IAH/Enterprise Logistical advice needed, please.

[Lorij91]

There are six of us on the Rhapsody in June. DD and I are arriving at IAH at 1:30pm Saturday and the other 4 (2 are Sr Citizens) are arriving @ 2:45. I have reserved a van rental with Enterprise and am trying to figure out the logistics. Can someone who is familiar with the airport help?

 

1. Is Enterprise right at the airport, or will we need to do a shuttle?

 

2. Is it possible to go get the van paperwork settled, drop of our (DD and mine) luggage and then go back to meet the rest of our party?

 

3. I don't want to leave DD alone in the airport, nor do I want to leave luggage spinning at baggage claim. Do the two of us just pick up everything and tromp off to Enterprise? If so, where would you suggest meeting up with our group?

 

Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

 

Also, when arriving in Galveston Sunday morning, I was planning on dropping everyone off at the terminal then returning the van. Is the rental place close by? I thought I saw that Enterprise is in terminal 1 while RCI is in terminal 2. Is that so? Can I walk back?

 

Thanks ever so much!!! :D

[hughdm]

1. Is Enterprise right at the airport, or will we need to do a shuttle?

 

No rental car desks or cars are at the IAH air terminals. You will take an Enterprise bus/van to where they are.

 

2. Is it possible to go get the van paperwork settled, drop of our (DD and mine) luggage and then go back to meet the rest of our party?

 

I'm a bit confused about this question. Where would you intend to drop your luggage? It is 75 miles to the cruise terminal one-way.

 

3. I don't want to leave DD alone in the airport, nor do I want to leave luggage spinning at baggage claim. Do the two of us just pick up everything and tromp off to Enterprise? If so, where would you suggest meeting up with our group?

 

If you are able, this is what I would recommend. If your flight is on time, it is likely to be 2:30 before you get the van and all. I'd just hang close to the airport until your other parties arrive and then swoop by the terminal they arrive in and pick them up. Cell phones would ease this a lot. The security folks won't let you hang out at the terminal pick-up areas long. There are "cell phone" waiting lots at both major roads into the airport, if you want to wait there.

 

Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

 

Also, when arriving in Galveston Sunday morning, I was planning on dropping everyone off at the terminal then returning the van. Is the rental place close by? I thought I saw that Enterprise is in terminal 1 while RCI is in terminal 2. Is that so? Can I walk back?

 

Again a bit confused. IAH has 5 terminals, A through E. You can drop off your group of 4, return the van, and then you and DD with your luggage can take the Enterprise van/bus to your terminal. Allow an hour or so for this, probably (not including driving time from the cruise terminal to IAH.

[hughdm]

When returning, another thing you might do is to drop your luggage off with a SkyCap BEFORE you turn your van back in.

[Lorij91]

Sorry if I was not clear in my questions. My original thought was the possibility of completing the paperwork for the van, leaving our luggage in the van, then returning to the terminal, on foot, to meet the others in our party. There are some airports where the cars are right there in the airport and I was not sure how houston is situated. Obviously, if there is a need to take the shuttle, then I'll have to either 1. wait until the others are there and we all take the shuttle, or 2. DD and I get the van, then wait somewhere until I get a phone call from DS about where they are. Since I am not familiar with the roads around IAH, I'll have to mull this one over more. I would like to avoid having my DF have to do alot of walking/standing.

 

My last question related to the cruise terminal in Galveston, not the airport.

[hughdm]

I'm sorry. Reading back over my response, I DID sound a little brusque and I didn't mean to be. I apologize.

 

You could get the van and park in short term parking at the terminal your other party comes in through and await them where they'll come out of the secure area. The rental car places are 1-3 miles from the terminals. I don't remember where the Enterprise one is exactly. There are only 2 main roads in and out and I don't think you'd get lost. Are you all on the same airline? You could just wait for everyone, but with a couple of Seniors, if you had the van already, handing their luggage would be easier.

