Why are the transportation options in Galveston so expensive???

I must have gotten used to the ease of sailing out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. I am sooo torn because the options for getting from Houston Hobby to Galveston are expensive and seem painful

1) Stay at a hotel near the airport and pay for a Carnival transfer

Pro: seems pretty easy and economical

Con: How will I be able to make a Walmart/Grocery store trip?

2) Rent a car from Hobby and drive to Galveston and stay the night prior to the cruise

Pro: I won't have to worry about traffic getting from Houston to Galveston

the day of the cruise. I can go to the store to get beverages the day before and won't have to fly with that stuff in my luggage

Con: There is a $100 drop fee at the Enterprise location in Galveston

3) Rent a car from Hobby and drive to Texas city and stay the night prior to the cruise

Pro: The most economical option as the rental car is only $45 (total including taxes and fees) and the hotel is $50

Con: Have to worry about getting from Texas City to Galveston the morning of the cruise

UUUUGGGHHHHH Whats a girl to do?

I understand your frustration, and it doesn't really make sense. Galveston really should work on transportation options from the seawall to the port.

There are options though. The San Luis, Hilton and Holiday Inn are all within walking distance of a Kroger and have cruise shuttles. There is also a Walmart but it's a little more of a walk.

Eventually maybe they'll get the street cars back up and running. However that'll dip into their parking lot income, which is a lot easier to maintain than a bunch of diesel/electric trolleys.

I booked a car with Avis. Their drop off is at the Sears in Texas City. They have a shuttle for $50. My rental car wasn't as cheap though. My $5/day car cost me $157 for two days after tax and then shuttle of $50. Galveston is such a ripoff. They should remove their ships from there, or put car return terminals nearby.

Galveston is such a ripoff. They should remove their ships from there, or put car return terminals nearby.

I would hazard to guess that most passengers drive to the port -- from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, etc. I don't think terribly many people fly in.

Galveston -- like any city -- does not control which private businesses choose to set up shop there. If the $$ was there, then obviously the businesses would be there. It's called Capitalism. A few people, relatively speaking, wanting to rent cars does not equal enough business to support those places, or they would flat-out be there.

Why are you sailing from Galveston if you think it's such a "ripoff"? Feel free to sail from Maryland! :confused:

:DThanks Gina:)

Some will always find fault with anything.

When traveling, cruising, etc. there are costs, good or bad, high or low. Depends on the part of the world.

I could defend, argue, correct misinformation, etc. But why:confused:

We travel all over the world and know there are additional costs that we figure into the overall trip. We save by being near the port in Galveston when sailing from here, but spend a lot in other places for the choices of going somewhere else.

Some just like to complain about everything;)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving

BTW - the street cars will not be back and never carried enough passengers (only visitors) and were not planned to transport anyone to the port. We do have taxi's and you could always take a horse and carriage tour through town and the East end- it is Texas:D

:DThanks Gina:)

Some will always find fault with anything.

When traveling, cruising, etc. there are costs, good or bad, high or low. Depends on the part of the world.

 

I could defend, argue, correct misinformation, etc. But why:confused:

 

We travel all over the world and know there are additional costs that we figure into the overall trip. We save by being near the port in Galveston when sailing from here, but spend a lot in other places for the choices of going somewhere else.

 

Some just like to complain about everything;)

 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving

 

BTW - the street cars will not be back and never carried enough passengers (only visitors) and were not planned to transport anyone to the port. We do have taxi's and you could always take a horse and carriage tour through town and the East end- it is Texas:D

Couldn't agree with you more, Mary... I think some people truly aren't happy unless they're complaining. At least think it through and have your complaints make sense!

We had a great Thanksgiving with both our families. Much to be thankful for. I hope you and Lee had a wonderful day yourselves!

I always think of y'all this time of year -- I imagine you're crazy busy with the upcoming Dickens festivities! Ray & I tossed around the idea of going this year, but this weekend is also the Pearland Hometown Christmas Festival and I haven't missed that parade in a bunch of years. Just love it! But we're definitely going to be on the island for New Years Eve -- just don't know where yet.

So the trolleys are really not coming back at all? That makes me sad... :( I miss seeing them.

-gina-

Personally, this will be my first trip to Galveston and I am always excited to visit new places. I still have not figured out what transportation to use when we go home. We are staying a few days after our cruise so we can enjoy the city. I only found out later we are there during Mardi Gras so I am a bit worried taxi service might be very high. But I may only get there once so I plan on enjoying. Your vacations are what you make them. Only you can truly ruin it. :o

Personally, this will be my first trip to Galveston and I am always excited to visit new places. I still have not figured out what transportation to use when we go home. We are staying a few days after our cruise so we can enjoy the city. I only found out later we are there during Mardi Gras so I am a bit worried taxi service might be very high. But I may only get there once so I plan on enjoying. Your vacations are what you make them. Only you can truly ruin it. :o

Like your attitude!

Enjoy Mardi Gras

mardigrasgalveston.com

galveston.com

galvestonhistory.org

Personally, this will be my first trip to Galveston and I am always excited to visit new places. I still have not figured out what transportation to use when we go home. We are staying a few days after our cruise so we can enjoy the city. I only found out later we are there during Mardi Gras so I am a bit worried taxi service might be very high. But I may only get there once so I plan on enjoying. Your vacations are what you make them. Only you can truly ruin it. :o

Well said. :)

And taxi rates are set -- it won't make a difference in cost if Mardi Gras is going on or not. The wait for a cab might be a little bit longer, but it sounds like you already have the right vacation attitude anyway!

This is from the Yellow Cab Galveston site:

"By ordinance, all Galveston taxis charge $3.00 for the first one-quarter mile and $0.60 for each 1/4 mile thereafter. Waiting time is $30.00 per hour. Up to three additional passengers may share a ride to the same destination for an additional $1 each."

Have a great cruise! And enjoy Galveston... it's a magical place! :)

-gina-

I booked a car with Avis. Their drop off is at the Sears in Texas City. They have a shuttle for $50. My rental car wasn't as cheap though. My $5/day car cost me $157 for two days after tax and then shuttle of $50. Galveston is such a ripoff. They should remove their ships from there, or put car return terminals nearby.

Just so you know, we drive to the port and we love going out of Galveston. It is a fairly easy trip for us and we enjoy it. Therefore we do not want the ships to leave Galveston. If it is so inconvenient for you, you don't have to go there. That doesn't mean everyone feels the way you do.

WE WANT THE SHIPS TO STAY!!!

Between DFW, Houston and San Antonio there are over 10 million people within easy driving distance of Galveston. That's nearly double the entire population of Maryland. The ships aren't going anywhere and it doesn't matter if Galveston tries to cater to air travelers or not. Most of their customers drive to port and if the fliers stop coming they'll just offer lower rates and fill up on locals.

Between DFW, Houston and San Antonio there are over 10 million people within easy driving distance of Galveston. That's nearly double the entire population of Maryland. The ships aren't going anywhere and it doesn't matter if Galveston tries to cater to air travelers or not. Most of their customers drive to port and if the fliers stop coming they'll just offer lower rates and fill up on locals.

Don't forget Austin area !

Those are 5 of larger cities in US.

And Houston soon to be third largest.

I can understand you want them to stay. I am only going there because we wanted to do all three of Carnival's large ships. The cost of the cruise and even the flight there was relatively cheap. What bugs me is paying more for transportation to Galveston than I did for our airline tickets. There are more people flying in than you may believe. I have found over 200 people that are flying in for that cruise. I am sure there are more. I have shuttled over 60 miles to ports before and it was way less than what the airport at Houston charges. And, for those who want to talk about Capitalism, I have a friend who runs a car rental place for Avis in out little tiny town here that does quite well. There are a lot less people in this town than the hotels hold there in Galveston. I guess the car rental places aren't willing to do it. I'm guessing that what myself and the lady who started this thread are trying to find out is; why aren't there more affordable options to getting to and from? My TA even said that that port is the worst one expense wise for cruises and she has been doing this fo a long time.

I can understand you want them to stay. I am only going there because we wanted to do all three of Carnival's large ships. The cost of the cruise and even the flight there was relatively cheap. What bugs me is paying more for transportation to Galveston than I did for our airline tickets. There are more people flying in than you may believe. I have found over 200 people that are flying in for that cruise. I am sure there are more. I have shuttled over 60 miles to ports before and it was way less than what the airport at Houston charges. And, for those who want to talk about Capitalism, I have a friend who runs a car rental place for Avis in out little tiny town here that does quite well. There are a lot less people in this town than the hotels hold there in Galveston. I guess the car rental places aren't willing to do it. I'm guessing that what myself and the lady who started this thread are trying to find out is; why aren't there more affordable options to getting to and from? My TA even said that that port is the worst one expense wise for cruises and she has been doing this fo a long time.

It doesn't matter how many hotel rooms there are in Galveston, the important fact is the vast majority of people who go to Galveston arrive in their own cars. It is not a fly-in vacation spot. I would guess as far as cruisers go, less than 20% are fly-ins. If money could be made with more than what Enterprise offers, I have no doubt that someone would open a franchise.

Don't forget Austin area !

Those are 5 of larger cities in US.

And Houston soon to be third largest.

I was counting places with a million+. If you count Austin then add in Temple, Belton, Waco and Killeen. There are almost 27 million people in Texas, more than half of which are within an easy day drive of Galveston. Then there are plenty of people in Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas that make the drive.

We've enjoyed cruising out of Galveston before, and will be doing so again in February. This time we've booked a limo with Cool Tours from IAH to Galveston. So far their customer service as been excellent.

One of the benefits for us is that its a non-stop flight from our home airport on the west coast; very appealing and a nice change from flying all the way across the country to FLL.

We've enjoyed cruising out of Galveston before, and will be doing so again in February. This time we've booked a limo with Cool Tours from IAH to Galveston. So far their customer service as been excellent.

 

One of the benefits for us is that its a non-stop flight from our home airport on the west coast; very appealing and a nice change from flying all the way across the country to FLL.

Thanks Snow Cat for the perspective...we are sailing out of Bayport in April and I was starting to feel transportation cost to hotel from IAH etc was pricey but when you factor in how much cheaper and how short the flight is... then I think we are even further ahead and looking forward to seeing TEXAS :D

Took me a while to figure out that port of Galveston is not same as Bayport and the only bummer is that staying in Galveston and getting to port is not as convenient as we had hoped, so will stay nearer Bayport but hope to rent a car for a day and drive down to the Island .

I don't find it expensive at all . There are 9 of us and we are using super shuttle . Final cost with tip is 37.00 pp round trip . Not bad if you ask me

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I think we are even further ahead and looking forward to seeing TEXAS.

You should know that Texas is so large that it's really like at least two different states east to west. When most people think of Texas, they're really thinking about the scenery in mid-to-west Texas (San Antonio, the Hill Country, El Paso, Langtry, Alpine, etc.); what you'll see between Houston and Galveston is very different from that and can be disappointing to fans of western movies (which were mostly shot in Arizona and New Mexico, anyway). I lived in Houston for several years, and was surprised that it pretty much looked like...well, anywhere.

Hmmmm I wasn't really trying to come off as a complainer, but OK. It is just a little more complicated and more expensive than any of the other ports I have been to. I am still booked on my cruise and will still enjoy myself. A few extra hundred dollars isn't going to kill us, it was just a comment. We live in Colorado, but will NOT be taking the risk of driving down to Texas in March, the weather here is too Bipolar. I'm sure that would have made things alot easier but oh well.

Just so you know, we drive to the port and we love going out of Galveston. It is a fairly easy trip for us and we enjoy it. Therefore we do not want the ships to leave Galveston. If it is so inconvenient for you, you don't have to go there. That doesn't mean everyone feels the way you do.

 

WE WANT THE SHIPS TO STAY!!!

Between DFW, Houston and San Antonio there are over 10 million people within easy driving distance of Galveston. That's nearly double the entire population of Maryland. The ships aren't going anywhere and it doesn't matter if Galveston tries to cater to air travelers or not. Most of their customers drive to port and if the fliers stop coming they'll just offer lower rates and fill up on locals.

We live in WI and fly to our cruises. We love Texas and we'd like to visit Galveston pre-cruise. Hopefully it will fall into place sometime fairly soon.

