All Things Galveston (Updated parking - 4/7)

[bwallace]

I used BOI Valet last week and it was great.

Dropped off the family and the bags and was at BOI in just a couple of minutes. Gave him my last name and keys and he gave me a claim ticket.

the walk to the terminal is maybe 300 yards. Cross the street in front of Terminal 1 go left 100 yards to Terminal 2. It was less than 10 minutes from dropping the family and bags at the terminal to rejoining them after parking.

On getting back, I called as soon as we cleared customs and the car was waiting for me when i got there. back at the terminal in a couple of minutes with the bags waiting at the curb.

May not be fun to walk in the rain, but the area to unload bags at the terminal is covered, unlike most of the shuttle lots. If you drop your bags first and then one person parks and walks, it is very easy.

Not that we will ever sail out of Galveston again unless Disney comes back, but I would definitely use BOI again.

[mom2val]

Originally Posted by mareed

Regarding BOI Parking - Did the owner say how you were supposed to find him to have him park your car? When we were scoping out parking in person last month, we were driving around there looking for his address and talking to him on the phone and still couldn't find where it was. He kept saying that "he'd be there waiting for the car when it was actually time to park", but it was just too weird for me given an address that I couldn't find when it should have been right in front of me, so we went with Lighthouse parking instead.

We used BOI Dec 1 and yes it is hard to find if you have never used them . There is no sign anywhere that I could see. When I booked online i printed out the confirmation and it had directions on it how to find them. We followed them exactly-- without them I never would have believed that what looked like an abandoned building was a parking garage. That being said we were happy with service and would use them again.

[Mommy2Emmy]

Ok, I'll admit I didn't read this whole thread! Can anyone give a recommendation of a good restaurant in Galveston for the night before our cruise? We enjoy fine dining, but will have our DD4 with us (she's usually well behaved, but she IS 4)! We will be driving in, so any where in town is fine! Thanks!

[cnonnahs]

We are flying into IAH the night before our cruise and staying in a hotel close to the airport. We have reserved Disney transportation for the following morning to the port. What time should we return to the airport to get to the port as early as possible? Will we be taking a limo service or a motor coach?
TIA!

[wallawallakids]

Hello! I was hoping someone familiar with the TX area could help us out. We have never been to TX so we are really unsure about what to do. We are flying into IAH the night before our cruise (actually 12am on the day of our cruise! ). I have that night booked at the springhill suites as they have a free shuttle from the airport and a room that sleeps 6. After that is where the confusion comes in. I don't know if we should just do the Disney transfers to the port or hire a town car. There is no real affordable option for a party of 6. A rental car (minivan) is over 600 for the week and a one way rental seems impossible. Furthermore, I don't know what to do for the day we get off the ship. We do not fly out until 3 pm the next day. I called Disney and they can put us in two rooms at the hotel Galvez but they can't "guarantee connecting rooms" They can only request it. I have read mixed reviews about this hotel on travelocity and I am worried it isn't really kid friendly. Also, we won't have a car so can we walk anywhere? Is there enough for 4 kids to do in that area? Or should I take a town car back to Houston for the day? I saw there is an Embassy suites in Downtown Houston. Is that a nice area? All 6 of us will fit into one room there and I saw that there is a children's museum and zoo. Of course, this requires a third town car to take us back to the airport the following day. I am so confused and starting to regret picking Galveston as our first port to cruise from just because the transfers/ where to stay before and after seem so hard. Any help would be VERY appreciated. Thank you!

[wallawallakids]

Also, does anyone know what Disney uses for the transfers? Are they big busses like Magical Express? Thanks.

[jlynch924]

Originally Posted by Mommy2Emmy

Ok, I'll admit I didn't read this whole thread! Can anyone give a recommendation of a good restaurant in Galveston for the night before our cruise? We enjoy fine dining, but will have our DD4 with us (she's usually well behaved, but she IS 4)! We will be driving in, so any where in town is fine! Thanks!

We ate at Cajun Greek last night. Relaxed atmosphere. Yummy food. There's a kid's menu, too. It's on 61st.

