lucy2mb

On 1/19/2023 at 9:01 PM, Lane Hog said:

If you have a large group, you might want to just schedule a limo vs. taking the cruise line's shuttle.  We paid $250 for a SUV vs. the $90 per person they wanted.  Even with tip, it was cheaper.

On 1/19/2023 at 9:01 PM, Lane Hog said:

If you have a large group, you might want to just schedule a limo vs. taking the cruise line's shuttle.  We paid $250 for a SUV vs. the $90 per person they wanted.  Even with tip, it was cheaper.

Was the $250 one way from IAH hotel?  We will have 7 adults in our group.  Do you recommend a company to use that would carry 7 passengers and luggage?

On 1/12/2023 at 4:36 PM, DannyMac said:

You don't indicate what day you will board the ship, Saturday/Sunday? Saturday traffic on I-45S gets busy as the day progresses, Sundays are not too bad. It is about an hour and a half drive from IAH to Galveston. I-45S is routed elevated through downtown Houston and can be a problem if traffic is heavy or there is a wreck. Once through that area 45S is clear all the way. There is some construction between the Clear Lake area but nothing that would cause a delay. If you can leave for Galveston by 9:00am you should get there with plenty of time to spare. 

Thank you!  We will be leaving around 8:30 or 9:00 on a Saturday morning.  Looks like most shuttles would have a fee if we need to cancel.  Someone said Uber is not allowed in the port area but others say they have used Uber and Lyft.  We would need 2 cars for the 6 or 7 of us and afraid we would get separated if we take two vehicles.  I know that cruise line charges $100 per person, so I would rather use company that would not cost that much per person and not have cancellation fee if cancelling a few days before the cruise.  Any suggestion would be appreciated.

1 hour ago, Galveston Cruiser said:

The island is not that large;  32 miles long and 2 miles at its widest.  The majority of lodging is on Seawall Blvd. with scattered on Hwy 45 once on the island.  Two hotels downtown:  The Tremont and Harbor House.  See visitgalveston.com

Thank you for your help!

2 minutes ago, txmommy2 said:

I think overall Galveston is safe. We usually stay somewhere on the sea wall but April is a beautiful time to be on the island and prices reflect it. Anything not located on the sea wall will be less expensive. You can definitely stick with your original plan but if you do, I would recommend heading to Galveston early to allow time for any road closures, traffic, weather, etc. 

• Haven't looked at a lot of hotels yet, but found Home2Suites in Texas City that is less than staying in Galveston.  Would it be reasonable rates to take the two Lyfts  from there to port or should we still stay in Galveston.  

1 minute ago, txmommy2 said:

You need to allow 2 hours under normal conditions to travel from IAH to Galveston. I understand things add up but I would recommend staying at a budget hotel in Galveston the night before and then just getting 2 Ubers or Lyfts to the port.

Not familiar with Galveston at all.  Do you think it matters which part of Galveston we stay at.  I will check out the hotels there.  

13 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I can't advise you on  that.  We've never taken anything other than a cruise  line shuttle to the port.

Have you considered continuing on to Galveston the night before your cruise instead of staying near IAH?

 

Our next cruise from Galveston is in 2024.  We intend to fly into IAH, shuttle to galveston that night and then have a very easy embarkation the next day.

 

Here's some links that to help.

a https://portskipper.com/port-of-galveston/transportation/

 

https://www.cruzely.com/how-to-get-from-the-houston-airport-to-the-galveston-cruise-port/

 

Here's a link to some Galveston hotels.

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/category/port-of-departure/galveston/

 

It is our intent to stay at the Harbor House.

Next door to some good seafood.

Free continental breakfast.

You can walk to the carnival port.

I looked at hotels in Galveston and area but hotels were more expensive that IAH hotels.  We have to book 2 hotels rooms for our family and after paying for hotel close to port and then pay for transportation to port, we would be paying more than getting Carnival transportation.  It would be nice to stay within walking distance of the port but those rooms  at the Harbor House would cost us too much.  Will discuss with my husband about Carnival transportation and other options.  Thank you again for your help!

17 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Why not schedule a transfer from Carnival?  That will ensure you do not miss the boat.

We stayed at the Marriott which is in the IAH, had breakfast there, and had a nice bus ride to the port.

