PenguinLife

Actually fog is fairly common on Galveston bay through at least mid march.

My only other suggestion is if you want somewhere to try real Cajun food for lunch before boarding, go to Mulate's 201 Julia street, this is only about 2 blocks over from the cruise terminal in the warehouse district so easy walking distance after you drop off your luggage. Most New Orleans food is either Creole or some mash up mixture of Creole and Cajun (They are NOT the same thing). Mulate's is probably the closest thing you get to real Cajun food in the city as their original location was in Breaux Bridge in the heart of cajun country, unfortunately the original location was wiped out by a storm about 8-9 years ago. They also have live music and dancing in the evenings on the weekends, again country cajun style, not that drunk frat party stuff you find on Bourbon street.

Ike

p.s. on that difference between Creole and Cajun, the food often shares similar names and often similar ingredients however the flavor profile is very different, for one thing creole food uses tomatoes, cajun does not (or at least rarely uses them), there are also staples of Cajun food like Boudin that is almost impossible to find in New Orleans, but that is another topic.

If you like seafood there is a Papadeaux's cajun style restaurant (really more New Orleans creole) in both Hobby and at Bush (the one at Bush is above the international terminal E inside security). I don't recall where the one is at Hobby off hand. They have a limited menu, and there is an extra airport markup over their regular location price, but quality is still very good, not your typical airport food.

Fog is very common in the winter months and often causes delays at bayport, as an example when we cruised out of there last November we were about 2 hours late boarding due to fog, and about 2 hours late docking when we returned. We did not have express desembarking and cleared customs just before 1 pm. There is no way I would attempted to book a flight before 3 pm from this port, and even that might be cuttings things close as it takes 20-25 minutes to get to HOU Hobby under ideal conditions, and 45-50 minutes to get to IAH Bush.

I doubt there is any place to drop off a rental car anywhere near the Bayport cruise terminal, it is located in a very industrial part of houston, lots of heavy industry, a few houses and basic support for them (fast food and some grocery stores), but no malls, car dealerships, nice dining, etc. all of that is 10-15 miles from the port or more.

I know I am a little late to this thread, but I did want to let you know it is possible to find fairly nice hotel rooms in New Orleans for around $100 per night if you do a little shopping. I was there last January and managed to get a room at the DoubleTree (a Hilton property) for only $85 per night for 3 nights thanks to a promotional offer. The Doubletree is only about 2 blocks diagonally from the Hilton riverside, has nice rooms, but lacks some of the amenities of the public spaces, in house dining, etc. But who wants to eat at a hotel restaurant if you are in New Orleans with so many great dining choices. One word of caution though New Orleans is a very high crime city, particularly outside the tourist areas, so be aware of your surroundings. The French Quarter and the rest of the tourist area is fairly well patrolled by the police and most crime there is limited to con artist, pick pockets, etc. However if you get just a couple of blocks away the neighborhoods can get very rough, very quick, so don't take shortcuts from point A to point B.

To clarify the comment I made above, I feel that Tulum is spectacular, but if your cruise visits any other ports in the region (from Progresso to Belize) there are other ruins that are also interesting to go to, closer to the respective ports and where you get more time to explore the ruins, as well as often more interesting surroundings.

Hopefully someone with more up to date information will drop in here as it has been a couple of years since my last cruise out of Galveston, but at that time the pedestrian skywalk bridge had been closed since one of the hurricanes in or about 2008, the parking garage it connects to had also been closed at least to cruise passengers. However you can cross at street level, and there are some shops in the area, although again I can't tell you specifics.

The ruins are impressive and the location on the cliffs over the beach is spectacular, but the in my opinion it is too far away from Cozumel to make it practical, you spend 3+ hours travelling each way to get a bit over an hour at the ruins.

There are none, the Houston Bayport cruise terminal is about 45 miles from IAH, so either the cruise line shuttle or one of the independent shuttle services is your best bet.

Ike

p.s. If you opt to take an independent shuttle to the cruise terminal area (I would suggest Seabrook or Kemah as mentioned above) when you arrive some of those do offer free shuttles to the cruise terminal. Pricing will depend on the number of people, but should be around that $100 number you stated, $50 per person 2 people,$25 4 people, etc. for a private shuttle van

Which airport, IAH / Bush or HOU / Hobby? If IAH I always suggest the Holiday Inn at JFK and Beltway 8 / Sam Houston Pky, as they have a real restaurant on site, steakhouse style that also serves real breakfast in the mornings unlike most places with only mornings with their frozen danishes, and toast.

Let me try to give a bit of a longer response,

The Houston Bayport cruise terminal is located about 20-25 miles SE of downtown as the crow flies, the Bayport complex is primarily a commercial port in a very industrial part of the city surrounded by a number of petrochemical refineries, and very little else. There are a few motels that have popped up mostly since the cruise terminal opened, within 5 or so miles, but very little else. Most of the nicer accommodation options will be found about 10 miles (10 -15 minutes) south of the cruise terminal down Hwy 146 in Seabrook or Kemah. Seabrook is on the north side of the Clearlake bridge and Kemah is on the south side. Most of the better hotels / motels on the Seabrook side will be along NASA Rd 1 / NASA Blvd not along Hwy 146. On the Kemah side there are a few hotel options within walking distance of the Boardwalk, including one on the boardwalk itself. Hotel pricing at the on site hotel varies with the season, but may be worth checking out, as they offered free cruise parking and shuttle service to the port as of last year, the boardwalk is a corporate owned artificial entertainment destination that was built as a development project about 15 years ago, it features several casual dining options (Bubba Gump shrimp, etc.), a few carnival rides, various shops including a Thomas Kinkade gallery, etc. Some of it can be a bit over priced, as is common in such destinations. There are also a number of locally ran dining options near the boardwalk (some in walking distance, T-Bone Tom's ) or across the bridge in Seabrook (Tookies Burgers, probably the best burgers in Texas, just don't be in a rush if you go there, 30+ minute service time is common). There are also some national chain dining options along, or just off of Hwy 146 near the Clear lake bridge, excluding fast food north of the bridge you have Hooters at the intersection of NASA Rd 1 and Hwy 146, south of the bridge you have Chili's, Taco Cabana, and IHOP all in the parking lot of a major shopping center that is at the 1st or second traffic light on your right as you are driving south after the bridge.

