Over the past couple of years, there’s been plenty of drama concerning rideshare in Texas. While cruise passengers loved the services because they offered a cheap ride to the cruise port from Houston, cities imposed regulations on the services.

The result of those city rules was that both Uber and Lyft pulled out of the Galveston market and Lyft left Houston as well. This meant cruise passengers had to find alternate (and usually more expensive) ways to get from Houston to the Galveston cruise port.

That’s not the case any longer.

Following recent statewide legislation, rideshare companies operating in Texas are regulated on the state level instead of the local level. That means there is no longer a patchwork of rules for them to follow, depending on the city.

Following the passing of the legislation, Uber and Lyft have come back into many Texas cities. Austin may have received the most fanfare when the companies came back, but more quietly Lyft returned to Houston and both companies returned the Galveston.

That’s great news for cruisers living or flying into the Houston area.

Uber and Lyft offer affordable transportation to the cruise port, typically at a sharp discount to taxi cabs or shuttle services if you travel with a family or group. Estimated fares for Uber and Lyft are $42-56 from Houston Hobby to the cruise port each way.  The estimated cost is $73-96 for a ride from Bush Intercontinental to the Galveston port.

Keep in mind that fare is for the car, not per person like many other shuttle services. Up to four people can ride for that price. So a family of four flying into Houston Hobby would spend about $80-110 roundtrip for a ride to/from the cruise port, compared to $240 for the cheapest shuttle service.

Having more options — and cheaper ways — to get to the cruise port is a great thing. Getting from the airport to the cruise ship is without a doubt the biggest hassle of cruising from Galveston. This should make it easier and attract more passengers to the island.

For more on using these services to get to the cruise port, visit our page on port transportation.

Note: If you are a first-time Lyft rider, use our sign-up here to download the app and get FREE ride credits for your first rides. Please note that we receive a small commission for new sign-ups from links on this website.

There’s little doubt you’ve heard of the mechanical issues affecting the Carnival Liberty. The ship had to cancel multiple cruises due to an issue that affected its top speed. After spending a considerable layover in the Port of Galveston, the issue appears to still be unresolved.

While everything on the ship is still operable, its top speed is still an issue. In response, Carnival is replacing the Liberty with the Carnival Valor in December.

Carnival Liberty is scheduled to enter dry dock for upgrades in early December. This dry dock was planned well in advance of the mechanical issues affecting it appeared. Once it exits dry dock, however, it will then sail to Port Canaveral (near Orlando). The Carnival Valor will then switch from Port Canaveral and sail from Galveston.

Since Galveston is relatively far from any Caribbean ports, the speed of the ship is extremely important. This switch will give Galveston a cruise ship that can make the speeds needed to sail to the Caribbean and return in a 4 or 5-day cruise.

The Valor and Liberty are sister ships, so passengers shouldn’t notice much of a change in the type of ship they will sail on.

The Valor will start sailing from Galveston on December 17th. Past that date, it will simply pickup the schedule that the Liberty originally had, with no changes. Until then, however, there are some changes in the scheduled trips.

Here are the details from Carnival:

Carnival Liberty’s modified cruises from Galveston for the balance of November are as follows:

14 CRUISE – The Nov. 14 five-day departure will include an overnight call in Cozumel (the call at Progreso has been cancelled). The ship’s arrival back into Galveston on Nov. 19 will be delayed until later in the day. Guests sailing on this voyage will receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.

19 CRUISE: The Nov. 19 seven-day cruise will include stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya (the calls in Falmouth, Jamaica and Grand Cayman have been cancelled). The ship’s departure time will be 10:00pm for this cruise. Guests sailing on this voyage will receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.

26 CRUISE – The Nov. 26 five-day departure will include an overnight call in Cozumel (the call at Progreso has been cancelled). The ship’s arrival back into Galveston on Dec. 1 will be delayed until later in the day. Guests sailing on this voyage will receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.

Have questions? Have you sailed on the Valor before? Let us know in the comments.

Update: Carnival has cancelled a second trip departing November 5 due to the same issue. If you are booked on this cruise, Carnival should be in touch with details on a refund.

Carnival Liberty was recently delayed in returning to Galveston, and now we are finding out why. An issue with the ship’s alternators/generators have caused it to have trouble maintaining top speed.

While the ship was delayed getting back to Galveston, investigation into the problem revealed that it was more difficult to fix than previously thought. As a result, the cruise line has cancelled the current cruise (which was already set to start later than originally scheduled) and has adjusted two future cruises to accommodate the new schedule.

Guests on the cancelled cruise will be reimbursed the cost of their cruise, plus credit for a future cruise as well. In addition, they will receive a stipend of $90 per person.

Here is Carnival’s full statement, courtesy of CruiseLawNews.com:

“The cruise ship Carnival Liberty, which is homeported in Galveston, Texas, is experiencing a technical issue which is affecting the ship’s maximum cruising speed. The issue is only affecting the ship’s speed and all other systems are operating normally. The ship arrived in Galveston yesterday and since then we have been working with outside technical experts which we brought on to help us confirm our repair plan.

