo office. As I was connecting with them, our driver called us to see if we were there. He turned out to be a van behind the bus! Once we connected with him, we were on our way without any further issues. Oddly, we were the only cruise passengers on the shuttle, but we were dropped off first, so no issues there.

 

On the way back, we booked an 11:05 shuttle return, since our flight was at 3:40 pm. We got outside the terminal at about 10:30 and hung out in the shade waiting. About 10:45, I saw a Galveston Limo driver with one of their big charter busses. I went to make sure he wasn't our driver, and he looked up our shuttle and told me to look for a mini-bus at spot 5. No Galveston Limo vehicle ever showed up at spot 5. I called the office again and was told the driver was stuck in traffic (it was truly awful getting into the port area). At about 11:10 (so after our shuttle time), we got a call from our driver about 11:10 asking if we were still going back to the airport. It turns out that the shuttle was a different big bus parked at a different location. Not a really big deal, but made me a bit nervous. 

[buncosquad]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:44 AM, dctravel said:

We just used Galveston Limo roundtrip from Hobby to Galveston for four of us. We flew in the night before and stayed at an airport hotel with a free shuttle. We then used the free shuttle to get back to the airport in the morning to meet our shuttle.

 

On the way to Galveston, we arrived back at the airport and saw a Galveston Limo bus sitting in the pickup area, but with no driver. We went to sit near the bus, expecting a driver to show up. As it got closer to our pickup time, still no driver, so I called the Galveston Limo office. As I was connecting with them, our driver called us to see if we were there. He turned out to be a van behind the bus! Once we connected with him, we were on our way without any further issues. Oddly, we were the only cruise passengers on the shuttle, but we were dropped off first, so no issues there.

 

On the way back, we booked an 11:05 shuttle return, since our flight was at 3:40 pm. We got outside the terminal at about 10:30 and hung out in the shade waiting. About 10:45, I saw a Galveston Limo driver with one of their big charter busses. I went to make sure he wasn't our driver, and he looked up our shuttle and told me to look for a mini-bus at spot 5. No Galveston Limo vehicle ever showed up at spot 5. I called the office again and was told the driver was stuck in traffic (it was truly awful getting into the port area). At about 11:10 (so after our shuttle time), we got a call from our driver about 11:10 asking if we were still going back to the airport. It turns out that the shuttle was a different big bus parked at a different location. Not a really big deal, but made me a bit nervous. 

Was your service private transfers or just scheduled pickup for as many as paid transfer?

[dctravel]

1 hour ago, buncosquad said:

Was your service private transfers or just scheduled pickup for as many as paid transfer?

We paid Galveston Limo directly for a spot on their shared shuttle. It was not a private transfer.