9/28/13. Disney Wonder 7 night Bahamian out of Galveston.

[tivo4me1]

OK, Texans, at the risk of starting an argument, I'd like some advice....

My wife, DD, sister and I will be arriving the night before the cruise, staying at a hotel somewhere near IAH/Bush for the evening (I'm considering the Doubletree, but other suggestions would be welcome), and was hoping to find some good Texas BBQ within a reasonable cab ride of the airport.

Any suggestions/warnings I should take into account?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rich from California

 

[WenInTexas]

My husband, mom, son and I will be on this cruise.
We had a MAGICal time in October 2012 on the DCL Magic also departing from the port of Galveston.

We signed up for the FE and hope to meet up on the ship in September!
~Wendy

 

[ukintheus]

OK, Texans, at the risk of starting an argument, I'd like some advice....

My wife, DD, sister and I will be arriving the night before the cruise, staying at a hotel somewhere near IAH/Bush for the evening (I'm considering the Doubletree, but other suggestions would be welcome), and was hoping to find some good Texas BBQ within a reasonable cab ride of the airport.

Any suggestions/warnings I should take into account?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rich from California

Hmmmmm. The area around IAH isn't the greatest and I can't think of a BBQ place that's right there but I'm not really familiar with that part of town (other than picking/dropping people off at the airport), so a cab ride, as you said, is probably going to be your best bet. I would say something in Humble (pronounced Umble locally) is going to be the closest and in a better area. There's a Pappas BBQ there. Pappas is a chain of restaurants in Texas, although they are more famed for their seafood and mexican food. Their quality of food is good, and their BBQ is along those same lines. "Good" Texas BBQ is of course all a matter of opinion. I think Goode Company is one of the best but you'll be hard pushed to get to one of their locations from the airport and of course everyone has their favorites.

Hopefully another local(ish) person has some other suggestions.

Here's a good website for finding local places if you are interested in looking for reviews http://www.b4-u-eat.com/ You'll be looking at the Kingwood/Humble area for closest to the airport.

I used the houstonyellowcab website to look up and see what a one way fare would be from the airport to Pappas BBQ and it's just under 7 miles and about $20.00. Hope that helps some!

 

[sullins5]

OK, Texans, at the risk of starting an argument, I'd like some advice....

and was hoping to find some good Texas BBQ within a reasonable cab ride of the airport.

Any suggestions/warnings I should take into account?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rich from California

Well? You could always take a detour, head over here to Memphis and sample our Corky's or Rendezvous.... I'm sorry...couldn't resist...we love our BBQ.. I'm sure there has got to be great BBQ in TX!

My husband, mom, son and I will be on this cruise.
We had a MAGICal time in October 2012 on the DCL Magic also departing from the port of Galveston.

We signed up for the FE and hope to meet up on the ship in September!
~Wendy

Looks like this cruise is almost all Texans. What fun we are all gonna have!

I used the houstonyellowcab website to look up and see what a one way fare would be from the airport to Pappas BBQ and it's just under 7 miles and about $20.00. Hope that helps some!

I tried to use that site to get the fare for Houston Hobby and Harbor House in Galveston. For some reason, it wasn't recognizing the addresses. Can I still assume that rate is about $100.00 each way for HOU to Galveston? Plus grat? I'm still trying to find transportation, or a rental car, and so far, a taxi is the cheapest way to go. Thanks for any helps!

 

[sullins5]

We don't have kids, but I would say that 75% of the people leaving the ship with children were heading to Atlantis!

My 24dd and I went to Atlantis back in '06 but more or less toured, so I think my dh and 14dd will love the aquarium and the aqua adventure. I already have the Comfort Suites booked, however, after being on the boards in the wee hours this morning, I made the mistake of reading a thread " Is Nassau safe?" or something like that. And now I'm wondering, "Do I need to be concerned with taking an independent taxi to CS? Or should I cancel and book Disney's excursion paying $300 more, but feeling safer (though a couple years ago, Disney's Segway Tours was robbed)". Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and I hate I read that thread now. Any perceptions on Nassau to share? On the taxis? Decisions..decisions...

