For those of you that rented a car to get to the houston pier

[bklynfinest77]

I was thinking about renting a car to get to the pier because we are getting into houston(hobby airport) really earlier(8am) the day of the cruise. It will be cheaper and we can also do a few things before boarding if we rented a car, but we dont know exactly how it works. If I pick up the car from Hobby airport were do we drop it off at. Is it close to the pier and if it is how close. ALso what company did you use?

[ute_fan]

Call Enterprise car rental, and go directly through the Seabrook office, not the airport location. If you do that, there shouldn't be any drop-off charge associated with the rental. I don't know the number, but if you look on the Enterprise website, you should be able to find it easily.

 

We actually made arrangements in May, 2005 to just leave the car in the parking lot at the pier. There was a slight additional charge, but since we had 4 people it was easier than trying to transfer all the baggage and stuff to the shuttle van at the Seabrook office. I forget what the charge was, but it wasn't much. I'm not sure if they are still providing that option or not.

 

Otherwise, if you return the car to the office, I think it's about a 10-15 minute drive. We drove by the office on our way to see the space center, and it was on the main road in Seabrook. You'd also need to allow time for the shuttle. It seems like I've read where it could be about a 30 minute wait.

[divepal]

FYI,

They no longer have the office at the Cruise Terminal. They are not open on Sundays (our cruise is Sunday to Sunday) and the drop fee is $40.00.

[ute_fan]

Divepal --

 

Just out of curiosity, what "Sunday to Sunday" cruise are you on leaving from the port of Houston? My understanding is that NCL is the only line sailing from Houston, and the Dream is doing a Saturday - Saturday cruise.

 

Are you possibly referring to the Galveston pier rather than the Houston one??

[divepal]

My apologies!! :o In my frustration in trying to acquire transportation to the cruise terminal from the Houston airport I accidentally posted this for the Houston pier. My reference is in fact for the Galveston Pier. I am totally bewildered at the lack of transportation options considering the substantial cruise clientele visiting this port. :mad: I have actually considered cancelling this cruise and changing to a more port friendly location.

[ute_fan]

No problem -- I was just curious since the schedule didn't match up. I've never cruised from Galveston, just NCL's Houston pier, so I'm sorry you're having such a problem.

 

If you're interested, I do have one suggestion for a gentlemen who does both Galveston and Houston transportation. His website is http://www.cruiseshipshuttle.com. We used him for a large group on our first cruise (think 2 greyhound buses size), but from what I understand, he also provides shuttle service for smaller groups too.

 

We had neighbors who had somehow managed to not plan ahead on a recent cruise from Houston, and called Friday night from Houston to get his information, and he was able to transport their family the next morning as he wasn't booked up. They also arranged to have him pick them up when they returned, and do a Houston city tour as they had quite a bit of time before their flight was leaving.

 

Don't know whether that would help at all, but it may be worth giving him a call. If there's just a couple of you it may not be cost effective. Have you considered posting on a roll-call for your ship to see if there is anyone else who would be interested in sharing a shuttle ride?

[divepal]

Thank you for your suggestions. Unfortunately I've already spoken with Cruiseshipshuttles and it just isn't cost effective for just two. I guess we'll just take the standard galvestonlimo.com or whatever the heck it is. It just frustrates me to have to rely on a shuttle company. I like doing things within my own timeframes. We have a fairly early flight out of Houston to catch a connecting flight. I know I'll be stressed to the max. Guess I'll just have to pretend I'm on island time and not worry so much. :cool:

[jp01104]

I am cruising on the Rhapsody 8/13 out of Galveston. I rented a car from Enterprise for 24 hours here is the info.

 

Pickup Branch: Return Branch:

HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT (ON-SITE PORT OF GALVESTON

8601 PANAIR ST 2502 HARBORSIDE DRIVE

HOUSTON, TX 770614142 GALVESTON, TX 775514386

(713) 645-7222 (409) 740-0700

 

Car Information:

Type of Car: FULL SIZE

Examples: IMPALA, TAURUS OR SIMILAR

Holds 5 passengers and 4 luggage

 

Rate information (all rates in U.S. DOLLARS):

Daily 1 DAY @ 27.00 = 27.00

TEXAS PROPERTY TAX & LIC FEES 1 DAY @ 1.30 = 1.30

* Subtotal = 28.30

HARRIS COUNTY STADIUM TAX 5.00 % = 1.42

AIRPORT ACCESS FEE 11.11 % = 3.00

SALES TAX 10.00 % = 2.83

Total charges = 35.55

[sharke]

