IAH to Galveston Cruise Terminal

Posted this on main RC message board but was recommended to post it here.

Our travel agent booked transfers from Marriott IAH to Galveston cruise port for us..

Didn't read documents carefully enough and now find we are being transferred by Galveston Express instead of RC transfer we expected.

Having read reviews on Trip Advisor, we are somewhat concerned.....

Does anyone have any comments..positive or negative about this company please ?

Thanks for any input.

We used them last summer to go from the port to iah and it was basically fine. Most likely, the RC transfer is on a tour bus and you have to wait for the bus to fill before they go. Galveston express was a van and there was one other couple on the van to with us and they were dropped at hobby on the way to iah. It is a reserved service, so they aren't picking up random people or waiting to fill up before they go. Fwiw, I'm likely to use them again this summer instead of the carnival transfer.

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We used them last summer to go from the port to iah and it was basically fine. Most likely, the RC transfer is on a tour bus and you have to wait for the bus to fill before they go. Galveston express was a van and there was one other couple on the van to with us and they were dropped at hobby on the way to iah. It is a reserved service, so they aren't picking up random people or waiting to fill up before they go. Fwiw, I'm likely to use them again this summer instead of the carnival transfer.

 

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Thank you.

Suppose it depends on personal experience. I emailed for some information and Keith was very speedy and helpful in his reply. Fingers crossed transfer will be just as good.

We used them last summer to go from the port to iah and it was basically fine. Most likely, the RC transfer is on a tour bus and you have to wait for the bus to fill before they go. Galveston express was a van and there was one other couple on the van to with us and they were dropped at hobby on the way to iah. It is a reserved service, so they aren't picking up random people or waiting to fill up before they go. Fwiw, I'm likely to use them again this summer instead of the carnival transfer.

 

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I will be sailing on RCI Liberty of the Seas in March 2017 with a group of female veterans and we will all be arriving from different parts of the US. Knowing a ballpark figure for both would be beneficial for all of our ladies. Most will be flying in. I may be arriving by Greyhound as it is a cheaper option for me but I would meet up with some of my group members at the airport to ride to hotel in Galveston. My cruise roommate and I are planning to arrive the day before sailing so as not to be rushed, especially with the airports being the mess they are now with the TSA checkpoints......another reason I am opting for bus travel. LOL. I have less distance and more time so I'm just going to enjoy the adventure. For many of our female veterans in our group, including myself, this is our first cruise ever. For me, it will be an opportunity to fellowship with my fellow warriors and bond over just taking it easy.

The main question.....what is an approximate rate for Galveston Express from IAH to Galveston and Houston (Hobby) to Galveston? Any info is appreciated. Thanks guys!

I will be sailing on RCI Liberty of the Seas in March 2017 with a group of female veterans and we will all be arriving from different parts of the US. Knowing a ballpark figure for both would be beneficial for all of our ladies. Most will be flying in. I may be arriving by Greyhound as it is a cheaper option for me but I would meet up with some of my group members at the airport to ride to hotel in Galveston. My cruise roommate and I are planning to arrive the day before sailing so as not to be rushed, especially with the airports being the mess they are now with the TSA checkpoints......another reason I am opting for bus travel. LOL. I have less distance and more time so I'm just going to enjoy the adventure. For many of our female veterans in our group, including myself, this is our first cruise ever. For me, it will be an opportunity to fellowship with my fellow warriors and bond over just taking it easy.

 

The main question.....what is an approximate rate for Galveston Express from IAH to Galveston and Houston (Hobby) to Galveston? Any info is appreciated. Thanks guys!

Our Galveston Express rate was £110....may have been negotiable but ours was booked through travel agent and included a senior discount. 2x £55

As our plans changed we used Airport Transportation Service shuttle which cost $135 plus tip...IAH to Galveston.....punctual, reliable affable driver with excellent communications. Recommend them.

we used them to go to Galveston on May 8 and to return on May 15th.

They were at the airport 15 minutes early waiting for us and we departed early to the ship as our van was full.. On the way we stopped at a hotel near Bush and our driver Logan picked up a garment bag that some one left at a hotel and met the lady at the port and gave it to her. That's service!

After the cruise we met our driver outside the port and got to IAH in plenty of time.

They are very professional, and extremely efficient. I would recommend them to anyone.

 

 

 

The main question.....what is an approximate rate for Galveston Express from IAH to Galveston and Houston (Hobby) to Galveston? Any info is appreciated. Thanks guys!

Their website lists all the different options at:

http://galvestonexpress.com/

Including any available discounts and private group shuttle rates.

I have always gotten a reply to e-mails pretty quick.

Original Poster returns !

After extremely complicated plans I am now able to recommend two companies.

