Transfer help for Houston/ Hotels in Houston

Like many of you we are following the Sun to Houston. We are flying into Houston/Hobby airport the day before for a one night hotel stay. We need to find a way to the Port of Houston. All that I seem to find are companies that go to Galveston. Does anyone have any suggestions or know of a transfer company? Thanks...

In July we used Kays Marine Transportation having heard of them on this board. It's a small business and they are prompt and reliable. He charged us $35 for both of us to take us from a hotel near Hobby to the Port. He gave us lots of neat info about the area, too. His number is 832-265-5049. Really nice people.

NJGRANNY....thanks so much for the info. Sorry to ask such a dumb question but did you use them roundtrip?

Yes, we had booked round trip. If you ask for a refund, it has to be by September 30. (These were non-refundable tickets.) She would have also worked with me to try and exchange for a trip to Houston.

Southwest - yes it was a round-trip non-refundable ticket. If you request a refund, you have to do it by Sept. 30. She also would have worked with me to transfer the ticket to a Houston trip.

Are you having trouble with the web site? It's sooooooooo slow getting on.

CruiserWI

You must think I have a screw loose. I got mixed up on posts and thought you were asking about SW airlines.

Yes, we used Kay round-trip. We told him we would probably want a ride back to the airport after the cruise. He gave us a card, said he would be in the area and told us to call him once we had our bags outside. It only took about 5 minutes for him to arrive after I called him. The other thing I liked about him was that he didn't try to break the sound barrier driving. Some limo/taxi drivers drive like nuts.

NJGRANNY...not a problem. I am so thankful you saw my post and gave this info for the shuttle service. Of topic...we had tickets on Delta and got a full refund for the tickets to MSY. :) We are traveling in Nov.

In July we used Kays Marine Transportation having heard of them on this board. It's a small business and they are prompt and reliable. He charged us $35 for both of us to take us from a hotel near Hobby to the Port. He gave us lots of neat info about the area, too. His number is 832-265-5049. Really nice people.

I am unable to connect to this number. Has anyone else been successful?

Thanks!

If you search back through the threads regarding Houston, I'm pretty sure Kay's transportation had indicated that he was going to have to stop doing business, at least temporarily. We went on the Sea out of Houston last year, and rented a car, if that's a possibility for you.

NCL does provide a transfer service from the airport to the pier, but for our family of 4 the car rental was cheaper than the transfer. I also think there was an issue since we were arriving the night before the cruise with not being able to schedule the NCL service.

There is someone else that was referred for our first Houston cruise in Jan. 2004, but we had a large group going -- we had 2 LARGE buses. I think he may also do more individual size transfers. The name of his business has changed since we used him, but this is his current website: http://www.cruiseshipshuttle.com/. I have no idea about his pricing or anything, since we rented a car, but he did give us very good service in Jan. 2004.

I contacted him last night at the number above to make arrangments for our October cruise. They said they were busy and there are only 3 drives including himself, small company. He sounds very nice. He did have to alter his business a bit, but its a long story.

He is now charging $40 because of the jump in gas prices. The other companies are raising their prices as well to compensate for gas costs. Cant blame them.

Kehma - or Kemah (spelling I can't remember) has a Boardwalk Hotel that is 10-15 minutes from the pier and very nice. Kind of expensive but they may offer shuttle service to and from the airport and that may help... Just an idea. Debbie

Kehma - or Kemah (spelling I can't remember) has a Boardwalk Hotel that is 10-15 minutes from the pier and very nice. Kind of expensive but they may offer shuttle service to and from the airport and that may help... Just an idea. Debbie

What is the name of the hotel in Kemah, please? Thanks!

HI GUYS....the ship sails out of houston, a close by area called LA Porte has a Confort Inn Suites.....the price is right....includes breakfast.....and has a shuttle to the ship....and....if you are driving in, as I am, 10/15/05, I can leave my car in their parking lot, as they also pick us back up....Check them out...........jus me.....jim

Any ideas for the trip from Bush Intercontinental to the port? I am trying to read NCL's bus schedule from this airport and if I am reading it right, we would have to wait at the airport about 5 hours to catch the bus. I've thought about a car rental, but not sure about the dropoff possibility/policy...??