Guests had boarded the vessel yesterday in anticipation of sailing, however, outside technical experts, together with the ship’s technical team, conducted a deeper inspection of one of the diesel generators overnight and uncovered an additional problem not previously known. It has now been determined that one of the alternators cannot be readily fixed. This means the ship will not be able to maintain the sufficient speed needed to operate the itinerary as planned and unfortunately we must cancel today’s cruise.

Guests scheduled to sail on this voyage will receive a full refund of their cruise, along with a 100 percent future cruise credit and $90 per person reimbursement representing a previously promised onboard credit and stipend for meals in Galveston yesterday.

While repairs are ongoing, the itinerary for the ship’s next two voyages will be modified, as well. The Nov. 5 five-day cruise will include a full day call in Cozumel, however, the call in Progreso will be cancelled. The Nov. 10 four-day cruise will include a call in Progreso instead of Cozumel. Guests sailing on these voyages will receive a $50 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 25 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund. Voyages departing Nov. 14 and beyond are scheduled to operate their normal itinerary.

We sincerely apologize to our guests for this disruption in their vacation plans.”

Are you scheduled on one of these cruises? Let other people know what you plan to do in the comments below.

When it comes to cruising from Galveston, the biggest headache is getting from the Houston airports to the cruise port on the island. Taxis are expensive, cruise shuttles usually operate on a set schedule, and there simply aren’t many convenient ways to get to Galveston short of driving your own car.

For a time, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft offered a great solution. Not only did they offer on-demand rides available at any time of day, but they were also much cheaper than other methods of transportation.

It was too good to last, however. Due to disagreements over regulations, both Uber and Lyft pulled out of the Galveston market and Lyft left the Houston market completely.

Now, there is a new service that can get you back and forth between the airport (or other points in Houston) and the cruise port. It’s a rideshare service called Get Me.

Get Me operates similar to other rideshare services that you might be familiar with. They have an app that you download to your phone. When you are ready for a ride, you simply pull up the app and request a ride. Within minutes a driver should arrive, ready to take you wherever you need to go. Once the ride is done, you’ll pay for your ride through the app. No money changes hands with your driver. It’s all handled through the app.

The rideshare company has been operating in the Houston and Galveston markets for months now. However, they were recently awarded permission to pick-up at both Houston airports, making Get Me a viable options for cruise passengers flying into the city.

Estimated rates are actually comparable with taxi rates. The company estimates that will cost between $90-145 for a ride from Houston Hobby to the cruise port, and $145-200 from Houston Intercontinental.

If that’s the case, why bother taking Get Me for your cruise instead of just catching a cab?

First, many people prefer to ride with rideshare companies like Get Me instead of cabs because the experience is better. Rideshare drivers drive their own late-model cars and have to maintain a high review rating from passengers to keep driving. That leads to more satisfied customers than with taxi cabs.

Second, the rideshare companies often offer discounts and coupons that make the rides considerably cheaper. With Get Me you can use the discount code “GCT” when you pay for your ride to receive 50% off your fare. That makes it as little as $45 one-way from Hobby to the cruise port. And keep in mind that rate is for up to four people, not per person.

Update: Get Me is now offering only 15% off rides, using code “GALV”.

If you are flying into Houston and want to try Get Me, you can download the app for iOS and Android before you arrive.

Have you used Get Me to get to the Galveston cruise port? What was your experience like? Let your fellow cruisers know in the comments below.

Great news for Royal Caribbean fans in Texas. With little fanfare, the cruise line has added a second cruise ship to its schedules for late 2017. We first discovered the new ship coming to the island while doing a random search for cruises on cruise line’s website.

To be more specific, Royal Caribbean is adding the Vision of the Seas to its Galveston cruises. As of now, only 10 trips are scheduled. The first trip departs November 6, 2017 and the last cruise departs December 18, 2017.

During that time, the ship will sail 4 and 5-day trips to Mexico, with most trips stopping in Cozumel, but one itinerary stopping in both Cozumel and Costa Maya.

The Vision of the Seas is a smaller and older ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, first sailing in 1998 and measuring 915′ long. For comparison, the Liberty of the Seas — the line’s other ship sailing from Galveston — is more than 1,000 feet long and can carry almost double the number of passengers.

So while no one is likely to be “wowed” by the Vision of the Seas compared to more modern ships, we think it’s a very important signal for the Galveston cruise market.

For years Royal Caribbean has left the shorter voyages to Carnival in Galveston. If you wanted a quick 4 or 5-day getaway, your only option was to take one of Carnival’s trips. Royal Caribbean focused only on week-long cruises.

Placing the Vision of the Seas shows that Royal Caribbean is at least testing out the market for shorter trips itself. We believe that if the demand is there, the company may decide to put a smaller ship here full-time to sail shorter cruises.

That would be just another sign that the Galveston cruise market continues to grow steadily.

For a video tour of the ship, check out the video below: