Cruising out of Galveston

[alfobeasly]

Our familly has booked a cruise on The Mariner of the Seas in 2013. We will be fllying out of Chicago or Minneapolis the day before we cruise. Which airport is best to fly into? Bush or Hobby? Also does anybody know when you book air thru RCL which airport they use.

[TEXASMUNK]

I would recommend you fly into Hobby. Bush is 90 minutes from the island and Hobby is only 40 minutes away.

Look towards Southwest Airlines. They offer about 80% of the service into Hobby.

Also, consider coming in a day or so early. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. Great museums, NASA (half way to Galveston) the island also offers lots to do!

If you are simply looking for transfers, hit Google and look up Galveston Limo. We drive to Galveston but have only heard really good things about these folks, price and serivce wise. And you do not have to wait for a bus to fill up before departure to the port or back to the airport.

[TxKroozer]

You are closer with Hobby, but likely will have more air schedule choices from IAH? In both cases you will require transfers from airports to Galveston, so look at your fare options with those in mind. I would think RCCL uses IAH more, but we are local and never have had to fly into Houston.

[Clarea]

Our familly has booked a cruise on The Mariner of the Seas in 2013. We will be fllying out of Chicago or Minneapolis the day before we cruise. Which airport is best to fly into? Bush or Hobby? Also does anybody know when you book air thru RCL which airport they use.

Hobby is much closer to the port than Bush. Don't know about Milwaukee, but Southwest has non-stops from Chicago Midway to Hobby.

[teajak]

And you get 2 bags each checked free on Southwest.

[denamo]

As others have said, you would be closer to Galveston to fly into Hobby. Southwest also currently does not charge luggage fees. We've compared when flying, and that usually tips the scale to fly Southwest.

 

There is no assigned seating. 24 hours prior to boarding, you can get online and print out your boarding pass. If you are flying with a group and want to sit together, then the earlier you are online to print our passes, the more likely you will be able to get a boarding number at the beginning of the pack allowing you to sit near each other.

 

Have a great time on the Mariner. We cruised her for the first time last fall, and it was a most enjoyable cruise.

[KG1924]

We flew in to Hobby on our last cruise-mostly due to cost. Southwest does tend to be cheaper overall, especially taking baggage fees into consideration (I really TRY to pack light....;)) Plus the transportation is usually cheaper to the port since its a shorter drive.

 

We really enjoyed Galveston-the fog was a big downer since we couldn't really see more then a few feet in front of us, but we still had a great time the night before we boarded down on the Strand. The day we debarked it was bright and sunny, but freezing!!! Amazingly, it was actually warmer back home in Chicago then down in Galveston that day-and we were down there in January! Enjoy your trip-we really enjoyed the Mariner a few years ago.

[sredish]

Our familly has booked a cruise on The Mariner of the Seas in 2013. We will be fllying out of Chicago or Minneapolis the day before we cruise. Which airport is best to fly into? Bush or Hobby? Also does anybody know when you book air thru RCL which airport they use.

 

If you don't mind my asking...which sailing? We're booked March 3, 2013. We sailed Mariner this past March and fell in LOVE. You'll have a great time! You can see my review in my signature if you're interested!

[fox0301]

Fly into Hobby a day earlier and book a limo to take ya to your hotel in Galveston! Then you can use the hotel shuttle to go to the port. Also book your return with a limo for your flight as well! I would recommend Cornerstone, give them a call at 713.880.1800. They're gonna set you up both ways with awesome service and very reasonable prices.