Galveston Cruise Port - need input

Hello, I am going on Carnival Breeze on May 29th 2016 out of Galveston.

I am going to fly in and out of Houston.

How long does it take to get from Houston to Galveston?

Do you cab, rent car or take a shuttle from Houston and Galveston? Cost?

After cruise ends, what is the earliest time to schedule flight home since one has to travel from Galveston to Houston to get to airport?

Any info would be great.

Garrett Peterson

My information is dated but several years ago renting a car and paying for parking was the cheapest and best way for us in Houston. It is about 2 hours from George Bush airport to Galveston. For the return trip, I would have an afternoon flight.

Have fun!

Hello, I am going on Carnival Breeze on May 29th 2016 out of Galveston.

 

I am going to fly in and out of Houston.

 

How long does it take to get from Houston to Galveston?

Do you cab, rent car or take a shuttle from Houston and Galveston? Cost?

 

After cruise ends, what is the earliest time to schedule flight home since one has to travel from Galveston to Houston to get to airport?

 

Any info would be great.

 

Garrett Peterson

You may also want to check out the Gulf Coast departure forum. Many Galveston experts there:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

It was quite a few years since we cruised out of there but, same as the other poster, we found that renting a car from the airport in Houston was best. Everything else was more expensive. We were able to fly in the day before and the hotel let us part for free for the week of the cruise though. It would be worth it to find a hotel that would allow that if you are going in early.

We sailed out of Galveston a few years ago. We used Carnival's shuttle. We flew in the night before, took free shuttle to hotel near the airport, then took the free shuttle back to the airport in the morning to meet Carnival.

Due to horrible weather getting to the port from IAH I can't comment on the length of time to the port, but once our shuttle left the port, it took about an hour to get to IAH (on a Subday) - we had a 1:30pm flight and had plenty of time with our 10am shuttle pick up.

I was one of the lucky few who got a one way rental from enterprise - they're the only car rental on Galveston island.

It was quite a few years since we cruised out of there but, same as the other poster, we found that renting a car from the airport in Houston was best. Everything else was more expensive. We were able to fly in the day before and the hotel let us part for free for the week of the cruise though. It would be worth it to find a hotel that would allow that if you are going in early.

I agree. We rented a car and paid to park it at the terminal for less than the shuttle (4 people).

We never fly out the same day, but I would recommend a late afternoon flight.

It was quite a few years since we cruised out of there but, same as the other poster, we found that renting a car from the airport in Houston was best. Everything else was more expensive. We were able to fly in the day before and the hotel let us part for free for the week of the cruise though. It would be worth it to find a hotel that would allow that if you are going in early.

Most nice hotels have a two night minimum on weekends.

Hey garrettcrna,

We live in Houston so I can give you an inside scoop on this one. I would definitely fly in the day before and rent a car/shuttle/taxi/uber to your Galveston hotel. You can research prices on those options. The vast majority of Galveston Hotels provide shuttle service to the cruise port and will book a one night stay because ships depart on both Sat. and Sun. so filling rooms isn't a problem. See below. The Harbor House is located adjacent to the cruise port so if you book there you can just walk a block or two to board the ship. Galveston hotels tend to be on the expensive side but there are budget options.

It generally takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours (on a really good day) to get from Intercontinental Airport to Galveston but because Houston is such an extremely large city with very bad traffic/roadwork, you can’t rely on that happening.

If you can, fly into Hobby Airport. Intercontinental is on the far NW side of Houston while Hobby is adjacent to the Gulf Freeway (I-45) and is located on the south side of the city about a 1/3 of the way to Galveston.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsList-Galveston-Hotels-With-Shuttle-zfp366971.html

http://www.harborhousepier21.com/

Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

Hello, I am going on Carnival Breeze on May 29th 2016 out of Galveston.

 

I am going to fly in and out of Houston.

 

How long does it take to get from Houston to Galveston?

Do you cab, rent car or take a shuttle from Houston and Galveston? Cost?

 

After cruise ends, what is the earliest time to schedule flight home since one has to travel from Galveston to Houston to get to airport?

 

Any info would be great.

 

Garrett Peterson

I live in the Houston area. It takes about 45 minutes from Galveston to Hobby Airport. It takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Galveston to Bush Airport. I would take a shuttle to Galveston. Galveston Express is the cheapest that I have found.

Hey garrettcrna,

 

We live in Houston so I can give you an inside scoop on this one. I would definitely fly in the day before and rent a car/shuttle/taxi/uber to your Galveston hotel. You can research prices on those options. The vast majority of Galveston Hotels provide shuttle service to the cruise port and will book a one night stay because ships depart on both Sat. and Sun. so filling rooms isn't a problem. See below. The Harbor House is located adjacent to the cruise port so if you book there you can just walk a block or two to board the ship. Galveston hotels tend to be on the expensive side but there are budget options.

 

It generally takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours (on a really good day) to get from Intercontinental Airport to Galveston but because Houston is such an extremely large city with very bad traffic/roadwork, you can’t rely on that happening.

 

If you can, fly into Hobby Airport. Intercontinental is on the far NW side of Houston while Hobby is adjacent to the Gulf Freeway (I-45) and is located on the south side of the city about a 1/3 of the way to Galveston.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsList-Galveston-Hotels-With-Shuttle-zfp366971.html

http://www.harborhousepier21.com/

 

Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

On our recent cruise out of Galveston, we flew in the day before(IAH), picked up the rental car and drove to our hotel near Hobby airport...this way some of the drive to the port was behind us. We found hotels in Galveston to be ridiculously priced and opted to stay near Hobby for about 1/2 the price. Left the next morning for the port and were on the ship by 1:30pm.

Same as above, depends what airport your flying to. One is 1 1/2 to 2 hours to Galveston and one is about 45 minutes. Need to count in traffic and construction. I used the cruise lines shuttle and there are different costs for each airport. I was also told no departing flight until 2 pm because it takes a while to get back from Galveston.

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Hello, I am going on Carnival Breeze on May 29th 2016 out of Galveston.

 

I am going to fly in and out of Houston.

 

How long does it take to get from Houston to Galveston?

Do you cab, rent car or take a shuttle from Houston and Galveston? Cost?

 

After cruise ends, what is the earliest time to schedule flight home since one has to travel from Galveston to Houston to get to airport?

 

Any info would be great.

 

Garrett Peterson

You have received very good advice here. All I can add is to make galveston.com your new best friend. You can even pick up the cams showing cruise departures and arrivals, places to go, to eat, and if you need to park a car while aboard, it is less expensive to book that online. Your cruise time is during medium high tourist season here. So, of course hotels go with that flow. As to people I have seen post that the hotels here are ALWAYS too expensive, it really just depends on the time of year you visit. Whatever you decide, hope you have a great cruise!

IAH to Galveston on a bad day is 2 3/4hrs on a good day its 70 minutes