Cost to get to Galveston from airport?

What is the cost that you are finding to get from Houston Intercontinental Bush Airport to Galveston for your cruise?

I live in Houston and you are about 45mins to an hour away from were you need to be. You are looking at $70-$80 for the trip. You might look into transfers or a shuttle service your ship provides.

Happy Sailing

You might also check out the Gulf Coast Departures here on CC. There's alot of Galveston departure info there, recommendations, etc.

Check with CCL and see if they are running a shuttle bus from the airport to the dock. The cruise line shuttles are usually cheaper than private transporttion.

I highly doubt you'll be able to get from Bush Intercon to Galveston in 45 minutes - esp not in traffic. More like an hour or so.

 

Im not sure what the competitive rates are, but galveston limo has it for 110 for two people. But Im guessing with a little bit of research you can find better than that.

 

http://www.galvestonlimousineservice.com/index.html

I highly doubt you'll be able to get from Bush Intercon to Galveston in 45 minutes - esp not in traffic. More like an hour or so.

 

Im not sure what the competitive rates are, but galveston limo has it for 110 for two people. But Im guessing with a little bit of research you can find better than that.

 

http://www.galvestonlimousineservice.com/index.html

 

It's a solid 70 miles from Intercontinental to the cruiseport in Galveston. Mr Middy is right...it will take at least 1 hr. 15 min or more!

Houston Hobby to Galveston around 45 minutes not Bush Intercontinental

 

 

I highly doubt you'll be able to get from Bush Intercon to Galveston in 45 minutes - esp not in traffic. More like an hour or so.

 

Im not sure what the competitive rates are, but galveston limo has it for 110 for two people. But Im guessing with a little bit of research you can find better than that.

 

http://www.galvestonlimousineservice.com/index.html

Not discussing how long it takes...talking about the cost. I thought I had read on some of these threads that it was costing a pretty penny because choices are limited. Trying to decide if there is a business opportunity here

We are paying Z-Limosine 109 + tip for the trip. They weren't the cheapest I found online, but the others didn't respond to my request. I have been advised (via another thread) that a cab is $95. We will have a Towncar, which may likely be more comfortable.

Their address is

www.houston-airport-town-car.com/

Happy Cruising!

I personally couldn't believe how much it cost. I found 200 round trip for two people. That's a pretty penny. I too would like other options.

Not discussing how long it takes...talking about the cost. I thought I had read on some of these threads that it was costing a pretty penny because choices are limited. Trying to decide if there is a business opportunity here

 

 

are you looking to invest or be the operator?

I've run the numbers on this before,

Between the cost of vehicles, insurance, liability insurance, maintenance costs, driver pay, fuel costs, $250 Galveston pier permit, Houston taxi license, advertising and clerical hours, TXDOT stuff, etc. It all adds up quickly.

 

There's a reason why all the companies charge about the same and there are plenty of companies to choose from. Not that there isn't money in it, but then you'd think there'd be even more companies with their fingers in the pie if it were worth their time. I just know that after running the numbers, I wouldn't touch it and I owned a trucking company for 5 years.

Actually, your best bet for a business would be to charter a couple of buses to go back and forth from the pier. But, you would be stuck with some pretty big sunk costs if you don't book enough people.

That's the kicker! The cost of chartering the busses quickly adds up against the numbers.

 

For example, there are about 3000 people embarking on the VOS, most are from TX, LA and OK and drive. Let's say 80% drive to the port, that's a pretty good average for the VOS. That's 2400 people out of the market, leaving 600 more people. Another, lets say 300+ people take the cruise line charter at $45 a person. Not only are you competing in price with the cruise line, but they also have an advantage, if the bus is delayed the ship will wait. You're out the money if the people miss the ship or you need to pay cab fare for everyone because the bus is broken down on the side of the road or there's road construction or an accident. So now you have a market of about 300 people. You can only get a max of 5 round trips in with disembark and embark and that's only if it takes precisely 1 hour from airport pickup to port drop off. That's a maximum of 250people. And that's in perfect conditions with precise scheduling. That's why the cruise lines charter so many buses.

 

The second hurdle is finding the charter bus(es). I believe that there are about 30 buses chartered in the area on sail day so the pool of available buses is already down. A charter bus is about $850 a day for a 50 person bus. Then you've got to fill it. It's not economical to run half empty buses and people get annoyed if they have to wait more than 30 minutes before hitting the road so scheduling is very important.

Open a car rental business that is open on Sundays....seems to be an issue. Have vans available that would help....a lot of people come in a day or two early and renting a car that can be dropped off or rented on Sundays around the ships would be very helpful.

I'm from Colorado. That said, I'm not too familiar with Taxi service. And this may be a stupid question. But when you get a Taxi, do you pay per person or can you share a taxi with several people?

If so, it might be worth it to people to share a taxi. The problem with shuttles is you have to wait for a bunch of different people going to different places (different hotels). This can be time consuming.

We are paying Z-Limosine 109 + tip for the trip. They weren't the cheapest I found online, but the others didn't respond to my request. I have been advised (via another thread) that a cab is $95. We will have a Towncar, which may likely be more comfortable.

Their address is

www.houston-airport-town-car.com/

Happy Cruising!

I would be interested in how this works out as I have a group of ladies going on a cruise in May. Last year a group of them rented a limo that was a nightmare. Good thing they flew in the day before because they were about 3.5 hours to get from Hobby to Galveston because of car problems.

 

I just called and they quoted me $325 for up to 12 people. For a van it is $150 - which isn't bad. They don't provide an champagne (was able to purchase at additional cost with the last company).

I have looked into limos and cabs and have decided to rent a car at Houston Intl. You can get a car for under $200 for the week. Parking will cost about $60 for the week also. I'm planning on $40 for gas. So for $300, I have all the transportation I need and its on my schedule. I'm travelling with a family of 4 and all of the limos/cabs that I could find, would have cost me more. Am I missing something? I would think more people would choose this option. I have also read here that some hotels allow you to park for free for the week if you spend the night prior to cruising. Thoughts?

Check out the Super Shuttle at www.supershuttle.com.