Galaxy2004

Food - Having cruised back when there were midnight buffets with ice sculptures, chocolate fountains, and fruit carvings as well as theme buffets at least one night a cruise on the pool deck, and having my most memorable cruise meal being in Ocean Liners on Constellation many years ago, I agree that things have changed and continue to change. We still had plenty of good food with enough variety to keep us happy. Murano - We ate the first night in Murano and it was good. Stars of that meal for me were the beef tartare and the grand marnier souffle. Table side deboning of the dover dole is always fun to watch and waiter Barin had obviously done it many times. After hearing about crazy long waits in anytime dining, we're glad we started the cruise off with a nice relaxing dinner. Ocean View breakfast - We always had breakfast in Ocean View (along with grabbing an almond croissant in Café al bacio a few mornings!). This was a full sailing, so it was crowded at breakfast, especially if you wanted omelets or poached eggs, and finding a table always took a bit of time. As far as food, I still enjoy their waffles so a couple mornings I got a waffle and then topped it with whipped cream, dried cranberries, bananas, and nuts. Other days it was a croissant with butter and honey baked ham or Canadian bacon. We weren’t fans of the donuts or daily bakery highlights (cinnamon roll, banana bread, etc). There was always pineapple, oranges, cantaloupe, cereal, etc. if you wanted a bit healthier fare. Ocean View lunch – I miss the wider variety of cheeses and breads, but there are still plenty of options. I like the Indian and Asian focused dishes (rice, noodles, curry, etc.). Not impressed by the pot pies they had one day. I also like the chicken salad and egg salad so those as sandwiches with a side salad or one of their pasta salads work great for lunch. One thing we missed though was the stir fry station. That was our favorite on Apex!! Ocean View dinner – Yes, the offerings have been reduced, but we had dinner here 3 nights and were fine. We would love to have had a grill or stir fry station though and hope they add something like that to the offerings. There were never more than 20 or 30 other diners when we were there (usually around 7). Main dining dinner – A quick disclaimer – I’m a breakfast and lunch person, and usually have a small dinner so I’m not into eating a big meal at night. I’m the same when I cruise so I’ve never really enjoyed the 1.5-2 hour multi-course dinner, especially late seating, which is always my DH’s preference. Luckily my BFF is like me so we did anytime dining with no reservations because we like the flexibility. We are also fine with waiting. We waited 15 – 30 minutes most nights but did have a hour wait one night. We also saw some with reservations being told they would have to wait. I was disappointed in how some of our fellow passengers treated the hostess, who honestly was doing the best she could. For us, we just grabbed the pager and lounged in Craft Social or went to the Casino until it beeped. The food was fine, but, honestly, that’s always how I’ve felt about the main dining room meals. Items worth noting to me: chickpea-tomato soup; the escargot was better than it was on my November Equinox cruise; I got the timeless salmon one night and it was cooked perfectly; I actually like the pork and beans everyone’s been laughing about. I’m a sweet dessert person so seldom like the desserts but their chocolate torte is good. Main dining lunch – We did eat in the dining room on the last day to avoid the chaos in Ocean View. Fried chicken was a pleasant surprise and the key lime pie was my favorite dessert for the week. We'll have to visit this venue more often in the future on sea days. Ice cream – always busy. After eight and pistachio remain good picks for me. Spa Café – I like the refuel smoothie and salmon salad for lunch but the offerings are repetitive so not a highlight to me.

Ship and Rooms I was in 6246 (above lifeboats) and she was in 6234 (hump cabin). Rooms were clean but we look forward to them being updated and boy we missed all the outlets in the Apex rooms. Our room attendant was Jan from the Philippines. He was awesome. Always there when we needed him, but not intrusive. Don’t book 6246 if light bothers you as the lifeboats are lit up and so there’s always light outside your room. If you are like me and like to wake up by natural light, this was a bit of a bummer. Also, we and passengers in a couple of rooms in between us also heard some banging and clanging below us – maybe from the restrooms near Ensemble Lounge? I love the Solstice class because of the multi-story atrium. I love to spend time in the library - though it's not always quiet because of all the activities they do in the Grand Foyer, and I use the 6th floor concierge/captain's club area for checking in at work. All areas were clean and saw only a few spots of wear and tear. I would love to see them do away with the lawn club and put in the Roof Top Garden area like on the Edge class. We were always able to find places to lounge in and out of the sun, even with a bit of chair saving going on around the pool area.

@countess5 has a live thread going and this voyage was part of their 47-day trip. Didn’t want to intrude on that thread, but here are my thoughts on this 10-night segment. Background – 15th cruise on Celebrity, with the first being on Galaxy in 2004. 3 cruises last year (2 on Apex, 1 on Equinox). Normally cruise with DH and in-laws, but this trip was with my BFF, who also did Apex 2 x with me last year. We had separate rooms thanks to a great solo supplement promotion. Love good food, but do no expect 4 or 5-star dining on a cruise ship. I normally book non-suite balcony rooms and seldom do specialty dining. I cruise this time of the year in the Caribbean to RELAX and get away from Tennessee winters. I'll break down posts based on different subjects to keep the posts shorter. Happy to answer any questions. Embarkation - We had 11:30 boarding time, having reserved that through the app as soon as we could. Arrived about 10.45 and walked straight into the terminal. BFF had to meet with Guest Relations at the check-in counter so they explain to her she could not get off the ship in Martinique since her renewed passport didn't make it in time for the trip. She did get different answers on this when she called a couple of weeks ago, but we were prepared for this based on our own research. Completed our safety briefing in the app while waiting. Though there was already a full house waiting to board, we were onboard by 11:20. Embarkation is soooo much better than it used to be.

We don't make reservations because we enjoy the flexibility of going when we want each night. We understand there may be a wait and don't have a problem with that. Similar to eating out when not on the ship.

On Equinox now. Have anytime dining. Went 2nd night at 7.15 and had a 1 hour wait. Went tonight at 6 and waited 15 mins. Both times got a pager and enjoyed drinks at Craft Social until buzzed. Wait will depend on how many of your fellow guests decide to eat at the same time. Ate last night at Ocean View/buffet and though choices were more limited than in the past (15+ cruises with Celebrity), we were fine with the options. Agree with others that it would be nice to have grill options available at the buffet in the evening.

I recently had to push back with an agent who said they did not stack. This is verbiage from the cruise planner saying they are combinable. Drink packages say otherwise. He swore his system wouldn't let him stack the wifi discounts so he did the pre-cruise price then added on-board credit for the difference. This past November, I had an agent that stacked the discount without any problem. Sure wish we didn't have to call to get the discounts and they would simply apply to your account as you book it since your status is there.