Rhapsody of the Seas

[k8]

My fiancee' and I are sailing out of Galveston, TX on Rhapsody of the Seas (October 30th). This is my second cruise, his first. I have a question about parking at the port in Galveston. Can any one help me out on this? How much is it? If you stay in a hotel the night before can you leave your vehicle at the hotel for the duration of the cruise? Never been to Galveston....HELP!

[LovesAllTravel]

My family (2 adults, 2 teenagers) sailed on the Rhapsody June 26-July 3, 2005. We had a wonderful experience, loved every minute of it. As for parking in Galveston, through this message board and others, I learned of EZ Cruise Parking, one block from the cruise ship terminal. They are priced less than the port parking lots. Their website is www.ezcruiseparking.com. If you reserve your spot on-line, you get an even better price. They were great on the trip out -- very easy process ... husband dropped us off at the terminal, then he went to park the car and returned on the shuttle bus. Sunday morning return was another story ... not enough shuttle buses, massive number of people needing rides to all the parking lots. My husband ended up walking over to the parking lot (only a block away), retrieved our car and picked us up at the terminal.

We live in north Houston, so we did not need a hotel room prior to sailing. I've heard of hotels in Galveston that offer free parking for cruise ship passengers and they shuttle you to and from the terminal. You might check out the Hilton Galveston (on seawall, across from the beach) or some of the other hotels in the area -- Holiday Inn, Best Western, Galvez, San Luis (very nice). These hotels are all on the seawall, across from the beach. Another hotel downtown -- near the cruise ship terminal -- is the Tremont House, a boutique hotel. I don't know if any of these hotels offer free parking to cruise ship passengers ... but it doesn't hurt to ask! Especially in October, which is not a peak time for Galveston.

Any other questions about the Rhapsody, feel free to ask!

Great advice above! Most of the hotels they mentioned do offer the parking if you buy a certain type of room - tell them you are a cruise passenger. Before the cruises got really going they didnt' charge extra but now some do. The San Luis for instance when I looked was around $200 a night with parking for the week where I paid $150. Everyone has caught on! Also Moody Gardens Hotel is very nice and offers parking too in a garage. They have a website too. Check all the websites for the hotels mentioned above. Some are exclusive like the San Luis - very nice and we loved our time there. The hot tub is under the waterfall.....

I use Dolphin Parking - although I dont' like the wait for their shuttles to and from the ship they do have covered parking for around $60 week... Debbie

We just went on a cruise from Galveston. There are a lot of parking options available. We stayed overnight at the Laquinta at 14th st. Its probably the cheapest hotel on the seawall, but it was fine for one night. We parked our car there for the week and had no problems. A lot of the hotels allow you to stay and leave your car, but you usually have to book for 2 nights. Not at the Laquinta. Check out www. galveston. com for more hotels.

Have a great trip!

[k8]

Thank you SO much for all of the great information. I will check all options and you all have given me lots to go on. I'm excited. One more question. When in the Caribbean a year and a half ago, I used Soto Cruises in the Caymans to go to Sting Ray City....any idea on the website? I have lost all information on my previous cruise.

Thanks again for ALL the great information!

Kate