Out of Houston Cruising

[EightFurryPaws]

I think they are the only ones who include free shuttle to the port.

We really liked the BW and plan to stay there next April again. The only drawback is that although they have an excellent complimentary breakfast in the breakfast room part of the lobby, they do not have a restaurant or cafe for dinner and none are nearby. No bars either.

They do have vending machine food and a microwave in the room to heat the tv dinners and Hot Pockets.

There is also is a Subway sandwich shop close by but no restaurants.

The other amenities and the room was worth that inconvenience for us.

You could take a taxi to Kemah Boardwalk or restaurants in the area.

 

Does anyone know if the Subway shop is within a safe walking distance, or just by car?

 

Pam

[KatyX]

Here you go for the Best Western

[rockdoctor]

The fog is so bad that I would only use Princess Air and transfers.

[KatyX]

Still fog issues? I haven't heard of any delays this year

[Galveston Cruiser]

Fog is rare, but it does occur - more prevalent in the spring as cool water warms.

 

I guess if fog is experienced once, OP believe it occurs all the time. Just not true.

 

There are many years that see no fog and some years it occurs every few days, but then again, for only a short period of time.

 

More frequently there is fog on the mainland and none at the Gulf.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Galveston Cruiser

[EightFurryPaws]

Thanks KatyX. It looks walkable if you take the path around the shell station.

 

We'll be staying at the BW the evening of Feb.20. Is it somewhat still light

in Seabrook around 6pm-7pm?

 

Thanks again,

Pam

[KatyX]

No, I think sundown would be around 6 o'clock either so you would probably want to walk between five and six if that's a concern

[KatyX]

Also, the last date for Houston freezes is usually around February 14th. So you could find unseasonably warm or very cold weather around that time

[NoWhiners]

Also, the last date for Houston freezes is usually around February 14th. So you could find unseasonably warm or very cold weather around that time

 

Hi KatyX

 

Your info was very helpful, thanks for posting. I am most concerned about the potential for fog. Does your post above mean to suggest that these times in February are the most likely to experience fog? We are leaving late March (March 20th) and I was hoping that would be late enough where fog would be less of a problem? I know we are the mercy of Mother Nature, just trying to get a sense of this.

 

Thanks for any help

ML

[NoWhiners]

Hi to all of you that are like me.....frustrated by the cost and availability of transportation in the Seabrook port area. I am reading that Princess is moving out of this port after Spring 2016 so maybe there is a reluctance to build the services at this time. DH and I are on the Dec. 6th Princess so I have been doing some research about transportation. I have looked into Super Shuttle. Their prices are better than taxis but I didn't find much flexibility for drop off areas close to the port. I wasn't sure if they would take you to a particular hotel based on the choice options on line. The cost for a ride from the airport was $77 for 2 people (one way). Taxis were much higher but offer more flexibility. Here are prices you can expect for taxi services to or from each airport:

 

 

The cruise lines have the best deal but you are reliant on their time schedules. They offer very fair prices on the transfers and guarantee you on time arrival and departure. The Princess fare is $24 per person each way at this time. DH and I are arriving the day before our cruise and they only pick up and transfer passengers on the day of the cruise so we are stuck at a hotel at the airport unless we find alternate transportation. We are still researching options.....

 

Good luck to all. I hope this helps a little. I would be interested in other folks adventures.

 

Hi debbeck

 

Thanks so much for this info, very helpful. I have been trying to figure out the transportation between Hobby and Bayport too so your post is great.

 

I think we may end up just doing the Princess shuttle and work on their schedule. We don't mind sitting on a bus and waiting for it to fill up enough.

 

ML

[KatyX]

Regarding fog, I did go back and look at historical info for 2015. March did appear the worst for closings. Most show reopening by 11:00 a.m. A few went into the afternoon.

[NoWhiners]

Regarding fog, I did go back and look at historical info for 2015. March did appear the worst for closings. Most show reopening by 11:00 a.m. A few went into the afternoon.

 

Oh nooooo!! I was afraid of this. Thanks for the info, I think we'll just plan on there being fog both ways and then we won't be disappointed. :)

 

Thanks for your help

ML

[ssb]

Oh nooooo!! I was afraid of this. Thanks for the info, I think we'll just plan on there being fog both ways and then we won't be disappointed. :)

 

Thanks for your help

ML

 

You have a good attitude!:)

 

“Weather is always unrehearsed.”

 

"Being on a ship in the fog is better than being in the fog and not on a ship"

[BEFdoc]

I think they are the only ones who include free shuttle to the port.

