What can I expect on the Galaxy "Best of Med" cruise?

[Shir Hayam]

Hi Experienced Cruisers,

 

My DH and I just got off a fabulous Bermuda cruise on the Zenith. While on board, we booked the "Best of Med" cruise for next June. Since most of our cruising has been in the Caribbean, we were wondering how a European cruise would be different. Are the food choices the same? Or do they have a more European flair? How about the entertainment? I can't imagine an "Island Night" party while sailing to Greece - or can I? Does Celebrity provide any on board cultural or language programs relevant to where we are sailing?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Sheila

[tom_uk]

I've never done a Caribbean cruise with Celebrity (or anyone else) but I have just done this year's version of the Best of the Med cruise, so I'll throw in my views on that.

 

Food: as a Brit, the food choices struck me as particularly american. We don't really have prime rib, for example (we have different steak/beef cuts, or the same cuts under different names) but prime rib was on the menu several times. And of course the final formal dinner featured lobster, which our US table companions were looking forward to for some days. There were a number of pasta dishes; I would say that Italian generally was the main european influence in the cuisine. As it happens our US table companions were italian-american, and were very complimentary about the pasta. Basically Celebrity is a US cruise line, and you'll find that the menu will be full of familiar items.

 

Entertainment: strictly US-style - big shows (well, as big as they can do), singers doing Broadway/50s standards, a piano lounge singer/pianist; all purely american.

 

On-board programs: there were some in-advance familiarisation lectures, ranging from 'history & culture' to 'best shopping tips!'. No language classes that I recall.

 

Overall, I would say that the on-board experience is intended to make US cruisers feel comfortable. As a Brit that meant it was a little different from what I'm used to, which was interesting for me. But I would say that if you're looking for immersion in local culture then cruising probably isn't the way to do it.

 

One other difference, I believe, between cruising in the Med & the Caribbean is that the Med is very destination & excursion heavy. As a result the focus of the cruise is perhaps less ship-based and more shore-based.

 

Looking at next year's Best of the Med shore programme, it's even heavier than this year's: only two sea-days as against three this year. Several of the ports of call pretty much require an excursion - as I understand it, there's not much at Kusadasi or Katakolon, the whole point of them is that they are the gateways for the ruins of Ephesus and Olympus respectively (both some distance away). Athens will be another long day, as could be Naples. Mykonos is a lovely chill-out destination, and on Santorini you can do as little or as much as you want. That leaves Rhodes, about which I know very little, and Messina, at which the ship will call for only an afternppn. The popular excursions from Messina - Taormina and Mt Etna - would both require a bit more time than will be available, I think, unless the excursion is going to be very rushed.

 

We enjoyed this year's cruise enormously, and we are thinking very seriously of booking for next year. It'll be familiar but sufficiently different to be not be a simple repeat.

[Joanne G.]

I'll agree with the previous poster. When I was on the Galaxy last summer in the Med, the entertainment and menus were similar to those on my Caribbean cruises. We did have a Greek buffet one night out by the pool and an Italian buffet indoors one night. They were very good, but were they "authentic"? Probably not.

 

I don't remember any cultural or language programs on board.

 

The majority of the passengers were American. The overall shipboard experience did not have any particular international flair.

 

It's the ports that you will find so different from those on your Caribbean cruises. You are not likely to be lazing around beaches all day. There is so much to see and sample - history, art, culture, ancient ruins, local food and wine, unique shopping. Take comfortable shoes!

 

One difference that surprised me was that, at least on our cruise, the dress was more casual than on Caribbean cruises. Maybe because of packing issues for the longer overseas trip, maybe because people were just too tired from all the active sightseeing to go all-out getting gussied up for dinner - whatever the reason, dress was more casual. People looked nice, but overall formal night was less formal than I expected and informal night wasn't much different from casual night.

 

You made a great choice. Have a wonderful cruise.

[Shir Hayam]

Thanks to both of you for your information. Tom, I found your reports on your cruise this year and they were very helpful. I love the Celebrity experience, but I do wish they had culturally relevant lectures (not just shopping talks), particularly for a cruise like this that's going to such interesting destinations.

[tom_uk]

I love the Celebrity experience, but I do wish they had culturally relevant lectures (not just shopping talks), particularly for a cruise like this that's going to such interesting destinations.

 

To be fair, they did - there was one on Sicily and another on Florence/Tuscany, and there may have been earlier ones about the Aegean. (And I think there were some on opera/music, as well.) But I have to admit that when I went one, on the History & Culture of Sicily/Messina, I disgraced myself by falling asleep...

 

They were held in the theatre, and were illustrated, ie there was a slide show.

[C 2 C]

We cruised on Galaxy this year. Rhodes is fantastic. The dock is right next to the walled city. It was my second visit and I still think it is about the nicest place to walk, seep in history, shop or just sit and people watch.

Previous posters have it right.

 

One word of caution. We were late into one port and an excursion to Delos was cancelled. We heard a travel agent say to one other passenger that they were lucky their tour was cancelled. "there's nothing but ruins and old stuff on the island".

If your mind cannot handle the fact that philosophers, kings and crusaders walked these streets 800, 2,000 or even 2,500 years ago, you are missing the best cruise choice on this planet.

One cruise to the Mediterranean is not enough.:D

[tom_uk]

"there's nothing but ruins and old stuff on the island".

 

When we were on Santorini we visited the new Archeaoligical Museum in Fira town (we didn't go to Akrotiri - maybe next time). In the museum were a huge number of artifacts from Akrotiri and other sites on the island, dating back over 3000 years. I was especially knocked out by a couple of decorated cups - turned on a wheel, decorated & glazed, and with a proper handle fixed on the side. Being a Brit I'm very familiar with tea-cups (!), and those cups could have sat on my table and not been at all out of place. They were over 3,500 years old.

