Transportation options for Galveston Port?

[Parkhopper]

We have a cruise scheduled on the Allure of the Seas out of Galveston and have no familiarity with the area. We will be flying into Houston  the day before the cruise.  Do we have an option to return a rental car very near the port?  Are there shuttles that can take us from the port to Houston airport after the cruise?  Are there other options?  Any assistance would be appreciated.

[CanadaRob]

Lots of options to get from IAH to port, depending on group size, check out Galveston departure board, Galveston Express, Galveston Limo, have used VIP shuttle and Galveston Limo. 
if it’s just two if you Taxi/Uber work fine
VIP may still be reachable, they were sporadic post pandemic, but loved them pre pandemic

[c-leg5]

Which airport?

 

We have used Galveston Express. There are cruise line transfers.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by c-leg5

[time4u2go]

Which Houston airport? There's two.

[HicksRA]

You can book a shuttle from the port to the airport through Royal. Just give them a call. We did it last Thursday. 

[LeeW]

Last time we sailed out of Galveston there were no rental car companies for returns on the island.  Nearest place was a Sears store maybe 10 miles inland and it wasn't open on Sundays.  We've used Galveston Express for a trip from the airport to a hotel near the pier the day before our cruise.  Hobby (mostly Southwest) is around 45 minutes from the port area and Bush is around 70 minutes with no traffic.

 

Best info is on the Gulf Departures board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/316-gulf-coast-departures/

 

The cruise line shuttle people were actively seeking people without reservations in the baggage area at Hobby.  We already had a van reserved.  You can book the return trip to the airport onboard if you want to do that.

[Parkhopper]

I didn’t even realize that there were two airport possibilities. There will be four adults and we have the ability to fly into either airport via Southwest or United. We will be flying in the day before the cruise as I don’t feel comfortable taking a chance of any delays or cancellations on the actual day of the cruise

 

 

[hollon]

flying into Hobby airport is closer than IAH

[Texas Tillie]

9 hours ago, Parkhopper said:

I didn’t even realize that there were two airport possibilities. There will be four adults and we have the ability to fly into either airport via Southwest or United. We will be flying in the day before the cruise as I don’t feel comfortable taking a chance of any delays or cancellations on the actual day of the cruise

 

 

 

Then book a flight on Southwest into Hobby. It's much closer to Galveston, but also much smaller and therefore much easier to maneuver about. Look into the various suggestions of shuttles listed above.

[ssb]

Galveston Saltwater Moms is who we use

 

[Sand and Seas]

On 11/13/2022 at 3:32 PM, ssb said:

Galveston Saltwater Moms is who we use

 

Yes, we can also recommend!   

We had a great experience using Galveston Saltwater moms for our transportation from IAH to Galveston two days prior to our cruise.  

[no1superfan]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:18 PM, Parkhopper said:

Do we have an option to return a rental car very near the port?

We've booked a convertible from Budget from IAH to Galveston. The drop off is in Texas City wich is 14 miles from the port. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle after the drop off at Gulfway Plaza Shopping Center?  UBER/Lyft?

Budget's $113 rate seems reasonable when compared to other options considering it's going to be moonlight. Any restaurant recommendations enroute the evening before the cruise?

[Galveston Cruiser]

Uber, Lyft or taxi