Hotels in Galveston?

[4kidslefthome/goincruisin]

Still considering a cruise on the Rhapsody... Which hotels are closest to the cruise terminal, and do any of them have shuttles to the dock? Thanks...

[ianturner]

Try either Holliday Inns on the bay front,we have had good luck there several times.

Both have shuttles.

Rahpsody is a great ship with a great crew,my wife & I have sailed it many times.

[rsjc]

the Harber House is next to the port.

http://www.harborhousepier21.com/

 

This webcam is at the hotel

http://www.galveston.com/webcams/harborhouse/frameset.html

[meripour]

Try the Tremont, a historic Wyndham Hotel around the corner from the Pier. Very lovely, romantic and excellently restored to be a grand property - if your looking for a treat the night before.

[MellowMel]

Try the Tremont, a historic Wyndham Hotel around the corner from the Pier. Very lovely, romantic and excellently restored to be a grand property - if your looking for a treat the night before.

 

Tremont also has a shuttle to the port.

[wolfganghowell]

The thing to remember on Galveston is it is small - You can stay at the beach and be no more than 10 minutes from the port. Harbor House is down the pier but you will have to get a cab. Cost you less than $10. Trust me, don't walk it unless you want to arrive sweaty, breathing hard and a little irritated by all the times your rolling suitcase kept getting caught in uneven pavement volcanoes. ( I sound like the voice of experience on that one.)

 

Hotel Galvez is at the beach and has a great shuttle - they have it down to a science. Same with Commodore on the Beach - that gives you a huge price difference on rooms by the way. Depending on the time of year, some hotels require a 2 night stay if its high demand time.

[parrotthead]

As Wolfie said...Galveston is small...you could stay anywhere and not be far away...and Traffic does not really get bad except on "Seawall",the main street by the beach and you can easily avoid it...

Moody Gardens is nice, if you want a neat hotel...it is very beautiful. But you really cant go wrong...there is every thing from $25 dollars a night (I avoid them like the plauge) to nice upscale, and every thing in between...have fun...

also Galveston has a great website...try www.galveston.com there is even webcams and one of them is pointed at the pier...

[HeartofTexas]

I would highly recommend the Hilton in Galveston! Great prices, free shuttle to the terminal, free parking while your gone for your car, and pick up service when you arrive all included!!! Also great location - next to the erupting Rainforest Cafe volcano (kids love it) and nice pool.

[centralcalicruzer]

Wolfie: Is it really that bad of a walk with luggage from Harbor House to the pier? I had asked about that a while back, but the responses I got said that it wasn't too bad even with full size rolling suitcases. We are booked at Harbor House in August but haven't decided yet on whether to do a shuttle/limo service or rent a car from the airport. We may end up going with the rental car anyway, so would be able to drop off our luggage and then turn the car in. We are excited to stay at Harbor House and watch the Ecstasy come into port. Our daughter works on the ship so it will be great to be right there when she gets off.

Thanks for the "heads up" about needing a taxi!

[cod]

Carnival uses the pier closest to the Harbor House. The hotel and terminal are separated by a warehouse building that contains a couple of restaurants. That walk is a piece of cake..done by both daughters at different times and they would tell you it was no problem. I would much rather do that and at the end of my cruise WALK to my car and not have to try and get a cab or take a hotel shuttle which may or may not involve a wait. So if you are booked on the Conquest or Ecstasy it is - in my opinion - the best place to stay.....a nice hotel in a good area and VERY convenient.

 

The one time my husband and I stayed at the Harbor House we sailed on the Galaxy and we left from (and docked back at) the next pier down. We walked to-and-from but, yes, it was a hike but doable unless you have lots of luggage (we had one large wheeled bag each). Plus our cruise was in November so it was not 100+ plus! So if you have lots of luggage or the middle of summer you might 1) take a cab or 2) drop one person off with the bags and go back, park and do a solo unencumbered walk back which would be easy enough.

 

Good luck!!

[ginag]

We've stayed at the Harbor House and have walked both times to the terminal. For us, it was not a problem at all. We are booked again for this November at the HH and will once again walk to the terminal. We've been lucky that the weather was nice, so we are hoping again this year won't be a problem. Should it be rainy, we'll call for a cab.

 

Enjoy your cruise everyone!

[centralcalicruzer]

Thanks for the reassurance everyone on walking to the pier. I think we have decided on two one-ways rental cars anyway, so could easily drop off people and luggage before turning the car in. Can't wait, talked to our daughter today, she has relatives on board with her on this cruise and they are having a blast.

[wolfganghowell]

If you are going on Carni, the walk is very do-able. We were on Rhapsody and like the other poster said - it was a hike. There was a fine mist falling, we both had giant rolling luggages as well as an additional carry on bag apiece. This was in 2004 and the pavement was all torn up and very uneven. Now that the new terminal is done, this area is a lot better. I walk/run on a treadmill 45 minutes every day and it was not pleasant that time but factor in the luggage and the weather and that explains our experience. Not to mention breathing all the fumes from the buses and cars that were going by us (cough cough). I like starting off my cruise a little more relaxed! :) To us, it's worth the $10 each way for the cab.

[centralcalicruzer]

I know what you mean, I work out regularly too and consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but I thought my hand was gonna fall off when we rolled our suitcases back to our car in the long term parking lot at the San Pedro (RCI) port. It looked really close, but then we went a way that had a fence and had to backtrack, I had to stop and rest a couple of times! Thanks to everyone for all the quick reponses, anyway we have pretty much decided to do one-way car rentals, then we will have use of the vehicle in Galveston the night before, plus we can take our daughter anywhere she might need to go when she gets off the ship that morning (Walmart, Target, etc.), stop somewhere to get a couple bottles of "fine wine";) , drive our luggage to the ship and then turn in our car. We will be in Galveston two months from today! Any suggestions for a great but inexpensive place to eat dinner that's open on Sunday nights?

[clearlakecruisers]

Try Fish Tales on the seawall - good seafood, decent prices, and a balcony to set on and view the Gulf. If seafood is not what you want, try DiBellas on 31st for Italian, Mosquito Cafe on 14th for American or The Original Mexican Cafe on Market. Also don't miss driving around the historical district - the homes are wonderful. Try http://

Galveston.com for lots of information.

[wolfganghowell]

Gaido's and Casey's are our favorite restaurants on the Seawall. Gaido's is more pricey but the food is awesome and you get a ton. Casey's is more casual and less expensive. The two restaurants share a kitchen and are owned by the same company. If you wanted to try Gaido's, you could probably split 2 entrees among 3 to help with the price. YUM. We will probably eat there the Friday and Saturday before our cruise.

[centralcalicruzer]

Thanks for the restaurant ideas. I know it's summer, so I'm guessing those places are pretty crowded, even on Sundays. We land in Houston a few minutes after 4:00 p.m., so I am figuring by the time we get our luggage, get our rental car, drive to Galveston it will be about 6:00. Does that sound about right? Of course, our stomachs will still be on California time, so if we don't eat until after we check into our hotel we should be fine. I recently ordered the Galveston Fun Map and it has lots of great info on it.

[wolfganghowell]

It depends on what airport - Hobby is about 45 minutes away and Bush is about an hour and a half.