All Things Galveston (Updated - 5/21/14)

[sullins5]

I am getting frustrated! My family of 4 flies in Friday, Oct 4th at 8:30pm. We are booked at Hotel Galvez for cruise on the 5th. I cannot find a decent rate on transfers! The best deal I found was with Houston 24 hour airport taxi and town car but all the reviews I find are awful! I looked at renting a car, either one way or for the 8 nights since I could park for free at Hotel Galvez but no good deals that route either. I am seriously bummed and in need of some pixie dust . Please, any help would be appreciated. I know we can always book super shuttle but they don't get good reviews also and when you travel with two kids you don't want to mess around with poor service.

Have you tried rental cars again? There is a September and October car rental thread in the 'transportation' forum that might help you there. We are also a family of 4 arriving at HOU on a Friday. We've rented a car for $202. for the 8 nights and feel pretty good about it. Cheaper than a taxi due to NOT having to tip anyone. Just a thought!

 

[jenhelgren]

I am now looking into BOI parking for our October cruise after the positive reviews I read on this thread. Is BOI actually closer than the port parking? Is all of BOI parking covered-I think I read that the port parking is not covered-just fenced in-is that correct?

 

[ukintheus]

I am now looking into BOI parking for our October cruise after the positive reviews I read on this thread. Is BOI actually closer than the port parking? Is all of BOI parking covered-I think I read that the port parking is not covered-just fenced in-is that correct?

We used BOI for our cruise in April. All of their parking is covered as you are actually parking in an old warehouse. It is the closest parking to the cruise terminal, so, yes, it is closer than the port parking. Because it is right across the street, there is no shuttle. My suggestion is to drop bags and one of you stay with the kids (if you have any) then go and park so that only one person has to make the dash across the street and walk to the cruise terminal. It's a short walk, but you have to cross Harborside Drive, and there is no pedestrian crossing so you have to just watch the light to cross.

When we cruised in April I went past BOI twice before I figured out where it was. It is the building on the very corner at Harborside - you drive across the sidewalk into the building and then up a small concrete ramp as you drop off. So you are parked on a very small incline when you get out. They park the vehicle for you. It was easy once we figured out where it was! LOL :

 

[jenhelgren]

Thanks for the parking info! I still have a few more Galveston ??'s...

Bike week will begin while we are on our cruise but will be the weekend that we get back. We plan on disembarking and starting the drive home ASAP. Will bike week affect the traffic/closures in Galveston early Saturday morning when we disembark?-Just want to be prepared-starting out the long drive with traffic would not be a happy day for anyone!!

I am also considering Moody Gardens but have seen good and bad reviews and IMO it is pricey. Do they ever offer any specials-Groupon/Living Social-anything like that in October? I saw somewhere that kids can enter one attraction free with a good report card but my kids are homeschooled so I am not sure if we could take advantage of that since they don't actually have quarterly report cards

 

[dolphingirl47]

We went to Moody Gardens last year before our cruise on the Magic in November and loved it. You can find photos and a report linked under Christmas Has Come Early in my signature. From memory, The Moody Gardens day is on page 2 or 3.

Corinna

 

[shaned]

Last October we parked across from the terminal. I believe the same that ukintheus used. We parked inside of a warehouse. Don't remember the name, but I could drive to it again . We dropped our luggage off with the porters and then parked and walked across Harborside Drive . Will say if your not real sure of where your going you will pass up the driveway or alleyway.

 

[dcassetta]

Bike week will begin while we are on our cruise but will be the weekend that we get back. We plan on disembarking and starting the drive home ASAP. Will bike week affect the traffic/closures in Galveston early Saturday morning when we disembark?-Just want to be prepared-starting out the long drive with traffic would not be a happy day for anyone!!

I'm so glad you mentioned this. On the webpage for the rally it does show that their events are going to be taking place close to the cruise terminal. However, I would guess that 9 o'clock in the morning would not be a busy time for the bike rally, so hopefully cruisers can get off the ship and move out of the area before the rally event starts.

 

[jenhelgren]

Is BOI Valet unavailable for Disney Passengers this fall?? I just tried to arrange parking on the link from BOI's website and was told that there was no parking available for my sail date. It is still a couple months out so I tried searching other sail dates from Oct-Dec and they all show unavailable. I thought there was something in the beginning of the thread about the same thing happening with the Magic last fall. Is it worth calling the 800 to try and book or do they not service Disney cruisers anymore?

 

[ukintheus]

Is BOI Valet unavailable for Disney Passengers this fall?? I just tried to arrange parking on the link from BOI's website and was told that there was no parking available for my sail date. It is still a couple months out so I tried searching other sail dates from Oct-Dec and they all show unavailable. I thought there was something in the beginning of the thread about the same thing happening with the Magic last fall. Is it worth calling the 800 to try and book or do they not service Disney cruisers anymore?

I think they might be just sold out. It isn't a massive facility. I went online to book for our 9/28 cruise months ago and they were sold out. I am booked at Lighthouse Parking instead.

 

[Sydneyandabby]

We are also cruising out of Galveston in December. We first sailed out of Galveston in March and can't wait to go again in December!

