Ship to Hobby catching an early flight-HELP!

[msk1]

I realize this could be posted on the specific board but I am hoping for a wider range of advice. We are booked on a spring cruise from the new cruise terminal out of Houston. We are flying in and out of Hobby. Is it realistic to make a 1000AM flight with the ship docking @ 0700? We will be carry-on only, no checked bags. I am told it is about an hour to the airport from the ship?? This will be a Saturday morning so I'm not sure about the weekend traffic, better/worse?? We will be using private, pre-arranged transport.

 

We are flying in the night before our cruise--we know all of the precautions and use them wisely. We know this end-of-cruise option to be risky but would really appreciate the wise counsel of those either having done it, live nearby, etc.

 

Thanks, in advance, for the terrific assistance of all of our fellow CC'ers!!

 

msk1

[Jbird81]

There's no way I'd risk that under any circumstances. You can't hop off right when the ship docks, since they have to hook up the gangways, etc. Plus customs and immigration can sometimes be busy depending on how many people get off at the same time as you. With an hour long car ride, you'd be cutting it close to say the least. I always like to leave at least 2 hours before the flight.

 

I would say you could make an 11am for sure, but 10am there's always a possibility of something going wrong, and you really don't want that added stress right after a cruise.

[cherylandtk]

You will need to be at the airport at least 1 hour prior to your flight, just to get through security and to the gate on a good day. Hobby recommends two hours. Add in the travel time and you really should leave the ship by 7, but that is impractical given that your ship does not even arrive until then. So, can you shave off some time here and there? Sure. Can you count on it? Nope. Can you reasonably expect that something (ship arrival, Immigration, fellow pax delaying you, traffic, lines at security, long walk to your gate) might happen to cause you to miss the flight? Yes.

 

The ONLY way I would book that 10 am flight is to make a backup, cancellable booking on a later flight. That way if I miss the first flight all I have to do is call to cancel before it departs. I will not have to scramble to find an open flight on the same day and I won't have to pay walk-up fares on the second flight, which is very likely the one I will be on anyway. Nor will I worry so much about making the early flight or spend my last morning fretting and rushing around trying to make the world around me move faster.

 

Depending on the airline you choose, you may be able to re-use the funds on the canceled ticket, check the fine print before you purchase.

[caribill]

This will be a Saturday morning so I'm not sure about the weekend traffic, better/worse?? We will be using private, pre-arranged transport.

 

 

Under normal conditions, weekend traffic will be much less than weekday traffic.

 

However, due to that, weekend is the time that construction projects are often done on the roads meaning more congestion with less traffic.

 

With private, pre-arranged tramsport, an experienced driver will know how to avoid the construction.

 

As others pointed out, you need to be checked in by 9 for a 10 AM flight.

 

Personally, I would book a later flight.

[DebJ14]

The other issue is that because the ship has the Cozumel, Roatan, Belize itinerary there is a full immigration inspection required. Instead of glancing at passports or WHTI compliant documents, they run the passports and have to type in all the info for those without passports. The full check also includes a criminal background check. They tend to open lots more bags looking for drugs when coming from Belize. We have done this itinerary several times out of Galveston on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and it has taken us anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half standing in line for immigration. We have always had priority debarkation due to staying in a suite. Galveston has a passport express lane which helps and I am hoping they have one at the Port of Houston too. When we did this itinerary in August it took us about 45 minutes in line. Sequestration is still in effect and we have noticed there have been many empty passport control lanes in both Galveston and Fort Lauderdale.

[arizonaperson]

I realize this could be posted on the specific board but I am hoping for a wider range of advice. We are booked on a spring cruise from the new cruise terminal out of Houston. We are flying in and out of Hobby. Is it realistic to make a 1000AM flight with the ship docking @ 0700? We will be carry-on only, no checked bags. I am told it is about an hour to the airport from the ship?? This will be a Saturday morning so I'm not sure about the weekend traffic, better/worse?? We will be using private, pre-arranged transport.

 

We are flying in the night before our cruise--we know all of the precautions and use them wisely. We know this end-of-cruise option to be risky but would really appreciate the wise counsel of those either having done it, live nearby, etc.

 

Thanks, in advance, for the terrific assistance of all of our fellow CC'ers!!

 

msk1

 

Under normal transport times from Houston pier(Bayport terminal) to Hobby it is about 35min.

I would check with Princess or your travel agent as they have recommended times for flights. You can still book independent.

I can give more insight after my cruise out of Houston on the 9th. We also fly in & out of Hobby.

[COMBOY]

Here is what Princess website states.

 

Flight Guidelines: Galveston

 

Embarking Passengers

For voyages departing Galveston at 5:00 pm, the latest flight arrival into Houston Hobby (HOU) is 1:30 pm.

 

For voyages departing Galveston at 5:00 pm, the latest flight arrival into George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is 1:00 pm.

 

Disembarking Passengers

For voyages arriving in Galveston at 7:00 am, the earliest flight departure from George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is 1:30 pm.

 

So if Houston Intercontinental is 1:30PM minimum flight departure; then Hobby should be 1:00PM. I think they pad departure time due to many factors due to port conditions, weather, customs, etc. 7:00AM is just an estimated arrival time of the ship and actual passenger disembarkation would begin once customs and immigrations has cleared the ship. 10AM seems so risky. Book the 10AM but you must have plan B ready if you miss your flight. Will your airlines let you standby for a later flight? Will they charge you? Do you want to be waiting around the airport worried about catching a later flight if you miss the 10AM flight. No one can guarantee you will make the 10AM. Galveston and Houston aren't terrible far away, but they aren't close should something like delay arrival into port happen. You don't state why you want the 10AM flight - if it based on price /schedule alone and not some urgent reason to get home I'd think long and hard before try to make a 10AM flight.

Edited October 29, 2013 by COMBOY

[satxdiver]

Comboy that is Galveston where the Princess used to use. Princess as of this fall uses the new Bayport terminal in Houston about 40+ miles north of Galveston. Any info on Galveston is useless now.

 

HOU (Hobby) is on the near south side of Houston just west of IH45 and south of IH610. It is near the Bayport terminal but there are no easy access roads between the two.

 

ICH (Intercontinental or Bush) is on the far north side a long way from either port but of course ICH is closer to Bayport than Galveston.

[gone2c]

No, no, no. Fog can be a real problem for Galveston and Houston ports in the spring. Ships can be delayed anywhere from an hour to three. We've had it happen to us several times. Even in the best of situations, I wouldn't even think about it. What a way to end a vacation.:mad::mad:

[Pam in CA]

ICH (Intercontinental or Bush) is on the far north side a long way from either port but of course ICH is closer to Bayport than Galveston.

I changed planes in Houston (Bush) on Sunday and the airport designation was IAH, not ICH. Are there two Bush airports in Houston?

[1025cruise]

Another factor is that Bayport isn't open yet. The first ship doesn't arrive until this weekend, so there is no actual evidence of how long times are.

[lj77346]

As "gone2c" noted, fog can be a problem in the spring. I've sailed from Galveston 5 times in the spring and twice there were fog delays of about 3 hours. Since the passage in Galveston is the entrance to the Houston ship channel, fog could affect the ship's arrival.

[caribill]

I changed planes in Houston (Bush) on Sunday and the airport designation was IAH, not ICH. Are there two Bush airports in Houston?

 

No.

 

IAH (Bush) is where you changed flights. This is about 15 miles north of downtown Houston.

 

HOU (Hobby airport) which is about 10 miles south of downtown.

 

Southwest and AirTran are dominant at HOU and do not use IAH at all.

 

United is dominant at IAH and does not use HOU at all.

[MDSue]

I'm pretty brave about booking early flights, because I hate sitting around the airport- but there is absolutely no way I would book a 10 am flight out of Houston Hobby. The arrival time of the ship isn't necessarily the time you will be cleared for departure and it took us a very long time to debark, catch transportation, and get to the airport.

We took Princess's transfer option and it was a complete nightmare on the day we departed. First, there was no one to load us on the buses- so thousands of passengers were left standing in the cold for over an hour waiting to be loaded onto the buses. Finally, one person showed up to load every bus. The passengers finally started loading their own luggage.

Hopefully, that was an isolated incident, but this is not a good port for early departures.

I wouldn't risk anything before noon.

[msk1]

Thanks all for your knowledgeable replies and stellar advice! This was pretty much what we were thinking--although completely unaware of the fog issue--it's just that the sitting about in the airport with a toddler isn't appealing. We will target a later flight and stay tuned for the information upcoming from the users of the new terminal.

 

msk1

[ASeaPrincess1]

I am sailing out of Houston in Nov/Dec.

My flight back was originally 12:30, but when I put in my flight information in my Cruise Personalizer, it came back with an ERROR message. My flight was too early.

I ended up changing to a later flight out.

This is to Houston Hobby.

[piper28]

From my personalizer, they don't specify airports at all for the port of houston departure:

Embarkation:

Houston - Latest flight arrival: 2 hours, 30 minutes prior to ship's departure.

 

Disembarkation:

Houston - Earliest domestic departure: 6 hours, 30 minutes after ship's

arrival.

 

--

 

Now, Princess tends to be pretty pessimistic on what you can really make, but quite honestly, I wouldn't book a 10am flight out of FLL where it only takes 10-15 minutes tops to get to the airport. Not a prayer I'd do it out of Houston. (And quite honestly, based on my experience when I did Galveston, I would err on the side of caution for flights out of Houston).

[caribill]

From my personalizer, they don't specify airports at all for the port of houston departure:

Embarkation:

Houston - Latest flight arrival: 2 hours, 30 minutes prior to ship's departure.

 

Disembarkation:

Houston - Earliest domestic departure: 6 hours, 30 minutes after ship's

arrival.

 

 

I do not think Princess officially recognizes the fact that Hobby exists. Flights to/from Hobby never make the available flights list when you book Princess Air.

 

(They do realize some people use it since they do offer xfers from/to Hobby.)

[1025cruise]

Southwest and JetBlue only fly to Hobby (Southwest is the main carrier there). Disney actually doesn't recognize Hobby as they don't provide transfers back and forth from it, only from IAH.

 

But again, the Bayport has not been in use in multiple years, with the first ship not arrived yet. At this point, it is unknown how long it will take to disembark, get to the airport, etc.

[tfox1018]

We are considering a flight at 11:30 out of Hobby. May be risky but a whole day in the airport is torture.;)

[caribill]

We are considering a flight at 11:30 out of Hobby. May be risky but a whole day in the airport is torture.;)

 

Today's posts on another thread show the risk involved:

 

Well we are about 2 miles from the pier but can't dock because the fog has us anchored in the shipping channel. Just waiting on the fog to lift so we can dock.

 

Fog is lifting. Almost to the dock. We are about 3+hrs. late.

Edited November 16, 2013 by caribill