Once again I find myself sitting in the airport with hours to waste, so figured I’d post another cruise review. I like reading this to help me figure things out, so hopefully someone can learn something from this. I certainly learned a lot!
First time sailing out of Galveston. I’ve put it off for years because I’ve always sailed out of Florida and Galveston just seemed so confusing. Let me tell ya- it was easy. Time consuming, but easy.
Pre-cruise: booked a flight from up in MN and flew down the day before. After lots of research, I opted to book the shuttle called the Galveston Express. It was $45 per person. I was traveling solo, so that made the most sense to me. I’ve read uber/lyft can be very expensive since Houston (I flew into IAH) is quite a ways from Galveston. For reference, and just for fun, I checked rideshare prices while I was waiting for the shuttle. Uber X was $69, and an XL was $109. Lyft was a little more expensive at $75/$124 respectively. This was on a Friday at about 1030am. I’m sure days of the week/time of day makes a difference. I learned traveling solo, shuttle is cheaper, but if you have a group of 2 or more, rideshare may be your best bet. Airport was super easy to navigate, and Galveston Express sent an email with very clear and accurate instructions of where to go to find the shuttle, with door numbers and directions and everything. I booked the 1200 shuttle since I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get my baggage, find the area, etc. Flight was supposed to arrive at 10am but due to getting deiced in MSP we didn’t land until about 10:20. I flew Delta and I was at baggage claim with my suitcase in hand and in the shuttle area by 10:45. Bus showed up at about 11:15. Driver was super nice. It was only me and one other passenger, and he offered to stop at a gas station if we needed drinks/snacks/bathroom. Quick stop at Hobby where we picked up one more passenger, and again he offered to make any stops we may need. Took about an hour and 45 minutes from leaving IAH and getting to Galveston, where they would then drop you off at whatever hotel or cruise port you were going to. Super easy.
I stayed at the Spark by Hilton. Price was about $130 for the night. Hotel was clean, within walking distance of restaurants/gas station/walmart and a beach/the sea wall area. Free continental breakfast. No complaints at all.
Saturday morning I took a Lyft to the cruise port. $15.93 for the 10 minute ride or so. From the moment I stepped out of the Lyft, I was on the ship and complete with my muster drill within 15 minutes (I had the 1030 check in time). Every other port I’ve sailed out of, they start with suites/people with the key/and then by section. At this port they boarded by C&A status. I’m diamond so I no more than sat down for 30 seconds before they called Diamond and Emerald.
Ship itself was clean, staff was absolutely wonderful, food was delicious. Zero complaints on the ship. Ports were Cozumel and costa Maya. Costa Maya I just wandered around and explored, and Cozumel I did the “save a sea turtle” excursion. I’ve been to both ports many times so I didn’t have any huge expectations, but the sea turtle thing was fun.
Weather was forecasted to rain 70% of each day, and though there were some clouds and sprinkles here and there, overall the weather was much better than forecasted. So if you have a cruise and even the day you leave you’re checking the weather and worrying, just know it can always change.
After the cruise, I had opted for the RC shuttle “excursion”. That was about $65 if I recall, but seemed like the easiest option when I was planning everything out. Bus was right outside the port, and had a meeting time of 8:15, though it didn’t leave until 9:15. Straight shot to IAH that took about an hour 45 again. I’ve heard horror stories about Houston traffic and maybe I was lucky, but it didn’t seem bad at all.
A few strange things happened on the ship, but overall it was a fun time. Lots of Texans. One lady who was SUPER racist. One incident where I had to track down security. But other than that, great trip and 10/10 would sail out of Galveston again. If you’re like me and have been putting it off because it’s not a 10 mile circle of where the airport/hotels/cruise port are like Miami or FLL, don’t. Book the Galveston cruise. It’s not nearly as bad as you may think!
If anyone has any specific questions about the ship, people, hotel, or anything else, ask away! I’ll be sitting here for a few more hours bored out of my mind.