 

I'm still hazy on your return. Do you plan to park the van in Galveston while you cruise and then drive it back to IAH after debarking? A good place to park is EZCRUISE parking. It is only about 3 blocks from the pier. Here is a link to their on-line site where you can make a reservation. They fill up occasionally. http://www.ezcruiseparking.com/ Are your returning the van before embarking and then renting another to return to IAH? I didn't know there was an Enterprise rental place in the cruise terminal, but the terminal is not huge.

[Lorij91]

No offense taken. Sometimes what I type doesn't match what I'm asking... LOL:eek:

 

Now that I see that the rental places are not right at the airport, I think the best bet would be to park in short term parking unless my DS has called to say they are there before then. DD and I are flying from east coast and the other's are flying in from west coast. I'll need to check with DS to see what airline and flight they are taking, then I can check the status boards as we leave to see which terminal to meet them in.

 

We all fly in on 6/16. We are staying just outside of Kemah that night and then returning the van when we all board Rhapsondy on Sunday, the 17th. I have another separate reservation for the 24th when we return to get everyone back up to IAH. My reservation confirmations say 5919 Broadway Street in Galveston. I was hoping that was the one at the terminal, but I guess that is Harborside Drive..... oh well, guess I'll just have to look it up on Google Maps and figger it out from there. :confused:

 

Thanks for your help.

[hughdm]

Broadway is a good 8-10 blocks south of Harborside, and 5919 is going to be about 2 miles west. Too far to walk, and some crummy areas, too.

[Lorij91]

Darn! Well guess I'll have to hop the shuttle back to the cruise terminal.

Thanks for your input, it has helped clarify my plans. Family will think I'm wonderfully smart and organized *wink*wink*. They don't know I have just great help from all you on the boards..... :cool:

[BeachBumMama]

Just wanted to add my own little note as we just returned from an NCL Dream cruise out of LaPorte. As you've gathered, the rental car place at IAH is one area with ALL rental car companies that you get a shuttle to. I'd suggest getting your rental car, and by that time, or close to it, your other party should be in and either park in short term I suppose, or I don't see why you couldn't just pick them up at the outside of their baggage claim. You could wait at rental car place until they call you on cell when their plane lands? Something to that effect.

 

But most important, I wanted to tell you to think about the luggage everyone is bringing. We had 6 people also. Requested of course a mini van that sat 7 passengers, and it did, however we hadn't even thought of the luggage. 6 people at 2 bags each was 12 bags. Plus carryon's and such we ended up with 18 bags!:eek: Of course you are talking me (a woman who consistently overpacks) 2 daughters in young twenties, one of which had an entire suitcase full of shoes, so we're talking mostly full size suitcases.

 

On their website and talking with them I didn't see any large SUV's and the person I spoke with suggested sticking with the minivan. However, when we got there they had a Nisson Armada, an SUV, that looked to have more space for luggage so we switched to that for an extra $7.00. Even still, we had suitcases packed so tight in there that the back seat was only fit for my daughter to squeeze into and my hubby had to be careful when taking turns and stopping or suitcases would have surely injured us!

 

However, I couldn't call and request this for our return trip because who I had to book through in Seaport (for the LaPorte cruise terminal) was closed on weekends. So, when we returned we were given a minivan. My daughter and her boyfriend ended up sitting on each others lap in the tiny space of what we could salvage in the very back seat! We joked that next time we would have to get a utility van, but only half joked as that probably would have worked better.

 

So, just wanted you to keep this in mind as we didn't, and I hadn't even given it a thought. I don't know all the ages of your group or size but if a larger SUV is available it might be a better option. You could call the company and see exactly what is available that would sit everyone in comfort.:)

 

Have a great time!

[Lorij91]

Thanks for the tip. We will have 6 people, but I'm thinking each will only bring one bag and one carryon. At least that is what they all brought when they came east to visit last year, and that's what DD and I are planning.... You make a good point, though. I"ll have to call my sis and find out what they are planning.

Lori