#portofgalveston #cruiseportguide
Join Sharon and Jamie as they go over what you need to know when cruising out of Galveston Texas.
Below are the links to places mentioned in the video.
Hotels
https://www.harborhousepier21.com/
https://www.thetremonthouse.com/
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/galveston/glsgv/hoteldetail
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/glsgihf-hilton-galveston-island-resort/
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/houhshx-hampton-suites-houston-clear-lake-nasa-area/
Parking
https://www.portofgalveston.com/
https://www.ezcruiseparking.com/
https://www.galvestonparkncruise.com/
Places to Eat
https://www.williegs.com/location/willie-gs-galveston/
https://sharkshackbeachbarandgrill.com/home/
http://katiesseafoodhouse.com/
https://www.fishermanswharfgalveston.com/
https://millersseawallgrillgalveston.com/
https://www.fishtalesgalveston.com/
Places to See
https://www.pleasurepier.com/
https://galvestonrrmuseum.org/ (railroad museum)
https://www.energyeducation.org/ (ocean star museum)
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50 Comments
As a Native Texan I cruise Carnival quite often out of Galveston. Even though I drive to Galveston from East Texas (4 hour drive) I ALWAYS drive down the day before and (believe it or not) stay at the Hampton Inn that Sharon mentioned in Webster,Tx. Great Hotel and not near as expensive as the "pirates" in Galveston. Many great places to eat in the area not to mention a free breakfast that's very good. I always park my car at "EZ Park" for about $100 +/- in Galveston and they're great people! I make reservations online and they handle my luggage and shuttle me back and forth to the terminal. Great folks, very professional and friendly. Houston is a BIG city and traffic is gruesome! There is one way on and off the island and it get's very busy. Quite frankly, if I was going to fly I'd just fly to Florida; more cruise lines available, cruises are usually cheaper, and more destinations available. If you fly into George Bush Airport please be aware it's North of Houston which means you have to drive through Houston to get to Galveston; allow plenty of time.
Great information… Really appreciate it. We are sailing out of Galveston in December. Already booked the harbor house. Glad to know you liked it.
Question, does princess cruise lines use the carnival port?
Sooooooo glad you are making THESE videos!! We’ve always cruises from New Orleans. Considering cruising from Galveston but that port just seems so complicated!!
Nothing will convince me to sail from Galveston again!!!!! 🥵🥵🥵Getting to and from the airport was hell!!!!
I live in San Antonio and drive the morning of usually to Galveston for my Royal Caribbean cruises. Never had an issue.
We stay at Scottish Inns Galveston ~$125 a night (free parking duration of your cruise) and they have a third party shuttle that will pick you up. Stay away from Uber. It is such a short ride in Galveston that they will cancel every time and leave you stranded.
The Port of Galveston is talking to Scholls field to try to work out having flights resume to Galveston for cruisers. Hopefully this will be worked out soon.
Best advice if your debarking from Galveston is to make travel arrangements to the airport with your cruise line. Uber and lyft prices skyrocket on debarkation day plus the limited amount of drivers will make you majorly frustrated. I got lucky because I thought Lyft or Uber would be available like everywhere else right?…Wrong! the prices started at $200 and kept increasing as wells as there were practically zero drivers available. Fortunately there was a nice lady working with Royal Carribean who saw how frustrated I was and she allowed me to catch the bus to the airport for FREE! Blessings# My recommendation either don't sail into Galveston or make the arrangements to the airport within the cruise line..take heed!
Live in Houston so it’s great for us. One issue we had before RCCL built the extra terminal. Our ship as well as a Carnival ship was delayed 8 hrs. getting into port because of the fog. People that were arriving for the next cruise were unable to park since we were still on the ship. The streets were solid with cars waiting for two ships of people to leave. It was a total mess.
We always arrive a day early so that we can spend a day in Galveston.
I live about 65 miles from the terminal so it’s easy peasy for me! One snag we ran into in 2015 was we came back from our cruise to find our car stolen from the pay to park lot across the street from the terminal. They said their cameras didn’t work good, blah blah blah……we concluded it was an inside job, so keep in mind if you have a highly sought after vehicle them thieves may relieve you of it. They found our car a few days latter sitting on the street in the Galveston ghetto known for heavy crime. It had been stripped of the nice wheels and ransacked inside….
