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Preferred Transportation Option From IAH to Galvenston?

Zagfreak

By Zagfreak,
in Gulf Coast Departures

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Zagfreak

Zagfreak

Posted
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Cruising on Carnival Magic from Galvenston to Western Caribbean April 1st- April 8th. Family of 4, two adults and two kids (16, 13) Flying into IAH on March 31st and will need transportation from there to Galvenston. Will get hotel in Galvenston and stay one night. I have scanned some of the threads but not sure if renting car is best option or shuttle? And some say it may be best to try and find a weekly rental on car as it may be cheaper? Free parking is a good thing too?

 

Is Priceline the way to go on Hotels? If I choose 3 stars will I get one of the ones that are always mentioned- Galvez, Tremont House, Moody Gardens etc. (or are these 4 stars?) We do not need fancy as we will not get into Galvenston until about 7:30 PM, so we just need a nice comfortable place to sleep.

 

Looks like I will need transportation to port from hotel as well?

 

First time poster- glad I stumbled upon this board!!

 

Zagfreak

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ssb

ssb

Posted
Posted
Cruising on Carnival Magic from Galvenston to Western Caribbean April 1st- April 8th. Family of 4, two adults and two kids (16, 13) Flying into IAH on March 31st and will need transportation from there to Galvenston. Will get hotel in Galvenston and stay one night. I have scanned some of the threads but not sure if renting car is best option or shuttle? And some say it may be best to try and find a weekly rental on car as it may be cheaper? Free parking is a good thing too?

 

Is Priceline the way to go on Hotels? If I choose 3 stars will I get one of the ones that are always mentioned- Galvez, Tremont House, Moody Gardens etc. (or are these 4 stars?) We do not need fancy as we will not get into Galvenston until about 7:30 PM, so we just need a nice comfortable place to sleep.

 

Looks like I will need transportation to port from hotel as well?

 

First time poster- glad I stumbled upon this board!!

 

Zagfreak

 

With 4 persons try a limo !

We have used Cornerstone Elite Limo 7138801800

With priceline, if you can get Tremont or Harbor House,

and price is right, you can then walk to terminals.

They are both2 blocks to terminals.

 

OTHERWISE

 

You need to decide if you want to stay on

1. Gulf of Mexico Beach Area (where most hotels and motels are)

2. Historic Old Town Strand Port Terminal Area (Tremont and Harbor House)

3. Bayside Area (2) Moody Gardens Hotels

4. Motels on highway coming into Galveston

 

 

In my opinion

St Luis, Hilton, Moody Gardens, Tremont, Galvez and Harbor House

are the better hotels.

Many other nice ones also though!

 

Two brand new ones are Country Inn and Sheridan Four Points

 

 

Tremont and Harbor House are 2 blocks to terminal.

Everything is close though!

All hotel/motels are just two to four miles from terminal anyway.

Island is two miles wide (Port to Gulf)

 

see galveston.com/interact/maps

Houston Map PDF

Download Houston-area map in PDF Format:

Houston Metro

 

Galveston Island Map PDF

Download Galveston-area map in PDF Format

Galveston (B&W)

Galveston (Color Hi-Resolution)

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apatrol

apatrol

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I like the car service to/from the airport idea with a stop at a hotel in Galveston with a shuttle to the cruise dock. I did a quick google search for "Galveston hotels with cruise shutlle" and got returns from expensive to Holiday Inn type hotels.

 

Another option is to stay at the airport hotels and then book the normal carnival airport to dock busses. There is a nice Marriott on IAH property with a little train from the terminals. There is a nice spinning restraunt as well which is fun for the kids to watch the planes (its part of the marriott).

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tvromero

tvromero

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I like the car service to/from the airport idea with a stop at a hotel in Galveston with a shuttle to the cruise dock. I did a quick google search for "Galveston hotels with cruise shutlle" and got returns from expensive to Holiday Inn type hotels.

 

Another option is to stay at the airport hotels and then book the normal carnival airport to dock busses. There is a nice Marriott on IAH property with a little train from the terminals. There is a nice spinning restraunt as well which is fun for the kids to watch the planes (its part of the marriott).

 

We are using this hotel (on points) for our 2/19 stay and then it is looking like Cornerstone Limo on Sunday, they quoted us $140 (sedan) or $150 (SUV) in each direction. I looked at all kinds of options like renting a car an dropping it off in Galveston, seems like the rental car places are not open on Sunday. And renting a car for the week and using one of the free parking hotels and nothing really beat a driver and a free IAH hotel.

 

Let me know if you find something better.

 

-Tim

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mikehn

mikehn

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We are on the same cuise as well. Flying into Bush on March 31. Through the Costco website, we got a rental car for 8 days for $260. For the duration of the cruise, we plan to park the rental car at the Hilton where we are staying for the one night. Figured the rental car gives us a little more flexibility than relying on a shuttle.

