Sailing from Galveston

[travel girl23]

#1 No massive traffic jams

#2 Friendly locals

#3 Fair prices for food, hotels and bars

#4 Water is clean, but brown because there is no SAND bottom to reflect and the silt comes from the Mississippi (yeah, it is hundreds of miles away, but water flows)

#5 The Strand

#6 Moody Gardens

#7 The Galvez

#8 tons of Texans onboard, friendly and smiling, very few 'attitude' passengers that you can get from 'some' regions of this fine country

 

and cruise ships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You hit it right on!!!!

[barbmac]

Funny! - no offense but this is why I take "reviews" for the perverbial grain of salt. I've cruised out of Miami, FTL, New Orleans and Galveston and I'd take Galveston ANY TIME!

 

Miami is god forsaken if you look around. New Orleans has issues and is no place for the kids to be with you, Fort Lauderdale is nice but is still congested, tourist trap South Florida. My wife and I and all three of our kids generally loved Galveston. We're from a generally snooty part of New England but found Galveston refreshing - To me, it was a blue collar, non-pretentious beach town - AND THAT'S WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT IT! We stayed at the Marriot which was fine but there were any number of satisfactory places on the Seawall. The Strand was GREAT. Not crowded, lots of mom and pop storefronts - a great Army/Navy store to just hang out in and look around and a good, solid variety of food at reasonable prices. The people were much nicer than they are in South Florida or New England for that matter. There were oil wells in the distance and the water in the harbor was silty. And.....??? If you look at where the harbor is geographically, it's to be expected! The beachfront was just fine and the hurricane history was interesting, even to my kids. We felt very safe (more than I can say for Miami) and we think it was. If we could find another cruise we wanted out of Galveston (a different one) we'd do it again in an instant!

 

I would guess people who like Disney, casinos, shopping malls, South Beach....they wouldn't like Galveston. Folks who like American history, old fashioned beach resorts, drive in restaurants, dinner without reservations and good old folks.....they'll be fine with Galveston.

 

Thanks for the kind comments about the city to our south. The water may be cloudy, but it has a small town feel and we love our island. It may not be the Emerald Coast, but it's all we have.

 

When the weather cooperates, the Gulf is usually smooth sailing:rolleyes:

[hillbillycruisers]

Weve sailed out of Galveston twice and enjoyed it both times, although the last time the seas were so rough we had to skip progresso and go directly to cozumel..where we were able to spend the night...which was FUN!!! we both really enjoy sightseeing in Galveston and there are some nice restraunts too...on our next cruise this Dec. we are going down an extra day early just so we can see more of the city.. :)

[txskier]

If anyone's first visit to Galveston is the Harborside exit straight down to the cruise terminal.....yeah, I would be disappointed too.

Look beyond that short drive and Galveston has a lot to offer.

 

If anyone reading this thread is driving in for departure only, do yourself a favor and do not exit Harborside. Travel in on Broadway and turn left on 21st St to the terminal.....you will see a different Galveston from your vehicle.

 

One might think with a street named "Harborside" that there is something picturesque....but it really isn't....it is industrial

 

Take a carriage tour through the Strand..(if time permits)..ask you driver to give you history of the island.

[SheriNtexas]

i've sailed out of Galveston 6 times, and I drive 9 hours to get there. While I think the beach is kinda yucky, all that seaweed and trash, that can't be helped. I didn't like the yucky seaweed stuff when I was in Italy either!:D Every town has it's "good and bad" stuff, but I personally love Galveston. One day i hope to take some extra time before a cruise to go to the museums and really be a tourist! Hard to do that when you are jumping on a cruise ship!:D If i lived closer, i would go there a LOT! Yep, the water is yucky, but be patient, and you will see that beautiful blue water! Love seeing the dolphins!

[Mike45]

Thanks to everyone for info about Galveston. How far is the airport from the cruise terminal?

[CanTex]

Thanks to everyone for info about Galveston. How far is the airport from the cruise terminal?

It's 71 miles from IAH to the cruise terminal. Here's the route from Google Maps:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...,1.279907&z=10

 

And 42 miles from HOU (Hobby) to the cruise terminal:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...7&ie=UTF8&z=11

[dmdiver]

Galveston is fine. I've sailed out of there twice - no issues. I've vacationed there as well. The beach was not my favorite due to all the seaweed. Moody Gardens is cool, just walking around town is fun, too. Deep sea fishing was also enjoyable there.