Opinion needed - post-cruise TX

[Cactus527]

We get off Allure in Galveston on a Sunday morning. My guess is it will be around 10am. We don't depart Houston Hobby until 11pm. So, to fill the day, I was thinking of reserving a DayUse hotel room somewhere around Hobby (Pasadena, Webster, and Houston all have possibilities), because I definitely don't want to be going places with the amount of luggage we'll have (teenagers don't pack light, LOL). Which would you do - reserve a room from 11am-5pm, then head over to Hobby, or do 2-10pm knowing that you'd be arriving there a few hours early and leaving early?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you have!

[DoomSlayer]

I-45 is not too busy on Sundays once you get out of the terminal area and off the island despite the construction near Texas City, so you should be able to get wherever you want to go (on the southeast side) fairly quickly.  In other words, either time slot is doable.  I've never seen Hobby and the surrounding area as a great tourist destination personally, so I am not sure what you want to do with the day use hotel besides take a nap (I probably have some blinders on because I am in Houston all the time).

Alternative would be to use a service like Stasher or Bounce and just store your luggage in Galveston and go hang out in town or the beach until it is time to go to the airport.  But I don't know of any on the island

Sorry I could not be more helpful in actually making a decision recommendation, but hopefully this gives you some info to help make it.  Have a great cruise!

[jbrinkm]

The hotel may not be ready early. It will really depend on when people are out of their rooms at the hotel and how quickly they can get them cleaned. We did a DayUse in Ft. Lauderdale last year and arrived about 20 minutes early, and ended up sitting in the lobby for almost an hour - our room wasn't even ready at the time we reserved. But maybe they would let you store your luggage and use the pool during the time you are waiting? Then it might make sense to do the later reservation. Did you have a hotel in mind? You could always call and explain your situation and ask.

Also, we just got off of Allure two weeks ago and disembarkation happened quickly - faster than the schedule said. We were scheduled 9:30-10am with our private transportation arriving at 10:15am (our flight was at 3pm) and we were one of the last groups off around 9:20am. It was ok because we took some time to rearrange our luggage for our flight, but you might end up arriving to your DayUse hotel even earlier than expected...

1 hour ago, DoomSlayer said:

I am not sure what you want to do with the day use hotel besides take a nap (I probably have some blinders on because I am in Houston all the time).

We used it to store our luggage while we walked around a bit and grabbed some lunch locally. We used the wifi and took naps in the air conditioning. We could have used the pool, but opted not to. 

[Cactus527]

3 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

I-45 is not too busy on Sundays once you get out of the terminal area and off the island despite the construction near Texas City, so you should be able to get wherever you want to go (on the southeast side) fairly quickly.  In other words, either time slot is doable.  I've never seen Hobby and the surrounding area as a great tourist destination personally, so I am not sure what you want to do with the day use hotel besides take a nap (I probably have some blinders on because I am in Houston all the time).

That's exactly what I'm looking for - a place to nap and chill out. If it has a pool, even better for my teenagers.

3 hours ago, DoomSlayer said:

Alternative would be to use a service like Stasher or Bounce and just store your luggage in Galveston and go hang out in town or the beach until it is time to go to the airport.  But I don't know of any on the island

I know nothing about either of these services, so you've given me something new to research! Thanks!!!!

[steverk]

Southeast Houston is about as touristy as Houston gets. I.e not very. 

Anyway, the area near Hobby Airport should be avoided if possible.  It's not great and has almost nothing to do. For a while they were trying to turn the original terminal on Telephone road into a museum, but I don't think it is still open.

Galveston itself has a water park, several unique museums, shopping and a not so great beach.

Kemah has the Boardwalk with hotels, restaurants amusements and shopping,  so that might be an option. 

Hopefully you can find a hotel that will allow you an affordable bag drop.

[bobroo]

An 11pm flight is "Waaaytooo" late for a flight home!

It's a vacation, not the army. 

[Pattycruise]

you are quite generous.  I book the flights and we all suffer through sitting at the airport if it will save me significant $$ for a family of 5 or 6..  
I hear them complain, I mention next time they can pay for the earlier flights, they shut up.

I hope you can find somthing that works best for you.