[WooKeef]

I've never done a Caribbean cruise with Celebrity (or anyone else) but I have just done this year's version of the Best of the Med cruise, so I'll throw in my views on that.

 

Food: as a Brit, the food choices struck me as particularly american. We don't really have prime rib, for example (we have different steak/beef cuts, or the same cuts under different names) but prime rib was on the menu several times. And of course the final formal dinner featured lobster, which our US table companions were looking forward to for some days. There were a number of pasta dishes; I would say that Italian generally was the main european influence in the cuisine. As it happens our US table companions were italian-american, and were very complimentary about the pasta. Basically Celebrity is a US cruise line, and you'll find that the menu will be full of familiar items.

 

Entertainment: strictly US-style - big shows (well, as big as they can do), singers doing Broadway/50s standards, a piano lounge singer/pianist; all purely american.

 

On-board programs: there were some in-advance familiarisation lectures, ranging from 'history & culture' to 'best shopping tips!'. No language classes that I recall.

 

Overall, I would say that the on-board experience is intended to make US cruisers feel comfortable. As a Brit that meant it was a little different from what I'm used to, which was interesting for me. But I would say that if you're looking for immersion in local culture then cruising probably isn't the way to do it.

 

One other difference, I believe, between cruising in the Med & the Caribbean is that the Med is very destination & excursion heavy. As a result the focus of the cruise is perhaps less ship-based and more shore-based.

 

Looking at next year's Best of the Med shore programme, it's even heavier than this year's: only two sea-days as against three this year. Several of the ports of call pretty much require an excursion - as I understand it, there's not much at Kusadasi or Katakolon, the whole point of them is that they are the gateways for the ruins of Ephesus and Olympus respectively (both some distance away). Athens will be another long day, as could be Naples. Mykonos is a lovely chill-out destination, and on Santorini you can do as little or as much as you want. That leaves Rhodes, about which I know very little, and Messina, at which the ship will call for only an afternppn. The popular excursions from Messina - Taormina and Mt Etna - would both require a bit more time than will be available, I think, unless the excursion is going to be very rushed.

 

We enjoyed this year's cruise enormously, and we are thinking very seriously of booking for next year. It'll be familiar but sufficiently different to be not be a simple repeat.

 

Great info. Leaving In September myself for a jaunt around the Med. How far in advance do you find out about the lectures? DH is curious about these lectures for sea days. I hope it is so Americanised...that could be boring if you ask me:cool:

[cdfev]

We were on the June 2 Galaxy "Best of the Med Cruise" that Tom was on.

 

Akrotiri was actually closed on the day we were in Santorini and it is quite a ways from the Fira....a rental car is mandatory to get there.

[tom_uk]

Akrotiri was actually closed on the day we were in Santorini and it is quite a ways from the Fira....a rental car is mandatory to get there.

 

I hadn't realised it was closed, though I suppose the fact that it wasn;t in the excursion list would be a clue!

 

Wasn't a cruise passenger killed there in an accident last year? A rock ceiling fell on them?

[C 2 C]

 

Wasn't a cruise passenger killed there in an accident last year? A rock ceiling fell on them?

 

Athens - Greece's culture ministry on Saturday (2005)ordered the immediate closure of a 3 700-year-old archaeological site on the Cycladic island of Santorini, a day after the collapse of a steel protective canopy killed a British tourist and injured seven people.

 

The site of Akrotiri will remain closed while a ministry committee investigates the causes of the accident, deputy culture minister Petros Tatoulis said in a statement.

 

Measuring between 700 and 1 000 square metres and in the final phases of construction, the steel canopy covering the priceless ruins of a prehistoric city collapsed on Friday afternoon, shortly before the site closed for the day.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=qw1127631782628G626

[WooKeef]

I hadn't realized it was closed either. The DH and I visited a few years ago and it was a fabulous site for anyone interested in ancient culture and archeology. I was looking forward to visiting it again in September:eek: .

I hope it will be open by then...

[Shir Hayam]

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions. I see that I'm really going to have to do some serious research if I want to get the most out this trip. ( I may have to book a Caribbean cruise just to recover).

 

Sheila

[crz4ever]

We sailed on the Galaxy 11 day last July 4th and there were many Europeans on board, mostly Spanish and Italians and 400 children. The cruise is definitely port intensive with long fascinating days. Delos was fabulous and should not be missed if you are a history buff, as my husband is. It was the center of the ancient world long before Athens. The Greek buffet was on deck the evening we were in Mykonos and was definitely authentic as the officers are all Greek and you would expect the chefs do provide them with their favorites. I also cook Greek and thought the buffet was fantastic. I do not recommend the walking tour in Rhodes, it would be better off on your own as the walled city is very close to the dock. We ate dinner ashore in Istanbul as the ship overnighted there. We did the Ephesus excursion in Kusadesi and although it was blistering heat we did enjoy it very much and I would recommend it. In Naples we did an all day tour to Sorrento and Pompeii and also would recommend it. Enjoy your cruise!

[C 2 C]

We did the Ephesus excursion in Kusadesi and although it was blistering heat we did enjoy it very much and I would recommend it.

 

Take the umbrella on your tour. It might be the only shade you will find. Celebrity provides umbrellas in each stateroom. We really had good use of ours in May.

[general1]

Anyone who has been on the Galaxy, did you notice if the TV had an external Video/Audio port (Yellow Hole and White Hole) to plug in a portable dvd player? DVD's are only for the days when we are out at sea and want to rest in the room before/after dinner.

[cdfev]

The TV in our state room was so fitted