Yep yep yep! The Disney Magic will be sailing out of Galveston, TX starting on 9/22! ((I'm planning to meet other Disney cruise fans at the pier to welcome her which I'll report on later.)) Anywhoo, Galveston is a half hour or less from where I live now. A few weeks ago hubby & I took a drive to go look around by the cruise terminal so I could scope out places to watch the Magic arrive. I ended up taking lots of pics to share with potential cruisers who might have questions as to what's where on the island. Last Saturday we took the kiddos + a friend to Schlitterbahn / Galveston Island for the day. We took more pics of the waterpark and surrounding area from inside the park that I think could be helpful for anyone planning to spend a few days in Galveston pre- or post- cruise.
Without any futher adeiu, let's get the info rolling!
How will you get to the port? If you don't already live fairly close we'll assume you will fly in. Houston is a short drive up I-45 from Galveston and has 2 large commercial airports. First there'sGeorge Bush Intercontinental (IAH) on the north side of Houston. This is the larger of the 2 airports and has international flights coming/going every day. If you fly Continental/United this is your airport. ((Used to be a major hub for Continental but not sure what the status is since the United buyout & subsequent changes.)) Sounds all kinds of great until you find out that this airport is on the opposite side of Houston from where you want to be. To get from IAH to Galveston you'll need to travel thru the middle of the city which can be a very bad thing depending on day of week, time of day, status of frequent closures, and accidents/breakdowns/traffic. In ideal conditions with nobody on the road and no snags you're still looking at an hour or more travel time. The second of the aiports is William P. Hobby (HOU) on the southeast side of Houston. This is a smaller airport but not tiny by any means. A number of carriers fly in here. If you are a Southwest flyer then this is your airport because it's a hub for the airline. It's located muuuuch closer to Galveston. In ideal traffic conditions you're looking at half an hour drive down I-45 to the island. I wouldn't recommend staying at any of the hotels in the immediate area around this airport because it's not the nicest part of town.
I'm not sure what DCL is doing for transportation to/from the airports. I've heard conflicting info on this. Some people say they're only offering transfers from IAH but I can't imagine them driving right past HOU and not stopping to pick up more passengers. I've also read that DCL will be offering transfers from both airports. There's not as much as Port Canaveral in the way of booking private transfers via limo services. I assure you that driving isn't all that daunting if you prepare yourself ahead of time with printed out routes & maps.
Hotels. If you're coming in early which most people seem to do (wisely) I would highly recommend staying down in Galveston. You're closer to the port and the accommodations there are geared towards vacationing visitors. I've read that DCL is listing the historic Hotel Galvez as a host hotel where they will have an information desk set up and offer shuttles. Here's a pic I took while we drove along the seawall on a very busy beach day:
It's really a beautiful, historic hotel. I've never stayed there but I've always wanted to.
If you don't want to spring for the Galvez there's lots of other hotels in a miriad of price ranges all along Seawall Blvd. many of which offer cruise terminal transfers. Why? Because DCL is sort of a late-comer to sailing out of Galveston. Carnival sails 2 ships (one of which is the big, new Carnival Magic). Royal Caribbean is on their way back this fall with the Mariner of the Seas. I believe there are a few others that also port from here. Seawall Blvd. is correctly named because it follows along the sea wall. Literally. There's a sidewalk then the "wall" drops down to the beach below. See?
Please don't come here thinking Galveston has beaches similar to the beautiful, crystal blue waters cruisers are so spoiled to. The water is more like a Yoohoo drink with all the river silt that's infused. The sand is not white, it's brown. There's plenty of folks who partake of the water & beach but I can tell you my family is not one of them. We go visit relatives in Florida and enjoy the pristine beaches there.
Another fantastic hotel along Seawall is the San Luis Resort. Jim Cantore broadcasted from the San Luis for Hurricane Ike in 2008. Fuuuuuun.
Then there's my family's personal favorite: The Hilton Galveston Island. We've stayed here twice on weekend getaways when we lived further away and it was fantastic both times. We love it here.
One reason we love the Hilton so much is because the location has some serious perks. See the building structure to the right side of this picture? This is the little complex that has some fun places to eat, one of which might sound familiar to the WDW afficianados: Rainforest Cafe! Except this Rainforest has a Build-a-Bear and a river raft ride inside it. Okay, so the raft ride is extreeeemely tame and not up to Disney-standards with the details but it's a fun distraction and gives you a deep appreciation for what Disney does. Also, closer to the street is a Landry's Seafood which is excellent. We've eaten at both of these restaurants more than once and have always enjoyed ourselves immensely. In the area in front of the Rainforest and to the side of Landry's are some fun carnival-type games and an area where you will often find live acts such as jugglers, small bands, etc. It's truly a neat little festive area and it's right next to the Hilton!
