Time to get to airport?

[bluehawks47]

We are cruising out of port of Houston - Bayport and are looking at flights after our cruise. Are things pretty efficient at this port? We are thinking about booking an 11:30 flight out of Hobby. Will that be cutting it too close or will we have time? We are planning on just catching a taxi at the port to take us to the airport.

Thank you

[lifes-a-beach]

that's probably cutting it too close. 11:30 flight means 9:30 to 10 arrival at Hobby. While it's not a great distance from Bayport to Hobby one can never underestimate traffic in Houston. Factor in a late arrival due to fog and you've missed your flight.

 

Having said that, the terminal is very efficient, particularly compared to Galveston.

[PenguinLife]

Fog is very common in the winter months and often causes delays at bayport, as an example when we cruised out of there last November we were about 2 hours late boarding due to fog, and about 2 hours late docking when we returned. We did not have express desembarking and cleared customs just before 1 pm. There is no way I would attempted to book a flight before 3 pm from this port, and even that might be cuttings things close as it takes 20-25 minutes to get to HOU Hobby under ideal conditions, and 45-50 minutes to get to IAH Bush.

[bluehawks47]

Thank you for your suggestions. We are cruising in March, so I assume fog won't be an issue? Either way, we should play it safe. Thank you

[PenguinLife]

Actually fog is fairly common on Galveston bay through at least mid march.

[ifihadaboat]

I hope that by now you are booking a later flight (1:00pm or later). They are all correct. Allow at least one hour for driving from port to Hobby. And fog is very likely in March. Hope we have helped.

[ifihadaboat]

that's probably cutting it too close. 11:30 flight means 9:30 to 10 arrival at Hobby. While it's not a great distance from Bayport to Hobby one can never underestimate traffic in Houston. Factor in a late arrival due to fog and you've missed your flight.

 

Having said that, the terminal is very efficient, particularly compared to Galveston.

What was your experience in Galveston, lifes-a-beach? How was it different in Bayport?

[PenguinLife]

I have sailed out of Galveston 5 times and Bayport once (second time will be next month) and feel that the traffic flow getting into and out of the terminals is about the same. Galveston has issues dealing with the fairly narrow space they have to work with between the dock and the major street that runs parallel to it, by contrast the Bayport site is on a larger plot of land but has a poor layout. In my opinion whoever designed the Bayport cruise terminal probably never designed a cruise terminal before, but did have experience designing modern regional airports, as it has that feel that newer smaller airports have with the circle through drop off and loop back to a central parking lot. The problem is with a cruise terminal you must accommodate a large number of people entering and leaving at once and a traffic flow pattern that loops back over itself does not do this well.

[ifihadaboat]

I see your point, PenguinLife. Galveston port is next to town, so the traffic is often an issue, but rarely does it slow you down a lot. I am not a fan of the Bayport terminal because it is so far out in "East Egypt" (so to speak) and there is nothing near it from a tourism perspective. But I am glad you are coming to Texas, Bluehawk47. Welcome!