The San Luis Resort, Galveston, yeah or nah?

[undertheradar]

We are sailing out of Galveston in December. We are a total of 5, so we will need 2 rooms. Driving down, so parking during cruise is important. Where would you stay? We need 1 room for 3, hope for 3 beds, and 1 room for 2, hoping a king. Looking for parking during cruise and shuttle to and from port.

 

[undertheradar]

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm not sure who has the park & cruise deals. There's parking at the port as well as offsite parking. I'm sure those aren't too expensive. In terms of hotels in general, San Luis would not be my first choice. I live about 20-30 minutes from Galveston. We go there frequently. (Season passholders at Schlitterbahn....I've been averaging 2x/week for a while now.) I've stayed in the Hilton twice and can say from experience that it's very nice. The rooms are spacious and very comfortable. The Rainforest Cafe with the raft ride in it is right next door. It's a walk across the parking lot. The pool is decent, too. If you want a great pool experience you need to look at the Moody Gardens hotel/resort. For your needs I would say not to go with Hotel Galvez as it's a historic hotel so the rooms naturally will be smaller. For convenience I'd look at Harbor House. There's several restaurants right there. In fact, DH & I had our weekly date night dinner at the Olympia Grill in the bottom of Harbor House less than 2 weeks ago. VERY good. There's a Starbucks across the street and the Strand is within a couple blocks walking. Lots of neat stuff on the The Strand. In November 2016 a dear friend of mine is flying in and we're all sailing the Wonder out of Galveston. I'm going to book us all at the Harbor House because I feel like it's the best option. Obviously we'll have a car, etc. too.

 

[Huskiesrule]

Not sure you are going to find a room with 3 beds unless you are talking a trundle type or maybe a suite? There are many hotels in Galveston that offer parking and transportation to the ship. There is an old thread on here about all things Galveston or you could try looking info up on Galveston.com

 

[undertheradar]

Thanks all. We are a total of 5, with the youngest being two 17 year olds. The drive is roughly 10 1/2 hours and trying to get rooms within close range of the port. Hoping to park on arrival and not use the car until the cruise is over. DCL is booking the San Luis, so our TA listed it as a possible option. Does Harbor House have parking, there is not much information in the website.

 

[MUN]

We are sailing out of Galveston in December. We are a total of 5, so we will need 2 rooms. Driving down, so parking during cruise is important. Where would you stay? We need 1 room for 3, hope for 3 beds, and 1 room for 2, hoping a king. Looking for parking during cruise and shuttle to and from port.

Spring Hill Suites will hold 5. I don't think they have a park and ride, but you can take a cab to the port.

MUN

 

[gumbypee]

i am cheap and would check travelocity and stay at a Days Inn or something LOL

parking wasnt too bad for a 7 night cruise at the port btw

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Thanks all. We are a total of 5, with the youngest being two 17 year olds. The drive is roughly 10 1/2 hours and trying to get rooms within close range of the port. Hoping to park on arrival and not use the car until the cruise is over. DCL is booking the San Luis, so our TA listed it as a possible option. Does Harbor House have parking, there is not much information in the website.

The cruise terminal is super close to the Harbor House. Like walking distance. The equivalent of a couple blocks. It's a viable option. In turn, I think you could park your car in one of the terminal on-site lots and be done. So drop your family & all the luggage at the hotel, you go park, then walk back to join them. It's all very close, very walkable. Promise.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

If you look at this picture you see the Harbor House on the upper right. The white rectangle building on the left on the water is the building DCL used for their terminal before. I'm assuming that's the one they're still using. Now, in the middle do you see where Rosenburg crosses Harborside Drive? At that intersection you see a "P". That corner across from it is a parking garage for cruises. Also, further out of frame to the left but on the terminal side of Harborside is more parking. You may have to park at the hotel overnight then move to a cruise lot. Either way, you're riiiiiiiight there. When I checked to get an idea how much Harbor House would be for comparable dates to ours in 2016 (friends coming from out of town) I thought they were very reasonable. I think they have a breakfast, too.

 

[dittymau]

It was 2012, but the Hilton was nice, not close to the port, but they provided free parking for the cruise, and shuttle to the port, also a nice pool and amenities if you spend a day there...

 

[undertheradar]

Thanks for all of the info. We are trying to narrow down plans and looking for all of the tips we can get.

 

[JenPinks]

Does anyone know if they provide security at the port parking lot?

 

[disneyluvnmom]

Are you just driving in the day/night before cruise? This is what we are doing, so amenities don't really matter to me at the hotel. We are driving to Galveston for our cruise in Nov. We won't leave until after school on Thursday so will be getting there after 8. Therefore I just found a cheap rate at Red Roof Inn, since we will just be sleeping there, getting up for breakfast and going to port. We are using www.ezcruiseparking.com to park near terminal. This place has good reviews. It was cheaper for us to get a cheap rate at Red Roof Inn + parking at terminal than the price for a hotel that offered cruise and park. And you don't have to wait for your hotel shuttle when you get off the ship.

These are the current promotional codes. (reg online price $65)

7 day cruise promo codes

$15 off parking and shuttle
promo code (2015)
$20 off park n walk (NO SHUTTLE)
promo code (20parkwalk)

 

[NewRVLady]

I would NOT stay that close to the port
Historic Downtown Galveston is really "iffy"(-only would park in a secure parking lot-ORstay like at Hilton where they let you leave car and schuttle you to ship

I would think San Luis is more expensive than the Hilton?

 

[crazyboutmickey]

We are also cruising from Galveston but in November. We have been looking at parking options also for the week and wondering if it is better to park at the port of galveston lot. What is the difference using the ezcruiseparking mentioned above versus with going with the port specific parking lots seen on the port of galveston website? Hope this question makes sense and thanks for all the help. I don't post much but do love to lurk!

 

[sambycat]

not sure if this applies, but we are cruising in november and have cruised once out of galveston. we are using the hotel galvez, friends stayed there last year, and they have cruise and park packages that worked well for friends and we think it's going to be great this year! glaveston as a port, especially in winter, has a lot of fog and weather conditions can impact cruise ships getting in and out of the harbor. two years ago, we were delays returning several hours. if you are parking at a park and ride (which we did the first time and had no issues parking), depending on the cruise conditions coming in, you could be in trouble for a parking place. our cruise was several HOURS delayed returning to glaveston (we were just sitting in the gulf until after lunchtime when they had finally moved ships in and out). glaveston was standing traffic of other cruisers waiting to park in the reserved spots people like us were still in. gave us food for thought besides the usual, normal potential for cruises not being on time? and apparently, we weren't the only DCL cruise that was delayed, it happens pretty often and other cruise lines leave out of there as well. for piece of mind, definitely find a hotel that offers cruise and park!