Galveston Cruisers: Airport Transfer ???

[tlynk]

For those of you who are cruising out of Galveston how are you getting from the airport to the port area? We are currently using DCL transfers which are very economical, but since we are flying in 2 days prior to the cruise Disney said we have to book a hotel through them in order to use the transfer from the airport to the hotel. We are thinking of staying at a non Disney sponsored hotel and will need transportation from IAH to Galveston. Any suggestions?

 

[lucky1]

For those of you who are cruising out of Galveston how are you getting from the airport to the port area? We are currently using DCL transfers which are very economical, but since we are flying in 2 days prior to the cruise Disney said we have to book a hotel through them in order to use the transfer from the airport to the hotel. We are thinking of staying at a non Disney sponsored hotel and will need transportation from IAH to Galveston. Any suggestions?

Hmm we are flying in the night before and going back to the airport in the morning to take the transportation. What hotel options did they give you?

 

[Arkum]

How many of you will be traveling? We contacted a private company for a van shuttle for 11 people. Do a search on Google with transportation from IAH to Galveston. We just asked for quotes from several and went with the cheapest. Transgates Limousines had a great price as well as Galveston Limousines. For our party, it was cheaper to book a 15 passenger van with a trailer for luggage. We ended up reserving L.J. Courmier from Texas cruise ship shuttles. Good luck!

 

[deputymama]

I'm confused. I think. Can't you just use the hotel transportation to get from the airport to the hotel and then back to the airport to catch the shuttle to the boat? You're staying near IAH right?


My plan was to fly in Thursday. Stay at a Holiday Inn near the airport have their shuttle come get us (or maybe rent a car) and then go back to the airport on Saturday to get on the shuttle transfer to the boat.

 

[Arkum]

I'm confused. I think. Can't you just use the hotel transportation to get from the airport to the hotel and then back to the airport to catch the shuttle to the boat? You're staying near IAH right?

My plan was to fly in Thursday. Stay at a Holiday Inn near the airport have their shuttle come get us (or maybe rent a car) and then go back to the airport on Saturday to get on the shuttle transfer to the boat.

If we were staying in Houston, this is most definitely what we would have done! Disney transports make the most sense for small groups. For our size, we saved money using a private shuttle so we opted to stay in Galveston the night before.

 

[Luv2Diz]

We've cruised out of Galveston twice. Both times we flew in the night before, stayed at a motel that we chose, and took the motel's shuttle back to the airport the morning of the cruise. We took DCL transfers from the airport to the port and back again after the cruise.

 

[geekboy]

I have cruised from Galveston on the 7-Night Western and 6-Night Western on the Magic. I stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton at Hobby Airport each time. I took the hotel's shuttle to the airport and then checked-in for Disney transfers on level 1 baggage claim! (They now have an actual desk next to the car rental companies on level 1!).

It's a nice short (45-minute) ride form Hobby to the port. I could not imagine what traffic could be like leaving from IAH (Houston Intercontinental). For a single traveler, the port transfers are the cheapest way.

If you actually look up the Disney transfers, they do allow just "airport" to "port" and back. http://www.disneywebcontent.com/dcc/1724/fb6b651c69f28210vgnvcm100000d864a8c0rcrd/

You do not need to book your hotel stay through Disney. What the Disney CM was referring to, was the 2 hotels that Disney uses for pre-departure and post-departure stays. If you want to stay in Galveston before and/or after the cruise, the transportation does become more problematic and it is probably better to use the Disney transportation and hotel(s).

 

[Arkum]

I have cruised from Galveston on the 7-Night Western and 6-Night Western on the Magic. I stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton at Hobby Airport each time. I took the hotel's shuttle to the airport and then checked-in for Disney transfers on level 1 baggage claim! (They now have an actual desk next to the car rental companies on level 1!).

It's a nice short (45-minute) ride form Hobby to the port. I could not imagine what traffic could be like leaving from IAH (Houston Intercontinental). For a single traveler, the port transfers are the cheapest way.

If you actually look up the Disney transfers, they do allow just "airport" to "port" and back. http://www.disneywebcontent.com/dcc/1724/fb6b651c69f28210vgnvcm100000d864a8c0rcrd/

You do not need to book your hotel stay through Disney. What the Disney CM was referring to, was the 2 hotels that Disney uses for pre-departure and post-departure stays. If you want to stay in Galveston before and/or after the cruise, the transportation does become more problematic and it is probably better to use the Disney transportation and hotel(s).

Unfortunately, Disney no longer has transportation from Hobby.

 

[geekboy]

Unfortunately, Disney no longer has transportation from Hobby.

I just noticed that on their page. I guess the cost was not worth it. I did notice that the cost looks like it went up to $90/pp round trip from IAH.

(They should update their page since they still mention Houston Hobby Airport.)

 

[BAIC03]

We are booking ourselves at the Marriott at IAH. We get a better rate booking ourselves and Disney will still pick us up. We are flying in the day before as well.

 

[Arkum]

I wonder when their pricing jumped up? $30 extra per person is a huge difference! At $90 per person I would be looking into other options as it may be cheaper ( if you have 3 or more) and you can be picked up and headed straight for the port instead of waiting for a bus to fill up and be on their timeline.

 

[*Flower*]

We used SuperShuttle from HH to Galveston. We'd wanted to use DCL transportation but didn't like the idea of having to use 'Disney' accommodations to get the transportation. So we did airport to port on our own and used DCL transportation from the port to the airport on the way home after the cruise.

SuperShuttle did cost around $110 for 2, but that worked out to $55 per person not including a small discount that I found online. Cost also didn't include tip- which we were generous with because he kept us entertained for the whole trip (in pretty steady rain) and didn't scare me once on the road. And dropped us off at the hotel entrance that he could get to (Galveston had a lot of the hotel parking area roped off for some sort of festival the next day) and took care of all of our luggage to boot.

HTH!

 

[61maris61]

We're doing an Oct 19 cruise on Wonder. We wanted to fly into Hobby but couldn't find a decent price for transfers (2 adults and a 4 yr old), so we booked transfers and a one night hotel stay through Disney. Disney only offers 2 hotel choices: one near Bush International, one in Galveston (Hotel Galvez). The hotel isn't cheap, but with our 4 yr old DGD it seemed the best option for us.

When I looked into transfers from Hobby, prices were quite high due to the recent hike in gas prices.

 

[tlynk]

Thank you for the ideas. DH wants me to keep my ressie as is using DCL transfers. If he changes his mind- I might look into Supershuttle though. Thanks again!

 

[scherpea]

If we were staying in Houston, this is most definitely what we would have done! Disney transports make the most sense for small groups. For our size, we saved money using a private shuttle so we opted to stay in Galveston the night before.

How much did you end up paying for the shuttle..DCL qouted me $90.00 per person for my family of 4. That seems a bit steep. Can I get a better deal than that?

 

[scrapshappen]

We are staying with family the night before our cruise and having them take us to IAH in them morning to catch the shuttle. We added that to our reservation less than a month ago and it was $30 per person for our family of 4 one way. (My brother is picking us up in Galveston after the cruise so we can site see on that side of town.)

 

[hudson3709]

We are staying by IAH before and shuttle to airport for Disney Transfers but we are staying a night in Galveston after and booked with a local Limo company. There are tons of limo companies out there with lots of different size vehicles. Much cheaper than paying Disney's hotel rates.

 

[sullins5]

Transportation for us wound up being a big deal also. We're actually flying into Houston Hobby and no Disney transfers. Cheapest thing so far wound up being to rent a car for 8 nights at 200. And our hotel has arranged free parking at their sister hotel.

Good luck and have a fun cruise!