[wallawallakids]

I just called Disney about the transfers. Is it true that there is a third charge from the port to the Hotel Galvez even if you book though them? They just quoted me 90pp? I thought the Hotel Galvez had a free shuttle? If you book though Disney are you taking a different transfer? It is only 1 mile away, right? So 30 more x 6 seems high for a port to hotel transfer. Just wondering if anyone else got quoted that or if it was just the person I spoke to on the phone today. The quote total would be 90 pp for all transfers.

[ekatiel]

Originally Posted by wallawallakids

Hello! I was hoping someone familiar with the TX area could help us out. We have never been to TX so we are really unsure about what to do. We are flying into IAH the night before our cruise (actually 12am on the day of our cruise! ). I have that night booked at the springhill suites as they have a free shuttle from the airport and a room that sleeps 6. After that is where the confusion comes in. I don't know if we should just do the Disney transfers to the port or hire a town car. There is no real affordable option for a party of 6. A rental car (minivan) is over 600 for the week and a one way rental seems impossible. Furthermore, I don't know what to do for the day we get off the ship. We do not fly out until 3 pm the next day. I called Disney and they can put us in two rooms at the hotel Galvez but they can't "guarantee connecting rooms" They can only request it. I have read mixed reviews about this hotel on travelocity and I am worried it isn't really kid friendly. Also, we won't have a car so can we walk anywhere? Is there enough for 4 kids to do in that area? Or should I take a town car back to Houston for the day? I saw there is an Embassy suites in Downtown Houston. Is that a nice area? All 6 of us will fit into one room there and I saw that there is a children's museum and zoo. Of course, this requires a third town car to take us back to the airport the following day. I am so confused and starting to regret picking Galveston as our first port to cruise from just because the transfers/ where to stay before and after seem so hard. Any help would be VERY appreciated. Thank you!

Try super shuttle for transfers. I am getting a quote of $352 round trip (to and from the cruise terminal from IAH) for a van holding up to 10 people. If you won't have a car, I'd recommend staying at Moody Gardens Hotel http://www.moodygardenshotel.com/. They have a cruise shuttle, and there is a lot to do there. Moody Gardens has a rainforest pyramid, an aquarium, a 3-D imax, and several other attractions http://www.moodygardens.com/. Schlitterbahn waterpark (which has an indoor portion that is open weekends most of the year) is also with in walking distance http://www.schlitterbahn.com/gal/. --Katie

[threewilmingtonwalls]

Originally Posted by wallawallakids

I just called Disney about the transfers. Is it true that there is a third charge from the port to the Hotel Galvez even if you book though them? They just quoted me 90pp? I thought the Hotel Galvez had a free shuttle? If you book though Disney are you taking a different transfer? It is only 1 mile away, right? So 30 more x 6 seems high for a port to hotel transfer. Just wondering if anyone else got quoted that or if it was just the person I spoke to on the phone today. The quote total would be 90 pp for all transfers.

I had the same problem but I was finally able to explain to the DCL agent that this could not possibly be correct. She kept quoting me full transfer price of $90 from the hotel to the port, until I asked her to explain how one mile costs the same as 80 miles. As I understand it (and have booked for my own family, but sort of in reverse), you set up the shuttle between the Hotel Galvez and the port yourself. It is a free transfer for hotel guests. Then your DCL transfer will take you to the airport. (From the hotel? Or would you have to ride back to the port? This I don't know.)

So, I booked the Hotel Galvez for one night before the cruise. We don't qualify to add the DCL transfer from the airport because I booked the hotel myself using AAA. (BTW, doing so got me a suite for the price of a regular room.) We will have a town car drive us from the airport to the hotel, then the next morning we will take the shuttle from the Galvez to the port at no charge (we will reserve our shuttle spot though the concierge desk.) When we disembark, a DCL transfer will take us directly back to the airport.

Long-winded, but I hope this helps! :-)

[wallawallakids]

Originally Posted by threewilmingtonwalls

I had the same problem but I was finally able to explain to the DCL agent that this could not possibly be correct. She kept quoting me full transfer price of $90 from the hotel to the port, until I asked her to explain how one mile costs the same as 80 miles. As I understand it (and have booked for my own family, but sort of in reverse), you set up the shuttle between the Hotel Galvez and the port yourself. It is a free transfer for hotel guests. Then your DCL transfer will take you to the airport. (From the hotel? Or would you have to ride back to the port? This I don't know.)