When we went down for breakfast, we left our bags in the room as instructed.  When we came back, the bags were gone.  They were loaded on a truck to the port.

Nice thing about the Marriott is the airport tram stops at the baggage claim and then stops at the Marriott.  No need for a shuttle and the tram is free.  Comes by about every five minutes.

I will consider that.   I was just trying to save us some money because there are 6 in our family and I know it is about $25 more per person with Carnival than regular shuttles. Do you think it is safe to use regular shuttle and leave IAH by 9:00 or 10:00?   Thanks for your help!

We decided to stay at an IAH hotel the night before our Vista cruise in April where we can have free airport shuttle to hotel.  I have read that the traffic can be bad going from there to Galveston the morning of our cruise.   If we schedule an early shuttle, will we be able to get to the port in time?

Thank you for your help!

7 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

You might wish to consider the Marriott - Airport.  We've stayed there.  Not a bad hotel.  Best thing is there is a tramway that services the airport and the hotel so there is no fee.  You could also consider a cruise line shuttle which will pick  you up at the airport and deliver you to the port.  These shuttles only run on embarkation day.

Here's a link that discusses other alternatives that  you might find useful.

https://www.cruisehive.com/how-to-travel-from-houston-to-galveston-cruise-port/31640

I haven't found any hotels with free or otherwise shuttles from/to the airport and Galveston.  It's 70 miles to IAH.  You may find this useful.

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/category/port-of-departure/galveston/

Thank you for the information.  I guess I didn't make myself clear.  I meant free shuttle from Bush International to an airport hotel.  In your opinion, should we stay at a hotel at the airport the night before the cruise and get transportation to cruise port the next day.   I don't want to worry about traffic and being late to the port.  I know some people say get closer to the port the night before but then we have to pay for transportation to hotel, then to port and back to airport after cruise.  I hope that all made sense.

We will be cruising out of Galveston for the first time this coming spring and will be flying down the day before our cruise. We have our flight tickets to Houston Bush International.  Would it be best to get a hotel near the airport with free shuttle and then buy round trip shuttle to the port? I have read about the traffic being bad.   If we stay near the port, we will have to pay shuttle from airport to hotel and then pay for getting to the port and then back to the airport.  What is the least expensive way to do it?  We have 6 in our family going.  Would appreciate help with hotel also.   Thank you for your help!

17 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

You have just described very well a cove balcony. And they are great! We LOVED ours when we went on the Dream last summer. Here's some pics I took. We spent sooooo much time out there. The sun never got in our faces, close to the water. OMG, I'd love to do a cove again:

 

Pic 5 was coming into Cozumel. That is the most beautiful water I have ever seen.

Thanks for the pretty pictures and info.  The Cove balcony rooms will be right below us and life boats above us.  We usually are on Lido or higher, so this will be a big change.  Thanks again!!!

We are looking at the new Mardi Gras balcony rooms.   Trying to decide between deck 11 and deck 5.   The layout is totally different on this ship.   Deck 5 has the rooms we like on port side but lifeboat looks like it would be over head.  Has anyone ever had the life boat over head?  If so, how did you like it when on the balcony?  The view will not be obstructed except for looking straight up. The fitness and spa are on deck 6.   Pizza is on deck 8 and Lido on deck 16.  I might be able to get rooms we want on deck 11 but definitely can on deck 5.  Just would like to know about having life boats over head.   Thanks!

We have stayed in spa balcony rooms below the Serenity on cruises and never heard any noise.  We have always found the rooms to be very quiet!

If any of you would like to snorkel, then check out Mark Roberts at Under the Sea Charter.  He can take up to 12 on his boat.  It is a 3 hour snorkeling excursion.  Goes 5 miles off shore to the Blue Hole.  After that you can swim with turtles and go to shipwreck.  There were 8 of us a few weeks ago and we all loved the excursion.  We were the only ones snorkeling at the reef, which was beautiful.   You would have a few hours to shop around the dockyard after the excursion..  My daughter said it was her favorite excursion of our many cruises.   I imagine there will be more ships in Bermuda in July than we had the first week of October.  I booked  a few months before our cruise.  You can email Mark if you have questions.  We all loved Mark and his wife!

Never mind.  I got off the site by accident and had to hit back arrow 3 or 4 times to find it and hit submit again and it went through but wouldn't let me do review of Bermuda at the end.   Thankfully, I put it in the main part of my review.

