REVIEW FROM A CRUISING NEWBIE: GALAXY PANAMA CANAL February 13-25 PART 2

[JLDMED]

DESCRIPTION OF OUR SKY SUITE

I was going to include a ship tour in this installment of my “probably way too long” review…but this section grew more than I thought it would. I’ll post the ship tour next.

With our Sea Passes in our hands, we found our way to the “midship” elevators (you’ll find out later why that was important!) up to deck #12 - the “Sky Deck”, and down the hallway to Sky Suite #1203. Our “home away from home” was on the port side of the ship, just aft of the elevators, and was on the highest level of the ship. The only things above us were the golf simulator and the topless sunbathing deck – neither of which we used! Below us on deck 11 was the Oasis Café – and we NEVER heard any noise from either area. It was great cabin – centrally located and not much traffic. The only noise we heard was from what (I assumed) was the air conditioning unit – kind of a constant drone that provided a white noise effect while trying to sleep. It worked for me! “ZZZzzzzzz…”

Just inside the door and to the right was the very adequate bathroom. It had a large mirror above the sink, with 2 built in corner shelves on the left. Thoughtfully, the cruise line installed little railings on them to prevent items from sliding off. There was also a separate magnifying mirror and a very inadequate hair dryer. Bring your own, unless you only have a few hairs to dry. J There is a single sink, with a cabinet underneath. Inside the cabinet doors are two shelves for storage, and a pull out trash receptacle. The tub is a generous size, with Jacuzzi jets that I never tried. The shower head is adjustable; both in height and angle, and the water pressure is more than adequate. Thankfully, no matter what time of day it was, there seemed to be plenty of HOT water. There are towel racks inside the shower, and a retractable clothes line. For those that are curious about these things – the toilet was very competent in taking care of its business. The vacuum fan in the bathroom also proved to be above average in keeping the air fresh, which was nice! Above the toilet are three storage shelves (more thoughtful railings) and another mirror. More towel bars just to the right, and a telephone, as well! I guess you could call for room service while taking care of business! As a final touch (which I thought extremely funny), there was a scale. They have got to be kidding!!

Outside the bathroom door were two floor to ceiling cupboards – one was used by the butler to store things and had a mini bar underneath, and the other had two deep shelves on top, and 4 drawers underneath. Just opposite the bathroom was the ample closet. 2 floor to ceiling doors opened to reveal hanging space for plenty of clothes. Not very many hangers, however, so bring some wire ones from home. We asked the butler for some, and he brought us a few. Next to that closet was another set of 2 floor to ceiling doors – one held a half space for hanging, and underneath were 4 drawers. The other held another half space for hanging, 4 more drawers, and the safe. The safe is NOT big enough for a laptop, but held wallets, passports, maybe a small camera, and things of that sort.

Just past the closets, there was a desk with a large mirror above it. There were 6 (or was it 8?) drawers underneath…and ONE electric outlet up top. Not a double one – a single one. So be sure and bring a power strip with you if you want to plug in curling irons, camera chargers, laptops, or music “whatevers”. We also brought an extension cord, but didn’t need it. There was a small couch, a glass top table, and an extra chair. The TV was in the corner, and did NOT swivel. There was a VCR under the TV, and from what I understand, you can borrow films to watch. The TV was a bit cantankerous, and seemed to mute itself on occasion. The “interactive features” were nice – you can book shore excursions, look at your ship board account, and even gamble from inside your room. There were a few channels to watch if you were in the mood for TV – CNN, a sports network, and a channel that showed reruns of old sitcoms. Oh well, who wants to watch TV on a cruise anyway?

There is a large “almost” floor to ceiling mirror right next to the bed – which is fabulous if you like the way you look when you roll out of bed in the morning. Otherwise, do what I did – and close your eyes as you go past!

We ordered our beds “as a set, together”, which meant they were pushed together and made up as a queen. We did not feel “the crack”, so they must have a pad they put across the top of the mattresses to make them seem more like one large bed. If you are picky about your mattresses – take heed. Lots of people I talked to complained that they were too hard. I had a very difficult time sleeping the first night, so I left a note for our butler and made him aware of the problem. By the next night, I had a thick foam egg crate type pad, and all was well. If I were you, I would ask for this early on – because I can’t imagine they have one available for every bed. Also, we had plenty of room under the beds to store our 4 suitcases!! Kept them out of sight, and out of the way.

The bedspread disappeared at night, and the bed was made up very nicely. Nice clean, crisp ultra white sheets, a duvet, and 4 pillows. We were very comfy. I do not know if they changed the sheets every day, but it seemed like it! Each night there were chocolates on each pillow, along with a plea for support for the Make A Wish Foundation. The request was made on the back of a drawing of a cruise vacation, created by a Make A Wish child.

LOVED THE BALCONY! At 179 square feet, it was absolutely huge. Floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, nice thick black-out curtains, and more room than we ever needed. WARNING! Don’t assume that it is entirely private. It is only covered about 6 feet out, so if you are out by the railing, people on the deck above can see you easily. We only saw people up there a few times, so we were not bothered at all. The balcony in 1203 is a rectangle that looks out to the port side of the ship. There were two chairs and a round table, as well as two padded reclining chaise lounges. A perfect place to while away a few hours, attempting to read, but mostly sleeping! My only complaint was that the clear glass/plexiglass railings were not kept as clean as I would have liked. Granted…sea spray, drizzle, and general dust can make it hard to keep them clean, but when you pay (a lot) for a balcony, you’d like to be able to look through the glass to see the ocean below. A comment to the housekeeping staff was made, and we had clean windows ever after. Like magic!

OUR BUTLER: Overall: a warm smile, a friendly face, and a kind person. He always greeted us, and inquired about our day. Mostly though, we saw very little of him -- but I suppose that was because our needs were met. He informed us that most of his cabins were on the floor below, and that we could reach him by phone if need be. He kept us supplied with ice and fresh water every day (much better to drink than the sink water), left trays and trays of snacks in the afternoon, took our laundry to be pressed, and delivered a bottle of champagne for our sail away. We were pretty easy and didn’t need much, so we didn’t ask for much. About the only “extra” request we had was for the egg crate, and I am not sure if the butler handled it, or the room steward – who was also very nice, by the way!

[tssace]

Looking forward to more ...

[HawaiiApril]

Those Make-a-Wish cards puzzled me, as they used to hold a little card with the next day's weather. This trip they were empty but still put on the pillow every night anyway.

[reklawr]

I knew you would like 1203. It's a great suite.

[JLDMED]

Ships tour has been posted...hope I remembered everything!

[Pincus]

What a great review -- and very helpful, too!

 

Do you happen to remember the name of your butler?

 

Thanks.

 

Pincus

[JLDMED]

His name was Paul, and he was great! Thanks for the complliment. Part three has been posted...I am working on part 4 - ship activites and shore excursions. Look for it in a day or two.