You don't say which way you will be driving in from, if from the east the best way to the port is to take I-10 to Hwy 146 then down to the port through Baytown. If from the west take I-610 or Beltway 8 (toll road, some parts are E-Z pass only now, I think NE section only, but is expanding) then Hwy 225 out to Hwy 146. The road to the cruise terminal is a few miles south of where Hwy 225 meets Hwy 146

Which place near Kemah have you found, I might be able to give advice on nearby dining, etc. I know the area fairly well, up until a couple of years ago I had business that took me there 4 or 5 times per year.

Was this the Holiday Inn at JFK and Sam Houston Parkway /Beltway 8? As I mentioned above I have stayed their 5 or 6 times over the last dozen years attending the certification update held in one of their meeting rooms, plus another 4 or 5 times on other business in the area over the years and have never had any safety concern there. Like with all such location there is potential for isolated incidents. I can see how some people may be concerned about being in the back parking lot at night as it is surrounded by a wooded area and not particularly well lit, but this should not be a concern if you are arriving by shuttle bus (it is a modern all interior corridor hotel). The surrounding area is mostly corporate office complexes, so not a bad area.

Are you cruising out of the port of Houston or out of the port of Galveston?

I think we are going to need a bit more information to go on, first which airport are you flying into? Houston has 2 major airports, Bush / IAH on the north side and the older/ smaller Hobby / HOU on the south side. Assuming you are cruising out of the Houston cruise terminal in Laporte and not out of Galveston since you say cruising out of Houston the distance from Bush / IAH to the Houston cruise terminal is about 45 miles, and the distance from Hobby is about 20 miles. If you are flying into IAH and doing a cruise line transfer from the airport the next day then my suggestion is the Holiday Inn at the intersection of JFK and Sam Houston / Beltway 8, as unlike most of the other airport hotels it has a reasonably good restaurant on site (steakhouse style, that also serves full breakfast). It is a large older Holiday Inn, but well maintained, I have been staying there once every 2 or 3 years for the last dozen years or so when I attend a certification update seminar that is held annually in one of their meeting rooms. If you plan to stay closer to the cruise terminal I would suggest any of the hotels in the Kemah area (most are within walking distance of the Kemah boardwalk entertainment area) about 10 miles south of the port, or alternative just across the bridge in Seabrook a little closer to the port. The only down side to the Seabrook motel options is they tend to be more spread out with few dining or entertainment options within walking distance, the better ones will tend to be along NASA Rd 1 / NASA Blvd..

I agree with the above comment it is best to approach the port on one of the parallel streets, go past and then turn around so you will be making a right turn into the passenger drop off instead of passing through all the exiting traffic then trying to make a left turn into the drop off entrance. This lets you miss about 80% of the traffic congestion at the port.

The New Orleans cruise terminal is located next to the south end of the tourist district downtown near the Harrah's Casino, many of these hotels offer airport shuttle bus service (some fee), then you can likely catch a taxi at the hotel for a short ride a couple of blocks ( less than 5 minute) trip to the cruise terminal.

P.S. I stayed at the Doubletree in this area for a convetion in January and was overall happy with it, although dining in the hotel is limited to a coffeee / pastry shop and a sports bar.

Have you looked at the obstructed view photos here https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/crown-princess/cabins-501--521

The worst time of year for fog on Galveston bay is Jan - March, however much of the time when there is fog it will burn off by 9:30 - 10:00 am and therefore only delay arrival by a couple of hours. Although as you know it can happen anytime cool air meets warm water, we ran into fog returning to Bayport last November, thanks to an early season cool front and did not get off the ship until almost 1 pm (thankfully we live in driving range of the port). Another thing to consider is the distance to the airport, IAH is around 45 miles from the Bayport cruise terminal, on weekends this is not so bad as long as there is no road construction, but if you happen to be booking a cruise that returns on a weekday expect some delays. Personally knowing the Bayport and Galveston cruise conditions I would not try to book an outbound flight from IAH before about 3:30 PM, or from Hobby (20 miles from the port) before about 2:30 PM.

If you opt to stay near IAH I suggest the Holiday Inn on JFK at belteway 8 south of the airport. They have an ok steak house on site that also serves a real breakfast

As Pam mentions, expect to hear clack, clack every time a cart goes in the hallway outside your door.

Ask me in a couple of months we are booked into D734 on Caribbean Princess in mid December.

The problem is there really is not much near IAH except airport motels, freeways, and commercial buildings, much the same can be said about the area around the bayport terminal, all heavy industry and commercial stuff, and is much the same for most of the drive from the port to IAH, its just not exactly the most scenic part of Houston. About the only thing I can think of along the way between those two points is the Battleship Texas and the San Jacinto battlefield historic site (across the road from each other). Again the problem would be lack of place to store luggage. (as a trivial side point my grandfather served about the battleship Texas in the 1920's)

If you are coming in a couple of days ahead of time, I would suggest one of the hotels in Kemah instead of one across the bridge in Seabrook (more stuff to do within walking distance of the hotel, and generally more pedestrian friendly). This is not to say anything bad about the Seabrook hotel options, just that they tend to be more spread out and away from the more pedestrian friendly areas.