 

[ukintheus]

I tried to use that site to get the fare for Houston Hobby and Harbor House in Galveston. For some reason, it wasn't recognizing the addresses. Can I still assume that rate is about $100.00 each way for HOU to Galveston? Plus grat? I'm still trying to find transportation, or a rental car, and so far, a taxi is the cheapest way to go. Thanks for any helps!

The address for the Harbor House is wierd, I couldn't make it work either. I used the address for Galveston Park N Cruise, which is only a block away, and it gave me a fare of $107.05, so I think the assumption of $100 reach way is about right, but if you tip on top of that, you're looking at a bit more. I know some people used Supershuttle for some of our previous cruises. I just did a quick search on their website and came up with $113.00 each way for a town car....just an option as it might be a bit nicer than a cab. The address for Park N Cruise - it's about a block away so it can't throw the $ off by much - is 2514 New Strand Street, Galveston, TX 77550.

 

[ukintheus]

My husband, mom, son and I will be on this cruise.
We had a MAGICal time in October 2012 on the DCL Magic also departing from the port of Galveston.

We signed up for the FE and hope to meet up on the ship in September!
~Wendy

Welcome! Newcomer to this group myself today. We were also on the Magic in October, we sailed on the 13th. Looking foward to see what the Wonder has in store for us all.

 

[ukintheus]

My 24dd and I went to Atlantis back in '06 but more or less toured, so I think my dh and 14dd will love the aquarium and the aqua adventure. I already have the Comfort Suites booked, however, after being on the boards in the wee hours this morning, I made the mistake of reading a thread " Is Nassau safe?" or something like that. And now I'm wondering, "Do I need to be concerned with taking an independent taxi to CS? Or should I cancel and book Disney's excursion paying $300 more, but feeling safer (though a couple years ago, Disney's Segway Tours was robbed)". Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and I hate I read that thread now. Any perceptions on Nassau to share? On the taxis? Decisions..decisions...

I don't know enough about Nassau to really help your decision any. I will say that THOUSANDS of cruise passengers use local transportation in Nassau on a weekly basis. I haven't read the thread you are talking about but if there truly were a problem, I would think that it would be reported in the mainstream news at least a little? Maybe try cruisecritic or another source to help put your mind at ease?

ETA: You might also try reading trip reports here of someone who has done Nassau recently.

 

[sullins5]

Thanks for the welcome and, no, we haven't done the excursion to Atlantis. We've been to Nassau once and did a walking tour recommended in the Passporter guide on our own. I probably wouldn't recommend that though as we got into some areas where we didn't feel comfortable.

We don't have kids, but I would say that 75% of the people leaving the ship with children were heading to Atlantis!

I think we are going to stay on the ship in Nassau this time unless we just get the urge to go and walk about.

I don't know enough about Nassau to really help your decision any. I will say that THOUSANDS of cruise passengers use local transportation in Nassau on a weekly basis. I haven't read the thread you are talking about but if there truly were a problem, I would think that it would be reported in the mainstream news at least a little? Maybe try cruisecritic or another source to help put your mind at ease?

ETA: You might also try reading trip reports here of someone who has done Nassau recently.

Thanks! That helps! And you're right..thousands...so that helps! And thanks for the tip about SuperShuttle. I hadn't seen the towncar option. Will check that out too!

 

[WenInTexas]

Welcome! Newcomer to this group myself today. We were also on the Magic in October, we sailed on the 13th. Looking foward to see what the Wonder has in store for us all.

I guess we passed you �� We were on October 6-13!
Soooo convenient and fun. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to Castaway Cay from TX. Now we know the ropes!

 

[Diva Princess Mom]

For the person that said that she tried to book nursery time and it would not allow her and she thought it was full. I think it is too early to book in the nursery or excursions for our cruise.

