Getting from Hobby airport to dock at Galveston

[sueernieb]

What does Royal charge for the trip?

 

Royal Caribbean quoted us $69 per person each way.

[wolfcathorse]

My wife and I just went on the Enchantment out of Miami and it was like $12 for an Uber (which you can't do in Galveston) and would only have been $24 for a taxi, which included both of us.

 

Just a note, 2 years they raised the flat rate for taxis from MIA to the port to $27. With tip I pay $30 each way, whether I'm alone or have DH with me. The $27 rate is posted on their windows.

[robtulipe]

It's not just the distance, because MCO to Port Canaveral is a similar distance. The differences are in the hotel accomodations close to the port (less expensive in PC and not requiring a two day minimum on the weekend) and the 6 or 8 different rental car companies being open on cruise day, taking one-way rentals, and having free shuttles to the port. Throw in the odd Texas liquor restrictions on day 1 and the propensity for fog certain times of the year, and Galveston pales in comparison to Port Canaveral.

 

Another disadvantage of cruising out of Galveston or Houston is that Texas charges $3.75/ bottle of alcohol state excise tax for any duty free alcohol being brought back into Texas even if you are flying out of Texas right after your cruise.

Two of the stickers below cost us $7:50 at disembarkation when exiting the cruise terminal because we were carrying two liter bottles of duty free alcohol.

We're not planning to cruise again from Galveston because of the limited ports available from there and all of the above. :(

 

Edited December 19, 2016 by robtulipe

[robtulipe]

Royal Caribbean quoted us $69 per person each way.

Was that from Hobby (HOU) or Bush (IAH). I suspect it was the later as it is much further away.

I paid $32 for a one way for I alone from Hobby to Galveston in January of last year.

[davekathy]

Royal Caribbean quoted us $69 per person each way.

 

Seems what others have posted concerning cost of transportation it's a wash. Good luck with your decision. Enjoy your Cruise.

[39august]

Hobby is the closest airport and is $32 pp each way with RCI. Bush is about twice the distance from the port as Hobby. Thus, $69 pp each way makes sense for Bush International. As I said before, there are several options and not all are expensive or difficult. Gulf Departures Forum is your friend.

[sueernieb]

Was that from Hobby (HOU) or Bush (IAH). I suspect it was the later as it is much further away.

I paid $32 for a one way for I alone from Hobby to Galveston in January of last year.

 

It was from Hobby.The price from Bush was $99 per person each way.

[Clarea]

It was from Hobby.The price from Bush was $99 per person each way.

Wow, that Hobby price more than doubled in a year!

[mil76]

We paid $110 for a taxi from the port to Hobby in April. There were 6 of us (minivan taxi), so it was a bargain compared to every other option. Walked out of the terminal at about 7:40, hopped in the taxi and were at Hobby by 8:20. Only caveat was that only taxis registered in Galveston are allowed to pick up in Galveston, so there wasn't a big queue of taxis waiting for pick-up, so you might have to wait if you get off the ship later.

[jamesr3939]

I use limos.com most of the time to get quotes. I have used them 3-4 times and have two RSVP's pending with them currently.

 

I recall we paid $140 for a SUV and late night arrival. I paid a little extra for an inside "meet" so the driver could help with luggage.

[womack214]

We rented a car and paid $65 to park it for a week and then drove it back to hobby. Worked out great and was cheaper for us. Most times it is cheaper to rent a car for a week than a few days.

 

 

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[cruisinatdawn]

The one and only time we cruised out of Galveston, we used SuperShuttle. I don't remember the cost, but there were 6 in our group, and we had made arrangements ahead of time, but we ended up waiting an hour and a half for a shuttle to Galveston. We arrived late afternoon, and none if the drivers wanted to take us that far. When we returned from our cruise, their service was much better.

 

 

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[tiggypooo]

We just returned from a cruise departing from Galveston.

We went 2 days early and stayed right near the Galleria Mall (Beautiful mall & area).

Cab to the mall area hotel from airport $100. (Black Friday and heavy traffic.)

Cab from hotel to Galveston port $160.

Cab from port back to Houston airport hotel $200.

We paid less for the cruise, so took that into consideration, but $450. is alot of money

for transfers.

Especially for Canadians like us. We can add another 40% to that high number.

[puerto penasco lady]

I sailed solo out of Galveston in August. Stayed at the Hampton Inn near Houston Hobby. Hotel shuttle picked me up, took me to the hotel, and the next morning took me back to the airport luggage area. Walked in the door, was loaded onto to RCI shuttle and off to the ship. Very easy. Cost was somewhere around $60 round trip. Hotel was around $100. Have booked exactly the same thing for next May.

[internetwhiz]

We just returned from a cruise departing from Galveston.

 

We went 2 days early and stayed right near the Galleria Mall (Beautiful mall & area).

 

Cab to the mall area hotel from airport $100. (Black Friday and heavy traffic.)

 

Cab from hotel to Galveston port $160.

 

Cab from port back to Houston airport hotel $200.

 

We paid less for the cruise, so took that into consideration, but $450. is alot of money

 

for transfers.

 

Especially for Canadians like us. We can add another 40% to that high number.

 

 

Galveston is just NOT a port you take a cab to. Far less extensive ways to get to the port and back.