1st Cruise--Questions ( Galveston )

[GalvestonCruiser]

My friend and I are taking a "girls only" cruise. We are saling on the 4/26--4 day Ecstacy and neither of us have ever cruised before. I have just found this website so I am trying to read everything but it's so overwhelming. If you have any suggestions or tips for 1st time cruisers please share. We live about 7 hours away so we will be driving in the day before. Any suggestions on where to stay? Should we try to find somewhere that includes parking or should we just park at the terminal? I have all million other questions but I will try to look around for some answers first. Thanks in advance for your help! :)

[mrdood]

...all port information is kept in a separate forum relating to hotels, transportation etc, many recommendations for Galveston:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=414

[GalvestonCruiser]

Thanks!!

[mrdood]

Your welcome, and I will say, the Harbor House was the BEST! You are right next to the pier, even my elderly parents walked to the terminal from the hotel, we left our car at the hotel. No other Hotel lets you watch your ship sail in and dock the morning of your cruise in Galveston - very, very cool!

 

Good continental breakfast as well...

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic also!

[grenny4031]

My friend and I are taking a "girls only" cruise. We are saling on the 4/26--4 day Ecstacy and neither of us have ever cruised before. I have just found this website so I am trying to read everything but it's so overwhelming. If you have any suggestions or tips for 1st time cruisers please share. We live about 7 hours away so we will be driving in the day before. Any suggestions on where to stay? Should we try to find somewhere that includes parking or should we just park at the terminal? I have all million other questions but I will try to look around for some answers first. Thanks in advance for your help! :)

 

I too was a newbie going on my first cruise. I found a lot of info on this site. I will give you the names of some threads that had really go info on them. Also, 4 and 5 day cruises are a little different. So look at a calendar and look for roll calls of cruises in the last couple of months, or even 3, that were 4 day cruises. They will be all the Ecstasy cruises that left on a Thursday.

Actually, some of the threads have already been pulled due to lack of activity. But if you look under member reviews, ecstasy, you will find several member reviews. Read all of them from about 10/06 on. Mr. P/s is very good. It does not take very long. Also do like I suggested about checking roll calls for recent 4 day cruises.

Hope this info helps!

Happy Sails to You....until I cruise again.:)

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=23991

[KaferKruzer]

Galveston...

 

Favorite hotel - Harbor House

Favorite restaurant - Gaido's

Favorite places - Seaport Museum & The Elissa - Bishop's Palace (aka Gresham House) - Moody Mansion - The Strand and Seawall Blvd.

 

Len

[clearlakecruisers]

Try www.galveston.com for lots of info on lodging, restaurants, transportation, etc.

 

Also be aware that the city of Galveston is situated on a very small barrier island and the distance between any two locations is never great. That being said, distances are such that walking between many is not an option.

 

The cruise terminal is less that two blocks away from The Strand (an area of restored old buildings now full of shops and restaurants), the Railroad Museum, the tall-ship Elissa and is also close to a couple of waterside restaurants. Those locations are all within walkable distances.

 

There is also a trolley service between The Strand and the seawall. a round trip on that is a good way to see some of the city inexpensively.

 

There is a lot of information on this thread about lodging and, as you will note, there is a WIDE range in respect to $$, and amenities. The website above and Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ often are reported to have the best info.

 

Have a great cruise and be prepared to become a cruise addict!!!