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Galveston Express Shuttle


BooandBay
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Has anyone used them? Are they safe? Any info you have is welcomed.

 

Thanks

 

They are "new" however they are already getting rave reviews both here (cruise critic) and yelp in addition to that social media site we're not allowed to mention here.

 

I can tell you that their customer service is top notch - I have been in touch with the owner several times via messenger (on that unmentionable site) and have received a response each time, in detail, and in a very short period of time.

 

I am putting my money where my mouth is & have booked a one way for us at the end of our cruise. :)

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It appears they do not operate on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or I would use them in a heartbeat.

 

Contact them directly (I used that social media site FB's messaging system) - as they are new and depending on your needs the owner may very well be able to accommodate your needs.

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Hi! Here is what I just posted in another thread. Hope it can be helpful!

 

We used Galveston Express in June both to and from Galveston and we are so happy we did.

Keith, the owner and driver, was very helpful and answered all my questions quickly with personal detailed answers by e-mail before we booked.

 

We stayed at a hotel close to IAH, right on the way to Hobby and he offered US to be picked up at our hotel instead of going back to the airport in the morning. It saved us a lot of time and we could start the morning with no stress!

 

We were the only one between IAH and Hobby and we almost had a sightseeing on the way. Keith told us a lot of stuff on the way. We picked up some more people at Hobby and then we stopped at a nice store/gasstation where we were able to buy some bottled water for a reasonable price if we wanted to bring it on the ship! We arrived before scheduled arrivaltime.

 

On our way back to IAH we had the same great experience and we got dropped of at the rental car pick up area because we were going to pick up our car for a road trip.

 

We would definately use Galveston Express again if we are cruising out of Galveston. And we recommend you to go with then. No reason not to use them! It went smooth and easy, nothing to worry about. They used a big nice car. The price was the best we could find and the timeschedule was perfect for both our departure and arrivaltime.

The booking was easily done on the homepage and all questions were answered in a way that I appriciate = no worries at all!!!

 

We were totally satisfied. 10 out of 10!!!

__________________

Annika

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We have booked Galveston Express for our upcoming cruise in October. They have been such a pleasure to work with. They were willing to answer all of my questions and even made it possible for family members that had booked a different shuttle to be moved on our shuttle for us to travel to the cruise terminal together. Just based on the reviews and the outstanding customer service we will definitly use them again!:D

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  • 4 weeks later...

We used them for our 8/16 Magic cruise and I have to say, based on our experience, I wasn't thrilled with them. Again, this was our experience and could have just been a fluke, both times. You can't beat the price.

 

They were 40 minutes late picking us up at the airport, I had to call them to see what time they were going to arrive. I wish they would have made a quick call to us letting us know they were running late.

 

Then yesterday, they were 45 minutes late picking us up from the ship to the airport. The driver drove over to terminal 2, Royal Caribbean to pick up three other people but they were running late, finally, two arrived but he was on the phone with this one guy for like 10 minutes explaining he had a van full of people that needed to get to the airport and giving the guy suggestions on what other options he had.

 

We wanted to get going as he was already late.

 

The rubber weather stripping or whatever you call it on the side door was hanging off and if you weren't careful, you could trip on it getting in or out.

 

I'm not sure I could recommend them or would use them again.

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  • 4 weeks later...
The website looks like they leave Hobby for port at 8:30 AM and then not again until 1:00??? Anyone know if this is true? I emailed them but have not heard back yet. 2:00 is too late for me to board...I want to be long settled in on Lido by then! :D

 

I noticed this too and thought it was odd if they are trying to serve cruise passengers. Though, I think it is because the other time slots are sold out. We are booked on a 9:45 return from Galveston but I no longer see that time available on their website for our date.

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The website looks like they leave Hobby for port at 8:30 AM and then not again until 1:00??? Anyone know if this is true? I emailed them but have not heard back yet. 2:00 is too late for me to board...I want to be long settled in on Lido by then! :D

 

When you look at their booking page, you cannot see sold out shuttle times. So the most desirable times are probably already fully booked by other who want to be on lido deck early too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so we are 6 people and tried to book Galveston Express. There was no room on our date. I look at their website and it says they have a private shuttle, so I think ok.....I might just do that, so I email them. No answer. I email them again, no answer. Called them today, got a miserable guy on the phone who says they don't really have private shuttle to the ports at Galveston or anywhere else. They only do private in between shuttles to the ports...yikes....bad website design and rude guy on the phone. I was not impressed at all :(

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Ok, so we are 6 people and tried to book Galveston Express. There was no room on our date. I look at their website and it says they have a private shuttle, so I think ok.....I might just do that, so I email them. No answer. I email them again, no answer. Called them today, got a miserable guy on the phone who says they don't really have private shuttle to the ports at Galveston or anywhere else. They only do private in between shuttles to the ports...yikes....bad website design and rude guy on the phone. I was not impressed at all :(

 

Sorry to hear to hear your inquiry was not handled well. As a fairly new business, one can understand that on a cruise day once all vans fill with paid passengers, they have no more capacity to offer to private requests. On a non-cruise day, maybe they could have excess capacity to set up a private transfer.