I have tried 3 times in the past 3 days to submit my Carnival Magic review.  Each day after submitting, it just spins and spins and never gets submitted.   I have spent about 3 hours in all writing 3 different reviews.   This last one is still trying to submit.  I took pictures of everything I wrote this last time so I don't have to spend as much time writing it -if I try again.  Has anyone else had trouble submitting your cruise review?

I got my lanyard the end of September and I used it every day.   If I got the luggage tag, I would use it on my carry-on.  My favorite thing about being Platinum is the 3 free bags of laundry per person.   I appreciate it!

We went to Bermuda on the Magic on Sept. 28th.   Our family of six loved the Magic. We had spa balcony rooms on deck 12 and never smelled any bad odor on the ship.  The food was very good in the dining hall and the service was the best we have ever had.   The Carnival crew has always been friendly but we found this to be one of the friendliest.  We thought the Magic was a very clean, beautiful ship.   I was a little concerned because of a few reviews I had read before we went.  We did not have any problems.  We would definitely sail on her again.  

We booked about a year and a half before our Alaskan cruise on the Carnival Legend.   We booked early saver so if the rates went down, we could get the lower rates.   On our cruise the rates actually went up about $500 before our cruise.   

I would try to find a good Carnival PVP and they can help you.  I wish I could tell mine but I don't think we can say names on this site.  Your Carnival PVP can let you know when the 2021 rates are posted.  If you want to see the beautiful snow covered mountains in Alaska, I would book a cruise for the 2nd or 3rd week in May.   We took the White Pass train in Skagway up the mountain and then into the Yukon.   Some of the excursions might not open too early in the season.   Seems like some were not open in April but not sure.   Out of our 17 Carnival cruises, our cruise to Alaska was my favorite!

I guess I am one of the few happy people with the lanyard.  I got mine last week on the Magic.  I was going to buy one for my key  and wanted mine.  My key fell out of the plastic holder, so I took the plastic off and just used the metal clip and put it in the hole of my key.   It worked great and unlike previous years, I was able to keep up with my key.   Thank you Carnival!

3 minutes ago, lucy2mb said:

Some how my post was duplicated and can't delete this totally.

11 hours ago, nursenan said:

We are going on the Magic in a few weeks and have YTD and on several of our past cruises have found

a waiter that we enjoyed and asked for their table every night.  I wanted to know if anyone had any recommendations

for a favorite waiter. We had one on our Breeze Journey cruise that we still correspond with, , she is now 

on the Glory. Thank you.

 

 

We were on the Magic last week.  We had Asyis and his team of Adi and Sendian.  We had the best service we have ever had in the dining hall.   I highly recommend him.   We finished our desserts every night before the waiters had showtime.   That has never happened before.  If you get Asyis, tell him Mama Elaine and Gil and family said hey.  Our son Gil learned some Indonesian every day to speak to him.  

We booked with Mark Roberts at Under the Sea and had the best snorkeling experience.  This was a lot better than large snorkeling groups.   Mark takes up to 12 on his boat but there were only the 8 of us that day.  We went to the Blue Hole which was 5 miles off shore and no other boats were around.   Beautiful reef and fish.  Also swam with turtles and went by a ship wreck.  I highly recommend Mark.  I emailed him several weeks before our cruise and he was prompt answering all my emails.  Mark was a great job and very informative.

30 minutes ago, susan1957 said:

Wow!  Thank you everyone...I am very much looking forward to this cruise!  I feel better lol...

 

We have been on 16 Carnival cruises and our cruise on the Carnival Legend to Alaska was my favorite.   We went the 2nd week of May and the mountains were still covered with snow.   It was absolutely beautiful.   Our bodies were still on East coast time, so we didn't do anything at night.   Even our daughter in her 20's was in bed by 9:00.   The good thing about that was we were up very early in the morning and got to start our excursions without rushing.   I would LOVE to go back to Alaska again!  I think you will love it!

6 hours ago, geochick73 said:

Thanks for the input...I'm going to go ahead and book the Legend tonight.   Longer cruise + 4 new ports sounds amazing right now.   

I think you made the right decision.   We went to Alaska on the Legend and loved it.  Also, loved going out of New York once.  Your family will enjoy going to more ports and the longer cruise!  Have a great time!