Moody Gardens Question

[Spurschick]

i know I could post on the port threads, but I noticed a lot of people here that might be able to help that don't necessarily review the Port threads.

 

Getting inconsistent answers from Moody Gardens. They want an extra $120 for cruise package. Transfers and parking. Parking I am told is in garage, however some reviews I have read say you can park in the garage free anyway. I also saw a post that says you can book transfers and parking for $30 a room.

 

I was also told by reservations you book your schedule time at 8am at a meeting, then I had an email stating 1 shuttle at 12?

 

Has anyone here done parking and transfers that can let me know parking and shuttle arrangements.

 

Thanks

[sidekick3_cruiser]

I just did it last month.

 

Valet your car when you arrive and let them know you're doing the cruise parking. They'll park it and give you the valet stub. Then let the front desk know when checking in and they will give you a one-page form (cruise details, car details, hotel room #, valet ticket #, etc.) and you fill it out, hold onto it and bring it with you to the valet desk on departure morning at 8:00 am. That desk is immediately to the left when entering the main doors. They will take the form from you and book you on a shuttle time, and shuttles start at 9:00 am. Then you just get on the shuttle, and when you get back to Galveston they ask that you call as you get off the ship so they can tell you when and where to expect the next shuttle. Garage parking is also free for guests, yes. So essentially you're paying for the valet part and shuttle roundtrip.

 

It was a $50 charge added to the hotel bill. Hope this helps!

Edited June 3, 2017 by sidekick3_cruiser

[Spurschick]

Thanks for the info. So did you book the cruise package or just the normal rate + $50. And did you arrange before you arrived? Was it valet parked all cruise or did you move it to the garage? Did the length of cruise have an effect on pricing?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I want all my ducks in a row! $120 extra for the package seemed high.

[sidekick3_cruiser]

No worries about the questions!

 

I only booked the room online via Hotwire, got there and found out all this *after* arriving, so it was not pre-arranged and I did not purchase any kind of cruise package. Basically, when we first got there I parked it in the parking lot by the water park (not a very far walk). But then on departure morning, I took it to the valet guys and told them I was doing the cruise parking and that was all they needed to know. From there it was valet parked the entire time and they had it pulled up front and waiting for me when our shuttle got back. I don't think the length of the cruise affected the pricing - it was going to be $50 either way.

 

Hope this helps again. :)

[Spurschick]

Much appreciated. It helps immensely. I did call back earlier based on your original reply and asked why they were charging $120 more than the standard rate and they lowered it to what equated to the rate plus the $50.

 

The fact they have the car ready for as soon as you get back to the hotel sounds great as we want to get straight on the road.

[golfpccc]

So, why don't you just drive to the port and park your car at EZCruise? We do the ParknWalk for $54 or $5 more they will shuttle you. By the time you tip the driver you will be paying more than the cost of parking at the port for a week. EZCruise is about a 2 block walk from terminal. Once we leave the ship we are in our car and on the road within 10 min.

 

Carla

Edited June 4, 2017 by golfpccc

[Spurschick]

So, why don't you just drive to the port and park your car at EZCruise? We do the ParknWalk for $54 or $5 more they will shuttle you. By the time you tip the driver you will be paying more than the cost of parking at the port for a week. EZCruise is about a 2 block walk from terminal. Once we leave the ship we are in our car and on the road within 10 min.

 

Carla

Thank you for the recommendation. For several reasons we don't like parking at the port in Galveston. It's just our preferences and requirements. We would just prefer to leave with the valet.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Spurschick

[cruzinlisa]

No worries about the questions!

 

I only booked the room online via Hotwire, got there and found out all this *after* arriving, so it was not pre-arranged and I did not purchase any kind of cruise package. Basically, when we first got there I parked it in the parking lot by the water park (not a very far walk). But then on departure morning, I took it to the valet guys and told them I was doing the cruise parking and that was all they needed to know. From there it was valet parked the entire time and they had it pulled up front and waiting for me when our shuttle got back. I don't think the length of the cruise affected the pricing - it was going to be $50 either way.

 

Hope this helps again. :)

 

This was our exact experience as well, but then again I believe we were on the same cruise. I also booked my cruise via on online TA and only learned about the cruise package after booking.

 

OP- you fill out a paper and show up at the meeting on departure morning, that was not really a meeting but more short appointment talking to the guy at the desk. Turn in your form, answer a few questions and pick a shuttle time 9, 10 or 11. Try to get there a few mins early or the line gets long and you might not get the time you want. We all walked down about 5-10 minutes before the meeting time. DH and DD went to the car to put some dirty clothes in the car. After I was done with the meeting, I called DH and DD who were still at the car and told DH to bring it up to the valet. The "meeting" was about 5 minutes- I was second in line.

[Spurschick]

This was our exact experience as well, but then again I believe we were on the same cruise. I also booked my cruise via on online TA and only learned about the cruise package after booking.

 

OP- you fill out a paper and show up at the meeting on departure morning, that was not really a meeting but more short appointment talking to the guy at the desk. Turn in your form, answer a few questions and pick a shuttle time 9, 10 or 11. Try to get there a few mins early or the line gets long and you might not get the time you want. We all walked down about 5-10 minutes before the meeting time. DH and DD went to the car to put some dirty clothes in the car. After I was done with the meeting, I called DH and DD who were still at the car and told DH to bring it up to the valet. The "meeting" was about 5 minutes- I was second in line.

 

Thanks. I'll make sure I get there early as we want the 9 am shuttle.