We recently cruised out of Galveston on Celebrity in January. Rented our car from Hertz at Hobby Houston Airport. Easy access. Quick 45 minute ride to Galveston where we dropped the car at their office. At that point a darling elderly gentleman named 'Crash' hired by Hertz actually drove us to the pier in our rental car. He took us right to the check in point, dropped us off, and then he took the car back to the office. No extra charge. It was terrific. When we returned, we did our paperwork at the Hertz desk at the pier, short walk from the ship, then took a shuttle to the parking lot where our car was waiting. It couldn't have been easier. I don't think they have the cars there everyday of the week. You just have to check with them. I'd do this again in a minute. Our cost was actually cheaper than quoted as we arrived in less than an hour from Hobby. Good luck.

[FlorenceItaly]

I am cruising on the Rhapsody 8/13 out of Galveston. I rented a car from Enterprise for 24 hours here is the info.

 

Pickup Branch: Return Branch:

HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT (ON-SITE PORT OF GALVESTON

8601 PANAIR ST 2502 HARBORSIDE DRIVE

HOUSTON, TX 770614142 GALVESTON, TX 775514386

(713) 645-7222 (409) 740-0700

 

Car Information:

Type of Car: FULL SIZE

Examples: IMPALA, TAURUS OR SIMILAR

Holds 5 passengers and 4 luggage

 

Rate information (all rates in U.S. DOLLARS):

Daily 1 DAY @ 27.00 = 27.00

TEXAS PROPERTY TAX & LIC FEES 1 DAY @ 1.30 = 1.30

* Subtotal = 28.30

HARRIS COUNTY STADIUM TAX 5.00 % = 1.42

AIRPORT ACCESS FEE 11.11 % = 3.00

SALES TAX 10.00 % = 2.83

Total charges = 35.55

 

I just made a reservation for Oct and they are charging me the $40 one way fee. How did you book and avoid the drop fee? Thanks.

 

 

Marie

[jp01104]

I don't have a clue why I was not charged a drop off fee. The other 3 people cruisng with us (flying into IAH) got the drop off fee. What I posted was copied directly from my confirmation e-mail from enterprise. Maybe it caught on and they figured they could make a few dollars more.

[FlorenceItaly]

Thanks for your response. I am glad you got lucky! We've decided not to go the rental car route ONLY because I found a great deal through Coach USA for ROUND TRIP transportation for the 2 of us for only $58! They are running a special right now. I don't typically like to go the cattle route but for this price I'll deal with it, lol.

 

 

Marie

[ute_fan]

We didn't have a drop off fee last year, but it was slightly over a year ago, so I suppose they could have changed their policy. We were also headed to the port of Houston, not Galveston, which may have made a difference. One suggestion is to work directly through the drop-off location rather than through the usual reservation desk. We made our reservations through the Seabrook office -- I don't know what it would be for Galveston.

[Makaylas_daddy]

Thanks for your response. I am glad you got lucky! We've decided not to go the rental car route ONLY because I found a great deal through Coach USA for ROUND TRIP transportation for the 2 of us for only $58! They are running a special right now. I don't typically like to go the cattle route but for this price I'll deal with it, lol.

 

 

Where did you find this rate and info? Phone call? Internet? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[FlorenceItaly]

thread that lives local posted the deal. It was in their newspaper. I booked at http://www.bookcoachusa.com

Unfortunately, the code expired July 31. However, it still may be worth a try to see if the code is still working. I will cut and paste what he posted:

 

 

Don't know if anyone is interested and I really know nothing about this company, but there was an ad in a recent Houston Chronicle for CoachUSA offering "direct car to ship service" with "free secured parking" from locations at 1.the Woodlands (just north of Houston), 2. I-45 & 610 Loop North, and 3.Hobby Airport for $39 per person round trip. The regular fee is $59 and the booking code for the reduced fee through 7/31/06 (don't know if the service has to be used by then or if reservations just need to be made) is "save20". They indicate to contact your travel agent ot http://www.bookcoachusa.com.

 

I hope this helps some. I booked online and had no problem. I typically don't care for mass transportation but for $58 RT TOTAL for the BOTH of us, it was too good to pass up.

 

Marie