Will We Be Happy On Galaxy?

[snowmouse]

We are among the hoards anxiously awaiting the Europe 07 bookings. As I daily scrutinize the itinerary offerings I keep going back to the Galaxy as it has quite a few Greek Islands, a high priority for us. We have never cruised X before, nor have we cruised on a smaller/older ship, so I'm just wondering how we will find it.

 

Because this trip will be so port intensive, will we even be on the ship enough for it to matter? We've heard such great things about X's service and food and would really like to go with X for this trip. Our back up ship would be Millenium, but it hasonly 2 greek stops.

 

Our party will include 2 over 80, but active grandparents, my husband and I, mid 40's, and our 3 children who will be 16,16, and 10. The seniors are 1st time cruisers, our kids usually cruise with us.

 

Please let me know what you think of Galaxy vs. Milllenium. I realize that this type of itinerary will not have as many kids as we are used to on our previous cruises. Has anyone out there done this type of trip with kids?

[RickT]

I've cruised the Galaxy and Millenium. Both are wonderful (although different). If the Galaxy has the route you want.. book it.

 

We did the Med a few years ago on the Millenium and loved it. We were surprised at the number of children on board. We found we wanted to see and do everything and generally were too tired by the time we got back to the ship to do anything (but eat and get a good nights rest).

[superjerryw]

We did an 11 night Med cruise on the Galaxy last summer based on the itinerary. It was a port intensive cruise with only 2 sea days. We stopped at Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Athens, Istanbul (2 days), Naples and Kusadasi (Ephesus). At each port we were off the ship all day and only came back in the evening for dinner and the show. It was one of the best cruises we have taken. The Galaxy does not have all the amenities you will find on the Millennium but on a cruise like this there is no time to use them. The Galaxy may be smaller than the Millennium, but at 70,000 tons it is not really a small ship. The food and the service were very good. If I were going on a cruise that had a lot of sea days the Galaxy would probably not be my first choice. However, for a port intensive cruise such as the Med, it is perfect. I would not hesitate to do anoother trip like this on the Galaxy.

[Arubalisa]

Others have already commented on the itinerary. The entire staff was the best I have ever seen in well over 20 years of cruising. And the food from great to excellent.

 

The Galaxy herself is a beautiful ship. That is, as long as you are not expecting, glitz, bright lights and shiny metal at every turn. For what some might call nowadays "an older ship" this ship is fresh and maintained to its fullest. The only exception being, and someone else here can explain why it is such a big deal to some :confused: , a couple of fogged panes of windows in the Stratosphere Lounge. Doesn't sound like your gang will be doing much lounging anyway.

 

The kids club, we and our 9 year old dd thought were excellent. There were a full plate of activities even on days when the ship was in port. For teens there were the usual "mixers", "teen only" pool parties, late night parties, athletics- vollyeball, basketball, even foosball. If you need further details on the kids club feel free to email me.

[cruzin4us]

I sailed on Galaxy thru the Panama Canal in 1999 and had a ball. The staff was wonderful. Sometimes bigger isn't necessarily better....at least as far as ships go :)

[Andy]

Hi Snowmouse !

 

I have been very happy on all of the C-Class ships. Century, Mercury and Galaxy are all great ships, and very easy to navigate. As Cruzin4us said, sometimes bigger isnt always better. Your grandparents will be especially happy with Galaxy's size. My Parents are in the same age range, and they get around very well on the C-Class ships.

 

Please let us know what you decide. Enjoy your Cruise !

[poetic license]

Snowmouse, You will love either ship, and since you stated you really wanted to do more of the Greek isles, then go with the itinerary that you are most interested in.

 

I have sailed both C class and M class ships, and each is wonderful in it's own way. I honestly believe the food is better on the smaller ships, since they don't have as many meals to serve and so hot things arrive hot, cold things cold, and your preferences are easier to honor. You will find the atmosphere just a tad more intimate on the smaller C class ships, and will get to know the crew better as well as your fellow shipmates. There are no more or fewer activities on a smaller ship than on a larger one. Go with what you want ... don't worry about missing anything from a different ship. You can always sail on it later, on a different vacation! :D:D:D

 

Whatever your choice, I wish you a WONDERFUL cruise ... how wonderful that you are able to have an intergenerational get-together this way! You are creating memories for a lifetime.

 

Cheers~

Nicki