kittysoul

oh cool.. thank you , I will definitely go and check out all of your Galveston info!   I love to learn as much as possible about somewhere before I go there... so will be fun to learn all about the restaurants and NASA and other things... 

@rtread thank you too...i do think i can handle renting the car and getting around on my own!...it will be an adventure!  I

@kadmgs  Oh this is awesome!!  Thanks so much for all of this golden info!  I will write these things into my little book that I take with me and for certain try some of those restaurants!  Having never been to Texas, I definitely want to try the BBQ there..and the tex mex!     Can you tell me more about where the 'Bay Ara Blvd' is located, like which neighborhood to search on the hotel search engines...   If you know a couple specifically that would help.. like midrange ..maybe a holiday inn or mariott in that general area?  In a city that huge, those hotel search engines get so confusing, trying to nail down a certain area (for me anyway! lol)   Thanks so much for your advise/ help!

@rtread I have a while to plan this one... but I am still wondering if i should get the rental car or just depend on Uber's/ Lyft to get around...  I am looking now and see that there is a nice Mariott hotel that is right across the street from the Space Center and people have given reviews that you can stay there and just walk across the street to the space center.  I guess what mostly depends on, to me is how difficult it is to drive myself around from the airport to the  Space Center area and then on to the cruise port parking area, without getting too frustrated.  lol

14 minutes ago, rtread said:

Just a little more advice....the Johnson Space Center is massive and even if you planned a short in-and-out tour, you will find yourself wanting to see all you can.....just sayin'

i am thinking we will fly in the night before so that we can dedicate an entire day to nothing but the space center... we may not get to see 'everything' but hopefully we could cover a great deal of the highlights!    I will say though...the more i watch youtube videos about the Galveston beach... it does look kind of icky.... is there a lot of pollution.. or oil in the water from the oil drilling and stuff?

2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We are flying into Hobby (HOU) rather than Bush this time.  Either way it’s a connection for us from DCA so we might as well get a little closer to where we are going right from the start.  I looked around for transportation and got a couple of quotes that were TOO high and basically has given up and decided we would Uber it (that’s too far to Uber IMHO) but then last week I decided to try again and got a quote from ZLimousine for $105 each way (plus tip, of course) for a Town Car.  While not cheap, I thought it was a reasonable compromise so I booked with them. I can not vouch for the service as we have not gone yet but I will reach back once we get back.  It’s a long drive so there’s really no cheap way to get from Houston to Galveston !  It’s one of the reaons (IMO) that cruises out of Galveston are slightly cheaper than out of Florida.

yeah..i have never been to Houston and so I had no idea that there was an issue until we had already booked there.  The reason I am thinking I will just get a rental car rather than deal with shuttles and ubers, is that I ran an air/hotel/car package through expedia just to see the ballpark .. staying in a holiday inn i think is what i picked, near the Space Center for 2 nights...and it came up right at around 500 each... i figured that for including our airfare, 2 nights in a hotel and a car rental for 9 days,  that 500 was a really good deal... of course I will have to pay to park it at the terminal lot for a week, but thats just another 100 or so i think for the week...

@melmar02  if we rent a car,would probably pick it up at the Hobby airport... drive it to Webster/ space center stuff... then drive it to the beach, then  park it during the cruise in the lot and then drive it back to the Hobby airport at the end of our vacation...

2 hours ago, Momof4crazytocruise said:

Galveston is really only about 35-40 minutes from Hobby airport. If you're going to come in that early, why not stay near NASA Johnson Space Center and do the tour there at Space Center Houston? Plenty of reasonable hotels around, and easy trip via Uber or Lyft to the port. 