So, I booked the Hotel Galvez for one night before the cruise. We don't qualify to add the DCL transfer from the airport because I booked the hotel myself using AAA. (BTW, doing so got me a suite for the price of a regular room.) We will have a town car drive us from the airport to the hotel, then the next morning we will take the shuttle from the Galvez to the port at no charge (we will reserve our shuttle spot though the concierge desk.) When we disembark, a DCL transfer will take us directly back to the airport.

Long-winded, but I hope this helps! :-)

Yes! It does. Thank you.

[Keyser]

Originally Posted by ekatiel

Try super shuttle for transfers. I am getting a quote of $352 round trip (to and from the cruise terminal from IAH) for a van holding up to 10 people. If you won't have a car, I'd recommend staying at Moody Gardens Hotel http://www.moodygardenshotel.com/. They have a cruise shuttle, and there is a lot to do there. Moody Gardens has a rainforest pyramid, an aquarium, a 3-D imax, and several other attractions http://www.moodygardens.com/. Schlitterbahn waterpark (which has an indoor portion that is open weekends most of the year) is also with in walking distance http://www.schlitterbahn.com/gal/. --Katie

I just wanted to second these recommendations. Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn are both good options for things to do in Galveston. If you did have a car, I might recommend visiting NASA (basically in between Galveston and Houston) as an option on the extra day.

Houston itself has plenty to do (it is the 4th biggest city in the US after all)): there are good museums, a zoo, an aquarium, several good shopping areas, lots of restaurants (seriously - a wide range of types of food, most of it very good). But, it's notreally a very tourist-friendly place, overall. I would recommend against staying downtown. About the only reason I can think of to stay downtown is if you are there for business or you maybe if you are going to a show/game located there. It's a business area, not a tourist/residential area. There are other areas that are much better places to stay, but they're not "special" in a way that I'd recommend making an effort to stay there.

For transportation, the minivan rate seems a little high (I think you can find them under $500 sometimes - just did a check and saw a rate from Advantage that was $471 for a week, including all the fees). But, the cheapest option might be the van/limo/etc. services. Some of the limo services are cheaper than you might guess - at least worth checking on.

[wallawallakids]

Originally Posted by Keyser

I just wanted to second these recommendations. Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn are both good options for things to do in Galveston. If you did have a car, I might recommend visiting NASA (basically in between Galveston and Houston) as an option on the extra day.

Houston itself has plenty to do (it is the 4th biggest city in the US after all)): there are good museums, a zoo, an aquarium, several good shopping areas, lots of restaurants (seriously - a wide range of types of food, most of it very good). But, it's notreally a very tourist-friendly place, overall. I would recommend against staying downtown. About the only reason I can think of to stay downtown is if you are there for business or you maybe if you are going to a show/game located there. It's a business area, not a tourist/residential area. There are other areas that are much better places to stay, but they're not "special" in a way that I'd recommend making an effort to stay there.

For transportation, the minivan rate seems a little high (I think you can find them under $500 sometimes - just did a check and saw a rate from Advantage that was $471 for a week, including all the fees). But, the cheapest option might be the van/limo/etc. services. Some of the limo services are cheaper than you might guess - at least worth checking on.

Thank you. Sounds like downtown is not the way to go! I am going to look into the advantage rate. Maybe the price has dropped (which would be excellent). My son would love NASA if we could get a car that would be nice for him. Moody Gardens sounds really interesting as well. Thank you for the help.

[Pocahantas]

Originally Posted by bwallace

I used BOI Valet last week and it was great.

Dropped off the family and the bags and was at BOI in just a couple of minutes. Gave him my last name and keys and he gave me a claim ticket.

the walk to the terminal is maybe 300 yards. Cross the street in front of Terminal 1 go left 100 yards to Terminal 2. It was less than 10 minutes from dropping the family and bags at the terminal to rejoining them after parking.

On getting back, I called as soon as we cleared customs and the car was waiting for me when i got there. back at the terminal in a couple of minutes with the bags waiting at the curb.

May not be fun to walk in the rain, but the area to unload bags at the terminal is covered, unlike most of the shuttle lots. If you drop your bags first and then one person parks and walks, it is very easy.

Not that we will ever sail out of Galveston again unless Disney comes back, but I would definitely use BOI again.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I just booked them for our February 9th cruise.

[Yvet]

Bump