Cruising from Galveston is perfect… almost.

The major problem? Getting to the port. While literally millions of people live within a few hours of the cruise terminal, there are literally tens of thousands of cruise passengers that fly into the Houston-area airports specifically to take a cruise.

For those people, making the journey to the cruise ship is a major hassle.

The first hurdle is the distance. Looking at a map, Galveston seems relatively close to Houston. But a trip by car from Houston Intercontinental (IAH) is 70-plus miles and can take up to 1.5 hours.

Coming from Hobby Airport is a little easier, but still takes up to an hour to go the 45 miles between the airport and cruise port.

Most people end up getting to the cruise port one of two ways — via one of the shuttle services offered by a few Galveston businesses or hiring a personal driver and car from a limousine company.

These services are fantastic — they let you relax as someone else takes care of the driving. The problem? They can get expensive, especially if you are a family of cruisers. As well, if you want to take a side trip or take your time exploring the area, then you are out of luck.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that we get a number of questions about renting a car to drive from Houston to Galveston. Is this possible?

Is it possible, but we have to tell you, it can also be expensive and a hassle. Here’s the scoop…

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the only rental agency with a location on the island. That severely limits your options if you plan to rent at the airport and drop the car off in Galveston.

In fact, as we write this an Enterprise representative just told us that the company doesn’t currently offer one-way rentals to Galveston. (She did say that these things change, so it may be worth it to double-check yourself.)

The alternative is to rent the car from a Houston airport, park it in one of the Galveston parking lots during your cruise, and then drive it back to the airport when you depart.

The downside is that you have to pay for rental days where you will be on your cruise, as well as parking fees. A recent search of rates finds a lowest price of $61 per day for a car rental at Bush Intercontinental. In other words, a 7-day rental costs about $450 — and that’s before gas and parking.

Unfortunately, the best way to get from Houston to Galveston isn’t a rental car. It’s expensive and takes some planning. Instead, we suggest a private car for hire or one of the independent shuttles. You can learn more about getting to the port here.

We love everything about Galveston cruising and know that our readers do as well. That’s why we’ve put together a cool infographic about Galveston and the cruise industry on the island. Take a look below — we’ll think you’ll learn some cool facts.

Of course, we encourage you to share this online. Feel free to tweet, like, or post it anywhere you like.

In seafaring terms, it’s a shot across the bow.

When the Bayport Cruise Terminal was first built, it stayed practically empty for several years. However, in late 2013 Princess Cruise Lines begin sailing from the port. Later this year, Norwegian will offer cruises from the Bayport Terminal as well.

The cruise lines’ decision to sail from Bayport comes at the expense of the Galveston port. In fact, Princess decided to move from Galveston to Bayport because it wasn’t able to use the port on its preferred dates since Carnival and Royal Caribbean had priority.

Now the Port of Galveston is fighting back.

According to The Galveston Daily News, the Port of Galveston has approved spending $100,000 on design plans for a third cruise terminal.

Here’s the issue — cruise passengers overwhelmingly like sailing on weekend days. Therefore, cruise lines are eager to offer weekend departure and return dates. But with two Carnival ships and one Royal Caribbean ship calling Galveston home, it doesn’t leave much room for other cruise lines (or more ships) to also sail on the weekend.

This seems to be the reason Galveston lost Princess Cruise Lines.

But with a third port, the number of open berths would be upped by 50%. Not only would that help keep current cruise lines happy, it would likely attract more ships.

The planning is still in the early stages, but this is clearly a big step by Galveston to show how serious they are about being the cruise port on the Gulf Coast.

Spring Break is almost here. Already the weather in Texas is turning much warmer — putting us the mood for some fun, sun, and water.

Of course, the perfect cure for that is a cruise. And thanks to the booming cruise industry in Galveston, you currently have more options for Spring Break cruises than ever before.

We count a total of 10 cruises leaving the island during the last three weeks of March. Meanwhile, the destinations — including Jamaica, Honduras and Belize — sound like the perfect cure to a long, cold winter.

Keep in mind that Spring Break is a pretty busy time for both cruises and Galveston. You can expect to pay more for your cruise during this time and just about any other time of year. Meanwhile, your hotel options may be a little more limited if you’re planning to stay on the island.

To give you an idea of what’s available, we’ve taken a peek at the cruise schedules to bring you all the options during Spring Break…

March 9-16 | Carnival Magic
7-Day Eastern Caribbean (Key West, Freeport, Nassau)
Starting at $799 per person

March 9-16 | Navigator of the Seas
7-Day Western Caribbean (Roatan, Belize City, Cozumel)
Starting at $914 per person

March 10-15 | Carnival Triumph
5-Day Western Caribbean (Progreso & Cozumel, Mexico)
Starting at $719 per person

March 15-20 | Carnival Triumph
5-Day Western Caribbean (Progreso & Cozumel, Mexico)
Starting at $489 per person

March 16-23 | Carnival Magic
7-Day Western Caribbean (Roatan, Belize City, Cozumel)
Starting at $619 per person

March 16-23 | Navigator of the Seas
7-Day Western Caribbean (Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel)
Starting at $654 per person

March 20-24 | Carnival Triumph
4-Day Western Caribbean (Cozumel, Mexico)
Starting at $349 per person

March 23-30 | Carnival Magic
7-Day Western Caribbean (Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel)
Starting at $559 per person

March 23-30 | Navigator of the Seas
7-Day Western Caribbean (Roatan, Belize City, Cozumel)
Starting at $744 per person

March 24-29 | Carnival Triumph
5-Day Western Caribbean (Progreso & Cozumel, Mexico)
Starting at $429 per person

We just ran across one heck of a deal and couldn’t wait to share it with all you Galveston cruisers.

Cruise parking is one of the hottest topics about sailing out of Galveston. We’ve already put together a comprehensive list of all your parking options — it’s one of our most popular pages.

Meanwhile, we’ve also shared some discounts and coupons to make sure you get the best deal possible on parking.

But now we’ve found something even better. It’s a way to get free Galveston cruise parking, while also having a memorable stay in one of the island’s historic bed and breakfast inns.

Here’s the scoop…

The Galveston Bed and Breakfast Association is made up of five different inns located on the island: Avenue O B&B, Coastal Dreams B&B, Coppersmith Inn, Lost Bayou Guesthouse, and The Villa B&B.

To cater to the cruise crowd, each bed and breakfast in the association has agreed to offer free parking to guests who stay at least one night before or after their trip. Given that the cheapest cruise parking lots charge $45 for a 7-day trip, that’s a great deal and can save you a lot of cash (especially if you are already staying on the island).

In addition, the inns also offer a unique experience staying on the island that you can’t get from a cookie-cutter chain hotel. Galveston is known for its history and beautiful architecture. These bed and breakfast inns — most of which are in houses that survived the great 1900 hurricane — offer a unique way to experience that history firsthand.

For more information on free cruise parking and the historic inns, follow this link.