There's a hotel right next to the cruise terminal, too. I can't say anything about this hotel because I've never been there, only drove by. It's called the Harbor House. My pics don't look anywhere near as nice as what's on their website.
Understand, the terminal and the Harbor House are not close to the sea wall. They're sorta on the other side of the island. There's still stuff to do in this area so don't fret. It's not walking distance from one area to the other but even if you took a cab it'd be very inexpensive.
Without any futher adeiu, let's get the info rolling!
How will you get to the port? If you don't already live fairly close we'll assume you will fly in. Houston is a short drive up I-45 from Galveston and has 2 large commercial airports. First there'sGeorge Bush Intercontinental (IAH) on the north side of Houston. This is the larger of the 2 airports and has international flights coming/going every day. If you fly Continental/United this is your airport. ((Used to be a major hub for Continental but not sure what the status is since the United buyout & subsequent changes.)) Sounds all kinds of great until you find out that this airport is on the opposite side of Houston from where you want to be. To get from IAH to Galveston you'll need to travel thru the middle of the city which can be a very bad thing depending on day of week, time of day, status of frequent closures, and accidents/breakdowns/traffic. In ideal conditions with nobody on the road and no snags you're still looking at an hour or more travel time. The second of the aiports is William P. Hobby (HOU) on the southeast side of Houston. This is a smaller airport but not tiny by any means. A number of carriers fly in here. If you are a Southwest flyer then this is your airport because it's a hub for the airline. It's located muuuuch closer to Galveston. In ideal traffic conditions you're looking at half an hour drive down I-45 to the island. I wouldn't recommend staying at any of the hotels in the immediate area around this airport because it's not the nicest part of town.
I'm not sure what DCL is doing for transportation to/from the airports. I've heard conflicting info on this. Some people say they're only offering transfers from IAH but I can't imagine them driving right past HOU and not stopping to pick up more passengers. I've also read that DCL will be offering transfers from both airports. There's not as much as Port Canaveral in the way of booking private transfers via limo services. I assure you that driving isn't all that daunting if you prepare yourself ahead of time with printed out routes & maps.
Hotels. If you're coming in early which most people seem to do (wisely) I would highly recommend staying down in Galveston. You're closer to the port and the accommodations there are geared towards vacationing visitors. I've read that DCL is listing the historic Hotel Galvez as a host hotel where they will have an information desk set up and offer shuttles. Here's a pic I took while we drove along the seawall on a very busy beach day:
It's really a beautiful, historic hotel. I've never stayed there but I've always wanted to.
If you don't want to spring for the Galvez there's lots of other hotels in a miriad of price ranges all along Seawall Blvd. many of which offer cruise terminal transfers. Why? Because DCL is sort of a late-comer to sailing out of Galveston. Carnival sails 2 ships (one of which is the big, new Carnival Magic). Royal Caribbean is on their way back this fall with the Mariner of the Seas. I believe there are a few others that also port from here. Seawall Blvd. is correctly named because it follows along the sea wall. Literally. There's a sidewalk then the "wall" drops down to the beach below. See?
Please don't come here thinking Galveston has beaches similar to the beautiful, crystal blue waters cruisers are so spoiled to. The water is more like a Yoohoo drink with all the river silt that's infused. The sand is not white, it's brown. There's plenty of folks who partake of the water & beach but I can tell you my family is not one of them. We go visit relatives in Florida and enjoy the pristine beaches there.
Another fantastic hotel along Seawall is the San Luis Resort. Jim Cantore broadcasted from the San Luis for Hurricane Ike in 2008. Fuuuuuun.
Then there's my family's personal favorite: The Hilton Galveston Island. We've stayed here twice on weekend getaways when we lived further away and it was fantastic both times. We love it here.
One reason we love the Hilton so much is because the location has some serious perks. See the building structure to the right side of this picture? This is the little complex that has some fun places to eat, one of which might sound familiar to the WDW afficianados: Rainforest Cafe! Except this Rainforest has a Build-a-Bear and a river raft ride inside it. Okay, so the raft ride is extreeeemely tame and not up to Disney-standards with the details but it's a fun distraction and gives you a deep appreciation for what Disney does. Also, closer to the street is a Landry's Seafood which is excellent. We've eaten at both of these restaurants more than once and have always enjoyed ourselves immensely. In the area in front of the Rainforest and to the side of Landry's are some fun carnival-type games and an area where you will often find live acts such as jugglers, small bands, etc. It's truly a neat little festive area and it's right next to the Hilton!
There's a hotel right next to the cruise terminal, too. I can't say anything about this hotel because I've never been there, only drove by. It's called the Harbor House. My pics don't look anywhere near as nice as what's on their website.
Understand, the terminal and the Harbor House are not close to the sea wall. They're sorta on the other side of the island. There's still stuff to do in this area so don't fret. It's not walking distance from one area to the other but even if you took a cab it'd be very inexpensive.