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1st_cruise

1st_cruise

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We booked a private van for 4 people from airport to Galveston. You have to phone as this can't be booked online. We are staying at Quality Inn Beachfront for $59, 2 queen bed room.

 

 

Where did you find the price of $59? We are leaving on the same cruise date and found the price for Quality Inn Beachfront for $199.

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Karen_N

Karen_N

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It was a Van which was nice, clean and the driver was pleasent.

 

The problem with super shuttle is that they stop at various locations enroute to Galveston, which can really make it a long trip

 

I would only book Super Shuttle as exclusive, meaning you are the only passengers and it is direct door to door. Even as an exclusive with 2 - 10 people, I don't think there are too many companies out there that will beat the price. Yet for fewer people other companies may have more comfortable vehicles.

We had a party of 6 so it was perfect. The vans are clean and comfortable and the drivers we had were great. We headed from Galveston to IAH on Monday Jan 9th during a horrendous rain storm, with the threat of tornados, and I felt very safe with our driver.

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ssb

ssb

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I would only book Super Shuttle as exclusive, meaning you are the only passengers and it is direct door to door. Even as an exclusive with 2 - 10 people, I don't think there are too many companies out there that will beat the price. Yet for fewer people other companies may have more comfortable vehicles.

We had a party of 6 so it was perfect. The vans are clean and comfortable and the drivers we had were great. We headed from Galveston to IAH on Monday Jan 9th during a horrendous rain storm, with the threat of tornados, and I felt very safe with our driver.

 

What did you pay for exclusive for 6?

Is super shuttle a RCCL sail day only service?

Or non RCCL affililated anyday service?

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Karen_N

Karen_N

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What did you pay for exclusive for 6?

Is super shuttle a RCCL sail day only service?

Or non RCCL affililated anyday service?

 

We paid $152 exclusive and tipped the driver about $20(which you will need to do with any limo co).

They are not affiliated with RCCL, and run 24 hours a day/ 7 days per week.

Google Super Shuttle Houston.

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splinkaone

splinkaone

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I emailed supershuttle and got a quote for pickup at our hotel and also for pickup at the airport, this is for an exclusive van, this is what they said:

"The fare for 4 people one-way from Hotel to the Galveston Cruise line is $145 + 18% tip $26.10 Total $171.10. From Galveston Cruise line to IAH Airport for 4 people Exclusive Van service only is $151." I wanted to clarify the rate for leaving from and returning to IAH and this is their response: "From and To the IAH Airport to Galveston Cruise line each way is $151." If we are expected to tip from IAH we will just have them pick us up at the hotel, although I prefer to tip based on performance, not because it is expected or required. Hope this helps :)

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Karen_N

Karen_N

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I emailed supershuttle and got a quote for pickup at our hotel and also for pickup at the airport, this is for an exclusive van, this is what they said:

"The fare for 4 people one-way from Hotel to the Galveston Cruise line is $145 + 18% tip $26.10 Total $171.10. From Galveston Cruise line to IAH Airport for 4 people Exclusive Van service only is $151." I wanted to clarify the rate for leaving from and returning to IAH and this is their response: "From and To the IAH Airport to Galveston Cruise line each way is $151." If we are expected to tip from IAH we will just have them pick us up at the hotel, although I prefer to tip based on performance, not because it is expected or required. Hope this helps :)

 

With Super Shuttle Exclusive you can elect to pay your tip in advance when you pay for the trip, or you can elect to pay the driver directly. I have had reservations for both scenarios this past week. My reserved trip from the port was $151 to IAH, tip not included. I had to cancel this due to our late arrival and they refunded the money immediately to my credit card. I was going to just use a taxi when we got off, but later decided to have them pick me up at a Galveston hotel the following day(Jan 9th 2012). Again they simply charged me for the trip and asked if I would like to prepay the tip. I said I would pay it directly to the driver.

I am not disputing what you were told and if they have changed the policy, it may have something to do with all the commotion they would have experienced this past w/e due to FOG.

I would still question them again, if you are not comfortable with pre-tipping.

It also sounds like your port to IAH may not be exclusive, even though it is the same price.

KN

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splinkaone

splinkaone

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I specifically asked for an exclusive van, so I am sure that's what is would be or they would have given me a price per person. The whole reason for using them is so we don't have to wait on anyone else. I will definitely reconfirm though. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
tvromero

tvromero

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I made my reservation for Cornerston Elite Limousines. We have a family of four and took the SUV option for $150 from IAH to Galveston, they also have a towncar for $140. They brought up the fog concern and said to call or email them from the boat as soon as I knew of an issue, overall seemed very flexible. The same comment if our departure would be delayed.

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