Galveston Texas Port Questions/Help needed

[Love2Cruise2015]

My family and I are planning on sailing out of Galveston Texas with DCL in December 2023 and will be arriving 1-2 days in advance of the cruise date. We have never sailed from this port before and were wondering if its better to stay at a hotel near the airport (recommendations?) and take DCL transfers to the port the next day or is it better to stay at a hotel near the cruise port and if so what is the best way to get from the airport to the hotels near the cruise port? (any other tips or tricks would be appreciated) (what is the weather like in Texas at the end of December/beginning of January?)

 

[Cheburashka]

My family and I are planning on sailing out of Galveston Texas with DCL in December 2023 and will be arriving 1-2 days in advance of the cruise date. We have never sailed from this port before and were wondering if its better to stay at a hotel near the airport (recommendations?) and take DCL transfers to the port the next day or is it better to stay at a hotel near the cruise port and if so what is the best way to get from the airport to the hotels near the cruise port? (any other tips or tricks would be appreciated) (what is the weather like in Texas at the end of December/beginning of January?)

Galveston/Houston weather in late December/early January averages highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 50s. But those are averages, and it can get much colder or warmer (temperatures vary in Texas a lot more than in Florida), so watch the weather forecasts in advance of your cruise. Morning fog can be an issue in the area on winter mornings, which can affect both driving conditions and sailing conditions, causing delays, so be prepared for that possibility.

If you plan to arrive in Galveston 2 days before the cruise, you might want to stay at Moody Gardens and visit the very family-oriented attractions there. If you want something more cultural like art museums, etc., you should stay in Houston and see the cultural attractions there. Or you could tour the Johnson Space Center. Regardless of where you stay or go, I would rent a car at the airport if arriving 2 days in advance.

 

[dcassetta]

Regardless of where you stay or go, I would rent a car at the airport if arriving 2 days in advance

I think this is good advice for touring in the area but can be problematic for drop off because unless things have changed recently there’s not a way to do a one-way rental from either Houston Intercontinental (Bush) or Houston Hobby and drop the car off in Galveston.

OP, you should be aware that Disney offers transfers only from Bush, and not Hobby.

 

[NAB]

We are going to be on the Magic next Friday.

First time going out of this port. We are flying into Bush because it is a direct flight from Toronto. Hoping to take a Uber/Lyft to Habour House Hotel at the port the day before. Going back we are taking DLC transportation back to the airport. We aren’t flying out that day so will shuttle to a hotel from the airport and return for a flight the next day.

It is just the two of us with 2 suitcases so don’t need anything large . We are still expecting it to be expensive to get to the port. We were going to stay at a cheaper hotel in Galveston but husband was watching you tube of the area and decided he wanted to stay near the port .

 

[Cheburashka]

I think this is good advice for touring in the area but can be problematic for drop off because unless things have changed recently there’s not a way to do a one-way rental from either Houston Intercontinental (Bush) or Houston Hobby and drop the car off in Galveston.

You can book a rental from Enterprise at either the Houston International airport or the Hobby airport, and drop it off at the Enterprise location in Galveston on Broadway Street. I just double-checked that and it is available for booking.

 

[dcassetta]

You can book a rental from Enterprise at either the Houston International airport or the Hobby airport, and drop it off at the Enterprise location in Galveston on Broadway Street. I just double-checked that and it is available for booking.

That is a new option. Was there a significant drop off fee for returning it to Galveston?

 

[Cheburashka]

That is a new option. Was there a significant drop off fee for returning it to Galveston?

I can only see overall prices, and don't know how much is due to it being one-way.

 

[dcassetta]

I can only see overall prices, and don't know how much is due to it being one-way.

I did the same thing and checked for a one-way rental. Their drop off fee starts at $100, but they didn’t used to allow one-way rentals ending in Galveston so at least it gives guests another option.

 

[MillauFr]

We a cruise from Galveston a few years back. We came in a couple of days ahead and stayed near the Medical Center / Museum District in Houston. There are many restaurants around Rice and there are plenty of things to do with the museums and zoo. We took Lyft from Bush Airport and Lyft to the cruise terminal. A one way car rental would also work. I would just pick the option that is cheaper.

 

[BrandyMcD]

Hello. Houston native here, who has cruised from Galveston three times. I agree with the others that it kind of depends on what you want to do. But neither Hobby nor Bush have a lot to do in the immediate area around the airport. If you want to see Houston I suggest staying near the museum district or go on down to Galveston. If you have specific activities you'd like to do, let me know and I might be able to suggest different areas of town.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Hello. Houston native here, who has cruised from Galveston three times. I agree with the others that it kind of depends on what you want to do. But neither Hobby nor Bush have a lot to do in the immediate area around the airport. If you want to see Houston I suggest staying near the museum district or go on down to Galveston. If you have specific activities you'd like to do, let me know and I might be able to suggest different areas of town.

We are not too picky on things to do while we are there as we are with ease/convince/price of getting to and from the port from the airport. We are debating on whether we should get a car service to take us to a hotel within walking distance of the port when we arrive and take Disney transportation back to the airport after the cruise or is it better to stay at a hotel near the airport when we arrive and take Disney transportation both ways? ( we have no desire to rent a car and we are flying in from Ontario Canada))

 

[BrandyMcD]

We are not too picky on things to do while we are there as we are with ease/convince/price of getting to and from the port from the airport. We are debating on whether we should get a car service to take us to a hotel within walking distance of the port when we arrive and take Disney transportation back to the airport after the cruise or is it better to stay at a hotel near the airport when we arrive and take Disney transportation both ways? ( we have no desire to rent a car and we are flying in from Ontario Canada))

Gotcha. I understand now that your question is more about transportation efficiency. Obviously since I live here I'm really not as versed on shuttling options. But I will reiterate that there's pretty much nothing to do in walking distance of the airport hotels, so if you end up coming two days before embarkation, I'd stay at the port. Unfortunately, Houston is a car dependent city. We don't have much walkability or public transit; the museum/university areas and Galveston are exceptions to that. Also as others have said the weather is very unpredictable in December/January so you'll just need to plan for layers and watch the forecast. A couple days before Christmas this year we had a 40 degree drop in a matter of hours.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Thank you for everyone's advice and tips

 

[Cheburashka]

A couple days before Christmas this year we had a 40 degree drop in a matter of hours.

Yeah, but half the country had that. It wasn't specific to Galveston or Texas.