OasisQueen Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Hi all. We are sailing out of Galveston for the first time in November. We are a family of 4 and it seemingly sounds like rideshare service will be the most cost effective for transport to our hotel/port but since I have not experienced it yet I would love to get advice. We’ll plan to fly in the day before but recommended hotels are also very welcome. Appreciate any insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coda_Sarah Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Hi there. You will find a lot of information in this Galveston thread: KristiZ and OasisQueen 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 I am cruising on the Allure on April 2 and have done lots of research and am still looking. From what I am seeing for a family of 4 your best bet is with Lift. Uber is not allowed in the port right now. They are working on a contract, but I see nothing that has said it is done. The cruise line has shuttles (I think I am paying $45 per person one way), but it has to be the day of the cruise. You can stay at one of the airport hotels and go back to the airport to catch the ride. The ride shares they have been in two different groups. Shuttle companies and small car groups that offer transportation. Both of them end up being about $35 to $40 a person one way. For my weekend hotels near the airport were about 1/2 the price that they were at Galveston. OasisQueen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 There are a couple shuttles that pick up at hotels, but for me they picked up too late. We just did Lyft from a Hobby airport hotel. Scheduled it the night before, worked out great. OasisQueen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 We live in Texas so usually drive ourselves, but we do drive down and stay the night before near Galveston. When I don't stay with family on the island, we usually stay at the Comfort Inn in Texas City (on I-45) near Galveston. It is about 30 minutes from the port itself, but is a lot cheaper than staying on the island itself. I have seen other cruisers using Lyft to get from the same hotel to the port without issue. OasisQueen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 A lot has been written on the All Things Galveston thread, so I'll just hit some of the highlights. Houston has 2 airports. Hobby (HOU) is closer than Bush (IAH). Both have decent hotels nearby, but you don't want to walk around after dark in either neighborhood. There are several hotels on Galveston Island itself. However, they can be pricey. A lot of people stay in the Webster/League City area as the hotels are cheaper and the neighborhoods are good. Downsides are that you'll have to do an UBER or Lyft to the hotel and again to the port. A few people will stay near NASA or the Kemah Boardwalk. There's more to do within walking distance in Kemah, but you'll have to UBER/Lyft to these hotels as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid4c4 Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 We have said out of Galveston four times and have used Uber all four times. Lyft will work just as well. As I remember the last cruise Uber cost 40 dollars which covered both of us which was half the cost of using a shuttle. I prefer Uber or Lyft as there is no waiting or stopping to pick up additional passengers plus it's generally about half the cost. Enjoy your Cruise. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galveston Steve Posted March 26, 2023 Report Share Posted March 26, 2023 On 2/19/2023 at 4:23 PM, Traveling Mike said: I am cruising on the Allure on April 2 and have done lots of research and am still looking. From what I am seeing for a family of 4 your best bet is with Lift. Uber is not allowed in the port right now. They are working on a contract, but I see nothing that has said it is done. The cruise line has shuttles (I think I am paying $45 per person one way), but it has to be the day of the cruise. You can stay at one of the airport hotels and go back to the airport to catch the ride. The ride shares they have been in two different groups. Shuttle companies and small car groups that offer transportation. Both of them end up being about $35 to $40 a person one way. For my weekend hotels near the airport were about 1/2 the price that they were at Galveston. An Operating Agreement with Uber was unanimously approved by the Port of Galveston on 24 May 2023. Uber has finally agreed to the Port’s terms and the agreement is the same as Lyft's agreement, including a $2.00 fee for each pick up and drop off. I'm not sure if Uber will actually be ready to implement the agreement before your April 2 cruise however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAYNO Posted March 26, 2023 Report Share Posted March 26, 2023 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy4disney Posted March 27, 2023 Report Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 2/19/2023 at 2:55 PM, OasisQueen said: Hi all. We are sailing out of Galveston for the first time in November. We are a family of 4 and it seemingly sounds like rideshare service will be the most cost effective for transport to our hotel/port but since I have not experienced it yet I would love to get advice. We’ll plan to fly in the day before but recommended hotels are also very welcome. Appreciate any insight. When in November are you going? Hopefully not the first weekend, but if it is then that would change a lot of the recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonR Posted March 27, 2023 Report Share Posted March 27, 2023 We drive down from DFW but I talked to a few people on the one I just got back from on Radiance that used Galveston Saltwater Moms and were very happy with them . They have a Facebook page you can look up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjpoe Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 I'm using them next month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted April 3, 2023 Report Share Posted April 3, 2023 Update .... I just rode Lyft to the port of Galveston. I pre-booked my lift for Sunday morning at 8:15 am for $91. It was a smaller SUV and not in the best shape but a very friendly driver. When we got to the port they told her what number to drop us off at in front of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal. They did not ask her any questions if she was UBER or Lyft. As soon as she dropped us off she had a pickup 50 yards further up. There were hundreds of people waiting for rides. We were told part of the problem was facial recognition was not working correctly and the other part is because people booked Uber and they were not letting Uber in to pick up. Our driver did tell us she has see Uber drivers dropping people off outside of the pickup area. That would mean you would have to walk with your bags about 2 or 3 city blocks. With the contract signed it should get better with both Uber and Lyft being able to get to the port terminals. Currently the price is still the same as shuttle busses with less the hassle. Vacation Crazy and wordell1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacation Crazy Posted April 4, 2023 Report Share Posted April 4, 2023 We just returned from a 4 day sailing on Adventure of the Seas yesterday. This was our first time sailing out of Galveston. I was a little nervous about our transportation going in. We had 3 people in our party. Here is how it worked out for us. --We flew in on Wednesday to the Bush Airport(IAH). We got an Uber within 10 minutes of requesting one. It cost us $87.73(that included a 25% tip) to take us to the Holiday Inn in Galveston. --On cruise day the Uber cost $14.21(that included a 25% tip) to take us from the hotel to the port. She was able to drop us off at the port with no problems. -- We disembarked on Monday. We took a short walk(about 10 minutes) outside of the port area to a corner store. We were told if you walk outside the port area it would cheaper and easier to get a ride. Our Uber ride arrived less than 10 minutes after requesting one. We flew out of the Hobby airport(HOU). The Uber ride cost us $73.75(that included a 25% tip). I was a little worried after reading so much about transportation issues in Galveston. We had no issues using Uber. fireclan, KristiZ and Ampurp85 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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