HoustonHobby 2 Galveston R.T. Transportation

[typerdude55]

Anyone with some affordable tips to get from Houston Hobby to the Galveston Cruise port r.t. without needing a major loan? All options I've researched and nothing under $200 to get 2 adults/3kids to port from Hobby. Best rate 7-day car rentals are a minimum $220 via Priceline, more if non-Priceline; airport shuttle the same; limo/towncars/taxis no different. No longer one-way car rental drops at Galveston. What a racquet. Help if you are willing to. Thanks in advance. Mark

[ddgleason]

We just did this last week on RC's Mariner. Flew into Hobby (2 adults and 3 kids like you). We rented a car from Enterprise. Got it in writing that it would be for only 1 day and dropped off in Galveston on Sunday (keys in a rop box) for no additional fee. Then for the return, caught a cab back to Hobby. It was still around 200 total round trip, but at least with a car of your own the day before you can go to restaurants or stores when you need to. I don't know of a cheaper way to go. This is something we know now and will consider before cruising out of Galveston in the future.

[misguidedangel]

Galveston Limosine is how I got to Galveston from Houston. They have shared van and your party only vans that go to Galveston. The return trip can be done on a Carnival shuttle, but it is $40 to go from Galveston to Hobby and $55 to Bush Int`t.....

[typerdude55]

thnx so much ddgleason we do want the freedom with a rental car the day before.

do you remember what you paid for the one-day dropped rental at Galveston? thx Mark

[kelkel2]

Galveston Limosine is how I got to Galveston from Houston. They have shared van and your party only vans that go to Galveston. The return trip can be done on a Carnival shuttle, but it is $40 to go from Galveston to Hobby and $55 to Bush Int`t.....

 

I second Galveston Limo. They were amazing and quite honestly for us, they were a vacation saver. The airline lost our luggage and assured us it was on the next flight to houston in a few hours. We didn't want to miss our shuttle, but didn't want to leave the airport without luggage. We ended up signing over our luggage to the guy at galveston limo who promised he would grab it for us and take it to us on his next shuttle to galveston. Boy were we grateful for him. He got us our luggage a few hours later and we didn't have to wait at the airport for it. We will always recommend them and would for sure use them again. What a great company!

[happy cruzin]

We used Super Shuttle - but it was still pricey!! :o

That is one of the reason we are not in a hurry to go out of Galveston again anytime soon. It was a real PITA to get there!! Didn't really consider that as a potential issue when we booked - figured it would be kinda like Orlando to Canaveral.:rolleyes: :cool: NOT...even close!! :eek: :(

[ddgleason]

Our rental was around 90, I think. Now the Enterprise in Galveston is closed on Sunday so I don't know of a way to rent a car for the return trip to the airport, which is why we just got a cab.

 

FYI, when you disembark, if Carnival is like RCI, grab a porter! It is worth the tip money because he will get you out of the terminal in 10-15 minutes. No standing in line. Then just tell him you want a cab back to Hobby and he takes you right over to the cabs that can handle that many people and luggage. Those people without a porter, after finding their luggage had to stand in the customs line a lot longer than we did. YMMV, of course.

[midmeadow]

Does anyone know what time Self Assist people should book their cruise out of HOU after the cruise?

[bp traveler]

I booked the Magic for this past spring break and for 5 people to get to the terminal was an absolute joke! So I rebooked and we flew into Miami stayed overnight and it was still cheaper than any transportation!!

 

I tried doing a car rental but there is no rental open on a Sunday - really from a cruise port - how can that be????

 

So needless to say it would have been over $400 in transportation costs for the 5 of us - no thanks!

[ddgleason]

We did it with 5 people for around 200, so it can be done. But I agree, this is something that we will figure into the cost of the vacation if we are looking at Galveston again. Something we did not know before we had booked the cruise. Live and learn.

[hartskys]

Has anyone used the Carnival shuttle to go back to IAH after the cruise? If so, what time do you have to be off the ship by to get on the bus?

[Loveland2Disney]

This was one of those unforeseen PIA things I dealt with after we booked our cruise for May. We are staying in Galveston for a few days post cruise so I just bit the big one and rented a car for the entire time we are gone. $400. I am glad we will have the convienience of the rental when we come in the night before and after the cruise to do what we want, when we want. If I ever sail out of Galveston again, I will drive there from here (18 hrs) like my neighbors do. But I think the next cruise will be out of Miami- thats a beautiful port!!

