81st Dolphin Parking

We parked here for a 9 nt cruise on 11÷13÷15. Getting into the lot was quick and painless. We parked and were on the shuttle in less than 5 minutes. I did not realize that we could bring our luggage with us on the shuttle, so we had already dropped our wives off at the terminal. When we got back from the cruise we walked off the ship at approximately 8:30 am and the shuttle was waiting in the designated pick up spot. The driver loaded our luggage and had us back at our vehicle in no time. Everybody was courteous, friendly and prompt. The drivers were very helpful and the shuttles were clean and comfortable. We will definitely park here again!

We cruised August 16 — 23, 2015. Arriving the 16^th was easy. The shuttle arrived in about 3 minutes and drop off was easy. However, we’ve been waiting in the hot August Texas sun for over 30 minutes with only a couple of shuttles running. Our kids are melting and we could have walked to the parking lot by now. My suggestion is to walk off the ship with your luggage in tow as early as possible and maybe you won’t wait as long for the shuttles. DCP next door also has chairs and umbrellas to make the wait more doable.

We parked here for a 7 day cruise (August 2 – 9, 2015). We arrived to the dock around noon and noticed the very long line of cars waiting to drop off luggage. Many of the other parking lots will not let you take luggage on the shuttle, but since dolphin parking does we happily skipped that step and drove straight to the lot. They helped us on their shuttle immediately, and we were at our terminal in minutes. They even flagged a porter for us. On returning we had a person to greet us and let us know we only had a 5 min wait for our shuttle. Once we returned to the lot we discovered our battery was dead (kids left an interior light on!) and they jumped it for us. When that didn’t work, they double jumped using two vans! I didn’t know you could even do that but it worked! Everyone was courteous and went above and beyond. The price was less than the other lots. Highly recommend.

Parked there last week. First time on cruise. First time park here. Great experience. Easy to reserve spot online. Keep the confirmation or order number, you’ll need it as you pull in. The price was reasonable for a 7 day parking. Parking lot was easy to find. You’ll get picked up where you got drop off. We did self-​assist and got off before everyone else and sure enough the shuttle was there. Drivers were nice. Sign says drivers work for tips so be generous!

We parked here last week while on a 7 day cruise. My parents have parked at this location 4+ times, but this was my husband and I’s first experience using the company. I will absolutely be using them again for our next cruise!
They are affordable (especially when you save $ 5 pre-​booking online), and the location is great. Our group had 4 cars parked at 81^st Dolphin Parking, and 2 of the cars decided to park and take the 81^st Dolphin shuttle to the cruise ship with their luggage. The other 2 cars (mine being one of them), dropped off all the luggage at the cruise terminal and then only the drivers went to park the car and take the 81^st Dolphin shuttle back. It was a major surprise to me that it was faster to go directly to the parking lot and carry your luggage with you in the shuttle to the terminal!
When we arrived back in Galveston and got off of the ship, the shuttle was there waiting for us, (I expected to have to call them and wait for a shuttle like I usually do at the airport), but it was so nice to see them waiting.

They were really good. Cheaper than parking closer, and really friendly. Helpful with the bags, ready when you are, friendly drivers. I will definitely park here again the next time I cruise.

We have utilized Sylvia and her crew at 81^st Dolphin for at least a half dozen cruises out of Galveston. They have always gone above and beyond and I think we have only had to wait more than 10 minutes on one occasion for a return trip on a very busy CARNIVAL MAGIC holiday cruise.
They assist in the loading and unloading of all bags and will contact the porters to expedite the loading and unloading of luggage directly onto the ship. We utilize the online billing process to expedite the process of payment (and get an additional discount) and have never had any security issues as the parking lot is under camera surveillance and secured well with a secure fence and entry.
I always support local family owned businesses and they have taken care of us, including holding a forgotten piece of luggage with no issues. I highly recommend this option over the port options as it is easy breezy with no heavy lifting or long term waiting on their staff. The trip to the ship is usually a five minute or less trip and we have never had any issues with 81^st Dolphin. Call for directions as the location can be hard to find and is not right on the pier or on 81^st street (old location) but on Market Street. It has always been well worth the positive experiences that we have had on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises out of Galveston.
–Boomer

We have been parking with Dolphin for several years now and we have been very satisfied! The price is right and the people are great — especially Syvia. I highly recommend using them. They are close to the ships and have a complimentary shuttle service to your ship. We never had any problems with our vehicles either. You can’t go wrong with Dolphin!

Booked this parking for a RC cruise we were taking… figuring they were part of a national company so might be better service. When we arrived there were 3 cars in front of us and no attendants at the gate… after about 2 mins one showed up and pointed us to where to park. Then they came to take reservations or payments… they seemed disorganized, one did not have any tickets for the dash, one did not have a credit card processing attachment for their tablet… it took about 30 mins to go from pulling into the lot to getting loaded on a shuttle. Once we got to the port, they were quick to help us unload and even went in and got us a porter for the luggage… so that was very helpful.
Upon the return, we had to wait about 10 mins for a shuttle… then the driver broke the back door trying to shut it with all the luggage… so we had to wait even longer… it took about 30 mins total to get us from when we showed up at the pick up to the time we got to the car.
All and all, not bad… but not great either.