Galveston Port

[cookie1961]

Hi everyone,

 

My family and I are going on our second cruise December 29/05--Galaxy (Celebrity). We are departing from Galveston and coming from Toronto Canada. Is there a store in the Galveston port where we can purchase soda pop for our cruise??

 

Our first cruise was out of San Juan and we were able to stock up before the ship left the port.

 

Teri

[colette5479]

Are you flying in the day of the cruise or staying at a hotel the night before? I could be mistaken, but I don't believe there are any grocery stores near the pier. There may be a convience store somewhere in the vicinity. If you will have transportation around the island, there is a Walgreens and a Super Wal-Mart on Seawall Blvd (the road by the ocean) that you can get last minute supplies from. Hope you have a great time!:)

[TEXASMUNK]

Your best best is to make a stop on your way to the port. There is an entertainment area across the street from the pier, but it is a long walk.

Also check to see what Celebrity will let you carry on.

[nick0danger]

There are a number of grocies stores on the seawall, they are about a 5 to 10 minute drive to the peir.

[LV2COOK]

We cruised the Galaxy for Christmas last year but since we live in Houston we brought everything with us. There are stores in the area, short cab ride or trolley. Celebrity let us bring on a case of water and a couple six packs of Vernors giger ale which they do not sell on the ship. It was a fabulous cruise and we may go again this Christmas. :rolleyes:

[canderson]

Your best best is to make a stop on your way to the port. There is an entertainment area across the street from the pier, but it is a long walk.

Also check to see what Celebrity will let you carry on.

May be able to help a bit with the rules in this regard:

 

Prepackaged foods (e.g., a box of breakfast cereal, cookies, dried fruits, beef jerky, jars of baby food) are OK. Unpackaged foods and fresh produce (e.g., oranges, flowers, fresh bread, cooked meals to-go [ask me about $60 worth of seafood lunch from Key West some time!!!]) are not OK. If you're familiar with the rules for U.S. Customs, assume they apply.

 

All non-alcoholic canned and bottled beverages (e.g., water, soda, tea, canned or boxed juices) are OK. Wine OK with the proviso that it's supposed to be consumed in the dining room. Booze and beer are not OK, subject to possible confiscation for return at end of cruise (you pays your money and you takes your chances).

[GCurry]

There are some shops in the Strand area, just a short walk across from the terminals that sell beer, wine, sodas etc. The larger groceries or liquor stores, would require a car or a cab. It helps to have some carryon bag to put them in. There are numerous threads that discuss bringing beverages on board, on about every cruise line.

[tuggers]

What is your first port? You might be better off to bring enough in your carry ons from Canada for a day or two and stock up at a more convenient place.

 

Also, you do know they sell soda cards, right? Unlimited soda for a small daily charge. Just a thought.

[hedyc]

Hi Teri, I just booked this cruise as well with my husband and two sons - 17 and 13. We will be travelling from Toronto. Any advise about air arrangements or ground transportation? I would appreciate any help.

[cookie1961]

Hi everyone,

 

Me again. We are arriving in Houston the day our ship departs and our package includes transfers from Houston to Galveston. I don't think they will make a pitstop for us LOL. The reason we wanted to buy some pop was my dd had a soda card on our last cruise a couple of years ago but she didn't like the watered down taste so really it was a waste of money.

 

GCurry--thanks for the information about the Strand area. I will have to do some investigating :)

 

heydyc--We booked a package and are getting Cruise air and transfers. It just makes our life a bit easier. My understanding is you can purchase transfers from the cruise line at any time but I am not certain of that. I know that Contential flies to Houston daily. You will need to get on an early flight because it seems that it takes about 90 minutes to get from Houston to the Galveston port. I have never done it but that's what I have read. I have two girls, 15 years old and 11 years old. Great to know there will be other Canadians on board :)

[hedyc]

Teri, Wonder if you had a good travel agent here that you dealt with? I don't know if we can talk about this here but notice that you do not have an e-mail address listed. Could I e-mail you about this? Please send me you e-mail if that is OK with you.

Thanks Hedy

[GCurry]

http://www.galvestonlimousineservice.com/

 

This shuttlebus service goes to both Bush and Hobby airports. Bush is in North Houston about 90 min. away, Hobby is only thirty min. from the island if you can get a flight there, Southwest is the primary carrier, but Delta and others fly there as well. If you are a family or group, it might be less expensive to rent from Enterprise and drop it off in Galveston, then pick up another for the return. A lot of people have done that and it seems to be a good method. I understand Hertz is also coming in to Galveston soon.