[WISH84]

Anyone with some affordable tips to get from Houston Hobby to the Galveston Cruise port r.t. without needing a major loan? All options I've researched and nothing under $200 to get 2 adults/3kids to port from Hobby. Best rate 7-day car rentals are a minimum $220 via Priceline, more if non-Priceline; airport shuttle the same; limo/towncars/taxis no different. No longer one-way car rental drops at Galveston. What a racquet. Help if you are willing to. Thanks in advance. Mark

 

We are leaving out of Galveston on Sunday, May 27th but arriving on Saturday. I rented a one way rental from Enterprise and was told I can do a drop off on Sunday. The Galveston office of Enterprise is not open on Sunday so I was told with a credit card to rent the card, I can drop the car off at the office and place the keys in the drop box.

 

Now, I will call to confirm these reservations and my drop off plan but you might want to call Enterprise and see if that is still an option.

[sbnuggie]

Ahhh...Nice to see things still havent changed in Galveston. For us fly in folks it is truly a PITA port to get to/from cost wise. Here is my post/report from 2 years ago, #30:

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1075654&page=2

 

We did Enterprise Rental with a Minivan, had 2 adults and 3 kids, and toured the island the day before and dropped off on Sunday in Key box, then called a taxi, and took Supershuttle back.

 

Supershuttle was tricky, as you are off the boat by 9:30 then we wait 2 hrs in a wharehouse to clear customs so you are not outside until noon or so, real pain in the butt. On the bright side...Galveston sure is Beautiful, highly recomend touring the island if you can afford to do so.

[typerdude55]

Disembark for us at 8am, need to be at Houston Hobby by 11am for 1205pm flight. Are we gonna make it...? after reading your post! Another poster said "off ship by 930am, out of a customs warehouse by 1130am! Geez. I have cruised before. Don't remember that type of time involved. Your thoughts/suggestions, please. Thx in advance. Mark in FtColllins,CO

 

Our rental was around 90, I think. Now the Enterprise in Galveston is closed on Sunday so I don't know of a way to rent a car for the return trip to the airport, which is why we just got a cab.

 

FYI, when you disembark, if Carnival is like RCI, grab a porter! It is worth the tip money because he will get you out of the terminal in 10-15 minutes. No standing in line. Then just tell him you want a cab back to Hobby and he takes you right over to the cabs that can handle that many people and luggage. Those people without a porter, after finding their luggage had to stand in the customs line a lot longer than we did. YMMV, of course.

[ooulio]

I thought Galveston was a major pain. Once I got thru the worst of it, it wasn't so bad. I didn't rent a car. They told me I was liable after I dropped the car of til they opened on Monday am. I talked to some other people that had a window broKEN . They were responsible. I was too nervous after that. We came in 2 days before the cruise . We used Z Limo. We stayed at San Luis Resort. Wonderful place. Staff was wonderful. We could walk everywhere to the places to eat. Only thing was the airfare was so high. Had to take connecting flights. Didn't get in til 5. Back was just as bad. We didn't get in til almost 11:30pm. We were afraid to take a flight before 12. Then had to wait til 4 or so. We will wait til they have direct flight from east coast. I really loved Galveston. Not as warm as Florida in Feb. Now back to Miami next Feb. Anyone remember where good hotels are there. I can't find my notes. If anyone needs any help on Galveston, I will be glad to help.

[ddgleason]

I can't tell you about Carnival's process in Galveston because we did Royal Caribbean. So, keep that in mind. They may be different.

 

We were off the ship by 8 with priority disembarkation because we are diamond. Once off the ship, we immediately snagged a porter (something I learned from CC) and he got all of our bags for us and put us in the front of the line for customs and we were in the cab on the way to Hobby no later than 8:30. I have heard from others that did not get a porter, they waited in the terminal for an hour or more. Not because of the cruise lines, but because for what ever reason, there were only 2 or 3 customs agents working to process a ship of over 3,000 people. We had no problems at all. It was a seamless and problem-free disembarkation-- because we got a porter. Now again, remember that was coming off the Mariner. I don't know if coming off Carnival you want to do the same thing. Maybe someone who has been on Carnival recently can chime in on this and tell you if the porter thing is a good idea or a waste or money. For us, it was worth every penny.

[haslipe]

Anyone ever consider swapping your rental car with people at the pier. It would just have way too much liability, but imagine just getting a 1 day rental rate for round trip out of Hobby. We fly in on a Saturday, and as long as the car would be dropped off by Sunday at 6pm, we would be golden. Just don't tell the rental agency.:D

[sbnuggie]

Disembarkation is a pain and long process in Galveston, by far THE WORST in my limited experience. Only after writing about our experience did we find out about the Porter trick.

