Cruising From Galveston -- How is Galveston, TX port?

What do people think of leaving from Galveston, TX?

Hi
Sailed from
Galveston last month.
The port is ok. New construction is underway to expand its facilities.
Van in Texas
"Shane M Ryan" wrote in message
...
What do people think of leaving from Galveston, TX?

What do people think of leaving from Galveston, TX?

Zillions of us Texans are grateful for the opportunity, since it's
easy to get to. Galveston itself ain't that great--for example, after
one muster drill I was out on deck calling our sons to let them know
we were leaving the country and when I said, "I'm standing on the deck
of our cruise ship overlooking Galveston," my son said, "I'm sorry,
Mom." :-)

We stayed at the Best Western Beachfront the night before because the
cost of a room is the same as parking at the cruise terminal and they
let you park for free. Coming back to the yucky gray-brown water of
Galveston after the spectacular blue of the Caribbean is always a
letdown, but at least we expected it.

Galveston is a wonderful cruise ship port and the Elation Is A great
cruise vacation

We recently cruised on the “ELATION” out of Galveston, Texas. We were
three retired couples from Seattle, WA. that
needed to get to warmer weather for a few days. We decided on the
“ELATION” because we wanted to cruise out of
Galveston, Texas. Non of us had ever been to Texas before. We read up on
Galveston and the surrounding area, and
this just seem to be the perfect place to start our western Caribbean
cruise.

A few days before leaving Seattle a friend provided us with the name and
telephone number of a gentlemen in Houston
with a lots of information about hotels and transportation in Houston and
Galveston. I visited with this gentlemen on the
telephone, asking him for advise on services available in both Houston and
Galveston. Since our cruise would sail on
Sunday afternoon, we all decided to fly down to Houston early, so we
arrived early evening on Friday.

This gentlemen provided me with a lots information about transfer service
and hotels in both cities. For our Friday stay we selected a hotel near
Bush Airport in Houston. At his advise we booked at the Hilton Garden Inn
near the airport. When we made our reservations we told the hotel we were
coming in to go on a cruise ship and they give us this fabulous rate. We
couldn’t believe we got such a great rate at a Hilton hotel. And the hotel
even picked us up at the airport.

Our driver had also agreed to transport us to Galveston on Saturday, we
also requested he give us a sightseeing tour
of Houston before going to Galveston. It turned out he is a professional
tour guide and had a great deal of knowledge
about Houston and the area. After two hours of sightseeing in the big and
busy city of Houston he drove us to Galveston.

When we got to Galveston our driver give us a great tour of this island
city on the Gulf of Mexico. Oh I thought I had gone
to heaven. As we drove down the “Seawall” there were people lying around
on the beach, young people surfing in the
Gulf waters. We couldn’t believe this was January, and folks walking
around in shorts, swimsuits, short shelves and
sandals. After we left the beach area we drove in area of town with
beautiful old Victorian mansions. And then on to the
old Historic downtown area called “The Strand”. This is the area next to
the cruise ship terminal with lot of shops,
restaurants, bars and museums. This area is where our Galveston hotel was
located. We spent Saturday night at the
Harbor House Hotel at pier 21, everything was so close and convince . The
hotel was great.

Saturday afternoon we did a walking around downtown, Saturday evening we
had delicious seafood in a restaurant
overlooking the water and then walked to the “Strand” for cocktails before
returning to our hotel.

On Sunday morning we all met in the hotel lobby at 11:00 am for check out
and then for the three minute taxi-van ride to
the ship.

Our entire party had a wonderful cruise on the “Elation”, the weather was
great the entire time. It was a little cool and
damp on our return to Galveston on the following Sunday. We disembarked
the ship with no problems at about 9:45 am,
and there was our driver L. J. waiting to return us to the Houston
Airport, which was an hour and a half ride from the
ship. I wish we could return again soon. This is a wonderful part of the
country, everyone we encountered were warm,
friendly and accommodating.

For a wonderful cruise vacation we recommend the Carnival Cruise Line's
"Elation". and spend a pre-cruise night in
Galveston. We also recommend you take a private van service rather the
cruise ship bus, you'l see and learn more about this wonderful area of
Texas. If I can help you with more information about Galveston, Texas
write me.

Sol & Sadie Lehman-Sampson Seattle, WA.

Sadielsampson@yahoo. com




SueBee wrote:

What do people think of leaving from Galveston, TX?

Zillions of us Texans are grateful for the opportunity, since it's
easy to get to. Galveston itself ain't that great--for example, after
one muster drill I was out on deck calling our sons to let them know
we were leaving the country and when I said, "I'm standing on the deck
of our cruise ship overlooking Galveston," my son said, "I'm sorry,
Mom." :-)

We stayed at the Best Western Beachfront the night before because the
cost of a room is the same as parking at the cruise terminal and they
let you park for free. Coming back to the yucky gray-brown water of
Galveston after the spectacular blue of the Caribbean is always a
letdown, but at least we expected it.