We really liked the BW and plan to stay there next April again. The only drawback is that although they have an excellent complimentary breakfast in the breakfast room part of the lobby, they do not have a restaurant or cafe for dinner and none are nearby. No bars either.

They do have vending machine food and a microwave in the room to heat the tv dinners and Hot Pockets.

There is also is a Subway sandwich shop close by but no restaurants.

The other amenities and the room was worth that inconvenience for us.

You could take a taxi to Kemah Boardwalk or restaurants in the area.

 

I spoke with BW and they said they have a free shuttle to the restaurants and shopping.

 

Seems like a good deal.

[Kingofcool1947]

i spoke with bw and they said they have a free shuttle to the restaurants and shopping.

 

Seems like a good deal.

 

bw?

Edited August 18, 2015 by Kingofcool1947

[Colo Cruiser]

bw?

 

 

Best Western.

[DannyMac]

Oh nooooo!! I was afraid of this. Thanks for the info, I think we'll just plan on there being fog both ways and then we won't be disappointed. :)

 

Thanks for your help

ML

 

My wife and I live 20 minutes from the Bayport terminal, fog on Galveston Bay is a problem during Jan, Feb, March and April.

Edited August 20, 2015 by DannyMac

[LoriPhil]

If the promised super-El Nino weather event occurs this winter I'm wondering what impact it will have on the Houston departures. Soggier weather, perhaps?

[West Coast Gal]

Last time we sailed out of Houston, we stayed at a Marriott by Hobby the night before. Due to the consulting work my husband was doing I wanted to make things as simple and unstressed as possible for him (very tight time deadline), so I ordered a private limo from the hotel to the port. It was a little more than the Princess transfer, but we didn't have to get back to the airport and then get on the Princess transfer. I think including tip it was about $65. If you are flying in the day before (which is not a bad idea given the fog issues) you might want to look into this option.

Do you remember the name of the service you used?

[West Coast Gal]

We had to fly into Bush on a Saturday, a day early for our cruise and will be staying in Kemah . . . so we can't take the Princess transfer and the taxis seem so expensive. But we have as much of a dilemma on the return, our flight is not until 5:30 pm, so we didn't want to take a Princess transfer to the airport and sit for 7 hours. We were going to rent a car, but Enterprise is closed on Sundays. We looked at the excursions at Houston but they just seem like you are riding around on a bus with a few 15-20 stops and not all that exciting and you still get to the airport at 1pm . . . any suggestions for those of you who have done this trip or know Houston well?

[NoWhiners]

My wife and I live 20 minutes from the Bayport terminal, fog on Galveston Bay is a problem during Jan, Feb, March and April.

 

DannyMac

 

Just saw your post. I guess we will just have to keep our fingers crossed. Do you know what kind of weather conditions cause the fog? We might be able to track the weather a few days before just to be prepared.

 

Thanks

ML

[Galveston Cruiser]

DannyMac

 

Just saw your post. I guess we will just have to keep our fingers crossed. Do you know what kind of weather conditions cause the fog? We might be able to track the weather a few days before just to be prepared.

 

Thanks

ML

 

Warm air over cool water - we live on the island and there is less fog than stated. The number of days a year affected by fog are typically less than 10, with some years having no fog. The issue seems to get blown out of proportion if someone experiences it once!

[KatyX]

We were on El Jardin a few years ago and watched it roll in. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it myself. It did seem to burn off relatively quickly

[BEFdoc]

We had to fly into Bush on a Saturday, a day early for our cruise and will be staying in Kemah . . . so we can't take the Princess transfer and the taxis seem so expensive. But we have as much of a dilemma on the return, our flight is not until 5:30 pm, so we didn't want to take a Princess transfer to the airport and sit for 7 hours. We were going to rent a car, but Enterprise is closed on Sundays. We looked at the excursions at Houston but they just seem like you are riding around on a bus with a few 15-20 stops and not all that exciting and you still get to the airport at 1pm . . . any suggestions for those of you who have done this trip or know Houston well?

 

Like space things? How about NASA excursion 3 to 4 hours and includes transfer to your aiport of choice.

[dforeigner]

I consider myself on of the lucky ones. I have sailed 4 times out of Galveston/Houston area. Twice in March, once in April, and once in May. We have never experienced any issues with fog. The one in May we did have a severe storm driving to Houston. We had to slow down to 25 mph on I-10 and eventually pull of the highway and park it due to poor visibility.

 

For our cruise this past March, the port of Houston had fog on Saturday and NCL was late docking in. But it was clear by the time we sailed in on Sunday. Will our luck still stand for next year's cruise?