 

[shaned]

I went back and checked to see which parking we used it was "Galveston Park N Cruise".

 

[kjackson83]

Is BOI Valet unavailable for Disney Passengers this fall?? I just tried to arrange parking on the link from BOI's website and was told that there was no parking available for my sail date. It is still a couple months out so I tried searching other sail dates from Oct-Dec and they all show unavailable. I thought there was something in the beginning of the thread about the same thing happening with the Magic last fall. Is it worth calling the 800 to try and book or do they not service Disney cruisers anymore?

A few months ago I ended up calling BOI to ask about parking for my cruise since it said it was already sold out and the guy said that they open up reservations (online) about a month or two out so that is why it said 'sold out." I would call them directly to find out what your cruise reservation status might be at this time since you are getting close. Our cruise is in November and is still not available to book online just yet.

 

[Illini_Fan]

A few months ago I ended up calling BOI to ask about parking for my cruise since it said it was already sold out and the guy said that they open up reservations (online) about a month or two out so that is why it said 'sold out." I would call them directly to find out what your cruise reservation status might be at this time since you are getting close. Our cruise is in November and is still not available to book online just yet.

That is good to know -- but in my case it lost them business. I was reserving for Thanksgiving week and figured they were truly "sold out" so I reserved at my second choice.

 

[ukintheus]

That is good to know -- but in my case it lost them business. I was reserving for Thanksgiving week and figured they were truly "sold out" so I reserved at my second choice.

Yes, they lost our business too.

 

[jenhelgren]

I was wondering if anyone has successfully booked BOI lately? I have been trying to reach him for over a week and no answer, so I guess I will have to take my business elsewhere too! I have e-mailed and left multiple messages with no reply at all! What is the next closest parking to the port after BOI? Is it still easily walkable without needing a shuttle? I also had a Galveston question. We have never been to Galveston but I have heard that the beaches/water is not exactly "pretty!" Is there a nice beach area that we could walk along and possibly find some rocks/shells for the kids?? I will be my daughters first time at the beach and she is really bummed that DCl will not allow her to collect and bring home shells!

 

[ukintheus]

I was wondering if anyone has successfully booked BOI lately? I have been trying to reach him for over a week and no answer, so I guess I will have to take my business elsewhere too! I have e-mailed and left multiple messages with no reply at all! What is the next closest parking to the port after BOI? Is it still easily walkable without needing a shuttle? I also had a Galveston question. We have never been to Galveston but I have heard that the beaches/water is not exactly "pretty!" Is there a nice beach area that we could walk along and possibly find some rocks/shells for the kids?? I will be my daughters first time at the beach and she is really bummed that DCl will not allow her to collect and bring home shells!

I haven't tried to reach BOI but it sounds like they are not eager for business. The next closest is right next door and is Galveston Park N Cruise. They may it may not be available as they seem to give preferred treatment to Carnival cruisers (which has been their staple business, so I guess is only fair). We used them last October, they are also close enough that you don't need a shuttle.

 

[dcassetta]

I also had a Galveston question. We have never been to Galveston but I have heard that the beaches/water is not exactly "pretty!" Is there a nice beach area that we could walk along and possibly find some rocks/shells for the kids?? I will be my daughters first time at the beach and she is really bummed that DCl will not allow her to collect and bring home shells!

The west end beaches, particularly Jamaica and Pirate are good for shelling. There are lots of public beach areas with free parking.

 

[jenhelgren]

I checked Galveston Park N Cruise and they are showing availability for our dates still, so I want to book ASAP!! Is the outdoor parking further away from the DCL terminal than the indoor? I am trying to decide between the two and we will have a rental car, so I am not too worried about the vehicle being left in the sun, etc.

 

[ukintheus]

I checked Galveston Park N Cruise and they are showing availability for our dates still, so I want to book ASAP!! Is the outdoor parking further away from the DCL terminal than the indoor? I am trying to decide between the two and we will have a rental car, so I am not too worried about the vehicle being left in the sun, etc.

I thought all of the Park & Cruise parking was indoor, so I am lost at this point. You can't go wrong with them if they are available though.

 

[RonningFamilyCrusin]

We are coming into Galveston on the morning of Friday, November 22nd. We are currently booked at The San Luiz. We initially booked this due to the park and cruise special. Now that we decided to fly instead (we live in South Dakota) we are second guessing this booking and looking at a cheaper option. Two that caught my eye was the County Inn & Suites and Quality Inn. Both include breakfast and are about $100.00 cheaper options (if not more). However, with shuttle and/or taxi costs I am not certain we save that much more. Anyone who has stayed or heard of people who stayed at these locations please provide your opinion.

Additionally, after reading this whole thread it appears there are issues with booking one way car rentals. We are traveling into HOU International. Plan on renting a car so we have it for the day in Galveston. We would like to go shelling and snorkeling and I think a car would come in handy. Anyone have experience renting a car from HOU for the day and returning it before close of business on a Friday night in Galveston? Does this work? Is it better to keep the car for the week and using the free parking option at San Luis? The Super Shuttle does not look like a good option for us. Any thoughts will do.