Thanks for the review. My g/f and I will be driving to Galveston from
Oklahoma later this year to take the ELATION for 7 days and both of us are
really looking forward to it, this will be the second cruise for both of us.
I can't think of a better way to get out of the cold winter weather than to
spend a few days on the Caribbean eating what ever we want

Thanks again for the information!

"Sol & Sadie L. Sampson" wrote in message
...
Galveston is a wonderful cruise ship port and the Elation Is A great
cruise vacation

We recently cruised on the "ELATION" out of Galveston, Texas. We were
three retired couples from Seattle, WA. that
needed to get to warmer weather for a few days. We decided on the
"ELATION" because we wanted to cruise out of
Galveston, Texas. Non of us had ever been to Texas before. We read up on
Galveston and the surrounding area, and
this just seem to be the perfect place to start our western Caribbean
cruise.

A few days before leaving Seattle a friend provided us with the name and
telephone number of a gentlemen in Houston
with a lots of information about hotels and transportation in Houston and
Galveston. I visited with this gentlemen on the
telephone, asking him for advise on services available in both Houston and
Galveston. Since our cruise would sail on
Sunday afternoon, we all decided to fly down to Houston early, so we
arrived early evening on Friday.

This gentlemen provided me with a lots information about transfer service
and hotels in both cities. For our Friday stay we selected a hotel near
Bush Airport in Houston. At his advise we booked at the Hilton Garden Inn
near the airport. When we made our reservations we told the hotel we were
coming in to go on a cruise ship and they give us this fabulous rate. We
couldn't believe we got such a great rate at a Hilton hotel. And the hotel
even picked us up at the airport.

Our driver had also agreed to transport us to Galveston on Saturday, we
also requested he give us a sightseeing tour
of Houston before going to Galveston. It turned out he is a professional
tour guide and had a great deal of knowledge
about Houston and the area. After two hours of sightseeing in the big and
busy city of Houston he drove us to Galveston.

When we got to Galveston our driver give us a great tour of this island
city on the Gulf of Mexico. Oh I thought I had gone
to heaven. As we drove down the "Seawall" there were people lying around
on the beach, young people surfing in the
Gulf waters. We couldn't believe this was January, and folks walking
around in shorts, swimsuits, short shelves and
sandals. After we left the beach area we drove in area of town with
beautiful old Victorian mansions. And then on to the
old Historic downtown area called "The Strand". This is the area next to
the cruise ship terminal with lot of shops,
restaurants, bars and museums. This area is where our Galveston hotel was
located. We spent Saturday night at the
Harbor House Hotel at pier 21, everything was so close and convince . The
hotel was great.

Saturday afternoon we did a walking around downtown, Saturday evening we
had delicious seafood in a restaurant
overlooking the water and then walked to the "Strand" for cocktails before
returning to our hotel.

On Sunday morning we all met in the hotel lobby at 11:00 am for check out
and then for the three minute taxi-van ride to
the ship.

Our entire party had a wonderful cruise on the "Elation", the weather was
great the entire time. It was a little cool and
damp on our return to Galveston on the following Sunday. We disembarked
the ship with no problems at about 9:45 am,
and there was our driver L. J. waiting to return us to the Houston
Airport, which was an hour and a half ride from the
ship. I wish we could return again soon. This is a wonderful part of the
country, everyone we encountered were warm,
friendly and accommodating.

For a wonderful cruise vacation we recommend the Carnival Cruise Line's
"Elation". and spend a pre-cruise night in
Galveston. We also recommend you take a private van service rather the
cruise ship bus, you'l see and learn more about this wonderful area of
Texas. If I can help you with more information about Galveston, Texas
write me.

Sol & Sadie Lehman-Sampson Seattle, WA.

Sadielsampson@yahoo. com




SueBee wrote:

What do people think of leaving from Galveston, TX?

Zillions of us Texans are grateful for the opportunity, since it's
easy to get to. Galveston itself ain't that great--for example, after
one muster drill I was out on deck calling our sons to let them know
we were leaving the country and when I said, "I'm standing on the deck
of our cruise ship overlooking Galveston," my son said, "I'm sorry,
Mom." :-)

We stayed at the Best Western Beachfront the night before because the
cost of a room is the same as parking at the cruise terminal and they
let you park for free. Coming back to the yucky gray-brown water of
Galveston after the spectacular blue of the Caribbean is always a
letdown, but at least we expected it.

Thanks a lot, helpful information.

Can you provide prices for the private van service to Galveston and
back? How much was the Hilton?

Thanks!