The price of the cruises out of TX is often very appealing compared to many other ports. Low prices to make me wonder about profit margins. If the routes are not profitable enough, cruise lines will relocate the ships (unconvinced? ask the Californians). Sure, short terms they'll cut prices, but over the long term low prices are not likely to be sustained.

If you want the ships to stay, you should hope for solid or even robust demand. Encouraging flyers might be in your long-term best interest. Just something to consider...

We live in WI and fly to our cruises. We love Texas and we'd like to visit Galveston pre-cruise. Hopefully it will fall into place sometime fairly soon.

 

The price of the cruises out of TX is often very appealing compared to many other ports. Low prices to make me wonder about profit margins. If the routes are not profitable enough, cruise lines will relocate the ships (unconvinced? ask the Californians). Sure, short terms they'll cut prices, but over the long term low prices are not likely to be sustained.

 

If you want the ships to stay, you should hope for solid or even robust demand. Encouraging flyers might be in your long-term best interest. Just something to consider...

I honestly don't think filling ships has been a problem... Carnival is adding another year-round ship out of Galveston to their stable next year, and Royal is swapping out Navigator for the bigger Liberty. Galveston is now the 4th busiest embarkation cruise port in the U.S. -- over 600,000 passengers last year alone. It's not that flyers aren't welcome... it's that a whole lot of people love how easy it is to drive to the port from wherever they live, and not have to hassle with the mess that flying has become!

And that was my whole point earlier -- The cruise lines, the island, no one is trying to make it difficult on cruisers who fly in... it's simply economics. If the $$ was there, the car rental companies would be there too. But, as others have posted, there are plenty of relatively low-cost transportation options out there, it just takes a bit of homework.

I honestly don't think filling ships has been a problem... Carnival is adding another year-round ship out of Galveston to their stable next year, and Royal is swapping out Navigator for the bigger Liberty. Galveston is now the 4th busiest embarkation cruise port in the U.S. -- over 600,000 passengers last year alone. It's not that flyers aren't welcome... it's that a whole lot of people love how easy it is to drive to the port from wherever they live, and not have to hassle with the mess that flying has become!

 

 

And that was my whole point earlier -- The cruise lines, the island, no one is trying to make it difficult on cruisers who fly in... it's simply economics. If the $$ was there, the car rental companies would be there too. But, as others have posted, there are plenty of relatively low-cost transportation options out there, it just takes a bit of homework.

Driving to port does sound much nicer than flying. Someday when I retire....:D

There is a lot of competition in TX now, and maybe there is plenty of profit for all. I really hope so. Those within driving distance should really want that.

As somebody who shops multiple ports, I notice low prices in TX. Maybe I notice the prices there when they are low, not noticing a bunch of weeks when they are high. If so, good for the cruise lines; I hope you are able to snag the bargain weeks.

I think helping posters easily find those plentiful, relatively low-cost transportation options is probably in the best interest of Texans who want a thriving cruise business.

Driving to port does sound much nicer than flying. Someday when I retire....:D

 

I think helping posters easily find those plentiful, relatively low-cost transportation options is probably in the best interest of Texans who want a thriving cruise business.

Couldn't agree more!! And I think that's where CC truly shines -- when cruisers here help other cruisers find the best deals and the best options. Everybody wins.

And I hope you're able to realize your close-to-port dream at some point! It really is wonderful... It's 30ish minutes away for me, and I can pack all the shoes I want since I'm not having to pay airlines for the privelege, lol. The downside is that it's very disconcerting going the other direction -- One moment you're on this beautiful ship being spoiled like crazy, and then you blink and somehow you're already back in your living room, wondering who stole the "in-stateroom dining" button off your phone!! :p

I totally understand what you're saying OP. My group is in the process of nailing down the details of our upcoming Navigator cruise and this being our first time sailing out of Galveston, and that we are from Michigan so must fly in, we are a little shell shocked. Sailing out of Fort Lauderdale and Miami has us completely spoiled when it comes to transportation options from the airport or hotel to the cruise port. It's going to be at least an additional $300 for transport so that's going to affect how much we spend in town the day before sailing or how much we spend on the ship. I'm sure we'll have a good time anyway, but it definitely stings! OUCH!!!