Grand Princess - Is 12:10 Flight Houston Hobby too early?

[dig21]

Is a 12:10 Flight out of Houston Hobby to early? I just called Galveston Limo and the reservation agent that I spoke to said I would never make 12:10 flight due do all the traffic. I have read on these boards that others have made early flights but I am getting worried since the reservation agent at Galveston Limousine was so adamant that we would not make it. I am willing to book private transportation if it will help us to make our flight.

[Set-to-Sail]

We had booked Princess transfers for our Grand Princess trip 24 Feb - with a 12:55 flight out of George Bush (IAH)on Mar 3. We were advised by Princess that the flight was too early for their transfer.... When we boarded we opted for Express disembarkation - sign up for it ASAP after boarding and you are assigned a number. This means that you carry your own luggage off the ship and are the first passengers to disembark as you have your own transportation arrangements. We had a limo booked for 9:00 am - we were waiting at the curb by 8:10! (They started disembarkation at 7 am!) - we arrived at the airport at 10:40 am. Traffic was not a problem (on that day at least). Word of warning - other passengers who had previously sailed this itinerary said they had experienced a later arrival/disembarkation onset due to weather.

[MercedMike]

We were on Grand Princess a few months ago. (read our trip report at

The Halls Western Caribbean Cruise) Our experience was that there were LOTS of people signed up for the Walk Off Express Disembarkation. They assigned numbers and called 100 at a time. They began disembarkation promptly at 7:15 and by 8:15 over 600 numbers had been called. Then regular disembarkation was called. The lines at customs were horrendous and it was basically an hour after we left the ship that we were ready to depart the port. It took about an hour and a half to get to the airport in relatively light traffic. All the airlines advise arriving at the airport an hour and a half before your flight. But that was when EVERYTHING went right. If any little thing had gone wrong along the line we would have been later.

 

 

SOOO -- you do the math. Off the plane at 8:15, in the limo by 9:15, at the airport by 10:45 if everything is perfect -- really close!! I think the Limo company would jump at the chance for the business if they thought there was a good chance you could make the flight. It would be way too risky for me.

[wrongwaywatson]

On March 10th we were off the ship, thru customs, standing by the side of the curb waiting for our hotel shuttle to pick us up and take us back to the hotel to retrieve our car. It was 8:15 am! We did walk off disembarkation and had the number 475, so we weren't in the first groups off. They do call the numbers 100 at a time, but it moved very quickly for us.

[Michele M]

I used Galveston Limo on March 3rd. We did the express disembark and were off the ship before 8am. We had to wait on the shuttle for more people but were on our way by 9am. We were very early for our 12:20 flight. By the way Galveston limo told us the same thing about the flight out of Hobby being too early. I told them it would be fine and it was. They probably need to cover themselves in case of any unforseen delays.

[bhopal21]

We used the Princess bus transfer last month and had a good 90 minutes (or more) to kill at Hobby before our 1pm flight.

 

Mike:)

[BeachLover]

Are cabs available at the port and how much would they charge to go to Hobby? If you book with Galveston Limo and have to wait for them to arrive, wouldn't it be quicker (if time is that tight) to just get a cab?

[piper28]

When we got back on Feb 24, it was definitely anything but smooth sailing. I think the answer is basically it depends. Disembarking was terrible, and was halted at times, one of those times it was probably an hour before they started calling more people. Lots of people doing express disembark (I was honestly surprised at the number). On that day, no way you'd make 12:10. Other days maybe it'd be fine.

[spongerob]

You can make it if you arrange for self-disembarkation (carry your own bags off) and have your own transportation to Hobby lined up, assuming of course that the ship is able to dock on time. Hobby is quite a bit closer than Intercontinental. It's about a 45 minute drive from Galveston. If all goes well you could be through Customs/Immigration before 8 AM, and easily be in Hobby by 9 AM.

 

If you go through normal disembarkation procedures, that flight is way too early. I wouldn't reserve anything before 1:30 PM under those conditions.