Galveston vs Houston

[RichardW]

I am cruising on Harmony next year and curious if it is cheaper to stay in Houston the day before and then take a cab/shuttle to the port or go directly to Galveston from the airport and take the short ride to the port. I don't plan to do any sightseeing the day before the cruise. I just need a cheap hotel and a place to eat.

Thanks for any suggestions

[smokeybandit]

Definitely cheaper and with more options staying inland. I don't think Galveston is worth staying in pre-cruise unless you really don't want to deal with the ride in on the day of the cruise.

[steverk]

It's been discussed at length on several threads, but here's a quick synopsis:

• Staying near either Houston airport is doable, but not recommended. While the area around IAH looks safe, it really isn't.  Hobby doesn't even look safe.
• Staying on the island is more expensive. There are several things to do including museums, amusement parks, restaurants, bars, etc. But did I mention it is expensive?
• Staying on the south side of Houston is a great compromise. Webster and League City are both on I-45, offer numerous hotels at decent prices and have good shopping and restaurants.
• I always mention Kemah.  It is south of Houston about 7 miles east of I-45 on Galveston bay.  It offers several hotels, a boardwalk with unique shops, restaurants, bars and amusements. It's located on State Route 146, which is a direct shot south to Galveston (About 30 miles from the port).

[Yo2slick]

We personally stay in Webster and drive in the next morning.  Plenty of places to stay and eat and right off I-45.

[Pattycruise]

I flew into IAH and stayed at a hotel that offered an airport shuttle.  Shuttled back to the airport the morning of the cruise and took the Royal Caribbean shuttle (able to book that by telling Royal I was flying in the day of the cruise). Royal shuttle did not leave at 9:30 as I was told-they did not have enough people so we had to wait til almost 12 to leave the airport., which was disappointing. 
My upcoming cruise I booked Galveston Express to take us to the port, I’m hopeful they will leave from the airport on time.

[Bowen]

Stay in Webster, League City, or Texas City. Houston is a nasty place, and it’s not safe.

[steverk]

8 hours ago, Bowen said:

Houston is a nasty place, and it’s not safe.

I wouldn't go that far!  Like all major US cities, Houston has some very nice places and some very bad places. On this score, Houston as a whole is probably above average.

I will agree that going directly from either airport to Galveston, you won't find any nice places until you are well past the city limits.

[Bowen]

20 minutes ago, steverk said:

I wouldn't go that far!  Like all major US cities, Houston has some very nice places and some very bad places. On this score, Houston as a whole is probably above average.

I will agree that going directly from either airport to Galveston, you won't find any nice places until you are well past the city limits.

I live there, I’d go that far. If you’re a tourist and not familiar with the area Houston is not the place for you.

[steverk]

12 minutes ago, Bowen said:

I live there, I’d go that far. If you’re a tourist and not familiar with the area Houston is not the place for you.

I live there too.  Uptown, midtown, Houston Heights, River Oaks, Memorial and Clear Lake City (I know the last 2 are only partially in the City of Houston) are all nice, safe areas. I'd send visitors there without any concern at all. There are certainly more, but that's what comes immediately to mind. (None of them are on the route between the airport and Galveston though)

I'm also aware that I could rattle off a similar list of areas that people shouldn't visit.

[drjohn4]

We stayed at a hotel near IAH since our flight got in close to midnight the day before sailing. Seemed safer than Roatan or Costa Maya.  It’s not like we went walking around the neighborhood, just sleeping, breakfast at the hotel and off to the ship. Used Houston VIP shuttle to go to Galveston next day. Worked out quite well. 

[jbrinkm]

We stayed on the island and it was expensive - not just the hotel (booked early so wasn't that bad), but all the transportation. We wanted to embark early, having the 11am boarding time, and we're not early morning people, so we opted to get to the island the night of our flight instead of in the morning. With what it cost us, I'd stay near the airport and do the free hotel shuttle/paid shuttle from the airport route if we ever cruise from Galveston again. 

Our flight was delayed 3 hours for weather and then a medical emergency, so we didn't get in until 11:30pm Central (we were flying from East Coast time). Took an Uber XL to the island which cost $150 - possible for late night surcharge or high demand (NCAA tournament weekend in Houston also). Ended up being 1am by the time we got to the hotel (which ended up just around $200 for a 2 queen + sofa bed suite). Taxi to port in the morning was $40. Then private transport back to the hotel after the cruise ended up around $250. There's 4 of us, so a shuttle would have run around $140 plus tip if we had stayed near IAH with hotel prices probably similar. 

[Ampurp85]

I am booked at the La Quinta in Galveston for my October cruise on Allure this year. I got a decent BF deal on the hotel, and we are taking the train, which lets us off at a bus depot not too far from the port and hotel. If we were flying, we probably still would have booked our hotel in Galveston as I personally prefer to stay as close to the port as possible. Everything I researched said an Uber/Lyft would be $100+ from the airport, considering it was 8 of going, we would have needed multiple vehicles. 

[Coda_Sarah]

On 6/6/2023 at 11:28 PM, Bowen said:

Stay in Webster, League City, or Texas City. Houston is a nasty place, and it’s not safe.

I booked in Texas City because I was too nervous to stay in Houston and it was too expensive to stay in Galveston.  

[Bowen]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:51 AM, steverk said:

I live there too.  Uptown, midtown, Houston Heights, River Oaks, Memorial and Clear Lake City (I know the last 2 are only partially in the City of Houston) are all nice, safe areas. I'd send visitors there without any concern at all. There are certainly more, but that's what comes immediately to mind. (None of them are on the route between the airport and Galveston though)

I'm also aware that I could rattle off a similar list of areas that people shouldn't visit.

This isn’t where people stay when they come in to cruise, you and I both know that, but by all means tell folks to get a hotel near IAH and go exploring, lol.

[Bowen]

On 6/7/2023 at 4:01 PM, drjohn4 said:

We stayed at a hotel near IAH since our flight got in close to midnight the day before sailing. Seemed safer than Roatan or Costa Maya.  It’s not like we went walking around the neighborhood, just sleeping, breakfast at the hotel and off to the ship. Used Houston VIP shuttle to go to Galveston next day. Worked out quite well. 

It’s absolutely safe as long as you don’t leave the hotel, most places are. But if you’re talking about places to stay where you can go find good places to eat, tourist around, it’s absolutely not Houston. 

[steverk]

29 minutes ago, Bowen said:

This isn’t where people stay when they come in to cruise, you and I both know that, but by all means tell folks to get a hotel near IAH and go exploring, lol.

I would never recommend staying near either airport. In fact, I discussed that earlier in this thread.  We both agree neither airport is what we would call safe.

However, I wouldn't paint the entire city as "a nasty place, and it’s not safe." Overall, Houston is pretty nice for a city of its size, but there are some bad areas.  Unfortunately, the nice areas are not between the airports and Galveston (unless you are counting some of the suburbs like Webster or League City).