We used both of these during our stay...one to return hire car to airport and the other to return from cruise to IAH

TX airport transfers. Owned by Dwayne Johnson. Suggested by Hilton Galveston Island. Our driver was Marc. Reception called them for us. They called andleft answerphone message on our room voicemail ( not too keen to call UK mobile phones). Gave time which we needed to confirm as acceptable. We called and changed from their suggestion . Marc the driver was friendly, polite and in the agreed place at carhire returns exactly on time.

The Pink Taxi Galveston. Owned by John and Tate.

The return trip was arranged by our daughter who had used John when stuck at Enterprise car hire Galveston...recommended by a fellow car renter.

John was amazing. Daughter texted as arranged when leaving ship. John could not park up for long, but was there on exit from baggage claim/ immigration. They waited short time for us to get through. John was friendly , reliable and very knowledgeable. He suggested a short stop at NASA en route to airport and gave so much information as we travelled. Lovely to meet a gentleman so passionate about his town.

Both companies have our full recommendations!

We will be flying into IAH next July 2017 and our cruise leaves on Sunday July 2nd, would you recommend driving down the afternoon before or if we stayed at the IAH Marriott, would we be alright leaving around 9 AM for the Cruise Terminal. I compared cost of shuttle vs car rental for the week and we can save by renting the car and leaving at the Galveston Hotel ( La Quinta Inn East Seawall). We then get a ride back to the Hotel to pick up the car. I am also looking at return flight around 1:45 PM. Is this doable.

We will be flying into IAH next July 2017 and our cruise leaves on Sunday July 2nd, would you recommend driving down the afternoon before or if we stayed at the IAH Marriott, would we be alright leaving around 9 AM for the Cruise Terminal. I compared cost of shuttle vs car rental for the week and we can save by renting the car and leaving at the Galveston Hotel ( La Quinta Inn East Seawall). We then get a ride back to the Hotel to pick up the car. I am also looking at return flight around 1:45 PM. Is this doable.

I'd go down to Galveston the night before. There is nothing of interest around the airport and some very sketchy neighborhoods not that far away. You can find many places to eat in Galveston the night before. You also won't have to worry about any issues on the road the morning of the cruise. The trip from IAH to Galveston is over an hour in the best traffic.

Hi Texas Tillie, the more I got thinking about the initial plans of staying near IAH & getting a shuttle, the less appealing it sounded so compared car rental cost vs shuttle and we can rent a car for at least $100 less then a shuttle. I was finding around $163 + each way for a shuttle. I was a little concerned about driving down as this will be our first time to Galveston and meeting friends. Thank you.

Gay

Didn't read documents carefully enough and now find we are being transferred by Galveston Express instead of RC transfer we expected.

 

Having read reviews on Trip Advisor, we are somewhat concerned.....

 

Does anyone have any comments..positive or negative about this company please ?

 

Thanks for any input.

We booked Galveston Express for our recent (June 19-26) cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. We were part of a group that booked a shared shuttle from our Houston hotel to the Port of Galveston. Our driver picked up his first group of passengers before stopping to pick up our group. Our trip to Galveston was good until the driver pulled over to the side of a road somewhere in Galveston, and announced that he would not be continuing as our driver. A minute later, another driver hopped in and told us that he was the office manager and that the first driver had just quit his job. Nice, huh?? At least he didn't leave us stranded along the interstate freeway!

The trip back to the Houston airport was a complete disaster for my husband and me. We had pre-booked and prepaid Galveston Express for a ride to IAH. At the time of booking we were told that the shuttle would be stopping at HOU first to drop off passengers, and then continue to IAH. That was fine with us as the time we would arrive at IAH would be sufficiently early for us to check in for our flight. We found the shuttle easily at the cruise port. Our driver (Amber) announced that the shuttle was only going to HOU. At that point I asked if I had the right shuttle. Perhaps there was another I should be looking for. Amber found our names on her passenger list and then told us that she didn't care what we had booked and paid for, she could not go to IAH because she had to pick up a private group at HOU and take them back to Galveston. While it didn't get ugly or anything, I told her that they made a commitment and needed to honor it. She then called Keith, the company owner. He told her that she would keep her commitment to the group she was picking up at HOU, and that we could wait for the next shuttle, which would be arriving in 1.5 hours. REALLY??? I asked Amber to tell Keith that I wanted a full refund (which he agreed to) and that we'd find another way to get to IAH. We ended up taking a cab, which cost more than twice as much. The refund has not yet been posted to our credit card account.

I absolutely would not recommend that anyone pre-book with Galveston Express. Their commitment is not to the party that books first, but to party that generates the most revenue for them. At an absolute minimum, they should have called or emailed me to let me know in advance that they would not be driving to IAH. They had my contact info.