[cookie1961]

Hi Hedy,

 

My email address is teripg@hotmail.com I look forward to chatting with you :)

 

Teri

[mgwayne04]

The "Strand Emporium" in the 2100 block of the Strand will have all the soda water you want for your cruise. They will be a little high in price, but are within walking distance of the ship. The Strand is the first street away from the ship, and it will be docked very close to the 2100 block. It is also a VERY interesting shop just to visit. Enjoy

 

Mgwayne04 AKA Mike Sartor

[CaroleSP]

Yesterday's mail brought my Galveston Island tour guide. It has lots of information. Contact their visitor's bureau for more info. I had no idea that the Strand was not the street adjacent to the water, until I looked at the little map in the book. I've been looking all over for information; can't decide which hotel to book for the weekend before we sail. All advice is welcome. We will not have a rental car, so we need transfers from the hotel to the ship and maybe reviews of restaurants on the trolly path.

 

Can't wait to get there, everyone seems to love the Island. Anyone know particulars on the Sunday Brunch at the Galvez? I hear it's supposed to be very nice; is it a buffet?

[GCurry]

http://www.texasexplorer.net/HotelGalvez.htm

 

Yes it is a Sunday buffet brunch.

We hope you enjoy the island.

[Glendakayself]

The hotels in Galveston seem to fill fast with the cruise traffic. 6 and 7 months out, the more popular hotels are booked. Perhaps, the cruise lines are holding the rooms.

[Randyk47]

I don't know about the other lines but I do know that Celebrity uses several hotels on the island for pre- and post-cruise and one of those is the Hotel Galvez. We stayed there last March for our Galaxy cruise but made our own arrangements. It was a bit of a hassle and took a couple of phone calls to work out as the cruise lines had already blocked many of the rooms but we got in. Highly recommend the Galvez but there are several other acceptable hotels around.

[CaroleSP]

Highly recommend the Galvez but there are several other acceptable hotels around.

 

Hi Randy, care to share which they might be? We are also looking for a location that would be convenient for getting around without a car. We figured if we didn't get the Galvez, we probably can make reservations for the brunch anyway.

 

http://www.texasexplorer.net/HotelGalvez.htm

 

Yes it is a Sunday buffet brunch.

We hope you enjoy the island.

..

 

Thanks for the link; I'll check it out.

[GCurry]

The two closest to the terminal are Harbor House, and Tremont House. Harbor House is right on the wharves, the Tremont is about two blocks away.

Try http://www.galveston.com/ A number of hotels offer shuttle service.

[canderson]

Hi Randy, care to share which they might be? We are also looking for a location that would be convenient for getting around without a car. We figured if we didn't get the Galvez, we probably can make reservations for the brunch anyway.

We gave up trying to get a hotel for the Saturday night prior to our 5 December cruise -- the Dickens festival plugged things up. We're booked at the Avenue O Bed and Breakfast.

[Randyk47]

This is in no way an endorsement of the business but we found www.galvestoncruises.com to have some excellent information on Galveston, transportation, hotels, etc. Links are on the right side of their page.

[dderm]

Yesterday's mail brought my Galveston Island tour guide. It has lots of information. Contact their visitor's bureau for more info. I had no idea that the Strand was not the street adjacent to the water, until I looked at the little map in the book. I've been looking all over for information; can't decide which hotel to book for the weekend before we sail. All advice is welcome. We will not have a rental car, so we need transfers from the hotel to the ship and maybe reviews of restaurants on the trolly path.

 

Can't wait to get there, everyone seems to love the Island. Anyone know particulars on the Sunday Brunch at the Galvez? I hear it's supposed to be very nice; is it a buffet?

 

We have stayed at the San Luis on the seawall and really like it but the Galvez and Tremont are both nice and closer to the pier - all these and several other hotels (hilton, etc.) include free transport to the pier and some offer free parking. One thing we did that we really liked was to take a carriage ride around the Strand and then have them take us to a restaurant for lunch and come back for us when we called (the carriage driver gave us her cell phone). for restaurants, I like Fish Tales on the seawall and Joe's Crab Shack (the one at the pier is better than the one on the seawall). Everyone raves about Casey's but I think it's gone down a bit over the years. There's also an interesting place called the "Cajun Greek" that we liked. Hope this helps.

 

To the OP - we thought about transfers but ended up renting a car and stopped off at Walmart on the way down from the airport to the pier. (You pass 2 Walmarts on the main highway as you drive down.) We got water, sodas and a rolling ice chest to take on. Both Enterprise and Hertz do one ways between the airports and Galveston but you must call the Galveston office to make the reservation as you can't do it online.

[Randyk47]

Should add that the brunch at the Galvez is quite nice but expensive. We drove from San Antonio to Galveston Sunday morning before the cruise and made the brunch. It was part of a pre-cruise package with the Galvez where we got the brunch, the room for Sunday night, covered parking for our car during the cruise, and transportation to and from the cruise port. All in all not a bad deal. As I recall the brunch by itself was around $25/person. We figured out all the individual costs and there was no way to beat the Galvez's package deal. Doing each one of the package items on our own would have cost twice what we paid the Galvez for the entire package.

[fireguy091]

We stayed at the Harbour House and it is walking distance to the ship. There is also a liquor store across the street. how much closer can you get?