 

What happened with us is that Carnival wants you off the ship so they can get ready for the next cruise. So, everyone is disembarked in an orderly fashion and you end up in this giant wharehouse in this equally giant line. Then you are processed by a handful of customs agents. Now if you snag a porter you can bypass most of the line, which I feel is unfair but that is what they do in galveston.

 

Sharing a rental car, I wouldn't be comfortable doing that because both of you would have to be on the contract and presumably you would both have to sign the contract so you are equally liable for any damages. That is a pretty big leap of faith even to undertake with friends and family let alone someone getting off of a cruise ship you have never met. I wouldn't do it.

[sailor21]

Get a rental at Enterprise for the day. This way you can go to

different places like stores, restaurants etc.

[kiraryker]

Get a rental at Enterprise for the day. This way you can go to

different places like stores, restaurants etc.

 

But what do you do with the car before the cruise and then how to get back to airport after?

[ddavis2109a]

How close is the Enterpise drop off to the cruise terminal???

[sbnuggie]

How close is the Enterpise drop off to the cruise terminal???

 

I would say it is a good 2.5 maybe 3 miles. Along a busy street and part of a commercial area. I would not recomend trying to walk it, probably take you a good hour or so.

 

We did the enterprise rental thing couple years back one way from houston hobby. Dropped the car off at enterprise, their lot is unlocked. Their is a keybox by the front door, drop key in, there is a sign for a taxi in the door. Gave them a call, guy was there in 2 minutes and drove me direct to cruise port in about 5 minutes. I was talking to him says he does it all day long, I think the fare with tip was about $10. Well worth it IMHO, better then the stress of walking/jogging back.

 

As a matter of fact here is a photo of the front of the office (i took photo's of the car at drop off) in 2010. Notice the big white steel key box, I simply dropped keys in there and in the window just above that was a phone number of a local cab company. I also had a list that I got from CC prior to leaving.

 

Also someone posted about being responsible for damage to rental after dropping it off on sunday. I NEVER EVER buy the insurance from car rental agencies when I rent, but this one time I did. I only bought the damage waiver not the liability products or medical stuff. It was an extra piece of mind that in the odd chance something happened I would be covered.

 

I tell as many people as I can about my experience in Galveston. Again, it can not be overstated enough, if you are travelling with a group of say 4 or more and flying in for your cruise. Galveston is a royal PAIN IN THE A$$ to get to and around. HOWEVER, it is a great place for a pre/post-cruise stay we loved the island and ambiance. It just has some shortcomings when dealing iwth fly in cruisers.

 

Good Luck.

[typerdude55]

thx all for your suggestions Re: Aug 6 2012 Carnival Triumph 5-day Cozumel/Progresso.

I initially had an Enterprise reservation for one-way Houston Hobby/Galveston but recently cancelled it after I finally found a reasonable rental car at Advantage from the airport for $99/6 days, then include the EZ Cruise $35 parking lot for the length of the cruise and you total $134; whereas I was going to incur $72 for the one-way Enterprise rental + the $80+ taxi back to airport at cruises' end for slightly more or same as original plan without peace of mind for time involved at port disembarkation, rushing to get off ship quickly with a porter's help, instead of now just shuttling back to EZ Cruise/rental car retrieval for a 12pm return flight home.

Hope this might help anyone with the same dilemma.

Have a fun cruise! Mark

[carpeperdiem]

Agree with others re: PITA factor for ground transp to Galveston.

 

I have a family of 4, arriving IAH on Saturday evening for a Sunday cruise on Magic. My goal was to avoid 3 or 4 limo hires... and since our return flight doesn't leave IAH until 4:35pm, I was hoping to take my kids to the Johnson Space Center for a few hours on the day we fly home... paying a limo to sit and wait is a waste of $$$...

 

EVEN IF we don't clear customs until 10am-ish, IAH on a Sunday is all of 80 minutes away (if that). I have 3+ hours to kill. I think. Yes?

 

SO I priced out a few options:

 

1. one way (full size car) from IAH-Galveston (Enterprise) with $100 drop and taxes is $224.27. LOL - then we'd have to limo back on sunday...

 

2. 8-day car rental from IAH + parking comes to more than $330 (taxes and surcharges almost equal the base rate!) -- OP, your quote of "$99/6 days" did NOT include taxes and other junk fees, right? Add $100 to the weekly discounted rate...

 

SOL - moving on. Gonna book the limos (not sure if I will pay waiting time for the nasa side trip on the return...)

 

Anyone have a favorite car service other than the ones mentioned in other threads?

 

Thx.

 

J