 

Fortunately for you, your party is large enough to use one of the other provider who do run private shuttles on cruise days. And fortunately for those of us with small parties making timely reservations, having Galveston Express in this underserved market is a plus.

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Sorry to hear to hear your inquiry was not handled well. As a fairly new business, one can understand that on a cruise day once all vans fill with paid passengers, they have no more capacity to offer to private requests. On a non-cruise day, maybe they could have excess capacity to set up a private transfer.

 

Fortunately for you, your party is large enough to use one of the other provider who do run private shuttles on cruise days. And fortunately for those of us with small parties making timely reservations, having Galveston Express in this underserved market is a plus.

 

The problem really is that they say via their website they offer private shuttles between the airport and Galveston Island but in reality they don't. Their words not mine. They offer shared services only. And they had no reason to be rude and no reason not to respond to two email enquiries. Very poor business practice. I appreciate that you and most here are liking this new company but their rude telephone rep said they really don't offer private service so they should not say they do on their website, that's all I am letting people know. If you would like to share the names of the companies you think our party can use that would be affordable I would appreciate your input.

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I booked a ride from my Dad's house in Conroe - which is close to BUSH - to the port for 5 people through C&S Executive for around $200. No waiting to pickup other people - we are their only customers - they said they would bring a van. You should call them and get a price 281-367-7876. My step mother used them for years when she arranged rides for people when she worked in Houston.

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The problem really is that they say via their website they offer private shuttles between the airport and Galveston Island but in reality they don't. Their words not mine. They offer shared services only. And they had no reason to be rude and no reason not to respond to two email enquiries. Very poor business practice. I appreciate that you and most here are liking this new company but their rude telephone rep said they really don't offer private service so they should not say they do on their website, that's all I am letting people know. If you would like to share the names of the companies you think our party can use that would be affordable I would appreciate your input.

 

Honestly if your tone on the phone came across like your tone comes across to me here, I might well understand why that telephone conversation went badly.

 

I have not yet used them, but booking on line was super easy. Even if they do have a surly guy here or there, I have thick enough skin....I probably can handle it. And even if I end up not really liking their services, I am glad for new entrant in that market...the competition is much needed.

 

No matter what any website might say, of course they will not rent you a private shuttle if all are fully booked for shared service that day. If they had more shuttles and drivers available that day, they'd naturally have been selling them as shared service. Reasonable to ask, but the answer is unsurprising. Bottom line, you were are too late, especially for a large party, so get over it and move on.

 

Other options...How about super shuttle? Or Cool Tours? Or google other car/van services. I'm not local, so I do not have experience with them, but some have been in the market a long time...I do not know if you will like their prices, but if this new outfit did not exist (and if you are too late, they might as well not exist), you be using those.

 

Or maybe take a taxi to Texas city, rent a large vehicle, drive back to port, pick up the rest of your party and drive yourself to airport.

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  • 2 months later...

We just got back from an awesome week on the Liberty of the Seas.

 

Our experience with Galveston Express on our trip from Houston to Galveston was amazing. Shuttle was on time, new, clean and life was good.

 

Unfortunately on our return trip was not as pleasant. We booked the 11am shuttle from the cruise port to Bush. At noon we tried calling to find out where our shuttle was and could not get an answer and the voice mail was full. At 12:35 a shuttle arrived and told us that he only had room for 4 people (there were 8 of us waiting by this time) The driver was very rude and unpleasant to deal with. We talked as a group and let the people that had the earliest connections get on. We were told that there would be another shuttle on about 30 minutes. When the next shuttle arrived, he dropped of passengers and told us that he was "not" here to pick us up but was here to pick up people off Carnival. We stood our ground with this guy as some of the people waiting had connections as early was 430pm. The driver was very friendly and helpful and called the owner and was told to put us on the shuttle. We had to backtrack and pick up other passengers off Carnival. Of course then there was an accident on the highway where we sat without moving for at least 30 minutes. (of course this isn't the companies fault) but with the approximate 2 hour delay in picking us up there was a lot of tension on the shuttle.

 

We were given several reasons for the delay from the owner when we finally got thru to him - growing pains (they apparently went from one shuttle to 4) - schedule change - one shuttle broken down (although 2 people on the shuttle were told that a week earlier on their way to the ship).

 

Moral of the story is - maybe book the earlier shuttle (I believe it only left about 30 minutes late)

 

Hopefully they get their act together as like I said our experience to the ship was amazing but unfortunately the one you remember is the one back to the airport.

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  • 7 months later...
Any "recent" users of Galveston Express?

Between Yelp & Trip Advisor, it appears there are very mixed reviews, even recently. We still do not have a shuttle from IAH to Galveston in Sept.

Please help!

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

 

Just a few ideas.....

 

TX airport transfers. Owned by Dwayne Johnson. Suggested by Hilton Galveston Island. Our driver was Marc. Reception called them for us. They called and left 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!

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