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LOL. Thanks. Must fight temptation............... Thanks Doncb. LOL.

Mxrdad wrote:Take Howdys advice. If the ship channel bridge is closed, dont take 610 East. Based on this, I would strongly advise taking Beltway 8 East (Sam Houston Parkway). Stay on Beltway 8 until you see 45 south. This will ensure you bypass all the bridges. It is a toll road so if you have a tag, your golden. This is by far the best route since the bridges will be closed.

No tag. I have no need for one in my home town.

Thinking about this, you used to be able to pay cash at the toll booths but they recently took them down and only accept tags now. At least on that stretch of the road anyway so might be out of luck. That said, the only other option would be to take 610, but take 610 west to 45 south. Its not that big of a detour but with no tag, and the ship channel bridge closed, that would be the best route. I'll still try to think on it for a while. Think of 610 as 1 big circle around Houston. You can be on 610 North and it will change to 610 West, and if you stay on it, it will turn into 610 south which will then put you at 45 south. I used to tease my Mother In Law that 610 is the best evacuation route in case of hurricane.

Mxrdad wrote:I used to tease my Mother In Law that 610 is the best evacuation route in case of hurricane.

It still is (for Aggies, anyway).

nightmare69 wrote:Wife and I are headed to Galveston on Black Friday to get on a cruise. I've heard I-45 bridge is still being repaired and will be closed to traffic. What is the best way to get around Houston coming from HWY 59? I don't mind taking tolls just as long as it's doesn't cost $30 like it did when I went around Austin.

I went to Galveston last year and I took 59 South down to Livingston and jumped on SH146 all the way to Galveston, totally bypassing Houston. It's a nice drive and no traffic until you get to Kemah.

Never, never try to use the Kemah bridge after 2 PM, unless you just like to sit in traffic forever. Also, the comments about the crush of trying to board thousands of people on a ship sounds not like something I would even get paid to do. And disembarking to go sightseeing. No thanks.

After Art has been police chief for a while, the best route through Houston may look like Sherman's march to the sea.

doncb wrote: But, if your not in a hurry, you could go to Winnie, then to Crystal Beach and ride the Ferry into Galveston. << fixed it for you.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

That's definitely the long way around, but if you decide to ride the ferry, bring along a bag of cheap bread to feed to the seagulls at the back of the ferry.

Best route? Go around. I can't stand Houston

We are going to take 610E around the construction on I45. I'm not paying a steep toll fee to go around. I'll stick to the free road.

Be sure you pre book your parking. There are 3 cruise ships that go out of that port and parking can be tight. I think you said you are going Friday. Some hotels will let you park in their lot and shuttle you to the port. Board early. One last hint. When you get back to Galveston, you will have to go through customs. That can be a LONG line. In the past, the porters that help you with your luggage have their own customs line. They take you and your bags straight up to a window. It will cost a few bucks tip but after what you spent in the last few days, this is pocket change. I sure someone will correct me if that is no longer correct.

howdy wrote:Be sure you pre book your parking. There are 3 cruise ships that go out of that port and parking can be tight. I think you said you are going Friday. Some hotels will let you park in their lot and shuttle you to the port. Board early. One last hint. When you get back to Galveston, you will have to go through customs. That can be a LONG line. In the past, the porters that help you with your luggage have their own customs line. They take you and your bags straight up to a window. It will cost a few bucks tip but after what you spent in the last few days, this is pocket change. I sure someone will correct me if that is no longer correct.

Our hotel lets us park our vehicle there for the durtation of the cruise. We have a boarding time in the morning. Thanks for he customs tip. Only thing I'm worried about is we get back to Galveston at 2pm. Once we finally get off the boat and back to our car we will be hitting rush hour traffic in Houston. Oh well.

philip964 wrote:Black Friday - pretty laid back day in Houston.

59 to I 45 to Galveston. Pretty simple. Problem tends to be at the cruise terminal with all the passengers showing up all at the same time. Traffic on the road to the terminal backed up almost to I 45, last time I dropped some one off. I remember thinking if I just went to the Strand the normal way I could have saved some time. But I wasn't parking, just dropping off.

Parking at malls can occasionally back out on to freeways that day causing problems.

I'd still avoid driving in Houston during rush hours despite it still being a holiday for most.

Have fun.

I did the 59 to I 45 Galveston route last weekend. It went pretty smooth.
Good Luck and have a great time!

Get off the boat and have dinner at one of the outstanding Galveston Restaurants. Leave Galveston at 6:30 and you will miss the Houston rush hour. One more idea. Carnival has a "behind the fun" tour of the ship. It is on the last day and it takes you on the bridge, engineering spaces, galley, crew area, etc. You must book it as soon as you board the ship in Galveston because it is a small tour. https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/d ... 80%99-tour

BTW - I second the suggestion to arrive in Galveston the day before. We did that over a Christmas cruise a couple of years ago. We stayed at the Inn at the Waterpark, one of the hotel/motels that offered covered parking for our vehicles behind a security fence. Turned out they had great security, covered by video 24 hours/day. They also know the routines, and got us to the terminal with no muss/no fuss and about as little waiting as could be expected.