Just avoid Texas in general
Fly into Hobby airport if at all possible. IAH is much further than 30 minutes away….traffic is always bad in I-45 South. Lots of construction on south I-45 closer to Galveston.
I just got back from a cruise out of Galveston and I never plan to go back there again.I have left out of NYC several times and New Orleans and once out of Charleston,SC.The others were OK but I have to say,Charleston was the best!In Charleston we stayed at a hotel where we had free shuddle service all over town and we were able to leave our car there for the week without added fees and then they had a service that took us to the ship and picked us up….I can't say enough good things about the people of Charleston..My sister in law even forgot her percriptions at home and the hotel staff helped her get pills to take before we left on the cruise…Really amazing people!!!!
We drive
We’re in Houston and have cruised out of Galveston six times.
It’s the arriving and parking that is a quagmire. Once you drop off your bags and go park, you’re good to go. The inside of the Carnival terminal moves along fine.
But yeah, getting to the terminal in the first place, it’s a long wait.
Hoping the new RC terminal will alleviate that. We’ll see.
Folks going to the RC terminal should not enter the cruise terminal area via Harborside Rd from I-45, or you’ll have to sit in the Carnival traffic.
Look at Google maps and you can see how better to get there.
Your video was great.
Not crazy about the thumbnail title, but that’s what YouTubers do.
Staying at a hotel outside of Galveston is excellent advice.
Willie’s restaurant is very expensive. Great location though.
The Spot is excellent but if you go at lunch or dinner time, the wait in 90 minutes, easy.
At Christmas, go to Dickens on the Strand, two blocks from the Carnival cruise terminal. Very festive.
Also, if your planning a visit, look at Galveston events online. There are motorcycle rallies and all kinds of things going on that will make getting hotels very difficult, and the traffic will be insane.
Galveston is not huge.
Visitors are sharing Galveston with lots and lots of Houstonians and neighboring towns.
It was busy before the cruise industry hit Galveston.
So yeah. 🙂
So you think 2 airports 30-45 minutes from the port is a problem?
Very helpful. I have cruised out of Galveston and we had a several hours of delay due to fog. Thankfully we drove. I wonder if you could address parking for those who drive in. Parking was a hassle. Thank you for the hints and suggestions!
Wish I had seen this before booking cruise (Dec. 2023) out of Galveston! Good info.
Once we arrived in Houston, we got a cheaper hotel near the airport with a free shuttle and then in the morning we ate the free breakfast offered and then took the free shuttle again back to the airport to take our shuttle going to Galveston w/c cost us $30/pp in 2021. We thought of getting a hotel halfway cuz it's expensive in Galveston itself but eventually decided to just stay at an airport hotel cuz we saved on transportation expense rather being halfway & then taking another transport or uber going to the port in the morning.
Can you recommend where to park & tips for the best ones?
Orlando to Cape Canaveral poses the same issue. Me and my son are cruising on the Allure of the Seas July 30th were staying at the Harbor House and were trying to figure out if it's walkable since we only have a carry on suitcase each. Don't know if there's sidewalks all the way to Pier 10 new Royal terminal?
I drive for Lyft at the port. They can pick up at the terminal . Buy your airline ticket through the cruise line and you will not have to come a day early
Not my favorite. Flew in small airport, Hobby.When we left the buses weren’t there. We stood outside in a long line , with our luggage, for a long time getting sunburned. It was the worst I’ve ever been through. When we got back to the airport they let everyone off in the same spot. You had to get a porter to help you. Lots of walking to go through security and then back to your gate. My one and only Carnival cruise.
We were delayed until after 11 am and then waited over half an hour in line for the bus.
We took an Uber from Huston Hobby Airport to Galveston a couple of years ago. There were 2 of us it took 45 minutes and cost $58.00s for both of us. No traffic as we arrived after 5pm.
Thank you for this info re Transport to port! Sometimes folk don't take that in consideration.
Perfect timing and great info for those sailing out of Galveston! I shared this with my friends who are sailing from TX in the Fall.
@ sharonatsea, do you have a review like this for the port of miami,fl?
