All Things Galveston (Updated - 5/21/14)

[dbenlee]

There are several good restaurants in Galveston. If you have kids, there is a Rainforest Cafe. There are several good seafood restaurants like Fish Tales, Fisherman's Wharf and Giado's. There is also a Saltgrass Steakhouse. There is a place called The Spot that is really good, they have a variety of things from burgers to seafood.

 

[mydisneydream]

My daughter is currently on vacation in Galveston with my sister and her family. They ate at Bubba Gumps last night, and EVERYONE had a blast! Said that food and drink were excellent and had a great time with the wait staff

 

[tmrose03]

Does anyone know about Moody Gardens rainforest pyramid. We are planning to go after we disembark Wonder. Any great restaurants in Galveston or general area. Thanks.

We are planning on doing their day pass at moody gardens the day before we cruise. It's fun they now have monkeys in the pyramid. The day pass is about $50 a person but gets you in to each of their attractions. I believe a ticket for one pyramid is $20 so it's worth it if you want to see more.

 

[cisobe]

I have a question regarding port arrival times and DCL booked pre night at hotel Galvez. After doing my registration I tried to pick a port arrival time, but it said I didn't need one and said could just show up since I booked a pretty cruise night through DCL. If we show up first thing in the morning at the first port arrival time, do we just get to get on with the first or second group?

 

[MemphisMickey]

bump

 

[allbluezoo]

I've lost my mind - husband arrives to San Antonio from San Diego 1:15am 12/21. We board the Wonder starting at 11:00am on.......12/21. Sounds like I'll be driving to Galveston while he sleeps! I reserved a spot at the terminal parking as we are surprising our kids and thought it would be easiest?

 

[ShelleyLynn]

We are flying into Hobby the day before our cruise. I have made arrangements with a town car service to take us to Galveston. We won't arrive at the hotel until about 10pm. I am going to check rates at the Holiday Inn on the beach since several people have recommended it. My main question is we have a port arrival time at noon, can anyone tell me if we can arrival earlier? My daughters will be climbing the walls to get on the boat and I would like to try and show up at 11. I don't want to do that if we will just have to stand outside and not be admitted inside. Any experience from previous travelers? TIA

 

[ukintheus]

We are flying into Hobby the day before our cruise. I have made arrangements with a town car service to take us to Galveston. We won't arrive at the hotel until about 10pm. I am going to check rates at the Holiday Inn on the beach since several people have recommended it. My main question is we have a port arrival time at noon, can anyone tell me if we can arrival earlier? My daughters will be climbing the walls to get on the boat and I would like to try and show up at 11. I don't want to do that if we will just have to stand outside and not be admitted inside. Any experience from previous travelers? TIA

They don't enforce PAT in Galveston so you can get there early. You may have a higher boarding group number but boarding goes fast and typically starts at 11:45 am. The only thing to be aware of is that there isn't anything to do at the terminal except one photo set up that has the characters rotating through it. Lots of people show up early, so seating is pretty packed. HTHs!!

 

[Illini_Fan]

Anyone try this code recently?
Cruise parking: Discount Cruise Parking http://www.discountcruiseparking.net/ -- They have indoor seating if the weather is bad, restrooms, a convenience store, a deli. Use promo code "8115" for an additional $5 off your parking.

I just tried the code for the 11/23 (Thanksgiving) cruise and the website returned "MSG23: Promo code not valid with this ship"

 

[sullins5]

Any Galveston questions, just ask!

About car rentals: We have booked a car for the week out of Houston Hobby (NOT through Enterprise) because when I called Enterprise, they said they don't allow one way rentals anymore. Just wondered if you've heard anything recently on Enterprise? Or if there is a new car rental place? I'm sure others are frustrated that it's so hard to get transport from HOU to Galveston. I watched until I got a decent rate for the 8 night car rental, but I know I'm not the only one to go through this.

We are cruising out of Galveston at the end of Sept. We are coming in around 5 p.m. Friday to Hobby and are trying to find the best way to get to the Holiday Inn Galveston on the Beach. The hotel has a shuttle to the port on Saturday morning, so we need transportation from Hobby to the hotel and then from the port to Hobby at the end of the cruise. Any suggestions?
Also, any suggestions for restaurants for Friday evening?

I called limos.com, looked at taxi services, looked at Super Shuttle, and out of everything I looked at? My cheapest price came from renting a car out of Houston Hobby for the 8 night rental and leaving it at our hotel (or actually their sister hotel, for free) Lots of advice on the transportation thread on codes and such for rental cars. Hope this helps!

 

[pharmd08]

Updated with a new code for EZ Cruise Parking! And we're working on a Lighthouse Parking shuttle right now where I work -- I'm hoping I can ask them for a code for us all too.

We have used Lighthouse Many times for parking and always had a wonderful experience!

 

[krosmith]

I have read about parking and am getting confused with all the options. We need handicapped parking, and the closest parking to the ship. Does anyone know what that would be, and should I look at pre booking the parking for our Dec. 14-21 trip?

TIA

 

[cruisecrasher]

I have read about parking and am getting confused with all the options. We need handicapped parking, and the closest parking to the ship. Does anyone know what that would be, and should I look at pre booking the parking for our Dec. 14-21 trip?

TIA

None of the parking is really close to the Galveston port. Most is a block or two. Almost all have shuttles. You can, however, drop passengers off directly at the terminal then park and come back to join your party.

 

[ShelleyLynn]

I am getting frustrated! My family of 4 flies in Friday, Oct 4th at 8:30pm. We are booked at Hotel Galvez for cruise on the 5th. I cannot find a decent rate on transfers! The best deal I found was with Houston 24 hour airport taxi and town car but all the reviews I find are awful! I looked at renting a car, either one way or for the 8 nights since I could park for free at Hotel Galvez but no good deals that route either. I am seriously bummed and in need of some pixie dust . Please, any help would be appreciated. I know we can always book super shuttle but they don't get good reviews also and when you travel with two kids you don't want to mess around with poor service.

 

[mydisneydream]

BUMP

 

[amejiajr8]

None of the parking is really close to the Galveston port. Most is a block or two. Almost all have shuttles. You can, however, drop passengers off directly at the terminal then park and come back to join your party.

This is what I am planning to do

 

[Southtxmom]

I've lost my mind - husband arrives to San Antonio from San Diego 1:15am 12/21. We board the Wonder starting at 11:00am on.......12/21. Sounds like I'll be driving to Galveston while he sleeps! I reserved a spot at the terminal parking as we are surprising our kids and thought it would be easiest?

We will be driving too!

 

[MemphisMickey]

Bump

 

[dcassetta]

I am getting frustrated! My family of 4 flies in Friday, Oct 4th at 8:30pm. We are booked at Hotel Galvez for cruise on the 5th. I cannot find a decent rate on transfers! The best deal I found was with Houston 24 hour airport taxi and town car but all the reviews I find are awful! I looked at renting a car, either one way or for the 8 nights since I could park for free at Hotel Galvez but no good deals that route either. I am seriously bummed and in need of some pixie dust . Please, any help would be appreciated. I know we can always book super shuttle but they don't get good reviews also and when you travel with two kids you don't want to mess around with poor service.

This might not be a suggestion that would make everyone comfortable, but perhaps check your cruise message board and get several families to go in together on a big SUV or 15 passenger van. Renting one of those, and splitting the cost, might be more economical than doing SuperShuttle etc.

 

[MemphisMickey]

I see many people are booking their parking ahead. Is this really an issue with finding parking? I just planned to use port parking. Will there be an issue with getting a spot for November cruise?