I am kind of excited about this idea now... I looked on expedia and we could either Uber around, or get a car rental pretty cheap  ... kind of putting together a new idea of going down early enough to spend a night in Webster, and go see the Space center  and then drive to Galveston the day before the cruise and spend one night on the beach there too....maybe have some time to squeeze in a BBQ restaurant visit too lol

ahh i see... well, we live in southern Indiana near Louisville, Ky... and driving is doable but sooo far...would be like a 15-16 hour drive for us... so we probably will be flying in lol

you know, i will look into that, because my (adult) son, loves that kind of thing (he is who i am traveling with)... we have toured Kennedy Space Center... only seems right that we check out 'Houston' ... thanks for the suggestion!

@tiny260 awesome, thank you!!  

@tiny260 @rtread @WAAAYTOOO ... if you guys fly into Houston, when going to Galveston (those who have sailed from Galveston), how did you get over to your hotel from the airport?  

3 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

but any day at a beach is better than working.

AMEN to that!! 

@rtread ahh, got it!! I will make sure then to book way way early!!  I am about a year out right now and so i don't even think they will let me yet, but in a couple months, i bet i can, and i will!   Thanks for the tip!

9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

No matter which port we are departing from, we always choose to spend the night closest to the port vs closest to the airport.  We just always choose to get where we’re going first and then we can relax.  If I know I still have traveling to do to get to the port on sailaway day, I am not comfortable. Just the military training, I guess.  Get where you’re going first !

i was thinking that exact same thing... i dont care if i have to pay 100 more a night... i would so much prefer to be 1.0 mile away from the port on Sunday morning, than 40 miles away... lol... I am guessing that I can still find a shuttle running from a Houston airport over to the beach, near the port area, on other days and by other groups besides just  the cruise ship people....  surely....    and then just take a cab or maybe even be able to get a hotel shuttle to the port on sunday.. especially if i stay at a hotel such as Holiday Inn or such... 

I know that the logistics regarding flying into Galveston  is a big and much discussed issue, and I have read many of the posts regarding taking the various shuttles from the Houston airports over to Galveston, to the port.   My question is,  since our cruise is leaving on a Sunday, (will be in the summer 2020, so not right away..but...)   would it be worth it to fly in on Friday or early Saturday and go ahead and take a shuttle over to Galveston and stay near the port in a beachfront hotel for a night or 2?   I would just like some opinions on this, since I have never been to Galveston (or Texas for that matter)... I do like the idea of already being just a mile or 2 away from the port when I wake up Sunday morning, but I also see that it is significantly more expensive to stay on the beach there than in a Houston airport hotel near the shuttles...   My cousin told me that the Galveston beaches are kinda crappy ...but, she is a lot more finicky than I am.... I love most any beach lol   Thanks!

@JennyJenny  i LOVE these!!  I must go buy some! lol  thanks for sharing!! 

I am just letting youtube videos about cruises run in the background... it's what i do now instead of tv shows , at least part of the time..... lol   This one lady, in her tips video, said that her family always makes up a gift bag gift to leave for their room steward on the first night....   does anyone else do this.... is it common...?  

What is the deal with the hiding little duckies around on the ship?  I am assuming that this is similar to the painted rock hiding craze that hit my community last summer (where people paint stones and leave them in the parks and all around the community for others to find ..just for fun...??)   

@tiny260 thanks.. yes i definitely will!!

@ChessE4 I am right on that!  I am always ready for beach time.... my son is really excited about seeing the ruins and other non beach activities... I guess with me, when I was in MY 20's., i was all about the hiking and adventuring and seeing stuff...but now, i am all about the beach with a cold drink in my hand... lol

What is a mystery dinner?

@Skid thanks!  wow, I had no idea....  haven't been anywhere exotic lately lol   ... i am well overdue!!

When i was looking at the excursions for Cozumel (the Tulum excursion ), I saw this statement below.... I am just curious now, is this some sort of special sunscreen?  where do I buy some?

• "The National Marine Park of Cozumel forbids the use of chemical sun protection if entering the water. Only UV protective clothing (rash guard) or biodegradable sun protection are permitted in an effort to protect our oceans.    "

Thanks!  I figure better safe than sorry... so many of the things on there you have to purchase per person.. so it threw me off! lol