Port in Galveston

[bdziewit]

We are going out of Galveston in Nov on the Magic. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on hotels that you can see the port. I wanted the kids to be able to wake up and see it from the hotel if it is possible. I would love to wake up early enough to watch her pull in, but not entirely sure what time that usually happens. :rolleyes:

[CENTEX CRUISER]

I believe the Galvez is right next door..:)

[Meyer2]

Harbor House Hotel is right there & is perfect for being right there!

[Ratt]

We are going out of Galveston in Nov on the Magic. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on hotels that you can see the port. I wanted the kids to be able to wake up and see it from the hotel if it is possible. I would love to wake up early enough to watch her pull in, but not entirely sure what time that usually happens. :rolleyes:

 

We returned home yesterday from our Triumph cruise and we stayed at the Harbor House the day before and the day after the cruise. The Harbor House is literally next door to the cruise terminals. The south side rooms face the cruise terminals and the north side rooms face the port area where the ships come and go. There are a couple of web cams that can give you an idea of what the kind if views you will have.Harbor House looking at the cruise terminals and Harbor House looking at the port where the ships come and go. In the web cam that looks at the cruise terminal you can see pier 23 over the middle of the red building and pier 28 is past that. I know for sure that Triumph docks at pier 23 and I'm pretty sure the Magic docks at pier 28. In the port web cam you can see a concrete area in front of the small building, that are is behind the parking lot for the Harbor House and you freely walk around that are and it's a great place to watch the ships come and go.

 

The Harbor House is not a fancy hotel but it is nice. There are a several restaurants in the area with a couple of them being right on the water. You have access to the Treemont and San Luis facilities such as restaurants, gyms and a spa. They offer cruise parking which we used. It cost $10 to park there the night before the cruise and $30 for the duration of the cruise. It is a short walk to the terminals or you can arrange to take the free shuttle that the hotel offers. The shuttle will also pick you up from the terminal and return you to the hotel after your cruise.

 

I have pictures of the area and if you're interested in seeing them let me know and I will post them.

[bdziewit]

Yes, if you wouldn't mind posting your pictures, I would really appreciate it. I am going to check out that hotel. Thanks everyon for the advice.

[Ratt]

Yes, if you wouldn't mind posting your pictures, I would really appreciate it. I am going to check out that hotel. Thanks everyon for the advice.

 

I will post the pictures when I get home from work this evening.

 

I really want to be back on the ship and not about to go into a 4 hour meeting.

[BallFour4]

The Galvez is on Seawall Blvd, a couple miles away.

 

The Harbor House is right on the channel.

 

One option would be to stay at another island hotel and drive over to the parking area near Joe's Crab Shack at 19th street and drive right up by the Offshore Rig Museum. Parking there is plentiful before noon and you can walk right up to the waters edge.

 

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[CENTEX CRUISER]

Thanks for the correction.. The Galvez must not be there...Sorry for wrong info...:rolleyes:

[okgirl]

We are going out of Galveston in Nov on the Magic. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on hotels that you can see the port. I wanted the kids to be able to wake up and see it from the hotel if it is possible. I would love to wake up early enough to watch her pull in, but not entirely sure what time that usually happens. :rolleyes:

 

The Magic gets in between 6 and 6:30 if there are no delays......we watch her on the webcams on Sunday mornings, that's how the CC Crazies group first got to know each other.

 

You can see the webcams on galveston.com and if you are on the Crazies Group cruise thread at the same time, we will be talking about exactly where she is.

 

When ever we cruise out of Galveston we usually go down to what we call the "patio". It's the area against the channel behind Willie G's restaurant. It's very cool to see the ship silently sliding by then getting tied up at the pier. It's always real quiet, because they don't start making announcements (which you can hear from the patio) until around 7am.

 

If you are going to be in town on Saturday afternoon and the Triumph is in port go down to one of the restaurants at the pier for a late lunch or just drinks and snacks around 3:30 and you can watch sailaway.

 

Don't forget to have some Shrimp Kisses while you are in town. They are an island specialty.

[bdziewit]

We are planning driving down Saturday morning. I will check out the port on Saturday for the Triumph. Thanks for all of the tips.:)

[Cruisingzs]

Harbor House is really the only hotel that you can look right out and see the harbor. The cruise cam is actually mounted on top of the hotel. Tremont Hotel is a few blocks away. But most hotels are on the Seawall which is on the other side of the island from the terminal

[familycruzr]

We stayed at the Harbor House when we sailed out of Galveston. It was great watching the ship back into the harbor while eating breakfast. We were also able to leave the car at the hotel while we were on the cruise.