 

[pllanez12]

OK, Texans, at the risk of starting an argument, I'd like some advice....

My wife, DD, sister and I will be arriving the night before the cruise, staying at a hotel somewhere near IAH/Bush for the evening (I'm considering the Doubletree, but other suggestions would be welcome), and was hoping to find some good Texas BBQ within a reasonable cab ride of the airport.

Any suggestions/warnings I should take into account?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rich from California

I've done some training in that area with my company and they booked me at the La Quinta in spring, TX. Not at all far from IAH/Bush but there's a Rudy's BBQ in the area Which is not far at all. Should be a reasonable taxi ride. Hope that helps.

 

[Aggiegrl]

OK, Texans, at the risk of starting an argument, I'd like some advice....

My wife, DD, sister and I will be arriving the night before the cruise, staying at a hotel somewhere near IAH/Bush for the evening (I'm considering the Doubletree, but other suggestions would be welcome), and was hoping to find some good Texas BBQ within a reasonable cab ride of the airport.

Any suggestions/warnings I should take into account?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rich from California

I guess it depends what exactly you are looking for. Someone already mentioned Pappas BBQ, which I think you'll find acceptable. This is good, standard BBQ. It's a chain, but a smaller local one. Nothing quite special about it or the seasonings, and I find their food moderately smoked.

Now, if you are looking for a non-chain, local type place, I'd honestly stick to a handful of restaurants that are on "foodie lists." There are a lot of mom and pop type joints in Texas. Some know what they're doing, others not so much.

Texas Monthly just released their Top 50 BBQ list, so that's a good starting point. Burns BBQ made the list, and they are in North Houston, maybe 15-20 minutes from the airport. I think you'll find their food more smokey. http://www.burnsbarbeque.com

 

[Nina88eve]

Hey guys I have read a lot a out room service being free but some ppl still say they are charged for it... So is it free if no drinks are ordered? Is there a loophole of some sort

 

[pllanez12]

Thanks to aggiegirl for the info once again

 

[pllanez12]

Thanks to aggiegirl for the info once again

Whoops hit the send to early. But thanks to aggiegirl we pre-booked our parking for the cruise. Lighthouse Parking: covered and reasonably priced. Now to start searching for a hotel the night before.

 

[pllanez12]

Go here and put in the ship and date. It will give you all the available options including the official port parking and the private lots.

http://www.galveston.com/cruiseparking/

We used Lighthouse in February. The people were helpful and friendly, and we felt like the lot was secure. The bus was a little old and dirty, but for the 10 minutes we were on it, it didn't really matter much.

Booked the lighthouse parking reasonably priced and covered. Now time to start searching for a hotel. Thanks

 

[Aggiegrl]

Booked the lighthouse parking reasonably priced and covered. Now time to start searching for a hotel. Thanks

Glad I could help. Galveston.com really is a great resource for hotels and cruise parking. I always check there first since it is sort of "one stop shopping." You might be able to get a better price on the discount sites for the chain hotels, though.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Hey guys I have read a lot a out room service being free but some ppl still say they are charged for it... So is it free if no drinks are ordered? Is there a loophole of some sort

No loopholes. Normal "meal type" food is free, including salads, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, fruit, slices of cake, cookies, eggs, cereal, milk, and juice. Gratuity is not included so make sure to pack some small bills for that.

There are a few things that have a charge. Think of the things you would see in a hotel mini-bar...those have a charge. Candy (M&Ms, I think), packaged nuts, bottled water, sodas, and alcohol.

 

[Nina88eve]

No loopholes. Normal "meal type" food is free, including salads, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, fruit, slices of cake, cookies, eggs, cereal, milk, and juice. Gratuity is not included so make sure to pack some small bills for that.

There are a few things that have a charge. Think of the things you would see in a hotel mini-bar...those have a charge. Candy (M&Ms, I think), packaged nuts, bottled water, sodas, and alcohol.

Thank you... What if we included the gratuity pre paid already does that count or should we still give something cash for room service?