HI GUYS....the ship sails out of houston, a close by area called LA Porte has a Confort Inn Suites.....the price is right....includes breakfast.....and has a shuttle to the ship....and....if you are driving in, as I am, 10/15/05, I can leave my car in their parking lot, as they also pick us back up....Check them out...........jus me.....jim

Semasneb -- This sound so good I just called and the employee there told me that they have cancelled their shuttle service for the time being and that they are in the process of finding a replacement. Also he said we couldnt leave our car there ONLY could drop off a rental car there and MOST companies would come there to pick up.

the area of the port is not the best area. I would seriously consider staying at the airport over night and then getting the NCL shuttle at the airport. Just tell them you are coming in the day of the cruise and give them a flt # and they will allow you to take it.

You see the policy is you must arrive on the day you take the shuttle. They ask for your flight number. SO youmust give them a # of one of the flights that day.

Hello,

Do you know if NCL has a shuttle for Hobby Airport and how much it costs? When I called NCL they said I had to call my TA.. My TA said they were not aware of one out of Hobby!!!

Pretty sure the answer is no. We flew into IAH because that was where the shuttle went from, even though it was further from the airport. We didn't end up taking the shuttle, but as of last year there wasn't one from Hobby.

Thank you so much UteFan! I appreciate knowing.. and well, I guess still out there looking for my way to the cruise terminal! drat..

ha!

Have you thought about renting a car? Our quotes from IAH for a regular car were only about $45 one way -- which isn't much different than a shuttle for 2 people. They might be even cheaper from Hobby. We ended up needing a mini-van, which was more expensive, but that's another option to consider.

Hello UteFan!

Yes I am renting a vehicle thru Enterprise at the airport because their local offices are closed on Sundays.. which is when we would be returning it .. cruise leaves on Sunday. their offices close on Sat at noon. So does Hertz/Alamo...

So . it would seem I can get to the airport.. and then I have to find a way back to the terminal for boarding on Sunday! ..

In New Orleans. .it was no problemo! Everyone open on Sundays. Hertz took the vehicle back in local area instead of going back to airport at no extra charge and then.. the great part. they shuttled us back to cruise terminal for free!

No such good luck in Houston!. But thank you for the good thoughts!

Hi ZydeDiverDC:

Have you contacted the Enteprise office (in Seabrook) directly, even though I understand they will be closed when you get there? We were able to leave our Enterprise rental in the parking lot at the pier. We had our choice of driving to the Seabrook office and taking the shuttle back, or for a small fee, I think less than $10, we could just leave the rental van in the parking lot at the pier. Enterprise has a coned off section in the back of the parking lot -- we just locked all the doors except the drivers door, and left the keys under the mat. Worked like a charm -- on Monday morning they drove over, collected the rentals that had been left, and checked the car in with a Saturday afternoon return time.

The problem I see, if they will let you do that, is what are you doing for the return trip to the airport :( . They had an agent at the pier on Saturday morning and had a rental van waiting for us. With our reservations, they moved us to the front of the line since the other passengers who were inquiring about rentals didn't have reservations. Since your cruise is a Sunday - Sunday, I don't have a clue what they do for returning passengers.

Another thought -- if you call the Seabrook office directly, make sure they know that the Sun is going to be sailing Sunday - Sunday, as the Dream will also doing the Saturday round-trip cruise. With the amount of business the cruise ship generates, since they're the only ones who service that area, it is possible that they might bring someone in on Sunday morning to staff the little kiosk at the pier. The Seabrook office is open until noon on Saturday, and I think the main reason is to handle the cruise traffic.

With the switch of the Sun from NO to Houston, they may just not have picked up on the fact that there's a 2nd cruise going from the port of Houston.

Okay here is the info I found. FIrst of all there is a website called http://www.portofhouston.com with port info. Secondly, there is a company listed onthat site that provides transportation from Hobby to The port. It is called 24 hour airport taxi.com and its phone number is 2816301137. It also has a website with rates listed. the website is http://www.24hrairporttaxi.com. The rates seemed reasonable. If you used them you could stay at the airport and the next morning take a shuttle back to pick up taxi to the port. Hobby is a small airport and very easy to get around. The area around it is in transition so Iwould not choose a cheap motel. It is only about 25 min to the port from Hobby. We have taken the shuttle, rented a car etc. Since you are not doing any sightseeing I would get the shuttle. No cares, no worries, no dropping off keys, getting the car etc.

Book a hotel near hobby that has a free shuttle, then the next day either have the taxi mentioned meet you at your hotel or at the airport. It may be a set rate from the airport and different from the hotel. See which is the best. It says they have towncars, vans so you can even share one if you need to.

I would stay at the Hobby Hilton. Reasonable rates and very close to airport