Sailing out of Galveston

[ssaleenie]

We normally sail out of Ft. Lauderdale. Does anyone have any suggestions for sailing out of Galveston? For example, which airport do you use and is there somewhere close to stay the night before, etc. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Eileen

[sminfiddle]

Hi Eileen!

There is a lot of good info on the Gulf Coast HomePorts sub forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

I see on there that many like the Harbor House hotel.

 

And Hobby Airport "HOU" is the closest. By many miles!

 

Us, we're just driving in from Houston.

 

Rick

[CruzR887]

Hobby airport is the closer airport. Most of the flights there are SW, but not all. There are any number of hotels and motels in Galveston. The Harbor House is right by the water at the port. The Tremont House is a few blocks away both are very nice hotels.

 

Love sailing out of Galveston.

 

Have a great trip.

[spindrift]

We have stayed several times at the Treemont, which is just a few blocks from the terminal. If you like beautiful and historical, the Galvez hotel is great. They are both Wyndam hotels. Try Gaido's for excellent seafood. Anyway, look them up on the web.

[Crusin Hogs]

Here is a link to several web cams around Galveston .http://www.galveston.com/webcams/

 

Great town to visit , Moody Gardens , The Strand , Trolly cars to ride around town , good way to see the island , Great seafood !

[Nebr.cruiser]

Be prepared that the first and last day may be pretty cool; depending on time of year, of course, and luck as to what the weather is that day. It was only around 50 for sailaway for us in December, not much warmer on the last day.

[caribill]

Biggest problem sailing from Galveston and arriving befrore embarkation day is getting to Galveston from HOU (about 41 miles) or from IAH (70 miles).

 

Rental car facilities are very limited in Galveston which makes it hard to rent a car at the airport and drop it off in Galveston.

 

SuperShuttle service is available, but I am not aware of their pricing.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The last time, we flew into IAH. This time, we're flying into HOU and renting a car. We're staying at a hotel near the airport (stayed in Galveston last time) and then driving to the Enterprise rental car agency on Galveston Island. It's open on Saturdays which makes it quite easy to return the car and take a taxi to the ship. We're looking forward to the freedom of being able to stop wherever we want on our drive to the port. We'll do the same car rental in reverse after the cruise. Normally, we'd take a limo or town car but the prices were really high and our last experience doing that was terrible going both directions.

[dplusd]

I only sail out of Galveston when I want to avoid flying to port (live in Dallas). But if I was getting on a plane to cruise, I'd go to Florida.

 

As mentioned earlier, during winter months it is too cold to enjoy the outdoors for sail-a-way and the first day out and last day back. Galveston is also know for fog delays...we spent two days stuck in the port due to fog in 2009.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I only sail out of Galveston when I want to avoid flying to port (live in Dallas). But if I was getting on a plane to cruise, I'd go to Florida.

 

As mentioned earlier, during winter months it is too cold to enjoy the outdoors for sail-a-way and the first day out and last day back. Galveston is also know for fog delays...we spent two days stuck in the port due to fog in 2009.

 

That's common in many ports in the winter months. LA, FLL at times, SFO and many other ports all experience cool/cold weather the first day to day & a half and the last day to day & a half coming home. I wouldn't discount Galveston just because of that though.

[aprilivy]

I only sail out of Galveston when I want to avoid flying to port (live in Dallas). But if I was getting on a plane to cruise, I'd go to Florida.

 

As mentioned earlier, during winter months it is too cold to enjoy the outdoors for sail-a-way and the first day out and last day back. Galveston is also know for fog delays...we spent two days stuck in the port due to fog in 2009.

Oh my! We were on the VOS, too....did you stay on or get off?

We got off and then did a make-up cruise in February and it was delayed by fog, too.

 

We don't learn an easy lesson, though - just booked a January 5 cruise out of Galveston.

[Shoalwater]

Here is a link to several web cams around Galveston .http://www.galveston.com/webcams/

 

Great town to visit , Moody Gardens , The Strand , Trolly cars to ride around town , good way to see the island , Great seafood !

 

They were flooded during hurricane Ike in 2008 and have not operated since.

[jgaabq]

Consider this... We purchased CCL's transfers from airport-to-port. We'll Fly into HOU (Hobby) on Fri night, rent a car, check in to hotel near Hobby, have the car all day Sat, return car Sun morning back at Hobby, and meet CCL transfer for trip to port.:D

[aprilivy]

As for being "cold" the first day...On the way to Hawaii we were pretty cold the first 3 days and 2 of the last 3 days.

Out of Galveston in December - remember wishing I had brought warmer sweaters as we were tied to the dock for 2 days in the fog - it was miserable. (right dplusd?)