Thank you Sharon at Sea for this informative video. We live in Houston and cruise from Galveston frequently. I agree that flying into Houston is a challenge as Houston is a much larger city than many people realize. We LOVE Galveston Island which is small, rich in history and packed with entertaining things to do. I agree with many of your recommendations for hotels and restaurants. Several are owned by the Landry's Inc. which is headquartered in Houston to include: (Hotels) The Harbor House & San Luis Hotels, (Restaurants) Willie G's, Fisherman's Warf, Fish Tales, Saltgrass Steak House, The Jetty, Landry's Prime, and many others, (Entertainment) The Pleasure Pier and The Kemah Boardwalk which is about 30 miles north of Galveston. Hopefully Galveston Island City officials and the Port of Galveston officials will work together to improve the cruising experience out of Galveston. We have learned so much from your cruising & travel content and appreciate the valuable information you share!
How busy are the exercise gyms in cruise ships? because when i think of cruise ships, I think it's a hotel with tiny rooms on water with buffet foods 24 hours (type 2 diabetes), alcohol (aging/liver damage), gambling (lose money), sun bathing (skin cancer), just to stop for a small time at your destination where you shop (spend more money), restaurants (eat more food that your body is already trying to process from the cruise food)… these reviews you're talking 70% food 30% shops and misc travel to do's.
It’s wild to hear about my home like this for tourists. I’ve lived near the Webster/League city my whole life. Thank goodness we can just have a friend drop us off at the port.
Do you have a suggestion for a transportation company? We have 9 and I can’t get any of them to quote me or even call me back.
After my Jubilee cruise I'm done with Galveston. They need to upgrade the port
In May 2022, we took a cruise out of Galveston. We stayed at a Super 8 near Houston-Hobby for $55 a night. We used RCCL's transfer between Hobby and the Galveston cruise port at a cost of $160 RT for two people. It was fairly convenient.
In November 2023, we will take another cruise out of Galveston. We decided that we will be driving from Tucson – Galveston which is cheaper than two round trip airline tickets plus transfers. We have a hotel booked at the Microtel near NASA. We found that we really liked Kemah Boardwalk and found dozens of good restaurants in that area. Driving also allows us to spend a few days in San Antonio and New Braunsfels.
I will say that Galveston is one of the most expensive cruise ports due to its distance from the airport.
I have cruised out of Galveston 3 times on Carnival and each time I've learned from them on things to see and do. I like staying at the Microtel Inn right across from Johnson Space Center which is about 30 minutes from Galveston. Fort Travis Park is a great place to visit along with Pelican Island for Sea Wolf Park
More Restaurants…The Spot has great burgers, Mario's has great pizza, Landry's Seafood, lots of restaurants and shops on "The Stand"
Use cruise driven to get from airport to port
Just re-subbed, good to see you guys again. My ex and I did a fly-stay-cruise deal, out of port Canaveral, worked out great, easy as pie
I booked via a company called Galveston Limosine and they have a shuttle service that if you book online is $35/person. It's not personal as you'll have other passengers being dropped on the way too but hey, for $210 my family of 6 will be going from IAH to Galveston so win!
Great video!
I only watched 1/2 of your video and realized I made a huge mistake by booking on the Regal Princess out of Galveston. We are seasoned cruise travelers with 32 great cruises. I realize now why ships sailing from Galveston are so cheap. From Pittsburgh, and it makes no sense for us to fly into Houston and spend more money than the cruise cost, just to get to the ship??
the man in the pleasure pier picture was my manager at the san luis hotel😂😂
I am thankful we are within driving distance to New Orleans and Galveston. I want to visit other cruise destinations but I’m overwhelmed with the need to fly, find hotels and rides to the port. In a year or so I will have too because I’m sure I will be over the same Caribbean destinations. Thanks again. I cruise in Aug from Galveston and had to watch this again.😊
We stayed between Kemah and NASA. Eat at Fish Tales then walk the Pier.
we have been wanting to sail on Jubilee but after watching this Im rethinking it.
Great video I learned much from your presentation. The information you gave was delivered in a clear, and precise manner. Since I live on the East Coast, I will think twice about taking a cruise from Galveston. Thank you .
you guys need to try landry's next time you're in town … amazing food and atmosphere
Also, try the Galveston Naval Museum. There's a submarine, the Cavalla, and the Stewart. They are not exactly on Galveston Island but on Pelican Island which is east of the port. When you are on board the ship, you can look across the bay and see Pelican island. Another great eating spot is "Shrimp & Stuff". This is were locals go to eat. There are 2 locations. The one closest to the port is newer and better.