driving in houston to galveston

[melika091900]

debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise

wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd,

I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise

any thoughts on this ?

thanks in advance

[Raven Days]

debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise

 

wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd,

I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise

 

any thoughts on this ?

thanks in advance

 

Depending on where you want to go once you get to Galveston would be the question. You could take a shuttle to Galveston and walk to the resturants in the area or get a cab. And you can get a cab to the port, which is $20 one way from the sea wall area to the port. I would figure the cost of each and also add in how much sightseeing you would want to do once you reached Galveston. There are numerous resurants up and down the seawall. Have you thought about staying near the Strand? You would be closer to the port and still have lots of food choices & shopping in that area.

[rh3]

Sailing on the Triumph 4 day over New Year. Flying into IAH (Bush) day before sailing. Pricelined a mid-size and was successful for $126 total. Parking pre-paid for $30. If I use $30 of gas, still ahead of 2 ccl round trip transfers, and even more ahead of the best rate I found for shuttles. Happy to leave rental car sitting in lot for 4 days if I save $$$. May work for a 7 day sailing if you get a cheap weekly rate. Good luck.

[kareliz]

We are from ND and fly into Houston (IAH), Dec 17th,depending on weather & connections, We are renting a car at the airport & staying in Houston till Dec 19th & driving to Galveston that morning,short drive, less than an hour. Parking at the pier is very reasonal & we have already prepaid. We are not returning to ND till Jan 3rd so we need the car till then.

Anyone else on this cruise?

[melika091900]

go to the roll call section here on the boards, you can find your ship and sail date, and see who else is sailing with you

have a great cruise

[melika091900]

We are from ND and fly into Houston (IAH), Dec 17th,depending on weather & connections, We are renting a car at the airport & staying in Houston till Dec 19th & driving to Galveston that morning,short drive, less than an hour. Parking at the pier is very reasonal & we have already prepaid. We are not returning to ND till Jan 3rd so we need the car till then.

Anyone else on this cruise?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34

[KellyNMike]

debating whether or not to rent a car, or hire a shuttle, to take us from Houston Hobby to galveston for our cruise

wondering about the drive? our hotel is right on seawall blvd,

I could basically get a rent a car for 100$ ,more total, but wondering if its worth it to park it for a week and only use it 1 day pre and post cruise

any thoughts on this ?

thanks in advance

We found the best bet for us was to get a one-day online rental from Enterprise at Hobby for $23 and stay near NASA (or you could stay near Hobby) the night before, drop the car off in Galveson, and take a cab the remaining distance. After talking to the Enterprise agent at Hobby she told us to book online as though we were picking up and returning the car to Hobby, but to inform the rep when we picked the car up that we were dropping the car in Galveston. Getting a car back on the return trip was much more expensive and included a drop-off fee. We had planned to take a cab back to Hobby but found it was around $90 plus tip, more if there were traffic delays. We were able to buy Carnival transfers after debarking for $30 each which was a better deal for the two of us. Otherwise, we might have gone with RH3s plan and rented for the whole week, maybe getting a hotel in Galveston with a shuttle and free parking.

[megmno]

We found the best bet for us was to get a one-day online rental from Enterprise at Hobby for $23 and stay near NASA (or you could stay near Hobby) the night before, drop the car off in Galveson, and take a cab the remaining distance. After talking to the Enterprise agent at Hobby she told us to book online as though we were picking up and returning the car to Hobby, but to inform the rep when we picked the car up that we were dropping the car in Galveston.

 

Can you tell me if you did this recently? I emailed the Enterprise office in Galveston a couple of months ago about doing this and they said they no longer do one-way rentals. I would love it if they did -- I hate having to rent a car for 9 days only to leave it parked for a week of that!

[CanadaJulie]

We are a family of 5 ... I am thinking of doing the rental car thing as well.

 

Cruiseline transfers are out because we are arriving a day early and staying an extra day

 

Super Shuttle is charging 150$ one way for a 5 pax SUV (so 300$ plus tip)

 

Galveston Limousince Service is 100$ pp round trip (500$ plus tip) :eek:

 

With both these options, I would need a shuttle ($+tip) from the hotel to the port and from the port to the hotel after the cruise. Or a taxi...

 

Right now on expedia, I can get a car for 266$. I will need to leave it at the cruise port for the week we are gone for 50$ BUT !! This gives us a car for the evening in Galveston on Saturday, we can make a supply run for our allowed bottles of wine Sunday morning and we might go visit NASA on the Sunday after we return - all with the same 266$ car...

 

I keep thinking I'm overlooking something though - did I miss anything ? Any additional charges I am not thinking about with a rental ?

[Galveston Cruiser]

Also check with Elite Limousine for transportation to and from Galveston though a car is a good idea to see things.

 

FYI: No wine or beer purchases allowed before noon on Sunday in Texas and only at grocery stores as liquor stores are closed.

[CanadaJulie]

FYI: No wine or beer purchases allowed before noon on Sunday in Texas and only at grocery stores as liquor stores are closed.

 

see?! I knew I was forgetting something !!

 

Till what time would grocerie stores / liquor stores be open in the area on Saturday night ?

 

Can you get liquor (small bottle of vodka or rum) at grocery stores, or Walmart ?

[Galveston Cruiser]

Liquor is only sold at liquor stores which can be open only from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.

Nothing sold after midnight Saturday night; wine and beer from noon on Sunday.

Kroger on Seawall Blvd. at 57th St. and Walmart on Seawall at 65th St., Randalls on 61st at City Central Blvd. open to at least 10pm.

[DALSAL]

Some hotels let you leave the car and give you free shuttle to ship and back.

[KellyNMike]

Can you tell me if you did this recently? I emailed the Enterprise office in Galveston a couple of months ago about doing this and they said they no longer do one-way rentals. I would love it if they did -- I hate having to rent a car for 9 days only to leave it parked for a week of that!

 

 

Yes, we did it on 12/15/11. However, we only did the one-way rental from Hobby to Galveston. We used the cruise service for the return trip.

[KellyNMike]

I don't think you're missing anything in terms of fees. However, I often find a much better deal on two cars than you on one SUV or van. Of course, you'd have to pay to park both unless you take advantage of a hotel free parking deal.

[unionville3]

Liquor is only sold at liquor stores which can be open only from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.

Nothing sold after midnight Saturday night; wine and beer from noon on Sunday.

Kroger on Seawall Blvd. at 57th St. and Walmart on Seawall at 65th St., Randalls on 61st at City Central Blvd. open to at least 10pm.

 

 

Great info - thank you! We are staying at the Harbor House Hotel. Any groceries within walking distance?

 

Still trying to figure out our transportation from Hobby - we are leaning toward a limo service for the convenience.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Great info - thank you! We are staying at the Harbor House Hotel. Any groceries within walking distance?

 

Still trying to figure out our transportation from Hobby - we are leaning toward a limo service for the convenience.

 

Small convenience store on 21st and Post Office, though you would be better off going to one of the the larger stores. I believe the Harbor House could arrange transportation.

 

FYI: Though we live here, when flying out out we use Cornerstone Elite Limo in Houston.

Nice people and vehicles: cornerstonel.com

[unionville3]

Thank you for such wonderful info. We are flying to Houston on Friday and plan to spend a weekend in Galveston before our Sunday cruise. We would love to make a quick "store" run for wine, soda, and bottled water. I had not even considered that the Hotel might have a car service. Cornerstone is actually at the top of my transportation list based on several recommendations.