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

[djmelmd]

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.

 

I feel your pain as well. Apparently Texans are a litle touchy....jk folks. I have gotten ground transportation to many other ports and it was less expensive for the distance covered. As expensive as Hawaii is, it was cheaper. You would think they would want to bring in some tourism from other places.

[SPacificbound]

FWIW one of the issues that folks may not be considering is Galveston is an island. It doesn't have the option of spreading out so there is more room to build more businesses.

 

It also could be it is just not that profitable for there to be more car rental companies. There definitely would not be much car rental business from the people who live there, and as pointed out several times, a whole lot of people drive to Galveston.

 

Just a thought.

[Langoustine]

FWIW one of the issues that folks may not be considering is Galveston is an island. It also could be it is just not that profitable for there to be more car rental companies.

 

Exactly. What people want is a car rental company that would let them pick up a one-way rental from Hobby or Bush and drop it off in Galveston, then pick up another one-way in Galveston a week later to get back to the airports. But then what does the rental office in Galveston do with all these cars during the week, waiting for the cruisers to return? Economically, it probably doesn't make sense for the rental companies to be in Galveston doing this. People are also forgetting that Galveston is 42 miles from Hobby and 71 miles from Bush; transportation costs are always going to be higher than getting from the airports in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale to the ports there.

[rch3]

The real ripoff is the airport facility charge tacked on by airport rental companies. We rent a car for the week ($105), and park it at a nearby port lot ($53). All pretty reasonable. But THEN the $97 IAH facility fee attached to the rental makes you scratch your head. Still like sailing with all you Texans .

[spookwife]

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.

 

I see you are from MD. We just left BWA and the cruise port parking THERE is a rip off compared to here. its going to cost about $50 to park at the terminal or a nearby lot. Baltimore? routinely cost us over twice that. and Baltimore doesn't have anything adjacent/near the terminal as far as lodging options.

 

just as most people who leave from Baltimore drive in, so do most people who leave form Galveston.

 

car rentals do most of their business at airports. with returns at the same spot. having additional drop locations just adds to the bottom line as they have to pay someone to get the cars BACK to their original lot.

[Shawna&Kristi]

Heck Orlando ,FL to Port Canaveral is further than hobby to Galveston and it's still cheaper in Florida .

 

 

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[Starry Eyes]

Heck Orlando ,FL to Port Canaveral is further than hobby to Galveston and it's still cheaper in Florida .

 

 

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I'm surprised that you did not point out that Port Canaveral is also on an island and that there are car rental companies on that island. The lots are compact, but they do a brisk business. One way rentals come to the island with new cruises and one way rentals leave with disembarking passengers. Reservation systems cause are designed to balance the ins and out. the location of the renta

Lot is not too important. If they provided a shuttle (even for a fee), the car rental could be located off the island.

 

Often cheaper than paying for parking, sometimes I rent cars in my town and drop them at O'Hare (60 miles). sometimes shuttles work, other times a car rental is more suitable. I'd think locals there might also find one way rental nice once in a while.

 

The points everybody has made are certainly valid. I think the cruise business is bigger and better established in FL than in TX. As the cruise business in TX grows and matures (as cruise lovers from TX and beyond likely desire), associated business are apt to also arise, grow, thrive. As those supporting businesses grow, the appeal to far flung cruisers grow, hopefully creating a virtuous circle as they attract more cruisers.

 

I believe this is underway. several years ago, I saw a nice price on a Glaveston cruise. flights were easy to find, and I was psyched to get back to visit TX. Then I went to cruise critic and google to look for ground transit, and I found few options. back then, people said the best option was to stay overnight near the airport, return to the airport on the day of the cruise and take cruise transport bus to port. I wanted to stay in Galveston per-cruise. Or Houston or an interesting burn nearby...not the airport. I found a different cruise then. My desire to visit Tx and also enjoy a cruise persists, so I am planning again. this time I am finding more transit options then before. not as many as FL and not as cheap, but more than years ago... progress:). I look forward to more of the same over the years.

[Shawna&Kristi]

I'm surprised that you did not point out that Port Canaveral is also on an island and that there are car rental companies on that island. The lots are compact, but they do a brisk business. One way rentals come to the island with new cruises and one way rentals leave with disembarking passengers. Reservation systems cause are designed to balance the ins and out. the location of the renta

 

Lot is not too important. If they provided a shuttle (even for a fee), the car rental could be located off the island.

 

 

 

Often cheaper than paying for parking, sometimes I rent cars in my town and drop them at O'Hare (60 miles). sometimes shuttles work, other times a car rental is more suitable. I'd think locals there might also find one way rental nice once in a while.

 

 

 

The points everybody has made are certainly valid. I think the cruise business is bigger and better established in FL than in TX. As the cruise business in TX grows and matures (as cruise lovers from TX and beyond likely desire), associated business are apt to also arise, grow, thrive. As those supporting businesses grow, the appeal to far flung cruisers grow, hopefully creating a virtuous circle as they attract more cruisers.

 

 

 

I believe this is underway. several years ago, I saw a nice price on a Glaveston cruise. flights were easy to find, and I was psyched to get back to visit TX. Then I went to cruise critic and google to look for ground transit, and I found few options. back then, people said the best option was to stay overnight near the airport, return to the airport on the day of the cruise and take cruise transport bus to port. I wanted to stay in Galveston per-cruise. Or Houston or an interesting burn nearby...not the airport. I found a different cruise then. My desire to visit Tx and also enjoy a cruise persists, so I am planning again. this time I am finding more transit options then before. not as many as FL and not as cheap, but more than years ago... progress:). I look forward to more of the same over the years.

 

 

Oh we are still doing our cruise out of Texas for our friends 50 th bday . And Want to stay in Galveston .

But looking at prices of hotel and transportation for 9 is a bit pricey for Galveston . So still deciding where to stay .

 

 

 

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[Starry Eyes]

Oh we are still doing our cruise out of Texas for our friends 50 th bday . And Want to stay in Galveston .

But looking at prices of hotel and transportation for 9 is a bit pricey for Galveston . So still deciding where to stay .

 

 

 

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Some of the shuttle service seem to offer decent rates per person for groups your size. Hotel rates depend upon dates of course. Any trip gets pricey for a group of nine.

We are in the opposite boat (pardon the pun). With only two of us, shuttle service day before cruise seem rather high, but hotel rates look quite reasonable for our pre-cruise stay. Like you, we'd rather stay in Galveston pre-cruise rather than at an airport hotel.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Oh we are still doing our cruise out of Texas for our friends 50 th bday . And Want to stay in Galveston .

But looking at prices of hotel and transportation for 9 is a bit pricey for Galveston . So still deciding where to stay .

 

 

 

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Accommodations for 9 can get expensive. If staying 2 or more nights I suggest you look into vacation rentals as they can be very cost effective.

[Starry Eyes]

Accommodations for 9 can get expensive. If staying 2 or more nights I suggest you look into vacation rentals as they can be very cost effective.

 

Great idea for 2 nights or more.

For one night 8/15-16/2014, perhaps consider hotwire if you are willing to prepay now. I see 3 rooms for 9 adults for $71 per room ($266 total with taxes) for a 2 star West Galveston recommended by 85% of hotwire users and a 3.5 rating on tripadvisor. If you check better bidding and compare amenities, you might be able to guess which hotel.

[Shawna&Kristi]

We are staying one night on 8/15/15

 

 

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[TruckerDave]

The real ripoff is the airport facility charge tacked on by airport rental companies. We rent a car for the week ($105), and park it at a nearby port lot ($53). All pretty reasonable. But THEN the $97 IAH facility fee attached to the rental makes you scratch your head. Still like sailing with all you Texans .

 

It's not the rental car companies choice to do this. What do you think pays for that big fancy rental car complex at IAH?

[Starry Eyes]

It's not the rental car companies choice to do this. What do you think pays for that big fancy rental car complex at IAH?

 

I have not seen it, but if each rental is charged $97, the facility should rival the Taj Mahal! and somehow I bet they are also charging the rental car companies a pretty penny for space on airport grounds. If the fees are all that high, likey the money is being diverted for used other than just the fancy rental car complex.

[Galveston Cruiser]

This is a fee tacked on by the City of Houston for the airport rental car agencies.

This fee is not charged when renting from another facility off the airport premises.

[rch3]

It's not the rental car companies choice to do this. What do you think pays for that big fancy rental car complex at IAH?

 

Is this a rhetorical question? Everyone who rents at IAH pays.

[TruckerDave]

Is this a rhetorical question? Everyone who rents at IAH pays.

 

As Galveston Cruiser said, its a city tax. The rental agency's don't have any choice but to charge it.

[TruckerDave]

I have not seen it, but if each rental is charged $97, the facility should rival the Taj Mahal! and somehow I bet they are also charging the rental car companies a pretty penny for space on airport grounds. If the fees are all that high, likey the money is being diverted for used other than just the fancy rental car complex.

 

 

It is a large (and very convenient) facility. All the car rental places in one location. It is not very old so I'm sure it is going to take a few years to pay off. :rolleyes:

[Starry Eyes]

It is a large (and very convenient) facility. All the car rental places in one location. It is not very old so I'm sure it is going to take a few years to pay off. :rolleyes:

 

Of course it takes time to pay off a building that is supposed to last many, many years In this case, a municipal bond was likely floated. With low interest rates, one would think/hope they have a good rate.

Rather than rolling eyes, let's play with the numbers. $97 fee per week was cited by the other poster...assuming he really had the car 8 days, that's $12.12 per car per day. I saw an online estimate of daily rental car volume at IAH at about 1600 (Lots of cars, but it is a big airport...I cannot vouch for the estimate...do you know the average daily volume?) How long would you guess for the average rental? I think 3 days is a conservative enough guess.

So my just-for-fun-rough-guess is $12.12 * 1600 * 3 * 365 = $21,234,240 per year. That's a lot of dough to pay off that bond plus maintain the facility, especially if one considers the (probably substantial) space rental fees paid by the rental agencies for counter space.

[bankofdad]

Probably doesn't work for everyone, but we are flying into Houston Hobby, and when planning found that car rentals there for the week of our cruise where much much more reasonable than renting at IAH (about half the price). I have traveled through both airports in the past, and honestly prefer Hobby, but that's JMHO.

[jonbgd]

I rent regularly from both and prefer pricing at Hobby but vehicle choice at IAH

 

The fee difference between renting from IAH and HOU is

IAH charges an extra $4 a day vehicle fee plus the $4.49 bus fee

Both charge 26.11% for taxes

 

High taxes are common for renting from most airports

Edited December 17, 2014 by jonbgd

[Cel_cruise]

Ugh - this is my worst fear confirmed! We booked our first cruise from Galveston last week and will be there in February. We are flying in to Houston on Thursday and planned to stay in Galveston area recruise to see the city, nasa, moody gardens, the strand etc..then we have one night after the cruise in Houston to check out some museums on debarkation day...

 

One of the reasons we selected this cruise was that airfare was affordable. I have never been to a place with such expensive rental car options! Live and Learn I guess, but I too wish that there were some additional options...next time we will look closer at Houston departures vs Galveston :(

 

 

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[ssb]

Ugh - this is my worst fear confirmed! We booked our first cruise from Galveston last week and will be there in February. We are flying in to Houston on Thursday and planned to stay in Galveston area recruise to see the city, nasa, moody gardens, the strand etc..then we have one night after the cruise in Houston to check out some museums on debarkation day...

 

One of the reasons we selected this cruise was that airfare was affordable. I have never been to a place with such expensive rental car options! Live and Learn I guess, but I too wish that there were some additional options...next time we will look closer at Houston departures vs Galveston :(

 

 

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Yes one always is living and learning with travel!

But

Considering all the tourist destinations in your wish list.

And needing a vehicle in order to accomplish visiting all of them

in the short window of time you have ,

it should not make an appreciable economic differenence either way,

whether you are cruising out of Houston or Galveston.

 

Enjoy your cruise and your visit to Houston/Galveston ! :)

 

Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and the adventure.

[Cel_cruise]

Yes one always is living and learning with travel!

 

But

 

Considering all the tourist destinations in your wish list.

 

And needing a vehicle in order to accomplish visiting all of them

 

in the short window of time you have ,

 

it should not make an appreciable economic differenence either way,

 

whether you are cruising out of Houston or Galveston.

 

 

 

Enjoy your cruise and your visit to Houston/Galveston ! :)

 

 

 

Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and the adventure.

 

 

 

 

Oh yes - we totally planned to rent a car, but I didn't expect that we would have to rent it for the entire 10 days and that a mid size car would cost 1.5 times what we pay for a minivan in Orlando for the same duration. I *think* from the limited research I have done, there are better options to return your rental car for the week of the cruise in Houston.

 

 

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