We booked Galveston Express for our recent (June 19-26) cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. We were part of a group that booked a shared shuttle from our Houston hotel to the Port of Galveston. Our driver picked up his first group of passengers before stopping to pick up our group. Our trip to Galveston was good until the driver pulled over to the side of a road somewhere in Galveston, and announced that he would not be continuing as our driver. A minute later, another driver hopped in and told us that he was the office manager and that the first driver had just quit his job. Nice, huh?? At least he didn't leave us stranded along the interstate freeway!

 

The trip back to the Houston airport was a complete disaster for my husband and me. We had pre-booked and prepaid Galveston Express for a ride to IAH. At the time of booking we were told that the shuttle would be stopping at HOU first to drop off passengers, and then continue to IAH. That was fine with us as the time we would arrive at IAH would be sufficiently early for us to check in for our flight. We found the shuttle easily at the cruise port. Our driver (Amber) announced that the shuttle was only going to HOU. At that point I asked if I had the right shuttle. Perhaps there was another I should be looking for. Amber found our names on her passenger list and then told us that she didn't care what we had booked and paid for, she could not go to IAH because she had to pick up a private group at HOU and take them back to Galveston. While it didn't get ugly or anything, I told her that they made a commitment and needed to honor it. She then called Keith, the company owner. He told her that she would keep her commitment to the group she was picking up at HOU, and that we could wait for the next shuttle, which would be arriving in 1.5 hours. REALLY??? I asked Amber to tell Keith that I wanted a full refund (which he agreed to) and that we'd find another way to get to IAH. We ended up taking a cab, which cost more than twice as much. The refund has not yet been posted to our credit card account.

 

I absolutely would not recommend that anyone pre-book with Galveston Express. Their commitment is not to the party that books first, but to party that generates the most revenue for them. At an absolute minimum, they should have called or emailed me to let me know in advance that they would not be driving to IAH. They had my contact info.

The reviews I had read on Trip Advisor said when they were good they were very good but when things went wrong they were XXXX. !!!

What an upsetting experience for you. I would be neurotic if that had happened to us, especially with an international flight.

Thanks for sharing.

We booked Galveston Express for our recent (June 19-26) cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. We were part of a group that booked a shared shuttle from our Houston hotel to the Port of Galveston. Our driver picked up his first group of passengers before stopping to pick up our group. Our trip to Galveston was good until the driver pulled over to the side of a road somewhere in Galveston, and announced that he would not be continuing as our driver. A minute later, another driver hopped in and told us that he was the office manager and that the first driver had just quit his job. Nice, huh?? At least he didn't leave us stranded along the interstate freeway!

 

The trip back to the Houston airport was a complete disaster for my husband and me. We had pre-booked and prepaid Galveston Express for a ride to IAH. At the time of booking we were told that the shuttle would be stopping at HOU first to drop off passengers, and then continue to IAH. That was fine with us as the time we would arrive at IAH would be sufficiently early for us to check in for our flight. We found the shuttle easily at the cruise port. Our driver (Amber) announced that the shuttle was only going to HOU. At that point I asked if I had the right shuttle. Perhaps there was another I should be looking for. Amber found our names on her passenger list and then told us that she didn't care what we had booked and paid for, she could not go to IAH because she had to pick up a private group at HOU and take them back to Galveston. While it didn't get ugly or anything, I told her that they made a commitment and needed to honor it. She then called Keith, the company owner. He told her that she would keep her commitment to the group she was picking up at HOU, and that we could wait for the next shuttle, which would be arriving in 1.5 hours. REALLY??? I asked Amber to tell Keith that I wanted a full refund (which he agreed to) and that we'd find another way to get to IAH. We ended up taking a cab, which cost more than twice as much. The refund has not yet been posted to our credit card account.

 

I absolutely would not recommend that anyone pre-book with Galveston Express. Their commitment is not to the party that books first, but to party that generates the most revenue for them. At an absolute minimum, they should have called or emailed me to let me know in advance that they would not be driving to IAH. They had my contact info.

Sorry to hear what happened to you but thank you for posting. This is the tipping point for us as I read numerous recent bad reviews about them on tripadvisor. So I just booked their competitor.

Bill, What competitor did you book with? I am currently looking at trying to arrange travel from IAH to Galveston. We're coming in the night before the cruise and needing a private van to take us from a hotel to the RCL port.

I booked with Galveston Limo for 2 people from Hobby to Galveston for $80. That is for round trip. It was online and that is why it was cheaper. Their reviews were pretty good. You might check with them.

If we hadn't planned on the Car rental I was looking at Galveston Limo also. Ours would be a little more going to IAH. Plenty of time and things could change and may go back to the shuttle.