[helicopter]

We really love the Harbour House, right at the terminal and two blocks from the Strand:) Most of the time it will have a 2 night minimum, but the closer it gets to your cruise if there are still rooms they will lift that:) I am calling every day or so now for our June 3rd cruise on the Magic.

[Ratt]

Sorry it has taken so long to post these. Work decided to go into hyper drive.

 

The Harbor House. The cruise terminal is to the left. The parking lot for the Harbor House is to the right of the building and it is gated. If you decide to park in their parking lot and take the shuttle to the terminal, it will pick you up in front of the harbor tour stand which is right below the Olympia sign.

 

Back of the Harbor House. I was standing on the pier that is in the next picture.

 

The Triumph docked at pier 23. The Magic docks at the pier beyond where the Triumph is. The building on the left is the Harbor House. On the right is the Elissa which is part of the Texas Seaport Museum.

[Ratt]

Looking the other direction (north). You can freely walk around this area and it's a great place to watch ships, birds and sea life.

 

Triumph moving away from the pier as she gets underway.

 

On her way

[firefly333]

We really love the Harbour House, right at the terminal and two blocks from the Strand:) Most of the time it will have a 2 night minimum, but the closer it gets to your cruise if there are still rooms they will lift that:) I am calling every day or so now for our June 3rd cruise on the Magic.

 

If you go to hotels.com you can get around the 2 night mininum more often than not.

[Ratt]

Back of Willie G's which is next door to Harbor House.

 

Back of Fisherman's Wharf and the location that the next picture was taken. The food here is SO good.

 

Triumph from Fisherman's Wharf. The building to the left of the Triumph is the the cruise terminal at pier 23. The entrance is at the other end of the building but is not that far.

 

Hope these give you a good idea what to expect. The hotel itself is basic and nothing to fancy but the rooms are nice and the fact that it's right on the water and next to the cruise ship terminal makes it a great option.

 

Keep in mind that the area around the Harbor House and Willie G's is open to the public so you don't have to be a guest to use it.

[Spring1onu]

I'm not the OP, but wanted to say THANK YOU for posting the pics! I don't know that we'll stay @ HH on our cruise on the Magic in December (it's pricey), but I'm not familiar with the area and the pics helped identify a few places I'd read about :D Many thanks!!!

[Ratt]

I'm not the OP, but wanted to say THANK YOU for posting the pics! I don't know that we'll stay @ HH on our cruise on the Magic in December (it's pricey), but I'm not familiar with the area and the pics helped identify a few places I'd read about :D Many thanks!!!

 

You are so welcome. I have a lot of pictures that I took of the area including both piers / terminals and parking lots. Let me know if you're interested in seeing them and I'll post them.

[jakeHOU97]

The Triumph docked at pier 23. The Magic docks at the pier beyond where the Triumph is.

 

I believe they both dock at 23. I think the next one is 25 or 28 and is RCCL dock.

[Ratt]

I believe they both dock at 23. I think the next one is 25 or 28 and is RCCL dock.

 

You are SO right. I hope I didn't mislead anyone. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the other pier (28) was RCCL.

 

Thank you for setting me straight.

[pspercy]

The Galveston website is a good resource: http://www.galveston.com/default.asp . . webcams, hotels etc.

 

The Ocean Star Museum Rig is worth a visit, just a few yards from the Harbor House, a bunch of companies in the oil biz put it together in the mid-90s to show how they work etc. It's well done. http://www.oceanstaroec.com/

 

It's worth coming in a day or two early if you can, there's lots to do there and at that time of year it won't be crowded.

[bigelow]

We are going out of Galveston in Nov on the Magic. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on hotels that you can see the port. I wanted the kids to be able to wake up and see it from the hotel if it is possible. I would love to wake up early enough to watch her pull in, but not entirely sure what time that usually happens. :rolleyes:

We will be on the same cruise. :)

[bigdadcruiser]

We also stay at Harbor House. It's a very charming hotel with a nautical theme.

[bdziewit]

Thank you so much for posting the pictures. They are a big help. I am going to see if I can get around that 2 night min stay at Harbor House if possible. We are in San Antonio and planning on driving down Saturday morning. If not, maybe I can get an extra vacation day.:D